Bowling seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn’t have high expectations. I simply hoped for a better result than last Spring Break, when Vivian melted down because her name was listed last on the monitor; when my husband finished in fourth place, behind me and two kids who still peed in their […]
bad parenting
To Buy a Pet, or Not To Buy a Pet
A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in my neighbour’s dining room performing a community service: neither she nor her husband drink red wine, so when they have some I drink it. Anyway, we were talking about pets. They’re planning to get one; we’re not. At least, I don’t think we are. My kids […]
Activities for Children of Lousy Parents
Let’s get things straight. I’m not a Martha Stewart mother, one of those women born to parent. I am neither willing nor able to build a replica of the Taj Mahal out of items from the recycling box. In recent weeks, I’ve felt compelled to do something slightly more interesting with my children on Sundays […]
5 Annoying Parenting Habits
1. A Fixation on Height Bragging about the height of our children seems to be the latest wave in competitive parenting. Since a child’s potential height is basically predetermined in the womb, this makes as much sense as bragging about a child’s natural hair colour. I don’t really care if a child is going to […]
Band-Aids and Bad Parenting
I think a great gift for new parents would be stock options in Band-Aid. Let’s face it: if you have a young kid, Band-Aids are practically an accessory. They come in different sizes and skin tones – though I still have to wonder who has a Sponge-Bob-patterned epidermis. In my early days of parenting, I […]