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Strollerderby
Starting now in the quest to instill self-esteem deep within my daughter.
The part I’m dreading most about parenting a daughter doesn’t really involve my daughter at all. It’s about the other girls. The mean girls.
I remember those times all too clearly. Two little girls can play nice, but throw a third one in there and someone is bound to get excluded.
Exclusion.
I can’t bear the thought of someone telling my little sweetheart they don’t want to play with her. But an even worse thought than that: finding out my daughter is a mean girl. I would be devastated. That would mean I didn’t do my job. Continue reading »
Want a peaceful, happy home life? Have two daughters. That’s what a new study says is the secret to family bliss.
In a British study of over 2,000 parents, families with two daughters rated themselves happier than those with any other combination of kids. It’s possible to get too much of a good thing, though. Families with four daughters were the least happy.
I have two daughters, so of course I was delighted to see the headlines this study produced. Yay! My family is (statistically speaking) as happy as they come! Let’s party.
I had to crack up when I saw the reasons why two daughters are the recipe for familial joy, though.
Little girls go nuts for this guy!
It’s perfectly natural for young girls to get all giddy over teen heartthrobs. In fact, experts say it’s even healthy.
But while girls have been swooning over teen heartthrobs for generations, there is something very different about what’s happening these days. Where I was about 12-years-old before I declared my undying love for Donny Osmond, girls today seem to catch the celebrity love bug at a much younger age. 6-year-olds are swooning over the Jonas Brothers and 8-year-olds are falling victim to Justin Bieber’s boyish charms.
Because most of us were slightly more mature when we developed our first celebrity crush, watching our very young daughters get goofy over famous boys can be a little disconcerting. But is it something something we should be worried about?
Child psychologist John Carosso agrees that girls are developing celebrity crushes at ever younger ages. But he believes there’s nothing to worry about as long as the infatuation doesn’t cross the line into obsession. Continue reading »
Teaching them young to do it themselves.
Advertisers have long realized that women make the majority of purchasing decisions. And we aren’t just talking groceries and clothes for the kids. Moms are often in charge of the spending when it comes to home improvement projects as well. From picking paint colors, to choosing new appliances, to remodeling the kitchen, we’re the boss.
But these days, home improvement stores are waking up to the fact that women aren’t just picking out the design for do-it-yourself projects, but are also doing much of the heavy lifting.
In response, stores like Lowes, Home Depot and other home improvement stores have begun catering to women, holding “Ladies Night” and “Do it Herself” workshops. What’s more, tool makers themselves are now creating products that are ergonomically designed specifically for the ladies.
One such company, Tomboy Tools, is on a mission to “build confidence and empower women through education, quality tools and an independent business opportunity.” Their tools aren’t just made for women, they are also sold by women through their Home Consultants program. Continue reading »
Who knows about boys better than dad?
As young girls grow older and enter adolescence, fathers often begin to feel a little left out. Suddenly, daddy’s little girl isn’t so little anymore. She’s likely to be less interested in toys and games and more interested in bodies, boys and other big girl stuff.
But while many dads are happy to step aside and let mom take over during this important stage of a young girl’s life, a recent study from New York University suggests that it might be better if they didn’t. Continue reading »
Are you tougher on your daughter than your son?
Are you quicker to correct and criticize your daughter while you are more accepting of your son’s mistakes and flaws? If so, join the crowd.
According to a new survey, a whopping 88% of mothers admit that although they know it’s wrong, they are tougher on their daughters than their sons. Continue reading »
Should dads kiss their daughters on the lips?
When my girl was little, she enjoyed my parental displays of affection. She would giggle with delight when I smothered her with kisses all over her head, her hands, her tummy and her little lips. Like many families do, we said hello, goodbye, good morning and goodnight with kisses. But unlike some, our kisses were often applied directly to the lips.
I think giving a child a peck on the mouth is a perfectly natural way to express love. But based on a letter received by advice columnist Margot Howard, not everyone agrees. An anonymous woman, who signed her letter “Want My Husband’s Lips for Myself,” finds her husband’s habit of kissing his 5-year-old daughter on the mouth to be “a sexual gesture and very inappropriate.” Continue reading »
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