Parenting

Bipolar + Parenthood.

Parenting With Bipolar Disorder: One Woman’s Perspective

I was incapable of feeling. I could not show all the love and promise my heart held for those boys. Once I returned and started feeling better, we had to cope with a new challenge: mania and the onset of bipolar disorder.

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computer + baby = mom guilt.

6 Parenting Guilt Trips (And Why You Shouldn't Feel Guilty)

Parenting can be challenging . . . at the best of times. So when we end up doing all the things we vowed we would NEVER do when we had our own kids, we often feel like we've failed as parents. Well, guess what? You’re not alone, and it’s OK!

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Families come in different shapes.

How My Relationship With My Legal Guardian Transformed My Notion of "Family"

So many children who grow up in broken homes are fed this notion of family that comes with strings attached. We’re told if we can just be pretty enough, smart enough, quiet enough, obedient enough, good enough, then we’ll get the love we crave so deeply, as if family is something that we must barter for.

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The author and her SEVEN CHILDREN.

7 Things I've Learned From Raising 7 Kids

Through the years, I've learned that our ideologies matter far less than the quality of the relationships we build with our kids. Your rules and my rules may be entirely different, but if we center our parenting around nurturing and compassion for our kids, we will achieve similar results.

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TIME OUT, MOM

3 Ways To Be A Better Parent Right Now

You really can feel guilty about everydamnthing. Here are the cold hard facts: You are going to screw up. It’s happening. You might actually screw up pretty hard.

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Ella. NOT going to school.

Why I Did Not Force My Hysterical Child To Go To Kindergarten

I tried to gently push her toward the door. More crying. I tried to enlist the teacher. More crying. I tried to convince her that the other children would play with her. More crying.

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Allowing your child to swear can help relieve stress.

I Let My 8-Year-Old Drop F-Bombs –– And So Should Every Other Parent

And then it happened. "F*ck," she whispered. "F*ck, f*cking, f*ck this!" An enormous smile crossed her face, which only got bigger when she saw my smile. We both laughed, she squeaked out one more "f*ck," and then she gave me one of the biggest hugs I've ever received.

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Don't be fooled. She's actually pushing that child onto the bus.

25 Signs That You're Beyond Ready To Send Your Kids Back To School

"I don't know what I was smoking in June, but it's August now. I've bonded with my kids until we can't bond anymore, and I'm thisclose to booking a one-way ticket to anywhere but here. I love my kids dearly, but I appreciate them even more when I have time to myself, too. I think that's called balance, and I'm pretty sure it's a good thing."

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