kids
My two youngest kids are entering 11th grade. The recurring theme in my head is, How did we get here so fast?I have misty memories of their younger years: soft, pudgy baby hands, “Doc McStuffins” playing in the background, and the marked absence of deep sighs and eye rolls in…
I created monthly “spend-no-money days” when my three children were ages 6, 9, and 10 to teach them financial responsibility. I wanted them to understand that not every want needed to become a purchase, and that family fun did not have to come with a receipt.On those days, we couldn’t…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lindsay Tanne Howe, 37, who is based in Connecticut. She is the founder and CEO of LogicPrep, a global college advisory firm serving ultra-high-net-worth families. Business Insider has verified her educational background. This piece has been edited for length and clarity.A…
Ew, I could never be a cruise person. Or so I thought.Then I had kids and realized my ideal vacation of wandering cobblestone streets, enjoying a cocktail at sunset, or booking an 8 p.m. dinner reservation at a restaurant that definitely doesn’t have a kids’ menu, is the opposite of…
When my wife and I moved from Calgary to Nelson, British Columbia, in 2017, we were mostly thinking about our kids. We wanted them to have space, freedom, and a childhood spent outdoors in nature rather than in a car seat during rush hour.What I didn’t think much about, though,…
I come from a long line of mothers who have mastered the art of guilt as manipulation. I believe it started with my great-grandmother. I never met her, but I’ve been told that she ruled her home with an iron fist in a velvet glove, commanding her 11 children to…
I homeschool my 7-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, so we spend most of the day together. Our mornings start with hugs, kisses, and breakfast conversations, but the affection rarely stops there.At the beginning of each school day, we review the rules: raise your hand to be called on, and do…
I’ve sent four kids — my son and three stepchildren — to college, so I thought I’d experienced almost everything in this process: campus visits, move-in and move-out, loans, roommate issues, and family weekends.As my youngest kid prepares for college, I thought there wouldn’t be many new experiences for me,…
Three years ago, I sat in my dark, 1,250-square-foot apartment cleaning out my inbox and missing my kids. As a single mom and new empty nester, I was still trying to figure out who I was separate from mom and caregiver.The quiet stillness that I dreamed of when my children…
When my children enrolled in college, I decided to step away from supervising their education. I would no longer keep too close an eye on their grades or class performance. I confess that it was a selfish decision, but as the mother of five, I’d already spent too many hours…
