One of the real perks to living in NYC is being able to give our children access to so many different people and ideas.  While most of the time these interactions flow smoothly with benefits all around, every once in a while there is friction.  Not necessarily so much friction among the children, but rather among parents and the childrearing ideas that we hold dear to our hearts.   For instance, I have discovered that I am a fairly relaxed parent, who tries not to say “no” just for the sake of saying “no.”  I firmly believe that my child should have the chance to experience life through his own interactions and experiments with the world, not mine.  I am the parent that makes others shudder because I allow my son to lick rocks, put sticks in his mouth (indoors no less), and balance precariously on the furniture. (more…)

What do the phrases “time cop,” “chimney cub,” and “ten o’clock” all have in common?  Each of them might be what my two year old just said.

If you’ve had occasion to muddle through the early stages of speech development with a child of your own, or even a niece, cousin, or friend’s child, you’re very familiar with that frustrating moment when you know that they are earnestly talking to you, but you have no idea what they are saying.  “Throw me a bone, here, kid.  At least give me one word clearly!”

It’s all very cute, of course; how else would we ever get to have “hawk-dahs” and “noonoos” for lunch, or end up with nicknames like “Cashy?”  The grinding of the gears occurs when we are working with these little people in genuine partnership but the rope-bridge they’re extending across the chasm of communication just doesn’t quite reach this side. (more…)

I had another stare-down with a street-boss.  I was letting my daughters walk on the icy snow piles along the curb as we made our way to the park for sledding, and a friendly, neighborhood Volunteer Parenting Advisor stopped us for a moment.  You know who I mean; one of those generous souls that come up to us on the street and grace us with unsolicited pearls of parenting wisdom.

She approached with the friendly, open body language that says “I want to tell these children how cute they are.”  She said something indecipherable to the girls with a smile on her wrinkled face.  They smiled back with their best “I have no idea what you said, but, yes, we are quite cute – bye now” expressions.  Then she turned her frosty glare on me and I realized she was going to zap me.  She asked me if the sleds I was carrying were for the girls. A deer in headlights, I replied that they were, at which point her evidence collecting phase concluded and I stood guilty, guilty, guilty before the judge.  Those girls should not be walking on the ice; they will slip and fall.  They should not be going sledding; it is too cold out.  Besides, they will fall and get hurt. (more…)