mindful parenting

For my autistic child, these are the non-traditional milestones we measure

I wasn’t surprised when my child received an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis at three years old—I was exhausted and scared. 

‘Charlotte’s Web’ and 11 other challenged and banned children’s books

Many of these are classics we all read (and loved) in school.

I want to limit screen time—but sometimes it’s the only break I get

As the realities of parenthood set in, tiny bits of screen time have become a saving grace in those desperate times of need.

8-year-old expelled from school for refusing assignment instructing her to send a photo of her from the bathtub

She spoke up and now she's out of school. What's the takeaway here?

A letter to my firstborn before your sibling arrives

We’re stepping out of our old life into a new one. I’m excited to add another to our family, but I'm grieving, too.

Is it OK to go through your kid’s phone?

Doctors weigh in on this sensitive topic.

My strict parents became indulgent grandparents who spoil my kids rotten—and it’s great

The joy I feel knowing my two sons are being undeniably spoiled with love, food, gifts, candy—and everything else good this world has to offer—is one of such completeness and gratitude.

How I’m raising proud Hispanic children

I realized that my children don’t need to relive my childhood to appreciate their heritage, just like I didn’t have to relive my father’s. They will appreciate being Hispanic in a different way than me. 

I’m done having babies, and I wasn’t ready for the grief

Grief over the empty nest syndrome. Of not being needed in the same way. Of having to rediscover who I am apart from children.

I need a break from my kid—and that doesn’t make me a bad mom

It makes me human.

We all want our kids to ‘be happy’—but what if they’re not?

I want my kid to be happy, but I also want him to experience the range of emotions that life offers. And I want him to be able to talk about those experiences with me.

6 diverse children’s books you should have on your bookshelf

Renee Macalino Rutledge, author of “One Hundred Percent Me”, reveals six diverse and inclusive books she and her family enjoy.

Husbands, *this* is why we need you to take more pictures of us

We need you to take more pictures that are unasked for, that allows us to see what being a mother looks like through someone else's eyes.

I hosted a motherhood gathering—and it was a life-altering experience

My heart is truly full to have been able to share space with other mamas and their little ones.

I wish I hadn’t spent so much time as a single mom hoping the days away

I wish I had learned to live in the moment a little more and appreciate the solitude for what it was.

I love seeing my child develop personal relationships with family members

And it’s just another thing that makes me proud to be a mother—witnessing him become his own person with his own relationships and the opportunity to create his own memories. 

I was tired of hearing my girl is creative and my boy is destined to be an engineer

Why can’t kids be both?

How do I raise my kids to extend grace in today’s cancel culture?

How do I encourage my kids’ fire to fight injustice, yet also encourage them to see people as imperfect beings who are, for the most part, trying their best?

Motherhood comes with challenges—at every stage

It doesn't matter your age. It doesn’t matter when you first became a mom or when you gave birth to your last. It doesn’t matter if you’re a mom of one or of many.

Let your kids make the mess

Because messes can be cleaned.