Daddy's girlMy oldest daughter, Adair, is a daddy's girl. I used to think it was just a phase because when her baby sister was born, she spent lots of extra time with her daddy. But now, her sister is a toddler, and it's clearly not a phase. Addie is a daddy's girl to her core. Some days, this makes me a bit sad. I wish I was the one she wanted to comfort her when she was scared or hurt. I wish I was the one she preferred to read her books. Instead, it's her daddy. Always. Some days though, it's pretty cool to see their bond. The way they love each other, the way they "get" each other - it's pretty rare.
Here's why I'm OK with my daughter being a daddy's girl:
1. Adventure
Phil has a big heart for adventure. He spends nearly all of his free time exploring the woods, working in the garden, and dreaming about backpacking trips for the whole family. From a young age, he started taking Addie to explore the wilderness and now, it's her favorite place to be!
2. Play
Phil has always been
She Prefers Daddy Over Me (and 9 Reasons Why I'm OK with It)
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Mon, May 20, 2013 4:34 PM EDTTeen Expelled, Charged as Felony Sex Offender, After Parents Object to Same-Sex Realtionship
By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine | Parenting – Mon, May 20, 2013 3:45 PM EDTAn 18-year-old high school senior in Florida has been expelled and is facing felony charges for dating a 15-year-old freshman at the same school. Parents complained, and it became a classic "we don't want you to date our daughter" story, but with a modern twist: both of the students are girls.
Also on Shine: Dad's Love Letter to Gay Teenage Son Goes Viral
Kaitlyn Hunt was arrested on February 16 and charged with two counts of “lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12-16 years of age.” If convicted, she faces jail time or house arrest and will have to register as a sex offender, something that could affect her for the rest of her life. She has until this Friday to accept a plea deal -- two years of house arrest, followed by a year of probation plus sex-abuse counseling -- or take her case to trial.
Also on Shine: Indiana Anti-Gay Prom Plan Sparks BacklashAccording to the Hunt family, Kaitlyn met her girlfriend (who has not been named) months ago, during basketball practice at Sebastian
Read More »from Teen Expelled, Charged as Felony Sex Offender, After Parents Object to Same-Sex RealtionshipCricket Prank Bans Seniors From Graduation
By Sarah B. Weir, Shine Senior Writer | Parenting – Mon, May 20, 2013 2:45 PM EDTFather and Daughter's Amazing Appalachian Trek to Save Lives
By Beth Greenfield, Shine Staff | Parenting – Mon, May 20, 2013 2:34 PM EDTIn an effort to fight hunger, 13-year-old Kylie Trawick and her dad Bob are going the extra mile in a major way—hiking more than 2,180 miles from Georgia to Maine, at a clip of about 20 miles per day since setting off in late March. And, at 723 miles in, they’ve already surpassed their goal of raising one pound of food for every mile completed. About 4,000 pounds have already been donated in Kylie’s honor to food pantries across the country.
More on Shine: 6 Ways to Create a Father-Daughter Bond That Will Last Forever
The biggest challenge, as it turns out, has been for Bob, a 50-year-old registered nurse, to keep apace with his daughter. “Kylie is a phenomenal hiker, and she’s never quit anything in her life,” he told Yahoo! Shine by phone from Daleville, Virginia, where the two had stopped to rest and refuel for a couple of nights. “So the truth is, she’s wearing me out. She’s just so fit and strong! It’s the Sassafras Express and I’m clearly at the back.”
Sassafras is Kylie’s Read More »from Father and Daughter's Amazing Appalachian Trek to Save LivesBaby Talk: The 411 on Your Future Fertility
By Refinery29 | Parenting – Mon, May 20, 2013 1:02 PM EDTBy Erika Stalder, Refinery29
Read More »from Baby Talk: The 411 on Your Future Fertility
.Those old directions for How To Make A Nuclear Family - grow up, find a man, get married, and have a baby - seem so dated, so simplistic, it's almost laughable. Modern women are staying in school longer, going after more advanced degrees, and are delaying childbirth. Birth rates for women aged 35 to 39 increased nearly 50% between 1990 and 2008, according to Pew Research. And, the number of women aged 40 or older who have babies tripled over the same timespan.
Among women who want to have children, more are reaching their professional and educational goals before becoming mothers. And, why not? It's natural for successful women, who have made careers of pragmatically setting goals and achieving them, to think they can apply the same strategies to pumping out a kid or two. Besides, if Hollywood is any indication, it feels more and more logical for 40-something women to be packing so called "baby bumps" on the regular. (Though the experts we talked to forLosing My Religion: Why I'm Raising My Child to Believe in Science, Not God
By Babble.com | Parenting – Mon, May 20, 2013 12:23 PM EDT
Every two or three blocks on the avenues of downtown Brooklyn, a big old stone church rises from the ranks of the brownstones. A couple of weeks ago, my little boy Felix pulled his trike to the curb and squinted at the steeple of one.
"What's that castle, Da-da?"
"It's not a castle, it's a church."
"What's a church?"
"It's a place where people go to worship god."
"What's god?"
"God is a concept some people believe in. A creative force, I guess you'd say."
"Huh."
And with that, he rode on. I must admit, this isn't the most compelling definition of the supreme being I could think of - I attended Catholic school for nine years and am steeped in Bible lore. I could've told him the story of the Garden of Eden, in which god-with-a-capital-G appears as a benevolent father whom his creations defy, or perhaps recounted how the vengeful deity punished Sodom and Gomorrah, or the demanding dictator demanded Her loyal subject Abraham to sacrifice his only son.
Read More »from Losing My Religion: Why I'm Raising My Child to Believe in Science, Not GodThe Disturbing Ways Women Are Shown in Media
By The Jeff Probst Show | Parenting – Fri, May 17, 2013 5:26 PM EDT
When Jennifer Siebel Newsom was pregnant with her first daughter, she realized that it was hard to find any female role models that her daughter could eventually look up to. There were powerful, strong, and independent women all around her, Jennifer observed, but they weren't portrayed that way in the media. In fact, there was a huge disconnect - there are many women in positions of power and influence making a difference in the world, but in the media, women are most often reduced to sexual beings, with looks being more important than anything else.
So Jennifer decided to do something about it. She made a documentary called "Miss Representation," which addresses these issues and features interviews with successful women from all walks of life. In this clip from "The Jeff Probst Show," Jennifer tells special guest Yvette Nicole Brown why she made this documentary, and what she hopes viewers take from it.
"The Jeff Probst Show" is airing its finale episode on Wednesday, May 22 - Read More »from The Disturbing Ways Women Are Shown in MediaThe Hidden Reason Why My Baby Woke Every 45 Minutes
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Fri, May 17, 2013 4:21 PM EDT
Read More »from The Hidden Reason Why My Baby Woke Every 45 Minutes
The key to better sleepWhen we meet new people, whether it be on public transportation or just randomly when we are out and about, there are three questions they ask about Elvie. First, they want to know how old she is. Once they know, they ask if she is walking. When that is answered in the negative, the next question is nearly always regarding if she is sleeping through the night. When I say no to that one, there are often heads shaken in dismay.
Frankly, sometimes I shake my own head in dismay when Elvie wakes yet again in the middle of the night, but I've finally figured out what needs to happen before she will sleep through the night, and I am accepting it and looking forward to the day when it becomes reality. It's silly, really, that it took me this long to figure out what she needs to do, but at least now I know.
Related: 8 ways to deal with baby-induced sleep deprivation
When we first took custody of Elvie in Ethiopia, she was waking every one to two hours to eat. Once she was home with us and10 Tips for Writing Your Birth Story (Even If You Hate to Write)
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Fri, May 17, 2013 4:20 PM EDT
Read More »from 10 Tips for Writing Your Birth Story (Even If You Hate to Write)
How will you tell your story?Writing your birth story can seem like a daunting task, especially if you're not someone who likes to write. As a mom of two, I can say that the birth stories of my girls, both carefully and thoughtfully written out, are two of my most cherished keepsakes. Whether you are the next Steinbeck or someone who cringes at the thought of writing, you can create a birth story that will be meaningful to you (and your child) for years to come.
1. Don't wait too long
Yes, it might not be possible to write your birth story the day or day after you give birth, but don't wait too long. You want your experience to be fresh in your mind. (I think I wrote both of mine roughly a week after.)
2. Take notes
With my first baby, I remembered every single thing about my birth experience. With my second, it was all a blur. Thankfully I took some notes during the process. My little bullet points, like "water broke at 8:30″ or "she had the cutest, tiniest sneeze right after she was born" came in handy when myPregnant Teens Have Bellies Banned from Yearbook
By Beth Greenfield, Shine Staff | Parenting – Fri, May 17, 2013 3:29 PM EDTTeenage pregnancy is a fact of life. But it seems more and more high schools want to pretend it’s not when it comes to the pages of its yearbooks. First, a North Carolina school banned a photo of Caitlin Tiller and her infant. And now, a Michigan high school has edited out full-body shots of two pregnant students.
Read More »from Pregnant Teens Have Bellies Banned from Yearbook
More on Shine: Teen Labeled 'Freak' in Yearbook Amounts to Bullying, Says Mom
“What’s the difference of letting me walk for graduation, letting me walk around the school? It’s the same thing,” Kimberly Haney told a local news station WOOD-TV after explaining that her pregnant belly wouldn’t be allowed to show in any of her White Cloud High School yearbook photos.
More on Yahoo!: A New Campaign Tries to Fight Teen Pregnancy
Superintendent Barry Seabrook admitted to the news station that he agreed there wasn’t a difference but wanted to keep parents from complaining. Allowing the photos to remain would also be “contrary to” the Michigan statewide mandate of abstinence-only based
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