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The American Prejudice Against Big Families
Athena, 3; Etani, 8 months; Hesperus, 5I understand why people raise their eyebrows at us for being pregnant with our fourth baby. The vast majority of Americans still only have two children but there...
View Article“Maybe She Just Looks Puny Compared to MY Baby”
Yesterday Baby Leone, Etani, and I walked two miles to pick up Athena from school. The stepmother of one of Athena’s classmates was there, so I got to see her son, who was born three days after Leone,...
View ArticleStop Spanking
I still remember when one of my aunts, furious at her son’s defiant and impolite behavior, ran into the bathroom to grab a hairbrush so she could spank him with it. I was downstairs playing. I cowered...
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Of “Good” Babies and “Bad” Babies
“Is she a good baby?” people often ask. This afternoon my friend fastened the chin strap of Leone’s bicycle helmet. Though Leone fidgeted and tried to push the helmet off, she didn’t cry. “You’re such...
View ArticleDoes the gender of your baby really matter?
“I really wanted a boy,” my mother said of her first pregnancy. We were sitting side by side at a faux Japanese restaurant where food is prepared at an enormous grill in the middle of the table. A...
View ArticleOn Raising a Reluctant Reader
I got a message from my son’s school the other day. “It’s nothing to worry about,” his teacher was quick to say into the machine. “I just wanted to let you know that your son’s been identified as a...
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To My Husband: I’m Leaving You For Another Woman
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” “Haley, I struggle with the same thing that your coaches do.” She immediately stopped crying. “Are you coming out to me, Mom?” I said, “Haley, you’ve teased me for years about...
View ArticleIf the Wine’s High End, Is it Okay to Drink During Pregnancy?
“Do you drink alcohol?” the nurse practitioner, who’s checking off boxes on a list of questions that goes on for four pages, looks sternly up at me. I am pregnant. Pregnant women in America are not...
View ArticleShould You Let Your Baby Be Naked?
In much of Europe and Africa it’s common to see naked toddlers playing outside. Most Europeans aren’t as uptight about nakedness as we are in America. But when my almost 16-month-old started taking off...
View ArticleInjustice in Our Justice System
When he was 18 years old, Tony Yarbough’s mother was murdered. So was his 12-year-old sister, and her 12-year-old friend. The grief of losing a mother and a sister to murder is unimaginable to me. But...
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