December 08, 2016

Link Roundup

Hello dear friends,

Here are a few gems we’ve pocketed throughout the week, for you to enjoy and think about as we head into the weekend. May it be a good one for you and your family!

Does your child have special needs, is on the spectrum, or perhaps struggles with sharing or processing their feelings? This compassionate mother discusses the “delayed effect,” and why your child saves emotional meltdowns for home, rather than at school, like a shaken bottle of soda that’s waiting to explode.

We want a more peaceful world? Our children are the prime place to start. Thanks to Scary Mommy for these helpful tips on raising forward-thinking children.

Let’s get real about these common adoption stereotypes, eh? Like, for instance: you CAN connect with an adopted child, and why it’s possible for any kid to be your kid.

Absolutely love this personal essay on how donkeys seem to have a special connection with special needs children, and one father’s observations of his son’s unique connection with the animal.

Catherine Newman is a beautiful writer who speaks illustriously about food and family, and has penned two books about her experiences in motherhood. Catastrophic Happiness muses on “finding joy in childhood’s messy years,” while Waiting for Birdy is a memoir about “a year of frantic tedium, neurotic angst, and the wild magic of growing a family.” Perfect gifts for yourself and loved ones this holiday.

The truth about parenting a world full of screens. “According to the report, parents spend more than nine hours a day with their screens, which doesn’t really surprise me when I consider my own habits. The time I dedicate to writing involves sitting in front of screen. The time I spend researching includes taking notes with a screen. I good deal of my book reading is done on an eReader (does that count as a screen?). I keep in touch with friends and family, constantly and continuously, through my smartphone. And my kids and I spend at least some portion of our everyday-family-time playing video games or watching television/movies together. It seems most of my waking hours are lived with—and to some degree, through—screens.”

A heart-wrenching new photography project showcases the intimate lives of chronically ill children and their parents.

Could “good cop, bad cop” parenting actually benefit children?