Parenting

By Melissa Stefanec MelissaStefanec@yahoo.com A little more than eight years ago, I became a mother. In the years since then, I have given my

By Melissa Stefanec MelissaStefanec@yahoo.com The sun is setting earlier and earlier, and spending an autumn evening at the playground is my family’s way of

By Melissa Stefanec MelissaStefanec@yahoo.com This September my little guy will climb on the school bus for the first time and head off into a

By Melissa Stefanec MelissaStefanec@yahoo.com According to every advice column ever written for parents, I should be decompressing with my kids right now. I should

By Melissa Stefanec If you read any parenting blogs or travel in parenting circles, you often hear people throw around the phrase “helicopter parent.”

By Melissa Stefanec MelissaStefanec@yahoo.com Being the parent of young children means being on the end of societal criticism. I have to imagine this is

By Melissa Stefanec MelissaStefanec@yahoo.com Recently, I came across an interesting toy advertisement. It showed a little girl happily tinkering with a 14-piece carpenter’s set.

By Melissa Stefanec MelissaStefanec@yahoo.com In an age where Marie Kondo is a household name, the state of our homes has become a very public

By Melissa Stefanec MelissaStefanec@yahoo.com Parents today have access to so much information. Generations before us had to rely on a combination of people, books,

What sort of expectations do I have for my children? By Melissa Stefanec MelissaStefanec@yahoo.com As we make our way through life, we become collectors