THE AWKWARD MOM

because uncomfortable conversations are the ones worth having

Tag: child (page 1 of 4)

Talking to Kids about Sex–without Purity Culture

Reading Time: 3 minutes

talking to kids about sex

My high school and college years hit smack in the middle of purity culture, with all its strengths…and weaknesses.

It’s easier now to see what fell short during those years. But man, was I deep in it. (How many times have I thought about trying to message all the women from that Lady in Waiting study I led?) read more

When Your Child is Deconstructing Faith

Reading Time: 6 minutes

child deconstructing faith

My daughter was highlighting my hair (yes, from a box. Yes, to cover the gray that’s laying siege to my scalp) when she told me about a friend who’s not sure if she identifies herself as a Christian anymore.

As when I hear about anyone who’s deconstructing faith, my chest tightened at the sternum. It’s painful for the person, and it’s painful for those who love them. read more

“Am I a controlling parent?”

Reading Time: 5 minutes

controlling parent

I still remember where I stood that Sunday. I must have been three or at the oldest four. The church’s smell of coffee drifted above the part in my hair, crisply pleated lines of men’s suit trousers at my level.

I reached up to take again my dad’s hand, callused and rough from years of farm chores. Yet the chuckle I heard wasn’t his. read more

9 Ideas to Parent with More Emotional Health This Week

Reading Time: 2 minutes

ways to parent with emotional health

Looking for ways to parent with more emotional health?

Here’s nine. (Start with, like, two.) read more

Writing a Year-end Note to Your Child: 4 Simple Steps

Reading Time: 6 minutes

note to your child

The dog licked me awake early this morning. Well, early for my slumbering house of teenagers house. And I stayed awake for the quiet.

As I type to you, snow layers the landscape out my window like fondant. I love its muting effect–on schedules, on sound. My life craves more quiet, for the love of Mike. And the end of the year always seems to hush my own soul into a more contemplative place. read more

Overfunctioning at Home? Here’s One Way to Stop

Reading Time: 3 minutes

overfunctioning at home

Ever wonder if you’re doing too much for your kids?

Personality-wise, this is my reality. I am a helper, an empath to a point that it arcs others’ eyebrows. read more

Dealing With Your Parenting “If Only”s

Reading Time: 3 minutes

if only

Question. What’s the one thing you wish about your family that feels like it would make everything better? That finally, your parenting could really sing?

What’s your “if only”? read more

Preparing Your Kids For the Day You Can’t See Coming

Reading Time: 4 minutes

preparing your kids

One (just one) of the problems with writing a parenting book is the whisper spitting in my ear sometimes as I parent my oh-so-real-life teens. Like the one who yelled at me across the lawn this morning. (See? I’m wondering if I should have let you know that.)

Enter the Whisper: And you wrote a parenting book? read more

God’s Attachment Love. Your Kid’s Darkest Moment. Your Open Window

Reading Time: 4 minutes

attachment love

I was chatting on the phone with my oldest this week about purity culture–which deserves a post on its own. (I have feelings. Big feelings.)

I expressed to him how tough it is as parents, when some of the less-healthy methods of purity culture are subtracted from parenting –I’m looking at you, shame-parenting–to find something as powerful to direct our kids toward good and keep them from what’s truly bad. read more

5 Ways to Stop Overfunctioning as a Parent This Year

Reading Time: 4 minutes

overfunctioning as a parent

Last week, I brought happy-hour Sonic drinks to my friend’s empty sixth-grade classroom. She’d decked it out as only excited teachers can, with pillowed reading corners complete with fairy lights, innovative seating, and wave bottles she’d made herself, with glitter inside.

We chatted, and I laughed about her curiously-labeled drawer of Bummer Pencils. A bummer pencil, she explained, is one she’s picked up off the floor or from a desk, maybe half-chewed or with no eraser. She saves those–I’m assuming she disinfects them?–for the time when a sixth-grader raises their hand with the news they have no pencil. read more

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