Archive for December, 2011

Making Memories for Grandmas and Grandpas

My children’s grandparents are a big part of our life. My husband’s parents live a 20-minute car ride away from us and help with watching the girls after school. By contrast, my family lives in Paris, France, and mostly interacts with my daughters via Skype, though they usually also visit in person every year or [...]

The Problem With Teaching Children Self-Esteem

Dear Friends,
Whenever I’m asked if we sell educational toys or books that build self-esteem, I wince a little inside.
As parents, we all want academic excellence and healthy self-esteem for our children. But when I hear about parents feeling pressured to “enrich” their children’s lives with systems to teach babies to read or DVDs that “teach” [...]

A Christmas Wish List

It’s that time of the year again, when, if you’re like me, you start making compulsive lists of all the presents you need to buy for everyone: family, friends, co-workers, and so on. Usually, all that takes place while battling some form of winter cold, or taking care of a child who is fighting off [...]