I love magazines, I have to say that Domino is my favorite and when I find it in the mailbox, I run in the house and hide in the closet and read it...immediately! Dwell has helped us immensely with our house renovation and then there is Brain, Child! I save Brain, Child for my night readings and end up staying up past midnight reading their interesting, intelligent and warming stories that resonate so well with my attitude about parenting...no hysterical headlines, but thoughtful reading that hits you in your heart and mind (and funnybone!). My favorite section is "talkback" where they ask a question to readers and find out what is on peoples mind, and here are few from their last issue, visit their website for a subscription and also to find out what is the question for the next issue! Then you can test your writing skills yourself and have some fun!
In the last issue, Brain, Child asked their readers what beliefs they have about their kids that they can't prove. Science schmience. Here is a selection of answers submitted by their readers.
Ask Me Again
I have two: 1) Despite what my children's pediatrician says, teething does seem to coincide with a low-grade fever. And 2) children come preprogrammed with a certain question quota. Every day they need to ask so many questions, even if they already know the answer.
--Carrie Hadler, San Francisco, CA
Pour Some Sugar On Them
My parenting truth? Candy is a good thing. My sons find delight in so much--caterpillars, the sound of the wind, pine cones, puddles, garbage trucks, mailboxes--they mock my jaded, blase attitude on a daily basis. And candy is for them the apex of amazements. These colorful, sweet, edible confections bring them such unmitigated happiness that I refuse to let my better sensibilities about nutrition and dental hygiene stop them from relishing a lollipop. As we age, our joy slowly cedes ground to self-consciousness, insecurity, and the skepticism borne of experience. I am not ready for them to know that candy is just one of life's evil tricks, doubtless hatched by a cabal of greedy dentists. For now, I just unwrap a Starburst and watch the joy bloom on their faces.
--Alix Clyburn, Silver Spring, MD
Brilliant
I was once pressed to state what I believe, and the only thing I came up with is something for which I have no proof. My children are gifted. That there is no evidence for this is irrelevant. My kids only look average; really, they have untold depths, hidden talents, a capacity for things I cannot even imagine. No one will ever convince me otherwise, so let's go back to discussing the easy stuff, like gun control, abortion, and school funding.
--Anne Walton, Amherst, MA
Bless This Mess
I secretly, irrationally, believe in June Cleaver. I know that academics have made entire careers out of debunking our stereotypes of 1950s family life: one book on the subject is called The Way We Never Were. I know the research shows that modern moms stack up just fine against their predecessors. For one thing, despite all the demands we juggle, we actually spend more time with our kids than mothers did a generation or two ago. But I still find myself believing that, if I did everything just right, life could somehow be nothing but effortlessly immaculate rooms, dinner on the table at five, and calm, wise parents guiding their children through minor dilemmas in thirty minutes or less. Of course, my family's cheerful (well, usually cheerful) chaos doesn't resemble that ideal in the least. And I have to remind myself that messy imperfection, struggle, uncertainty, and sudden wild hilarity are where real life is.
--Elizabeth Hedstrom, Takoma Park, MD
so sign up for a subscription of your own and you will find that you are not alone in this parenting world!
