Grasshopper New Media Presents...

This week is the start of school, and I’m approaching it, as always, full of hopes and dreams about organization and fewer battles over homework.  I know the inevitable tension will come into play soon enough, but I am enjoying these few moments of unbridled optimism, and trying to find ways to make it […]

I remember my brother (8 years older than me) standing on the shore of Depot Pond in all of it’s serene glory, taking one deep breath, and belching out the entire alphabet. It was a sound to behold, most often followed by roaring applause. (He is, after all, one of 7 children.) The […]

Parents get to hear many wonderful sounds: a baby’s first word, “Mommy!” or “Daddy!” said in a happy squeal after you’ve been away, a child’s gleeful laughter when being tickled.
And then there are the not-so-wonderful sounds, the parenting equivalent of that gagging noise your dog makes just before she throws up on the rug. […]

I always have a cup of coffee in my hand. If you look through my flickr account, you find coffee everywhere. If you look where I’ve walked or worked, you’ll find coffee stains. Caffeine in the morning. Decaf later in the day.
But why?
Why do I drink so much coffee? Why is it so pervasive?
My parents […]

It seems that going Green is all the rage now, so when I saw Dr. Alan Greene’s new book about green child-rearing, I thought I would take a look at it.
The book is wealth of information.  It takes you from pregnancy to early childhood, giving parents tips on how to reduce their wastefulness, protect their […]

My wife and I have employed a parenting technique based upon the work of noted psychologist Carl Rogers. One of his approaches to psychotherapy, a technique still used today, was to talk as little as possible, allowing the patient to communicate freely, and when there was something significant spoken, Rogers would simply ask, “What do […]

This little voice inside my head wakes me up almost every morning and I would like it to stop talking to me. I’ve heard that 95 percent of what we worry about never comes to pass. So why do we worry? Why do we put thoughts of negativity into our heads? They drive me crazy!
So, […]

I write about my family — a lot. My wife, 2 1/2-year old daughter Fern, and her sister-to-be are fodder not only for my pieces here at GNM Parents and my public blog, Doodaddy, but also quarterly articles for a local parenting magazine, an advice Web site, a private family blog, two Twitter accounts, and […]

Stu Mark wrote a great article about a Dad trying to understand the mysteries of being a girl and connecting with a daughter who shares itnerests so different from his.  I feel similarly mystified about men, and the mysteries of boyhood I confront every day as the mom of two boys, ten and thirteen.
Being a […]

The mothers out there get this already, and a few of you dads do as well, but the rest of you, well, maybe what I’m about to say will hit home for you: Your daughters love stuff that bores you to distraction. Yes? Is this true for you? If so, you have two choices, either […]