Zero Creatives/Getty Images There’s no denying that peak consumerism hits during the winter holidays. Who among us doesn’t wonder at least once during the month of December if we’ve accidentally raised a little Veruca Salt or Dudley Dursley? But our kids’ tendency to want, want, want doesn’t magically disappear once the holidays are over or...
TikTok When my oldest child was little, I wore him everywhere. I talked to him when he threw a tantrum instead of punishing him for kicking up. And if I ever messed up, I wouldn’t shy from saying “I’m sorry” to him. And depending on who I was with, not infrequently, this would elicit an...
Fly View Productions/Getty Images Like many of us, I have very fond childhood memories of loading up for family activities every season: rolling onto the grass of the local all-you-can-pick farm in the summer, apple orchards in the fall, Christmas tree hunting in the winter. Every year, without fail, there were squabbles about just how...
My 10-year-old has always been a pretty practical, no-nonsense kind of kid, so I’ve always been surprised by how completely he’s leaned into the idea of Santa Claus. On Christmas Eve, he and his dad are glued to the Santa tracker, watching the sleigh make its stops around the world. He checks in with me...