Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Postpartum Depression Made Me a Better Mother
I dreamed of being the girl in the movie scene, crying in the bathroom, holding a pregnancy test, and hugging her husband that could not wait to see how beautiful she would be carrying their first child. Never once did I think that pregnancy could be traumatic and brutal and not so hard to accept as "beautiful" and "a miracle." Pregnancy reared its ugly head, and snapped me into reality when I was 23. Postpartum depression was inevitable for someone like me, who suffered from mental illness, someone who had just spent a summer partying with the worst of them and doing things any parent would tremble at. Out of everything that was difficult, being a mother would not be. I may not have realized it when I wanted nothing but to be cool and get high and go to the bar, but being a mom was always my very first dream. But still, I was completely and utterly devastated when the doctor came into the room and said, “The rabbit died,” an old phrase used to describe something very new. I understood neither. I accepted neither. I was incapable of loving myself, I was still looking for someone to save me, I was still completely dependent on everyone else. How was I supposed to validate the existence of another being when I was still using other people to validate my own? Within ten minutes, I was expected to plan for a life and a future of someone else; I hadn’t even cared about my own for the last ten years. The fairytale scene I wanted was robbed by a man in a white coat that wrote me a prescription for prenatal vitamins instead of the painkillers I was there for originally. That doctor said, “Good luck to you,” as I left his office, and the only thing that remotely resembled a movie scene was the white-knuckle grip I had on my paperwork and the words I screamed to God as I flew down the interstate to inform a soul as lost as my own that he was (regrettably) the father of my child.
By Jessica wilson8 years ago in Families
Why I Joined a Grief Counseling Group, and Why You Should Too
About a year after my mother's passing, I started reading a book by Cheryl Strayed, an author whose mother also died when she was younger. Her two-page account of that event made me cry six times that night. I cried more times in one evening than I had over the entire first year of my mother being gone.
By Aspen Drake8 years ago in Families
12 Fun Art Projects for Kids
Coloring is the perfect rainy day activity. It’s kid-tested and parent-approved, and it’s undeniably better for brain development than sitting in front of the television for hours. However, even the most creative children run out of artistic ideas eventually. What follows is a list of fun coloring projects to try out when a little inspiration is needed.
By Alice Minguez8 years ago in Families
The Sandy Boys
Hi! I am The Sandy Boys' mummy! It all started a few months ago whilst The Sandy Boys, Leighton Sandy, five years old, Louis Sandy, three years old, and Chad Sandy, eighteen months old, were watching YouTube. The Sandy Boys love watching YouTube so much! But my eldest asked me if we could make a video of our own. I told him we could but didn't really have any idea of what they could do. Our first video was in the back garden of my husband's (Daddy Sandy) nan and granddad. They have a big garden and this is just a small section of it. It is where they grow all of their fruits and vegetables. In this video The Sandy Boys climb up and across a ladder, which their great grandad built, it's for their runner beans to grow up, but as their runner beans hadn't started growing yet, there was no risk of The Sandy Boys ruining the plants. You can see the panic on Daddy Sandy's face when the boys climb so high! Chad Sandy doesn't appear in this video as he was fast asleep! He does love his sleep, which he shows in some more of the Sandy Boys YouTube channel! The Sandy Boys great grandad encourage them all the time, just like he did to Daddy Sandy when he was a boy!
By Cara Sandy8 years ago in Families
How to Raise Your Kids: From a 16 Year Old's Perspective
Basically, the reason I'm writing this today is because I'm camping with my family and there's plenty of kids here, most little tiny brats. My mom and I were having a conversation about raising kids, and here's what I took from it (and from every other parent I've seen raising tiny brats.)
By Kyra Wiersma8 years ago in Families
PARENTS: I am Not a Parenting Tool!
Sometimes, one of the most challenging parts about being a parent is teaching your child about those who are different to them, whether your child has a disability or not. While there is no right way to do this, one mother I encountered on the bus home from uni one day found the wrong way to do it.
By Max Fisher8 years ago in Families
An Emotional Rollercoaster No Parent Should Ever Have to Ride On
Every parent has gone through the emotional rollercoaster that is called Pregnancy whether it be the mom or the dad. I mean, you've read all the books...twice, you've gone to every doctors appointment, you have the nursery all set up, names picked out, you're ready for the little one, right? What if I told you that some parents have to get on another emotional rollercoaster called the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) before they can bring their baby home? The NICU is the place where babies who are born before 37 weeks live until they are strong enough to go home. Some parents are only on the NICU rollercoaster for a couple days, some a couple months, some others even for a year or longer.
By Katie Weed8 years ago in Families
Pros and Cons of Cloth Diapers for Newborns
Every little thing that parents get to choose for their kiddos now has more options than ever — formula or breastfeeding, parenting styles, schooling, or even diapers. Among parenting experts, one of the biggest debates in the newborn age group is the use of cloth diapers.
By Rowan Marley8 years ago in Families
In Which I Address the Passing of My Mother
When I was little and the world was quiet, I would lie in bed and think about the earth and how big it was. Then my mind would shift to the solar system, and how we are constantly floating around amongst other planets and countless stars. Then I would think about how there was even more beyond that, perhaps beyond anything a single person could imagine. I would begin to feel dizzy, and would have to roll over and consider something on a smaller scale. That’s how I would describe losing my mother. It’s something that I know happened, but it’s not something I take time to regularly consider. And when I do, it’s weird as f@#k. And despite how big the world is, with all its winding roads and hidden places I haven’t visited, and how many launches we are making into space, my mom isn’t there. I wont find her anywhere. Not around the corner of a noisy street market like in some art film, and not on another planet that we’ll eventually colonize like some sci-fi twist. She’s gone.
By Aspen Drake8 years ago in Families
