Top Stories
Stories in Families that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Shoutout to the Single Dads
Single Mum Survival Special: A Shoutout to the Single Dads Let's face it. Dads have got a bad rep. Let's be honest about it too, some women would have been better off going to Sweden and getting themselves a nice sperm donor (good genes without the hassle). Countless baby daddies are jumping from woman to woman like grasshoppers, siring children they don't give a second thought to once they've left. Maybe one day they will grow fat and bald, and the inadequacy of impotency may find them sitting in their armchairs thinking "I wonder how my son is doing?" They may make a somewhat feeble attempt to communicate with their various progeny out of guilt, to find themselves talking with a fully grown man or woman that doesn't want to know them. Stepfathers are walking stepdaughters down the isle in the absence of their biological parent, sons are growing up without a father figure and a single mother trying to make ends meet. It's easy to see why vitriolic abuse is hurled at these men. Yet the absentee father overshadows a very different kind of man. The single dad; he is the man who steps up, takes on the burden of playing both roles, and effectively too. He is the silent worker bee, tying up his daughter's hair before school.
By Eve Tawfick8 years ago in Families
Healing From a Toxic Parent
A toxic parent, by definition, is someone whose negative behaviour inflicts emotional damage on a child's sense of self. This negative behaviour can come in many forms (emotional, physical, ect...) but regardless of how the behaviour manifests itself, it can go on to affect a child throughout their entire life.
By The Talented Teapot .8 years ago in Families
The Pregnancy Shadow
Every woman in the world has things in common. One of those things (and probably the most annoying) is when we hit a certain age and the "baby questions" start; not to mention if you're not married then you get the "baby/marriage question" combo! For some women the answer is as simple as waiting until they are ready or just going with the flow and it happens without trying! But what about those women who deal with PCOS, Endometriosis, etc...
By Bethany Winters8 years ago in Families
You Were Only a Little Abused
"I'm so sorry, Mom," I cried. These words frequently echoed off my lips, resounding in a deafening silence from my mother. Most kids in my generation feared being grounded, losing privileges, or some form of physical beating, but I would have preferred those over what my mom typically had in store for me. I would have understood being sentenced to sit silently in my room. That was a punishment that most, if not all, kids went through. I would have understood not being allowed to watch TV or to use the computer, for those were good things that I, in my bad behavior, didn't deserve. And even a spanking with the wooden spoon...I'm not justifying physical violence or abuse, but at least these consequences would have been more typical of the average kid in the 90s.
By Matthew Eyler8 years ago in Families
The Sh*t They Don't Tell You: Lesson #1
"Dear God, please don't let me poop. Please, please don't let me poop when I push." Not exactly a prayer you'd expect from a woman, at the crisp young age of 19, while she's waiting to deliver her first baby. Yet there I was, praying to a God (at the time I wasn't even sure I believed in) that I would not poop while I pushed my daughter out. I think I was praying harder about my feces than I was for my contractions to stop.
By Tiffany Wade8 years ago in Families
Raising Capable Children
We have become so focused on producing enlightened children that we have forgotten the fundamentals. The goal as a parent isn't to have your child wear the most eco-friendly clothing while munching on kale wrapped asparagus or whatever healthy concoction has dominated their young lives. Our goal as parents is to produce capable adults.
By Amy Jourdan8 years ago in Families
Step-Children Don’t Like You? Don’t Worry, It’s Normal
I left an abusive marriage more than 30 years ago when my three children were quite young. The following two years were spent repairing the damaged relationships with my sons, who had all but been ignored during the travesty that was my marriage. Even though I vowed never to remarry, I met a wonderful man who was the exact opposite of my former husband and eventually we were married. Our relationship was perfect and my children were very happy. In short, we had the perfect family. One-by-one my sons asked if they could call Tom "Dad" and of course no-one was happier than their new dad. Tom and I agreed at the beginning of our relationship that I alone would be responsible for disciplining the children because I was concerned they may resent him, so Tom basically became a good friend to my three sons.
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Families
To Smack or Not to Smack?
The debate on smacking is an interesting one in as much as there are not many fence-sitters on this subject: people either have no problem with it at all, saying “I was smacked as a child and it didn’t do me any harm” while others are vehemently against violence of any sort against children. Just using the word “violence” evokes very strong feelings in many who hit their children because they don’t consider smacking a child to be violence. The “no hitting” camp generally believe that we hit our children out of instantaneous anger, frustration, and basically because we don’t know what else to do.
By Mari-Louise Speirs8 years ago in Families
Adopted Struggle
At twenty-nine years-old, I don't know how I feel about adoption. You would think that I would be all for it being adopted myself, but I cannot say whether I support it or am against it. Sure, if I was never adopted, I would have never met my beautiful wife nor had my beautiful son.
By Nathan Stotts8 years ago in Families
