Some of us are struggling to maintain long-standing friendships. Some of us are longing for close friendships and struggling to find them. Whether you live near your friends or not, text messages can become a regular way to communicate our quick thoughts, especially our parenting successes and failures.

Moms across the country and around the world can agree: Mornings are rough. And until technology allows us to teleport our kids to class, those of us who drive are going to have to deal with the headaches of the school drop-off lane.

I am no less self-conscious about my changing body now that I am pregnant, and I know I am going to be growing, but I still do not welcome comments about my weight.

Maybe this year, you can add another tradition to your holidays. Let’s work on spreading the message of the holidays in new ways this year, starting with kindness.

Octavia would meet someone new and want to draw them a picture or “make them a card.” When kindergarten started, the bus driver was the first recipient to whom my bubbly 5-year-old presented her with a piece of paper with crunchy, brown leaves taped to it.

So what can we do to help kids learn kindness?  What can we do to make sure they are being kind even when others aren’t looking?  I tried to put together some resources to help you.

We expect our children to have good manners, and we also try to emphasize gratitude. It can be absolutely exhausting. But I believe it takes a village, so I asked for advice from the masses on Facebook.

Some books just stick with you after you finish reading them. You remember the characters, the storyline, and the message long after you put it down.  Wonder is one of those books. 

My husband always felt super competitive against his brother, which led to a lot of sibling rivalry as well. Because of this, my husband and I always said that we would work hard to make sure our kids are not competitive with each other!

My husband and I have talked a lot about that a lot this week.  Truth of the matter: we can’t shelter our kids.  We can’t let them walk through life with blinders.  So, what values can we instill in them to help fend off the bad?