A lot of kids feel anxious at back-to-school time, after a long summer full of fun. They are often the most anxious when they are about to go to a new school, are going through a transition year from elementary to middle school or middle to high school, or when a best...
Each year, in the month surrounding the Fourth of July, nearly 300 people are seen daily in U.S. emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). There were about 15,600 injuries and at least 18 deaths...
Whether you have extroverts on your hands who love to be center stage or introverts who adore a good story unfolding before their eyes, take a peek into Austin’s theater scene. Many of them offer children’s shows, summer camps or improv to get the audience in on the...
Our home life with twin girls is a blessing, but to be honest, it can be rough. We are mixing a sleep-deprived couple, two rightfully demanding babies, and a to-do list of tasks unrelated to babies. It’s not the best mixture. As a first-time dad of twin girls, I joke...
As the weather warms up, it is a wonderful time to encourage outside play. The natural world offers both physical and emotional benefits for our kids, helping them feel happier, healthier and calmer. Yet, it can sometimes be a challenge to compete with screen time....
Given the fact that one in eight couples experiences infertility, if you haven’t been on the receiving end of insensitive comments, you’ve struggled to find the right words to say to a friend who has been trying to conceive for months or even years. There are,...
Teaching kids the value and rewards of hard work and earning their own money is an integral part of helping them develop into responsible adults. Through this, they gain self-esteem, learn the real value of a dollar, and develop better saving and spending habits. So,...
This Earth Month, plant the seeds for family climate action all year long. Three years ago I started a meetup for Austin parents around climate change. I was worried for my kid’s future – for all kids’ futures – and felt tired of watching helplessly from the...
Those darn birthdays–they keep coming around year after year. As the years go by, planning a birthday party for your child that is unique and different can be a challenge. Unless your kid is like one of mine who demands the same annual birthday event (I’m not gonna...
When we were kids, life was simpler. Many of us just hung around the house during the summer and played with neighborhood friends or maybe attended a local day camp sponsored by our school or city. Well, nowadays there are camps for everything you can imagine! It can...
. Did you have a Speak & Spell? I got one after seeing it in the movie “E.T.” and I was obsessed, especially with its version of hangman: Mystery Word! I showed a Speak & Spell to my Generation Alpha sons recently and you’d think I’d shown them an artifact...
Last year, I decided to do something a little different for the holidays. I asked everyone on my side of the family to give my children experiences instead of toys. At the time, we had our house listed for sale, and I could not handle the thought of more “stuff” to be...
