As I’ve watched the whole NFL domestic violence/Ray Rice incident unfold over the past several weeks, I’ve had a variety of reactions—as has pretty much everyone I know. I haven’t written anything until now because so much was being said, andI didn’t want to be just another voice discussing the failures of the NFL. But now that I’ve listened to a great many people discuss the subject, it occurs to...
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If you haven’t started watching the ABC Family show The Fosters, August seems like a good time to catch up. I’ve written before about how sensitively The Fosters handles real-life situations. The writers take a nuanced approach and allow for sadness and messiness.* This past week’s show tackled a very difficult topic in a refreshing (for TV) manner. Stef (one of the lesbian mothers), several month...
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My son is 8 and fairly innocent. He’s small for his size and younger than the rest of his classmates. Recently he went for an afternoon play date with two boys, one his age and an 11-year-old brother. I know the mother fairly well (and like her) but only have a passing friendship with the father. As soon as my son came home from their house, he ran to the computer room, locked the door and w...
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I’m not overweight. I never have been. How do I do it? It’s naturally who I am. It’s not willpower or moral fiber. Just “good” genes. And those millions who struggle with their weight—who eat less than I and exercise more? They didn’t get those so-called good genes. In a society that treats the overweight as we do, they drew the short straw. Yes, many people eat when they’re bored, when they’re up...
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My husband and I are progressive and we’ve always lived in a big city, filled with diverse people, racially, sexually, economically, religiously, etc. Because of work, we’ve had to move to a small, conservative Midwestern town. There isn’t a lot of openness when it comes to the LGBT population. We have our suspicions on who might be, but nothing is verified. It is very much ̶...
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My wife and I occasionally video and photograph ourselves in the bedroom. Nothing outrageous. Unfortunately, our 9-year-old daughter accidentally saw some images on my phone. To make matters worse, a friend was with her at the time, but it’s unclear how much she saw. We’ve already talked to our child about violating our privacy with the snooping, but how do we explain what we were doin...
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Until recently, I was absolutely convinced that there was essentially no “generation gap” anymore. When I was young, adults were up in arms about long-haired hippies and rock and roll music. I don’t love all the current music and its messages, but really a lot of it is not all that different from what people my age have always listened to. And while certainly adults will always long for the “good ...
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My daughter is 12. Another mother brought up the idea of introducing the concept of masturbation to our daughters. I am contemplating this but don’t know how I’d bring it up, advise her, etc. For boys, it seems so natural and obvious. Girls have no road map to follow. Any suggestions on how to handle this delicate situation? This is a question near and dear to my heart. I believe very ...
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Gender is not a new topic on college campuses. There are Gender Studies classes, programs, and majors on many. And students, faculty, and administrators alike have been discussing, arguing about, and protesting policies and non-policies that are related to the gender of students for decades. In just the last few years, college after college and university after university have fallen under the sha...
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My 15-year-old son has been in a relationship with a girl the same age for about a year. We like her a lot, and we think their relationship is healthy and loving. They were friends for a long time before they started going out. I have two questions: 1) We think he’s too young to have sex, but we don’t know how to explain that to him and also, without condoning the decision, tell him that if they d...
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