parents

Minivan rap

by Katrina on August 20, 2010

I drive a minivan. There. I’ve said it. Maybe you think that’s not cool. I’ll try not to hold that against you. I happen to think that SUVs, which are less fuel-efficient than my minivan, aren’t cool. I hope we can still be friends. Toyota has come out with this video (“Swagger Wagon”), proving that […]

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Starting a mother-friendly campaign at work

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by Katrina on August 16, 2010

A few weeks ago, someone named Sarah* left a comment on my blog saying she was starting a “mother-friendly campaign” at work. I’d never heard of such a thing. A mother-friendly campaign? What does that look like? Is it for coworkers? HR? Company executives? New mothers? Is it about changing attitudes, or policy, or both? […]

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This is part of a series of posts about how working couples share the under-the-radar chores that, taken together, represent the “psychic burden” of raising children. Be sure to read these parts first: Part I. Survey results Part II. Why it’s fair My last post looked at why half of the parents surveyed felt they […]

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This is part of a series of posts about how working couples share the under-the-radar chores that, taken together, represent the “psychic burden” of raising a family. Part. I is here. Working moms are bearing more (sometimes much more) of the “psychic burden” of parenting than working dads. Yet, when asked in my recent survey, […]

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Who clips the nails? (Part I. Survey results)

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by Katrina on July 14, 2010

This is the first of a series of posts about how working couples share the under-the-radar tasks that, taken together, represent the “psychic burden” of parenting. Even though studies show fathers are changing more diapers and folding more laundry than ever, mothers are still bearing most of the “psychic burden” of parenting—the scheduling, organizing, and […]

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Several of my friends have been talking about a story that appeared earlier this month in New York Magazine called “All Joy and No Fun: Why Parents Hate Parenting.” Do parents hate parenting? According to the story, studies show that Parents are as happy or less happy than their non-parent counterparts everywhere except Denmark. Mothers […]

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Happy campers

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by Katrina on July 5, 2010

A family vacation sounds good in theory, but in practice it has three things going against it. Traveling with young kids is 1. expensive 2. not relaxing 3. requires cleaning, shopping, packing, unpacking, repacking, and unpacking again. And cleaning. Which is why we haven’t taken a trip with all three kids since our youngest was […]

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Working parents in the wild

by Katrina on June 1, 2010

Anthropologists are starting to pay attention to a growing tribe of humans: dual-income, multiple-child, middle-class Americans. In other words, families like mine…It got me thinking: What would these young, childless, career-minded graduate students see if they filmed every waking moment in my home this week?

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A mother of a day

by Katrina on May 11, 2010

I had a truly crappy Mother’s Day this year. I think Anna Jarvis would understand. Inspired by her own mother’s life, she started a campaign in 1907 to recognize mothers for their contribution to society. She was successful in making Mother’s Day a national holiday, but then spent the rest of her life fighting its […]

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Letter from Tennessee

by Katrina on May 5, 2010

In the last few months I’ve gotten several emails from women (and men) who found the blog and wrote in with their own stories. I love reading these stories but rarely share them. This one from a woman named Tammy in Tennessee was particularly touching to me. I decided to share it with you (with […]

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