In many families where both parents work full time, deciding who stays home with a sick child is a tricky business. Here, nine moms share the systems they've come up with.
Post-divorce custody arrangements can be challenging to manage, and when you start adding grandparents to the mix, it can become downright emotionally confusing as well. Here's how to help your kids maintain ties with grandparents — without the drama.
Why do some kids warm to their step parents while others spend years fighting them? A parenting coach shares the story of her own parents' painful divorce — and the smart steps her new step dad took to earn her love and respect.
Have you had a night off from parenting? The first time you spend a night away from your baby doesn't have to be traumatic for either of you. Here are 5 tips on how to prepare for (and enjoy) time away from your little one.
Once a teen chooses friends who are a bad influence, moderating (or ending) that influence is an uphill battle for a parent. Here moms share 5 ways to help teens pick friends who will serve them well.
Should step-moms have equal say in family decision making? Here, step-moms share five reasons why they have a key role to play in family decision making — and why everyone wins when they participate fully.
"I know you're disappointed in me. Trust me, so am I. All I want is to be your little girl and I ruined it." Teen moms speak out about what it's really like to face pregnancy when you're still a child yourself, and how it changed them.
It's not easy to forge new friendships when you're spending long days and nights maintaining the kids and the home front. Here are three tips for transitioning into a social life — as a stay-at-home mom.
Kids don’t learn to be good people just from parental role modeling. They must be actively taught. A parenting expert shares tips for preparing yours to be kind people even when the kids around them are socially aggressive or cruel.
Are there circumstances in which it's acceptable for a mom to keep a child's secret from her spouse — even in a family with a "no secrets" policy? Many moms say yes — and here's why.
We're excited to announce our Top 25 Moms with Big Families! These women squash common misconceptions about what life with a large family is really like, and welcome us to join them as they experience both everyday and extraordinary moments.
Can a childless friend ever truly understand what it's like to be the mother of a new baby? Can she understand the profound differences between her life and yours? Before I became a mom I certainly didn't understand — and this story proves it!
What’s it like to be a mom when – either by circumstance or by choice - you don’t have a mom of your own to lean on? Here, we share experiences and advice from other "motherless moms," on finding the support you need to be a great mom.
When is it absolutely a no-no for step parents to weigh in on decisions about their step children? Here are 3 parenting situations moms generally flag as areas of caution for step-moms, plus wisdom on how to tread when these issues come up.
There's probably no greater level of trust two women can have than step moms and "real" moms who "share" a child. But as a step-mom, I sometimes wonder, am I really a mom? And what makes you one, anyway?
How do you explain divorce to children? Here are 5 strategies for breaking news of a separation, split, or divorce to your grade school-aged kids, as shared by moms who've been through it.
Can married men have female friends? Ideally, the members of a couple should be able to maintain individual friendships with the opposite sex, but in reality? Here, Circle of Moms members share 4 ground rules for a spouse's opposite-sex friendships.
What can you do when a relative plays favorites, showering your sibling's children with time, attention, and gifts while ignoring yours? Here are three tips for leveling the playing field, plus a helpful perspective on the feelings of resentment.
Some siblings immediately adore each other, and some are like oil and water. But part of what children can learn from siblings is how to get along with others. Here are three ways you can help, including ideas on handling "It's not fair!"
What happens to your friendships when you divorce? Moms who've lived through a post-divorce friendship shuffle share five tips for minimizing damage and holding on to the friendships that really matter — whether you're the divorcee or the friend of one.
Many moms who have step-children or who are remarried struggle to know when it's appropriate for a stepparent to "step up" and be a disciplinarian to a spouse's children. Here are four tips to consider as you broach this issue within your own family.
When it really comes down to it, what we decide to do when a partner cheats is a very personal decision. Some choose to try to move forward and rebuild their relationships. Here are their stories of why and how.
Why get married? a growing number of young moms are asking. Here, they share the reasons they’re living with the fathers of their children rather than marrying them.
Want to know how to strengthen your marriage while also juggling parenthood? Ask a mom who is divorced! Here, moms whose marriages have ended confide the hard lessons they've learned — 5 useful tips for every couple raising children.
Ruby feels like a single mom. Her husband travels for work and is home only on weekends. Amy's husband is home for less than half of each month. Here, moms who are frequently solo share 6 tips on keeping it all together when their partners are away.
Telling your children can be one of the hardest parts of ending a marriage. Here, moms who've divorced share five hard-earned pieces of wisdom on helping kids through that fateful conversation — and the life changes that follow.
Tomorrow afternoon, my eight-year-old daughter Katie and I are flying to visit the state where she was born. Yet I was not the one that gave birth to Katie.
From highs to lows in no seconds flat, your teen’s mood swings can make it seem like you’re talking to a different person from one minute to the next. Here's how moms in our communities suggest dealing with moody kids.
We were both children of divorce. Maybe that's why we've fought to make it work. We work through our differences because we want to prove to everyone that sometimes love is enough, and everyone who laughed at us back then was wrong.
"I just don't know how I am supposed to be a good wife, mother, daughter, and employee all at once." Read on for tips on how moms in the "Sandwich Generation," who are caring for both their parents and their children — are managing the juggle.
When it comes to dating as a single mom, one of the toughest challenges is introducing a new partner to your children. To make the process easier, moms who've been there offer four tips on how to finesse this all-important introduction.
Like many busy moms, I have a lot of friends online. To be exact, 329 on Facebook and 974 on Twitter. These people may not be "real" friends, but they're still essential. Here's what online friends offer that can't be found "IRL" (in real life.)
Do stepparents have any rights at all when it comes to children they have raised as their own? Here are the most common questions stepmoms ask on this issue, and a look at the ways families around the country are dealing with them.
It's an area of anguished discussion on Circle of Moms: dealing with teen daughters who think getting pregnant will help them win their independence. Here, members hash out the best ways to handle this situation.
No matter who she hears the news from, learning that the father of her children is remarrying is almost always an awkward and painful experience for a mom. So would it actually be better to hear it from the new wife than from the ex spouse?
Some moms are disappointed to discover that their second baby is the same gender as the first, but I'm thrilled to be having two girls. Why? Sisters loves each other like family but take on the world together as friends. And that's just the beginning.
What happens when a dad acts like a child – all the time? Whether it's lying, making messes and not cleaning them up, or simply horsing around like a kid at inappropriate times, here are four strategies for dealing with your husband's childish behaviors.
Is there a magic formula for getting step-siblings to stop fighting? Here, Circle of Moms members who have both biological and step children share five tips on successfully blending your families.
How do you establish and maintain a positive connection with your in-laws — post divorce? Here, divorced moms share wisdom gleaned from navigating relationships with their children's grandparents, aunts, and uncles after a breakup.
For a long time, my new husband and I were sure that having a baby together was a terrible idea. But eventually we did. My daughter was 14 and my son was almost 8 when their half-brother was born. And here's how he changed my blended family for the better.
Every new mom feels jealous at some point. All it takes is meeting another mom who makes it all seem effortless, whether "it" is her easy pregnancy, her flat tummy, or her "perfect" child. Here are five things you should know about envying other moms.
When you're a single mom, how do you know when to introduce your kids to the guy you're dating? When is the right time to start dating after having a baby? And how do you know whether the guy is going to treat your kids well? Here, members provide answers.
Having friends is the most important thing to kids. But to create and maintain healthy friendships, whether at camp or school, kids need us to teach them! Here are 5 short scripts for talking through friendship problems and social drama with your kids.
As moms, our parenting practices are important to us, essential even. So when another mother judges me, what I feel she's telling me is that I am not mom enough. Here's why we all deserve more credit from one another.
My biggest regret about getting my tubes tied was that I was too shy to find out from other women how it really felt to go through the procedure. So here, in case you ever consider having it done, is my firsthand account of what it's really like.
