This week, Helen and I discuss two recent books about lesbian moms—bestselling author Jodi Picoult’s new novel Sing You Home and Times Two, a memoir by a couple who were pregnant simultaneously. We also share one of our favorite new creative kids’ toys. (Note: I’ll have more on both books coming up here at Mombian.
If there’s one thing I like as a consumer and erstwhile marketing professional, it’s a responsive company. I posted yesterday about a survey sponsored by TD Bank that explored how parents teach their kids financial literacy, but clearly focused only on opposite-sex parents. This morning, I received the following e-mail from Jimmy Hernandez, a media relations officer at TD Bank. I repost it here with his permission:
April is Financial Literacy Month, and I’ve been receiving a number of related press releases, some silly and some less so. While I didn’t think many of you would really be interested in a talking piggy bank, I did think you might have some thoughts on a new survey from TD Bank. It’s titled, “TD Bank Financial Literacy Poll Reveals the Role of Parents in a Fiscally Fit Family”—although it really should be titled, “TD Bank Financial Literacy Poll Reveals the Role of Parents in a Fiscally Fit Heterosexual Family.”
I’m hard pressed to find a preschool these days that doesn’t call itself a “childhood learning center” or the like. But in a recent article in Slate, “Why Preschool Shouldn’t Be Like School,” Alison Gopnik discusses two studies that have found “While learning from a teacher may help children get to a specific answer more
The New York Times has an article today on “The Extra Hoops Gay Parents Must Jump Through” in terms of legal and financial protections. Three experts, a lawyer, a financial planner and an accountant (which sounds like the start of a joke, but it’s not), offer their advice to a lesbian couple in Michigan with two children.
My son is always complaining that his school doesn’t do enough science. It’s the result, I believe, of the much maligned No Child Left Behind educational policy and its focus on core math and reading skills to the neglect of science, social studies, history, and other subjects. Not that the core skills aren’t important—but I firmly
Have you spoken with your kids about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan? We’ve touched on it with our seven-year-old, trying to provide some insight into the world beyond our borders—but also wondering whether too much detail will just scare him. So far, I think we’ve managed a balance, though we’ve avoided talking about nuclear
School Issues The New York Times reports on parents who are objecting to inclusion of same-sex families, gay people in history, and other LGBT content in school curricula. If you read the above, you should also read the great piece in the Advocate by Stuart Biegel, a member of the education and law faculty at
Like many of us, my thoughts have been much with the people of Japan over the past few days. If your personal circumstances allow, you may want to consider giving to relief efforts through the Rainbow World Fund, a “an all-volunteer international humanitarian service agency based in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and friends community.”
(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column.) For same-sex couples wanting to have children, knowing where to begin can make a big difference. For couples starting their families through biological means, one new resource is the Family Building Options Web site, part of the Fertility Lifelines educational program created by pharmaceutical company EMD Serono. Despite
