My Kids Broke Up With Me

There goes my social life!

Mar 10, 2022

My Kids Broke Up With Me   During the pandemic, my children, four tweens and teens, became my best friends: my walking companions and sous chefs, my audience for terrible jokes, and my dance partners while cleaning the kitchen. My kids were my "party" on New Year's Eve and my Saturday night movie buddies. Our family's entire social life revolved around each other, morning, noon and night. Cuddled under mountains of blankets, snacking on popcorn and chocolate, we cocooned. And then one night last winter, my youngest kid, 11 years old, said he was going to bed. I started to drag myself off the couch to tuck him in, and he said: "No, Mom. I want to say goodnight to you here. I don't want you to tuck me in." A knife through the heart would have felt less painful than those three short sentences. My baby, who usually gave me goodnight kisses while snuggled in his bed, offered instead a perfunctory peck to my forehead as he scurried upstairs. That was only the first blow. A few weeks later, on a Saturday afternoon, I asked my 13-year-old daughter what movie we were going to watch that night. She looked at me with pity in her eyes and said: "I'm really sorry, Mom, but I want to FaceTime my friends instead of watching a movie with you." She offered a consolatory hug before gleefully sprinting up to her room. The hits kept coming as my kids' lives started to normalize, moments of them choosing friends over family, opting for the outside world over our bubble. Don't get me wrong – I was thrilled for them to be out in the world again. Deeply grateful that they were finally able to do all the things kids their age should do. Except inside of me, it also hurt. Where were all my friends (kids) going? Intellectually, I knew it is normal for adolescents to individuate from their parents and push us away, but knowing that is different from feeling it. I felt like my kids were dumping me.

PARENTING I've Survived 14 Transatlantic Flights With Kids, And You Can Too   Ask any parent who has been on a plane with their kids, and you're likely to hear a series of groans and/or expletives. So when a fellow mom tells you she's got this whole thing down, you listen. Read More   TEENS When Your Teen Wants to Dye Their Hair Pink, Just Let Them   It's not just about individuality – because it definitely is – it's about so much more. Katie Bingham-Smith details it all in this fun but useful piece. Read More   BACK TO BASICS Want To Help Your Kids' Overworked Teacher? Don't Be A Jerk   This should of course go without saying two-plus years into a pandemic, but alas, here we are. Read More

How To Talk Body Image With Boys   Think about how people discussed 50 Cent's appearance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show back in February, and it's clear we need to talk to our boys, too, about body image. While boys might focus more on muscle building than thinness, it's still important to pay attention to how they talk about their bodies. Read it.

VTech®   VTech® Busy Learners Activity Cube™       $16.88   Shop Now   VTech®   VTech® Kick & Score Playgym™       $54.99   SHOP NOW     VTech®   VTech® Stroll & Discover Activity Walker™       $34.54   SHOP NOW   VTech®   VTech® Tummy Time Discovery Pillow™       $24.96   SHOP NOW

My Miscarriage, In Photos Maternity Wards Are Shuttering Across The US During The Pandemic It's 'Alarming': Children Are Severely Behind in Reading

You're receiving this email because you signed up to receive communications from BDG Media. If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe. 315 Park Ave. South, New York, NY 10010 Copyright 2022 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved.