Commentary Archives - Page 50 of 72 - Mothering in the Middle

Putin Signs Law Barring U.S. Adoptions (A Commentary)

by Cyma Shapiro

Dear Reader: Please read a portion of the Huffington Post article on Putin’s barring of U.S. Adoptions and my Huffington Post commentary:

MOSCOW — Defying a storm of domestic and international criticism, Russia moved toward finalizing a ban on Americans adopting Russian children, as Parliament’s upper house voted unanimously in favor of a measure that President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will sign into law.

The bill is widely seen as the Kremlin’s retaliation against an American law that calls for sanctions against Russians deemed to be human rights violators. Dozens of Russian children close to being adopted by American families now will almost certainly be blocked from leaving the country. The law also cuts off the main international adoption route for Russian children stuck in often dismal orphanages…There are about 740,000 children without parental care in Russia, according to UNICEF.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/26/russia-adoption-ban-against-us_n_2364481.html For those of us fortunate to have adopted internationally, especially from Russia – my ancestors’ homeland – today’s headlines are maddening and saddening. I am especially struck as I think back to the adoption of my two youngest, from Russia, and the undeniable obstacles, roadblocks, and sheer exploitation we endured, just to have what we so fervently and passionately desired – our children and a family. With multiple and repeated unnecessary trips to Russia, countless dollars, tears, and humiliating experiences and circumstances to endure, to have held our children in our arms and touched down on American soil (thus, cementing their citizenship) began the healing of it all. Until now. […]

Teaching Children to Meditate

by Karen Maezen Millier

To begin, understand this: you are never going to teach your child a life skill that you don’t already have.
But I know. You’re not here for yourself. You’re here because you’re worried about your child.

How do you teach children to meditate?
I’m asked about this all the time. Please know that I speak only from my own perspective as a mother and a practitioner. Everyone has his or her own view. Here is mine. […]

Christmas Tree Lights

by Valerie Gillies

I am very opinionated about Christmas tree lights. Flashing is not permitted in our house. Period. I wish I could also stop the flashing going on with the kids I work with at this time of year. Parties, treats, memories, disrupted schedules, past trauma, all combine to make the human equivalents of having left a bucket of kerosene soaked rags in the basement. One little spark and—boom! It’s a tangled mess of emotion, exhausted parents, and zipped up kids. […]

Tips to Stay the Course (for 2013)

by Aleta St. James

Almost everyone starts off the first few weeks of a new year with great intentions and excitement, and then slowly but surely, the enthusiasm starts to wane. Sounds familiar, right?

You don’t have to have that happen this year. […]

It’s Christmas Time!

by Andrea Lynn

It’s Christmas time, and my kids are 2 and 4. Magical, as everyone keeps telling me. This is the year. They must be so excited. And they are, I assure you. But boy, the pressure is really on ME now to live up to the hype. Traditions must be kept, or started. Decorating the house, buying the tree, the advent calendars, the gingerbread houses, the Christmas books. As each special thing happens, I wonder, hmmm, does this mean I have to do this again next year? Paper chains until they are how old? And, crap, I forgot to string the Christmas cards – is it too late? […]

A Sens-ational Holiday List

by Jane Samuel

Okay parents, I know you want to make your kids happy for the Holidays. After parenting three children, one of which has sensory processing disorder, I have amassed a list of our favorite toys and activities. I can attest that not only will the following items bring laughter and joy to your house this season; they will work your children’s brains and bodies developing their cognitive, physical and emotional skills. Happy Holiday shopping; potential websites for ordering items are listed as well. […]

Lessons and Carols

by Peg O'Neill, M.D.

Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,

For everything thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)

Leave it to a seemingly-clueless sixth-grade boy, who still needs to be reminded of some of the basic principles of functioning in life, such as the importance of brushing one’s teeth before leaving the house in the morning, or using something other than one’s shirt to wipe one’s mouth, to come home enthusiastically sharing the wisdom of his newly-discovered gift of an old poem, which pretty much sums up what is truly important, a flurry of words so crystal clear in simplicity and truth, reminding us of what really matters. […]

The Tao of Motherhood – An Interview with Vimala McClure

With all of the demands on their time, how can Moms make time for their spiritual life?

I believe that caring for children is spiritual practice. Many people think that prayer and meditation constitute spirituality, but when you have a baby, your practice must shift; everything you do with and for your child can be spiritual practice. […]

Fertility Diet Trumps Statistics

by Cindy Bailey

I recently attended a seminar at a wonderful local fertility clinic on the topic of PGD and PGS in IVF. It was fascinating, especially to see how far such testing has come in recent years, and it was very well-presented. However, I found myself getting increasingly uncomfortable with all the charts and tables that showed the age-related, over-the-cliff drop-off of successful pregnancies in women in their late 30’s, early 40’s and mid-40’s. (They don’t even bother with late 40’s.) […]

The Tragedy in Sandy Hook (A Commentary)

by Valerie Gillies

Dear Reader: Valerie’s daughter attends school one mile away, in the town of Sandy Hook. Her school was on Lockdown earlier today.

How do you talk about this? What words are there for explaining to your child that someone, for whatever reason there could possibly be even in the most warped brain that has ever been made, even if the person was mentally ill and couldn’t help himself, could have walked into a school that is around the corner from hers, and killed 18 little children, babies really, mowed them down with an assault rifle? And if he truly went there to kill his mother in her kindergarten class… OMG OMG. There is nothing, nothing at all that a person can say that works, that will make sense, that will make it better. […]