If you are a parent, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you: “You’ve got this” Parenting is a wild rollercoaster ride. Anyone who tells you otherwise has either never had kids, or never allowed their kids to be kids—or they’re in serious denial. Whatever your journey so far, it is no accident that you…
Author: JMartin-Weber
25 Things We’ve Learned From Using Public Transportation
This is the first year that we have decided that riding public transportation to school makes the most sense for our family. Our car needs to be replaced in a big way, and while we’re saving up to do so, riding the train seems a lot safer than driving the old clunker every day. Now…
Safety, Choices, and Unconditional Love
A man—a stranger—promises ice cream to a 7-8 yr old. She just needs to leave the school grounds and come with him. He grabs hold of her clothing. She refuses to go. He pushes her to the ground. She escapes with a minor scrape. She tells no one at school. But she relays the story…
Beyond Our Culture’s Nipple Confusion
A high school girl decides to show up at school without a bra and gets pulled out of class by security and reprimanded. Why? I used to think that bras were primarily made to support breasts. And secondly to optionally look sexy. How naïve of me. It is obvious to me now that their primary…
Beyond Whining
There is nothing quite as irritating as the sound of a child whining. Except maybe the whistling whine of a dog. Or nails on a chalkboard. Or the drip drip dripping of a leaky faucet. Or someone messing with crinkly wrappers when you’re trying to enjoy a movie. Okay, so I may have a personal…
Teens: Will You Crush Them or Build Them Up?
I’m tired of how people complain about teens. And I agree with a lot of teens that grown ups can be so annoying and just don’t get it. Calling them entitled, incompetent, ignorant, and overly sensitive, many talk about how teens don’t think and just want to be entertained, so many adults I know complain…
Chicago Marriage Court Judge Amazes Couple by Keeping it Real
19 years ago today, I took “the L” to meet my fiancée at the Cook County Marriage Court on Clark street in downtown Chicago. We went to the lower level of the old building and waited our turn to stand before a judge to officially become what we had already pledged in our hearts: to…
Managing Atomosophallophobia – Men’s One Sexual Need
At the risk of ruining the effect of this slightly unconventional post, I need to spell out that this is a work of satire; meaning, that it isn’t to be taken at face value, or even seriously (though it does have some underlying serious issues worthy of an honest and world-changing discussion). It is a work…
My Perfect Stepford Family, or Why I Don’t Control My Children
“You can’t touch my body without permission! It’s my body!” “You can’t tell me what to do!” “You’re not in charge of me!” Great. We have deliberately and diligently taught our children that they are in charge of their bodies, and responsible for their actions and reactions. Now they think that they are therefore in…
Circumnavigating the Media Black Hole as Parents (part 4)
This is the fourth and final installment of this series on how to deal with the demand of electronic media in our kids’ lives. Part 1 acted as an introductory post based on the question: how are we as parents supposed to guide our children in an aspect of their lives that didn’t exist when we were children…