Parenting: A spectator sport

I never liked babysitting. Kids tend to be sticky. And loud. I couldn’t get them to do what I said, or go to bed. On the rare occasion I actually managed to get my charges to sleep, I would invariably find their parents didn’t stock good snacks. I wanted to want to be a mother one […]

Roaming costs: Is free ranging your kids worth the worry?

It all started with a piece on NPR about how kids today have such a narrow range of independent travel. I was driving and probably arguing with a 6-year-old, so the details are hazy in my memory. But my takeaway was that our grandparents could walk four miles alone to go fishing, whereas these days […]

Puppy love

Patricia “Treekie” Kavanagh has always been an animal lover. But until she gets pets of her own, she’s been making do with those around the neighborhood. “Everyone gets plenty of exercise with Treekie at the helm,” said her mom, Jill. The 7-year-old averages five miles per week walking Sky, a Wheaton terrier, and Callie, a […]