Kidlet and I have been lately binging on Looney Tunes on Netflix, a) because Looney Tunes is awesome and 2) because currently Netflix has about 8 hours of solid Looney Tunes available. It’s all around win. My son laughs at these like I’ve only ever heard him laugh reading Calvin & Hobbes comic books. We’re talking…
How to Teach Kids to Not Be Bullies Online (+ Win a Copy of Kindness Wins!)
I’ve been online since the dawn of the graphical browser, and its amazing how much the internet has changed. But what’s also amazing is how much it has also stayed the same in so many ways–bullies have been online, writ large, since the days that the internet was strictly text-only. But in my day, I…
How a Purple Backpack and My Son Taught Me a Lesson in Being Unbreakable
The look on my six-year-old’s face let me know that it wasn’t a good day. Moms can tell. Unfortunately, I also had an idea what might be wrong. You see, I was recently gifted a brand new Jansport backpack. A lovely, bright purple backpack. It was part of a promotional package for the Netflix show The Unbreakable…
Minecraft is Shoving My Son Into the Digital Age and I’m Not Ready
If there was ever something that I thought might try to wrestle the parenting reins away from me, I never, never once thought that it might be Minecraft. Instead, what started as a blocky-looking creative builder game swiftly evolved into the bane of my husband’s and my existence. A few of my son’s classmates played,…
The Littlest Accountant
Why Vitamins Maybe Aren’t Such a Waste of Money
The vitamin supplement industry has been a little under fire recently, with many hopping the bandwagon that in North America, with all the food advantages that we have plus a little “outdoor time” thrown in, they’re not required. All well and good, except for one thing: I’m not sure that all children in North America are getting…
Once Upon a Time, I Wanted to Write Books
In the category of “things you probably don’t know about me,” like many most writers, I knew I wanted to write for years. This was something that was encouraged, and even lauded as part of a familial tradition. My grandfather was a writer, although he was more of the historian persuasion–he’s actually responsible for a…
Chocolate Chip Biscotti (and Groovin’ into 2015)
Why I Don’t Always Feel Bad About Letting My Child Use a Tablet
Lest you think that I’m some sort of backwards Luddite, I assure you that in this household we have an average of 2.3 computing devices per person, not including gaming consoles and smartphones. And even so, I’m in favour of limited screentime for kids and have butted heads with my son’s schools more than once…