Nurture

Photo: iStock photo My first memory around money is my mom telling me that if my dad asked if my outfit was new, I should say no, even if it was. My dad worked and made the money, and my mom was a stay-at-home mom who spent it. She spent it on the mortgage, the

Photo: Erik Putz “We must change almost everything in our current societies. The bigger your carbon footprint, the bigger your moral duty. The bigger your platform, the bigger your responsibility. Adults keep saying: ‘we owe it to the young people to give them hope.’ But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to

Photo: iStockPhoto When my daughter was born 12 years ago, iPads didn’t exist, and I had only recently, begrudgingly, purchased a flip phone. At the time, I never could have imagined how much of my parenting would revolve around smartphones, tablets, apps and social media. Fast forward a dozen years and I’m locked in a

The request came over breakfast a few weeks after school started. Our family had just moved back to Ontario after two years in Nova Scotia. We had navigated thousands of kilometres, a sea of cardboard boxes and all the stormy emotions stirred up by saying too many goodbyes and braving too many new things. The

PHOTO BY CARMEN CHEUNG To my husband, it was a normal, sunny Saturday morning in September. We were all packed up for a day trip to the lake—probably one of the last beach days of the year. Both kids were finally buckled into their car seats, after the usual getting-out-the-door struggles. My husband started the

I can’t speak for the rest of the world, but I haven’t spent that much time thinking about my bum hole. I haven’t pondered its health, longed for its refreshment or wondered if my pooping experience has been fully optimized. But I wasn’t one of the over 110,000 people in North America who own what

Photo: @watermeloneggrolls via Instagram Back-to-back pregnancies mean putting your head down and pushing through another round of diapers and sleep deprivation. Or you could experience life on the other side for a year or two before plunging back into baby land… Pros of having kids close in age —You’re done with the baby gear faster

Photo: iStockPhoto Growing up, I had a clear vision of the life I wanted to build: a successful career, a comfortable home, a loving husband and four beautiful kids—ideally two boys and two girls—all close in age, spaced out in perfect little every-other-year gaps. I imagined they’d inherit big brown eyes from my side of

Photo courtesy of Natalie Young With our fourth child on the way very shortly, we had been hoping to get away for one last little winter getaway as a family of five before baby arrives. So, when the opportunity to go on a winter adventure to Great Wolf Lodge with our best friends for a

With the refresh of Canada’s Food Guide in early 2019, more and more families are now embracing plant-based meat alternatives—and why not? These vegetarian meats taste great and are kinder on the environment. While cooking without meat isn’t impossible, we get that it can be time-consuming. So, here are some great packaged options you can stash

The author on a hike. Photo: Courtesy of Mary Pembleton “How’d your mom die?” Time stilled a little. This question from my precocious five-year-old, a child already versed in the inner workings of procreation, who’d interrogated me relentlessly about God and evolution and sewage processing at the tender age of three, would, I knew, blossom

Got #FridgeGoals? With over 35,000 posts on Instagram for inspiration (and back-to-school just around the corner,) there’s no better time to get organized. “Your fridge is one of the hardest working spots in your home. But when it’s cluttered, it can also be the most stressful!” says Sarah Gunn, a Canadian design and lifestyle expert.

Photo: iStockphoto Kimberly Noble, a neuroscientist and pediatrician at Columbia University, clicked a remote on a TED Talks stage in New York last January and a screen beside her displayed what looked like a craggy, grey leftover snowbank. The image was an average of the brains of 1,099 children and adolescents she and her collaborators studied for

“Breakfast Television” news anchor and co-host of the podcast “Moms in the Middle” Melanie Ng, with her son Josh and colleague Dina Pugliese. All photos courtesy of Melanie Ng Someone once referred to me as a “supermom.” I think they were under the impression that I had perfected the juggling act that is full-time work

Photo: Courtesy of istock The average Canadian household wastes 140 kilograms of food each year—roughly $1,100 worth. But unlike many other environmental issues, controlling how much food we throw out is completely within our control. Bob Blumer, Food Network host and ambassador for both Love Food, Hate Waste and Second Harvest, shares tips for reducing

Photo: Erik Putz It’s easy to just shut the door and pretend your playroom isn’t a dumping ground for every birthday present, party loot bag and art experiment. While lots of toys can be passed on or resold, here’s what to do with the stuff that usually ends up in the trash. 1. Tiny toy

Photo: Courtesy Jenna Fletcher “Do you want kisses kisses?” I asked the almost 3-month-old baby, holding him at arm’s length. I was always holding him at arm’s length. I was terrified—I realized later—of letting myself get attached to him. I delivered my son, M, when I was a little over 32 weeks pregnant. His identical

Photo: iStockphoto Making your family better, stronger, more harmonious may not require a complete overhaul, but rather a few strategic tweaks. Here’s a roundup of the resolutions you and your family should make now to ensure a fabulous 2019! 1. Hold family meetings. Give everyone in the family—including the kids—an opportunity to be heard. Provide the

Photo: iStockphoto It’s no secret that pretty much everything in your life changes when you have kids—and that includes Christmas. Here’s what Christmas was like before kids, and Christmas after kids. 1. Going to the mallBefore kids: Wander around, floating from store to store. Stay out of the ones with the holiday crowds so you

Photo: iStockPhoto I once heard a saying that goes like this: “Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.” I agree—and that feeling is stress. Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Ukrainian Christmas, Kwanza or nothing at all, it’s almost impossible to avoid the December fluster. From the first appearance of department store tinsel, it builds to