United Airlines wouldn’t let a mother and her infant disembark a plane waiting on the tarmac for two hours A Colorado mother had a terrifying experience on a United flight bound for Texas that was delayed on a Denver tarmac for nearly two hours. Emily France’s 4-month-old son Owen had to be hospitalized after overheating while temperatures in the cabin spiked. France told the Denver Post that her child became overheated when the temperature in the cabin became unbearable. She said it was already hot when they boarded the plane, and the temperature spiked as they waited. “I really thought my son was going to die in my arms,” she told…

When we become mothers, everyone expects us to be over-the-moon with happiness. They assume that we must wake up every day and beam when we look at our baby, and that we must be head-over-heels in love with our new roles and new responsibilities and new, added identity as “mom.” While, yes, the arrival of a little one is absolutely a joyous occasion, it doesn’t necessarily always feel that way for women who are suffering, often silently, from postpartum depression (PPD). So often, new moms are afraid to talk about postpartum depression, but why? Postpartum depression is shockingly common, as 1 in 7 mothers will experience PPD, so why aren’t…

In an especially chaotic rush out the door to go on a family vacation, I sat in the passenger seat fuming. Mad because I didn’t have time to put the dishes in the dishwasher. Mad because we were late getting on the road. Mad because the garage door was acting up. I’m talking trivial, insignificant, minor inconveniences here, but that was the state of a distracted woman who could no longer see the blessings, only the inconveniences, of her life. Before we were about to pull out of the driveway, my husband looked at me as if someone he loved very much had died. In a barely audible whisper he…

Every child is special All parents want to believe their children are special and unique, and they are! But some children are destined to be the next great thinkers. How can you tell if your little one is more than just smart and in the leagues of Einstein, Mozart, or Marie Curie? How do you know if you’re raising a child genius? The National Association for Gifted Children estimates that 3 million children in the U.S. are gifted. (They define “gifted” as “those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude or competence in one or more domains.”) Assessing whether a child meets this criteria is far more complicated than simply relying…

Americans may have the edge on Olympic medals, fast food chains and Broadway musicals, but we’re severely lacking in the parental leave department. In Sweden, women are given a full year off to heal properly and bond with their child(ren). If they have more than one child, they are given that same amount of time per child. In the United States, we’re lucky if we get a few days, a week, a month, or 90 days before the threat of not returning means the loss of employment, housing, stability, health insurance, and additional burdens. If you work for yourself or own a small business, the luxury of a few days…

Have expectations that are science-based When it comes to the bedtime, many parents are confused as to who is in charge of what. As a parent, you create the bedtime routine. You decide where the bed is going to be located and where the parents will sleep. Children look up to their parents for guidance and answers to these questions. At the same time, your baby is in charge of falling asleep. Many sleep problems in the families with babies and toddlers occur when parents decide that they can force their children to go to sleep. From your own experience you know that if you don’t want to sleep, you…

In the very beginning, the baby is in charge It is important that you as a parent set rules and limits as your child grows. However, in the very beginning, when your baby has just entered the world and when she wakes up every few hours of the night, she is doing exactly what she is supposed to do. She is not yet ready to sleep through the entire night. Some babies do, but they are an exception, not a rule. During the first few weeks of your child’s life, the baby is growing extremely quickly and she needs calories. In addition to that, her sleep and activity cycles are…

Not winding yourself and your baby down Imagine yourself coming back home from a great party with loud music, flashing lights and exciting conversations with friends or coworkers. When you do get home, most likely you need some time to wind down. It works the same way with your baby. She does not have an on/off switch that can instantly make her fall asleep. She needs some time to gently switch from the excitement of the day to the calm of the night. As a general rule, you should allocate about an hour for winding down and falling asleep. This hour should include about 40 minutes before getting to bed…