During the same week when U.S. women celebrated the 90th anniversary of their right to vote, my daughter turned 12. While I looked at her, I wondered, “Where do American women stand as she herself stands on the precipice of her teenage years?” more

My new book, The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball, comes out this week (yay!), and I’ve been spending every free second I have (which has totaled about seven over the course of the last month) trying to promote it. more

If seasons were given titles, then this summer would be, for me, The Summer of My Son’s Issues. Because on top of discovering that he has anxiety, this week I’ve learned that he has a lazy eye. So come to think of it, a better title might be The Lazy (and Anxious) Days of Summer. more

When my son was younger, three or four maybe, I used to think that he was just a difficult person. He was moody, he was clingy, he was super sensitive to my tone of voice and he didn’t like to go anywhere or do anything, unless it was to the toy store to buy him Power Rangers or plastic swords. more

They’re some of the more difficult scenes to watch: Those involving the depiction of children experiencing the impact of their parents’ divorce. In the season finale of Mad Men last year, set in 1963, Don and Betty Draper had to sit their two young children, Sally and Bobby, down and tell them they were divorcing. more

*Warning: Mild spoilers ahead from The Kids Are All Right.*When my husband and I left the theater at the end of The Kids Are All Right we were in agreement: more

Hey, Ris! How are you? How was college? What did you finally decide to do with your life? I hope you’re not a lawyer. more

A recent storyline on Army Wives dramatized the plight of the military’s single parents – who become single parents after having joining the armed services – and how difficult it is for them to find childcare for their offspring when they’re slated to deploy abroad and can’t take the kid with them. more

A couple of years ago, some friends and I were talking about taking on a pretty big volunteer position at our kids’ school, and we were discussing who else we should ask to do it with us. We brought up some names – no, I heard she wants to be a room parent this year; no, I think she’s going back to work full time – and then another name came up and my friend said, yeah, she’d be great, plus, she’s totally nannied up. more

It’s been a compelling, controversial storyline nominally about abortion but more, I think, about mothers: Mothers of teens, a woman who was a teen mom and a teen who was almost a mother. more