| Leslie Morgan Steiner is the editor of the best-selling anthology Mommy Wars and the brand new memoir Crazy Love. Steiner is a frequent guest on the Today Show, MSNBC, and regularly contributes to The New York Times, Newsweek and Vanity Fair. She lives with her husband and 3 kids in Washington, DC. In this column, she will offer her Two Cents on issues relating to modern motherhood. |  |
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Not One Woman in Power, Many Women in Power
It is a simple idea: that women in leadership positions will result in more just treatment of women everywhere. Many problems facing women in our society stem, at least in part, from the fact that for centuries the people who have run our governments, our armed forces, our companies, our world, have been men - many who are unaware of, or insensitive to, women’s needs.
My Summer Vow
Next week is my kids’ first taste of summer vacation.
Like moms everywhere, I dream of lazy, fun-filled summers with my kids. Packed with adventures they will treasure for the rest of their lives. Sprinkled with the smell of fresh cut grass and ocean breezes, featuring lots of sunshine without any sunburn.
What Working Moms Can Learn From Oprah
She looked beautiful in a simple crimson dress with a flattering V neckline.
She sang a few lines from one of her favorite hymns.
She made mistakes as she spoke, and then told us that failure is life trying to nudge you in a different direction.
Volunteer Vampires
Call it Volunteer Vampires - a dilemma many of us struggle with (and feel guilty about struggling with). In simple terms, how much to volunteer at our children’s schools?
In “Sharks and Jets,” one of the stay-at-home mom essays in my anthology Mommy Wars, Washington, DC mom Page Evans reveals the angst underneath the yes-woman she presents to everyone who asks her to volunteer for anything:
YES! Yes. Yes. YES! Yes. And yes.
High School Reunion Revelations
Do I look the same?
Does the cafeteria still exude that overcooked broccoli stink?
Will my first boyfriend be there with his wife?
How strange will it feel to walk those fluorescent hallways again, older, wiser, far stronger now?
No-Mush Mother's Day
On Mother’s Day, one of my closest friends from summer camp left me a voicemail message. This woman has witnessed my ugliest, most vulnerable, childish stages over a 30 year stretch and therefore can share her own hellish moments with me with impunity.
We are roughly the same age, but her two kids are a full decade younger. In short, she’s a new mom, figuring parenthood out as it unfolds.
Here's the message:
“Hi Leslie.
For your own sake maybe you shouldn’t listen to this message. more
God Save the TV!
Every parenting self-help primer seems to stress how important the ages 0 to 5 are for children’s development.
Now that I’m parenting teenagers, I wonder. There is no denying that the years 12 to 17 are even more formative. Of course, in different ways. But my kids are going to remember this time period far better than 0 to 5 (of which they have only a few fuzzy memories).
To my surprise, I’m finding that “screen time” -- that evil scourge that warps kids’ brains - is actually my ally here. more
Obscene Sorority Girl
On April 18, a profanity-filled email from Delta Gamma sorority sister Rebecca Martinson hit the Internet via Gawker and Deadspin. The blistering rant from Martinson, a junior at the University of Maryland, quickly went viral.
Daycare Hell
Just thinking about all the childcare arrangements I’ve made for my three kids over the years makes me break out in an icy sweat even today. The list reads like a daycare c.v. of modern American motherhood, no less important to my career than a resume.
The Dad Takeover
Ok, moms. We’ve had our go at parenthood. We’ve moved the finish line forward on reading before private school pre-k applications are due and potty training before age two.
Plus we’ve stressed the importance of bringing only handmade patisserie quality cupcakes to school bake sales.
Now it’s time to let dads take over.
