As a person who has anxiety, I eagerly dived into Amanda Stern’s new book, Little Panic: Dispatches From An Anxious Life. The book recounts Stern’s earliest childhood experiences with severe anxiety and traces these emotions and their impact into adulthood. Growing up in New York City’s Greenwich Village, Stern...
“You’re seven? But you’re so small!!” I hold back a grimace. My daughters and I are at a trampoline park, and the employee handing them their wristbands has just asked their ages. Somehow, I know from the instant that my daughter says proudly, “I’m seven!” that an incredulous reaction...
Growing up, I never worried much about germs. Thanks to the many pets we owned over the years, my childhood home was basically a deluxe buffet of microbes for my immune system. At any given time, there was a bird squawking from its perch, a bunny in the side...
When I was in 8th grade, our class practiced a daily moment of silence. It was a simple exercise, but one I nearly always failed. Our teacher would nod and point to the clock, indicating it was time for us to sit calmly at our desks. Some of my...
How is parenting today different than it was a few decades ago? A thought-provoking article, “The Fragile Generation,” recently popped up in my parents’ group on Facebook, and it offered some disturbing examples of how overprotective parenting is negatively impacting kids. Modern children are far too sheltered, the article argues,...
