Barbara's Mailbag:
Perfectionist tendencies

My son is a perfectionist (at 5!) and if he feels he can't do something perfectly, he doesn't want to try it at all.

Parenting Traps:
Just chillin'

Freezing tweens and teens swear they don’t need coats. Do they?

First lady tackling
child obesity

Michelle Obama launches a campaign tomorrow against childhood obesity that she hopes will change the way millions of Americans eat, exercise, look, and feel.

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Family Filmgoer

Teens who like a good cry at the movies can shed salty tears over "Dear John," a sentimental and sometimes laughably predictable love story, based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks.

featured blogs

Child Caring

Why shouldn't little boys play with dolls?

February 8, 2010
I was at a birthday party recently, chatting with parents while keeping an eye on the pack of preschoolers who had just finished "helping" the birthday girl open her presents. The baby brother of one of the party guests was toddling...
Moms Are Talking About

Spy kids grow up. What to tell kids when your job is top secret?

February 5, 2010
A fascinating story this week in The Washington Post. Children of dead CIA officers try to learn about their work By Ian Shapira Washington Post Staff Writer John F. Sullivan had always wondered about his mother, Leonor E. "Lee" Sullivan,...

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Dadventures in Beantown

We hadn't planned to move to Natick from Brooklyn. It was too rural, too far from our jobs and too full of adventure. Despite the long commute, it has been a blessing in disguise. Life on the lake is just minutes from the intersection of Rts. 9, 30, 27, 117 and the Pike; we are at the epicenter of the MetroWest dadventure universe. In the summers you'll catch us paddling, swimming and catching turtles on the "pond." It is a far stretch from my tiny plot of a yard growing up in Newton.

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barbara's mailbag

Perfectionist tendencies

Perfectionist tendencies

My son is a perfectionist (at age 5!) and if he feels he can't do something perfectly, he doesn't want to try it at all. -- Dee, Arlington

Voices

Parents under the influence

Partying with your kids? Not only is it illegal, it’s downright bad behavior.

Parenting Traps

Just chillin’

Freezing tweens and teens swear they don’t need coats. Do they?

Sunday's Child

Bright and creative, David keeps hoping

Bright and creative,
David keeps hoping

David is a charming, handsome teenager who, at 16, still wants and hopes for a family of his own and a place to belong.

Early education and care

The state Department of Early Education and Care lists all licensed programs - family child care, center-based and school-age.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children, whose accrediting process of center-based programs and preschools is a widely-accepted proxy for quality, lists accredited programs.