Imaginative play has long been the trademark of childhood. Dolls, tea parties, dress-up, pretend battles and action figures are what many of us associate with good, old-fashioned child’s play. Parents today face intense criticism about the amount of time children are spending on electronic devices when they could be engaging in imaginative play. Technology has...

In the raising of her twin 9-year-olds, an ongoing question persists for Stacy Raap: When does she give them their first cellphone? They already have classmates that have phones. But she is certain that now is not the right time. “We haven’t set out an age when we think they should get a phone,” Raap...

During the past several years, the word YET has been popping up in classrooms across the country. “I don’t know how to add big numbers YET, but I will learn if I keep listening in math” wrote one first-grader. “Writing in cursive isn’t easy for me YET,” stated a third-grader. “But I’ll get better if...

We asked local moms what they do for a little “me time.” Here’s what they had to say. Hopefully, you’ll find some ideas for self-care. “I love to go for a hike. When I’m out, I look for fun things to take photos of and share with my daughter. I also love to just go...

Parenting — one of the hardest things I have ever done, with hardly enough training. (Marriage is the other.) Now, I had some training. I read all of the parenting books. I attended Lamaze classes. And I would have watched all of the videos and subscribed to the blogs if they would have been available...