Get your kids’ back-to-school lists filled

By Eileen Gilligan

Shopping for back-to-school has much in common with doing homework: The sooner you start, the better it will go.

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You have ways of making kids shop with you

A mainstay in my daughter’s stuffed animal collection is “Blue Elephant,” so named for the blue “fur” that sticks out around his clothing. Blue Elephant was waiting for her in the crib when she came home from the hospital because our then-16-month-old son had picked it out for her. Well, that wasn’t his intention, but that was the result.

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Dealing with kids’ handouts, homework and art

Papers from school arrive nearly every day, and someone’s got to do something with them. But what?

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How to cope with pregnancy nausea

Mayonnaise on white bread, doughnuts from the vending machine, and good old saltine crackers: Nearly every mom has a solution, complaint or story to tell about morning sickness.

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Dogs, cats and other pets strengthen family ties

My kids and I would like to get a dog. My husband is the holdout—for now. He thinks he’ll end up as the go-to guy for all the “dirty” jobs. The kids have worked out a schedule for walking a dog, using the pooper-scooper and feeding the dog. Our job now is to persuade him they really will do it.

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Yes, you can eat together as a family

One thing the experts don’t tell you when you have a child is to start a day planner just for them. As most parents will agree, their children have better social lives than we do; the kids get way more party invitations than we do. As they get older, add in homework assignments and project due dates. Then there may be piano lessons, some religious ed and of course, sports practices.

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Teaching children about jobs and earning a living

By Eileen Gilligan

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Try some inexpensive ideas to stretch the family’s summertime fun budget

Summertime, and the living is easy, as the song goes. Unless you have one to six kids at home, nicely taking turns asking: “Mom! What can we do?” (With more than six kids, who has time to answer?)

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The Mother’s Day conundrum

I still remember the joy I felt as Mother’s Day approached the year my son was born. Now I was a mother, too, and wasn’t this the most terrific thing! The next year I didn’t have to think about a Father’s Day gift: We brought our daughter home from the hospital on Father’s Day; she truly was the best gift possible.

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New moms can find ways to care for themselves

When I used to ask my eldest sister, a mother of three children born within four years, what she did for her free time, she would always say: “Going to work is your free time. When you get home, that’s when your real job starts. . . and don’t forget to put in a load of wash before you go!”

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Parents of some newborn sons decide to go ‘natural’

We parents hear lots of advice about how to raise our children. Breastfeeding good, formula OK. Cloth diapers vs. disposables? To circumcise a newborn boy or not?

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Focus on the people who help your family all year

For some, the advent of the holiday season brings dread from the unhappy anticipation of more gifts one feels compelled to buy for family, in-laws, close friends, and then who else?

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By Eileen Gilligan

Messages can flow easily between home and school 

When it comes to getting in touch with my children’s teachers, I tend toward the low tech. I send in a handwritten note or wait for the tried-and-true parent-teacher conference.

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Let children graduate from small thrills to big chills as they grow up

Almost as much as anticipating Christmas, my kids look forward to Halloween. And it’s not just because of the candy. (Really.) They like the costumes and the decorations, especially the scary ones.

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Will your child walk, take the bus or get a car ride?

Back in the old days, we walked to school, uphill, both ways. But today it seems many more parents drive their children to school. Whatever the method of transportation, each has a culture all its own. And that’s for the parents.

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Keep the whole family in good form

A month after we moved to Central New York with our newborn daughter and 18-month-old son in 2001, my husband’s favorite band was scheduled to play at the New York State Fair. (You probably haven’t heard of them; they’re called Brother. From Australia, the band of two brothers and two more guys wear kilts, work boots and T-shirts, and play rock infused with bagpipes. It’s an interesting sound and show.)

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Some pregnant women look for alternatives to the traditional gift-fest

I took a blue bead and a clear crystal one from the small wooden box and passed it to the woman on my left.

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Planning your child's next birthday party

For some reason I like throwing my kids’ birthday parties—until 30 minutes before the guests arrive. Then, as I scramble to clean the most-seen parts of the house, I start yelling that next time we’re going to “outsource” the party. Four hours later I’m starting to look forward to the next one.

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Children can overcome aversion to dogs with some help

When my son was almost 3, he was nipped by a puppy on a leash, which we stopped to admire during a walk in our neighborhood. He remembers it as a bite. Since then dogs have been a concern to him and, by exposure, to his younger sister.

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Scheduling your children’s summer demands a game plan

Picking a summer camp for my children is like planning an elaborate vacation that I don’t get to go on: I put in hours reviewing locations, activities, prices, times and applications.

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Families find plenty of ways to celebrate Valentine's Day

When I told my daughter who’s 6 (correction, 6½) that I was working on a story about traditions people have for Valentine’s Day, she said that was easy. “You wake up on Valentine’s Day, go to the dining room, and there’s your candy on the table!”

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