Perspectives in Parenting

Many of our perspectives in parenting stories offer an intimate look into the highs and lows of being a mom in Baton Rouge. Whether it’s avoiding the mom shame game, or the challenges of having multiple young kids, we think that the best way to work through motherhood is together. No topic is off limits, even if it means getting honest about body image issues for young girls in Baton Rouge. In this case, we understand that Father's Day brings so many different feelings for us all.  What to look for in a good father litmus test. Merriam Webster defines a litmus test as "a test in which a single factor (such as an attitude, event, or fact) is decisive." Though a...

I’ve got to be honest, my primary custodial parent was a single mother. As a child, I celebrated her on Mother’s and Father’s Day. I love my father, but she sacrificed much more for my well-being. In short, Mama’s boy typing. Seriously though, as we move away from the events of childhood we tend to lose sight of how greatly OUR upbringing impacts our person. We become less empathetic causing our children, the greatest contribution any of us can offer to humanity, to grow away from us. There is a belief that fathers have to operate a certain way. I’m here to tell you, that fathers NEED to be what their children need. No more. No less. In the words of...

I can't think of a time in my life I've needed a great friend more than when I became a mom. Throughout my teenage years and through college, friends, at least to me, were simply the people you hung out with on nights and weekends. If you were lucky, you would find someone you had a decent amount in common with and you could share some great conversations, too. My view on friendships changed drastically when my best friend entered my life. Though we weren’t fond of each other when we first met, she stepped in during a time when I really needed a friend. The patience and kindness she showed me when she hardly knew me proved to me that friendship...

7:42 a.m. Day 1 of summer break. My youngest, 11, comes up to me and lays in my lap as I am working. I already know what she is about to say because we have been here so many times before. "I'm boooooored," she moans. "I can't help you. You have plenty to do." She marches off, mad and mumbling to herself. I remember being that age and home during summer break. I spent my afternoons playing outside or with friends. I never told my mom that I was bored because she would just give me chores to do. I learned that lesson pretty quickly. My kids have also learned the same lesson. When my children were younger, I would plan out their summers. Bucket lists of...

All it takes is a big milestone to hit you right in the face to make you wonder “am I present enough?” and “am I doing this mom thing right?” “Am I a good mom?” I truly applaud the moms who are stay-at-home moms. That job is not easy and needs to be appreciated more. I just can’t do it because I am the best version of myself when I am working. But am I? I’ve worked multiple jobs and also had a full-time gym life since my oldest was born. My oldest is attending Kindergarten this fall, and that milestone hit me like a ton of bricks. I had an out-of-town event to work on his last day of Pre-K, at...