Parenthood
News
The Harsh Reality of Religion-Driven Sex Ed in America

Pantsuit Nation, the private Facebook group of around 4 million members, was originally created as online camaraderie for Hillary Clinton supporters in the 2016 election but has since morphed into a sort of support group for progressives facing trying times under the Trump administration. The following is a recent post to the group from a midwestern parent who gave us […]

How To
10 Practical Ways Parents Can Fight Rape Culture

The powerful, unapologetic, detailed statement of Brock Turner’s rape victim made public recently touched a collective nerve, resulting in a huge outcry on social media about the rape culture that left him convicted of three sexual assault felonies but only serving 6 months in jail. The outcry, which has already begun to fade, has often […]

Books
5 Terms Every Parent Should Add to Their Sex-Ed Vocabulary

Cory Silverberg is elevating in-home sex-ed to an art form, one kick-ass book at a time. His first kids’ book on reproduction, called WHAT MAKES A BABY (for preschoolers through 2nd-graders), combines inclusive language, helpful descriptions, and bright, bold and beautiful illustrations by Fiona Smyth (that get us all nostalgic for “Free to Be You and Me“) […]

Pop Culture
In Defense of Maleficent

Since the sequel to 2014’s “Maleficent” — “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” — is currently out in theaters, my family just rewatched the first one. Five years ago, “Maleficent,” starring Angelina Jolie, received a green-splat score of 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a review by the Chicago Sun Times’ Richard Roeper calling it “plodding and utterly unconvincing.” But […]

How To
3 Reasons Why YOU Should Take Charge of Your Kids’ Sex Ed

If your goal is to raise confused and ashamed kids, then go ahead and skip “The Talk.” Our kids’ sex education begins the moment they tune into the world around them. Numerous gateways introduce them to our highly sexualized society: smartphones, tablets, laptops, television, supermarket tabloids, and sometimes our own jokes and language. With so […]

Dear Em & Lo
Dear Em & Lo: Should I Teach My Goddaughter Sex Ed?

Dear Em & Lo, My goddaughter has reached the age where sexual exploration is something she might be considering delving into (if she hasn’t already). I’m not sure how to approach the issue of birth control with her. If she is wanting to have, or already is having sex then I want to support her […]

Confessions
Talking to Your Daughters About Comfort and Consent

A friend recently wrote us about her real world application of some of the advice Lo recently gave in “How to Prevent a Brock: 10 Practical Ways Parents Can Fight Rape Culture.” We couldn’t be more delighted! Raising conscientious kids with agency — especially girls — is possible in small, everyday ways like this: I wanted to […]

Say Amything
The Game Called “Birth”

The following is the first installment of a hilarious ongoing series by author and squirrel hunter (seriously) Amy Bronwen Zemser called “How to Thaw Your Unborn Child,” about sperm donation and artificial insemination when you’ve got an acute case of lesbianism: Ever since I was a kid, I’d wanted to have a kid. When I was nine years old and […]

How To
7 Ways to Fight the “Mommy Problem” from Within Your Relationship

We loved Heather Havrilesky’s “Mommy Problem” article in the Times a while back, about how “the culture demands that every mother be all in, all the time.” And we’re not alone, clearly: We lost count of the number of our friends who gave it the “yep” response in their Facebook feed. Responding in Jezebel, Tracy […]

Pop Culture
If You Challenge Gender Stereotyping, Prepare to Be Vilified

Our journalist friend Diane Stopyra recently penned an excellent piece for MarieClaire.com entitled “Dear Parents-to-Be: Stop Celebrating Your Baby’s Gender,” which argued that gender-reveal parties are misguided attempts at fun which reinforce harmful gender stereotypes (and, let’s face it, are just a tad narcissistic). Why pigeon-hole you’re kid before they’re even out of the womb? […]

Personal Essays
I Took My Kids to the Jeff Koons Retrospective (Oops)

My family had an opportunity to visit New York City for a full week recently. It was the longest my husband and I (the Lo half of Em & Lo) had been there since having kids. Before breeding, we’d lived there for years, gorging on the countless cultural opportunities at our disposal. Post-spawn, we moved to the […]

News
Kavanaugh Is a Teachable Moment

These days, you hear a lot of parents bemoan the fact that they can’t have the news on, for fear their kids might hear something sexually inappropriate. That “America’s Dad” Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted 60 women. That the Catholic Church has been a child-rape factory and cover-up machine for decades.  That our own […]

Dream Interpretation
I Keep Dreaming My Husband Has a Baby with Someone Else

Other people’s dreams are never interesting…except when they’re about sex & relationships. If you’ve got a good one, our dream analyst Lauri Loewenberg just might tell you what it means! Click here to submit yours (18 and older only for dream interpretations, please). This week, a reader asks Lauri about dreaming that her husband has […]

How To
The 8 Rules of Dating a Single Dad

Not too long ago I read an article titled “How to Love a Single Mom.” The author wrote that the intention of her piece was to support “the man interested in a woman with children. To offer him a peek inside her life, to help him understand her better.” And then she listed 5 tips: Be […]

How To
The 5 Worst Places to Learn About Sex…and the 5 Best!

by Sarah Marcantonio THE WORST 1. The Movies Most sex scenes in mainstream movies ain’t exactly cinéma vérité: the male lead sweeps the girl off her feet and whisks her away to bed, clothes fall away, abs are sculpted, sweat glistens, birth control is abandoned, discussions about sexual health histories are never had, and simultaneous […]

Toys
Mother’s Day Gifts That Scream “I LOVE YOU!”

by Shannon Ullman for YourTango The best gifts for the best mom ever. Celebrate the mother of your children by really treating her right. She may have pushed a baby out her vadge, so you better make her feel special. Mother’s Day is May 14th, giving you just enough time to start making dinner reservations […]