As we crawled closer to a commitment, I began to envision the better world our children would live in. And one thing I was sure about: Our children were going to be mixed. No child of mine was ever going to describe herself as “Black, with a white parent” — a phrase that I associated with the double whammy of being ignored or abandoned by your white family and labeled by an America that believes in the “one drop rule” and has enslaved, subjugated, and oppressed people accordingly.
Category: Grandparents
Welcome grandparents and parents! We know how important grandparent relationships are, so here you’ll find articles, videos and events on activities grandparents can do with their grandchildren, ways to positively foster these relationships, better communication and appreciation between parents and grandparents (and vice versa!) and more!
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Getting the Messages Right, Part II (Part I was posted on January 9, 2018)
Dear Dr. Gramma Karen, A few weeks ago you gave me some advice about my brother not attending my son’s 6th birthday party and how he rudely left a gift on our doorstep, even after I asked him to wait so he could hand the gift to my son in person. I took your advice […]
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Getting the Messages Right (Part I of II Parts)
Dear Dr. Gramma Karen, The family issues I have shared with you over the past few years continue. My six-year-old son has two chronic illnesses, so he can’t eat what everyone else can eat. Therefore he picked his birthday party location to be at my mom’s office so he could role-play being at work. We […]
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen Guest Post: Why Grandkids Should Write Thank-You Notes
Dr. Gramma Karen is on holiday and will return on January 9, 2018. She wishes all her readers and their families and friends a 2018 that is filled with good health, love, and joy. This guest post, first posted February 6, 2017 by Donne Davis, is by Sandra Beckwith, author of Your Life as a […]
Readers Reflect and Commentate: A New Generation of Chiclets!
My wife Teenie is the matriarch (Wizard) of our family, a role at which she is unbelievably good!
Mom Foresees Problems with Her Daughter’s Relationship with Future MIL
My daughter “is engaged to be engaged” to a young man she’s been dating for eight years. She, he, and his parents live in California, while my husband and I live in New York. She was raised in what I’ll call a “northeast Jewish” style — lots of communication about emotions and expectations — and […]
Readers Reflect and Commentate: “Is a Building Going to Fall on Me?”
I am profoundly sad that the grandchildren my husband Gary and I share with Andrea and Herb do not get to have Uncle Todd in their lives. Not a day goes by that I don’t join Todd’s family and friends in missing him.
How to Talk About Tragedies with Children
In the wake of the horrific shootings in Las Vegas – and because this (and other tragedies) are front and center in the news – we thought it might be helpful to share this article from our own Dr. Gramma Karen about how to talk with children about tragedies.