Tag Archives: Parenting

Voices

OPINION | This Mother’s Day, Let’s Abolish the ‘Motherhood Penalty’

We need to make it easier for parents to work and raise children. Honoring working moms means fairly valuing their labor.

by Marcus Harrison Green

(This article is copublished with The Seattle Times.)

In life, the only thing we possibly take more for granted than a mother’s love is her labor. Of course, those two things are nearly inseparable from each other.

What better time than Mother’s Day to acknowledge that?

Continue reading OPINION | This Mother’s Day, Let’s Abolish the ‘Motherhood Penalty’ →
Arts & Culture

‘Normal Is Unacceptable’: Seattle Author Angela Garbes on Parenting Through the Pandemic

Book Review: Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change by Angela Garbes

by Jennifer Astion

(This article was originally published on Real Change and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

In Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change, Angela Garbes examines why “American life is not working for families.” Child rearing, Garbes writes, is “a social responsibility, one that requires robust community support. The pandemic revealed that mothering is the only truly essential work humans do. Without people to care for our children, we are lost.” Essential Labor makes a compelling argument for valuing mothering through both personal stories and social critique.

Continue reading ‘Normal Is Unacceptable’: Seattle Author Angela Garbes on Parenting Through the Pandemic →
Voices

OPINION: How to Raise an Intersectional Feminist Son

by Sarah Stuteville

I like parenting more the older the kids get. Babies and toddlers are tough for me — it feels like a non-stop, low-grade panic aimed mostly at avoiding disaster. Once kids can communicate and — even better — share their hot takes on the world, I’m sold. So far, five is my favorite age. My son is all tightly wound curiosity and wild questions I’m sprinting (or furiously Googling) to answer. How many miles around the earth? (About 24,000.) Why don’t adults like candy? (Lol. We do.) Why are you on your phone so much? (Mind your business.) 

Continue reading OPINION: How to Raise an Intersectional Feminist Son →
Voices

OPINION: A Mother’s Call to Action for State Lawmakers

by Scarlett To

As the Washington State Legislature responds to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Washington families continue to struggle with multiple crises, and we need action from our leaders now. As a local mother and advocate, I am urging lawmakers to take bold and swift action to get immediate relief to communities and families.

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Voices

OPINION: ‘Building Back Better’ Requires Big New Investments in Women and Caregiving

by Marilyn Watkins

COVID-19 has hit the hardest smack at the intersection of racial, gender, and economic disparities, disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable amongst us. Black and Brown communities have been much more likely than whites to suffer illness and financial hardship due to COVID-19. The closure of schools and childcare facilities has put a whole generation of kids at risk while throwing a double whammy at women of all races, who provided the bulk of unpaid family care pre-COVID-19, and are now struggling to juggle work with full-time childcare plus supervision of schooling.

We need both our state and federal governments to commit to investments and policies that build health, economic security, and educational opportunity for women and children, with special emphasis on families of Color.

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Features

As Pandemic Drags On, Parents Cope With Mental Health Challenges

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by Alexa Peters

Before COVID-19, Ballard resident Gracey Cockram lived the busy, fulfilling life of a stay-at-home mom. On a typical day, she’d wake up early, get her 15-year-old daughter up for swim practice, shuttle her to the pool with friends, come home, check the news, take a shower, do the laundry, go to the gym, go to the grocery store, walk the dogs, drive her daughter to a part-time babysitting gig, then begin to prepare dinner.

These days, despite living in a 900-square-foot condo with her fiancé and daughter, Cockram spends a lot of time alone, feeling “defeated” — and it’s no wonder. Her once-active 15-year-old now remains in her room for nearly twelve hours a day studying for her AP classes, and has since become prone to anxiety and worrying emotional outbursts. After holding out for months, Cockram and her fiancé were forced to reschedule their June 2021 wedding due to the pandemic. Cockram’s extended family in Florida has stopped talking to them due to disagreement about how to handle COVID-19. And now, she can’t even get out of the house for a trip to the gym for an important kick of endorphins.

Continue reading As Pandemic Drags On, Parents Cope With Mental Health Challenges →
Voices

Ask a Therapist: Want to Help Your Frustrated Kids Survive This Hell Year? Try Encouraging Their Meltdowns

by Liz Covey, LMHC

Question: Help! Lazy monsters have taken over my house! In other words, my kids aren’t doing so good. All they ever want to do is play video games or watch YouTube. When I ask them to do something like a chore, or even their homework, they bite my head off. What can we do to make it through this long winter?

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Voices

Ask a Therapist: Framing Limits for an Adolescent

Counselors Roy Fisher and Liz Covey answer readers’ questions for South Seattle Emerald’s “Ask A Therapist.” Have a question about a relationship? Wondering about the struggles of being a parent? Others likely have the same questions and Covey and Fisher bring years of professional experience to provide their insights. Continue reading Ask a Therapist: Framing Limits for an Adolescent →

Voices

Ask A Therapist: Self-Care in the Midst of White Supremacy

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Counselors Roy Fisher and Liz Covey answer readers’ questions for South Seattle Emerald’s “Ask A Therapist.” Have a question about a relationship? Wondering about the struggles of being a parent? Others likely have the same questions and Covey and Fisher bring years of professional experience to provide their insights.

In this article, a reader asked Roy Fisher how to stay afloat in the midst of white supremacy in the United States.

Continue reading Ask A Therapist: Self-Care in the Midst of White Supremacy →

Voices

Ask A Therapist: Reflecting on Suicide and Missed Opportunities

Counselors Roy Fisher and Liz Covey answer questions for South Seattle Emerald’s “Ask A Therapist.” Have a question about a relationship? Wondering about the struggles of being a parent? Others likely have the same questions and Covey and Fisher bring years of professional experience to provide their insights.

In this article, Covey answers a reader’s question about suicide, and whether they missed an opportunity to help.

Continue reading Ask A Therapist: Reflecting on Suicide and Missed Opportunities →