How Much Adoption Costs, According to ExpertsAdoption is a beautiful way to grow a family. With more than 100,000 children for adoption in the United States, according to US Department of Health and Human Services, it's an avenue many hopeful parents investigate.
I’m Horrified by My Kid’s Obsession With Toy Guns. What to Do?My son is a freshman in high school and has recently become obsessed with Nerf and airsoft guns. He wants to upgrade his arsenal with a new “rifle” for $250.
These Jokes About Tests Will Lighten Up Your Nervous KiddoDuring a recent week of standardized testing, my daughter’s elementary school sent home a blank sheet of notecards so we could write her a note for each day, and they would deliver it to her right before she started her test.
Seeking Salvation From Postpartum AnxietyOne month from my due date, gigantic and uncomfortable, I sit in a park with a bunch of other pregnant women and do what we do best: eat. You can tell our character by our snacks — turmeric cookies, nettle tea, high-protein vegan cheeses — if not by our birth plans.
11 Great Shows You Can’t Find Streaming Anywhere (and Why)When Andre Braugher died unexpectedly at the end of 2023, everyone was reminded that one of his best works, and one of the best shows in TV history, Homicide: Life on the Street, wasn’t available to watch in his honor.
Did Mike Johnson Just Get Religion on Ukraine?It turns out that, eight years into the Trump takeover of the Republican Party, there are still a few surprises left.
Women in Menopause Are Getting Short ShriftThey could benefit from a diversity of hormones, empathy about their experience, and a frank approach to sexuality—all hallmarks of trans health care. Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.
The Out-of-Touch Adults’ Guide to Kid Culture: 'The Tortured Poets Department'Taylor Swift released a new album this week. While the singer is 34 years old—practically middle-aged—her music speaks to young people directly, and they are speaking back. Less mainstream young people are becoming huge fans of a Chinese industrial chemical company.
‘My Boyfriend Still Shares a Bed With His Ex!’My boyfriend of two years still lives with his ex, the mother of his children. When we met, he explained the situation was complicated, and I accepted that it would remain so for some time while he sorted out how to fully extricate himself and truly be with me.
The Unexpected Hero of My Baking RepertoireOne day last year in Paris, I went to the Musée de Cluny, a temple to the tactile esoterica of medieval France. I remember seeing braids of wooden hair, a marble gown sculpted in almost calligraphic lines, and a rose made out of gold, all of which seemed to defy conventional physics.
Baby Reindeer Does Something RemarkableIn the first three episodes of the Netflix drama Baby Reindeer, starring its creator and writer Richard Gadd, Gadd’s character, Donny Dunn, kind of grates on you.
How to Help Your Kid Cope With the Loss of a PetMy oldest son was sobbing uncontrollably. His teacher told us this might happen—the health of Little Lou, the class' pet lizard, had quickly taken a turn for the worse; Little Lou would likely leave this mortal coil within a day or two. The entire class was obviously shocked and devastated.
In Defense of Annette Bening’s FaceThis column first ran in Valerie Monroe’s newsletter, How Not to F*ck Up Your Face, which you can subscribe to on Substack.
Lauren Oyler and the Critic in the Internet AgeIn No Judgment, the novelist and critic explores the perilous activity of literary criticism in the era of social media. Like many great literary critics before her, Lauren Oyler wrote a novel as her first book.