pauline : MyBlogHer Profile

My daughter Franny, who turns ten this month, has just started working as a Mother's Helper one afternoon a week after school. She works for a SAHM who needs a couple hours of sanity. She folds laundry and sweeps. She plays with two-year-old Juniper, pushing her on the swing, dressing doll babies, having tea parties."I helped Juniper go to the bathroom," Franny told me proudly. "I wiped her butt. Don't worry, I washed my hands afterward."  Read more >

I swore I wouldn't give my daughter Franny a cell phone until she was thirteen. And whenever my nine-year-old asked, as she had been doing more frequently, "Mom, when can I have a cell phone?" this is what I told her. There were a few reasons why I thought 13 was the magic cell phone number. She'd be responsible enough not to lose it. She'd be old enough to coordinate her own social plans. Her dad got her brother an iPhone when he was thirteen and I wanted to be fair.  Read more >