Posts by Hillary
On the Other Hand, This Little Duck Seems Plenty Empowered
Starting tomorrow, we’ll resume our normal non-duck-centric programming.
Read More“Mean” Duck Mom and Unhelpful Bystanders!
So…check out this video of a mother duck forcing her ducklings to jump down a high ledge onto a concrete walkway: Ouch! I found it painful to watch. The Mom Duck is just doing her thing, but I’ve seen similar videos where a kindly bystander finds a plank or other mechanism to give the baby…
Read MoreTiger Moms Don’t Just Suck, They Don’t Even Exist as a Category
Slate writes up the study by University of Texas psychology professor Su Yeong Kim analyzing children of so-called Tiger Moms. Yes, “tiger parenting” stinks: “Authoritarian parenting combines coercion with less responsiveness, and leads to higher depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem…. [they] produced kids who felt more alienated from their parents and experienced higher instances of…
Read MoreHave a Puppy. Have Two.
Sometimes, after a hard day of writing about perfectionism, all you want is a couple of puppies.
Read MoreThe Right Way to Cope With Your Kid’s Perfectionism
Jules at Pancakes & French Fries writes about what she perceives to be the perfectionist tendencies her young son has inherited from her: Mikey inherited my drive for perfection. Last week I hung in the laundry room some of my favorite drawings the boys have made over the years. Nico doesn’t draw as well as…
Read MoreComing Out of Your Closet: Teyonah Parris, Adam Chandler, David Leavitt, and You
Yesterday’s piece on Betty Ming Liu’s quest for self-liberation got me thinking about authenticity. Today, I ran across stories about two people, each on their own quest for it: For Teyonah Parris (who plays Don Draper’s secretary Dawn on Mad Men) the quest was to accept her beautiful natural hair: “I was walking down the…
Read MoreBetty Ming Liu Quits Her Job: Liberated Time Management in Action!
If your job is not central to your mission, but simply a way to earn money, then one of the profoundest acts of self-liberation you can make is to reduce your hours or (even better) quit. Blogger Betty Ming Liu just quit her job, and her list of goals for her next stage is awesome:…
Read MoreDave Grohl on The Truth About How to Succeed in the Music Industry
If You’re Going to Ponder, Ponder With a Pink Feather Pen
Ponder this way: Not this way:
Read MoreSleep Deprivation and Early School Starts May Be Driving Your Teen Crazy
Many teens are chronically sleep deprived, and many would do MUCH better if school started later: Evidence that sleep is important is overwhelming. Elegant research has demonstrated its critical role in memory consolidation and our ability to generate innovative solutions to complex problems. Sleep disruption increases the level of the stress hormone cortisol. Impulsive behaviors,…
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