A small bedtime ritual that grows with them — and with us Gratitude is one of those things we all want our children to understand, but young kids don’t learn it through lectures or holiday lessons. They learn it the same way they learn everything else at that age: through modeling, repetition, and connection . For us, that started with a simple ritual I created for my daughter when she was very little. Back then, she was too young to name anything on her own — so each night, as we settled...

Lately, I’ve felt like I’m living in two worlds at once. And I don’t think I’m the only one. On one side, there is the chaos of the world: neighbors in crisis, protests downtown, families separated, horrifying headlines of people abducted, children starving, wars unfolding. It feels like every time I pick up my phone, I’m hit with another wave of grief, fear, or outrage. On the other side, there is the immediacy of parenting: Halloween costumes, fall festivals, the bedtime snuggles, and the...

Fast-forward to toddlerhood, and suddenly my worldly, curry-loving baby would only eat three things: buttered noodles (but only the right shape), chicken nuggets, and extremely expensive berries. Any attempt to deviate resulted in a hunger strike that could rival a political protest. It was soul-crushing. AND, did I mention expensive? At one point, I subscribed to one of those fancy pre-made meal services for toddlers. I was desperate. She ate exactly none of it. I cried. She asked for goldfish.