Support Smart, Local Journalism
Make a Small Monthly Donation

Give now

True Parent
Posted inTrue Parent

Do We Have to Share Everything?

Rethinking the Division of Labor in Modern Parenting
Avatar photo Katia Riddle

When I explain to people my parenting situation—that my husband travels a lot for work, and that I do most of the school drops-offs/pick-ups, doctor appointments, dinner prep, bedtime, and middle-of-the-night puking cleanup for our two small children—a look of mixed horror and pity often washes over their faces. “How are you coping?” they ask, […]

Posted inTrue Parent

True Book Reviews

The Matriarchy’s Approach to Parenting
Avatar photo Bryony Angell

When it comes to raising children, it really does “take a village,” as that clichéd trope suggests. But who specifically is in that village? Your mum, that’s who. Along with her sister, her mother, and her mother. Conveniently, there are now parenting books to advise you on your villager role in the child-rearing scheme, based […]

Posted inTrue Parent

Build a Better Parent

Teens and the Self-Esteem Monster
Avatar photo Gianna Russo-Mitma

If you have a teenager (or have ever been a teenager), you know how hard it can be. Teenage girls in particular experience so many additional issues regarding friends, society, and self-esteem. They may be keeping feelings locked up, unable to understand their emotions, or dealing with things outside of your control. Self-esteem is more […]

Posted inTrue Parent

Ask the Parent

“High Anxiety!”
Avatar photo Tracey Biebel Johnson

Every day it’s the same: Our 10-year-old son is slow getting ready for school or events, while our always-prompt daughter gets increasingly anxious about being late. It’s gotten to the point where we’re afraid her anxieties are going to expand into other areas. How do we nip this in the bud? —Daughter in Distress Ugh. […]

Posted inTrue Parent

Good Advice/Stupid Advice

Avatar photo Kiala Kazebee

The BEST part about being pregnant—and subsequently having a baby, because that’s how pregnancy usually works—is the unsolicited advice! (Note sarcasm.) Parents may “mean well,” but they also sometimes offer stupid, unhelpful advice, like some kind of fraternity hazing thing. What follows is some actual good advice to counteract all the crap platitudes from baby […]

Posted inNews

Getting the Lead Out

A Water Quality Crisis Continues to Unfold In Portland Schools. Here’s What You Need to Know.
Avatar photo Dirk VanderHart

WHEN KIDS head back to Portland Public Schools (PPS) on August 29, Superintendent Carole Smith will still be on vacation. Smith announced abruptly on July 18 that she was taking three months of accrued leave, and retiring directly afterward—not at the end of next school year as previously planned. The surprise move followed a damning […]

Posted inTrue Parent

Ask the Parent!

“Can I Send My Kid to College?”

Got a question too embarrassing to ask anyone else? Send it to asktheparent@trueparent.com, and we’ll find an expert to answer it for you! This month we have Janet Marthers, M.A. dishing out the real talk. My wife and I have given up on sending our 11-year-old to college. We’re not poverty stricken, but the idea […]

Posted inTrue Parent

Build a Better Parent

What Can American Families Learn from Japanese Free-Range Parenting?
Avatar photo Heather Arndt Anderson

Remember the Sesame Street cartoon where the little girl was sent to the corner store for groceries? She had to remember a list of three things, and succeeded by repeating the list and then visualizing her mother saying it. I remember being sent to the store sometimes, too. Nowadays, it seems people would sooner call […]

Gift this article