Before we had a kid, my husband and I attended a lot of metal concerts together. The strangest thing we ever saw wasn’t the flames, the fake blood, or helicopters of long sweaty hair twirling around on stage. It was the 4-year-old child on a mom’s shoulders at a Cannibal Corpse show. To be fair, he was wearing noise-cancelling headphones. The mom told us that this was her son’s fifth time at a Cannibal Corpse show and he had been to many other death metal band’s shows in his short 4 years of life. “You gotta start them young!” she said as her kid did the devil horn hands and screamed as loud a ..read more

If you’re a parent who finds themselves feeling lonely, isolated, burnt out, or otherwise completely frayed, you’re far from alone. In fact, according to a new nationwide study, 66% of parents struggle with these feelings, with many citing the modern demands of parenthood challenging their ability to connect with their peers. The loneliness epidemic has encapsulated us all, it seems. Earlier this month, researchers at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus surveyed 1,005 parents, with two-thirds of respondents reporting that the “demands of parenthood sometimes or frequent ..read more

Communal showers after PE (aka gym class) in school may as well have been a torture device. Everyone who experienced that particular flavor of teenage hell remembers how stressful it was to have to disrobe in front of God and literally all your peers on a weekly (or even daily) basis at school. As adults looking back on it, it’s incredible that it was even allowed. And now, a mom on Reddit is asking the internet if she was wrong for forcing her daughter to participate in this awful ritual, even though she was uncomfortable with it. “I (F45) have a 14-year-old daughter, who I’ll call Mikaela. M ..read more

“Mom, you can film any other part of this concert you want to,” my 10-year-old daughter told me, jumping up and down as Taylor Swift prepared to take the stage in Tokyo, “But just be here with me in this special moment right now.” She was right. Three days earlier, we’d boarded a plane in Portland, Oregon, taken a twelve-hour journey, navigated a complicated train system and were now waiting for her favorite artist to take the stage. As I pulled out my phone to record Taylor’s entry at the beginning of the show, my daughter gently pulled my ear close to her to remind me about the reason for ou ..read more

30 Rock’s Maulik Pancholy was set to speak at a Pennsylvania school, but was uninvited after school board members raised concerns about the openly gay actor’s “activism” and “lifestyle.” Now, Pancholy is speaking out, along with parents, students, and other school district employees. Pancholy was set to give an anti-bullying speech at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, but the school board unanimously voted to cancel it during their April 15 meeting. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maulik Pancholy (@maulikpancholy) “If you research this individual, he ..read more

As Hilary Duff prepares to welcome her fourth child, she’s issuing a firm but polite PSA to everyone who keeps asking when her baby is coming, reminding the world that there’s no need for all the probative questions. In a post shared to her Instagram Stories on Sunday, April 21, Duff asked fans and followers to chill with the messages about her expected delivery date. “Hi friends – This is meant in the kindest tone (I promise) I am no longer responding to texts or [dms] about ‘when baby is coming!'” she wrote. “I know everyone is checking in with love and humor, however, trust me nobody wants ..read more

It’s no secret that inflation right now is insane, particularly when it comes to groceries and, you know, trying to live your life. But Jamie over on TikTok shared a hilarious parody of how inflation has also hit the dance mom community, and you’ll be laughing and crying at how accurate her portrayal really is.  The video begins with Jamie acting as the dance teacher dramatically saying, “It is with great excitement and jazz hands that we would like to invite you to this year’s dance recital…Dancetopia!!!” Mom responds that she’s thrilled and their family looks forward to this event every ..read more

Millennials and Gen Xers know that something just shifts in the universe when all five Spice Girls are together, because it truly feels like nature is healing when our favorite pop queens are sharing the same airspace. Turns out, no one is more delighted by the sheer force of Girl Power than David Beckham himself, and this video of him fangirling over the fivesome will be—ahem—giving you everything, all that joy can bring. Victoria Beckham (aka Posh Spice, obvi) turned 50 on April 17, celebrating the milestone birthday in a bash most befitting a true fashion icon over the weekend in London. An ..read more

As parents, we want to pump up our children as much as we can, and oftentimes that comes in the form of praise or compliments. This type of positive reinforcement can be beneficial (especially non-physical compliments!), but there are other even more effective ways to not only boost your kid’s self-esteem, but also help them develop their self-concept. Instagrammer Liomarys Reyes (@thechanlcafreemami) recently went viral after posting a reel that shares three ways to develop self-esteem in children before the age of 5. Related: Confident moms raise confident kids, says an author and expert B ..read more

Cat Willett is a Brooklyn-based artist. She has written, illustrated, and published two full-length books about tarot and the women behind its evolution. She’s dedicated the last few years to telling these magical stories in her published books. Through illustrated comics about parenting, motherhood, gender, and animals, Cat uses art to channel personal experiences with pregnancy and postpartum, as well as other topics like travel and animals. She is a regular contributor to the Washington Post. Find her on Instagram at @catxwillett and catwillett.art ..read more