first person

How pandemic walks have made me a better partner—and a better parent

How pandemic walks have made me a better partner—and a better parent

Our walks around the neighbourhood have become a special way to reconnect as a couple, and the fresh air is good for the whole family's mental health.

Kelly Jones

What does your messy kitchen table say about you?

What does your messy kitchen table say about you?

Five moms reflect on their kitchen table’s role during life in a pandemic.

Brianna Sharpe, Chatelaine

How kids are actually coping at school: a teacher's confession

How kids are actually coping at school: a teacher's confession

A Toronto teacher on what it’s been like to be back in class during this turbulent time.

Laura Thomson, Toronto Life

Friendships interrupted: how the pandemic takes away the whispers of childhood

Friendships interrupted: how the pandemic takes away the whispers of childhood

"The girls race at each other, ready to make up for lost time. But the parents hiss to step away, move back, stay six feet apart."

Elissa Jacobs

Why I praise my girls' beauty—even though experts say not to

Why I praise my girls' beauty—even though experts say not to

Commenting on girls' appearance just sets them up for eating disorders and Botox, right? I believed this and made it a strict policy—until it backfired.

Anonymous

The virus is exposing how inequitable public school has been all along

The virus is exposing how inequitable public school has been all along

While some schools are running around calling arborists about tree stumps for outdoor learning chairs, others aren't quite so privileged.

Charlotte Dobo

Kids should be in school, not six-hour COVID test lineups

Kids should be in school, not six-hour COVID test lineups

Testing is essential. But if it requires small kids to stand outdoors in a lineup for six hours, all due to a runny nose, then something is very broken.

Lindsay Springer

How I plan to get revenge on my toddlers once they're adults

How I plan to get revenge on my toddlers once they're adults

In this excerpt from the book “Silence is a Scary Sound,” Clint Edwards shares hilarious stories and advice about the terrible twos and threes.

Clint Edwards

I just got the dreaded there's-COVID-in-your-child's-school email

I just got the dreaded there's-COVID-in-your-child's-school email

It happened to me, and there's a good chance it'll happen to you, too. Here's what to do (and what NOT to do) when COVID-19 hits your kid's school.

Ariel Brewster

I'm a rage cleaner—it's my version of therapy

I'm a rage cleaner—it's my version of therapy

A good anger-scour of everything in my entire house helps me clear my head. Plus, rage cleaning is cheaper than going to therapy.

Katie Dupuis

COVID cases are up. Why won't Ontario's government mandate smaller classes?

COVID cases are up. Why won't Ontario's government mandate smaller classes?

In a year that every extra person in a room means extra risk, the Conservative government is ignoring our kids' overflowing classrooms.

Denise Balkissoon, Chatelaine

As a parent of colour, I’m committed to recognizing my own internalized racial biases

As a parent of colour, I’m committed to recognizing my own internalized racial biases

People of colour can still hold racially biased beliefs. As a mom committed to raising anti-racist kids, this is something I'm working to change.

Robin Lacambra

How I knew my son had autism

How I knew my son had autism

When I first questioned if everything was ‘normal’ with my son, people seemed shocked, but I could feel that something wasn’t quite right.

Lauren Flack

My family fought anti-Black racism in the school system—and won

My family fought anti-Black racism in the school system—and won

School is dangerous for Black children. Pushing to change that has become a permanent part of my life.

Charline Grant, Chatelaine

Stressed parents, please know that teachers will do their very best for your kids

Stressed parents, please know that teachers will do their very best for your kids

We're all worried, but we also need to be patient as teachers figure out what works (and what doesn’t) in a school year unlike any other.

Louise Gleeson

After one twin was stillborn, I couldn't bond with my surviving son

After one twin was stillborn, I couldn't bond with my surviving son

After losing a twin in the womb, I was forced to deliver his brother too early. The grief and self-blame that enveloped me was almost too much to bear.

Jenna Fletcher

School is about to start in Ontario and we still don't have a safe reopening plan

School is about to start in Ontario and we still don't have a safe reopening plan

The government promised to do "whatever it takes" to safely reopen schools in Ontario, but days before school starts we still don't have a plan.

Erin Pepler

How having a child with cancer prepared me for COVID-19

How having a child with cancer prepared me for COVID-19

Going through those five years of hell taught this mom a lot about resiliency and most importantly, how to get through a crisis.

Antonia Palmer

10 Students, Teachers and Parents on How They Feel About Going Back to School in a Pandemic

10 Students, Teachers and Parents on How They Feel About Going Back to School in a Pandemic

For most of Canada, classes will be back in session in September, whether IRL, online or a hybrid of both. And it’ll be one for the books, that’s for sure.

Sadaf Ahsan, FLARE

How the nuclear family structure was forced upon present-day Black families

How the nuclear family structure was forced upon present-day Black families

This structure not only eroded the modes that Africans had long thrived on, it drove the production of social and environmental ruin.

Andray Domise, Maclean's