There’s an episode of Bluey called “Muffin Cone” (s2 e43). The girls’ little cousin, Muffin, who’s three years old, comes over to play at their house. She won’t stop sucking her thumb, so her mom has resorted to making her wear a “cone of shame” (since they are all dogs, after all). In the episode, … Read more
From when I was fifteen onwards, my job in the family was to cook dinner for us either five or six nights a week depending on if we were going out to eat, picked up takeout/takeaway, etc. I was pleased with this job, because my previous job had been washing the dishes and I really … Read more
Today’s post needs a content warning for religious trauma and triggery religious language as well as a description of lots of big childhood fears. I also feel like I want to re-emphasize the disclaimer that I made on Wednesday and say again, as emphatically as humanly possible, that this is entirely intended as a personal … Read more
(this post comes with a content warning for mention of physical abuse, as well as disordered eating, eating aversion, internalized fatphobia, sensory difficulties with eating…basically if there’s anything that feels triggery to you about food, there’s a high chance I’ll talk about it in this post. Please skip if you should, or do whatever helps … Read more
I plan to write some posts for the next week about what might be called “ADLs” in occupational therapist jargon. Activities of daily living. Think about the things you generally have to do everyday to survive (or maybe every couple of days). For me, this week, I plan to write about eating, sleeping, cooking, showering/bathing/hygiene. … Read more
[Image description: A dark blue square field with white text on it that reads, “I’m Bored! Could actually mean… My anxiety is high and I need something to block it out. I’m too overwhelmed to focus on a task. I’m in need of some sensory input in order to function. I’m too low on energy/dopamine … Read more
Here’s a tiny little “this is working for our family right now so maybe it will for someone else too”: Our only form of screen time for our kids right now is TV shows and movies. We usually stick to preschool shows, Pixar/Disney movies, and YouTube videos about how things work or “behind the scenes” … Read more
Sitting is not morally better than standing. Sitting is not morally better than pacing. Sitting is not morally better than wandering. Sitting is easier for some adults to handle than standing, pacing, or wandering. Why are we more worried about what is easier for adults to handle than what makes it easier for children to … Read more
(Another post where I just walk you through my thought processes during a particular day.) I pull up in the driveway expecting an evening at home, but my son is already in the driveway asking me to take him to the park. We throw some things together and head to the park instead. He has … Read more
This post needs a content warning. I am talking about violence against children—not in the present tense, thankfully, but in the past tense. I am also talking about defusing anger responses against children instead of giving in to them. I understand that this is a really fraught topic. I have times in my life where … Read more