For the year’s end, I decided to peek at my stats to figure out the most popular posts (based on pageviews) of 2012. Here are the top ten. 1. where is the mommy-war for the motherless child?
This is a post I wrote in reaction to the brouhaha over the attachment parenting/breastfeeding story in Time magazine. I was so sick of watching mothers fight over parenting issues of privilege, while ignoring the kids who have no parents at all. I love that this one was so widely shared since it’s something I am so passionate about. I’m glad it resonated with others.
2. how to watch season 3 of downton abbey in the united states
Well well well. Looks like I’m not the only Downton Dork out there who couldn’t wait for it to premiere in the US. In this post I detail how to legally watch the series early in the US.
3. best iphone/ipad apps for kindergarten-aged kids
This post listing good educational apps for the kindergarten set went a little crazy on Pinterest
4. here, let me ruin halloween for you.
I actually wrote this post last year, but I included some disheartening updates about the progress (or lack thereof) the chocolate industry is making towards reducing child labor and slavery in their supply chain.
5. parents, please educate your kids about adoption so mine don’t have to
This post resonated with adoptive parents and wrankled some non-adoptive parents. It was reposted at Huffington Post and ended up getting hundreds of angry comments from people who feel that my choice to adopt outside my race means that my kids should just have to suffer through prying questions. Not gonna lie, the comments on this one made me lose faith in humanity a bit. I still think that we as a society can do better in informing our kids that families come in all shapes and sizes.
6. the inconvenient truth about mental health and gun control
In this post, I expressed my concerns about a “mental-health only” approach to reducing mass shootings, and articulated some practical ideas for keeping guns out of the hands of madmen.
7. five things to consider before talking to your kids about today’s tragedy
This post was an exploration of the questions I asked myself as I decided not to tell my kids about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary.
8. how do you define sexy? (no really. I need a definition.)
This was a silly post about how flummoxed I was when my kids asked me what the word “sexy” means.
9. educational equality and the economic divide
In this post I explored my cognitive dissonance about sending my kids to a coveted charter school that I had initially opposed, as well as my feelings about much of the self-segregation I observe in the schools in my area, which are sharply divided by race and socio-economic status. Some interesting and informative dialogue on this post in the comments section.
10. talk back tuesday: airplane etiquette
Woah – who knew a random question about reclining seats would provoke such passionate comments? Mark and I were surprised to learn that many of you consider us rude and obnoxious for occasionally reclining our seats. We read the comments with interest . . . and then continued to recline our seats on long flights. Just like the people in the row in front of us did. But now with more guilt.
