Last time, I moderated a panel about play. This time, I get to be on one! If you're in the toy biz, I'll be on the "Traditional Media" panel at this year's People of Play media event! Come check it out.
The 2022 Good Housekeeping We Are Family Parenting Summit has come to a close, and I was so lucky to have such a great conversation about "The Power of Play" with experts who all came to the table with something to share.
If you weren't able to make it, you can see a recap of my panel and all of the other panels/chats/discussions up at the Good Housekeeping website!
I wanted to give a behind-the-scenes tidbit from the event. Up top, you can see what the event looked like to people who were tuning in virtually. But here's what no one saw:
When I'm on Zoom, I don't like to look down and look like I'm reading notes, so I carefully taped them all up behind my computer screen. One of the benefits of virtual events!
For the Good Housekeeping Parenting Summit, I'm moderating a panel on a very serious topic: play! I'll be asking a panel of distinguished guests what play is, why it's so important, and — the million-dollar question — how to encourage kids to play independently. I'll be joined by Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, Dr. Rebecca Schrag Hershberg, Melissa Bernstein (of Melissa & Doug and Lifelines) and Jessica Rolph (of Lovevery). Come watch!
Register for free here: http://ghkp.us/BIDi4Fq
So sad to hear that Working Mother magazine will be no longer. That publication was truly groundbreaking when it comes to navigating work-life balance (or work-life integration), flexible work (which, despite a two-plus-year pandemic as proof of concept, employers are still fighting), and about women standing up and asking for what they deserve.
This was my favorite story I wrote for them, about the barriers to building a better breast pump. It's funny, because in the years since I wrote this in 2016, there have been others on the same topic, writing about the same MIT hackathon. (I truly believe that if everyone had to use a breast pump, they'd be silent, efficient and the size of a credit card. And we'd have paid leave.) It's sad how little progress has been made. Still more work to do!
I have never jumped at a chance to be included in a story faster than when Patrick Ryan over at USA Today asked me if I had thoughts about the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from Encanto. Considering the song has been in my head since November, yes, I did have thoughts! See what I think about surprise, bonafide hit.
"We Don't Talk About Bruno" from Encanto is now a Top 5 hit on the charts. How did that happen?
I had so much fun moderating a panel at "Good Housekeeping x American Cleaning Institute Discover Cleaning 2021: Cleaning Is Caring Summit." If you missed it, you can see a recording of the event on the GH website. There are lots of good tips in there about how to get the whole family involved in cleaning up! (I actually use the idea of "chunking" now in my own house.)
I'm going to moderate a panel on one of my favorite topics: How to get the whole family into cleaning together! I can't stop talking about it, because I learn new tips every time — along with interesting info about the benefits of giving kids chores. Come listen to my panel!
Hey, look! It's me in Writer's Digest. Here, I'm giving Estelle Erasmus tips on the best way to pitch me parenting and relationship stories at Good Housekeeping, and her story includes pitches that worked and were ultimately published. I can't wait to see what Estelle's readers send me! This is just a sneak peek — if you want the full thing, it's only in print.
Had so much fun chatting with WPIX 11 about virtual school field trips! You may not be traveling as much this spring, and schools probably aren't doing their normal field trips, but you can still get a little bit of that kind of experience from home. Hear me talk about some of my favorites!
How remote learning is creating virtual field trips
I was using this website to keep track of all my clips, but considering the last time I did an update on that was October 2019 — and, who could blame me, considering *gestures at everything all around* — I think it' safe to say that it wan't happening. But then I found Authory, which will automatically find and post all my articles. I'm saved! I'll still use this for updates and news, but check out my Authory page if you want to stay up-to-date on my most recent stories.