About this column:
A place for moms to ask (and answer) important questions about children and parenting.There has been a lot of buzz this week about Rahna Reiko Rizzuto. No, it's not a hot new restaurant, it is the woman who authored Hiroshima in the Morning. Why all the buzz? She is a mom who left her kids. And wrote about it. Rahna Reiko Rizzuto -- yes, I'm sure it's not a restaurant -- is doing the media circuit, turning up on The Today Show, The View and The Huffington Post. Ten years ago, while married to her childhood sweetheart, the New York, stay-at-home mom of two small children and a writer, Reiko Rizzuto applied for a fellowship to go to Japan for six months to interview …
The news out of Japan – an 8.9 magnitude earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami, tens of thousands of people believed to be dead and now explosions at nuclear power plants – is a lot for an adult to absorb, let alone a child. One parent shares the importance of saying the right thing when talking to children about tragic news. As a parent, I struggle with what to tell my kids about tragedies, and natural disasters. Sadly, there have been many natural and man-made disasters in their short lives. Devastating earthquakes in China, India, Iran, Pakistan, New Zealand, the Deep Water Horizon …
My children have partied well. They’ve ridden ponies, wrapped snakes around their necks, and greeted a New York Yankee, all in suburban backyards. An American Girl doll party, for dolls and girls, had food and entertainers brought in from the New York American Girl store. A carnival party meant rides, the moon bounce, and clowns doing the old clown car act, all brought in from Manhattan for the day. That party included cotton candy and snow cone machines staffed by local teens; another party I recall had an ice cream truck pull up. The treats were distributed by a costumed Spiderman and …
Jason, a boy I taught in seventh grade, spearheads a major fundraising drive at his house of worship, bringing a youthful, college-age energy and idealism to the project. I will donate to the effort, but I wouldn’t have put money on this result. When I taught him several years ago, Jason’s religious rite of passage was big news in the seventh grade. His parents had a big celebration planned. An older brother was about to move across country, and some of the older relatives were aging quickly. This party was intended to celebrate Jason and the entire family. And so it did. I was invited. I …
