"When I look at Kaori Sakamoto or Ilia Malinin on the ice, I don’t feel overcome by envy of what they can do.... But as a mom, watching other moms of young children succeed in areas where I think I’ve failed is a lot harder to reconcile." www.the-pom.com/p/is-everyon...

We're featuring a guest post today from Laura L on The Pom! "I don’t want to be the kind of parent who provides contradictory evidence to what my kid experiences in the world. Reassurance is crucial, but invalidation is so rough on the psyche." thepom.substack.com/p/sometimes-...

We're featuring a guest post today from @sallynicholls.bsky.social "It was not fun. There were a lot of tears. A lot of boredom. A crippling sense of responsibility and a constant awareness that I was failing somebody, somewhere, no matter what I was doing." www.the-pom.com/p/how-mr-rog...

We have a new update for all subscribers, both free and paid, on our site today -- along with a special offer! thepom.substack.com/p/paid-subsc...

We have a new update for all subscribers, both free and paid, on our site today -- along with a special offer! thepom.substack.com/p/paid-subsc...

"When I had a baby and a toddler, everything was hard. Now I have a toddler and a preschooler, and the hard has begun to shrink– or perhaps I have grown." I'm in @thepom.bsky.social today writing about how circumstances don't always change, but parents can. www.the-pom.com/p/i-promise-...

"There is simply no replacement for firsthand experience managing a toddler when it comes to building empathy and solidarity with caregivers—whether or not you choose to become a parent yourself." @laureneahmed.bsky.social makes the case for babysitting today: www.the-pom.com/p/bring-back...

"I don’t have to carry anyone– they are racing each other across uneven pavement (still just as prone to falling down and screaming bloody murder, though). It isn’t the cold exercise sending a surge of warmth to my heart." New post from @amycolleen.bsky.social today: www.the-pom.com/p/i-promise-...

The Pomegranate is now open for #submissions! Mothers who write, you can find our guidelines here: www.the-pom.com/p/submission... #writersky #momsky #momswhowrite

"Was it morning or evening, my children would ask. Like the early days of post-partum, I had no idea, I could only guess by trying to carbon date the apple rinds left on the couch. The bite marks looked fresh. It must be morning." @clhubes.bsky.social in The Pom today www.the-pom.com/p/i-survived...

We're honored to have the brilliant @lindsaynicolle.bsky.social writing at The Pom today! "Raising kids today means more than just curbing behavior or encouraging independence. It’s constantly fighting against oppressive public opinion and literal rising tides." www.the-pom.com/p/motherhood...

We're honored to have the brilliant @lindsaynicolle.bsky.social writing at The Pom today! "Raising kids today means more than just curbing behavior or encouraging independence. It’s constantly fighting against oppressive public opinion and literal rising tides." www.the-pom.com/p/motherhood...

Everyone is tired, including us. Here's to a happy and healthy holiday break. www.the-pom.com/p/a-year-in-...

The proximity thing is so huge. If you don’t live close to your friends, the chances you will see them regularly drop to basically nil. (Assuming you don’t have a “built-in” reason to see them like a class, group, religious community, e.g.)

"It’s easy to conclude that everyone is simply too flaky and selfish these days to show up for each other, or that modern parents are too particular about their precious babies to accept help from others who might do things differently.... I think that’s a lazy read." www.the-pom.com/p/dont-blame...

www.the-pom.com/p/i-thought-... I'm in @thepom.bsky.social today talking about my inadequacies at pretend play and my gratitude for the community that fills the gaps I can't. ❤️

Today, @hbomax.bsky.social airs their new doc "Thoughts & Prayers" on the $3 billion (!) shooting-preparedness industry and the sobering reality of how the U.S. has failed its children. @laureneahmed.bsky.social & @kristenmulrooney.bsky.social review the film here: www.the-pom.com/p/review-hbo...

A piece by @kristenmulrooney.bsky.social in @thepom.bsky.social that perfectly expresses how I feel about AI in the creative arts:

The editors of @thepom.bsky.social having a normal one 😂😂😂😂😂

"Despite my avoidance of self-help parenting books, I’ve been an avid reader my whole life, and as I thought about what kind of parent I wanted to be, a few principles from my favorite novels came to mind." www.the-pom.com/p/why-i-star...

"My younger son is a gleeful thrower, a mess-maker who creates for the sheer love of art and not to express any real distaste with the meal offered. Blueberries, mashed into a pulp– trash. Noodles shoved beneath the high chair seat– trash." www.the-pom.com/p/why-i-star...

I wrote about one of my favorite books today for @thepom.bsky.social and about wanting to give my kids the gift of wasting security. www.the-pom.com/p/why-i-star...

"'It’s starting early this year,' a mom friend said to me earlier this week, and I didn’t have to ask her what she meant. I know I won’t be reading for a while. All of the things I might call hobbies are on the chopping block." www.the-pom.com/p/i-dont-car...

"Did they really not yell at their kids or were they just being sanctimonious? It’s not like I planned to lose it. It’s just that sometimes I got so frustrated, so panicked that there was nothing I could do to stop whatever behavior he was doing and I lost control." www.the-pom.com/p/anti-anxie...

One of our editorial team, @kristenmulrooney.bsky.social, has a fun new byline today: she not only wrote the story on which the new Vera Bradley ad campaign is based, but she stars in it! youtu.be/y5iLDXXb4Yk?...

"An eco-friendly diaper genie that harvests the methane from your little bundle of joy’s worst messes and converts it to energy to warm your wipes. Don’t forget to get the wipe warmer add-on, otherwise the methane will permeate your nursery." www.the-pom.com/p/every-pare...

Congratulations to @beccys.bsky.social who has won a year of free premium access to The Pom!

I’m nearly through with my intensive mothering years as the empty nest beckons in 18 short months (😢) - but I wish that @thepom.bsky.social was a thing when I was a younger mama. If you’re not familiar with their content, go ahead and check them out!

I enjoy reading the different parenting perspectives shared by these women. The articles are thought-provoking, funny, and heartfelt. I have been a mother for 18 years but am still learning and open to new ideas. I also am reassured that I am getting some things right! 😅

To celebrate a subscriber milestone, we're choosing one subscription at random to comp for one year of access to our paid articles! If you'd like to be considered, share this post or make your own post linking to the-pom.com and tag us to be entered.

"When we treat disliking an entire, diverse group of humans for something they can’t change as reasonable, we enter dangerous territory... Children [are] billions of people, as fully human as the rest of us. Their right to participate and engage with the community isn’t up for discussion or debate."

"We want childlike wonder without children I think because, I’ll be perfectly frank, some of these folks still want to be society’s baby themselves." www.the-pom.com/p/childrens-...

"I was thrilled that my son made a period joke at the dinner table, not just because the timing was perfect and his delivery was impeccable, but because it felt like a win to me that my kids were comfortable with this topic that would have mortified me in my youth." www.the-pom.com/p/i-dont-min...

Another great read by @laureneahmed.bsky.social and @thepom.bsky.social. The truth of it is that, as the piece says so well, “…some of these folks still want to be society’s baby themselves.” That’s it, that’s the whole thing. There is no other explanation for resenting children at Disney World. 🧵

"'Enjoy every moment!' I said sarcastically to the dinosaur stuffies on the floor. “You’re gonna miss this!” (They did not respond, for they are not sentient.)" www.the-pom.com/p/stop-telli...

I wrote about how saying, "it goes so fast! You're gonna miss it!" and the like is unhelpful to new parents, and what I'm going to try to say instead. www.the-pom.com/p/stop-telli...

My tirade against Instagrammers who do Beach Stuff for their kids continues

THIS: “…parents and kids can only thrive when we aren’t in a mode of constant scarcity…” I’ve (gratefully) missed most of the ‘90s summer promos, but another reason I know it’s not possible is that Lynette Jennings & Aleene’s Creative Living aren’t on the air anymore. 📺

"What an incredible privilege it is to be able to travel with our children, I would repeat to myself over and over again every summer, as traffic jams, flight delays, motion sickness and just plain overstimulation led everyone in our family to tears." www.the-pom.com/p/wait-until...

"The woman seated across the plastic table was one of my own students in the Intro level class, and her children– older than mine by several years– ate their food like human beings, not shrieking warthogs. She smiled warmly at me, unfazed by the noise and mayhem." www.the-pom.com/p/do-the-har...

@thepom.bsky.social is my favorite when it showcases different opinions! Earlier this year @laureneahmed.bsky.social posted an almost completely opposite take, and having read this one I find that they both resonate. (More)

One of my favorite things about @thepom.bsky.social is that we aren't a hive mind; everyone has different perspectives, so we get great essays like Lauren's "I Love to Travel With Kids Who Are Too Young to Remember It" and @sarahradz.bsky.social's piece today. www.the-pom.com/p/wait-until...

"These 90s summers I so cherished hadn’t vanished because we’ve failed to see the value in rest, relaxation, and unstructured time. They’d simply ended because the world my kids live in is utterly unrecognizable from 1995." www.the-pom.com/p/stop-tryin...

"I like to think that by being open with all kinds of vocabulary with my kids, I've opened the door to communicate freely about other things, including the things I was always too embarrassed to talk to my family about when I was young." www.the-pom.com/p/i-dont-min...

The summer Lauren describes from her childhood not only no longer exists, but was never supposed to be aspirational in the first place. Today at @thepom.bsky.social: www.the-pom.com/p/stop-tryin...