Estelle Erasmus

nexttribe.com

Becoming a First Time Mom After 40 Left Me Out of Step with My Peers—Here’s How I Coped

Estelle Erasmus was thrilled to welcome a baby in her 40s. But ever since, she’s been out of step with both her peers and mothers of her daughter’s friends.
I’ll never forget my first failed attempt at friendship with another new mom.
Desperate for companionship, I had joined the JCC in my town, for a Mommy and Me class with my three-month-old daughter. I loved the wry wit of Felicia, a brunette former New Yorker, who mimicked the overzealous instructor (“Mommy, watch your baby rolling—high f...

brainchildmag.com

The Healing Words of My Holocaust-Surviving Grandmother

“I luff you, because you’re sveet like a piece of chocolate,” my Grandma Genia crooned in her thick, Yiddish accent, handing me a hunk of a Hershey bar. No exotic fare like Godiva for Grandma—she eschewed exports, even though she herself was one.
Grandma had suffered bitterness in her life. When the Nazis first invaded Poland, my grandfather wanted to stay and fight. She convinced him to take their family—including baby, Miriam, my mother and flee. Escaping into the forest, they made their wa...

Healthline

14 Things Women in Their 50s Say They Would Do Differently

As you get older, you gain perspective from the rearview mirror of your life.
What is it about aging that makes women happier as they get older, especially between the ages of 50 to 70?
Recent research from Australia, which followed women for 20 years, attributes some of this to the fact that women received more “me” time as they got older.
And with that “me” time comes a lot of satisfactory revelations.
I spoke to 14 women in their 50s about what they would have done differently when they we...

Family Circle

8 Headache Cures You Can Try Right Now

1x per day
Stir 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger into a glass of water or have it as a tea daily to stave off a headache before it starts.
Don't Miss: How to Have Happier Dreams and Get a Good Night's Sleep
1240 AD
That’s when peppermint was first mentioned in European medical texts. Massaging your forehead and temples with its oil can help relieve tension pain by increasing circulation, according to research.
Also see: How to Get Back to Sleep After a Nightmare
When a headache hits hard, try th...

Parents

PSA: It's Totally Fine to Have Babies After 35, Science Backs It Up

Pinterest
When Grammy-winning singer Carrie Underwood opens her mouth, people pay attention and not just to her singing. What she says counts, too. Case in point: In a recent cover story for Redbook magazine, Underwood said that she and her husband Mike Fisher may have missed their ‘chance to have a big family’ and give her son, Isaiah Michael siblings, because she is 35. She therefore plans to explore her options, including adoption.
RELATED: Carrie Underwood's Comments on Having a Baby Afte...

Healthline

For These Kids, Following This Diet Is a Matter of Life or Brain Damage

Imagine a diet where you can’t eat more than four grams of protein per day. That’s equivalent to a slice of bread.
Many of us in pursuit of wellness (or weight loss) have tried a restricted eating plan at some point, be it the Mediterranean, South Beach, or Cabbage Soup diet.
We give up sweets, carbs, and sometimes solid food, and it works — for a while. Then eventually we blow it on a slice of cheesecake or a slab of home-cooked lasagna.
But what if you had to go on a diet from birth and cou...

Your Teen

Safe Sex Education and the LGBTQ Teen: What Parents Need to Know

Parents of LGBTQ teens have difficulty discussing dating, sex and sex education with their kids (and may avoid the subject) according to a new study by Northwestern University. Why? Parents often don’t have any context for it, besides cis heterosexual sex.
Safe Sex Education for LGBTQ Teens
But that shouldn’t stop them from talking to their teens.“Parents play an important role in helping their children learn how to have healthy sexual relationships,” said Debra Hauser, President of Advocates...

Psychology Today

7 Easy Ways to Enhance Your Child's Education

I’m in the process of doing some at-home-ad hoc empirical studies with my daughter, which I will report back to you in a later column. In the meantime, I asked a few savvy women what is the most educational thing they did for their children, and found that the research supports the best choices we can make for our kids.
Reading is Fundamental: "The one most educational thing I do with my boys is make reading a way of life," says Tiffany. "Statistics constantly show that young male’s have lowe...

Writer's Digest

Screenwriting Tips & Insights from Michael Zam, Writer of the Emmy-Winning Series Feud: Bette and Joan

In this interview, screenwriter Michael Zam offers screenwriting tips for beginners and veterans, and discusses his success with the Emmy award-winning FX series Feud: Bette and Joan, starring Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Stanley Tucci and more.
Michael Zam, is an award-winner screenwriter, and popular film instructor at New York University. He also teaches theater studies in London. Zam and his writing partner, Jaffe Cohen, wrote and sold a screenplay that became Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Bette ...

Traveling Mom

What to Buy for a Ski Trip

Before leaving on a recent family ski vacation to Stowe, Vermont, where we stayed at the Green Mountain Inn and skied at Stowe Mountain, we headed to our local REI store (become a member and get great deals). From socks to coats, we bought everything we needed as a family to stay toasty but still look terrific whether we were on the slopes, snowmobiling, or sleigh riding. Check out this video on what to buy before a ski trips, then read on for some ski fashion tips.
Ski Fashion Tips
Bright is...

Traveling Mom

8 Essential Luxury Air Travel Tips for Kids

My husband travels a lot on business so he has mega frequent flier miles and opportunities to get the whole family upgraded. As a result, we’ve traveled business class to Australia, the Bahamas, California, Florida, and more.
My 5-year-old daughter is used to traveling in style, but I have honed some tips I’d like to share on how to make any travel experience a success with little kids.
1. Don’t Pass on a Printer
You will save yourself a lot of time by printing out your boarding passes at hom...

Traveling Mom

Channeling Madonna in a Visit to Woodloch Resort

One of my favorite local vacation spots–for any season– is Woodloch Resort in the Poconos. Called one of America’s “Best All Inclusive Family Resorts,” Woodloch stands out from other vacation locations with an emphasis on activities that families can do together.
Situated on a beautiful lake in between glorious mountains, Woodloch in Hawley, PA, has been owned and operated by the same family since 1958, and perhaps that’s why I find it reminiscent of the Catskills resort made famous in the mo...

Your Teen

7 Ways to Handle a Sleepover Party with Your Tween or Teen

It’s nearly the end of the school year, and once the homework load dissipates, most tweens and teens are clamoring for more sleepovers. According to a Harris Poll, Americans say kids are ready at age 11 (10.7 on average) to venture out to a sleepover, but many start even younger.
It seems it’s a necessary rite of passage, but is there a way parents can smartly navigate a sleepover party without losing their cool, and their children’s confidence?
Practical Advice for a Sleepover Party
Dr. Debo...

Family Circle

8 Headache Cures

8 Headache Cures

zwivel.com

The Buzz on At-Home Microneedling Kits: 8 Top-Rated Devices

I have sensitive skin, which although I’m a beauty writer limits me in my explorations. For example, even though I’ve tried fillers, Sculptra and Thermage, I can’t do Retin-A or any acid other than the gentlest lactic one. Dermabrasion is another treatment that’s out of the question for me.

As I get older, what I’m most interested in is building up collagen. At-home microneedling devices — of which there are hundreds of models on the market — promise just that, and much more. Beauty experts a...