Nurture

Didn’t get a chance to say thank you to your kid’s teacher? It’s not too late. Didn’t get a chance to thank your kid’s teacher this year? With schools across the country shutting down until September (at least), many parents and kids are regretting not getting in their goodbyes and thank yous back in March.

Lindsay Scott is a Toronto-based employment lawyer and a partner at Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP. She also volunteers at the free employment law hotline run by Pro Bono Ontario, and is the mother of a one-year-old. She spoke with Chatelaine about the effects of COVID-19 on Canadian businesses and employees. So, most of the calls that

Not hearing Ojibway as a kid was something I didn’t give much thought to—probably because I didn’t know any different. No one spoke the language in my home. My mother, a former student of several residential schools, was ashamed of being Indigenous. In fact, she would sometimes tell people she was French. I grew up

How can I offer a child a love that I’ve never received? Friends assure me becoming a mom is an instinct, but that feels too simple. Growing up, Mother’s Day was an annual reminder my classmates’ families had a member that my family didn’t. In grade two, a substitute teacher instructed our class to make

As a doctor, having my family isolate away from me felt like the responsible thing to do—but I never expected it to be this hard. On March 20th, uncertain about what my work demands as a doctor in Toronto might be, we made the family decision to live apart. My husband Ian, and my 5-

The kids are acting out and apparently, so am I. Photo: iStockPhoto I could hear my kids before I saw them, their angry footsteps pounding up the stairs in a frantic race to my home office. My seven-year-old son was yelling before he even got through the door, with his nine-year-old sister close behind—and she

About three times a day at our house, all three kids are crying, whining, or searching for something they can’t find. Dear stay-at-home moms, After 31 days sheltering-in-place with my three sons (ages five, three and one), I’ve never had more respect for you than I have at this moment. While I always knew you

If you’ve spent any time on social media over the last few weeks (is there anyone who hasn’t?!), you’ve likely detected the increasing spread of a bizarre new contagion. Amid news feeds stuffed with homeschooling tips and toilet paper-hoarding memes, there are pictures of puppies. So many ridiculously cute new puppies.  Timber, our brand new

Codi Lynn of Creative Wife and Joyful Worker wants families to know that getting a dog isn’t exactly as easy as it looks in the movies. Here are five things to think about before deciding if it’s the right fit for your family. Getting a puppy for Christmas isn’t just something you see in your

Netflix is making it easier for parents to monitor their child’s content consumption—a way to avoid mature questions and sassy behaviour. If you’re letting your kids watch a bit more Netflix than usual now that we’re all stuck at home, you’ve likely thought about monitoring their activity a little more closely. Netflix knows parents worry

“I’m exhausted, we’re arguing more, and things are growing tense.” For some couples, quarantine plus kids can be a recipe for breakup. A typical day in my home right now feels far from ordinary. Like other Canadians, my family, including our three kids, is social distancing in an attempt to flatten the COVID-19 curve—and it’s

If you’re at the point in your marriage where you’re considering ending it once and for all, you may already be making decisions based on misconceptions about how divorce works. We asked Laura Paris, an associate with Shulman Law Firm in Toronto, and Sarah Dargatz, a partner at Latitude Family Law in Edmonton, to bust

The house is remarkably quiet. I’m on a conference call on Google Hangouts, but my eye is on the clock. It’s 12:35 p.m. You’re not going to nag today, remember? I remind myself. 12:37 p.m. Still nothing. The schedule I made with the kids says lunch is at noon. I grit my teeth (my chiropractor

Not to say the benefits outweigh the drawbacks—obviously not—but there may be a silver lining to this bizarre new world we find ourselves in. I don’t need to state the obvious. This situation is no bed of roses. It’s unsettling, unusual and (what is fast becoming the most overused word in the English language), unprecedented.

What workers in Canada need to know about applying for benefits and looking for a new job. First off all, we’re sorry to hear that, but you’re in good company. Nearly one million Canadians applied for employment insurance (EI) benefits between March 16 and March 22 and you can be sure that the COVID-19 crisis

Workers are risking their health to fulfill our online orders. And how do we know these packages are virus-free? The lure of my idle browser window is overwhelming. It blinks and beckons me to buy all of the hand-poured candles,  luxury loungewear and leggings that cost more than the average person’s monthly utility bill. But

Who qualifies and how to apply for COVID-19-related financial support. Given the health recommendations to stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with schools and child care centres closed, many working moms and dads suddenly find themselves stay-at-home parents, without their usual sources of income or ability to work. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has

There’s a lot on a parent’s to-do list, and playing with your kid doesn’t always make it to the top. But play is important for your kid’s development, and getting down on their level to goof off for a few minutes can actually shave some of the stress off your day. It’s a win-win. We

One of the reasons I had two kids was so they’d have each other to lean on as adults. But now it seems like they might not even end up on speaking terms. My daughters are three years apart and they look identical. In photos, I sometimes can’t tell them apart—especially because they are never

In partnership with Royal Roads University  Photo: iStockphoto Parenting is a balancing act; add continuing education to an already toppling list of lunch prep, birthday parties and temper tantrums, and it could feel as though the scales have tipped. But as many parents who went back to school know, the time and effort is well