Fostering curiosity in kids (and their parents) since 2011

Posts by Shala Howell

How to have end-of-life care conversations with your parents (Not appropriate for children)

Being in the sandwich generation can be pretty terrible sometimes. Last year, my mother sat down with my husband and me to talk about my role as her healthcare proxy. Although she is not sick now, in the event that she becomes sick, she wanted to be certain I knew her wishes so that I could advocate for them on her behalf, if necessary. It was a painful conversation. But also vital, because making end-of-life decisions on behalf of another person is impossibly hard. When you have this conversation with your parents, it’s important to know how to structure it, so that you can align your loved ones’ end-of-life care with their quality-of-life goals.

Wordless Wednesday: The Very Quiet Cricket

In my seemingly never-ending decluttering frenzy I very nearly gave away The Six-Year-Old’s collection of Eric Carle books on the grounds that she was too old for them. But at the very last minute, I changed my mind.
After finding this on The Six-Year-Old’s desk last week, I’m glad I did.

Classic Caterpickles: “Why do pale people get more moles?” (Caterpickles consults the dermatologist)

The first time I went in for my now-annual skin check, the dermatologist found three moles that looked funny. So I had them taken off. My four-year-old was fascinated by this entire process, asking me countless questions about why people should have their skin checked, what the doctor is looking for, the difference between freckles and moles, and of course, whether it’s true pale people get more moles (not necessarily).