Ambrosia Brody

Whether your child is swimming competitively or jumping into the pool for occasional summer fun, they could benefit from goggles to protect their eyes from chlorine and UV rays. Goggles are swim essentials for children who spend a lot of time in the water.

I watch as my daughter, this former resident of my belly and constant companion, runs away from me at full speed. Her focus is on claiming her independence, a milestone every parent wants their child to reach one day. But does it have to be today?
When did I become a spectator to my daughter's life? Once upon a time, not too long ago, I was the key player in her daily routine—I was her chef, her consultant on all things fashion, her driver and moral compass.

The early 2000s was such an exciting time. Not only was I a senior in high school, but I was finally allowed to start buying some of my own clothes, since I had a job. A good portion of my paycheck was spent at the mall on trucker hats, velour sweatsuits, and cargo pants. I never left the house without wearing my butterfly clips and Skechers, and you best believe I felt hot in those outfits while dancing with my friends to “Peaches and Cream," “It Wasn’t Me,” and “Goodies." So when I had the ...

To my adventurous middle child,
My dearest second-born, how I love you so. I know you may at times forget just how special you are to me since your younger brother and older sister require my full attention more than ever these days.
I hope you understand when I tell you, “hold that thought real quick,” is not because I don’t want to hear what you told the boy on the playground or why bees are so important to the Earth, but because I want to sit on the floor, knee to knee, and give you all of...

My daughter is fairly outgoing, but only when she wants to be. Sometimes, she just wants to be left alone. She makes friends when she feels like it, and she goes into social mode when she feels like it. Unfortunately, it took me some time to realize this about her.
In my first two years of being a mom, I believed it was my job to find friends for my daughter, so I'd arrange play dates for her.

My girl,
Sometimes I forget that you’re only 4 years old. Your ability to negotiate pretty much anything, whether it be watching one more episode of Wicked World or sleeping with two stuffed animals instead of one at bedtime, makes me think you’re already a 'tween. You like things your way and enjoy taking charge; you're not easily swayed by others when your mind is set on doing something. It’s this ability to stay true to yourself that puts me in such awe of you.

Parenting little people can be frustrating, to say the least. Dealing with stubborn kids who have no qualms about vocalizing all of their wants and needs is tiresome, and yes, sometimes I do raise my voice when I've run out of patience. I know my neighbors might hear loud sounds coming from our house every now and again, which might cause them to think our kids are terrors or that we aren’t doing a great job as parents.

For years, I've thought that I have some form of social anxiety. While I've never been formally diagnosed, I've exhibited most of the symptoms, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA): nausea, dizziness, and sweating in social situations, as well as a general, paralyzing fear of being negatively judged by my peers.

By the time our daughter was 2 years old, I thought we had experienced it all: sleep deprivation, vomit and pinkeye, stomach flu, teething, sleep regression and tantrums. But nothing prepared me for the hell that is potty training.

The first of three of the most highly anticipated presidential debates in American history did not disappoint, as presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took the stage at Hofstra University on Monday night and argued over achieving prosperity, securing America, and America’s direction. O

Dear people who tell my daughter not to sit "like that,"
Although I understand that you believe your request for my daughter to act “ladylike” is rooted in some helpful gender norm that dictates what sets a “proper” girl apart from an “inappropriate” girl, please save your opinion for someone else. She can sit however she damn well pleases.

The controversy surrounding vaccinating was in full-force as I went from thinking, "kids, maybe?" to scheduling sex for the optimal chances of conception with the precision of a NASA engineer. Jenny McCarthy’s anti-vaccination arguments stuck with me when I finally got pregnant after a round of IUI, though they have long since been debunked.

I didn’t think waiting until I was 30 to have my first baby would really matter. I mean, yes I would have liked to have started a family when I was in my mid-20s but it took some time to get a career going, get married, travel some and actually feel ready to have a baby.

Ask any U.S. mom why she decided to return to work, or stay at home, and I guarantee she has an Excel file tabulating the income versus child-care tradeoff, and a mental ledger of concerns about career momentum versus "quality time while they're young." Ask any mom about her feelings on stay-at-home moms versus working moms, and there will be, well, *feelings.*

If you take a look at my hands in the days leading up to a big trip, an important meeting, a play date with a new mom, you’ll see painfully short nails and ripped cuticles. Not an awesome sight, I know. I’ve been a chronic nail biter due to social anxiety for the majority of my life, especially during those teen years when I completely lacked self-confidence and worried about everything.