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St. Louis Moms Unite for World Breastfeeding Week

Last week my good friend had a baby boy. In the proud grandma’s first Facebook post announcing the weight, length and name to the world, she added this: “Baby’s fine and nursing well.”
 

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Breast Cancer Survivors Walk the Runway to Support Their Own

When you hear that someone has been diagnosed with breast cancer, the first person to pop in your mind likely isn’t the mom next to you in the school pickup lane. It’s your grandmother’s best friend. Or that nice older lady down the street.

Yet, each day, young moms – who just like us are balancing preschoolers and office deadlines and housework – are also battling breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2009, there were 190,000 new women diagnosed with breast cancer, and 18,600 of those diagnosed were younger than age 45.

Thankfully, for the past ten years, the Young Women’s Breast Cancer Program at Siteman Cancer Center has become a beacon of support,

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St. Louis Children’s Hospital Tackles Sports Injuries With Special Webcast

It’s only September, and we’re already swept up in the first period of the school sports season.

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New Research on Binge Drinking and Teen Brains: What Parents Should Know

In two weeks, a friend and I are planning a special lunch to celebrate our kids’ independence.  My youngest will have completed a week of kindergarten by then, and her only child will be entering his first week of college.

Despite the serious separation anxiety gripping our house right now, I have it easier. I don’t have to worry about the temptations of college life.

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Erasing the First Day of Kindergarten Chaos

Since my oldest daughter has been in daycare, we’ve been dreaming of that day when she entered kindergarten and we escaped the death clutch daycare has had on our bank account. Oh, the things my husband and I could do with those funds – the Time Life Best of Soul Train DVD collection, zombie lawn ornaments, PajamaJeans for every day of the week. Or we could do something really crazy – like stop paying for gas with spare change.

But as that day creeps closer and closer, we realize that we’ve been so fixated on our financial windfall that we failed to understand we’re pulling our child from the safety of her preschool onto the road of debauchery that begins in elementary school.

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Get Expert Insights on Your New Parenting Roles

Scientists have found that parents, on average, are less happy and have less life satisfaction than couples who don’t have children. This is true both while they are raising their children and later on, after the kids have left home.

But hang on a second — surely we're not all going through these trials and tribulations for no reason?  No, we're not. It turns out that happiness is only part of the equation.

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St. Louis Mom Makes It Her Mission to Curb Distracted Driving

Every time a driver dials a cell phone or answers a text behind the wheel, that person is putting his or her life at risk.

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St. Louis Moms Open Up About Open Adoption

In the months leading up to their little one’s arrival, expectant parents are overwhelmed with questions from the miniscule to the monumental.

For parents considering adoption, their questions can be incredibly complex, especially when making the choice to pursue open adoption.

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Nine-Year-Old Perseveres in Baseball and in Life

In a baseball town like ours, America’s pastime is woven throughout the patchwork of our kids’ lives.

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How Much Does Having a Kid Really Cost?

Every payday, it hits me that as sweet little balls of sunshine my daughters are, they’re also savage little income suckers who drain our checkbook dry.

I don’t feel like we spoil them, but there are those little things like soccer leagues and doctor appointment co-pays that feast like vultures on the last remnants daycare, food and diapers leave behind.

It’s not surprising that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual "Expenditures on Children by Families," which was recently released, a child born in 2010 will cost his or her parents $226,920 over the next 17 years.

The main expenditures reported by the USDA included housing, child care, education, and food. However, I wonder how closely they analyzed those little things that really take the bite out of our budgets. The items at age 20 you never, ever thought you’d be spending your hard earned dollars on:

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Too Fat For 15 Strikes a Chord with St. Louis Audience

The power of reality TV came home to me in April, when I attended a special taping of the Style Network docu-series Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back. The stars of the townhall-style session included Ruby Gettinger, making an up-and-down journey from nearly 500 pounds when her Style show began in 2008 to 360 pounds now, and several of the inspiring teens who have been featured on Too Fat for 15.

They converged in the West County YMCA in Chesterfield (along with celebrity moderator Allison Sweeney from The Biggest Loser and a panel of doctors, chefs, trainers, nutritionists and even a Rams football player) to talk about the childhood obesity epidemic. Dozens of overweight and obese children feeling the epidemic first hand were in the audience, and their emotional testimonies and heartfelt questions brought tears to my eyes many times over the course of the afternoon.

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Things to Do

Sea Lion Shows at the Saint Louis Zoo
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Wednesday, July 2, 2025

See the Zoo's California sea lions perform acrobatic and athletic feats, including Olympic-style dives on a high-diving platform, flipper walks, frisbee tosses and plenty of surprises. While on stage with the sea lions, the Zoo's trainers explain sea lion behavior and positive-reinforcement training, in addition to the need for conserving the sea lion's ocean habitat.

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Storytelling in the Museum from the Missouri History Museum
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Storytelling in the Museum is an in-person storytelling event happening at 10:30 a.m. at the Missouri History Museum. This event, perfect for the preschool set, features engaging stories with themes like Juneteenth, Sweet Treats, Summer and more. Storytelling in the Museum is free.

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Popular Stories

Festivals & Fireworks to Celebrate July 4th in St. Louis

It's time to celebrate Independence Day in St. Louis, and because this year July 4th falls on a Friday, your family can look forward to a full weekend of festivals and fireworks. Check out these family-friendly celebrations that include carnivals, fantastic fireworks and lots more.

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Summer Fun in St. Louis Starts Now! Your Guide to Family Fun this June

For many St. Louis families, the start of June represents the real start of summer. That's when the summer fun really starts to kick in, and the fact that so many activities and attractions are free is just a bonus!

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Why Summer Camp is Great for . . . Parents

Being able to focus on yourself, your partner, and other people in your life who mean a lot to you is no small matter. As parents, we’re used to being responsible providers and caregivers. However, there’s so much more to a person: we’re also partners and friends. These are important parts of our identities that we need to cultivate. Sending your kids to summer camp may bring out your more playful side that you haven’t shown for a while.

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7 Signs Your Kids Are Ready For Their First Sleepaway Camp

It’s time to decide whether to send your kids to sleepaway camp, but how do you know that's the right thing to do? How can you tell whether your kids are ready for their first extended stay away from home? Here are 7 important signs that experts say should inform your decision.

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Want Your Kids to Learn? Teach Them It’s Okay to Make Mistakes

It’s normal for parents to want to protect their children from failure. It’s also normal to want them to achieve, win, and do their best. But here’s the truth: We don’t learn anything new without making mistakes. I’ll say it again. Making mistakes is a crucial step in learning. If we’re fearful of making mistakes, learning comes to a screeching halt.

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