“The words with which a child’s heart is poisoned, through malice or through ignorance, remain branded in his memory, and sooner or later they burn his soul” Carlos Ruiz Zafón The Shadow of the Wind Parents have the ability to speak life or destruction into our children. We have countless opportunities to provide our children […]
Author Archive | Christina
An Accolade to My Late Husband
My husband passed away in August of this year. Many people knew my husband in various ways and at different points in his lifetime. While each of them had a unique story or experience about him, there was one underlying, common theme: his kindness. He touched more people than I ever imagined; his funeral was […]
Building Your Child’s Resilience
Children are resilient This isn’t new information. But, as parents, how do we encourage that resiliency? COVID-19 has bestowed a great deal of adversity upon us all and parents need to consider how we are teaching our children to deal with that hardship. Each child is different, and their levels of communication vary. Sometimes that […]
Mama, You GOT This!
We succeed as working moms, as stay at home moms, as mothers of multiple children, as single mothers, as foster mothers, and every mother in between. So many times, I have seen a mother doubting herself when she really should not. Creating life and raising little humans is no easy feat – it needs to […]
The Discovery of My Afro-Latinidad
I have always been proud of my heritage. My parents are Puerto Rican, their parents were Puerto Rican, and their parents before them. No one talked about our race. We identified as Spanish, Latino, or Hispanic, but never black or white, or anything in between. My parents grew up in between New York and Puerto […]
What About Dad?
Everyone talks about giving moms a break, giving mom all the praise and all the credit. But what about dads? Dads are unsung heroes of the family and that should change. Men’s mental health already has an unspoken stigma attached to it. Think about it. Isn’t the image of men associated with emotionless strength and […]
Educating Your Kids About Race
As we were just getting used to the “new norm” of face masks, sanitizing everything, and coming to terms with quarantine and COVID-19, the world shifted its focus to another problem: systemic racism. The death of a man named George Floyd prompted mass protesting, some of which ended in rioting. This tragedy sent the world […]
Taking a Page from the Dad Handbook
Parental stereotypes exist. To prove it, close your eyes, picture a backyard and someone is grilling burgers. They say, “Man, these babies look good!” and cracks open a beer. Are you picturing a dad or a mom? It is safe to say, you are picturing a father. Now picture a person who is cooking dinner, […]
Mental Health Days: Kids Need Them Too!
Everyone talks about adults taking mental health days. It is particularly important that we are aware of our mental health and take time to nourish it. But what about our children? Children are free of adult responsibilities and look at life through a different lens than adults. Though this is true, children also can be […]
Grieving During a Pandemic
As the current pandemic sweeps across the country, it is taking lives. As we speak about being grateful, staying safe, and trying to keep normalcy, no one is talking about death and grieving. These topics are not pleasant ones, but conversing with each other and our children, is vital. I recently saw a story about […]