Vanessa Knight
Vanessa Knight has been a part of the Kansas City community for 11 years (a native Texan), living in the Overland Park area with husband Josh, two children (Sophie is 6, Jude is 5), and three Labradors. A clinical marriage and family counselor serving the area, Vanessa works with those who hurt from life experiences, relationships or trauma, helping both individuals and families to love (www.securecounselingclinic.com). When she's not working, Vanessa's favorite stay-at-home things are Sequence, puzzles, picnics on the Nelson-Atkins Museum lawn, messy art projects, and trampoline jumping!
Summer Kids Movies: New Releases, Park, Dive-In and Drive-In
WHAT TO SEE
Before you take your kids to see any of these films, check out Common Sense Media's reviews for a complete description of what to expect to determine if they are right for your...
Restaurants, Table Tablets Shouldn’t Be a Thing
Dear Red Robin,
My kids love your burgers. My 7-year-old will eat a basket of your fries all by himself. He's skinny as a little rail, so I don't know where they go, but they...
Birth Order Doesn’t Matter as Much as We Think
I have three kids. I can officially say that I have a first, middle and youngest child. The mothering I do for my 1-year-old today is completely different than the mothering I did when...
How I Fed My Baby: Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding didn't ever really seem like a choice. I didn't weigh my options between formula and the breast. I just did it. It seemed natural.
My mother did it, my grandmothers did it, and I...
We Hired a Sibling Doula
I've had three babies.
All of my extended family lives out-of-state, all over the country. When I went into labor with the first, I didn't have to worry about childcare for any other children. The...
5 Parenting Tips for the Uncoupled or Divorced
The divorce rate is going down, but so is the marriage rate. More couples are having children as non-married partners.
I'm a professional counselor (...substitute "therapist," "shrink," "talk doc"), and many of my clients are...
Four Reasons Our Kids Know We’re Santa
My children play a game with me. It's called the Santa Claus Game. In our home, Santa Claus is a game the parents play with the children, in which we pretend that there are...
My Kitchen Counter Office
The biggest success of my day is wiping my kitchen counter. Yes. Spraying my counter with cleaner and taking a towel to it.
I'm not a neat freak or a super clean mama. When I...
Going Entertainment Screen Free
I got tired of it. We quit screens almost a month ago.
Well... not quite. I just plainly and simply got tired of the questions about when screen time would happen everyday and the moodiness...
That’s a Good Way to Kill a Baby
When my elementary school aged kids were little, all the responsibility for their safety in our household fell to me.My childproofing skills were a.m.a.z.i.n.g.
I had the outlets covered. Check. I had the blind cords wrapped...
Speaking Physically to Newborns: 3 Tips for Understanding Newborn Behavior
Newborns are like fetuses outside the body. You have to change diapers, feed every 2-3 hours sleep deprived with no rewards... and then there's a smile. And you wonder if it's just gas.
Remember the...
How I Met Your Fathers: Two Living Rooms
Dear Kids,
I should start a letter like this with "I'm sorry." I'm sorry you have different last names, and I'm sorry that your lives are an intermingling of arrivals and departures. Being married twice was never...
An Open Letter to the Mommy Blog Editors
The sound of an orchestra tuning before a concert is happening on the Internet. A network of sounds - low and deep, high-pitched, staccato and playful, slow and grieving - all moving around a...
To the Mothers of Kids Who Can’t Hear
To the Mothers of Children Who Can't Hear,
Your newborn baby failed her hearing test.
I want to find a way to hold your hand as your baby grows up, and whisper to you that she's OK,...
How to Discipline Your Kids Without Spanking, Time Outs, Yelling, and Negative Consequences
Note: This post is sponsored by, and written in collaboration with, Secure Counseling, LLC.
Parenting is hard. Shaping little humans is the most difficult thing most of us have ever done. There are so many things...
