Why is it that what you say to your family and what they hear are different? If you say “no,” your child hears “maybe,” and if you say “maybe,” she hears “ask again and again,” and “yes” is just around the corner.” Grant and Martha discuss ways that...
jacket n.—Gloss: Richard Allsopp’s Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage defines this as “the child of a married woman and a man who is not her hustband” or “any child whose paternity is denied.” Note: The term is used in Jamaica and Belize...
nanny visa n.— «The J-1 visa covers a range of temporary jobs in the U.S. including the “Au pair” category commonly known as the “nanny visa.” A “nanny visa” allows a young person to live with a host family and be paid a small wage to provide child...
multi-dadding n.— «Sadie Frost has done it. Ulrika Jonsson does it all the time. Paula Yates did it. And so have I. What we, and countless other women have done, is have children with more than one man. It is fraught, it is complicated but, in this...
poot-butt
n.— «Poot-butt—A square; someone who doesn’t know what’s happening; often a child.» —“Examples of Black Vernacular” Hartford Courant (Connecticut) Dec. 30, 1973. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
summer slide n.— «Yes, many children fall almost three months behind in math and reading skills over the summer. This phenomenon is so well known that educators even have a special name for it. They call it the “the summer slide.” Because of the...
