“Before I became a parent, people viewed me as a parenting authority of sorts. I was a few years into running a Montessori school in Brooklyn before having my first child. Becoming a parent showed that no amount of training in early childhood development could prepare me for the complexity of family life. But just as I approached my profession, I felt certain I could fill the gaps in my knowledge through rigorous study,” writes Christine Carrig.

And so she found herself in the same place as so many of us: on Google, late at night, spiraling. Today she’s reflecting on that period in her life with some additional perspective — check it out.

Kelly Faircloth, Executive Editor

“Remember when you called your pre-schooler a three-nager? The power struggles may have been real at age 3 — and this is not to minimize parents' difficulties with them. However, it can feel like things go to a new level of ‘edgy’ less than 10 years later when your sweet, slight-sassy little one enters ‘tween’ territory,” writes Bethann Mayer. Luckily, she’s got some advice.