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Posted August 30, 2010 at 2:45 PM

Building strong childhood memories

filed under: being, commentary, parenting, Choice_Kids, inspiration, growing_up_without_a_father

I get more melancholy about the end of summer than my kids do. They love school, and started the new school year today. About my own sadness about this time of year, I know that it's largely because my kids are the ones who teach me to play, not to work all the time.

Posted August 16, 2010 at 12:10 PM

What Matters to Our Kids?

filed under: thinking, being, commentary, profile, daddy question, donor offspring, genetics, growing up without a father, hot topic, inspiration, parenting

A few years ago a producer for noted conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly called to test me for a potential debate with his boss about why Choice Moms dislike men. Maybe it's because I was pretty easy-going in my responses, but I was never booked for the show. In his recent remarks about Choice Motherhood, however, I see he still has a bug up his

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Posted August 11, 2010 at 4:05 AM

Diana: Part 2

filed under: thinking, trying, profile, emotions, donor offspring, growing up without a father, holistic, stress, United Kingdom, waiting

We recently read about Diana's decision NOT to become a Choice Mom. Here is Part 2 of her story, when she decides to move into the Trying stage after all.

Posted August 3, 2010 at 3:40 AM

Diana: can I raise a child without a dad?

filed under: thinking, United Kingdom, profile, Choice Kids, donor offspring, emotions, growing up without a father, open-identity donor, Europe, waiting

While in London I had the pleasure of meeting a woman at the Choice Mom gathering who told me about how she had decided some time ago that she definitely would not become a single mom -- partly after reading my "Choosing Single Motherhood" book. 18 months later, however, she's back on the path. I asked her to share her story about the thinking process.

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Posted June 29, 2010 at 8:00 AM

Answering the questions of other kids

filed under: being, telling and talking, daddy question, Choice Kids, donor offspring, emotions, growing up without a father, hot topic, parenting

submitted by Christy
My daughter is 2.5 years old. She is a little girl who doesn't need to ask a lot of questions, doesn't seem to need a lot of prep information, and simply adjusts at the time to whatever is happening around her. She doesn't yet ask why she doesn't have a dad, or who her donor is. But other kids are now starting to do so.

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Posted June 21, 2010 at 3:55 PM

Father's Day thoughts

filed under: growing up without a father, commentary, being, thinking, inspiration, Choice Kids

I'm often asked how Choice Moms handle Father's Day. And we often wonder -- especially before we have kids, or when our children are quite young -- whether they are missing out on something important by growing up without a father.

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Posted May 19, 2010 at 7:00 AM

Latest research on Choice Moms

filed under: research, Choice Kids, Choice Mom survey, growing up without a father

Susan Golombok is the Cambridge University-based researcher who did the first large-scale study of the Choice Mom community in 2008. Some of those findings are posted here. Now she's published a new report of other research into female-headed families.

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Posted April 26, 2010 at 1:20 PM

Creating your own storybook

filed under: being, becoming, waiting, Choice Kids, Minnesota, growing up without a father, donor offspring, adoption, parenting, products, resources, telling and talking

There are several great options for creating your own storybooks for your adopted or donor conceived child. Here are some of them.

Posted April 24, 2010 at 8:20 AM

Recommended reading with our kids

filed under: being, book, Choice Kids, daddy question, growing up without a father, parenting, resources, telling and talking

We love reading stories with our kids about non-traditional families. Here are some of the books that have been recommended by Choice Moms.

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Posted April 19, 2010 at 10:20 AM

Yee-ha: The public debate is on

filed under: being, Choice Kids, commentary, daddy question, emotions, growing up without a father, hot topic, news, parenting, policy, research, support network, telling and talking

Well here it is...the public debate between a Glenn Sacks father's rights crony (Robert Franklin) and myself on PublicSquare.net. Read, laugh, seethe, comment. I actually love the opportunity to offer a rational perspective, even if my opponent has a decidedly different viewpoint. Such as Franklin's view that Choice Moms often trick men into having kids and then lie to keep them out of the child's life. Here's a synopsis, with links to the full debate.

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Posted April 3, 2010 at 11:40 PM

Telling family and friends

filed under: emotions, growing up without a father, telling and talking, tips, support network

A woman wrote to say that her friends were sharing the news of her Choice pregnancy with others, including the fact that she conceived with an anonymous sperm donor, even though she asked them not to. She turned to the community to get advice.

Posted March 19, 2010 at 12:30 PM

Explaining "family" and "donor"

filed under: podcast, known_donor, Choice_Kids, emotions, telling_and_talking, growing_up_without_a_father

When your uncle is also the sperm donor who helped your lesbian parents conceive, you might presume "the" conversation about your origins would be a hard one. And what happens afterward?

Telling the story

In addition to the "Do I Have a Daddy?" tracks available from this website, this growing library of audio clips (courtesy of Sepal Reproductive Devices and California Cryobank) helps us find the words, understand the conversation, and settle our nerves.

Real uncle is donor

When a lesbian couple turned to the non-carrying partner's brother for sperm, they knew they'd eventually have a big conversation with their daughter. (6 minute clip from upcoming radio show)

Posted March 4, 2010 at 6:15 PM

Partner or child? A Thinker's (common) debate

filed under: thinking, Choice Chat, emotions, growing up without a father, hot topic, profile

A 40-year-old woman has been involved for five years with a man who doesn't think he wants a child. They broke up a few years ago because she wanted a child, and he said he'd go along with it. But she now realizes that's probably not going to happen.

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Posted February 23, 2010 at 2:00 PM

My op-ed about the right to peaceful parenting

filed under: thinking, commentary, emotions, growing up without a father, parenting, telling and talking

I was asked by American Fertility Association to write an op-ed about my reaction to the stories, issues and disapproval I've heard about a single parent's ability to be the best they can be for their child.

Posted February 22, 2010 at 9:25 PM

The Family Tree assignment

filed under: growing up without a father, Choice Kids, telling and talking, being

Years ago, when my daughter was in kindergarten, the infamous family tree assignments started to come from school. To allow for the fact that Choice families don't have a "father's side" to fill in, we came up with our own solution.

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Posted February 11, 2010 at 5:50 PM

Do I Have a Dad?

filed under: being, daddy question, Choice Kids, growing up without a father, expert insight

We're building an audio library featuring the best of our Choosing Single Motherhood radio show and Choice Chat podcasts. You can order the first of this collection, "Choice Moms Answer the Tough Questions: Do I Have a Dad?" (formerly a CD product, available here for immediate $7 download). After you place your order, we will send you a special code for access here:

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