About

I'm working on my proverbial PhD in Parenting (no, not a "real" PhD). That means I spend a lot of time thinking, hypothesizing, researching, experimenting, and failing. It means I don't have all the answers, but that I like looking for answers. It means, like most real PhD students, that I get distracted and spend way too much time on twitter and YouTube. I digress.

I'm a parent, a feminist, and a humanist. I believe in creating a collaborative environment of mutual trust and respect where people can learn from each other and make the world a better place. I apply that philosophy in my relationship with my children, with my partner, with my friends and loved ones, and with the world at large.

This blog is not about wrapping ourselves up in the warm blanket of complacency. It is about asking how we, as parents, as feminists (men can be feminists too), and as human beings can improve the way we relate to our children, to each other, and to the earth we inhabit. It is about questioning things, proposing solutions, and testing ideas.

I will never graduate from my proverbial PhD in Parenting. But I will keep plugging away. I hope you'll join me for the journey and the conversation.

About the Author

Annie has been blogging about parenting, feminism and social change on the PhD in Parenting Blog since May 2008. She is a social, political and consumer advocate on issues of importance to parents, women, children and the earth. She regularly uses her blog as a platform to create awareness and to advocate for change, calling out the government, corporations, media and sometimes other bloggers for positions, policies and actions that threaten the rights and well-being of parents and their children.

More about me and my parenting philosophy

I’m the mother of two children, a boy born in 2004 and a girl born in 2007.
I believe firmly in attachment parenting and find that this approach is very intuitive to me.
I am an entrepreneur. I became my own boss after my son was born to have more flexibility to spend time with family. My partner was a stay-at-home dad for around six years, staying at home with our kids between the time I went back to work and when they started preschool at age three.
I am not religious and will not be raising my children in a religion.
I care about the environment and try to make choices in parenting and life with the environment in mind.
I enjoy nature and the outdoors and want my children to spend a lot of time outdoors being physically active too.
I am considering doing a PhD in corporate social responsibility and consider issues related to consumer ethics when deciding which products to buy for my family.
I respect my children and believe they deserve to be treated with the same respect as adults.
I believe in diversity. I want my children to be exposed to people from different cultures, different generations, different sexual orientations, and different levels of income.
I read with my children. I believe that books can open up new worlds. Most of my reading right now is parenting books, but at least I can help my children to escape into a good story even if I don’t have time myself.
I am not a martyr. I know that I need some time to myself to recharge. I enjoy coffee breaks while at work. I enjoy participating in team sports. I am addicted to a few TV shows and like unwinding on-line.
I am imperfect in every way and I'm okay with that because I know I'll never stop trying to do better.