Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a display of someone else's superior intelligence.
Your child probably won't get into the Ivy League or win a sports scholarship. At age 24, he might be back in his childhood bedroom, in debt, after a mediocre college career. Raise him so that, if that happens, it will still have been worth it.
While I love walking past those beautifully lit bookstores in my neighborhood, what I mostly buy there are blank notebooks and last-minute presents for children's birthdays.
When I was 41, I had a very bad back pain, and it turned out to be Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
When my mother in Florida mentions that she's off to play golf, I think: Golf? In the age of Trump?
In the English books, the American kids' books, typically, there is a problem, the characters grapple with that problem, and the problem is resolved.
Eating among the French certainly affected me. After a few years here, I gave up most of my selective food habits.
Soccer may not explain the world or even contain the world. But it makes the world a slightly happier place.
Childhood and adolescence are nothing but milestones: You grow taller, advance to new grades, and get your period, your driver's license, and your diploma. Then, in your 20s and 30s, you romance potential partners, find jobs, and learn to support yourself.
Early childhood offerings vary, but everywhere in Europe and in Canada, they're far more generous than in the United States. Ukrainian dads may not change enough diapers, but their government offers paid maternity leave; practically free preschool; and per-baby payments equivalent to eight months of an average salary.
A large part of the creative process is tolerating the gap between the glorious image you had in your mind and the sad thing you've just made.
I gradually understood why European mothers aren't in perpetual panic about their work-life balance and don't write books about how executive moms should just try harder: Their governments are helping them - and doing it competently.
I was scared to say I was in my 40s because at that point, it sounded really old, and to out myself as a middle-aged human - I felt very awkward about it.
If you had asked me what I wanted when I was 12 years old, I probably would have said, 'To marry a plastic surgeon.' You can hardly blame me: I was growing up in Miami.
The French aren't known for being hilarious. When I told Parisians I was interested in French humor, they'd say 'French what?'
Remember that the problem with hyper-parenting isn't that it's bad for children; it's that it's bad for parents.
When you're further along in your career, you probably have more money and more means; you have to stop yourself from giving your child too much. Whereas, if you're in twenties, you might just get by.
Sometimes I just tell my kids, 'Outside of France, I'm considered completely normal.' This worked until we traveled to London.
Get rid of the idea of kids' food. Kids can eat whatever adults can eat. You know, there is one dinner, and everyone has the same thing.
I spent most of my adolescence feeling awkward but never once mentioned it.