September Surprises

Whatever age your child is, I’m sure you can look back at the previous years (or months) and find the signs, so obvious in retrospect, of the people they are now. At the same time, as a parent, I feel like I owe it to my children to not be overly presumptuous about their strengths and weaknesses, who they are, and who they might become. Childhood is one long act of self-discovery, and it’s so easy for opinionated parents to get in the way of their children’s journeys, and to assume that their life lessons are the right ones or the only ones…

I have a pretty good relationship with my children, who are now 9 and 13, but if I could make some gentle course corrections as we head into fall, it would be to spend less time worrying about them, correcting them, challenging them, and generally trying to enhance them (as bizarre as that sounds)—and to spend more time simply enjoying them and leaving more room to simply be surprised.

Likewise, I think many of you will find something to relate to in the wit and candor of this month’s cover mom, Bethenny Frankel; some savvy suggestions for raising kids in the digital age; and plenty of temptation in our story about fall family travel in New England. And, of course, there’s our guide to fall classes for children of all ages.

A happy and surprising September to all,