About Wendy
Wendy Thomas Russell is an award-winning journalist, parenting columnist and co-author of the forthcoming book "ParentShift: A Guide to Raising Children Without Punishments, Rewards & Other Gimmicks." She lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband and daughter.
Wendy’s Recent Stories
Nation Jan 26
Opinion: What parents can do to protect their kids from a Larry NassarIt's not what you think.
Politics Oct 12
Column: A parent’s guide to explaining an R-rated presidential electionIt’s a tough year for parents who have been fielding a lot of sensitive questions from their little ones. Here are some “talking points” that may make the conversations a little less daunting for parents and teachers.
Education Sep 13
Column: Hey teachers, please stop using behavior charts. Here’s whyYou know what I’m talking about, right? Those color-coded charts, using cards or clothes pins or Popsicle sticks to represent each child in the class. It’s high time behavior charts themselves got moved down to “a bad color” and expelled…
Nation May 12
Column: To the kid who bullied me in third gradeI don’t know about you, but I’m starting to think the only time schools should exercise “zero tolerance” is when it comes to zero-tolerance policies.
Nation Apr 29
Column: 12 alternatives to timeouts when kids are at their worstOne day we were trying to steer our daughter’s behavior by imposing timeouts and taking toys away and limiting TV time whenever she went astray. And the next, we weren’t. Did she start running roughshod over our house, our feelings…
Nation Apr 28
Column: Why you should never use timeouts on your kidsAt some point, we must accept that even though we all love our kids and want what’s best for them, parenting can’t be a strictly intuitive endeavor. Sometimes we need to listen, really listen, to the experts and the science…
Health Feb 01
Column: Home births, midwives, hospitals and the battle over being bornA study released last month highlighting the risk associated with home births has reignited an increasingly polarizing debate among obstetricians, midwives and opinionated mothers everywhere.
Nation Dec 11
How to navigate the Santa mythWhen I became a parent 10 years ago, I made this deal with myself: No matter how uncomfortable it might be at times, I would always tell my child the truth. Way too often, it seemed, parents risked the trust…
Nation Sep 23
Column: Here’s the church; here’s the steeple. Open the doors — where’s all the people?Sometimes it seems as though America is hemorrhaging religion. According to the 2014 General Social Survey, 7.5 million adults — about 3 percent of all adults in this country — severed religious ties between 2012 and 2014. Think of…
Nation Sep 22
Column: Parents, use this Lady Gaga video to talk to your sons about rapeIf you are the parent of a boy between the ages of 11 and 18, Lady Gaga has just given you a golden opportunity to talk about rape. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but what…
