by Kyla P'an (Portugal) | Nov 14, 2011 | Being Thankful, Education, Parenting, Religion
Last week, Tara B. of Washington, USA, wrote a great post about her evolution from Catholicism to agnosticism and what religion has meant as she raises her kids. (If you didn’t read it, you can read it here.) Her post stirred a lot of feelings in me and generated this response.
When I was a child, my family regularly attended church but it wasn’t for the religiosity of it, it was because it was the place to be seen in the affluent, Philadelphia suburb, where we lived. Our Episcopal church was a social network for the well-heeled. Rather than gaining a deep understanding of God and an appreciation for the value of a genuine church community, I viewed church as a place of formalities, where what you gained from coffee hour trumped anything absorbed during the sermon or Sunday School.
I grew to disdain attending church. It felt vapid. Artificial. Insincere.
As a teenager, I began to explore other ways of experiencing spirituality. On the small peninsula in Maine, where I spent summers growing up, there was a walking trail worn into the rocky coast line. Sitting out on those jagged ledges, I often experienced God deeper and closer than I ever did in church and so my church attendance slowed to a trickle.
By the time I got to college—a Presbyterian, Liberal Arts school in the heart of the Bible Belt—I was adamantly anti-church; (more…)
Kyla was born in suburban Philadelphia but spent most of her time growing up in New England. She took her first big, solo-trip at age 14, when she traveled to visit a friend on a small Greek island. Since then, travels have included: three months on the European rails, three years studying and working in Japan, and nine months taking the slow route back from Japan to the US when she was done. In addition to her work as Managing Editor of World Moms Network, Kyla is a freelance writer, copy editor, recovering triathlete and occasional blogger. Until recently, she and her husband resided outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where they were raising two spunky kids, two frisky cats, a snail, a fish and a snake. They now live outside of Lisbon, Portugal with two spunky teens and three frisky cats. You can read more about Kyla’s outlook on the world and parenting on her personal blogs, Growing Muses And Muses Where We Go
More Posts - Website
Follow Me:
by World Moms Blog | Nov 13, 2011 | Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, USA, World Moms Blog Itinerary
This week we start off in Massachusetts with Kyla P’an. Kyla’s post, written in response to Tara B.’s post last week, talks about how Kyla’s relationship with religion has shifted over the course of her life.
On Tuesday, we head to New York to hear from Maman Aya, who has been trying to take a break! As all of us moms know, this is virtually impossible! Maman Aya tells us about a family vacation that has kept her almost as busy as she is at home!
On Wednesday, grab your passport for a trip to Switzerland! We will hear from new writer Kristin Kolb, who recently had to dig up her own passport for a trip across the ocean sans kids. She talks about how she helped her family cope with her absence.
On Thursday, we travel to another part of the world as we visit with Karyn at Kloppenmum in New Zealand. She broaches the subject of independence in our children, and the conflict we sometimes feel when our babies start doing things themselves.
And on Friday, we head off to Norway to hear from Asta Burrows. Asta looks back over her first year with World Moms Blog and reflects on the milestones that have happened in her life since writing her very first post.
We have two new writer interviews this week! On Tuesday we hear from Ms. V of South Korea, and on Thursday we hear from Melanie Oda from Japan.
On Saturday, check out the Saturday Sidebar with Eva Fannon, where the World Moms give their thoughts on an important topic, and chime in with your answers to the week’s question!
— World Moms Blog
Our World Moms Blog logo was designed by the creative Erica Joyner Designs in Virginia, USA.
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
More Posts
by Jennifer Burden | Nov 12, 2011 | Health, Motherhood, Saturday Sidebar, Social Good, World Voice
Why write about World Pneumonia Day? I mean, pneumonia is curable, right? What’s the big deal?
Yes, pneumonia is often curable here, in the United States, but did you know that around the world a child dies from pneumonia every 20 seconds?
EVERY TWENTY SECONDS.
Dies. Dead. Stops living.
Did you know that pneumonia is the world’s biggest curable health problem?
Are we doing enough????
I was invited by the Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia to take a conference call this past Thursday that included Dr. Richard Besser from ABC News, Dr. Orin Levine of the International Vaccine Access Center of Johns Hopkins University and 6 fellow bloggers. We listened and discussed the global problem of pneumonia, one of the leading causes of death in children under 5 years old.
During the call I found my eyes tearing up at parts, (more…)
Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India.
She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls.
Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
More Posts - Website
Follow Me:
by World Moms Blog | Nov 12, 2011 | Health, Motherhood, Saturday Sidebar, World Moms Blog
Pneumonia is the biggest most solvable global health problem affecting children. And every 20 seconds a child in the world dies from pneumonia, according to Dr. Orin Levine of the International Vaccine Access Center of Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Levine also says that the most cost effective way to prevent death by pneumonia for the world’s children is by vaccination programs such as the ones that the GAVI Alliance administers in developing countries.
So, in honor of World Pneumonia Day today, the World Moms Blog writers are discussing their personal experiences with vaccinations in today’s Saturday Sidebar.
How do you feel about vaccinating your children?
Twin Mom in Pennsylvania, USA says:
“At 8 weeks old, my daughter spent 10 days in the hospital because of Rotavirus (Rotavirus along with pneumonia is a leading cause of death of children under 5 years old in the world according to the GAVI Alliance)…I am also curious if any efforts are spent educating parents that truly feel vaccinations cause more harm than good – I was approached by a mom when my kids were very little … She was attempting to convince me not to vaccinate my girls…. Didn’t go over well!”
Kirsten Kolb in Switzerland explains:
“My blood pressure rises each time the topic of vaccinations comes up, (more…)
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
More Posts
by Kirsten Doyle (Canada) | Nov 11, 2011 | Canada, Childhood, Education, Family, Holiday, Motherhood, Tragedy, World Events
The sounds of my son’s footsteps echo as he runs from one end of the enormous space to the other. From time to time he stops, distracted by the sight of yet another wondrous artifact of history.
After a pause, he’s off again, barely able to contain his excitement at seeing everything in this place. And then, finally, a magical moment arrives. He is taken up a stairway, and at the top, his father lifts him up and lowers him into the cockpit of one of the planes.
This isn’t just any place, and it isn’t just any plane. We are at the Canadian Air & Space Museum looking at the World War II planes that were built in this very space back in its day as an aircraft manufacturing plant. The plane that my son is now seated in is a full-sized replica of the Avro Arrow, a plane that revolutionized Canadian aviation history before the government of the day abruptly pulled the plug on the project and ordered the entire beautiful fleet destroyed.
This museum—which pays tribute to Canada’s part in the war, thanks the veterans who came back, and honours those who didn’t—is about to go the same way as the Avro Arrow. It is being evicted, and the building which is itself an artifact of (more…)
Kirsten Doyle was born in South Africa. After completing university, she drifted for a while and finally washed up in Canada in 2000. She is Mom to two boys who have reached the stage of eating everything in sight (but still remaining skinny).
Kirsten was a computer programmer for a while before migrating into I.T. project management. Eventually she tossed in the corporate life entirely in order to be a self-employed writer and editor. She is now living her best life writing about mental health and addictions, and posting videos to two YouTube channels.
When Kirsten is not wrestling with her kids or writing up a storm, she can be seen on Toronto's streets putting many miles onto her running shoes. Every year, she runs a half-marathon to benefit children with autism, inspired by her older son who lives life on the autism spectrum.
Final piece of information: Kirsten is lucky enough to be married to the funniest guy in the world.
Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Be sure to check out her YouTube channels at My Gen X Life and Word Salad With Coffee!
More Posts
Follow Me:
Last week, Tara B. of Washington, USA, wrote a great post about her evolution from Catholicism to agnosticism and what religion has meant as she raises her kids. (If you didn’t read it, you can read it here.) Her post stirred a lot of feelings in me and generated this response.
