The End of the Slacker Parent: How After-School Activities are Taking Over My Life

January 21, 2014

For years, I’ve avoided extensive extracurricular activities. While friends enrolled their children in tap and ballet, the kids and I rocked out in our living room. When Joseph’s friends chased the soccer ball up and down the field, we played beach ball dodge ball. I have nothing against organized youth activities, I’m just lazy.

I’ve always been a bit of a…

Mandy Dawson is the creator of In Mandyland, an almost daily blog recording her adventures in juggling a full-time job, two active children, four arguing hens, a fluffy bunny, and one ex-husband. A self-diagnosed gardening and crafting addict, she often finds herself gluing together clay pots and trying to discover the cure for brown thumb. When she’s not writing, she can be found burning dinners while she stares off into space with a story idea. She was a regular contributor for Makes Fun of Stuff, Aiming Low, and Six Kitchens, and has been featured on BlogHer and Mamapedia. She is an Assistant Editor for Write on Edge and has had her fiction featured in three anthologies currently available on Amazon.