Parenting Beyond the Gender Binary

Neutrality Guided Me Through Their Childhood. But Did I Prepare My Trans Kid for Life Outside Our Family’s Orbit?

Can we, and should we, ever really be neutral? In a new series, Zócalo explores the idea of neutrality—in politics, sports, gender, journalism, international law, and more. In this essay, writer Erinn M. Eichinger reflects on how gender-neutral parenting prepared her to raise her kids, especially her trans child.

Skylar was born a girl, meaning they were assigned female at birth by their doctors. Today, Skylar identifies as male. Their preferred pronouns are he/him or they/them.

I raised Skylar as a girl. Up until a few …

by Erinn M. Eichinger | August 5, 2024

When the U.S. Welcomed the ‘Pedro Pan’ Migrants of Cuba

Cold War America Resettled Unaccompanied Minors as an Anti-Communist Imperative. Today, the Nation Forgets This History

by John A. Gronbeck-Tedesco | January 8, 2024

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959, 13-year-old José Azel joined the ranks of the underground opposition engaging in acts of sabotage. When Castro closed the country’s schools, José’s …

What Makes a Song a ‘Camp Song’?

Most Aren’t Composed at Camp. Nor Are They About Camp. But They Unite Kids Across North America on Trails, in Mess Halls, and Around Bonfires

by Shelley Posen | July 27, 2023

At a children’s summer sleepaway camp in upstate New York in the mid-1920s, two young staffers, Artie and Larry, write a song for the annual camp play. It begins:

How I Learned to Be ‘Good With Kids’

An Editor of a Magazine by and for Children on What Their Work Has Taught Her About Parenting and Life

by Emma Winsor Wood | May 11, 2023

When I was a child, the border between the natural world and me was so thin it was transparent. I looked into my dog’s eyes and felt that I knew …

When Kids Make Art, a Richer Story of War Emerges

The Stone Soup Refugee Project Helps Young People Move Beyond Empathy

by Laura Moran | April 25, 2023

The sea is stormy, please help me!

My wings are small, please help me!

The butterflies are afraid, please help me!

My world is ignored, …

The Cycle of Public Panic Over Childhood That Got Us to QAnon

For 150 Years, Americans Have Misplaced Concerns for Their Kids—Helping Conspiracy Theories to Flourish

by Sherman Dorn | August 4, 2021

The story of QAnon’s violent extremism is often told as one of partisan polarization. We tend to focus on the most outlandish parts of the far-right conspiracy theory—which falsely claims …

When the U.S.A. Was Neutral

For 150 Years, America Didn’t Take Sides—But the Nation Still Fought Plenty of Wars

Why Sweden Stopped Pretending to Be Switzerland

My Two Home Countries Were Famously Neutral. But They Were Never the Same

How Does a Therapist Stay Neutral?

Counseling Couples or Families Is About Empathy, Not Objectivity

For Political Journalists, Neutrality Isn’t the Goal

It’s Objectivity, and Being on the Side of the Truth in an Intellectually Dishonest Era

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