Guest Blogger
Are you interested in being a guest blogger for Jacksonville Mom? If you're local and you're a mom (or have awesome and relevant information for local moms), we'd love to hear your ideas! Please review our Guest Blog Guidelines for more information.
The Bridegan Foundation’s Bexley Boxes: Comforting Children Through Trauma
In February 2022, my husband was shot and killed near Jacksonville Beach. On top of that tragedy was the horror of our toddler daughter, Bexley, being with him when it happened. She spent hours...
Sniffle Season and Children’s Medicine Shortages: What Parents Need to Know
Parents, pharmacists, and doctors are dealing with a triple whammy during what is usually cold and flu season. Many pharmacy shelves that used to hold your favorite children’s fever and cold medication are bare....
The New Frontier: Career Academies in High School
Imagine your teen’s high school offering hands-on experience in aviation, logistics, food services, IT, or early childhood education. This is a world where young people learn their academic core courses at the same time...
The Sensory Nightmare Before Christmas
Holiday lights, the scents of the season, family hugs, and cheers of joy... can all lead to a sensory integration nightmare for many of our kids.
So instead of “grinching out” on your kids if...
The Truth About Becoming a Mom in Your Early Twenties
Five months after my 21st birthday, my husband and I decided to start trying to have a baby. I know what you’re thinking — are you insane?! You’re so young! You just started legally...
School Choice 101
An abundance of school choice is truly one of the privileges of living in Jacksonville and the State of Florida. But let’s be honest, parents: The magnitude of the decision about where to send...
When Our Older Kids Lose Interest in Our Family Holiday Traditions
Santa bribing me with a trip to the North Pole could not have persuaded me to miss decorating the annual family Christmas tree with my mother.
Holiday music on? Check! Dancing characters strategically placed around...
3 Things You Need to Know As a Parent With Cancer
After giving birth to my first son 15 years ago, I wouldn’t have ever thought in a million years that I would be diagnosed with cancer.
During my pregnancy around month four, while having an...
Three Gifts Adoption Has Given Me (That Isn’t My Daughter)
One of the first things out of the mouths of most well-meaning people (usually old ladies in the Publix checkout line) when they discover my daughter is adopted is, “Oh, what a gift!” Cue...
Why I View My Family Text Thread As an Answered Prayer
"Dear Lord," I prayed nightly for years. "Please keep us safe, healthy, and together."
Safe and healthy made perfect sense. Any new mom, particularly those like me who suffered from a large degree of postpartum...
Lions, Tigers, Bears… and Nightmares!
I just wanted to go back to sleep. I must have been 8... maybe 9 years old at the time.
I was traveling from the kitchen to my room after having a glass of water....
Joe’s Story: A Battle of Bravery and Strength
Joe DeWaele’s story is one that is filled with bravery, strength, fear, laughter, and ultimately, love. My son Joe was just 8 years old when he was diagnosed with hypodiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia on...