Dear Readers,

Is it spring yet? I spent a few days in northern Georgia last month and the daffodils were blooming, buds were popping open on trees, and pansies graced porch and window boxes everywhere. Then I came back to snow, ice, slush — yuk, yuk, yuk!
So, I’m definitely ready for springtime. I usually try to keep my longings to myself, though, because it seems Murphy’s Law governs my world: The more I want spring to come, the longer it will stay away!

This issue of OV Parent marks the second one featuring our new look — glossy cover, pull-out Just for Kids section, enhanced features and spiffy new look. I hope you like it, and if you do, please let me know! You can see in this month’s Your Feedback section we already have gotten some positive reactions, and many more folks have told us so without putting it in writing.

I want to thank you all for your support, and please feel free also to offer your ideas and constructive comments! Life is an ever-changing, ever-growing learning process, and I hope I always remain open to new pathways.

This month, we focus on preschoolers, with features on the international Mothers of Preschoolers program, how much a toddler should be exposed to computers, how to get into the play-dating game and a lovely essay by Weirton mom Robin Rokisky on the beauty secrets she has learned from her 4-year-old.

Jennifer Cheifetz’s play-dating story, as well as the MOPS article, bring into sharp relief the struggles many women face to find meaningful friendships after starting a family. After I had Emma, I found I needed friends more than ever, and I rekindled many a friendship that I had allowed to lapse after those friends had children. I also deliberately sought out new friends.

It sounds harsh, but when you are a new mom, you need friends who are moms, and your single or married-without-children friends sometimes become second fiddle. Don’t lose touch with them altogether, however, because you can serve as a role model for them when they have kids — plus, they make great babysitters!

While some of Jennifer Cheifetz’s tactics sound desperate — like putting up tear-off sheets at the local toy store — desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures. The beauty of the Internet is we can keep in touch with our friends and family much easier than in the past. But even sharing through e-mail, a photo gallery or videos still aren’t the same as having a friend next door who can bring you some milk or diapers if you run out, or offer you a glass of wine and a soft yet solid shoulder to cry on after the kids are tucked into bed.

Making friends is not easy. I have learned two things we all have to be in order to be good friends: less judgmental and more transparent. New mothers, just like new babies, are vulnerable and need encouragement and love.

If you do not have these kinds of friends in your life, I hope you will start looking for them today!