Want your child to get into college and have a good life? Here’s how.; Finding, and connecting with, our son’s sperm donor siblings; I took antidepressants while I was pregnant. It wasn’t a choice.; Animal Jam and my daughter’s first experience with the icky Internet; 6 ways good parents contribute to their child’s anxiety;
 
On Parenting
 
 
Thanks for reading our Going Out Guide: With the Kids newsletter. To give you more kid- and parenting-centric news, we have added a few features and incorporated into the On Parenting newsletter.
Want your child to get into college and have a good life? Here’s how.
Changing the grueling culture of college admissions will have to come from inside the applicants’ homes, not in the ivory towers of the Ivy League.
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Finding, and connecting with, our son’s sperm donor siblings
Like many new parents, I couldn’t sleep. I began to think about our son’s donor siblings. How many did he have? How could I find them? And why did I care?
 
I took antidepressants while I was pregnant. It wasn’t a choice.
Pregnancy is an emotional time for any woman, but I carried additional concerns. I had been managing depression for 13 years and taking medications throughout my pregnancy.
 
Animal Jam and my daughter’s first experience with the icky Internet
This game from National Geographic seemed innocent enough for my daughter to play. And then I started to play too.
 
6 ways good parents contribute to their child’s anxiety
So many good intentions may have the opposite impact on our children.
 
 
Family-Friendly Events This Week

Southwest Waterfront Fireworks Festival
All ages
Saturday’s day-long festival features live music, family-friendly nautical activities, a beer and cider garden and food. Fireworks begin at 8:30 p.m., rain or shine. Read more

SAAM Cherry Blossom Celebration
All ages
Celebrate Japanese culture on Saturday with traditional Japanese music and dance, face painting and cherry blossom-themed crafts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Read more

‘Art Hop Takoma’
All ages
The annual arts festival, held Saturday and Sunday with events throughout the Takoma commercial district, features art installations, music, dancing, free trolley rides and a fire show. Read more

‘Love That Dog’
Ages 7 and up
Netherlands-based Theatergroep Kwatta’s production at Germantown’s BlackRock Center for the Arts is about a boy forced to write poetry. Saturday’s sensory-friendly performance is designed to create a theater experience that is welcoming to families with children with autism or other disabilities that create sensory sensitivities. Read more

Cirque Zuma Zuma
All ages 
Described as an African-inspired Cirque du Soleil, this performance features acrobatics, juggling, music, dancing and comedy. Catch the show Sunday and Monday at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center. Read more

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KidsPost
 
Kwame Alexander’s new novel finds poetry on the field
‘Booked’ is the story of a 12-year-old soccer player whose parents pressure him to read.
 
Family Filmgoer
 
Family Filmgoer reviews ‘Midnight Special,’ ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ and more
A strange brew of sci-fi, mystery and mysticism, and Richard Linklater’s ode to college.
 
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