Brooke Romney

"Prepare yourself for this. Your son might throw a tantrum in the check out line regardless of your exact regurgitation of love and logic patterns," Brooke Romney writes.

Family

Repeat after me: My child is not perfect and neither is yours

My plan was to have perfect children. I know, I know, it is not realistic, but that never stopped me from reaching for the ideal.

By Brooke Romney

"We were far from perfect the first time around, and I am sure we will have plenty of mess ups with the next three, but these guidelines have drastically changed the way we use technology in our home and made it a much more peaceful and sane experience,"

Family

10 things I wish I would have done before getting my child a smartphone

We started this “kid with a cellphone” journey a few years ago, and I have since found myself pining for pioneer times when families read books by candlelight and bonded over farm chores.

By Brooke Romney

Brooke Romney writes about honest friendship.

Faith

Brooke Romney: What makes honest friendship in a world of social media?

Being honest is hard, and being honest about important things is the hardest.

By Brooke Romney

Brooke Romney writes about the ugliness and beauty of youth sports.

Family

Learning from the ugliness in youth sports

I love youth sports. I have four boys and they play them all the time. For the most part, win or lose, sports are something we enjoy and grow from.

By Brooke Romney

Brooke Romney writes of how trimming her traditions helped her rediscover the magic of Christmas.

Family

Brooke Romney: It’s time to trim your traditions

Holidays at our house are pretty low-key, until December rolls around. I have always been crazy about Christmas. Growing up, it was truly the most magical time of year when our home and life felt incredibly full.

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: ‘Cookies for mammograms’

Mindi Edstrom had casually thought about a mammogram, but with no family history of breast cancer and no signs of concern, waiting a few extra years didn’t seem problematic.

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: Why we should actually celebrate birthdays, even after 29

I love my birthday. I love the calls, the messages, the texts, going out to eat for every meal, the plans my husband makes and the way my kids say, “Happy Birthday Mom” at least five times each.

By Brooke Romney

Most Utah middle-schoolers will return to school this week.

Family

Brooke Romney: A word to parents of a new middle-schooler

Middle school. There are few words in my vocabulary that elicit such a visceral reaction. Reading them together takes me right back to sweater vests, Girbaud jeans, bad bangs and a burning desire to fit in.

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: Unplugging and plugging in

I was slow to the smartphone party. My phone had always been for conversation and an occasional text. Then I got my first iPhone, and I was in love.

By Brooke Romney

Mel Butler and his wife, Carol, are photographed with their grandchildre and great-grandchildren.

Family

Brooke Romney: A love letter from the ‘dads of yesterday’ to the ‘fathers of today’

Being a father has never been an easy job, but you are doing it so well. When we had our children, some of us could only look at them through the glass window of the hospital nursery. Today, you are there during, through and right after birth.

By Brooke Romney

Laurie Cullimore, one of the women whose thoughts are reflected in this article, is photographed with her daughters and daughters-in-law.

Faith

Brooke Romney: A love letter from yesterday’s moms to the mothers of today

Let us start by saying we are in awe of you. Being a mother now seems so much more difficult than it was when we were mothers.

By Brooke Romney

Kelvyn Cullimore, Brooke Romney's grandfather, is a firm believer in second chances.

Faith

Brooke Romney: Catching stones vs. casting stones

I have been thinking a lot about stones lately. At my grandmother’s funeral, my uncle told of a time when he tried to share neighborhood gossip with her. Her response was, “People who live in glass houses don’t throw stones.”

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: Answering your questions about being a friend vs. being friendly

I was overwhelmed by the love and support for my last article, It’s Time to Stop being Friendly and start being a Friend. My heart broke for the amount of people who told me about their loneliness and how starved for friendship they feel.

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: It’s time to stop being friendly and start being a friend

Today, I lost a friend. She was a widowed mother of two, working full time to provide a life for her son and daughter. She was kind and energetic. She was happy and involved.

By Brooke Romney

Brooke Romney is photographed with a childhood friend she has remained close to through social media.

Family

Brooke Romney: Dear husband, here’s why I can’t quit social media

I know you don’t get it. Social media is not your thing. You have a group of 15 guys that mean something to you.

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: Brooke Romney: I don’t care if my kids get A’s

The argument is as old as school itself. “Why do you care so much about my grades?” This is often followed by a long list of who gets paid big bucks for A’s.

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: 15 ways my husband makes our marriage work

Our life has been far from perfect. In fact, when Mike and I envisioned our future 18 years ago as wide-eyed barely 20-year-olds, it looked nothing like the one we have created except for one thing, we promised to love each other through it all.

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: How moderation became my most successful diet

It’s the new year, and Instagram has 27 million posts with the hashtag #cleaneating and 5 million more for #paleo. January always makes me want to slip from my moderate, happy, healthy lifestyle and spiral into a slippery slope of restriction.

By Brooke Romney

Faith

Brooke Romney: My grown-up advent — putting Christ back into Christmas

Bringing Christ into Christmas gets increasingly more difficult each year. As our schedules fill up with choir concerts, parties and other worthwhile festivities, our best intentions often get relegated to afterthoughts.

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: My formal apology to the moms I previously judged

Can I take you back seven years? Seven years ago, my children were ages 4, 2, and 1. Seven years ago, I had things all figured out for “older” children.

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: 7 things you need to know before your child signs up for Instagram

Instagram is booming. It’s simple to use and fun to keep up with. At face value, it seems incredibly harmless, and maybe even a safe site for kids...easy, private, and full of pictures!

By Brooke Romney

"TBH" may "seem harmless compared to what else is out there, but the scary stuff often starts as something much more innocent and innocuous."

Family

Brooke Romney: The dangerous game middle schoolers need to stop playing

The other day, my seventh-grade son showed me a text from a girl who is a friend. It said, “One a scale of 1-10, how cute am I?”

By Brooke Romney

Family

Brooke Romney: 16 things I want my boys to know before the first day of school

I wanted to share a few things with you before the big day that I hope you will remember.

By Brooke Romney

Brooke Romney, center, poses with her husband and four sons.

Family

Brooke Romney: Why we are taking the fun out of life

My children have a problem. They think the purpose of life is to have fun.

By Brooke Romney

Brooke Romney, left, poses with her mother.

Family

Brooke Romney: The blessings of being raised by a low-maintenance mother

I have varicose veins that scare children, love handles I can’t help but pinch, stretch marks like cat scratches and plenty of wrinkles already, but it’s all OK because my mom taught me something much more valuable than how to accessorize.

By Brooke Romney