Best Parenting Articles and Profile: Lorraine Ali

by |

As my readers know, I post my favorite parenting articles from around the web and a round-up of articles from major media outlets each Wednesday.  I often post articles from Lorraine Ali of Newsweek.  I was lucky enough to actually interview Ali about her perspective on parenting and how she got started as a journalist.  Here are my favorite of her parenting articles and the interview we had.

Having Kids Makes You Happy

Grooming Your Google I often use this article when I give presentations to parents and kids about online reputation management.

A Mother’s Viewpoint: The ‘New Dad’ Give Me a Break

You and Your Quirky Kid Love this article for all of you who have, or have ever been a quirky kid (me!).

-What inspired you to start writing and what is your favorite topic to write about?

Ali says that she has always loved writing.  In her 20′s, she began to think about getting something published and also had a great love for music.  She started writing about her interest in music and the desire to be published drove her passion.  Ali described that she loved the underground and indie rock scene (right before Nirvana broke) and that this was a very exciting time to be participating in and writing about the music industry.

Now, she says she still loves to write about music, but she has been writing about it a long time and now has a wider array of interests.  She has always liked pop culture, but really loves to examine “culture shifts and cross culture phenomenon or larger trends that tell us where we are going as a society.”  She is also a parent and has written articles about her experiences as a mom (which you see above).  What interests me most about Ali’s writing is that she strives to find the “corners of a subject that are not explored a lot” like her “You and Your Quirky Kid <http://www.newsweek.com/id/40748> ” article.


-We have many teen writers and aspiring journalists writing for OnTeensToday.com, do you have any advice for them as they are just getting started?
Ali advises that young journalists (teen interns are you reading!?) must be persistent–”keep trying over and over again.”  She said that things have changed so much that you have to keep aiming for what you believe in even if you get turned down a few times.  Ali shared her story that she sent her stories into Rolling Stone magazine and finally received a rejection letter, but she still kept sending them in.  Eventually she ended up being a Senior Critic at Rolling Stone–it does pay to keep trying!   She also says that girls tend to get intimidated more by rejection, but if they really believe in something, and if they really have a voice, they cannot let that be squashed.  I love her advice about being honest as you write: “You must be as honest as possible when you write, especially on commentary, it is more important than being witty or having flare.”

-You have a 5 year-old, how is it balancing motherhood and writing?  We have a lot of working mom readers and moms who are writers as well.  Have your experiences as a mom inspired you to write more parenting articles?

Ali says that being a mother has helped her learn how to get to the point faster in her writing because she no longer has time to obsess over every word.  She says although she has written a few parenting articles, she tends to stay away from them, because “I read all of these parenting articles and think they are so off base.  So, I do not want to write one of those articles that people read and think what is she talking about!”

I want to thank Lorraine Ali for interviewing for us and giving our writers and readers her words of wisdom, and, of course, all of her great articles which I will continue to post!


If you liked this article get more Radical Parenting in our new book: Do I Get My Allowance Before or After I’m Grounded?

  • http://www.kidsoffhecouch.com Pamela Saunders

    LOVE your site. Check out Kids Off The Couch. They offer a free, weekly e-newsletter that shows parents how to create fun, kid-friendly adventures by combining film and media with an off the couch activity.