I've taught elementary school for 10 years. This is what you need to ask at your next parent-teacher conference.

Tech Insider : Business
The author poses in her classroom.
Parents can make the most of their 15 minutes during a parent-teacher conference by asking specific questions, says the author.

Courtesy of Lauran Woolley

My mom moved in with me temporarily and ended up staying for 10 years. We split our bills and she helps me with childcare.

Tech Insider : Business, Travel
A grandmother carries her granddaughter.

timnewman/Getty Images

I moved in with my parents when I couldn't afford childcare. As a single mom, they helped me get back on my feet.

Tech Insider : Travel, Business
Rear view of a girl and her grandmother standing at the kitchen hob

Megan Maloy/Getty Images/Image Source

My 20-year-old son and I went on a cruise together. It was the first time we ever spent one-on-one time.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
Cheryl Maguire and her son in front of the water
The author took her son on a cruise.

Courtesy of Cheryl Maguire

I switched schools 10 times, between homeschool, public, and private. It shaped how I parent.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment
Two kids doing math homework together at a kitchen table.
The author (not pictured) went to public school, private school, and also did homeschooling while growing up.

CG Tan/Getty Images

I pay for date-night babysitters by selling my clutter on Facebook

Tech Insider : Business
The author and her husband smile while posing outside of a restaurant on a recent date night.
The author, pictured with her husband, sells unwanted items on Facebook weekly to make extra cash to pay for date-night sitters.

Courtesy of Alexandra Frost

We are on day 37 of no paycheck for my husband. We've cut all our subscriptions and have a shopping ban to make it through the shutdown.

Tech Insider : Business, Sports, Travel
Couple hiking
The author's husband is a federal employee.

Courtesy of the author

I'm a dad, and I balance 2 careers while parenting. I've embraced imperfection and model resilience for my kids.

Tech Insider : Business
A father with his child while sitting at a kitchen table with a laptop.
The author (not pictured) balances two careers while parenting.

svetikd/Getty Images

I'm an empty nester. As a single parent, the shift feels lonely.

Tech Insider : Business, Travel
The author with her two kids during Christmas 2024.
The author is a single parent and, for the first time, now an empty nester.

Courtesy of Kelly Magyarics

I've learned that stress-free travel with kids means breaking some rules

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel, Business
The author poses at a pyramid with her family.
Some parents try to follow a bunch of rules when they travel with their kids, but the author thinks it's better to break them.

Courtesy of Jamie Davis Smith

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