Sarah Wheeler
Sarah Wheeler is a writer and educational psychologist whose work has been published in Romper, The Cut, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, HuffPost, Deadspin, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and more. Sarah writes about parenting, motherhood, ADHD, disability and neurodiversity, basketball, and many other things. Her newsletter, Momspreading, is a Substack Bestseller.
Sarah has a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, where she received a dissertation fellowship from the Greater Good Science Center. She has worked with teachers, parents, and neurodivergent children for almost two decades, and frequently consults with parents and schools. She is the co-founder of the public school equity organization, Get Schooled Oakland, and a humble loyalist to integrated, public schools.
Originally from Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sarah lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and two kids, only cleans to ear-splittingly loud R&B, and always orders dessert. She is a proud “ADHDer,” and writes about her later-in-life ADHD diagnosis here and here.
You can submit reader questions to Sarah’s anti-parenting advice parenting column for Romper, the Good Enough Parent via this anonymous form or by emailing her at goodenoughparentcolumn@gmail.com. For more of Sarah’s writing, go here. Connect with her on LinkedIn here.
Solidarity
How To Survive A Teachers Strike
When schools close for a strike, parents have to scramble to make it work. But there are ways to ease the pain.
Parenting
Does My Kid Really Have ADHD Or Is This Just What We’re All Like Now?
ADHD is both underdiagnosed and overdiagnosed. It's misdiagnosed and missed altogether.
she-hulk solidarity
American Mom Rage Could Fill A Book & Now It Has
“I know as the person who wrote this book, I’m supposed to say, “I never yell at my family anymore.” But I don’t think that’s realistic. It’s also not true.”
GOOD ENOUGH PARENTING
My Kid Always Has Big Birthday Feelings & I Feel Party Dread
When faced with such intense pressure to enjoy yourself and feel loved, wouldn’t anyone lose their sh*t?
Parenting
Sometimes I Worry I’m More Invested In The Approval Of Other Parents Than My Own Kid
Whatever parenting Kool-Aid we’re drinking is laced with our own self-destruction.
Good Enough Parent
Help! I Can’t Get My Kids Out The Door In The Morning Without Losing It
Do not fall victim to the lie that there is some version of reality where if you were just good enough, mornings would be easy.
GOOD ENOUGH PARENT
Weeknight Family Dinner Is Hell Lately — Is It Really That Important?
In a way, meals are a terrible time to attempt to foster whole-family connection
GOOD ENOUGH PARENT
Help! What Is A Cool & Normal End-Of-Year Gift For Teachers?
Do people do that? Do teachers really want them? I never know how to do this right.
GOOD ENOUGH PARENT
Should I Have A Second Kid?
Carefully mapping every possible outcome is less likely to deliver you an answer than it is to trap you in the question for all eternity.
Sports
How To Watch Sports Like A Mother
The stereotype is that women just want a reality show. What I actually want is a different way to be a fan.
GOOD ENOUGH PARENT
Should I Let My Anxious Kid Opt Out Of Standardized Tests?
All parents find themselves faced with some flavor of your dilemma at some point in time, which essentially boils down to, “do I make my kid do the thing?”
Parenting
Help! Every Time We Try To Do 'Family Game Night' It Ends In Tears
Is something wrong with us?
Life
The Woman Who Erased My Messy House Guilt
A love letter to KC Davis, who taught me how to be a half-assed housekeeper.
Entertainment
'Women Talking' Overwhelmed Me With Grief — And A Sense Of Possibility
I want to talk to everyone I love about this movie.
Entertainment
The ‘Bluey’ Episode That Is Secretly About ADHD
The magical Australian geniuses who created ‘Bluey’ remind us of the power of showing children just as they are.
Life
My Daughter Wanted To Be Elsa For Halloween, But I Made Her Go As A Dumpy Owl
Raising a girl gets really fraught for me this time of year.
All The Feels
How To Manage Big Back-To-School Feelings — For You & Your Kids
Transitions are hard, but the experts from Big Little Feelings are here to help.
MOTHER FIGURES
My Therapist Mothers Me Like No One Else Can
I adore my children, my husband, my family of origin, my friends. But this work, and the woman who does it with me, is in many ways my life’s great love.
Parenting
How To Teach Kids Not To Erase Disability
Tips for teaching kids that one kind of mind or body aren't better than others.
Parenting
How To Get Your Nervous Kid To Let You Put A Covid Test Up Their Nose
Helpful tips for acclimating our squirmy little kids to the testing process.
