Swati Khurana

Diwali, Once Hidden, Now Lit Large

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When my family and I immigrated in 1977, to be an Indian-American meant replacing curry with bologna and saris with sweaters, and celebrating Diwali invisibly. My daughter’s life is very different.Read more…

Want a boy American Girl doll? You'll need to buy two; they're only available as twins—or give a girl doll a haircut.

Where Are the American Boy Dolls?

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At the American Girl store, my 8-year-old son was enraptured by the historical dolls. Surely, there were boys in those times, boys who would have saved the day by using their wits or shown great courage in hard times. Where were they?Read more…

The Merrill family after soccer practice in Maine. From left, Gabriel, Asher, Judah, Lydia, Meadow Rue Merrill with Ezra, and Dana Merrill. Their eldest son is starting to look at colleges. Craig Dilger for The New York Times

There Are More Important Things Than Saving for College

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There is no shame in having more kids than average. Or in working hard to support them without having money to fund individual college savings accounts, or telling them, “You are your ticket to college. Work hard.”Read more…

A Primer on Financial Aid for College, for Families With No Savings  | 

In just a generation or two, we’ve gone from students working their way through college, to many parents still being able to write checks to cover tuition, to sticker prices being so high that two decades of savings may not be enough. For families with little or nothing saved for college, the process has to begin with a crash course in how colleges make decisions about financial aid. Read more.

Sylvia Trejo combs lice from a client’s hair at Hair Fairies in Los Angeles. Stephanie Diani for The New York Times

Your Child Has Lice? Spread the Word.

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If we want to have any chance at defeating, or better yet avoiding, lice, we’re going to have to be willing to talk about them.Read more…