Heartworm disease is a potentially fatal illness that poses a significant threat to pets worldwide. Caused by foot-long worms that live in an infected animal’s heart, lungs, and blood vessels, heartworms can lead to severe lung disease, heart failure, and damage to other organs. While dogs are the most common…

Unexpected. That’s an apt description of the places you might find University of Richmond President Kevin Hallock, aside from his office. You’ll catch him in the crowd at sporting events dressed in spirit gear, in the announcer’s booth calling a baseball game with UR Chaplin Craig Kocher, or watching teams…

Troy Michel remembers how energized she felt when, as a child, she checked out books on her own from the old Tuckahoe Library on Parham Road. “It was so cool to have my own library card that I could put in my fake purse,” she says, laughing. Today, the mother…

Three years ago, Kat* was having a fairly typical seventh-grade experience at her Henrico County middle school. She got good grades, enjoyed a close group of friends, and was thinking about trying out for the softball team. She especially looked forward to her school’s spring theatre production. She had recently…

Photo: Brittany Mullins Yogurt Fruit Dip 1 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt1 cup whipped topping, like Truwhip or Cool WhipFruit for serving: strawberries, blueberries, grapes, pineapple, apples, etc. Gently stir yogurt and whipped topping together in a mixing bowl. Place in a serving bowl and arrange fruit around for easy…

September means many area students have returned to school. That also means it’s time for drivers to be focused and vigilant, especially before and after school when buses and students are more likely to be on the roads. This time of year is particularly dangerous. There are school buses, commuters,…

Before Richmond had the Science Museum of Virginia, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, the Children’s Museum of Richmond, or even the Nature Center at Maymont, the Valentine hosted a wide-ranging program that provided science, history, art, cultural, and natural history education to local children.  Founded in 1969, the Junior Center was…

The United States is an aging nation. About 16 percent of the population is sixty-five and older, and that number is projected to increase to 23 percent by 2060. Since we live within an aging population, it’s important to empower seniors to maintain active lifestyles, minimize fall risk, and enjoy…

As a mom and a gynecologist, I know a thing or two about the menstrual cycle. As a mom of three sons – ages nine, twelve, and fifteen – I also know that boys want to avoid conversations about periods and menstruation at all costs. When I had one of…

While preparing for an event on a hot day in July, Allan-Charles Chipman, who is the executive director of Initiatives of Change USA (IofC USA), heard from a participant in a recent program. Her question was one Chipman had heard before. “I realized for the first time after forty years…

Welcome to another fabulous edition of RFM! Depending on when you’re reading this, there still may officially be a few weeks of summer left, a season that seems to be getting the short end of the stick if you’re a parent of school-aged kids. All of our area public schools…

While chatting with a fellow parent or friend over coffee, reading a blog for new parents, or perusing a baby book, you may have come across the term developmental milestone. This term can carry a lot of weight, and you might be confused about what it means exactly.  As a…

Q: My kid is different. He is gay and he has had our family’s support from the beginning. I am, however, very worried about bullying as he starts middle school. Should I try to talk with him about some of the challenges he may encounter or just wing it and…

Custody and visitation disputes can be some of the most stressful and emotionally draining experiences a parent can go through. While every family is unique and there is no standard custody and visitation arrangement, there are some general principles parents should be aware of when navigating this legal process yourself…

Decorate for fall and have fun making a pumpkin patch at home with this easy-to-make craft using a timeless recyclable – the paper tube! Photo: Scott Schwartzkopf What you need:• Cardboard tubes• Paints, markers, colored paper• Paintbrush or foam brush• Tape or glue• String or yarn, about a foot long…

Restoring and preserving native habitat within public lands, while critical to supporting biodiversity throughout the country and around the world, doesn’t account for nearly enough acreage to balance the widespread habitat loss that has already happened and what is to come. To achieve the long-term goal of restoring the habitat…

As parents, you know the difference between all the cards in your wallet. When you make a purchase, you likely do not even have to think about whether you’re using a debit card, credit card, a gift card, or paper money. But for young kids, it is far from second…

Like every other student’s family that year, my family had received a form to receive free meals at our elementary school. My mom explained that we had qualified for free meals, but that other kids would know I was getting those free lunches; she made it sound shameful. When it…

“Well, it’s kind of a teen vampire romance story.” That’s how a mom friend of mine described Twilight, the 2005 novel by Stephenie Meyer that evolved into a series of books and later, movies. But this wasn’t just any friend. A treasured resource, she was a voracious reader who read…

When my dad drove my older brother John and me home from purchasing the Nintendo Entertainment System,1 I felt like the king of the neighborhood for a day. In the false memory I’ve created for myself, eight-year-old me holds up the box to the car window as we pass the…

Children are naturally curious, so it is not a surprise if they ask questions that can be difficult to answer or discuss. In the past few years, there may have been an increase in the need to have difficult conversations with our children. Whether it is a mass shooting or…

Small Mercies explores the intersection of race, poverty, and motherhood. It’s not an easy read, but it’s a good one. I’m big on historical fiction, so when I saw that Dennis Lehane’s new novel, Small Mercies, was a fictional story set against factual events, I was all in. In the…