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.
Parenting
My Kid Is Begging For A Pet. Is It Worth The Risk To My Sanity?
Part of me thinks it could be sweet, and part of me thinks it will ruin our lives.
care
I Share Grocery Shopping With A Mom Friend & It’s Changed Everything
I used to loathe grocery shopping. Now, walking down the aisles, I feel a profound sense of purpose.
GOOD ENOUGH PARENT
Have We Lost The Plot On Valentine's Day?
Kids rarely come home from school on February 14th with a feeling of having loved and been loved. Instead, they come home with a bunch of trash.
Life
Help! I’m An Overstimulated Mom Who Is Dreading Halloween
I’m willing to guess that for many 7-year-olds, whatever their parents do on Halloween is of little importance.
Parenting
Help! I’m Worried My Kid Has The Bad Teacher
There are truly bad teachers in the world, but odds are this is more about fit — and a good lesson in flexibility.
Life
Dads Need Friends, Too
It’s not just going to therapy that helps women be vulnerable and supportive. It’s hours and hours of deep friendship.
TEAM MEETING
The Couples Who Run Their Families Like A Corporation
Are Slack and a shared Google calendar the secret to managing the mental load of parenting?
BOYMOM
Boys Are Lonelier Than They’ve Ever Been. What Can We Do About It?
“There’s a failure to give boys the message they are fully connected, emotional, relational beings.”
secret third thing
Is There A "Right Way" To Help My Kid With Their Homework?
Most kids need to learn to do homework in the same way they learn to swim or, even better, do their own laundry.
antiracism
Are You The Right Kind Of White Parent?
Garrett Bucks’s book cracked open the world of what it means to be a white person in America for me.
panopticon
Is Reading My Kid's Texts A Violation Of Her Privacy?
I would never read my daughter's diary — but this is different, right?
Parenting
Should We Tell Our Kid About Their Autism Diagnosis?
I cannot tell you how many children and teens I know whose self-confidence rises once they get a diagnosis.
overstimulated
How Do I Survive With Kids Home For Winter Break — You Know, Mentally?
The holidays are intense and the pressure on parents to spend magical, connected time with our children? Also intense.
Parenting
Is There A Way To Divorce My Husband Without Messing Up Our Kid?
The transition will likely be shitty, but the end result is a better situation for all.
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.
