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 I’m a contributing columnist for The Globe and Mail, and my work has appeared in most major Canadian publications. 

Here's a sample:

The Globe and Mail •

After I had a real kid, I despised my fur babies

“Oh.”

That was my reaction as my dogs ran toward me, folding in half with excitement at my feet, after our time apart. The wiggles, the kisses all would have made me swoon just days earlier, and I likely would have recorded their reactions. But this time, this reunion, I felt nothing.

When we had parted, I had been on my way to the hospital to have my first baby and had squeezed them both so tightly, promised it would only be a few days, and gave the dogsitter pages and pages of instructions o...
The Globe and Mail •

Opinion: Swing, slide, yawn: Why are our playgrounds so boring?

Amberly McAteer is a writer in Toronto, and a former editor in the Opinion section at The Globe and Mail.

It’s a scene that has played out dozens of times this summer: My husband pushes our two-year-old daughter on the swing at our local park, in sync with all the other dads. They all stand behind their vaguely entertained kids, stare out into the abyss, and say nothing. Meanwhile I try, and fail, to have a basic conversation with another mom while my older daughter is climbing up a slide.

“Ho...
The Globe and Mail •

Can I have a magical summer with my kids, without ruining their sleep?

“I’ve made a terrible mistake,” I thought, watching my two toddlers buzz around the room, jump on the beds and refuse to get into their pyjamas. An hour past their usual bedtime with no end in sight to the madness.

Hours earlier, my four-year-old had her first soccer game – and I use that term loosely. It felt like the first real night of the summer. I took in the warm night air with my mom friends as we cheered our older kids on and the little ones ate watermelon on the sidelines. And then, on
St. Joseph Media •

If we value mothers and motherhood, excellent postpartum care should be standard

The first of its kind in Canada, a new postpartum retreat wants to revolutionize the care mothers receive in the days and weeks after giving birth. But why isn’t this standard practice, instead of an elective luxury?

Thomassen had heard the “horror stories” of early motherhood—trying to keep a new human alive on little sleep, little food and high anxiety—and wanted something better. “What was giving me the most anxiety was not having baby expertise,” she says. “My mom is wonderful, but she hadn
The Globe and Mail •

As a mother, I’m worried we don’t honour female art enough (just ask Barbie)

This is the weekly Amplify newsletter, where you can be inspired and challenged by the voices, opinions and insights of women at The Globe and Mail and our contributor community.

This week’s newsletter was written by Amberly McAteer, a freelance writer and editor in Toronto, and former editor at The Globe and Mail.

When my three-year-old daughter, Lucy, asked her teacher what she thought of her art project in preschool, the teacher answered: I won’t tell you what I think, it’s about what you t
The Globe and Mail •

Opinion: When the truth matters most, I won’t lie to my child about Santa

Amberly McAteer is a freelance writer in Toronto and a former editor in the Opinion section at The Globe and Mail.

The first time I remember feeling truly devastated was Christmas Day, 1987. I was four years old.

A few days before the Big Day, my brother, four years my senior and a dedicated truth-teller, was trying to convince me Santa was pure fiction. “He’s a fat guy, you think he’s in the kind of shape to go to every house in a night?

“Do you think he eats all those cookies and isn’t viol
The Globe and Mail •

12 wonderful pet gifts, and adoptable pets, perfect for your home this holiday season

It is the most wonderful day of my year. Getting to spend an entire day with wonderful animals – homeless through no fault of their own, looking for their second chance and full of plenty of love to give. Add to that, the thrill of giving these deserving babies the best toys and products of the year? It’s a very merry day indeed.

Bruce came in the door bursting with puppy energy. He had no time for introductions; he wanted to play immediately and made everything a game. His favourite? Pounce on
SJC Media •

I’m so sick of hearing “just you wait” from veteran parents

Maybe I’m being too earnest, but as a new mom, there are so many stages I'm truly excited about. Please don’t rain on my parade prematurely.

I hadn’t even given birth to my daughter when I received my first “just wait.” I was telling a friend at work that I was having trouble sleeping. In the 30th week of pregnancy, essentially housing a full person, turning over in my sleep was near impossible. I felt like I could not possibly get bigger, or more uncomfortable.

It would be my first “just wait
The Globe and Mail •

I walked away from my dream job for motherhood

This is the weekly Amplify newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign up for Amplify and all Globe newsletters here.

Amberly McAteer is a former editor for The Globe’s Opinion section.

Every work day at 10:30 a.m. for the last six years, I’ve been part of a story meeting with a team of brilliant editors, debating which news items would make the strongest fodder for engaging opinion pieces.

Our team comes away from these meeti
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