Category: News

It’s hard to raise daughters. The world has lots of outdated expectations for girls, cultural messaging profoundly focuses on the shape of their bodies, and the value of their looks as a comment on their overall worth. 

Guiding them through their adolescence and puberty with their self-esteem intact is no easy task. To make matters worse, well-meaning parents often resort to common phrases that try to explain away bad behaviors or boost confidence.

These phrases can do more harm than good says family therapist Dr. Laura Froyen, Ph.D. Here, per Froyen, are six phrases parents should avoid saying to their daughters. 

Here are six phrases no self-respecting parent should ever say to their daughters:

1. ‘He’s bullying you because he likes you’

fizkes / Shutterstock

According to Froyen, this is one of the most damaging messages parents can give their daughters. Girls need to know early on that if people like them, they should be treated with dignity and respect.

“Saying that a boy is mean because he likes you teaches kids what to expect in romantic relationships,” she says.

In other words, it makes girls think that aggression is affection and presses romantic expectations onto children. Parents would do their best to put this phrase to bed. 

RELATED: 13 Damaging Phrases Good Parents Never Say To Their Kids

2. ‘Be nice’

DimaBerlin / Shutterstock

It’s not so much the intention of this phrase, but how overused it is.

“We teach girls early on to put their feelings, their wants, and their needs last,” says Froyen. “That creates young adults and women who don’t want to rock the boat, stand up for themselves, and don’t ask their partners for what they want or feel confident in setting boundaries with the people in their lives, because we’ve socialized them so early to be nice.”

This doesn’t mean kids should not have good manners. Forcing them to be nice instead of asking them to notice how someone else would feel if someone stole their toy, for example, doesn’t allow for introspection.

“Have them be a little bit more introspective or aware of what’s going on around them, rather than having that blanket directive of being nice.”

Constantly telling a daughter to be nice can be problematic because it can inadvertently prioritize external validation over intrinsic motivation. 

A Stanford-led study concluded that this can lead to a focus on pleasing others at the expense of her own needs and limit her ability to assert herself, especially in situations where standing up for herself might be necessary. It can also inadvertently reinforce the idea that a girl’s primary value lies in her perceived niceness rather than her other qualities and abilities.

RELATED: I’m A Liberal Parent — But Even I Don’t Let My Kids Say These Words

3. ‘Boys will be boys’

fizkes / Shutterstock

This old chestnut is harmful for several reasons. But, when girls hear it, it can make them feel very powerless to enact any change or set boundaries.

“That message tells girls that if they set boundaries with a boy — like if they don’t want to be chased on the playground — that boys don’t need to listen,” says Froyen. “Boys should have the same expectations for responsibility taking as girls. It’s harmful to girls to consistently let boys off the hook for their behavior.”

RELATED: 10 Ways Well-Meaning Parents Accidentally Teach Kids To Keep Secrets & Tell Lies

4. ‘Good job.

Prostock-studio / Shutterstock

Listen: saying good job isn’t wrong. Of course, it isn’t. But the problem with this phrase, per Froyen, is its vagueness.

“Unspecific praise simply isn’t helpful to kids most of the time,” she says. “It also focuses on the outcome, rather than the process or effort involved.”

Froyen offers an example: If your kid has worked on a math problem that they maybe had a hard time with but kept working on and you said, Oh, good job!’ you’re not paying attention to the fact that this was hard and that the kid put a lot of effort into it. “It doesn’t focus on the tenacity or the grit,” she says.

Research by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology found that it can lead to a focus on external validation, undermine intrinsic motivation, and hinder their growth mindset development. Relying too heavily on generic praise can make children less likely to persevere through challenges and more concerned with pleasing others rather than taking pride in their accomplishments.

RELATED: Xennial Therapist Reveals 8 Ways Younger Generations Overparent Their Kids

5. ‘You look thin’

fizkes / Shutterstock

Commenting on a girl’s body in any context, negative or positive, is ultimately harmful to kids.

“What the research is showing right now is that any comment on a child’s appearance has the potential to be destructive for a child’s body image, particularly for girls,” says Froyen. “It draws your child’s awareness to their appearance as a thing that matters. They’re in a world where they are inundated with messages.”

What’s a better option? Offers Froyen: “If we’re out in the world and people call my daughter beautiful, I say, ‘Yes. And she is strong and she loves talking about fairies.’”

It’s about diverting attention to what really should matter.

RELATED: 10 Common But Harmful Mistakes You’re Making As A Parent

6. ‘You’re so pretty’

Ground Picture / Shutterstock

“Lots of well-meaning parents say this because they mean it, and they want to boost their child’s confidence,” says Froyen. “But research shows that it backfires in a big way. It starts young girls down the pathway of thinking that appearance is an important thing, that it matters for their self-worth, and that they need to rely on external validation for their self-worth.”

Froyen says that the world will comment on your daughter’s appearance more than enough. Parents need to be some of the very few people who won’t comment on their appearance, and make it abundantly clear that it has nothing to do with her worth as a person.

Frequently telling a daughter she is pretty can be detrimental because it can lead her to base her self-worth primarily on her physical appearance. This can potentially cause body image issues, low self-esteem, and a focus on unrealistic beauty standards, especially when coupled with societal pressures. 

Research by Pepperdine University explained that parents should praise their daughters for their character, achievements, and inner qualities.

RELATED: The 9 Worst Mistakes You Can Make As A Parent

Lizzy Francis is a writer and editor who has had fiction and poetry published in magazines associated with New York University like the West 4th Street Review and the Gallatin Review.

A mum has been awarded a five-figure payout after her baby suffered a fracture at the nursery she worked at.

Kiera Young, 26, left her daughter Lexie Hurles with staff at Primrose City Nursery in Glasgow where she had worked for almost two years.

But during the seven-month-old’s third settling-in session, which lasted two hours, the youngster suffered a skull fracture and brain injury.

She spent two days in hospital before being discharged, but was then readmitted due to vomiting and fever.

Doctors observed her for another day before sending her home.

For three months after the incident, which happened on March 24, 2023 Lexie continued to show signs of distress and discomfort, according to Kiera.

It’s still not completely clear exactly what happened to Lexie.

Kiera – who has since left her job at the nursery – claimed she was given conflicting accounts from her colleagues at the time.

One said Lexie was supervised when she threw her head back and struck the floor, and another indicated the staff member moved away before Lexie fell backwards.

Not happy with the nursery’s response, Kiera reported the incident to the Care Inspectorate, raising concerns about a lack of care, delayed communication, and the absence of an accident report at the time of collection. All three complaints were upheld.

Kiera, from Hogganfield in Glasgow, pursued a nursery injury claim through Digby Brown Solicitors after the nursery initially denied liability, leading to a court action.

However, the nursery’s insurance company ultimately agreed to a five-figure out-of-court settlement.

Kiera said: ‘That nursery was the very place where I worked, so I felt safe leaving Lexie there. It’s not because I expected my daughter to get special care or anything like that – it was simply because I believed in the staff, having worked beside them for so long.

‘It just makes it all the worse when your own colleagues and bosses let you down in this way.’

She said she was ‘horrified, terrified (and) furious’ when she learnt her daughter had been injured.

‘It’s still a mystery what happened – I’ll never know for sure,’ she added.

‘But the most important things are that Lexie is better, the nursery was held accountable, and hopefully, parents and nurseries learn something from this.’

A spokesperson for Digby Brown Solicitors commented: ‘The pictures of Lexie’s injuries are shocking, so one can only imagine how much scarier it must have been at the time for both mother and daughter.

‘We’re pleased that Lexie recovered and that Kiera secured the outcome she sought.

‘But this should rightly serve as an emphatic warning to childcare services everywhere – there are robust yet common-sense safety procedures for a reason, and they simply must be adhered to if children are to stay safe.’

A Primrose City Nursery spokesman told the Scottish Sun: ‘The care of children is absolutely critical to all aspects of our nursery. It is a very happy and safe environment for our many children.

‘A recent inspection concluded our setting is very good, and we were praised for our nurturing and inclusive ethos.

‘Unfortunately, we cannot discuss individual cases, but the wellbeing of our children and our service to their families is paramount to us.’

The Metro has contacted the nursery for a comment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: ‘Incredible’ off-grid home with its own private beach on sale for £395,000

MORE: BBC sitcom makes surprise return 2 years after death of creator Simon Carlyle

MORE: Teenager charged over death of ‘kind and bright’ 14-year-old boy

For the longest time, Father of the Bride has been one of my favorite movies. Even as a kid, watching George Banks (one of the best on-screen dads) lose his mind and turn into a neurotic mess as he prepares to walk his daughter down the aisle was something that made me laugh more than just about anything. But I recently watched the iconic wedding movie for the first time as a parent, and the experience had quite an impact on me.

No, I still love the movie. There’s nothing that could change that. But watching George trying to come to terms with the fact that his daughter is no longer the little girl who once depended on him or always down for a quick game of pick-up basketball made me come to a startling realization, one that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since. Allow me to explain…

Watching The Movie As A Father Of Two Daughters Was A Different Experience Entirely

Gypsy Rose Blanchard has revealed the last words she said to her mother Clauddine ‘Dee Dee’ Blanchard before she was murdered by Gypsy’s then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn.

In an interview with 60 Minutes, Gypsy opened up about her mother’s abuse, the sordid incident that changed the course of her life forever and what life has been for her after being released from prison.

“I wasn’t born evil. I wasn’t born a murderer. I’m both victim and perpetrator,” she said.

In the interview, Gypsy claimed that her childhood of medical abuse saw her pushed to the point of murder.

“I can honestly say I would have never committed that crime had I not been pushed to the brink, where I really just snapped,” Gypsy said.

Dee Dee is believed to have suffered from a rare psychological disorder called Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, a condition where she made her daughter ill on purpose to receive medical attention. As a result, Gypsy claims she was put through the ringer by her mother.

“There was a long list of medical illnesses that my mum told the doctors that I had, ranging from muscular dystrophy to leukaemia, hearing impaired, vision impaired,” Gypsy explained.

“By the end of it all, there was not a single part of my body that didn’t have something supposedly wrong with it.”

As she got older, Gypsy realised that she might not be as sick as her mother had been telling her.

“I don’t think people understand the emotional hold that an abuser has on their victims,” Gypsy said.

“I had tried to exhaust all the options that I thought was available to me.”

Feeling trapped, Gypsy came up with a terribly violent plan with Nicholas to end her mother’s life.

For the first time, she revealed that her last words to her mother were “I love you” as she hugged her. Just hours later, Gypsy waited in another room while Nicholas stabbed Dee Dee 17 times as she slept.

“I could [hear her], and in that moment, I wanted to help her but I was almost paralysed in my skin,” Gypsy said.

Gypsy was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2015 after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. Meanwhile, Nicholas was jailed for life for first-degree murder.

In Demeber 2023, Gypsy was released on parole. When she entered the real world, she realised that she’d become somewhat of a viral star online.

At the time, she was married to a man named Ryan Anderson, whom she’d connected with while she was behind bars. Their relationship crumbled shortly after her release.

Gypsy reunited with another pen pal named Ken Urker shortly after. In July 2024, Gypsy and Ken revealed they were expecting a baby. In December, she gave birth to her daughter, Aurora.

Despite Gypsy’s devastating relationship with her own mother, she says she was never scared of becoming a mum herself.

“I would just want my children and my child to have a childhood that I never had,” she said.

When you work hard and make a good life for yourself, some people will feel like they deserve to be helped by you.

What would you do if your parents and brother came to you saying that you should support the brother so he could get a place of his own?

That is what happened to the guy in this story.

Let’s see how he handles the situation.

It began when my parents recently got in touch with me through social media, and asked for a meeting in a public place of my choosing.

It just screamed trap.

But I wasn’t afraid.

In fact, I was amused.

They know I’m not to be messed with anymore.

So, I could only wonder what they wanted this time.

He quickly found out what the meeting was about.

I picked a local restaurant that may have a name of an olive and a garden in it, and we met up there.

Dan was with them. But he kept his mouth shut, most of the time.

We had awkward greetings, ordered some drinks, and then cut to the chase.

My parents begged me to help my brother Dan get his own apartment so he could finally move out.

OP refused to help.

Apparently, Dan’s credit isn’t so great.

Gee, I wonder why?

Could it be his wife regularly spends him into a hole?

Well they asked that I help by either supplying some capital, or by cosigning for the apartment and helping to pay the rent for it.

I simply said no to both.

OP didn’t let Dan’s anger get to him.

That’s when Dan spoke up in anger and yelled at me that I have so much, and I don’t have a family to support like he does. He needed my help, and I should be sparing the money for his family since I don’t have one myself.

I laughed and asked where they were when I needed their help.

Oh, that’s right. They were pointing and laughing at me for being homeless.

Or should we go further back to my childhood.

I’d love to delve into that with plenty of ears to listen in around us.

They seem to think he’s rich.

My mother grabbed my hand and begged me not to speak of any of it.

My father and Dan both just looked away and said nothing.

Pretty sure they wanted to say something like they used to at me, but held their tongues.

I asked them if they thought I was rich or something.

And their looks said it all.

He worked hard to get that much.

And when I told them I don’t have that kind of money, they looked at me like deer in headlights.

I broke it down about how much I’d managed to save for the down payment on my house, and the way I had to live and work in order to save that much so fast.

And then how I spent nearly all of it on the down-payment of my house.

I’m still in financial recovery.

I did have monthly income to spare, yes, but most of it was going right into my savings.

You can’t make enough money to out-earn bad spending habits.

I asked Dan what his yearly salary was, and when he told me, I pointed out that it was actually a bit higher than mine.

I then loosely broke things down in rough math in front of my parents on how about 70% of my income goes to my mortgage, insurance, gasoline, internet, phone, food, and other bills.

And then there’s maybe 30% of that left at most that I can put into savings.

And I need that money saved get back on my feet in time.

It’s important to have an emergency fund.

And I have to make sure I have savings to fall back on.

My truck is from the 90s.

If it were to break down, I’d need money to either fix or replace it.

And there’s other things one would need a rainy day fund for, like home repairs, doctors, taxes, lawyers, or anything in general you’d need quick cash for when it’s a sudden unexpected expense.

So, as you can see, I just can’t spare money for Dan.

The parents clearly knew enough not to cosign.

And I also refuse to cosign for anything as that would leave me on the hook for any bill Dan couldn’t or wouldn’t pay.

Then I pointed out that, that’s likely why my parents didn’t cosign for Dan’s apartment themselves long ago.

And my mother just started crying again.

I was pretty much one step ahead of them in all of this.

I’m not an ATM, and I’m not a fool, and I stated that right to their faces.

This is good at least.

I expected my father to become angry with me like he always does.

But this time he just, well…didn’t.

I’ve known this man to explode on me for the slightest provocation of not enabling my brother all of my life.

But this time he just didn’t do that.

There wasn’t even a sneer on his face.

His dad looked defeated.

The only way I could describe the look he had was regret and defeat.

Maybe regret for being a bad parent.

Or maybe regret because he can’t bully me around anymore.

Who knows.

Either way my parents couldn’t really argue with me, and I wasn’t about to give them any money.

OP was still generous.

Dan just got up and said this was all just a waste of their time, and that he was leaving.

My mother started apologizing for him, but Dan still wanted to leave.

Then just to kill with kindness I offered to buy them a round of unlimited soup and salad while we were all there.

I guess they couldn’t turn down free food since we hadn’t ordered anything but drinks yet, and they stayed.

I went out of my way to talk about anything other than money.

The conversation shifted to church.

Dan remained quiet, and was either eating his food or looking at his phone.

But my parents just awkwardly talked with me.

They brought up that they’ve recently joined a local Christian church and that they’d already been going for the last two weeks.

I said “Good for them”, and they of course started trying to advertise that they’d like me to go too.

I simply said no thanks, and they were smart enough not to push further.

Hey, at least he left the tip.

When the meal was finished, Dan left a $10 on the table for the tip and walked off without saying another word to me or anyone.

My mother just excused his behavior and we all parted ways.

That was about it.

Not nearly as much drama as I though there’d be.

But this is still far better than how things used to be with my parents and brother.

His SIL is even worse.

As for SIL.

Well she’s been regularly complaining online about my parents.

She really doesn’t seem to like the fact that she’s not queen bee of their house, and I think her toxic is finally getting to them.

Why else would they be so desperate to come crawling back to me.

SIL actually wants my parents to move into a camper like I had to do in order to make space in the house, and she’s being told “No!” every time.

Why do people feel the need to get involved.

She does seem to have a following of Karen minded people like her though because here and there I get messaged by someone I don’t know, that are intent on raging at me for not giving up my house for SIL.

I don’t bother to argue with these people anymore.

I just block and move on.

Though there was one persistent troll who had my phone number, and they call from a different number every time.

The calls have finally stopped.

Yes, it seems to be the same person who called me to say I need to make way for a real family man like Dan.

But I could care less.

The calls though, seemed to have slowed down, if not maybe stopped, because I made it clear to that person that they were only amusing me by keeping this up so long.

The last time they called was around the beginning of the month, and it’s been silence from them since then.

It is incredible how family can be so entitled sometimes.

Read on to see what the people in the comments on Reddit think about this story.

Yes, his sister-in-law should get a job.

This person says he was generous just to meet them.

Once they know the numbers, they should realize they can’t get any money.

I wouldn’t meet with them either.

Yes, they finally know they can’t control him.

This family needs to be completely cut off.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.

The social media star, who has two children with pro footballer Kyle Walker, has revealed she’s ready to expand her family as she plans to ‘delay’ her motherhood journey ending

Lauryn Goodman has admitted that she’s ready to have more children despite initially believing she was unable to conceive naturally.

The social media influencer is mum to son Kairo, four, and daughter Kinara, two and has no plans to stop having children any time soon.

The 34-year-old shares her her two children with Kyle Walker, currently on loan to AC Milan from Manchester City. He fathered the children during his on-off marriage to wife Annie Kilner.

After the news of Kairo and Kinara’s paternity was revealed, Kyle apologised to his wife for his actions. While Lauryn is happily single, she has revealed that she is hoping to extend her family with a sibling for her two young children.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror at the Mariposa Ball on Saturday night, she said: “Kinara still gives me lots of cuddles but I miss the chubby baby cuddles and the newborn smell.

“I am still breastfeeding her but it is only in the evening and I feel as though the journey is slowly coming to an end. I am delaying stopping because I’m just not ready to let that go.”

Reflecting on her dating life, she said: “I don’t have time to do anything, the kids take all of my time.” Prior to conceiving Kairo with Walker, Lauryn says she was put into “induced menopause.” “It was a tough time,” she revealed. The Brighton native went on to add that she had previously attempted IVF.

“It felt like not that I was failing but it didn’t sit right,” she said. She went on to explain: “Everyone is different and everyone has different conditions. I was put into an induced menopause and then came out of it and then six months later fell pregnant with little man.”

Aged just four, Kairo, she says is already vocal about his feelings and often tells his mum what is going on inside his mind. “He told me the other day he was frustrated or that he didn’t like something, so it is nice to see him grow in that way,” she proudly gushed of her eldest child.

In the past, Lauryn has spoken openly about her battle with endometriosis. The condition impacts one in 10 women, leaving them in excruciating pain and often suffering from intense periods and infertility. The condition occurs when tissue, which should form inside the uterus lining each month appears elsewhere. Areas it often appears include the pelvis, stomach, chest, spine and at times, the brain.

Similar to the lining of the womb, the endometrial tissue, which is fed by the main female sex hormone, oestrogen, it swells and bleeds. But as it’s not in the uterus, the blood has nowhere to go, meaning it causes inflammation and scar tissue builds up. Speaking previously on BBC News to Victoria Derbyshire, Lauryn explained that she was “in and out” of her GP surgery for ten years before finally getting a diagnosis.

“It’s really hard having to listen to someone who clearly doesn’t know anything about this condition trying to tell you that you don’t have it,” she said. She told the news anchor: “I went privately in the end but not everyone is as fortunate as me to go private, it’s expensive.”

She went on to add: “I had two laparoscopy [keyhole surgery] over the course of three years then I had an induced menopause. That was awful. Hot and cold sweats, you’re going through what women go through in their 50s, 60s. It’s awful. Your hormones are all over the place, they’re raging!”

Nigerian music star Ahmed Ololade, popularly known as Asake, has promised to purchase a house for his father, Fatai Odunsi, and cover his medical expenses.

This comes just days after Odunsi publicly accused Asake of abandoning him since his health started declining in 2022.

Odunsi, who has been battling stroke, alleged that despite Asake’s fame and fortune, he had not been financially supportive.

However, in a new video released on Sunday, Odunsi confirmed that his son has now reached out to him.

Speaking in Yoruba, he expressed pride in Asake and showered him with prayers.

He added that he called out Asake because it had been a long time since he saw him.

Odunsi said: “His mother ought to ask him when last he saw me. That was what got me angry, but we have sorted all the problems. We are no longer fighting.”

He further revealed that Asake has instructed real estate agents to find him a new home, saying “Asake said he will do everything that I want. We have settled, no more problems. They are now looking for a new house that he will buy for me. He has settled everything.”

Additionally, Odunsi confirmed that Asake has agreed to take full responsibility for his 11-year-old daughter, Zeenat.

Odunsi said: “He has never denied his child, but he has now promised to take full responsibility for the child.”

He also mentioned that he would be going to the hospital the next day, as Asake had sent him all the necessary funds for his treatment.

Click the link below to watch the video:

https://x.com/MobilePunch/status/1901374539759538231?t=m7bib8V-VmDDa5sCw864kg&s=19

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: [email protected]

“I’m going to kill myself, Mama.”

You can feel the silence in the theater after Jessie addresses these words across the room to her mother Thelma while gingerly cleaning her dead father’s gun at the kitchen table. The clock above the mantle reads just after 8:20 p.m.

Written by Marsha Norman and directed by Madeleine Regina, the 1983-Pulitzer-Prize-winning play ’night Mother takes place in 90 minutes as a mother and daughter battle over the daughter’s impending suicide. Graduates of The Theatre Lab’s Honors Acting Conservatory perform in this devastating drama, set in the kitchen and living room of the rural home of Thelma (Alison Bauer) and her daughter Jessie (Tegan Cohen). Bauer plays an aging “plain country woman,” a widow and mother of two, who evidently spends most of her time watching television and eating candy. Cohen plays a woman in her mid-30s or 40s who suffers from epilepsy. Divorced and the mother of a convict son, she lives at home taking care of her mother. She’s tired, hurt, and wants quiet — dead quiet.

Norman’s dialogue is brilliant, but actors in any two-woman play will face a challenge to keep the audience engaged. These women have mastered the art of subtlety. They draw the audience into their relationship and hold them captive throughout their struggle with life, regret, grief, and death.

The clock on the wall keeps time as mother and daughter wrestle through their broken relationship and question each other about their failed marriages, life decisions, and relationships. A series of stories, bickering matches and outbursts, and even moments of laughter follow. But as the clock ticks down to 10 p.m., borrowed time runs out.

The actors capture the tension and depth of this frayed relationship in both physicality and tone without making that tension overly stressful for the audience. Bauer and Cohen interact with familiarity but not warmth, suggesting that these women have lived together for a long time, but love faded somewhere along the way. They bicker and banter across the living room and kitchen as Cohen bustles around and sets things in order for her departure.

Both women offer compelling performances, but Bauer stands out. She moves back and forth through four of the five stages of grief during the 90-minute exchange — denial, anger, bargaining, and depression — but never quite accepts what her daughter is telling her until it is too late. Her physicality makes the case for her character. As Cohen moves around the space sporadically, most of the drama plays out on Bauer’s face and her posture while she stands, shuffles, and sits.

At first, she thinks her daughter is joking and waves her off. As she grows more concerned, she becomes angry, pacing and throwing things. She sits at the table or on the couch to bargain with her daughter and points at her several times in accusation. Thelma also visibly considers picking up the phone to call her son for help every time Jessie steps out of the room, approaching the phone and touching it or playing with its cord. Still, she hesitates. Bauer chooses the time when Thelma finally believes what her daughter says, and that realization on her face is chilling.

On the same note, the audience may develop more of a connection with Bauer than with Cohen because they see less of Cohen’s face. While Bauer “cheats out” at the table, Cohen does not. Her face remains hidden for about half of the theater in many key moments.

The set design by Megan Holden adds to the effectiveness of the show. From the blue wallpaper to the little crochet doilies throughout the room to the plate in the kitchen that says “bless this home,” everything feels incredibly…mundane. The costumes by Onia Gross fit the same descriptor — green cargo pants and a long sweater for Jessie, fuzzy slippers and a house dress for Thelma. The ordinariness of the 1980s farm home and the clothing of the characters visually emphasizes that the tragedy of suicide could come to any home, no matter how normal.

Thanks to the subtlety and skill of the actors, this devastating drama builds emotional intensity steadily from its opening moments to its climax. The breaking point of that intensity comes at just the right moment as the clock ticks toward 10 p.m.

I can count the plays I’ve cried in on one hand. This one made the list.

Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission.

’night Mother played from March 13 to 15, 2025, presented by The Theatre Lab’s Breakout Theatre at The Undercroft Theatre, 900 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC. 

Purchase tickets to upcoming Theatre Lab performances here.

’night Mother
Written by Marsha Norman
Directed by Madeleine Regina

CAST
Alison Bauer (Mama/Thelma)
Tegan Cohen (Jessie)

CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Madeleine Regina
Technical Director: Angelo Merenda
Stage Manager: Jennifer Hardin
Costume Designer: Maria Bissex
Lighting Designer: Emma Smith
SFX Op: Joseph Jackson
Wardrobe: Onia Gross
Lighting Board Operator: Mavelli Jones
Set Designer: Megan Holden
Assistant Stage Manager: Adam Franks, Jo Lau’ren Peele
Fight Choreographer: Kara Turner
Carpenter: Troy Johnson
House Manager: Noah Wesley
Usher: AJ Sultan
Operations Associate: Rachel Lipetz

The 17-year-old Russian rising star triumphed over Sabalenka just days after revealing she was eagerly awaiting a “special gift” from her parents — a puppy promised to her by her mother.

Andreeva had been expecting the dog last fall after her mother promised to get her one if she broke into the WTA’s Top 20. In October, after reaching the China Open quarterfinals, Andreeva reminded her mother of the promise.

“Before, I was always checking live rankings, because before, I was playing for a dog. So after every match I play, I would check the live rankings to see if I did it,” Andreeva said, Express UK reported.

Six months later, the puppy has yet to arrive, but Andreeva is optimistic it will happen soon. She has been researching the best breed to bring on tour.

“Well, no dog yet, because we’re still kind of thinking what’s gonna be better. I’m thinking to get a girl, because the girls are basically they’re a bit smaller in the size, so it’s gonna be easier to travel with a girl,” she said after beating Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells on Thursday.

“I’m thinking to get an ultra mini labradoodle. It’s going to be a Labrador mixed with poodle, and it’s ultra mini, so going to be even smaller than a mini version. It’s going to take time until the dog that I want will be born. We wait for now.”

Mirra Andreeva’s Family –

Born on April 29, 2007, in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Mirra Andreeva is the daughter of Raisa and Alexander. She has an older sister, Erika.

According to Sportskeeda, Andreeva’s mother, Raisa, developed an interest in tennis after watching Marat Safin at the 2005 Australian Open and decided her daughters would pursue the sport. The family moved to Moscow for training as the girls began to show potential. In 2022, both sisters began training at the Elite Tennis Centre in France.

Erika, who has won three ITF titles, reached a career-high ranking of No. 67 on September 23, 2024. She reached the second round of both the 2024 Wimbledon and US Open.

Cry Baby blends rock ‘n’ roll, camp, and a bit of edge with its storytelling. How does it feel to take on a character that sits at the intersection of rebellion and heart? Is there a part of the character you personally connect with or find surprising?

Cry-Baby is a hugely fun part to play as there are so many different aspects of his personality to play around and have fun with. I personally really enjoy the fact that he isn’t a one dimensional character and can have moments of love and vulnerability but also tougher moments where he stands up to views and people he doesn’t believe in. I also believe he has very strong morales which allows him to find the good in people that, on the surface, may not come across as such. 

Cry Baby is set in the 1950s, but its themes of individuality, social expectations, and love feel just as relevant today. How do you connect your character’s struggles to current issues, and what makes this production resonate with today’s audience?

The themes are very relevant in the times we live in: Individuality, acceptance and respect are integral to the piece and, though it is veiled through satire, it doesn’t make them any less impactful. We can all understand how these themes will resonate with today’s audiences with everything that is happening in the world currently. Saying that, the show at its heart is a comedy but if the audience leaves thinking in a small way about these issues, I think we’ve done our job.

With such a strong ensemble cast, how does the dynamic between the cast members shape your portrayal of the protagonist? Are there moments of collaboration that particularly stand out in rehearsals or performances?

I want to start by saying that show is blessed with an unbelievable cast and I feel very lucky to have such talented colleagues. The show is such an ensemble piece that there are too many moments to highlight one individually but I find it really helpful in using other people’s reactions to tailor my performance around as the characters’ personality is shaped by other’s opinion of him.

I hope that people will come and watch this production and see the amazing work my colleagues and I have put in to making it.

Cry-Baby The Musical plays at the Arcola Theatre until 12 April 2025. Read our review of the production here.