How do you balance your career with being a mother of two and step-mother of two?
Balance is a word I gave up a long time ago! I have made peace with doing my best. I love doing lots of different things and am grateful for the many hats I have the privilege of wearing.
How do you carve out "me" time and how do you like to spend this time?
I schedule 20 minutes a day to just think. No computer, no cellphone, no distractions. I intentionally put it on my calendar and block out time in my day to do nothing. This way it becomes a priority—otherwise I would never get to it.
How do you like to spend weekends with the family? Are there any favorite NYC family-friendly activities that you can share with us?
We adore Central Park. There is so much to do and to explore--the playgrounds, the Ramble, the reservoir, the Belvedere castle, Alice in Wonderland, the zoo and on and on. It is endlessly fascinating and fun.
Do you feel your career as a psychiatrist has helped you on your motherhood journey?
You will have to ask my kids twenty years from now!
What classes in NYC have been most beneficial to your children?
The Metropolitan Museum is a second home for us. The classes are amazing—for children and adults. I have learned so much about art from seeing it through my children’s eyes.
What has been your most memorable family vacation?
Chartering a houseboat on Lake Powell. It was heaven. The kids had to do all the work—scrubbing the deck, making the beds, doing the laundry, washing the dishes, tying up the tender--and they loved it.
What are your favorite children's books?
For young children, I recommend Press Here by Herve Tullet and for new parents I recommend Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy. My children are both good readers by now but I still read to them before bed. We love Roald Dahl books—they are laugh out loud funny and wildly entertaining. The Twits and The BFG are two favorites.
What is your best piece advice for a new mom?
Let your children play. Let them get bored. Don’t succumb to the pressure to fill every waking hour with a scheduled activity. Study after study shows that children benefit from having free time to be creative and use their imagination.
What values do you hope to instill in your children?
Kindness, compassion and honesty are priorities. I hope they treat everyone they meet with the same respect. It is far more important to me that they be good people than great achievers.
You are certainly one of the chicest Moms we know, so what are a few pieces in your closet that you cannot live without?
That is very kind of you! Sophie Theallet shrunken cardigans and Vince t-shirts are staples and I live in Tory Burch Sport on weekends. I wear a St. Christopher charm necklace every day. When I was a child, my mother told me it would keep me safe.