Mom of the Month: Lindsay Gaskins, the brain food mom
- Mom to Lulu, 2, and Frances, 5 months
- CEO of Marbles: The Brain Store, founded in 2008 around neuroplasticity, the idea that the brain continues to grow and adapt as you age. Game play and challenging activities can improve how the brain functions.
- Chicago
How would your gal pals describe you?
I think they’d probably say pretty opinionated and I am often one to give advice. For a serious conversation, if they are looking for that, they’ll come to me.
How do you describe your parenting style?
I love my kids to death and really love my time with them, but I also see that other people are better at taking care of my kids for part of the time. (Laughs) I love our weekend time and I love seeing them in the morning and putting them to bed at night, but I don’t know how stay-at-home moms do it. I like my adult time and sitting at my desk figuring out what the next move is for Marbles. I think I’m not very strict, but do expect a lot. Even though my kids are young, we work on a lot of things to make sure they grow up to be good citizens as all of us want our kids to be.
What has been your biggest parenting oops?
I’ve had lots of those. We overschedule a lot. One of our worst, we decided to go to a 30th birthday party in New York when Lulu was about 6 months old. … Carrying a car seat around New York City is miserable, being at a 30-year-old birthday party in New York at a bar with a baby is not a good idea.
What do you like about raising a child in Chicago?
I love this city. I love the neighborhoods. There are just so many activities.
Do you experience any prejudice being a gay parent?
There’s a lot of questions that always come with it that if you were a heterosexual couple you would not get. … I think Chicago is a great city, it’s very open and friendly. I think the city is great place to raise kids as a gay family.
Best piece of advice you’ve received:
It’s probably from my mom: Be very confident that it’s going to work out. It’s OK if you made a mistake or things didn’t go perfectly.
If you go
Get your game on at Marbles
Marbles: The Brain
Store hosts family game night the third Thursday of every month
in all of its stores.
There are six area stores: find them in Chicago on Grand
Avenue, in Lincoln Square and in Water Tower Place, in downtown
Naperville, in Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg and in Old Orchard
Center in Skokie.
