This post about 9 Fun Things You Can Do With Kids Inside is brought to you by Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are my own. When the weather keeps the kids …[Read More...]
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Three Things To Consider As Fathers in the Digital Age
It would be no exaggeration to say that the Internet has totally changed the way we communicate and connect with one another. This is true of friends, business associates and families. When used well, the Internet allows us to communicate and connect more meaningfully with those around us. However, if we are not careful, the widening array of digital across our kids’ lives …[Read More...]
Detect Sleep Disturbances and What Causes Them in Your Children with Knit
This post was written by Jen Rattie in partnership with Knit Health. All opinions are her own. As far back as I can remember I have had insomnia. I am from a long line of insomniacs. I was hoping when I had children that the issue would skip them, but we weren’t that lucky. It started off the bat when they were babies. They were night owls and needed a lot of …[Read More...]
Letting Go: Redefining The Mother-Daughter Relationship
It is the eve of the night before my first baby girl Neriah becomes an adult. How did this day come so soon? This natural rite of passage I imagined gently greeting me hit me like a bold question mark at the end of a sentence. Despite the lack of emotional preparation, the day unfolds, and with it a boatload of emotions. Senior year, 18th birthday, and college acceptance …[Read More...]
A Sneak Peek Into The Mind Of A Four-Year-Old
Ever wondered what's it like inside the mind of a four-year-old? Here's a typical day: 4:30 a.m. Hmm…I’m half awake. It would be so much cozier in Mommy and Daddy’s bed - right smack between them where I can make my body seem almost twice as big, and Mommy and Daddy canpretty much kiss the rest of their sleep goodbye. 4:35 a.m. OH NO! NO NO NO. How …[Read More...]
Should You Ever Discipline Another Parent’s Child?
Last Sunday, I sat with a group of parents watching our nine-year-old daughters play the first basketball game of the season. Next to us, a young boy, maybe five years old, sat playing on an iPod. No headphones. It was very loud. It was very annoying. His mom sat on his other side, oblivious, cheering for her daughter. One of the dads leaned over …[Read More...]
7 Reasons Parenting a Toddler is an Exercise in Insanity
Jerry Seinfeld once said that “a two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don’t have a top for it.” And that phrase is permanently etched into my mind. Have truer words ever been spoken about toddlers? Because he’s right, of course. We all have to be slightly mad to get through the phase of parenting a toddler. Sure, we become accustomed …[Read More...]
10 Ways To Help Your Child Become A Better Writer
If your kids are like mine, they don't take well to their parents giving them advice on much of anything -- academics, athletics, you name it. In many ways, I am thankful for this. My kids are independent and have learned to do their homework on their own. But writing is a different story. But I had to step in recently to help my middle-schooler with a term paper that …[Read More...]
Dealing with Two Year Olds: How To Make Your Life Suck Less
From my experience with 2 year olds, you can expect a lot of “No” and “I don’t want to.” This is developmentally appropriate, although it makes your life suck. However, there are some things you can do to make your life suck less. Pick your battles. So she doesn’t get dressed, who cares. It’s not winter. So she doesn’t eat dinner, who cares. If she was hungry, she …[Read More...]
Taming the Temper Tantrum
Every mom has experienced them, and if you're not at that stage yet...just wait! The stroke of the clock that ushers in your child's toddler years also starts the ruthless era of the temper tantrum. Patty Onderko from Parenting.com helped us figure out the rationale behind your child's emotional explosions. Good Lord, can't they just behave? Well, it turns out, no, they …[Read More...]
Toddler Hair Growth
Some babies are born with luscious locks, while others are born without much hair, if any. Many mothers of bald babies long for the day when they can pick up a brush rather than plunk a hat on their baby's head. They may have to wait quite a while for toddler hair growth -- as some babies remain relatively thin on top until well into their toddler months. Toddler Hair …[Read More...]
It’s One of Those “I Suck” Days…
Do you ever just have one of those I suck days? I do - a lot. Actually I have had an I suck week! Oh crap, that's right it's only Monday, it can only look up from here right? The dishes are piled up, the clothes are starting to smell funky, the babies need a bath, the big kids look right through me, the husband’s moody, and all I want to do is go to sleep, but #5 took a …[Read More...]
Focus On Resilience In Wake of School Shootings
Each year, one of the administrators from the middle school tells a story to incoming parents. The story involves a chrysalis that is struggling to turn into a butterfly and a kind person who, after seeing the painful process, decides to help remove it from its binds. The problem is that it is in the very process of breaking free that the butterfly gains the strength that …[Read More...]
Accidental Co-Sleeping: How to Get the Kids Out of Your Bed?
Last weekend my kids had a sleepover at my sister Melissa’s house. Apparently when they were going to sleep, Nora asked if she could sleep in Melissa’s bed with her. Then she shared this gem with everyone: “My mom let me sleep in her bed one time when I threw up on my pillow twice.” Then Alex added: “And I slept with my mom once after I ate a peanut and almost …[Read More...]
When Should You Give a Pacifier to a Baby?
When Should You Give a Pacifier to a Baby? Most experts agree that pacifiers can be helpful during the first six months of life as it satisfies your baby's natural instinct to suck. However, there are no definite guidelines about when to give a pacifier or take one away. Sometimes, it is best to just use your mothering instinct to decide if a pacifier is right for your …[Read More...]
10 Things You Swore You’d Never Say
There’s always that moment when you hear yourself say something to your child and mentally cringe. For some of us mothers, it happens once every now and then; for others, it’s a lot more frequent. It happens every time a "Mommy Motto" slips from your lips - all the sayings we heard from our mothers growing up and promised we would never use on our own children. But of …[Read More...]