A friend and I were sitting on the floor with our 18-month-olds as they played with a kids’ construction set, and you can guess what happened next. My kid tried to bogart the hammer from her playmate, and her playmate declined to hand it over. My friend said, “No, no, we need to share.” She tried to take […]
“I want to wear the Mickey Mouse pajamas!” our toddler announced. My husband fished out the top, but the Mickey Mouse bottoms were in hiding. “Look, here are your shark pajamas!” my husband tried, cheerfully. “I want to wear the Mickey Mouse pajamas!” our toddler repeated, whining. “The shark pajamas are from your good friend,” my […]
“I can’t get my 1-year-old to eat produce anymore,” a stranger said, with a hint of desperation, as we stared at the frozen blueberries in Costco. “He used to like bananas, avocados … now he doesn’t! I don’t know what to do.” Mama, I don’t know what made you ask me, but you are asking the right person! I have a […]
The scene: We’re at the playground, having a ball. My toddler screeches with joy at meeting another 2-year-old. She holds his hand as they take big steps up the stairs to the slide, the picture of cuteness. She waits at the top of the slide for her new friend to sit down, too, so they can slide down together. They […]
Nursing an infant to sleep for the night sounds good, in theory. That’s theory for you. Our baby would appear to conk out while nursing, so I’d attempt to make my escape. I’d slip a pinkie finger into the corner of her mouth to unlatch her and gingerly attempt to transfer her into bed. Immediately, she’d pop awake […]
When kids misbehave, it’s so easy to say, “That’s it—time-out!” It can become parents’ go-to punishment in any situation. I saw this in action when an older child hurt my toddler at their house and her dad, angry, punished her with a time-out. As his child sat there in the corner sulking, I was kind of sulking, too. I thought, Wait, I’d like her to come see if […]
Around the house, some women want things done a certain way. You know who you are. Ahem: We know who we are. And when things aren’t done a certain way, we get critical. My husband puts the dishes in the dishwasher (“a mountain of dishes,” he suggests editing that to say), and all I see […]
I remember trying to get the real scoop on parenting, good and bad, before I had a baby. “It’s hard,” new parents would say, and then quickly paper over that tiny admission. “But of course I wouldn’t trade it for anything!” It sounded suspicious to me. Even so, once I had a baby, I followed suit: […]