Raise your hands: Who listed “exercise” as a resolution this year? And who listed “exercise” as a resolution last year? And the year before that? My hand is up, too. But last year was unusual for me: I actually kept the resolution … all year long. Here’s how. I was talking with a friend — […]
I thought it’d be fun to start a year-end tradition of sharing the funny things our kids say. Just in case you need a laugh after the holidays. (If you need more than a laugh, like a bit of a reset, try this simple happiness trick.) The unsigned quotes below are mine. (For a while, I was good […]
A friend of mine sends the best Christmas card. There’s the requisite family photo and the holiday wish. But there’s also a sheet of printer paper, folded in sixths. It’s a list of the memorable conversations they had with their kids that year. I always open it with anticipation, and we always laugh out loud. A couple for you: […]
There’s a joke floating around online about how to prepare if you’re expecting a baby: Walk around the living room from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. carrying a wet bag weighing 8-12 lbs. At 10 p.m., put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to bed. Get up at 12 a.m. and walk […]
Growth mindset is in the air. I’m just back from giving a speech to 120 K-8 teachers on growth mindset vs. fixed mindset. A school my daughter attends just sent around an infographic connecting mindset to resiliency. Someone on a parenting-educators forum just posed a question about mindsets and praise. If you’re not familiar with […]
“Nooooo!” My toddler’s anguished cry rose high into sky along with her shiny new balloon. “Balloon, don’t do that!!” Moments before, she’d been skipping down the street, holding the balloon with such care. She’d continually turn to look up at it with awe. She was so incredibly happy. And she’d refused to let me tie the ribbon to her dress or […]
Sunday was one of those days. Everybody was off their rhythm. Everybody was short on sleep. Everybody was cranky. If you have a 3-year-old, you know what that means: violence. By them. Toward you. I set us up for this mess Saturday night by lingering at a party and getting our toddler to bed late, then running out […]
The stick lying on the sidewalk was, at first, a stick — just a twig blown down from its tree in last night’s windstorm. Then the toddler picked it up. She pointed it to the ground and it became a walking stick. She poked it into the side of the car seat my husband was […]
This poor mom. She was juggling two kids on a plane, solo, and she was–as any of us would be–agitated. I couldn’t help noticing, though, that she was making things harder on herself than necessary. When we were still half an hour from landing, her little boy started taking off his shoes. “No, don’t take off your shoes! […]
Speak with your baby in a certain way, new research shows, and your baby is far more likely to pick up on language. The difference is big — more than double the vocabulary by age 2. How? Glad you asked, because “how” is what Zero to Five is all about. Three things: Speak in a sing-songy […]