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Strollerderby
Who do you trust to raise your kids?
I’ve heard of some couples who travel on planes separately so that in case one of them dies in a crash, one will still be left to raise the children. This always struck me as a bit odd considering your chances of a plane crash are next to nothing. I mean, if that’s your method of operation you better start meeting each other at the movies, restaurants and all the other places couples usually travel to together.
But okay, for the sake of this article – POP QUIZ: let’s just say your plane does go down on your way to Jamaica or Europe or wherever you were headed – who will raise your children? And if you did answer that question within five seconds, have you legally made it so? Continue reading »
Some cereals have more sugar than Chips Ahoy cookies!
Cereal. Kids love it. It’s the highlight of every trip to the grocery store for children … and mom’s nightmare.
When I was growing up we were each allowed to pick out one box of cereal per month and keep it in our room. We could ration it as best we wanted but when it was gone we had to hop on board the giant bagged cereal program. You know, the cheap stuff.
Regardless of whether it was in a box or bag, we always went for the sugary stuff.
Now, as Shine from Yahoo reports, if your kid is eating cereal in the morning, your kid is basically eating dessert for breakfast.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP TEN MOST SUGARY CEREALS. You’ll be surprised!
Does your kid cheer when a lesson is cancelled? She may be overbooked.
Extra-curricular activities are a big deal to a lot of parents. For many reasons, I can understand why. Kids involved in activities are less likely to get in trouble, statistically speaking. It also gets kids outside, away from TV.
Many parents hope their kid’s extra-curricular activity leads to a scholarship or a career.
That’s the worst reason to sign your kid up for swimming and the like. Kids don’t play anymore. They’re too busy living the lives of someone twice their age. Piano lessons, tennis lessons, gymnastics. All this during the school year? That’s a lot for a little person to handle.
I remember being exhausted at the end of the school day and wanted nothing more than to go home, grab a snack, relax and hang out with my friends. But many parents of today would call that wasting time.
As therapist Jeremy Schneider notes in his column for The Star, “Parents feel remiss that they’re not being good parents if their kids aren’t in all kinds of activities,” wrote Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D., a child psychiatrist and author of The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap said in a recent Psychology Today article. “Children are under pressure to achieve, to be competitive. I know sixth-graders who are already working on their resumes so they’ll have an edge when they apply for college.”
My thoughts? Just let your kids be kids. If they ask to take a karate class, by all means. But don’t shove them into something because you think it’ll look snazzy on a resume or whatever. And even if they do ask to sign up for an extra-curricular activity, it may quickly overwhelm them. There comes a point of diminishing returns.
As Schneider reports, here are some signs that you’ve got your child overbooked: Continue reading »
When did you stop changing or showering in front of your kids? Why?
Tori Spelling, who writes posts occasionally for LilSugar, is pondering whether now is the time to stop changing clothes in front of her 4-year-old son, Liam, after a recent incident.
She writes that she was changing, and Liam said, “Oh no! I do not need to see that! Get that out of my face. That huge thing sitting on top of your legs. Your butt is ginormous.”
It reminds me of how, whenever I change in front of my 3-year-old daughter, she grabs my butt and says, “WIGGLE, WIGGLE, WIGGLE!” Nice, I know. But that, and the fact that she stares at my saggy chest in wonder, has me pondering the same thing. Continue reading »
This is Henry, my 9-month-old who constantly sings the alphabet. It's SO annoying when I'm trying to write.
We all know them. The parents who love to be “annoyed” by all the amazing things their children are doing.
You know the ones. Those Facebook friends who like to keep you informed of every little milestone by complaining about it.
Babble’s Rhiana Maidenberg decided to take action against the worst offenders of online parent gloating and has compiled a list of the ten worst offenses. Here are just a few: Continue reading »
In this case 'like mother like daughter' is not ideal.
While the New York Times has no problem high-fiving adult women who wear kids clothing, just like Koa Beck over at Mommyish, I think it’s gross.
It’s particularly offensive in the case of anorexic mother, Rebecca Jones. As the Daily Mail reports, the 26-year-old tried on her 7-year-old daughter, Maisy’s skirt one day and it fit perfectly. They’ve been sharing clothes ever since.
The fact that she can fit into her daughter’s clothes isn’t offensive, that’s tragic more than anything as eating disorders are deadly, it’s her attitude that’s disgusting.
“‘Wearing the same clothes as Maisy gives me a sense of pride,” Jones tells the Daily Mail. “It’s wrong, but it makes me feel good. I don’t think I’m thin – I always see myself as bigger.” Continue reading »
Yes, parenting is complicated, but don't play the parent martyr.
Becoming a mother had the single biggest impact on relating to my friends. Suddenly I became extremely close to those who already had children because of the simple fact that they could nod knowingly when I bitched about my lack of sleep, breastfeeding or how difficult it is to even get out of the house to go to the grocery store … and oh, let’s not talk about the grocery store because what a nightmare.
See? I already bored you, and if you’re reading this you probably even have kids.
Conversely, after having kids you can lose touch with those childless friends who are still living that swinging single lifestyle. Either because you’re annoyed that you no longer have anything in common with them or because they’re sick of hearing you yammer on about your parenthood.
However, if you have longtime friendships that have survived you having children or if you just barely had children and are struggling to maintain valuable friendships, here are some things you should never say to friends, according to Jillian Mackenzie over at Shine Yahoo. Mackenzie doesn’t have kids but most of her friends do so she knows what she’s talking about. Continue reading »
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
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