Topic: toddler

Britain Is Tackling The Hotly Debated ‘To Leash Or Not To Leash Your Kids?’ Question

Britain Is Tackling The Hotly Debated 'To Leash Or Not To Leash Your Kids?' Question

When I think of a kid on a leash, I am immediately taken to Disney World or some other amusement park. It is scorching hot and people are everywhere — and so are children being lead on a leash by their parents. I do understand the reasoning: the child probably has a penchant for making a run for it or perhaps has special needs. Still, I always feel bad for the child even if the leash they’re wearing has been made to look less restricting in the form of a teddy bear backpack. This is a long debated issue and with a new form of “reins” becoming popular in Britain, the question remains – is leashing your child the “right thing” to do? More »

My Great Sleeper Is Suddenly A Crib Hating Tyrant

My Great Sleeper Is Suddenly A Crib Hating Tyrant

My daughter left the womb sleep trained. She never pushed her limits. She dozed off whenever the need struck. She napped twice a day and fell asleep at night with little soothing. Even while she was nursing and woke frequently during the night, she was up quickly, did her business, and was back in the crib asleep before my body had a chance to really wake up. Through 23 months of change, growth, and development I have rarely uttered a sleep-deprived word when it came to my daughter. Until now. More »

In My House, We Did Things Bishop Larry Style, Everyone In The Bathtub!

In My House, We Did Things Bishop Larry Style, Everyone In The Bathtub!

There is nothing in the world I hate more than pedophiles and child exploitation and children being sexually abused. NOTHING. Well, except rape. Rape is up there too. But all of this public outrage over Chicago’s Bishop Larry Trotter is so over the top and creepy. Bishop Trotter took a bath with his four-year-old granddaughter and posted the photo to Instagram, or someone posted it, and everyone is all freaked out and saying it is terribly inappropriate and awful and accusing him of all sorts of nastiness, even though Bishop Trotter says the child’s own mother was in the room and snapped the photograph. More »

I Could Barely Handle 1 Kid, But Having 2 Kids Is Easier

I Could Barely Handle 1 Kid, But Having 2 Kids Is Easier

Our second baby arrived 23 months after the first. Once again motherhood blew me away, but this time in a good way. Having two kids is far better than I could have imagined. The differences in the experience of being a mother for a second time started in pregnancy. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was “easier” because creating life is never easy. It wrecks havoc on your back and your bladder. As your belly grows, so does the insomnia. More »

My Toddler Can’t Stand My Husband

My Toddler Can’t Stand My Husband

When my friend Cassy first told me about her husband’s struggle to bond with their infant, I thanked my lucky stars we didn’t have the same problem. Sure, my daughter always preferred me when she was inconsolable, but it wasn’t any kind of toddler behavior like what my friend was going through.

Cassy experienced four months of solid hell, in which her baby wouldn’t be held, played with or even looked at by her husband without it resulting in a screaming fest. Her child wasn’t experiencing colic. Her pediatrician didn’t have a suggestion for her that they hadn’t tried. And Cassy’s husband shares 50/50 in childcare — he actually works away from the home less frequently than she does. Although it let up for a month or so, it picked right back up again.

Then, out of the blue, my daughter started doing the exact same thing. More »

Why I Still Use A Stroller For My Pre-Schooler

Why I Still Use A Stroller For My Pre-Schooler

There are a lot of people who don’t like strollers. Parents and childless alike seem to be personally offended by the existence of strollers in a space that they must inhabit as well. They’re big. They get in the way of everything. They are impossible to maneuver through a doorway without assistance. They’re expensive for no real reason. Man, strollers suck. But I still use one on day trips with my four-year-old. More »

I Put Makeup On My Toddler, But It’s Not About Looking Pretty

I Put Makeup On My Toddler, But It's Not About Looking Pretty

I was honored to be on Good Morning America with my daughter discussing young girls and makeup. But I have to admit that I cringed when my daughter said that beauty products “make her pretty.” The truth is, it’s not just makeup that helps my daughter’s confidence. She feels pretty when she rides a horse or gets to “fix things.” These are important aspects of her personality as well, and it’s important to look at the whole picture when we’re talking about girls and self-esteem. More »

My Kids Don’t Trust My Authority

My Kids Don’t Trust My Authority

Sometimes I feel as if I just can’t win. When I’m with my own parents, I’m a 40-year-old kid, inexperienced, unwise and not to be trusted. I help my mom in the kitchen and she critiques my chopping skills. I offer to give my dad a lift and he refuses to let me get behind the wheel. And god forbid I suggest a different route for getting to Point B. Even if it halves our driving time, I’m reminded that father knows best.

Well if that’s the truth for mothers as well, my kids haven’t got the memo. More »