Some thought a lack of toddler empathy is an evolutionary imperative to help children focus on developing their own survival skills first. They were wrong. I stopped believing what the scientists and development psychologists report about empathy after raising my own toddler. My toddler’s favorite game is called “Give Mommy Things.” All day, she picks …
M was screaming at the top of her lungs. Both her Dad and I had been up all night. “Remind me why we did this again,” he said, only half-joking. “It’s important for her health. Even if it is unpleasant!” Only my language was much more colorful. M had just gotten her one year vaccines …
M is asleep in her Dad’s arms. There is a huge wet spot on his shirt, where she’s been drooling. He points at her with his free arm and then at her crib. “I really need to go to the bathroom,” he mouths, not wanting to wake her. Although it’s becoming more common, there’s still …
The nasty looks were palpable when I took the first sip of my daiquiri. I shrugged it off, but then a well-dressed woman came over to our table and said “You shouldn’t drink in front of your child. You’ll teach them that it’s okay.” It was a Saturday night. I had just been nominated for …
How often should you bathe your baby? My husband and I never talked about baths. Apparently, how often our baby needs a bath is now a matter of contention. I said she only needed a three baths a week – after all, she doesn’t really get dirty. Her Dad said she needed a bath every …
M’s grandfather repaired the lawn mower yesterday. When he came in for a glass of water, he left his tool-belt on the floor for a moment. M toddled over and took each tool out one by one, but she was particularly impressed with the screwdriver. She tried to screw imaginary screws into the hardwood floor, …
M reaches into a drawer beside my bed. I thought I had locked that drawer. She pulls it out and waves it around in the air squealing “Shiny!” Unfortunately, the in-laws are over. The whole room is suddenly silent. I rush over and take it from her, sure that my face is redder than the …
“I have triumphed over the Kingdom of M at the battle of Onesie,” my Facebook status reads. “It was a long and arduous battle. There were many casualties on each side, but we have prevailed! M has now retreated to the castle keep at Crib and is undoubtedly planning the strategy for the next battle.” …
For better or worse, M loves watching TV. Every Sunday, we sit on the bed and watch Saturday Night Live. It’s her favorite show and I can always count on her bouncing (on my stomach!) and dancing to the musical guests, sometimes grabbing my nose for balance. Her father and I joke that exposing her …
I’m watching my daughter sleep. The ends of her mouth curve upwards and gently back again, as if being controlled by a lazy puppeteer. Her dream, this time, appears to be a good one. She is also sprawled out between her father and me, using his chest as a pillow and kicking me repeatedly in …
Our two bengals, Snowe and Polar, are sleeping on opposite sides of the room. Snowe wakes up, stretches and walks across, surprising Polar in the process. Polar bristles her fur and hisses at Snowe. M, upset that her friends are fighting, crawls between them, arches her back and hisses back to Polar. Of course, my …
Five minutes ago, this post read as follows: “dasdaba $%+1 p00p.” I’m still not entirely sure what that means, but I assume M does, since she decided to type it while I was away from my computer grabbing her a new diaper. At 12 months old she is fascinated with technology. I’ve tried giving her …
M is obsessed with the magical room on the other side of the door (which we call the bathroom). She is standing on her tippy-toes, supporting her weight by pressing her knees against the door, her back arched and arms stretched as far as possible, trying to reach the knob. She is still an inch …
My one year old daughter, M, toddles toward a litter of kittens, who are fresh from a party in the litter-box and shakes her little butt as if to pounce. “No!” my mother exclaims and reaches down to grab M. “Let her play with them,” I say and grab her hand. “What if she gets …
