It was as if my child’s personality had changed over night. Did the babysitter drop him in the tub? My baby stopped liking baths almost overnight. I did a little research and discovered the reason he cried at the prospect of going in the tub had more to do with his own decisions and experiences …
There’s no doubt computers are heaven-sent. Computers allow dads like me to reach out to friends, do research, chat with family and “accidentally” check the occasional porn site. Of course, our kids are also curious about everything that’s out there on the Internet. Although we have already set down technology rules for them, they’re not …
“She’s a bad mother. Look how messy that baby is!” It took a moment for me to translate the accusation into English and process the criticism being leveled. On overseas assignment in a developing country, I was eating among locals in a noodle shop, reminding myself of the hygiene hypothesis – exposure to germs early in …
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 …
I’m with Seinfeld’s Elaine Benes who said, “I don’t know how you guys walk around with those things!” Given my biological difference, most of the decision for circumcision for our sons defaulted to my husband who ultimately decided the men of the household would all look the same. Since he and our older son weren’t …
It seems that no matter how much I try I can’t compete with it. Technology rules for parents and kids. That’s why technology also needs strict rules. Technology is overrunning my children’s lives. Sometimes it feels like it’s bleeding me, robbing me and turning me into its servant. My kids insist on acquiring more of …
As hipsters look at what their parents’ did for entertainment as children, this skinny-jeaned generation of emotionally-wrought urban youth finds disdain in the previous generation’s competitiveness and downright aggressive play. Those children’s games were tough! While hipsters organize non-competitive kick-ball leagues without scoring to prevent one side feeling bad about losing, we thought it would …
My nephew told me an awful story recently. He was on his way home from school and decided to take a shortcut. Suddenly, he saw another kid coming at him. He suspected nothing at first, but then the bigger kid punched my nephew in the gut! He said he had done nothing to provoke such …
I’ve got two words for you, PETA, and they ain’t Merry Christmas. Scaremongering tactics linking autism and milk are criminal. Score one for malnutrition. PETA’s recent press release deduces from a flawed study from 2002 to say babies and children shouldn’t drink milk. It’s flawed because the study looked at a whopping 20 children cross section. …
More and more evidence proves that playing with mud pies is good for children. By introducing children to microbes in dirt, you could save their lives. Mud is good for the mind, too, filling it with precious childhood memories they’ll remember for a lifetime. There’s a reason why playing with mud pies is desirable to …
The ‘we cannot afford it’ argument impacts my kids in ways other arguments don’t. Unfortunately for us, teaching kids about money means telling the truth. Recently, my parents gave each of my girls (aged 6 and 3) some cash as a late Christmas present and encouraged them to spend it however they wanted. A few …
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 …
Children are like jigsaw puzzles and we don’t have the picture on a box to know what they’re supposed to look like. We don’t see a late walking baby. But with babies we’re not even sure we have all the pieces. Aaron is a late walker, or as our Dr. Cao calls him, “very normal.” …
The first time someone thought my baby boy was a girl I took offense. Clearly he’s a boy, I remember thinking. How else do you explain his masculine crawl? Later I would encounter a similar situation, only this time I was in the opposite position, meeting an old friend on a sidewalk outside Union Market …
What’s wrong with raising a lazy child? Nothing! The haters are jealous of our laid back lifestyle. I don’t get parents who preach go-go-go all the time. Doesn’t my son deserve to be lazy and recharge, too? When I say “lazy” I mean letting kids indulge their free, unstructured time to do what they enjoy …
Sometimes when my baby signs for more food, or that he’s had enough to eat already, on-lookers come over to the table to tell me how smart my baby must be. Actually, it allows us to be lazy. My recommendation is to start with three basic baby sign language hand gestures and expand from there. …
Unless your baby suffers from Celiac disease, don’t avoid gluten any more than you would avoid giving your baby a potential allergen such as nuts or dairy. Today’s doctors recommend introducing solid foods slowly to ensure your baby tolerates them, but gluten is no exception. Those health food nuts who preach gluten-free for life need …
If you don’t trust your parental instinct more than parenting books, you’re setting your family up for failure. Strangers don’t know best, after all. The reason your parental instinct is better than parenting books is the same reason you don’t drop the kids off at a stranger’s house – it can be dangerous. First of all, …
The arms race on the back of cars has heated up. Stickers with stick family guns tell potential predators what they can expect. Profile our family and die! Evidently the station wagon generation has raised adults who aren’t afraid to fight back. The new trend comes after well intentioned safety tips were recently issued by …
The holy grail for parents has everything to do with finding the right toys for the right times in your child’s life. The doorway jumper might just be your next babysitter. When tossing your child is out of the question and you’ve run out of newspaper for the baby to eat, perhaps it’s time to …
