Parenting Advice

Ashlee Gadd is the founder of Coffee + Crumbs and the author of “The Magic of Motherhood: The Good Stuff, the Hard Stuff, and Everything In Between.” We ordered bunk beds yesterday. It was an inevitable purchase, I suppose, after having two boys in two and a half years. When we found out our second baby was another boy, I remember thinking: Someday they’ll share a room, probably bunk beds.

Without a doubt, my largest expense every month (outside of rent) is eating out. I realized this only recently, when I sat down to get serious about my monthly budget and answer the question “Where the hell does all my money go all the time?” It’s restaurants. Several times a week. A challenge that many families struggle with, and thanks to a recent study, we are starting to understand why. An article in the January edition of the Appetite journal by Shannon M. Robson, Lori E.

New crib, new crib mattress, new rug, new curtains, new rocker, new wall art, new bookshelves, new dresser, new change mat—no doubt about it, the nursery business is big business. But do we really all need to buy into it? I mean, is it possible to just do no nursery? Would that be okay? How would that work? Well, ultimately, the answer to that question is going to be personal. And by personal, I mean it’s going to depend on you.

They’ve got a super cute room with a comfy bed. Why don’t they ever sleep in it? And when they do? Why is it never alone?! If it’s time to get your little one to sleep through the night in his or her own bed, here’s advice on how to do just that. First, let’s face facts: the issue of our kids sleeping in our beds is not totally about them. It’s also about us. We like it! We like snuggles! We like that they are little! And that’s okay.

In The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, one of the infant Herdman children sleeps in a dresser drawer. In Finland, almost every newborn baby goes to sleep in a cardboard box. Yes, that’s right: every baby. Once upon a time, Finland had a pretty high infant mortality rate: 65 out of every 1,000 infants. So in 1938, they started offering a box full of a baby essentials like clothing, outerwear, bathing products, and bedding to expectant mothers.

When I was young and had my own apartment I occasionally longed for a roommate, but was mostly content to have the place to myself. Now that I’m married with kids my husband and I do our best to give each other child-free time out of the house, but we’ve only recently tried to incorporate the opposite—giving each other time at home completely alone. Family time or roommate time (depending on your roommates!

Ever since Ralph had encountered it at a friend’s place, all he’s wanted for Christmas, for anything, was Playmobil. So of course, when I found an unbelievably giant tub of it marked just $10 at a local yard sale, I thought, “This is the greatest thing I have ever found, ever. Ralph is going to flip out!” Except… it didn’t work out exactly as I’d expected.

If you’re lucky enough to have a father figure to spend time with on June 21st, why not give him what he really wants: quality time together! Here are seven fun Father’s Day adventures- or should I say dadventures… Trip to the Museum of Whatever He’s Into: There’s a Mustard Museum, for crying out loud, so there’s sure to be one that’s perfect for every dad.

As soon as you have kids, toys become a big part of your home and your life. You buy toys, people give you toys, your kids pick out their own toys. You worry about having too many or not enough or the right ones. Toys will come and toys will go from your children’s lives, but these ten toys are what we consider the essential, pardon the pun…building blocks for a young child’s life of play.

My day job is the only one I’ve ever had in which the employees never socialize outside of work— it’s also the only one I’ve ever had in which all of the employees’ families live locally. Coincidence? I can’t help but wonder: do all of the family recitals, parties, graduations, brunches, and favors take up so much time that there’s little-to-none left over for a non-family social life?

Is there anything more magically pagan-feeling than running around on one of the first days of spring, searching for treasures amongst the just-warm soil, fresh green grass, and newly-budding trees? These 9 fresh twists on an old tradition just might make the day even more magical and memorable… 1. Easter Egg Balloons by Studio DIY for Balloontime Let kids decorate air- or helium-filled balloons, hide them, and let the hunt begin.

“Hipster” baby names have become simultaneously popular and ridiculed and often draw from literature, pop culture and history. But there’s one well that parents haven’t fully dipped into yet for naming: design. Have no fear, I’ve compiled a list of possibly terrific, possibly terrible baby names drawn from iconic designs and designers.

Winter can make everyday kid stuff even more time consuming and unorganized. Teachers accustomed to wrangling a room full of kids have honed their classroom habits and routines, and borrowing some of their best ideas can streamline arrivals and departures while keeping clutter and dirt at bay. At school it’s a cubby, here at home we do a combination of hooks and baskets. Kids take responsibility for keeping track of their stuff and pride in contributing to an organized space.

Well, that was a whirlwind! Apparently it’s now January and yet my festive to-do list remains a mile long. Let’s take stock of all the winter fun we didn’t manage to get around to… yet. I’m still planning to do all of the following: There are still tree trimmings hanging about, pine needles still smell great, and it’s still really brown and barren outside so any bit of life I can bring in the house is precious.

Rainforest-themed jumperoos, tonka trucks and monster LEGO sets are all well and good for families who have Santa deliver under their tree at home. But what about for those of us travelling for the holidays? Here are some great present ideas for kids who must, post-Christmas, pack them into their carry-on. 1. Paperback picture books. Super light and long-lasting fun. For older kids who’ve passed regular picture books some time ago, try the Where’s Waldo series, or a Tintin book. 2.

You’ve got 5 minutes to get there. You’re fumbling around the house for your keys, and yelling, to the littlest, for the 25th time: “Hurry up and get your shoes on!” You can’t quite remember— what were you meant to bring to this dinner party again? You’re going to be late. If this sounds like you, then your home is in need of one thing: A Take-Off Space. We’ve all heard of landing strips.

‘Tis the season for coat collections, holiday gift drives, and charitable giving, and this year I’m trying to coordinate my own periodic decluttering with the efforts of local organizations. It’s nice to make space for the new, and nicer still to get kids involved in donations, identifying things they no longer use that other children can enjoy. My family is tackling some of our biggest accumulators and finding plenty of enthusiastic takers, eager to distribute our donations.

Is there anything more fun than hunting through your house for hidden goodies, treasure map in hand? If you are 5 years old, the answer is probably no, there isn’t. Want to set up a treasure hunt in your house? Here’s how. What you need: Paper: printer, and at least one large sheet Printer + ink Pencil + eraser Sharpie Decorative craft items: aluminium foil, glue, cotton wool, faux fur, crayons, pencils, glitter – whatever you can dream up! TREASURE! Instructions: 1.

Two months ago my family packed our bags (all 8 of them) and headed for an overseas stay, a six month overseas stay in our home country of Australia. Now that a little time has passed, and the dust has settled in the pack rooms of my parent’s house where we are living, I’ve learned a few things about what to pack when heading overseas with kids for so, so long. 1. My daughter’s favorite blankie.

Reading a book on meditation this week that suggested I invest in a dedicated quiet space in my home. What?? Is this guy crazy? I live in 600 square feet!, I thought to myself, and what house with two toddlers has any kind of quiet space, anyway? Wait. He might be onto something after all… Living in a tiny apartment, I’ve already leared that dedicating spaces to different activities really does make the home run smoother.

I don’t know when it became a thing. Did parents always take annual pictures of their children at the pumpkin patch or did the practice spread like wildfire since the advent of social media? Whatever the case, I’ve succumbed; I have to commemorate the October Pumpkin Patch Trip and I have since my oldest daughter was a baby. Which is to say that I’m very familiar with this fall torture ritual. Here’s how I’ve learned to survive.

When you’re pregnant you hear a lot of old wives’ tales, maternity myths and “what to expect while expectings”. My first pregnancy was relatively easy and uneventful and the first trimester I spent, like most women, sleepy and tired. So I was really looking forward to the “nesting stage” which is supposed to kick in during the second trimester and peak in the third.

As my oldest child starts to navigate the waters of middle school, the perennial question resurfaces: when do we get him a cell phone? Many of his peers have had phones for years now, but our family really wants to hold out until it’s absolutely necessary. So when does it become absolutely necessary? Among my mom friends with older children, I hear stories of the “need” for cell phones beginning pretty much in middle school.

I recently wrote about my system for dealing with children’s papers, from the mundane to the beautiful and precious. Today, I’m going to go more in-depth (warning: very in-depth) regarding what I do once I’ve sorted what’s important. Store informational papers digitally. The permission slips and forms that need to be returned to school should go in an action inbox that you deal with very regularly.

This fall, after three solid years packing preschool lunches, I thought I’d surely gotten it down. I ordered new insulated containers, decided to go nearly 100% stainless, and had my rotating “recipes” for good nutrition on stand by. And then I got an email… The email from a new teacher explained the do’s and don’ts of lunch boxes. The children were to take all their food out and place it on a plate for a civilized sit down meal.

As school year schedules are finalized, parents may find themselves fielding their kids’ requests for music lessons. While the “Mozart effect” has been debunked in recent years (no, playing Don Giovanni for your child won’t put them on the fast track to the Ivy League), recent research indicates that children do benefit socially, emotionally, and cognitively from learning to play an instrument. Scholarship aside, playing music is incredibly fun.

Parenting is scary. You love your kids so much and you want to protect them in every way you can: you want to protect their feelings, their egos and, of course, their bodies. You want your kids to be safe, but you also want them to be confident, take risks, and, eventually, learn to navigate the world without you. Achieving both these goals…that’s the tricky part. Where’s the sweet spot between underparenting and overparenting?

You’ve seen our list of stylish girls names compiled from the nurseries and bedrooms shared with us over the past year, but how do the boys names stack up in terms of originality and creativity? Let me read you the “P” list: Pedro, Perseus and Phoenix. Rock on. Use this list to inspire a baby name if you’re looking for one, keep up with naming trends or just enjoy purely for anthroponomastic pleasure.

I chose my son’s Montessori preschool in part because of the order and beauty of its environment. I agreed with the practices of the school and while many of these practices were things we already held important at home, I also picked up a few new take-aways and they are ones that any home can adopt: This is an important practice at my son’s preschool for keeping the indoor environments clean. Every student has indoor slippers to change into when they come in from outdoors.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the parents who put together the creative and inspiring kids’ rooms that we share here all year long also have great taste in names. If you’re searching for the perfect baby name or just have a general love of names – this list, the girls edition, is pretty stellar.

I know exactly how many stairs there are to our apartment. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve counted—through tantrums, while carrying strollers or sleds in the dead of winter. We’ve lived here four years now, they were babies, they were just-learning to walk, I even had one C-section. Friends who live large on the ground floor tell me they’d never go back. So…how do we do it? How do we make life work with kids in a walk up? 1.

No doubt about it: kids make noise. What happens when you have kids, noisy kids and your neighbor doesn’t? Apartment living can be tough, but it’s even tougher when a case of shared walls meets very different lifestyles. Here are a few guidelines for ensuring everyone gets along just fine. 1. Get to know each other. Invite your neighbors over for dinner. Nothing beats a shared meal for wearing down divisions and clearing up misunderstandings.

A study run from 1990 to 2008 discovered that 98,415 were injured through falling from windows over that time. That equates to around 5,000 children per year. 1 per cent of these falls resulted in death. No question about it: if you have a small child in your home then window safety is essential. But how to do it? Especially when the place you’re living in doesn’t belong to you? Here are six steps to consider in protecting your little ones from injury around your rental windows. 1.

If your playroom is currently looking more like a play pile, and your kids’ bedroom more like a giant closet full of ill-fitting clothes, a thorough clean out is probably in order at your place. But wait! Before you throw it all out, have you considered having a yard sale for it…online? A lot of secondhand kids gear is suprisingly easy to sell online, if you know both what is saleable, and the right places to advertise.

When you’re young, it’s your job to not worry and to push limits. It’s all about you, you, you. It’s up to your parents to firmly establish boundaries and rules. And while you live under their roof, it’s either their way or the highway. Sound familiar? Here are six seemingly arbitrary household rules that drove you nuts at the time, but make so much more sense today. Then: Why bother? I’m just going to use it again tonight!

For all intents and purposes, it’s summer around here, since the kids are out of school and we’re ready to play. With summer comes water sports, and whether your kids are master swimmers or beginners, water safety is the number one priority. In recent years, awareness surrounding several swimming dangers has risen, and we’ve collected the information here as a quick guide to making sure your kids are safe in the water this season.

With warm weather finally here, the wheels in my mind have been turning thinking of fun ways to get my little ones outdoors as much as possible. Of course there’s the park down the street, our little plastic play pool, and the tree my four-year-old loves to climb, but I’d love to come up with something fresh for a little added fun.

We won’t be moving in for a couple of months, but last weekend we took the opportunity to get to know our home a bit better by spending the night…in a tent in the backyard. When we started working on our home-to-be, I thought it might be great to camp out inside the empty house. I pictured it as a sweet time to talk about the changes we’d like to make, the things we saw ourselves doing there someday, and the life we hoped to live there.

Moms and Dads: are you a master of the thrift store? A yard sale guru? An Ikea as-is-aholic? A clearance sale clever-clogs? We’ve been talking all month about living on a budget, and now it’s come to that time again, the time for boasting and bragging about the best bargain you’ve ever scored for your kids! For me? Probably that $20 tub of Duplo (the big brick Legos) I bought at a local community yard sale.

You know you’re a parent when you look forward to free time…so you can clean your house. When my husband takes both kids to the playground, do I flop on the couch, queue up some Netflix and relax? No, I rush around vacuuming, sweeping and picking up toys —gladly— because it’s so much easier to do without little kids underfoot (especially my 15-month-old who seems to undo everything as I do it).

I wish I could say I bring home the big bucks as a writer, but I don’t. Our family of four has a budget, it’s tight, and we have to stick to it. In the last 10 years of marriage my husband and I have tried different strategies, wrestled through problems, argued what must be different sides of how to save money. At the end of all that, here are 7 things we’ve found truly work. 1. Prioritize getting rid of debts.

I know, I know I have quiz fatigue, too. (Not to mention bitterness over the results of ‘Which Grease Pink Lady are you?’). But here’s an online exercise that is actually thought-provoking: Which Country Shares Your Parenting Values? The exercise, on PBS.org, instructs you to rank 11 qualities you think are important for children to learn at home (e.g. responsibility, tolerance, hard work, self-expression*).

The birds might have already been a-chirping for some time now, the green buds already appearing, but that doesn’t mean our Spring cleaning is all done! Especially not when you live with mess monsters of your own year round. Here are a handful of Spring cleaning tasks, that make an especially big difference to households with kids. 1. Wipe down your walls. Move systematically around the house at the height of your kids, and scrub those walls. Especially doorways!

After a record-breaking winter of relentless snow, I am looking forward to sunshine and splashing around with my family. Since a summer home isn’t in the cards for us and we don’t have a pool, we rely on a neighborhood pool. After a few summers with kids under my belt I’ve figured out my pool priorities, and ours has become a true home away from home. Here are a few tips for choosing the right pool for your family. 1. Do the math.

As I prepare for the birth of my second child and during this month of surveying small space living here at Apartment Therapy, I have been reflecting on where I would be giving birth if I still lived in NYC. Home births are on the rise in New York state, up 71% since 2004. With most of the state’s population living in the city, I find myself imagining the logistics of home birth in my old apartment: Would I feel inhibited laboring in close proximity to my neighbors?

Some parents share a room with their baby by choice (especially those who choose to co-sleep) and others by necessity if they live in a small home. Perhaps you have a long-term plan to move into a two-bedroom home, but are staying where you are for now. Or, like my family, you’re not quite ready to have your infant share a room with an older child.

There was a time, way back (way, way back) when I wasn’t allowed a computer in my bedroom. But now, in the world of laptops and iPhones galore – is anyone really stopping teens from having screen-time in the privacy of their own itty-bitty space? A few months ago I shared the story of a friend who felt their family’s screen time was out of control. One thing about it that really struck me was that every kid had their own laptop in their bedroom!

At our house, chores are approached casually and happily, with everyone pitching in. When it came time to start work on our renovation, we kept the same attitude, with everyone contributing according to his or her ability. Some of us install new plumbing, some paint, and some hammer their little hearts out. Just as we do when it comes to chores, we maintain realistic expectations.