July 2011
15 posts
1 tag
"Permissive parents: Curb your brats" →
Properly disciplined children know what’s up when mom or dad shoots them “the look,” that nonverbal cue to behave. The problem, writes this editorial’s author, is that some parents don’t dispense discipline at home, leading to bratty behavior that no look can quash.
I’m still working on my look.
1 tag
Mammas don't let your babies grow up to be...
Today at the Hall of Science, this thick, one-year-old bruiser pounded his meaty palms on a ledge just below The Boss’s face. Without making a move towards the boy, his mother gushed, “Oh, he can be aggressive sometimes.”
I took my cue from the Dog Whisperer and led The Boss away without saying anything. But all I could think was, “Lady, if your kid hits my kid, then...
2 tags
kaumealani replied to: The Boss finally tore herself away from the…
That was Aeva’s favorite thing at our museum too, lol. We even got her a ball toy because of it, and she loves it.
My Boss already has more than enough balls. She inherited them from me.
On a related note, I recently learned that the whole “forced air floating a plastic ball” thing demonstrates...
3 tags
3 tags
1 tag
“Unlike countries where couples can go broke trying to conceive with the...”
– From “Where Families Are Prized, Help Is Free” (New York Times)
If only Israelis and Palestinians weren’t so preoccupied with mutual annihilation, I might take Benjamin Netanyahu up on this offer. For now, it’s just a lot safer to spring $500 on a newborn at Taco Bell.
2 tags
2 tags
1 tag
A lesson in developmental biology
Ron: Is this teething toy dirty?
Me: I don't know. Just clean it with a baby wipe.
Ron: No way! There are all kinds of chemicals in those wipes.
Me: They're safe enough to use on The Boss's ass.
Ron: Ass and mouth are two different things.
Me: No, ass and mouth are exactly the same thing.
1 tag
“Is the idea of a $400 stroller so outlandish that, on some level, those who have...”
– From “The Stolen Stroller, An Urban Bourgeois Problem?”
My inner schmuck says yes. My mommy brain—the one that leaves the $240 City Mini parked by a bench while The Boss and I waddle across the playground—says no.
3 tags
3 tags
Association of Children's Museums →
Here’s the truly awesome part: Membership at one museum can translate to free (or discounted) admission to others across the country. As members of the New York Hall of Science, we got into the Children’s Museum of Manhattan for free. Our membership benefits also extend to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and the Staten Island Children’s Museum.
3 tags
3 tags
2 tags
June 2011
12 posts
2 tags
Woman Sprays Breast Milk at Police →
When I first saw this headline, I assumed it meant bottled milk. Um, no. At any rate, kudos to the sister who can squirt with (and under) such pressure.
1 tag
2 tags
How Do I Handle Other Dogs at the Dog Park? →
The Dog Whisperer would disagree with the way I handled the playground brat on Friday. He makes some good points in this response to fan mail, stuff that I’ll apply the next time The Boss and I are confronted with an unruly child.
Parenting lessons from "The Dog Whisperer"
nomadsoul said:
I never know how to respond when I encounter ill mannered kids at the playground. ESP when their parents say nothing!!
To be fair to these children, their parents (or caregivers) deserve all the blame. Playgrounds are not holding pens for kids to cut loose while Mommy, Daddy or Nanny yap on the cell phone. This lack of supervision deprives a child the opportunity to socialize...
2 tags
At the playground
Three-year-old boy: (Nudges The Boss away from playground equipment)
I wanna play here.
Me: But she was here first. Would you mind sharing with her?
Boy: But I'm playing here.
Me: Why don't you share it with her.
Boy: I'm playing here.
Me: Oh, I see. You're a male chauvinist.
Boy: (Looks up and sees my sneer, then runs away)
2 tags
2 tags
They call me The Ferberizer
The Boss has the worst sleep habits for an eight month old. The only way she falls asleep is at my breast, whether it’s for a nap or for the night, and no matter if she’s hungry or not.
To make matters worse, she wakes nearly every hour during the night. With no concept of how to self-soothe, she cries until a teat lands in her mouth. She may not even suck—it’s enough to...
2 tags
1 tag
The Boss is having a rough night. She’s thrown up four times in the last six hours, and she has a slight fever. So far, no bloody stool or eardrum-rupturing screams. Just a kid who’s too hungry to sleep yet too sick to eat or nurse.
I hope she’ll be okay.
2 tags
May 2011
9 posts
1 tag
“An unspeakable word is the word that has to be spoken if language is to be...”
– Jenny Diski: ‘An Unspeakable Word Is the Word That Has to Be Spoken’
Chemical suspected in cancer is in baby products →
According to this poorly written article, a suspected carcinogen has been detected in baby products containing foam. That includes changing pads, nursing pillows, car seats and high chairs. Terrific.
1 tag
Little Red Lighthouse Tour →
Survivors of New York’s public school system may recall reading about the little red lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge. It’s a cute story, one that I was eager to share with The Boss. (She was indifferent to the book’s monotone illustrations.)
There’s zero chance of us making the tour this Saturday. But I hope my fellow public-school alumni will take the...
1 tag
2 tags
“In the end, the real challenge is less about technology and more about ensuring...”
– 4 Lessons for Parents in a Constantly Connected World
The main reason I haven’t moved forward with my hyperlocal business is that I can’t tear myself away from The Boss, and at age six months, she can’t tear herself away from me. Moreover, I’m afraid of missing some...
1 tag
Bugaboo's Big Bet →
ladyjournos:
Can a $1500 stroller help the creator of the high-end infant gear market get their mojo back?
Slate || April 7, 2011
For $1500, that stroller had better push itself. As for The Boss, she recently scored a new Baby Jogger for far less.
April 2011
19 posts
1 tag
1 tag
“About two-thirds of couples see the quality of their relationship drop within...”
– Here Comes Baby, There Goes the Marriage
Ron and I had 16 years of adult conversation before The Boss came along. Now we take pleasure in the baby babble.
1 tag
1 tag
2 tags
Baby, Please: What Happens When a 40-Plus Woman... →
ladyjournos:
In the case of the author, the answer involved $35,000, lots of tears, and a fierce self-critique
Los Angeles Magazine || May 1, 2011
Unlike The New York Times, LA magazine won’t allow social-media referrals to jump its pay wall. Lameness.
2 tags
Theory of relativity
So far, I’ve written off The Boss’s teething pain as just something everyone goes through, a necessary twinge remedied with a hug and aggressive nibbling on my fingers.
But love without compassion does nothing to relieve The Boss’s suffering. I must not compare her pain with those of childbirth or root canal. Her writhing on the floor in complete agony should be more than enough...
“Mompreneurs are from that cohort of often highly educated (and high-achieving)...”
– Baby food firm grows through word of mouth
The Mother’s Prayer for Its Daughter
babylux:
First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither the Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.
May she be beautiful but not damaged, for it’s the damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the beauty.
When the crystal meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half, and stick with beer.
Guide her, protect her...
1 tag
1 tag
Tiger Mom's cub gets into Harvard and Yale →
That smug, overbearing woman who criticized American mothers for their lax parenting skills can now boast that her oldest daughter made it to the Ivy League. Have fun paying for that!