Has anyone else been looking forward to summer as much as we have? Now that our kids are out of preschool and are finally at an age where we can take them pretty much anywhere, it’s like a whole new outlook on the season.
Continue readingAuthor: Patti Webb
When a vacation is not
After my Worst Day Ever, I am very familiar with when a family vacation is more of a gauntlet.
One of my close friends even imparted that if you are traveling with kids, it’s a trip; not a vacation. The element of “relaxation” that we take vacations for can be non-existent.
Being a frequent traveler since I was a child, it was very important to me to expose the girls to new places from an early age. Being comfortable on a plane, trying new foods, seeing nature in its different forms; it’s a big priority for us. We’ve taken the girls on a handful of big trips since they were born, but honestly, none of them have been relaxing.
Beach trips, road trips, family trips; while they all are an escape from our professional jobs, it’s really just 24/7 parenting in a new location.
So here are some things to keep in mind to help you prepare for the additional turbulence that comes with little kids on vacation.
Continue reading1000 Hours Outside Revisited
Our first summer blogging, we did a post about getting kids outside for the summer. We mentioned a project called 1,000 Hours Outside, a movement that challenges families to match their kids’ screen time with time outside.
Continue readingChild(ish) Reads: The School for Good Mothers
Surprise! This is the first time Child(ish) Reads has reviewed a fiction title. So, a couple rule changes:
- I’m not going to spoil the ending.
- There will be no actual “advice”.
- Judgement-free zone here. Let’s call it a mix between a book review and coffee chat.
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Blurb: Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. She can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with Harriet, their cherubic daughter, does Frida finally attain the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she is just enough.
Until Frida has a very bad day.
The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida. The ones who check their phones, letting their children get injured on the playground; who let their children walk home alone. Because of one moment of poor judgment, a host of government officials will now determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion.
Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that a bad mother can be redeemed. That she can learn to be good.
Continue readingChild(ish) Reads: Podcast Playlist
Lots of podcast action in rotation this winter. With many hosts on break for the holidays, I got to go through a backlog of episodes and found a couple new parenting podcasters to follow.
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Child(ish) Advice 