It’s that time again: Gift Guide season. We’re sharing our top picks for the holiday gifts, so all you list girlies can prep before Black Friday.
To make the Child(ish) Advice cut, we use these criteria:
Here are our gift picks for babies and toddlers, ages 0-3:
“I’m sorry, but you need to make mom friends.”
Yes, that blunt statement came right out of my MIL’s mouth following the birth of my son. As abrupt as it was, I understood what she meant. At the time, my husband and I were one of the first in our friend group to have a child.
While friendships are generally an important aspect to our overall well-being (they are one of the most important things in fighting PPD), mom friends are truly unique. Friends with children similar in age to yours are easy to relate to. They can exchange suggestions without criticism or judgment, and support one another while navigating parenthood. As more of my friends became parents, the hardships and blessings also became much more relatable. We would have playdates, hang out, talk about the new ways of living, and do it all again another time.
Continue reading
On Pinterest and Insta, I’ve seen a lot of posts on summer to-do lists. You know, make s’mores, go to the beach, have a barbecue, etc. This is a far cry from my typical summer growing up, which was mostly sitting around while my parents worked or just being parked in front of the tv and out of the way. While summer was great because you didn’t have to go to school, it also meant being lonely and bored most of the time.
In June and July for a working parent, you have to figure out some sort of childcare. For a SAHP, you have to be cruise director all day for two solid months. Not to mention, fending off Summer Slide. I can see why parents really hate extended summer break because the school year has so much more workable structure.
Just like holidays, it really is up to us parents to make summer fun. So with that in mind, here are Mary’s and my summer to-do lists.
Continue readingAnd just like that, the school year is ending in a couple of weeks and quite honestly, I have not a clue where the time went. Next week, we switch gears to summer before our annual summer blog break.
Continue reading
The Book of Mothers by Carrie Mullins is pretty much the dissertation paper I’ve always wanted to write.
Millennial moms characteristically have done a lot of emotional work: reflecting back on their childhood trying to understand the context of how they were parented, and trying to figure out exactly what type of mom they want to be. A large percentage of our parenting is going to come from our own parents and experience, but TV, movies, books, and pop culture give us plenty of model moms to take note of.
So put on your AP Lit hat, and let’s get some close textual analysis.
Continue reading
Child(ish) Advice 