There’s some new pageant competition in town: boys! Over the past five years, the number of tap-dancin’, lip-gloss wearin’, catwalk-workin’ lil’ dudes has doubled. Nearly 10 percent of beauty pageant contestants are male. Yeah, break that glass ceiling, kiddies! While normally, I’d probs take this opportunity to make a few jabs at the whole “Toddlers & Tiaras” superficiality, just seeing this lil’ pageant superstar, Zander Miller, so excited about getting his nails done makes me smile from ear to ear. Everyone needs an outlet of expression—I’m lucky I’ve got The Frisky. So, it’s just fab that children nowadays can be who they are and ignore grownups raising their eyebrows. Work it, boys! We’re rootin’ for ya! [The Hairpin] Keep reading »
Category Archives: Parenting
Move Over Girlies, Boys Are Taking Over The Pageant Scene
There’s some new pageant competition in town: boys! Over the past five years, the number of tap-dancin’, lip-gloss wearin’, catwalk-workin’ lil’ dudes has doubled. Nearly 10 percent of beauty pageant contestants are male. Yeah, break that glass ceiling, kiddies! While normally, I’d probs take this opportunity to make a few jabs at the whole “Toddlers & Tiaras” superficiality, just seeing this lil’ pageant superstar, Zander Miller, so excited about getting his nails done makes me smile from ear to ear. Everyone needs an outlet of expression—I’m lucky I’ve got The Frisky. So, it’s just fab that children nowadays can be who they are and ignore grownups raising their eyebrows. Work it, boys! We’re rootin’ for ya! [The Hairpin] Keep reading »
Kraft And Chef Marcus Samuelsson Team Up To Feed Your Kid
Children are notorious for being picky eaters. There was a time when I would only eat peanut butter on a spoon, and after tiring arguments and discussions with my doctor, my mom gave in and let me eat only peanut butter for some meals. It’s too bad personal computers were an extravagance back then and not the norm — because maybe my mom could have sought the advice of someone like celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson, who has teamed up with Kraft Foods to develop a deluxe package for Kraft’s Big Fork Little Fork iPad app. Keep reading »
Get Your Kid The Pony She’s Been Begging For
Raise your hand if you wanted a pony when you were a kid. All hands raised? Good. Behold the horse bike — $220 for the next best thing to a real, live mini-pony? That’s a deal. It’s sad that they only make them in kid sizes because I WANT ONE! [Boing Boing] Keep reading »
Would You Pay Extra For A “Child-Free” Flight?
I’ve said it a million times, but I’ll say it again: I love kids. But being stuck on a six-hour flight with a squalling toddler right behind me, killing my enjoyment of my millionth bag of peanuts and whatever crap movie is on, totally sucks. But is a screaming infant so annoying that I might pay extra for a seat on a child-free flight? Apparently, I might have the option, as some fliers are calling upon airlines to offer kid-free flights — or “family only” sections — so that their travel experience can be temper tantrum-free. Keep reading »
What Your Baby’s Name Says About You
What’s in a name? A lot, actually. Naming your kid is one of the hardest parts of starting a family, fraught with arguments, opinions and bad choices. You need to make sure your child’s name is something unique but not too weird, easily rolls off the tongue, and most importantly, totally reflects the kind of parents you are. Here’s a handy guide to what various children’s names usually say about the parents who chose them. Keep reading »
Father Of 88 Wants An Even 100 Kids
How many kids is too many kids? If you’re Daad Murad Abdul Rahman, then you can never have enough. The 64-year-old Arab Emirates citizen already has 88 children but wants to make it an even 100. So he’s marrying an 18-year-old Indian girl named Aisha and hopes to have 100 kids by 2015 (this is making my uterus hurt). Rahman’s been married 15 times and currently has three wives. This latest union was arranged via his doctor and Rahman says he will bring Aisha back to his home city of Ajman after the wedding. He says he’ll stop marrying when he has an even 100 children.
A Super Mario Brothers Nursery
These parents-to-be decorated their baby’s nursery with baby Mario and Yoshi from the Super Mario Bros. video game. Mario’s so little he doesn’t even have his trademark mustache!
See another wall of the nursery with baby Princess Peach after the jump: Keep reading »
New Parents Kiss Romance Good-Bye
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m beginning to think seriously about trying to make a baby soon-ish (with my husband’s help, of course). Recently, I made a “cradle list,” a list of things I’d like to do and accomplish before having a kid (I’m crossing off one of the items this weekend when I make my first trip to New Orleans!), and I’ve been thinking a lot about how my life will change once I’m responsible for a little tiny human. Of course, it’s hard to predict all the ways my routine will change and all the sacrifices my husband and I will make, but I’d like to think we’ll still find some time for just the two of us. Is that crazy naive? If this article is any indication, it is. Keep reading »
Girl Talk: Breaking The Cycle Of Bad Parenting
We love to blame our parents for all sorts of things. It’s their fault that you’re still single. If only they hadn’t made you wear corduroys, you might not be so self-conscious today! If mom had been less hard on your schoolwork, then you might not be failing to get that promotion. And, oh Dad, why did you make me write so many thank-you notes? Now everyone mistakes my politeness for insincerity. And so on …
But if truth be known, the snippets from childhood that we blame for our adulthood failings may not be the correct ones at all. If you really want an accurate demonstration of what your parents were like as parents, then life does offer you a second chance to recapture their parenting skills. All you have to do is wait until they become grandparents. It is unlikely that their parenting skills have changed in the 20 to 40 years since they became parents, and you will be flooded with stark memories and realizations as their parenting successes and failures are revealed through the way in which they interact with your children. Keep reading »
In San Fran, Happy Meals Will Soon Be Sad
Although Prop 19, legislation that would have legalized marijuana in California, didn’t pass on Nov. 2, a new controversial bill has just gone into effect in the state: San Francisco passed an ordinance yesterday that prohibits toy giveaways in fast-food children’s meals that have more than 35 percent of their calories from fat. Yes, kids, that means no more free toys in Happy Meals. Public health advocates see this as a victory in their battle to stop the fast-food industry from marketing to kids and as a major step forward in curbing childhood obesity and diabetes. Though San Francisco is the first city to pass such a law in the U.S., it’s expected that many cities will soon follow suit.
Really? This news makes me kind of sad … Keep reading »
