Category Archives: Parenting

Girl Talk: Breaking The Cycle Of Bad Parenting

Annabelle CharbitNovember 10, 2010 //

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

Joanne HinkelNovember 10, 2010 //

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 »

These Pregnant Women Sure Look Fat In A Bikini Contest

Jessica WakemanNovember 9, 2010 //

I’m the last person to say a new mama can’t be sexy. But this bikini contest for pregnant women is bizarro. Moms-to-be don’t need to pop every which way out of a thong bikini to look beautiful. And seriously, anyone who is that knocked up shouldn’t be allowed to wear platform boots unless she’s trying to self-abort during a disco dance-off.

But hey, one pregnant woman’s pickles and ice cream is another pregnant woman’s fishnet thigh-highs. [Dlisted]

UPDATE: Oh hai! So, seems some of y’all didn’t quite get that Jessica was kidding. Well, she was. Hugely. PUN! I would like to assume anyone who’s read Jessica’s stuff on The Frisky — and complained about her being fat-centric or something — would get that she wasn’t being serious, but for those of you who were unaware, this was meant entirely tongue in cheek. And now I shall return to devouring a pint of ice cream and a jar of pickles. Even though I am not pregnant. Keep reading »

Facials Are A “Brainy” Toy For Girls

Jessica WakemanNovember 9, 2010 //

What sort of “brainy” toys can your little girl play with from the MindWare catalog, which prides itself as “the nation’s best resource for educational toys for kids”? Facials! Your little Einstein-ette can “whip up a body scrub” or make fairy dust, fairy glitter and lip balms “from scratch” with her very own all-natural day spa set. I guess toy makers think to get girls interested in science — and I use that term loosely — it has to involve fairies and lip goo? [MindWare] Keep reading »

The Daily Ovulation: Octobaby

Ami AngelowiczNovember 5, 2010 //

A Halloween costume that has tentacles on ovaries everywhere. [Reddit]
Keep reading »

Mom Defends 5-Year-Old Son Dressed As A Girl For Halloween

Amelia McDonell-ParryNovember 4, 2010 //

Halloween! A day for children to get dressed up like anyone or anything they want to be, rewarded with candy and compliments. Well, not always. What do to if your youngster innocently wants to wear a costume that challenges narrow-minded gender expectations? Like, say in the case of “Boo,” a 5-year-old boy who decided he wanted to be Daphne (a female) from “Scooby Doo.” If you’re Boo’s mom, you buy him that costume and take him to school all decked out in his finery and find yourself fielding judgment from other mothers who are appalled that a parent would dare to allow such a thing. Boo’s mom, who blogs under the name Cop’s Wife at the blog Nerdy Apple Bottom, wrote an incredibly heartwarming and inspiring “rant” (for lack of a better word) about the experience that I think is necessary reading for parents (and human beings in general), at a time when bullying of those who are “different” is getting nationwide attention. Read some of what she had to say after the jump … Keep reading »

Girl Talk: Why The Third Trimester Is The Best Trimester

Annabelle CharbitNovember 4, 2010 //

I know all the baby books wax on about how the second trimester is the most amazing, because you’re high on estrogen and so horny that you’re likely to sexually assault strangers in the street. That your husband can expect a lot of sex out of you at this time and that you’re simply a joy to be around. Yes, that’s what the baby books say.

And perhaps that is the case for many women, but right now I would like to give credence to a group of women for whom the second trimester is not a three-month-long rave party. Rather, for these women the third trimester is where they finally come into their own, find inner peace and start to truly relax and enjoy their pregnancy. Keep reading »

Girl Talk: Let’s Be Real — Pregnancy Hormones Will Drive You Mad

Annabelle CharbitNovember 3, 2010 //

So pregnancy is supposed to be the most exciting time of your life, right? Yet, you are going bonkers. The train is late, the new office chair you ordered won’t be delivered on time, you just ran out of cereal and the deli is closed. This is so cataclysmic that you are seriously considering throwing yourself off a bridge here and now, because how can you possibly bring a child into such an inefficient world?! And furthermore, how will you even cope with a baby, when your husband has to physically restrain you from assaulting the clerk at Gap because they just ran out of your size in maternity jeans?

Some women sail through their pregnancies with nary a misfiring neuron, but if you have ever felt the churning anger that splashes the backs of your eyes and temporarily blinds you, or the black futility of depression, where the mere thought of rising from your bed fills you with horror, then you know what it feels like to be hormonal.
Keep reading »

The Cutest Mummy Baby You Will Ever See

Susannah BreslinNovember 3, 2010 //

American Apparel is having a Halloween costume contest, and submissions close today. Regardless of how you feel about the company, the kids’ Halloween costume competition is totally adorable. Take, for example, this mummy toddler, Ryland from the UK. We’re also fans of mini-Mr. T, this tiny Incredible, and the beastly Max. So far, I believe, 3-year-old Bella the owl is the leader in the kids voting category. So cute! [American Apparel] Keep reading »

Stroller/Scooter Hybrid Makes Traveling With Your Baby Fun!

Amelia McDonell-ParryNovember 2, 2010 //

I may not have a baby (yet!), but I’m still completely obsessed with this scooter/stroller hybrid created by award-winning Austrian inventor, Valentin Vodev. With the click of a switch, the Roller Buggy transforms from your usual baby stroller into a scooter capable of going up to 10 miles per hour. As soon as this becomes available to the masses (please, oh please), I’m getting one because I’m pretty sure my dog Lucca would fit securely in the front seat until Baby McDonell-Parry-Gosling comes into the world. Check the Roller Buggy in action, after the jump! Keep reading »

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