Parenting

Child should feel free to discuss things with both parents

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:58:00 -0500

Q: My ex-husband says that our 7-year-old daughter talks about me too much when she is with him and his girlfriend, and it makes them uncomfortable. She talks about them a lot when she is with me also, but I think that is normal and it does not bother me. They plan on talking to her about not talking about me so much. I don't think that is a good idea. What do you think?A: We don't think it's a good idea, either - and it will most likely backfire. She may feel as if she can't say anything about you in front of them, or about them in front of you.

Landline phones: Endangered species

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:08:00 -0500

Our three children are grown and not a single one of them has a landline phone. They consider "home phones" pieces of antiquity - like disco and eight-track tapes.Which probably explains why the first question so many parents ask when calling one of their children, is: "Where are you?"It used to be when you called someone you knew where they were - at home. That's why they answered their phone, because they were home. If they weren't home, they didn't answer. It was a good system.

Ask Mr. Dad: Co-sleeping

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:13:00 -0500

Dear Mr. Dad: My wife and I are looking into "co-sleeping" with our new baby girl. When I told a neighbor of mine, she shook her head and said it was too risky and would "spoil" her, causing later behavior problems. What are the risks, the benefits, and what should we do?A: Co-sleeping, or sleeping with an infant in your adult bed, is one of the many parenting ideas that has passionate advocates and just-as-passionate detractors. The two sides are usually framed in extremes, as if you're evil if you do it - or evil if you don't. Obviously, it's not that simple.

Living with children

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:13:00 -0500

Q: Our 4-year-old son has a problem with hitting other children at preschool and has to spend the afternoon in his room for this. We recently signed him up to play soccer and he is pushing kids down and tripping them during the games. My husband wanted to pull him out of the last game and take him home to sit in his room, but I didn't want to teach him to quit on his team in the middle of the game. How should we handle this?

Health tips for parents traveling abroad with young children

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:58:00 -0500

Angelina Jolie and Madonna make it look easy to travel internationally with young children. But there are risks involved in traveling abroad with kids, especially in developing countries.Dr. Andrea Summer, member of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and associate professor of pediatrics at Medical University of South Carolina offers these tips to keep children safe:- ANIMALS: Very often children are drawn to animals.

Thank you! Please?

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:23:00 -0500

I've gotten a good chunk of my holiday shopping done already. Please don't hate me, but it is pretty much required when you have dozens of cousins with millions of children: you start early. Plus, 'tis the season of birthdays as well as winter holidays. I don't like the kick in the wallet, but I love the speculation about what gift might be the right one. For the sake of "fairness," I usually get all the cousins' kids roughly the same thing so that nobody longs for what someone else might have.

Mother of Confusion: Widely spaced siblings — things remembered

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:23:00 -0500

Memory can fade. Small moments, like a shared revelation during a chit-chat with Jay one morning before school or a sock-biting-foot-stomping-head-shaking Craig dance that made me laugh one afternoon can be foremost on my mind to share with Jimmy at the end of the day. At night, when Jimmy and I are lazing with legs intertwined, pillows bunched just right and we're blanketed with relaxation, we verbally uncurl the day's ribbon of activity. We'll tell each other our highlight moments and chuckle, share concern or just say "hmmm" over them.

A facial peel for your tummy?

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:23:00 -0500

Good news: The baby's napping and you can have some "me" time.Bad news: You've lost your camouflage.Once the world thought your engorged belly was goddess-like. Now that the child is actually out of your body, it just looks as if you've been chugging a whole lot of beer.Celeb favorite Mama Mio (clients include Mariska Hargitay, Milla Jovovich and Christy Turlington) understands. Its Tummy Toner is billed as a facial peel for flab.

Gaga for this hand sanitizer

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:23:00 -0500

Your precious infant is a mess.What else is new?Actually this stuff: Noodle & Boo's Instant Hand Sanitizer. This nifty little all-natural cleanser is much more gentle than say, Purell, so you can use it on baby's hands, feet and other body parts she lobs into her mouth.Developed from grain-based ethanol and vegetable glycerin, it claims to kill 99.9 percent of broad-spectrum microorganisms (including MRSA, the bacteria behind staph infections).What's also great (besides the sweet, nonmedicinal smell) is the no-tears formula. $5.50.

Blogging moms

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:18:00 -0500

A weekly glimpse of what moms are saying on the Web."The other night I had a dream. I was dreaming that I had a blog to blog. I was excited about it. I kept composing it in my head. Over and over."Head blogging. We all do it. I just haven't done dream blogging. When I woke up I had forgotten about it. Later I had this feeling I really wanted to blog because I had this great idea for a blog. Except I didn't. I had NO idea for a blog. It was all a dream."- Stacey, on staceykingman.typepad.com.