PARENTING
New Baby | What essentials do you really need for the first weeks?
There's a lot you can buy for your baby. And there's a lot you really don't need! Admittedly, I have made my share of useless purchases in the past (for example, a nappy trash can which produces giant nappy sausages). Now, expecting our fifth baby, I think I have more of an idea of what ...
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PARENTING
Maintaining your friendships -- how do you prioritise your friends?
A longtime reader (seven years she said!) recently sent an email asking for advice on maintaining friendships and making new ones. She shared that she already feels pulled in so many directions (kids, husband, work, life in general!) and that she admittedly hasn't been able to focus on her own friendships. She wondered if we ...
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PARENTING
The almost teenager
I have always had a healthy fear of my children turning into teenagers -- probably based on my personal experience of being one! But I have found it fascinating, not at all scary, to watch Coco, who is now 10, swing wildly between being a child and a teenager. Esther and I were talking about it ...
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PARENTING
When teens get upset -- how best to respond
My mom sent this New York Times article to me last week, and I found it both comforting and incredibly helpful. Reading it, I had one of these 'aha!' moments of parenting clarity. I realised that whenever Easton has come to me upset lately, I have this urge to immediately try to say something or get ...
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PARENTING
What chores do you give your kids?
Growing up, my siblings and I had loads of chores. Beyond the usual daily chores, my dad even assigned bigger project-based chores for us to do, especially in the summer time when we were home from school. He believed we should be kept busy working and helping around the house. We were given chores like ...
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PARENTING
Moments of big transition, and the ones that catch you off guard
A big event happened this weekend at our house: we removed the tall sides of the crib my son has slept in for the last two years (and my daughter for 2.5 years before him), replacing them with shorter, toddler-friendly ones. In truth, it was time -- he's been potty trained for more than 8 ...
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PARENTING
Tuesday Tips: Singing in the loo -- create a sense of safety and security
I think a lot of parents are faced with this conundrum: a public loo, two (or more) children, and no room in the loo for the children, the buggy, and all your belongings! (Or something similar.) Sometimes there is the added details of suitcases/travelling alone/sleeping baby, but whatever the situation, it is one of those ...
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PARENTING
Tips for keeping our teenage boys close
Easton will be 16 this year, and Quin will soon turn 14. Two teenage boys, both incredibly different. What I've learned so far in parenting teen boys is that each child's needs are different, and how I am with one isn't necessarily the same approach I take with the other. But really, what matters most is that ...
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PARENTING
Our Sunday constitutional
We have a routine in our house, which, until now, I hadn't even identified as as routine. On Sunday I drag everyone out of the house for a Sunday constitutional, as I like to call it: a Sunday stroll. We do this in most weather conditions and it is one of my favourite moments of ...
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PARENTING
A new kind of list making
I made a list today, a different kind of list than I usually do. Not a to-do list, or a grocery list, or a list of errands to run, or a list in my gratitude journal that doesn't exist because I have zero extra time in my day for that. It originated as a ...
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PARENTING
A blanket of love
Last February we received devastating news. Laurens, the 5-year-old son of friends here in Amsterdam, had suffered cardiac arrest while playing hide-and-seek in the hallway of the hotel the family was staying in during their skiing holiday in Switzerland. CPR was given until the ambulance arrived and Laurens was transferred to a hospital in the mountains and later to ...
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PARENTING
Weaning your baby -- tips for the end of your breastfeeding journey
I've received a few messages lately asking for my advice on how to wean your baby from breastfeeding. Mothers have written asking for me to share how I weaned Wilkie, how I knew it was the right time, how long I think they should breastfeed their own baby, and some even asking me why, at ...
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Comments (1)
Very enjoyful summer vaction.
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