Never was the difference between the handling of boys vs. girls more humorously apparent than during a park visit a while back. I held Laurel’s hand as she crossed a suspended balance beam repeating, “Go slowly Laurel, be careful!” (The suspension cables looked particularly unforgiving.) Minutes later, as we crossed the next obstacle, we saw a father jumping up and down alongside his son (who was of a similar toddler/preschooler size) at the balance beam, saying “Go! Go! Go! Run across as fast as you can!”
No doubt boys and girls are raised differently, and they also have different needs, some of which have trouble getting fulfilled in our current societal structure. This topic has not escaped the pros, and this morning, Jon (my husband) steps in with a guest post, offering his impressions of the PBS documentary Raising Cain: Boys in Focus.
Never was the difference between the handling of boys vs. girls more humorously apparent than during a park visit a while back. I held Laurel’s hand as she crossed a suspended balance beam repeating, “Go slowly Laurel, be careful!” (The suspension cables looked particularly unforgiving.) Minutes later, as we crossed the next obstacle, we saw a father jumping up and down alongside his son (who was of a similar toddler/preschooler size) at the balance beam, saying “Go! Go! Go! Run across as fast as you can!”
No doubt boys and girls are raised differently, and they also have different needs, some of which have trouble getting fulfilled in our current societal structure. This topic has not escaped the pros, and this morning, Jon (my husband) steps in with a guest post, offering his impressions of the PBS documentary Raising Cain: Boys in Focus.
You’d think I would have backed off coffee once Laurel started saying, “Mommy has coffee breath! Laurel has milk breath!” but old habits die hard. If you’re downtown in the beautiful weather today and looking for an independent fix, check out Flatblack Coffee Company. Possibly the only independent cafe in the financial district, this Australian-themed, Boston-based gourmet coffee company offers single country of origin coffees from around the world; most products are organically grown, shade grown, and fair trade.
You can purchase Flatblack’s products online or visit their locations in Boston (50 Broad Street; Tel: 617-951-1440) and Dorchester (1170 Washington Street; Tel: 617-298-1800).
Infants are all about oral, and my pal Paige’s son loves his Sophie Giraffe ($18.95 at Craftsbury Kids). Made of fine rubber and food quality paints, this classic French toy is designed to soothe teething gums and stimulate the senses through its squeaky, easily graspable figure.
If you’re looking for something to do during today's snow day, easy kid’s craft activities are possible with minimal or recycled materials. Paper plate crafts or sock puppets are good options; the latter can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. We’ve found that two features (e.g., eyes and ears, or eyes and a tongue as with our fleece snake family) are enough to render an animal likeness that kids love.
My mom and I never discussed menstruation (or anything related to sexuality, short of a discussion well into my 20’s where she advised me to beware, that “men have urges”), and that phase of life vividly stands out as one of anxiety (I was a late bloomer), cluelessness (I had but brief, periodic perusals of my pal Kate’s Our Bodies, Ourselves
, and general confusion (when my period finally did come I had no gear).
The Dot Girl’s First Period Kit was designed to try to curb these all too frequent female experiences. The pink or blue carry kit ($18) includes a 12-page booklet with answers to common questions about periods, a yearlong calendar to track periods, a small reusable heating pad for soothing cramps, pad and liner samples, and hand wipes. (The case is just a bit too small for standard length tampons, but compact tampons would fit fine.)
What a difference a week makes.
Whether it was my shift in attitude, the time/learning factor, or an interaction between the two, Week 2 of potty training was a complete reversal from the previous week’s soggy adventures. With one or no accidents per day, a subsequent decrease in laundry, and longer stretches between potty visits, it finally feels as if the axis around which our life is spinning is moving from the bathroom.
We’re not out of the woods yet, but while it’s fresh on my mind (and since I have received some inquiries about the methods behind our madness) the following is our collection of potty training tips to date. Readers, if you have additional tips, post a comment!
When I was in grad school I signed up for jazz, ballet, and hip hop lessons to shake up my fitness routine; it provided both a fabulous workout and a means to channel my closet desire to be a Broadway hoofer.
I’ve been thinking about revisiting dance here in Boston, and have heard great things about the Dance Complex in Central Square (the African dance classes are supposed to be especially killer). DanceNet offers a good directory of studios and freelance dancers in the Greater Boston area; the homepage also offers links to (less exhaustive) listings of classes and events in New England, nationwide, and worldwide.
Our friends Andrew & Nooshi always have the coolest gadgets, so it’s no surprise that they introduced us to an amazingly innovative childproofing system.
The Rev-A-Shelf Rev-A-Lock system ($29.95 at SafeBeginnngs.com; includes 5 locks, 2 keys, installation screws, and instructions) is the perfect solution for cabinets (or drawers) with standalone handles (i.e., adjacent handle loop latches won’t work). This lock system is based on a powerful magnet; it’s impossible to open doors or drawers even a crack when the system is engaged, preventing pinched little fingers. The lock disengages when the magnetic key is positioned over the lock installation area, and snaps back into the locked position when the key is removed. Once the lock system is no longer needed, just flip the red disengage bar on the back of the lock.
Pursuant to our post on nylon/fabric window draft stoppers, reader Tracy from Kingston, Ontario offered this fabulous tip on alternative uses for nylons: “We make little oatmeal bath bombs for the boys (and sometimes me) to ward off the dry, itchy skin of winter, and to help ease Gabriel's eczema-prone hide. I buy cheap knee-high stockings and keep a tub of oatmeal (not quick cook) in the bathroom. I fill a sock with about 1/3 cup of oatmeal (it's easier if you stuff the sock into a cup first), tie two knots separated by about an inch, cut between them, and voila: one sock for the tub, and the rest of the nylon is ready for next time. The warm water activates the oats, making a soupy, slimy lotion to rub all over their skin, which rinses off easily and helps to moisturize and relieve itching…Since beginning this regimen, we have reduced Gabriel's use of cortisone creams to nil, and use about half the moisturizing cream and petroleum jelly we used to.”
I’m starting to think that our beautiful old house might better serve as a spring/summer vacation home.
This weekend, fed up with the frigid kitchen and drafty windows, I became obsessed with the idea of getting window draft stoppers. But everything online was uninspiring, plus I wanted them immediately. Plus I was nagged by the fact that I have a sewing machine, a big bag of fabric remnants, and the basic ability to sew right angles.
But what I seem to be short on these days is free time, so I decided to engage Laurel in the process, especially since I wanted to make some fun draft stoppers for the bay windows next to her “office.” So I took Laurel to the store to help me pick out rice (two 20-lb bags!). I showed Laurel the parts of my sewing machine while I unpacked and threaded it. And then I enlisted her in the important process of picking out just the right googly eyes to adorn her three “warm worms.” (Luckily this process inadvertently involved several repetitions of size/color sorting and dumping/refilling before the eyes were chosen.)
What a banner day, what with it being National Carrot Day and Elmo’s birthday. It seems only fitting then to celebrate with this fantastic Triple-Layer Carrot Cake recipe from Epicurious, and Elmo's Big Lift-And-Look Book
. We don’t make the cake nearly as frequently as we’d like to, but we’ve been spending a lot of potty time with the Elmo book, which offers 60 flaps through which to learn about numbers, letters, shapes, opposites, and other objects.
Just in time for another chilly weekend…a local reader wrote in with high praise for Together in Motion in Arlington. This drop in play space offers Motion & More play sessions geared towards children ages 0-6 (every day of the week!). Admission rates are $7 for kids 1 year and up and $5 for kids under 1 year (infants under 6 months are admitted free when tagging along with a sibling). Group and individual multi-pass discounts also are available.
Together in Motion also soon will offer group exercise classes for women, including parallel sessions where kids can play while mom is working out. Check out their current schedule; birthday party services also are available on weekends.
Together in Motion, One Broadway, Arlington, Tel: 781-643-1377
It’s a good thing we have a big bathroom.
This weekend we officially took the plunge and started potty training; life thus has revolved around finding ways to entertain our extremely busy toddler while staying close to home (i.e., our bathroom loaded with changes of underwear, pants, and socks for Laurel).
No doubt we’ll have more to report on regarding useful potty training products and strategies, but suffice to say the first item that already has provided excellent peace of mind during local errands is the previously reported on Kiddopotamus Piddle Pad. Laundry volume already is on the rise and we're thrilled to avoid having to strip the car seat regularly.
I pilfer some great art project ideas from Laurel’s school; one of our recent favorites includes the bingo-reminiscent Do-A-Dot Art Washable Markers
($13.49 at Amazon). This set of six, sponge-tip bottles offers hours of painting fun with set up and clean up limited to the twist of a cap.
One Amazon reader griped about washability problems but we haven’t had any trouble removing marks from clothes or hands.
We have some dear friends who are about a month out of the “fourth trimester boot camp” phase and they have started working on finding some consistency with their babe’s naps and nighttime sleep. They highly recommend Marc Weissbluth’s Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
($10.17 at Amazon).
A pediatrician and established researcher in the field of sleep and children, Weissbluth describes methods to implement healthy sleep habits within the framework of a child's natural sleep cycles. The book also offers coping strategies for common nighttime issues (e.g., nightmares, bedwetting), discusses common sleep pitfalls, and explores varying sleep needs depending on a child’s temperament.
Click here for further description of popular sleep methods (e.g., Sears, Ferber, Pantley, Karp).
Winter days in Boston don’t get more picturesque than today, where the snow falls light and pretty, and brushing off your car takes mere minutes.
All the better to leave you with time to bundle up and get your skating groove on at The Rink at The Charles Hotel. Located on the plaza side that opens out into Harvard Square, until early March the rink is open from 2pm - 8pm on weekdays and 10am - 8pm on weekends. Skate rentals are $5 and skating fees are $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12 years old.
And after cutting your figures, be sure to reward yourself with a decadent hot chocolate at L.A. Burdick’s on Brattle Street.
The Rink at The Charles Hotel, One Bennett Street, Cambridge; Tel: 617-234-8008
After a very long week, the household finally seems to be turning a corner.
I’m on the mend, we’re taking control of the dust bunnies, and Laurel’s nasty diaper rash is heading to the exit. On the latter, in addition to our air out method, Triple Paste – recommended when we finally called the pediatrician – ended up working very effectively. (Unfortunately, it turned out we had misdiagnosed the yeast rash, thus rendering the antifungal treatment useless.)
Triple Paste is a fragrance-free, over-the-counter compound that includes petrolatum, zinc oxide, lanolin, beeswax, and cornstarch. This thick paste applies smoothly, stays put, and is excellent for severe diaper rash (although it's also gentle enough for preventative use or treatment of mild rashes). We picked ours up at CVS but if you have trouble finding it locally, Triple Paste also is available on Amazon; the smallest size is 2 oz.
($8).
Hooray for more local indoor play spaces!
Kid's Fun Stop is suitable for children up to 6 years old, and offers drop in play (they have some impressive looking indoor climbing structures!), birthday parties, movement classes, and craft classes. Bring snacks for your babe to enjoy in the snack room, or purchase from the selection available.
Kid’s Fun Stop is open Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm and for birthday parties on the weekends. Click here for rates (starting at $10 for two hours of drop in time); repeat visitor punch cards are available, as well as periodic discounts on admission and birthday party booking.
Kid’s Fun Stop, 1580 VFW Pkwy, West Roxbury, Tel: 617-325-0800