As an adult who never really outgrew childhood, Halloween is my favorite holiday. Cool weather, candy, costumes, and no religion (for the most part)… what could be better?
Some parents, however, get anxious around All Hallows’ Eve. Kids running amok, candy from strangers, concealed identities, dark nights, horror movies–along with media hype–can snowball into a [...]
I’m almost 34 weeks pregnant right now. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I was talking with a friend who believes she’s had out-of-body experiences (OBEs), that an afterlife exists, and that this is her final incarnation on this planet, in this form. As skeptical as I am, I always ended up listening to her [...]
I’ve just finished reading a book to amuse and enlighten any science-minded parent: Parenting for Primates by Harriet J. Smith. The author — a primatologist-turned-psychologist — compares parenting techniques across the entire primate order to give human parents some ideas about what works and why.
Naturally this should invite a little skepticism: [...]
There’s a great local legend where I live, in the Los Angeles area. A local restaurant serves a salad that is supposed to make overdue women go into labor. It is called “The Salad.” And it’s delicious. Even if you are not expecting a baby, I recommend it! The restaurant [...]
My husband and I are atheists, but we have never focused on that with our kids. We decided to wait until they are older (they are 5 and 7 now) before we explain exactly what our beliefs are. We are trying to avoid indoctrinating them into atheism, as it were. We’d prefer they grow up [...]
Kris V. has presented some good evidence for why you shouldn’t tell your kids they’re smart. There’s more to encouraging a love of learning than just praise, though (for the kids’ abilities or efforts ). Another technique is to dive right in and learn with them!
Here’s a space scene my son Nico drew the other [...]
So, your 10 best friends and their babies get together for a play date.
Talk turns from poops to sleep and eight of your friends tell you that their
3-4 month old babies sleep through the night. Sleep through the night!!!
Don’t believe it. Ask lots of questions:
Here’s some news that will go against conventional wisdom. There are substantial risks to telling your child that he or she is smart. This totally contracts the cultural wisdom—Mom 101 is, I think, that you are supposed to fill your child up with unconditional positive regard, and many of us do that with labels like [...]
My two-year old daughter, Sally, loves ghosts. Last Halloween, she received the book Sheep Trick or Treat and since then we’ve read it many, many times. Sally points to the ghosts throughout the book and says, “Ooooooooooo” in her best scary voice. This leads to her ghost imitation where she walks around the house with [...]
I’m in my third trimester. I have an obsession with the divine combination of chocolate and peanut butter, no ankles, and breasts that would make the ladies in National Geographic envious.
When I first found out I was pregnant, I was elated. My husband and I tried for about 6 months before the baby-making miracle finally [...]