Parenting without gender expectations means accepting all outcomes
Recently, I took my two-and-a-half-year-old, Avie, to a Toddler Music and Movement class that, thanks to him, devolved into something more like Toddler Music and Mosh Pit. Most of the other kids were girls who twirled or held hands in groups of three or four and happily, almost dreamily, skipped around in circles while music played. Avie stomped, put his hands on the floor and kicked one foot up in his classic “trick” pose, ran around in his own circles wind-milling his arms, and finally, purposefully, crashed into one of the girl groups and knocked them down.
I don’t like one of my kid’s friends… what can I do about it?
My four-year-old has a new friend that I’m not the biggest fan of. The friend’s behavior (being destructive, kicking, hitting) isn’t my favorite. My daughter has also started acting out to get a laugh from her friend. The trouble is my daughter ADORES her friend — she talks about her at home, wants her to come over all the time, have sleepovers, etc.
My four-year-old son and his eggplant sibling
So my pregnancy ticker tells me week by week how big my new baby is in relation to produce. My nearly four-year-old son loves it. He’s an on-hands learner (His grandmother the teacher says it’s a ‘kinesthetic learner’) and it gives him a tactile idea of how big our new wiggly addition to the family has grown. He asks me constantly how big the baby is now and really grasps the process of growing with the progression of fruits and veggies.
A Merry Prankster-inspired bus birthday cake that looks so bad it’s good
My son has spent the better part of his almost three years on the planet totally head over heels for any kind of vehicle that has wheels and can move. Cars, trucks, bicycles, and… buses. So last year for his second birthday I set out to create something perfect, sweet, and wondrous: a bus cake.
Caring for biracial hair: how I keep my daughter’s hair soft and curly
Serenity is my beautiful biracial baby girl, and one of the very first things people notice about her are her wonderful curls. Let me tell you — she doesn’t jump up from bed every morning with her hair in perfect little ringlets. It takes a little time, effort, and some awesome products to create curls like this
Where can I find Waldorf resources for parenting and early childhood?
Now that I’m becoming a parent, I have an excuse to indulge my love of Waldorf toys, but I’m interested in the philosophy behind them as well. I’m interested in hearing the experience of Offbeat parents who have incorporated Steiner/Waldorf philosophies into their parenting. What resources (books or online) do you recommend to inform a new parent about incorporating Steiner/Waldorf into their home and parenting philosophies?
FINALLY: scientists have decided tantrums are worth studying
Annie recently shared an NPR article called What’s Behind A Temper Tantrum? Scientists Deconstruct The Screams. The title immediately caught my eye, as I’m always on the lookout for anything that will help us cope with our son’s tantrums.
How can I teach my toddler about strangers without totally freaking him out?
The sexual abuse scandal at Penn State has me thinking a lot about how to help my son understand “good touch” and “bad touch” and other related issues.