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    Redsy

    Redsy

  • 10 Worst Places for Your Kid's Tantrum

    Surviving your child's public tantrum is a rite of passage faced by all parents. Whether you a. totally lose it, b. act calm like a zombie, or c. get the screaming child the heck out of there says a lot about your parenting style, but even more about your instincts for survival. Ever since the cave

  • 10 reasons you're a better parent than you think you are

    We live in an advice-rich age and parenting experts are as ubiquitous as pictures of Angelina and her brood. While information is power, too much information can be debilitating.When it comes to parenting, sometimes it's nice to remember that many of us, most of us even, know what is right for our k

  • 5 ways to enjoy the (last) lazy days of summer

    When was the last time you threw your head back and belly-laughed? Or, sat peacefully doing only one task or nothing at all and just breathed? Life gets hectic and busy and important as we get older, and the kinds of fun we're allowed to have seem circumscribed and expensive (cruises, dinners out, d

  • 5 ways to be happy today

    As is probably already clear, I can't say enough good things about the 12-step spiritual program I embarked upon nearly a year ago. Mostly, I remain humbly impressed by the whole process because a year ago, I felt like the last person on the planet who could ever be happy or satisfied. I felt like I

  • Kindergarten flop: 5 tips to help your whole family get ready for school

    My twin daughters were all set for Kindergarten. We had them signed up for a lovely school with a very low teacher-student ratio and pumped full of school-related enthusiasm (the new friends! the learning! the cute Diego lunchboxes!).So when school began and one of the girls began complaining that s

  • Should parents be naked around their kids?

    Free-range childrearing (the belief that kids need the freedom to be kids, without overt parental micromanaging and helicoptering), is definitely the practice in my house, as is calling a spade a spade when it comes to body parts. We generally avoid cutesy substitutions like "down there" or "pee pee

  • Let's get spiritual in 5 simple (but not easy) steps

    I began a 12-step program nearly a year ago in the hopes of kicking a very serious addiction to alcohol. In addition to stopping drinking, I now have a daily spiritual practice that leaves me more centered and happier than I've ever been.For those of you who think of Stuart Smalley when you hear "12

  • 8 Disturbing Action Figures for Boys

    Thanks to Bratz, Strutz and the like, little girls are encouraged to grow up too fast. But the following action figures indicate that toy manufacturers are making equally disturbing inroads into the psyches of little boys. These action figures (because boys don't play with dolls) appear to have spru

  • 10 Signs that Daddy Can't Slack Off Anymore

    While it is debatable whether truly equal parenting is common or just an impossible dream, there are signs that indicate the era of "Father Knows Best" or even "Mr. Mom" -- Look! That Man is Holding a Vacuum!!" are long gone. And good riddance! Here are 10 common signs that co-parenting is on the u

  • Why Do Childfree People Need to Hate on Kids?

    There are plenty of ways our society doesn't embrace kids, from tough to find quality childcare to unsupportive family leave policies. Momsrising notwithstanding, most people who choose to have kids these days cobble together their own semi-functional system of care and support that makes raising ki

  • 10 Kid- and Parent-Friendly July 4th Activities

    I remember our first 4th of July with the twins. They were just 6 months old and we lived in an old neighborhood in Seattle with a distant but unobstructed view of the downtown fireworks. Because of our distance, the little babies weren't disturbed by loud pops and booms and we could sit on our dar

  • 5 ways to keep your toddler safe and your sanity in tact

    The first time I toured the neighborhood with my 13 month old twins on leashes, I looked around shamefully, worried I'd be judged a horrible mother. Truthfully, it was our first mommy-daughters walk that didn't evoke pure mama panic. The harnesses kept them safe from their curiosity about traffic, a

  • Top 5 Sweet-to-Sexy Toy Makeovers

    As if thong-wearing Bratz weren't already securing the kiddie toy sexual revolution, toymakers continue to try and wrest sexay from remodels of iconic toys from the 70s and 80s. Pictured right is the original Holly Hobbie. See her disturbing modern makeover after the jump. She is only one of the To

  • 5 Things Most Parents Hate to Hear First Thing in the Morning

    Mornings with children are always an adventure, especially once they begin to talk and you are required to operate complex machinery like microwaves and toasters before ingesting adequate caffeine. Here are a few choice statements from your kids that can catapult even the groggiest among us into cod

  • 5 Things Not to Get Him For Father's Day

    Men often have the reputation of being easier to please than women, especially when it comes to Father's Day. But I think it's all a lot more complicated than that. Here's a good place to start. 5 things NOT to buy him for Father's Day:

  • Did Angelina Jolie Have Her Twins?

    Reports indicate Angelina Jolie had her twins this past Sunday in France. The twins join their four other siblings: Zahara, Pax, Maddox, and Shiloh. The boy-girl twins join other celebrity twinnies, including:

  • Top 5 cheap kid dates

    There are plenty of great reasons to have kids... and despite what some companies would like you to believe, they really aren't that expensive. Who else do you know whose day is made by a piece of jelly toast with butter? With a long weekend ahead and summer looming, here are 5 cheap kid dates to h

  • 5 ways to recapture a day of rest

    Finding a day of rest in the busy hither and thither of modern family life might seem old fashioned and quaint, but many of us need it now more than ever before. Assuming you don't have a second home in the Hamptons or an ability to go to Club Med, here are a few ideas to cultivate more rest:

  • Married Life is Killing Me

    Marriage is a private matter.. especially once kids are involved. Still, there are healthy ways to discuss relationship issues and still be respectful of our spouses. I'm a nearly 40 year old mother of 3 young girls married to my 2nd husband. I'm also newly sober... (7 months and counting)...Leaving

  • Why mommy doesn't need a drink (anymore)

    Like many aspiring hip mamas, I joked around about civilized midday sips of wine and cocktail playdates, and I told myself I deserved it, needed it until eventually only the latter remained true. The transition from release to relax to dependence is a slippery and very individual slope.And in the hi