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This is a pretty blouse with nice details. I like that the stripes are vertical in the front and horizontal in the back, with a contrast of horizontal stripes in the front on the buttons. I also like the button detail on the sides near where the splits are. The combination in style of a collared blouse and tunic makes it look more comfortable than a typical button-up.
This seems like a flattering top that’s easy to wear, with fun details that keep it interesting.
The shirt, which is from Foxcroft, is $98 at Nordstrom and is available in sizes 14W–24W. Anya Stripe Non-Iron Cotton-Blend Tunic Blouse
This top is a nice option from Foxcroft in straight sizes and is $79.
Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
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- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Zappos – 26,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 40% off everything
- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
Anonymous says
My 2 year old and 4 year are a constant train of requests to go potty as soon as they go to bed. The 4 year old can go by herself, which we make her do so it doesn’t turn into a social event, but I suspect the 2 year old (who we just potty trained) is following her lead to use the potty as a request for a visit. But since we just potty trained, I feel like I can’t ignore it! It makes for an exhausting hour of in and out, in and out, with very little actual potty action. Suggestions?
Anonymous says
Can you just make them check as they are getting ready for bed and then say you’re done?
asdf says
With respect to the 2yo, Oh Crap suggests setting a limit of, for example, 3 potty visits. Right before the last potty visit you warn kiddo that it is the last trip,and she/he will have to either hold it until morning or pee in the bed. I haven’t tried it myself since I’m reading the book in preparation for potty training. Good luck!
Anonymous says
We do that with the older one, but the 2 year old is struggling with poop, and I’m afraid the repeated needing to go could be related to the fact that he needs to go but is scared, which is also why I’m afraid to ignore. Last night I did just say, ok you are done, but then felt bad telling him to pee in his pull-up- it feels counterproductive to training!
Anon says
I feel like a pusher, but my kiddo seriously destroyed bedtime sanctity because of constipation/pooping battles at bedtime during potty training. The pediatrician finally suggested giving her Miralax every day, giving her lots of fruits that start with “p” (peaches, plums, prunes, pears), and tons of water during the morning/afternoon, and insisting that she spend 20-30 minutes on the potty shortly after breakfast and dinner. The Miralax makes it easier to go; the fruits are a mild stimulant laxative; and the water moves everything through; the timed potty sessions overrode my kiddo’s FOMO. It worked quickly, but we had to keep it going for a much longer time than I expected (maybe a month? I may have blocked it out) to prevent recurrence, so don’t stop just because it worked for a few nights.
Ifiknew says
Late in day but we used miralax for two weeks and it saved all our sanity
Anon says
Big Little Feelings on instagram has a ‘potty pass’ idea that could be helpful for you (check their highlights, for details but it’s basically have your kid make a little card and they get to decide when to cash it in and go potty one more time).
AwayEmily says
I ask if it’s pee or poop. If it’s poop AND they haven’t already pooped that day, they get one chance. If it’s pee I say “well, you can go to the potty in the morning” (realistically this means they will pee in their pullup, but I share your reluctance to straight-up say “pee in your pull-up!”
twinmomanon says
My kids are 3, but we give them one chance to go pee after bedtime and make them do it by themselves, so they’re not getting adult attention. Before they were able to open doors (to get from their bedroom to the bathroom), we had them use a little training potty in their room, again so that they weren’t getting extra attention from us. Would that work for your 2yo?
Anon says
We go before bath, as the last step before books, and give them the chance to have a “final” chance after books. Three chances seems sufficient
SBJ says
For the 2 year old, are you leaving the bedroom and going to the bathroom? I also have a 2 & 4 yo and when the 2 yo first potty trained we had a similar issue. I brought the little potty into the bedroom, was super firm about it not being social or fun time, we didn’t get to go out of the room like the big kid, and made it as boring as possible. A few rounds of that seemed to work to convince the 2 yo that potty visits weren’t actually fun times. I also err on the side of believing requests for all the same reasons as you (see my poop post below…) No advice on the 4 yo-mine doesn’t come out a ton for potty (any other reason, yes) and we just say ok, you know what to do, and loosely monitor to make sure it’s not turning into playtime. Nightlight only in the bathroom, no grabbing a book, no parent accompanying, etc.
octagon says
PSA – the creator of Daniel Tiger is soliciting suggestions for episode themes on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AngelasClues/status/1306057418414133249
Redux says
Has anyone seen a baby flat cap / driving cap available in a brick and mortar store?
Clementine says
YES. Target.
https://www.target.com/p/baby-boys-driver-hat-cat-jack-brown/-/A-79760470?preselect=79424170#lnk=sametab
There is also a cute baby fedora.
Redux says
OMG perfect! Thank you!
Anonymous says
Looking for ideas for 2.5yo nap struggles. She still needs it because on the days she doesn’t, she is a wreck by late afternoon and can barely stay awake at dinner. She’s still in a crib, so we put her down every day but she will stay awake talking and singing. We have told her it’s quiet time and we give her books to “read,” which she’ll do but she won’t sleep. We’ve left her in the crib for 1.5-2 hours and she’s stayed awake. She does fine with napping every few days, then we’re back to skipping it. We have blackout shades and the days she does nap don’t seem to correlate to more activity in the morning.
Anon says
what time do you put her down for the nap? could you shift that a bit later? also, maybe don’t give her books to read bc that sort of implies to read instead of sleep
Anon says
My reply seems to have gotten eaten, so apologies if this is a double post. My suggestion is to just power through the wreck and put her to bed early (even in the middle of dinner). She’ll be a wreck for a week or so, but eventually she’ll start sleeping a little longer at night. We had the nap one day, no nap the next struggle for a month before we finally just pulled the plug on naps just before 3 and it’s been so much better. We’ll make an exception if it’s a particularly rough day or we think she really needs it, but then we always cap at 30 minutes and even then it will extend bedtime by hours, but at least it makes the remaining awake time palatable.
Realist says
Mine stopped napping at 2.5. No nap for me, none for daycare (only child in the room that never napped). She still acted like she needed the nap until age 3.5 or 4, so that was fun. The best we could do was enforced quiet time, either in her room or on the sofa with quiet music/toys.
If you are still getting a successful nap sometimes, I would keep doing the nap routine but end quiet time if she doesn’t fall asleep. I would not cry it out for very long if she doesn’t go to sleep, you don’t want her to start hating the crib if she can’t sleep. Quiet time for us was 45-60 minutes, more than that and kiddo would get pretty upset. But if she happily sings to herself 2 hours, that is great. YMMV.
Anon says
Both my kids have gone through a nap strike around that age (really, periodically from age 2-3). We went back to either sitting with or rocking them to sleep. If that didn’t work, we’d leave them for “quiet time” and call it quits after an hour. But we kept up the daily routine and they got over the bump eventually. Signed – my 3- and 5-year-olds still nap most days
Anon says
Can you move bedtime earlier? She might do ok without a nap if she’s getting more nighttime sleep. My daughter got very inconsistent with her naps right after turning 2 at the beginning of lockdown, and on the days she doesn’t nap she wants to sleep up to 13 hours at night. Now that she’s back in daycare she doesn’t nap there but takes long naps on the weekends, I guess because home is less exciting than daycare and/or we have a darker, quieter room for her to nap in. We do a 6:30 pm bedtime on weekdays.
Anonymous says
How long will she stay happy in the crib? Ours at 2 naps a long time typically, like 3 hours, but on days he doesn’t we have totally left him in the crib the entire regular nap time as long as he’s not upset. That way at least he’s getting down time. They do also push the nap later as they get older. We had a 2:30-5 nap with my older one for a while. Which was fine until it wasn’t!
AnonMom says
Thoughts on getting rid of the sleep sack welcomed! My nearly 19 month old still sleeps with pjs and a sleep sack and sleeps SO good. I’m worried if I disturb his normal, we will regress in sleep….but maybe I’m too worried? When did you transition to blanket? He also sleeps with a few lovey type items and then I have a blanket draped over the side of the crib that he usually grabs at some point too. However, it never stays on him, so I’m worried he’ll be cold with winter coming.
Anon says
my 27 month old twins are still in the halo xl sleep sack. i need to get them the bigger size, but it has leg holes, which i don’t think they are going to like
Boston Legal Eagle says
They make those extra large sleep sacks with foot holes for 2-3 year olds for a reason! My almost 2 year old is still in a sleep sack and there’s a blanket in the crib for him to use as well, but I’m not too worried about it. We’ll probably transition him to a full blanket only when he moves out of a crib, which I hope to wait until 3 or so. My oldest was out right after age 2, but in hindsight, he probably wasn’t ready to leave the crib.
Anonymous says
+1. We didn’t move out of the crib until closer to 4. When kiddo told us it wasn’t comfortable anymore.
Spirograph says
Why would do you want to get rid of the sleep sack, then? If he’s happy, don’t mess with a good thing! Eventually he will want to have his legs free and ask for a blanket or start resisting the sleep sack, and then you’ll know it’s time. By ~2 you don’t need to worry about a large blanket or quilt being a safety hazard, and those are harder to kick off. Fleece pjs are warm even with nothing else, and you can always put the blanket back over him before you go to bed.
Anonymous says
We didn’t use a sleep sack with my oldest but he didn’t use a blanket till he was around 3 (couldn’t keep it on top of him). He was totally fine in warm pjs without one. If you have a sleep sack that fits why bother changing it?
Anonymous says
Mine stayed in a sleep sack until almost 3, when we moved him to a twin bed. It was about the time that he was growing out of the XL sized sacks, and I decided that it made sense to have him rely on real blankets in a real bed. He stayed in the sleep sack when we put the toddler rail on the crib. Don’t mess with it, I say!
twinmomanon says
+1 to everyone saying don’t mess with a good thing. We kept our kids in sleep sacks until we moved them out of cribs (well, took a side off their cribs) around 2.75. Our house is cold in the winter, but fleece pjs+ fleece sleep sack was plenty warm enough.
Anon says
My large 2.5 year old is still in a sleep sack and we have no plans to ditch it. She’s giant so we had to buy fancy $$$$ Woolino ones because she outgrew all the others, but it was worth it.
SBJ says
Hit me with your best advice on potty training poop regressions. My 2.5 yo potty trained a few months ago, struggled initially with some constipation/withholding, we got past it, and then after being back in daycare for a month or so with no problem, poop accidents started. In consultation with the pediatrician, we did a Miralax cleanse over the weekend. However, we still hear it’s an “owie poop” and it takes multiple tries of sitting for a suuuuuuper long time to produce anything at home. At school it’s “I have to poop” usually means an accident (a small one). It seems behavioral at this point, but any advice on working through that? I’ve got a pretty stubborn child with no patience, which doesn’t help-reading books to stay on the potty on partially works, plus seems to be more distracting than anything else. I think school is too distracting for long potty sits, which is part of the problem… But I am so tired of cleaning gross underwear.
AwayEmily says
Kids glycerin suppository. Both of my kids have had sporadic poop issues (varying combos of psychological and physical) and the suppository is by far the most successful at nipping it in the bud. It’s faster than Miralax and I like that it’s not being absorbed into their system. And neither of them are particularly traumatized by it — they don’t LOVE it but they also willingly will do it when things get dire because they understand how effective it is (and because we reward with some jelly beans).
Anonymous says
The glycerin is magic. However, if the problem persists, I’d go back to pull-ups for a while. 2.5 is pretty early for potty training, and perhaps OP’s kid just isn’t quite ready to be poop trained.
katy says
We JUST got through this regression. Lietrally small accident to clean out of undies every night!!
I also thought it was behavioural but now that it is resolved – i think that it was constipation – and then lingering fear of accidents.
Things that helped us:
1. Restoralax and spinach + mango + prune juice smoothies and LOTS of fruit and corn.
2. ALSO – lots of water at dinner and we started to sit on the potty for a LONG time right after dinner.* This seems to have shifted his natural rhythm to the evening. After a week or so i stopped stories because he was just hanging out after poop.
3. Going back to the potty (vs. insert in toilet). Our toilets are very “tall” and even with the stool i don’t think he was getting the leverage he needed.
It sounds like you are already doing most of this – but persevere. It took a couple of weeks to get through this. But otherwise i could have written exactly what you did a month ago.
* i hear you on the stories being distracting. Sometimes i would start with a story or two until he got comfy, then leave him for a bit to focus, but since he had just got quality mom time he was less likely to say he was done. Like you could be on the potty for 25 mins. (our record was 40 mins)
the vast majority of accidents were at daycare. But if he was at home and a poop accident happened the activity that was happening when it happed was over for the day.
things that didn’t work:
– asking him to help clean his undies. He thought it was awesome and i felt like bacteria was flying around.
– rules like – no TV unless no accidents. (b/c you know there are still last minute conference calls)
SBJ says
Thank you! This is so helpful! My husband and I were just last night discussing the enforced post-dinner potty time strategy—it’s really good to hear you had success with it. And we’re definitely prepared for extended sessions…
Anon says
My reply up above got eaten (or delayed?) but often Miralax needs to be given for a LOOONG time to be effective (like, a month or more); overly large poops can stretch out the piping (I dunno exactly what, it’s been a few years), making it harder to effectively push even normal poops out. You have to give Miralax long enough for everything to regain its normal shape and elasticity. There’s also a psychological aspect for little kids; you have to give it long enough for them to get over the fear of an owie poop.
rosie says
Yes, this. Our pediatrician explained this to us. You do a “cleanse” (for us it was 1 capful 2x/day until poop was “mashed potato” consistency), then more of a maintenance routine (keep up 1 capful per day until poops are regular and not hurting). Kid constipation is not necessarily like adult constipation.
And lots and lots of water.
Anon says
all of these potty training posts make me never want to train my 28 month old twins. i don’t want to spend hours in the bathroom each day. I am also often solo for dinner and bedtime, so this sounds like it is going to be loads of fun
Anon says
Same. My daughter is 2.5 and it’s the parenting thing I’m dreading the most. I had hoped once we went back to daycare the peer pressure would kick in, but apparently my kiddo is the only one in her 2’s class not using the potty and doesn’t care. She’s definitely my kid – resistant to change and in favor of the path of least resistance.
SBJ says
My eldest didn’t have this problem and was super easy to potty train at the same age as this one. I promise problems aren’t guaranteed to occur! Honestly, the poop issue is mostly on us as parents-we should’ve gotten ahead of the constipation issue faster.
Anonymous says
Your experience may vary! I think we mostly get the problems on this board. My child has his share of other issues, many of which I’ve sought help for on this board, but potty training was a total breeze and has continued to be totally fine for years.
Naps says
Whenever there are nap questions, I often wonder “Can you imagine being so well-rested that you just can’t nap?” My kiddo’s naptime is about 1:00-2:30. She usually wakes up closer to 2 than 2:30 but lays there and rests nicely until her Okay to Wake clock goes off. And I constantly think “I just can’t imagine being so caught up on sleep that I just don’t want to nap anymore.” Yay, adulthood!
Anonymous says
I can’t nap no matter how sleep-deprived I am. It’s very hard for me to fall asleep during the day, and if I do manage to nap then I’m groggy and disoriented for the rest of the day.
anon says
Same. Literally the only times I’ve slept during the day for over 20 years have involved anesthesia or having given birth in the last 12 hours. So I do kind of goggle when kiddo is starting hour 3 of an epic nap.
SC says
Me too. It made the first six months of parenthood particularly rough. I did enjoy having some quiet time in the middle of the afternoon though–that got me back into reading.
Anon says
Same. And I take a looong time to fall asleep at night no matter how tired I am. The joys of getting older!
Anonanonanon says
Y’all. My 10-year-old keeps turning down the volume on his distance learning. He is sitting there watching, but he keeps turning off the volume. Sigh. I think I’m going to have to put a nest cam in his room for school hours.
Anonymous says
That is hilarious. Your 10 year old is awesome. I mean, I get that you’re frustrated, and I am sorry. But your kid is basically everyone on a video conference these days, and I love it.
Anonanonanon says
Yea I honestly didn’t even have it in me to be mad.
anon says
Probably not what you want to hear but…maybe let it go a little bit and let him run into some natural consequences?
Anonanonanon says
Yea that’s my tactic so far. Glad I’m not a monster for it!
anon says
Ha, I think you’re winning! He’s either smart enough to know how to get around listening to school (different problem lol) or he’ll deal with a poor grade/call out from teacher. To me this is an awesome low-stakes learning opportunity.
Spirograph says
Agree, your 10 year old is all of us.
My 7 year old usually stays engaged for zoom (his school has pretty limited synchronous zooms — today has none at all! — so they’re kind of a novelty), but if I leave the tablet in the room any other time, he googles pictures of ninja costumes and swords rather than doing school work. Sigh, indeed.
AwayEmily says
Talk to me about bunk beds. Are they a good idea? Are IKEA ones decent? We have a 2.5yo and a 4.5yo (currently in crib/toddler bed) so realistically we would not implement said bunk beds for another year. They already share a room.
I’m placing a big Ikea order soon (we don’t have one near us so we get a big bunch of things shipped every couple of years) and am considering adding a bunk bed to the order for future use.
Anonymous says
I have the Kura one for my twins and it’s great. They say age 6 for the upper bunk but it’s a lower bunk bed compared to most others so I was okay with it sooner. BUT it’s very much a know your kid thing. One twin was in the upper bunk at 4.5, and the twin assigned to the lower bunk I definitely would not have trusted to be in the upper bunk even at current age of 6.
twinmomanon says
We’re planning to get a Kura for our twins and put an almost-4yo in the top bunk. I wouldn’t want to do it with a full-height bunk bed, but the Kura is essentially a “low loft”.
SC says
We got a bunk bed for my kid when he had just turned 4. He started climbing and sleeping on the top bunk immediately. It was fine.
Redux says
If my parents 30-years ago are to be trusted on this, bunk beds are a surefire way to get a broken arm.
(kidding of course– they just didnt want to get us bunk beds)
Anonanonanon says
Haha was one a nurse? nurse moms ruin everything fun (source: My childhood)
SC says
My mom is a doctor, specifically a pathologist with experience in the medical examiner’s office. I’m still not “allowed” to ride a motorcycle. Seriously, on her last visit, she told me mothers shouldn’t ride motorcycles and I can ride one when my son turns 18. Not that I’d want to, because she spent 18 years drilling into me how dangerous it is to ride motorcycles. (See also, riding in the bed of pickup trucks, not that I get opportunities to do that as an adult.)
Anon says
I think the motorcycle thing is common. My parents aren’t MDs but they definitely drilled in me that I was never allowed to get on a motorcycle. I’m sure if I expressed even the slightest bit of interest in riding a motorcycle now that I’m a mom, they would call CPS.
Anon says
Do you have a ceiling fan? I cannot tell you the number of times my sisters and I took one to the head from a top bunk – luckily no serious injuries or falls, but man was it rough. So make sure there is PLENTY of clearance.
Spirograph says
We got a bunk bed when my youngest was 2. He was not allowed to climb up on the top bunk, but of course he did anyway. He couldn’t figure out how to get down, and had the good sense not to try until a year or so later. He’d just get up there and scream for someone to come help him get down.
We’re 2 years in, and no broken bones yet. Ours is full height and not ikea, so I can’t comment on theirs specifically. But, a bunk bed is a good way to give me oldest (now 7, so 5 when he started sleeping up there) his own space that feels private in a shared room.
avocado says
I would advise getting the type that you can set up as two twin beds. You could put the 4.5 y/o in a twin when they’re too tall for the toddler bed and keep the 2.5 y/o in the toddler bed for a while longer before moving to the bunk setup. Even if the younger one sleeps in the bottom bunk, you don’t want a bunk bed accessible until they’re old enough to climb up and down safely and not jump off.
anon says
We did a trundle for our kids. (Although it takes up the whole room since we never bother to push it in.) I don’t like changing sheets on the top bunk, but other than that I’m not too worried about it.
AwayEmily says
Thanks, all. This is helpful. And I hadn’t even considered using the Kura as a bunk bed…I assume you just put the mattress directly on the floor?
CHL says
We’ve had ours in an Ikea bunkbed since they were 2.5 and 4.5 and it’s been fine. You know your kids and whether they’ll follow rules – ours were really good about the youngest never goes on the ladder, and there is NO PLAYING in the top bunk. We also got a Toddle Lock because we had a nanny share and while our youngest wouldn’t climb we weren’t sure about the other kid. It goes over the ladder so that you can’t climb up. You can also replicate that with a cardboard diaper box and some tape. If you live in Chicago, you can have mine. Have fun!
Anon says
Hello! I’m new to the moms site (15 weeks pregnant) so forgive me if this is an over-discussed topic, but I would love to hear from other moms on the best way to go about daycare/preschool research! I recently moved to a fairly small city (~200k population) so there aren’t an overwhelming number of options, but I also don’t know many people here to ask for guidance. Are there any good online resources to use to compare quality?
twinmomanon says
In my area neighborhood listserves/Facebook groups are hands-down the best way to find out about daycares. A lot of the smaller ones are excellent at taking care of kids, but don’t have good online presence.
In pre-Covid times, I’d say you want to narrow down a list of things you care most about (hours, food policies, sleeping policies, outside time, etc) and go tour some places and ask those questions. Nowadays you can’t do in person tours, but some places are offering virtual tours so maybe that still works.
Anonymous says
Ask around at either of your workplaces. Depending on the state, there might be online databases with inspection information (thinking of VA). Visit both while you are pregnant and then after the baby comes (the vibe you get will matter a lot!), and ask to speak to current parents at wherever you are looking.
AnotherAnon says
I think an in-person visit is the best way to get a feel, if that’s possible. Also +1 to starting with your state’s licensing database to search. Ours is through the department of family and protective services, which you can find by googling day care licensing.
Anon says
This is a very common question on NextDoor and neighborhood Facebook groups. I wouldn’t ask at work, personally. That kind of thing can unfortunately get you mommy tracked. My states quality ratings are online, although they don’t tell you much. The highest quality rating is kind of what I consider a minimum threshold, not a sufficient condition. Google the names of places for news reports about abuse or sex offenders on staff. You probably can’t visit now due to Covid so I’d just get on a ton of waitlists and plan on narrowing it down later, when hopefully you can visit or at least have a call with the director.
Anne says
Is there a local moms facebook group or neighborhood listserv? I’d join and ask there. I think it’s the best way to get those kind of recommendations.
Marilla says
Is there a moms Facebook group for your city? These are the most helpful for me. Or Nextdoor, maybe, if it’s popular in your area? (it’s not here) If you can tour a few that is always helpful because usually most will seem fine, one might seem hmmm not quite what I want, and one might really click. FWIW though when my daughter needed infant daycare I didn’t have many options, toured one, it seemed fine, it was totally good for what I needed :) Once you’re in the daycare/kids bubble you’ll also get to know more parents and will get to know the options and their reputations if you need to switch at any point.
Anon says
In-person visit for sure. But also – don’t focus on it being “the best”, focus on it being the best fit for your kid and YOU. Some of the best day cares we have had (we’ve moved a couple times) were not super accredited or fancy, but they had loving teachers and ‘saw’ my child as a whole person. Also, don’t discount the location (and the impact of the commute) and whether they serve food (OMG so much easier). You matter too.
FVNC says
+100 to all this. Our two favorite daycares over the years have also been the oldest and least attractive. Clean of course, but not bright and shiny and new. What made them great was the experienced teachers who truly loved my kids. And yes, daycares that provide food are amazing.
Anonanonanon says
My advice is always:
-Decide on location. Close to home? Close to work? etc. I advise close to home, personally.
-Search your state licensing agency’s database using the zip codes you’re focused on. Look at both centers and in-home daycares, you may be surprised. Weed out anyone with an unacceptable rating. For me, I focused on WHAT the violations were. For example, getting cited because you left a toaster plugged in on a high kitchen counter with the kitchen is gated off doesn’t bother me as much as getting cited for leaving bleach accessible to kids…
-Once you’ve narrowed down based on zip codes, contact them to discuss their hours and weather policies to make sure they fit your needs. If they close everytime public schools close, I weeded them out.
-After that, I was left with a small list. I visited them in person to get a gut feeling and after that it was a matter of who had an open spot.
Good luck!
anonamama says
this is great advice! I wanted to add to OP, as you narrow down places you want to check out, talk to the director about COVID-19 precautions and visiting options. Ours just added an after-hours for prospective parents after being video chat only. One ‘silver lining’ is you may see shorter wait lists as parents of multiple children may have a different childcare situation with remote learning. Our center is down to about 75% of its previous at-capacity enrollment.
Anon says
Are you sure they’re open to taking new students? Waitlists are really long in my area because so many centers are deliberately operating at 50-75% of prior capacity to keep class sizes small.
anonamama says
they are. but, you raise a good point for the overall ‘daycare search in the times of covid’ topic!
Anon says
The best place for real daycare reviews, if you don’t know anyone, is from Facebook groups (also maybe Nextdoor, but definitely Facebook). Join your local community groups and any parenting groups local to your city and search/ask there. I also occasionally messaged people I didn’t know who had posted comments or questions about specific daycares. Everyone was very nice and happy to message with me.
Anon says
Also I should add that for infant daycare the nap area is very important – try to avoid anywhere that has cribs right where the babies play.
anon says
Fit is so important—what do you value? My friend and I toured the same two daycares. I loved one and thought the other was meh. She loved the one I thought was meh and thought the one I loved was meh.
Definitely look at licensing, but don’t write off a center you like before talking to them. My kid’s daycare got a major violation for leaving children unsupervised. In my view and the view of most parents, the center was appropriately supervising children and giving them age-appropriate independence and the inspector’s interpretation of the violation was bogus. The director is very open and honest about the violation. Defensiveness would be concerning to me.
Visits are the best way to get to know a center, but probably aren’t possible right now. Ask around as much as possible, including on Nextdoor or social media parents’ groups in your area. Colleagues might be a good resource too. Talk with the director and current parents (if possible) of daycares you’re consider.
Anon says
Here’s what I did:
– Adamantly decided it would be close to home so both DH and I would share pickup/drop off duties, and also so we could send kid to daycare even on days we worked from home.
– Search online for 4-5 options – we had two chain locations, an in-house location, a montessori daycare/ preschool, and one religious-affiliated location all within a 20 min drive of our house.
– Set up site visits (may be virtual now? Pre-covid, I made sure to visit during the day so I could see how the various rooms acted – were kids playing outside, were the teachers engaged with the kids, were there two or more adults with the kids at all times, etc).
– Ask questions on what matters to you. For me, it was really about communication with parents – how often, for what types of events, what if I have a question, etc.
– Join the local FB mom’s group. Search past posts for anything on those names. Search the official name, but also look for things like “that Bright Horizons by the office complex”. Most of the time you’ll get people who just DMd their comments, but you might find a bunch of posts for/ against a certain location. Just because someone had a bad experience I wouldn’t count them out, but look for patterns in responses.
– If wait lists are involved, get on waitlists of all remaining options.
Anon says
In addition to the normal questions, I’d definitely ask about their COVID precautions. I’d want the staff to be wearing masks at all times (except on breaks when they’re not around anyone else) and I’m personally more comfortable at a center that requires all children over 2 to wear masks since we know it’s possible for kids to spread it. Also make sure you ask about rules surrounding drop-off and pick-up times. Thanks to COVID, my center has a new rule that children have to be there by 9 am or they can’t attend (barring an excused absence like a doctor’s appt) and that only one parent can do the dropping off and picking up, except in case of emergency. These rules aren’t dealbreakers for us, but I can see how they might be for some people and they’re good things to know about in advance so you can plan.
Anonymous says
Hi, in case you need a smile today:
My 2nd grader’s virtual school actually assigned a Go Noodle dance routine to Bye Bye Bye as their “PE Challenge.” For real. He is killing it!
(And now I am re-discovering the joys of turn-of-century boy band music)
Anon says
Adorable!
Anonymous says
Related, but not. A few weeks ago I was in the car and there was nothing on XM. I landed on The Coffee House to some guy I’d never heard of singing Bye Bye Bye as a ballad and acoustic. With no nasally voice. It was so different and so good.
Anonanonanon says
Distance learning best practice:
My son’s school gave them all timers when they passed out school supply baggies to all of the kids before school started. Before each break, the teachers tell them how long to set the timer for (the length of the break minus 5 minutes) and he sets it every time. So simple but so genius. I don’t think it would work as well if I had just gotten him a timer, but the fact the teachers remind them to set it is so helpful.
AnotherAnon says
It’s time to order kiddo some new pjs. How do HA and Primary compare to Gap, quality wise? Most of his pjs are old hand me downs from Gap, but I think their quality has declined recently. Kiddo is 28lbs and 32 inches tall. He’s small, but with a little belly and no butt. I have no idea how HA or Primary run but I would order based off his measurements. Thanks in advance.
Anonymous says
Hanna long johns are amazing–you can wash them 50 times and they will still look and feel great. The wrist and ankle cuffs allow you to buy them a little big for longer wear. I buy them at the outlet or on sale.
Anon says
Hanna is amazing quality. We haven’t worn it in years so I don’t have a lot of info about fit but they last forever.
Primary runs fairly long and very skinny. Their bottoms and PJs aren’t a good fit for my very tall, chunkier toddler but dresses and tops work ok if we size up even more than normal and roll the sleeves. The quality is ok, I think for the price it should be better. TBH, the Old Navy and Target stuff I have has held up as well as Primary and it’s half the cost.
Anon says
Quality wise it’s out of the park. Our hanna PJs will go a full 9 months with weekly washes and still look brand new (at least the stripes). The non-stripe PJs I do notice some fading, but still in excellent shape in terms of not stretched out, no noticeable wear, no pilling, etc. I cannot say that about our gap PJs, although the organic cotton ones from gap seem to hold up better than the non organic ones. HA fits my large (both height and weight) kid well – I expect if your kid is on the more petite side, you’ll just be in a smaller size than he would in other brands. The primary stuff we’ve tried is all cut too narrowly for my kid.
AwayEmily says
I think Gap PJ quality is worse than Carters and even worse than Old Navy. Generally we do a mix of Carters/Old Navy/Hanna. Hard to beat the price on those Carters 4-packs. I think Hanna is a bit slimmer/smaller than the others, or maybe it’s just that the fabric is thicker and so less stretchy. And fyi the Moon & Back amazon version of Hanna is pretty much identical in quality. Hanna is definitely the best quality out of all of the ones I mentioned, but I’ve had no problem handing Carters down to multiple kids. I haven’t tried Primary.
OP says
Well now I feel silly but I don’t think I’ve ever seen 100% cotton long sleeve pjs in a 4 pack at Carter’s. I’ll definitely just do that and maybe get him a pair of Hannas for Christmas or something. Thanks!
Katarina says
Maybe it is bad luck, but I bought a Moon & Back sleeper, and it ripped badly on the second use.
Anonymous says
Hard disagree. Old Navy and Carters PJ quality is crap—at least they are on the ones we have for our preschooler. ON and Carters fabrics are ribbed (I think that’s the term) and while similar to HA, feels much thinner than HA especially when stretched out—like you can see the inside white yarn since only the outside is dyed. Our Gap and Primary PJ’s and both have the smooth cotton—like a T-shirt. I much prefer Gap & Primary over ON and carters
lala says
Personally I think HA quality has declined. Our last few pairs have gotten knee holes pretty quickly, and pin holes soon follow in other spots. Our older HA stuff is awesome.
Primary lasted longer for my kids than HA, but still got holes. We don’t wear gap for fit reasons, so I can’t compare that for you.
I am still searching for a brand that is quality, but for now I buy Primary because they last the longest and I can buy separates. I buy multiple pants and 1 shirt so the pair can last longer.
signed,
mom of 3 boys who are hard on all clothing
BlueAlma says
I agree. My hanna jammies all have knee holes after one kid.
Anonymous says
Primary and gap very similar quality. Primary cuffs can be narrower but not as tight as Hanna. My big kid has typically worn them a similar length of time as hannas. Currently my 37” 35lb super-chunk two year old has been in size 2 primary one piece pjs since November and just now getting too tight.
Boston Legal Eagle says
I too like the Hanna long johns a lot for my older one, who is average height and slim. The tops look better and are longer on him than the carters/Gap we had before, which looked too short and the neck stretched out after a while. I like Tea Collection’s short johns a lot, and only tried the Primary short johns as well, which I think are ok. Don’t know about Primary’s long johns. Hannas do go on sale frequently, I’d aim to get the ones in the $20-25 range, but they do last so it’s a worthy investment, IMO, even if you pay full price.