A birthday cupcake with lit candles

The Best Default Birthday Presents for Kids You Don’t Know Well

2018 Update: We still stand by this post on default birthday presents for kids, but you may also want to check out our more recent discussion on kid birthday party guest etiquette.  For the first time ever, my eldest son J is having a birthday party for just his friends. (Summer birthdays are always awkward,…

A picture of baby feet in the tub.
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Make Bathtime Easier with These 10 Tips

Bathtime with babies and little kids can be many things: fun, relaxing, hectic, boring, etc., depending on your kid’s age, current mood, and general attitude toward baths. Have you developed any tips and tricks to make bathtime easier? {related: how to level-up bathtime for kids} First, I’ll share a few things we’ve done at our…

A person Screaming Into Loudspeaker Silhouette

The Mom Voice: On the Playground — and at the Office?

Today’s topic: the mom voice. Do you think you have a “mom voice”? Have you heard your friends’ mom voices — and did it bring you comfort or freak you out? Have you ever noticed your mom voice encroaching at the office — and was it welcome or unwelcome?  A few weeks ago, an old…