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I can’t remember how I first learned about Of Mercer. However, I must have been intrigued enough to schedule a personal shopping appointment during a (pre-COVID) work trip to New York. I wasn’t pregnant at the time, but if I had been, the Cornelia dress would have definitely been on the top of my must-try list.
I am a huge proponent of non-maternity maternity clothes (or at least, maternity clothes that look like clothes you’d wear even when you’re not pregnant) that you can wear long after welcoming your baby into the world.
This dress checks all of my boxes: I love the softness and drape of bamboo fabric, it’s machine washable, and the three rich jewel tones are perfect for fall and winter. Given the stretch of the fabric and the neckline’s hook-and-eye closure, this dress looks nursing and pumping-friendly too.
It is $185 and available in sizes XS–2X. Cornelia Dress
Sales of note for 11.30.23…
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Limited-Time Sale of 11,000+ items; up to 25% off select women’s coats & jackets (ends 12/6); Nike up to 25% off (ends 12/2); markdowns include big deals on UGG, Natori, Marc Fisher LTD, Vionic and more!
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off sale styles
- Banana Republic – 40% off your purchase, including cashmere; up to 60% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 25% off $125+
- J.Crew – 50% off women’s styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- Lands’ End – Up to 70% off everything; free shipping (readers love the cashmere)
- Summersalt – 30% off everything; up to 60% off select styles (this reader-favorite sweater blazer is down to $75)
- Talbots – 30% off entire purchase, including all markdowns — readers love this cashmere boatneck and this cashmere cardigan, as well as their sweater blazers in general
- Zappos – 35,000+ women’s sale items! Check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kid shoe brands on sale.
Kid/Family Sales
- BabyJogger – 25% off 3 items
- Crate & Kids – Toy & gift event: up to 50% off everything; save 10% off full price items
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 50% off everything; extra 30% off sale styles
- Ergobaby – 40% off Omni Breeze Carrier, 25% off Evolve 3-in-1 bouncer, $100 off Metro+ Strollers
- Graco – Up to 30% off car seats
- Strolleria – 25% off Wonderfold wagons, and additional deals on dadada, Cybex, and Peg Perego
- Walmart – Savings on Maxi-Cosi car seats, adventure wagons, rocker recliners, security cameras and more!
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
Spirograph says
Wow, I like this pick a lot! I can’t justify the purchase when I have zero percent chance of having anywhere to wear this for another 5 months, but glad to learn about this brand. Thanks, Ann!
Anon says
Agreed. I wish I had a reason to buy this dress. Maybe it’ll be on sale by the time I need it for something.
Anon says
It’s so pretty! But I’m pretty sure I will never have an occasion to wear a dress like this again. I’m not going back to an office and I never really had a social life that required clothing like this.
Anonymous says
Whew, my 16-month old had his first real tantrum this morning (of course while we’re rushing to get ready for daycare). Any tips on diffusing those? We tried calming him down with a song but eventually just needed to wrestle him into the stroller. He stopped crying as soon as we got outside.
Anonymous says
Especially at that age, trying to reason with them, calm them down, or present calm-down strategies generally makes matters worse. For us, the most effective approach approach is to calmly move forward with whatever it is you need to happen (getting into the stroller, putting on shoes, etc.) and then let them calm down on their own. It sounds like you did exactly the right thing. Sometimes toddlers are just going to tantrum, you’re just going to have to wrestle them into the stroller or the car seat with as little drama as possible, and that’s okay.
anon says
Yep, I’m pretty sure all of us have buckled a screaming toddler into their stroller or car seat or carried one out of daycare mid-tantrum. It happens!
Anon says
+1, I’m not sure if I’m just bad at diffusing tantrums or if I have a very strong-willed kid or both, but none of the techniques like naming the feelings, offering calming strategies or trying to distract the kid have ever worked for us, even at almost 3. Certainly a typical 16 month old does not have the necessary language to talk things through (although distraction does tend to work better at that age). The best we can do is just remain calm while doing whatever it is we needed to do. The good news it that 16 months olds are physically much easier to wrangle than 3 year olds.
Clementine says
Respond calmly, don’t get upset yourself. This is a normal developmental thing and often the more you do, the more it ‘feeds the fire’ in my experience. When they’re a little older, you can do a little more, but my experience is that often I have to put on my ‘Mary Poppins voice’ and say ‘I know you don’t want shoes. It is cold. We need shoes. Do you want your sneakers or your boots?’
Short sentences. Acknowledge feelings. Give one forced decision. I use a calm, upbeat tone. I try not to let the kid see me get flustered even if I am.
(Also, very experienced parent here with literal training on how to handle behavioral difficulties, including tantrums, and I had a kid scream for 10 minutes and SOB because I didn’t have yogurt in the little cups, I only could offer it in a bowl. Other tools are temperature – like when you brought the kid outside and the temp changed or using a washcloth, offering a drink of water, giving a firm pressure hug or ‘butterfly taps’, and practicing deep breaths or a special movement.)
Anonymous says
I generally used songs for this situation. With three kids, they each usually wanted a particular song but I suspect that’s because me singing their song made them feel more connected. Ants Go Marching, Wheels on the Bus, or the old Thomas theme song were the primary preferences.
blueridge29 says
plus 1 for singing- I also found that singing calmed me down which was a huge plus. Also, as they get older you can change the words to songs they know and sometimes that can distract them enough to avoid a minor meltdown.
Maybe don't be me says
I am NOT teaching my kid emotional regulation but when my 18 month old (my third) needs to get wrestled into the car and I don’t have time to deal – I hand her my phone and let her flip through pictures of herself. Works every time. So I guess distraction?
octagon says
We found a change of scenery (going outside) often worked wonders, especially coupled with a distraction technique (“hey, look at the bird on that telephone wire!).
We also found success with mimicking his frustrations so that he felt heard and understood worked well too, such as “I KNOW! I am upset that we have to get in the stroller, and I know that you DO NOT LIKE IT! I hear you!” — said while actually working to get kiddo in the stroller.
Hang in there, this will pass.
Clementine says
Good updates from last week! Nobody has COVID, my husband did organize the basement and the attic, INCLUDING going through ALLL the kid clothes and labeling them and putting them in labeled bags if we were going to send them along to someone/somewhere.
There’s still a very small chance that I have a tiny Typhoid Mary on my hands so I’ve been wearing a mask continuously indoors and am keeping everyone home from school/daycare (even though technically I could send at least 1 to school, I’m not comfortable with the very small risk quite yet). Statistically though, it looks like I’m down to less than a 5% risk that kiddo contracted COVID.
And thank you for listening and also reminding me that it’s not like ‘stay home’ is the great choice and I chose the ‘bad’ one… it’s really a buffet of crummy choices and I need to remember that.
Anonymous says
Nice update! We are in your boat this week. Got a call from daycare over the weekend that all the toddler are quarantined after someone tested positive. Text chain of all the confirms it isn’t any of the kids, so must be one of the teachers. Which while annoying, is probably the best news since they are always masked.
Our toddler was tested once (results pending) but still no symptoms even though last exposure was Tuesday PM. So fingers crossed.
Like you we are keeping our other kids home until toddler has a neg test 7 days from exposure with no symptoms (which is Tuesday).
Anon says
Glad to hear that! We’ve unfortunately had a couple exposures now and the first one is definitely the hardest. If nothing else, after the first exposure you have some data that your school’s procedures are working (assuming nobody gets sick). I know a lot of people here and in real life take pride in their daycare having zero cases (and I used to be one of them, so no judgment) but having an isolated case that doesn’t spread to others is actually much better from the perspective of knowing whether or not the safety procedures in place are working.
Redux says
You may have explained this already, but why didn’t you get the other kid tested?
My older one got a test on Friday for cold systems (runny, stuffy nose), then the little one started displaying the same symptoms over the weekend. The older one got her results today– negative for COVID. I asked the nurse if we could presume that the little one has the same thing, and she said probably, but because the older one is at one school and the little one is at daycare, the only way to know for sure is to test the little one, too.
Anon says
Not OP but my pediatrician won’t even test kids with generic cold symptoms for Covid. You have to be running a fever or have other more unusual symptoms, or have a known exposure (so her exposed kid would qualify, but not the other kids).
Redux says
That makes sense. My region was like this earlier but have since taken to testing anyone with any symptoms– in part because schools are in person, I suspect. We still don’t have asymptomatic testing available to the public though, unlike some other areas. Asymptomatic testing makes so much sense given what we know of asymptomatic spread. I am weirdly jealous of people who work for universities where everyone gets tested weekly.
Anon says
It’s only one university that’s testing everyone weekly, as far as I know. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their testing program is legendary within higher ed. My university and most others I know of did some random testing during the fall semester but it was a small percent (ours was 10%) of staff and students every week. A lot of universities also did intake testing, requiring all students to get a negative test before returning to campus but I’m not sure how much good that did.
Nashville says
Anecdotally I know Vanderbilt University tested all students weekly, and it reported results through an app.
Redux says
My DH works at a small private college that tested all students and staff weekly, too. I thought it was common among colleges and universities– maybe mostly the private ones?
anon says
I think it’s fairly common, especially for schools that have their own testing facilities.. GW requires staff to get tested weekly; BU requires testing something like twice a week for students in residence and anyone associated with the university can get a test whenever they want.
Clementine says
Hey! We actually all got tested already once (7 days after initial exposure); however, there was a second (possible) exposure date (although knowing the details of how long kiddo was there and what their normal day looks like and where the case was, I’m skeptical that kiddo was actually exposed).
Because kiddo is already under a ‘formal’ quarantine, our ped told us to just watch for symptoms, but that they wouldn’t test again without symptoms.
Redux says
Oh, interesting. Thanks for explaining. And I agree with you about the buffet of crummy choices– hang in there!
Samantha J. says
I actually rented this dress on RTR in navy when I was pregnant and was so obsessed with it that I purchased it from RTR (something I never do!) I’m 1.5 years postpartum and (finally) back wearing my old size, and this dress magically still fits! Maybe It’s time for me to buy it in another color.
Second Kid? says
Inspired by the commenter last week who reported about what her OB-GYN said about a COVID vaccine and pregnancy, has anyone talked with an OB or other expert about pregnancy after a COVID vaccine? As in, will it be recommended to wait several months before trying? Ideally we would like to start trying for Kid #2 (Kid 1 is 21 months) this spring. But if I can get a vaccine in late spring/early summer, I’d rather get the vaccine first (for several reasons, including the fact that it will be a high risk pregnancy – more appointments, etc – due to complications with my first). Unless I would then have to wait several months and not start trying until fall/winter? Even with my ideal timing I’d be 38 when I deliver, so I don’t have unlimited time here. I’ll talk with my OB when it gets closer, but I’m wondering what other people are thinking/doing.
Anon says
I don’t think there would be a long waiting period after the final dose (although keep in mind there’s 3-4 weeks between the two vaccine doses). My understanding is the main risks in pregnancy are related to immediate effects of the immune system reaction to the vaccine, especially fever. These systemic reactions happen within hours of receiving the vaccine, not weeks or months later. I would ask your OB but I’d be shocked if you couldn’t conceive immediately after receiving the final dose of vaccine. But fwiw as someone who works in this field, I think the April-June timeline for the general public is incredibly optimistic and unless you’re an essential worker or a high risk person (as defined by CDC, many underlying conditions, including some autoimmune diseases, don’t make you high risk) you probably won’t get the vaccine before the late summer or early fall.
Second Kid OP says
Good to know on the vaccine timeline. I’m not essential or high risk when it comes to COVID. Do you think it will be more clear by, say, February or March whether or not the general public is likely to be able to get vaccinated in May/June vs September/October? I would probably want to hold off til March either way for reasons such as waiting until the holiday surge is past before embarking on a high risk pregnancy, waiting for Kid 1 to be just a little older, and ideally a winter/spring due date works so much better for my work. (And of course I can’t plan a due date exactly, but I got pregnant with Kid 1 really fast so trying to hit a 6 month window seems potentially possible… and I currently have an IUD, so this has to be an intentional decision – I can’t just play a little loose with the birth control and see what happens!)
Anon says
Yes, things should be much more clear by February or March. The federal government has said most priority people will be vaxxed by March and if that really ends up being the case, then I would expect the general public vaccination to proceed immediately after that and anyone who wants one would get it by June at the latest. But I expect that timeline will have slipped since it is slipping already. It will also depend a lot on the number of approved vaccines, which should be much more clear by March, probably even by January. Vaccinating everyone in a timely fashion is a lot harder if we only have the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Johnson and Johnson especially could be a game-changer since that’s a single dose and can vaccinate double the number of people with the same number of doses, and my understanding is that it’s also an easier vaccine to make than the two that are currently pending approval. Results from that trial are expected in December/January, so we’ll definitely have more information soon.
Anonymous says
Girl no one knows!!
Anon says
yes there was an article in the new york times with an accompanying graphic that did a good job showing just how many people are frontline workers within the essential worker category. the essential worker category is actually quite broad though
Anon says
Yes, it’s currently 87 million people. Add in the elderly, the high risk group (which includes obesity) and it’s over half the country. I think it makes more sense to describe the non-high risk, non-essential people as “low priority” rather than “general public” because most people are actually in a priority group.
Anon says
No one wants to be in the low priority category though!
AnonATL says
Thanks for asking this. We are planning to try for #2 in the summer, and it had never occurred to me that we might need to schedule around a vaccine availability.
Then again, kid #1 is about 4 months so most of my pregnancy experience was in covid chaos.
Second Kid OP says
Just curious what others in similar situations are planning to do – would you delay a few months in order to wait for a vaccine, or will you just go for the second pregnancy on your ideal timeline regardless of vaccine availability?
Anonymous says
We are waiting. Mainly because we have kept our kids home from daycare, and I won’t send them back if they aren’t vaccinated and I can’t be and am suddenly high-risk as a pregnant person.
AnonATL says
I am “gynecologically young” still so it doesn’t feel like a big rush other than just wanting kids close in age to get it over with. I would still just proceed as normal regardless. Assuming the vaccine isn’t available to normal folks by summer, my risk is still small. Kid 1 is in an in-home daycare which would be my main risk of exposure. There are only 2 other kids there currently and everyone is super cautious. We are podded with my parents too, so there’s a very small risk there.
If the vaccine is readily available, I’m still not fully convinced I would get it right before trying to have a baby. I’m not comfortable with the unknown implications yet. Maybe make DH get it and other people in my pod so me and kid 1 and 2 would be more protected without getting it.
Not sure though. Something to talk to my OB about before ttc
Anon says
The Moderna trial required any women in the trial to be on birth control during the trial and for three months after. No idea what the recommendations will be when it comes out or even what they will be by the time the vaccine is available for public use.
Second Kid OP says
Yeah, I had read that about the Moderna trial, but I wasn’t sure if that was based on something specific to these kinds of vaccines, or if it’s just a pretty standard restriction for liability reasons for these types of trials. I thought I read that men in the trial were also supposed to make sure they/their female partners used birth control for 3 months. Are vaccines likely to affect sperm quality? I have no medical background or anything, but I’m not aware of any currently routine vaccine that requires men to wait?
Anonymous says
Definitely vaccines can affect sperm. Perhaps not any that make it to market!
I think it’s standard to exclude pregnant and TTC women from safety trials. This is one reason why so little safety data for pregnant women is available for so many medical interventions.
strollerstrike says
Can anyone recommend books or other resources on raising bilingual children?
German/English in our case, American father, German mom, living in Germany, German nanny, if that matters.
I hear conflicting opinions on rules like one parent – one language or home language – outside language and on how stricty to comply with those rules.
If anyone has a good book or such to recommend, it would be greatly appreciated.
Also, anecdata stories welcome :)
NYCer says
My husband is French, I am American, we live in the US. He speaks French almost exclusively to the kids, I generally speak English, our nanny speaks English (unfortunately we didn’t find a French speaking nanny who was a good fit, though that would have been great!), and they obviously speak English at school. Our elementary aged daughter is mostly bilingual at this point, our younger toddler daughter prefers English (but this was also the case for our older daughter at this age, sometimes she would even say something like “speak English daddy”). In non-covid times, we go to France regularly, so they have exposure to their French speaking relatives, and we also facetime with them weekly. My French is decent, so I can understand what is being said at home and occasionally will speak French with the kids too.
I never read any books or other resources on the topic, so do not have any recommendations.
NYCer says
I wrote a longer post that went into moderation and then must have been rejected (???), but the gist of it is as follows:
I speak English, my husband speaks French, our nanny speaks English (we would have liked to find a French speaker, but it did not work out), and the kids speak English at school. Our elementary aged daughter is basically fluent at this point, and our toddler prefers English still (this also happened with our older daughter). I speak French decently well, so can converse at home, though I usually default to English. We visit my husband’s family regularly in France, and also have frequent video chats.
No specific books to recommend unfortunately, as I have never read anything on the topic. Good luck! It seems like your husband will need to be very diligent about speaking English to them, as they will have plenty of opportunities to learn/speak German.
AnonATL says
My SIL is South African, BIL is American and they live in the US. She speaks Afrikaans to their daughter sometimes and of course she gets loads of exposure to English. I can’t say how fluent their daughter is in Afrikaans, but she did have somewhat delayed speech from what I recall, but she is a very vocal 4YO now. Anecdotally, I think that is common with bilingual households.
Katy says
We have opted to send our child to a French School, where many of the children are native speakers or speak other languages at home. (It caters to ex-pats). The headmasters advice was generally each person should stick to their language with the child. That said, obviously depending on the relative comfort of people around you to the language in question, a given parent might use multiple different languages in different settings.
His “at a minimum” advice was to stick to one language per conversation. We don’t need to throw French vocab words into an otherwise English conversation (no “franglais”). I think the theory here is that what you want is for the children to hear normal sentence construction / flow of language – which is the way we innately learn grammar before we realize that is what is happening.
Anonymous says
We have three kids. DH speaks to them exclusively in German, I use English and also read in German because no German language school in our small Canadian city. Kids attend French Immersion program for school. They are fine with learning all three languages. I actually find they do better with their German during the school year when they are learning in French all day. English language daycamp in the summer seems to be them used to communicating only in English and we have to push them more to use German. Their German has weakened noticeably during the pandemic however as we’ve missed a visit from their Oma and our annual visit to DH’s hometown. We go every year so they can see their cousins and remember the importance of practicing German. Lots of books in both languages is key – think alphabet and number books in both languages for early years.
You’re much better set up than we are as the German school system teaches English and there is so much English easily available in terms of books/movies/music etc. Grandparents may get a bit nervous as expressive language (what kids say), is often a bit later and more jumbled in bilingual kids but they learn to sort it out pretty quickly by age 4 or so.
GCA says
I speak Mandarin to my kids (much more consistently with the toddler than the kindergartner), my husband speaks English, we live in the US, and school environment/ nanny are English-speaking. We’re doing OPOL because it fits our circumstances (husband speaks no Mandarin and it is my second language) and it’s reportedly effective. It does take a lot of persistence and consistency. Older kid (5) will respond to me in rudimentary Mandarin but usually lapse into English. I don’t press the issue and we have external (virtual) Mandarin lessons for him, which he is enthusiastic about. Younger one (2) will respond in English but very clearly understands 100% of what I say. Whether she does what I ask is another story, lol. Some people pull out the stops and try to create a minority-language immersion environment, but it really depends on your goals.
Anonymous says
Can you recommend at source/site for virtual language lessons? I posted above re lack of German in my small city and I’m hoping a side effect of covid will be better language learning online for kids.
GCA says
Ahh – we use LingoBus which only offers Mandarin, but I’ve heard good things about Italki.
Anonymous says
Outschool has lots of language classes. The quality on that site seems to be very hit or miss, and I would think it would be hard for a kid to engage with a virtual class before about the age of 4, but might be worth a try?
Anonymous says
Thanks! Kids are elementary school age which is why I though virtual options might work. Any tips on how to figure out which Outschool courses are good? Basically all the reviews seem positive so I guess you just have to try out a few different teachers?
Anon says
one of my 2.5 year old twins, twin A has become so challenging in the last month. He is very verbal and has no trouble speaking, but whenever he wants something, he has taken to grunting or whining rather than asking. When I remind him to ask, he just says, “I said yes,” as if he gets to determine the outcome of whatever he is asking for (a month ago, he was fine asking for things). it just turns into a huge very loud tantrumy power struggle, where we don’t really want to give in, but he refuses to ask. we did start potty training two weeks ago, which has been going pretty well, and i know is a big change, but nothing else has changed as of late. any tips?
Anonymous says
This is no help, but “I said yes” is such a great example of funny toddler logic. Hang in there!
Anonymous says
Sort of related, my 22 month old has started adding on yes and/or ok to her requests. Like, “play stool yes ok?” (Play stool = play at the counter in her learning tower, which she loves)
Anonymous says
This is just what toddlers are like.
Anonymous says
I don’t think it’s realistic to expect a 2.5 year old to not whine for what they want. A firm no and redirection to something else usually works. And acknowledging their feelings “I know you said you want candy for a snack but I said no.” Repeat ad infinitum. I find repeating the same thing for saying ‘no’ works better than saying no in different ways each time they ask.
Anon says
thanks for the tips. usually the asks are for things i would be more than happy to say yes to…if he actually asked
Anonymous says
If he’s not asking it’s problem because he doesn’t know what he wants. Reminds me of when I was in labor and I was so worn out I couldn’t articulate what I wanted, DH would just put a straw in my mouth and I’d drink if I was thirsty.
I generally offer water, a hug, and a snack when they seemed too overwhelmed to process. One at a time and wait for a yes/no/some response on each before the next. Three choices at once is too much. For snack I’ll offer two choices.
Anon says
When my son was three, he used to ask me to say no different ways because he didn’t want to “hear the same thing over and over.”
Redux says
We have had a lot of success saying “I don’t understand you when you use that voice. Can you say it again in your normal voice?” This works 90% of the time to stop the whining in the moment. It will not change their mood though!
AwayEmily says
+1
anon says
+2. I’ve also heard “use your words, not your whines” (which seems like it would work better with older kids but my kids weren’t terribly verbal)
Anon says
I would avoid the power struggle by not always insisting he ask. He has plenty of time to learn manners, and it’s disingenuous to pretend you don’t know what he wants if he doesn’t ask properly. Model by asking him and other family members things as you would want to be asked – “A, will you please hand me that cup?”
You can encourage him to ask nicely, or possibly rephrase what he is saying – “oh, are you asking me to please hand you the cup?” – – but do not insist on it to the point of aggravation.
Anon says
We also pottytrained my very verbal toddler around 2.5. Potty training itself went smoothly, but there was a noticeable change in behavior for the worse for a few weeks following it. I think it’s a toddler power struggle thing. We largely ignored it and she seemed to go back to “normal” on her own after a few rough weeks.
Anon. says
One of my son’s cues that I could tell meant he needed to use the toilet was behavior issues. It was very obvious in the midst of training but still a signal to me 9 months later. Inexplicable whineyness means he needs to go.
Why?? says
Both of my kids (4 and 6) but especially the 4yo become LUNATICS when they need to pee.
Anon says
Help! I think parenting a very extroverted only child 3 year old in a pandemic in winter will be the death of me. We were so desperate this weekend we ended up taking her to a shoe store (fully masked up, of course) where she engaged the salesman in a 20 minute conversation about nothing. Does anyone have suggestions for other things like that where we could get her a tiny bit of social stimulation with everyone in masks? We’re going to try the library soon, although I think it might be a bit weird for her because the kids’ play area is understandably closed. Unfortunately, kids’ activities are out because I can’t find anything for kids her age with a mask requirement. We will do outdoor soccer and swim this summer even if the pandemic is still raging, but neither DH nor I are comfortable with indoor activities with a bunch of maskless kids. It’s going to be a looooooong six months until summer.
Anonymous says
My chatterbox kid talks to the librarians. Have her ask the librarian where to find the Pete the Cat books (or whatever she is into), or if there are other books that are good for kids who like INTEREST SUBJECT.
Anon says
Where are you located? How cold?
Similar to shoe store, I took my kid to a craft supply store to buy supplies for a community service project and there was a fair amount of distanced interaction. It wasn’t crowded, supported a local business – I felt good about it!
We also went to a park this weekend where there was a trio playing christmas music (I’d read about this in advance) that was weirdly not crowded. Just being at AN EVENT was helpful for them.
Last thing I’d say is, do you have any local family? When we were really running on fumes this weekend I had my sister come over just so we’d have another adult to interact with. If you don’t have local family I think a well-timed facetime call can also do the trick. I know a lot of people who have standing reading times set up with out of town grandparents weekly or even twice a week right now.
Anon says
Ooh craft store is a good one, thanks! She loves arts and crafts so I bet we could get a lot of mileage out of going to the store to pick out a craft and then doing it.
No local family unfortunately, although my parents are moving here in the summer, so even if the pandemic isn’t over, next winter should be much better (fingers crossed!!). We do videochat already.
Anon says
Do you have extended family (ideally retired or living alone and bored enough to listen to a three year old ramble) that would welcome video chats? I hand over the phone to my extroverted 3 YO and she can kill an hour or two a day talking on video with some combination of each of her 4 grandparents (retired), great aunt (retired) and two aunts (live alone). They are happy to talk to her and I am happy that it’s not me she’s talking to!
Anon says
We do videochats, but it’s not enough for her and I think the frequency is starting to wear out our introverted family and friends!
Anon says
Oh dear. My sympathies indeed. I would lose my mind if we didn’t have that outlet.
Anon says
so depending on your comfort level with this, there are a lot of organizations that would typically have kids visit in-person (like adopt a grandma type of programs), that are still looking for people to engage virtually. maybe you could look into one of those?
Anon says
I will look into this, thanks!
octagon says
I so sympathize with this. We went on a walk yesterday and not only did kiddo narrate The. Entire. Time, he also stopped three different neighbors we passed (from a safe distance) to tell them all about our walk. I wish he was just a little bit older and could do video games online while chatting with friends, I think that would be a great outlet in winter.
Anonymous says
Could you find another family to bubble up with? And/or a family with a 3 y/o who will wear a mask? my 2.5 year old wears a mask and we are fine doing playground playdates with other kids that are also good in masks. (my kid is the youngest and the two older siblings wear masks, so of course she wants to!).
Anonymous says
+1 DD turned 3 the week of shut downs in March. She’s insanely verbal. Like yours she’ll talk to anyone. After two months We had to bubble up with another family and do outdoor, masked, play dates with one other family (we all know each other/were and are transparent about activities). This may not be feasible, but now she’s in preschool. She needed a social outlet and is much happier (and I get a break and time to spend with our other child.
DLC says
Do you have neighbors who like kids? We frequently run into our next door neighbor when we are out for our walk and she always takes time to chat with our kids (3.5 and 8). I am really grateful that she finds their chatter fascinating (or at least pretends too). Pre-pandemic we would just wave to her as we went about our business, but now we make a point of crossing the street to talk to her, or going out back to chat over the fence when we see her letting her dog out.
We talk to all sorts of people on our walks too- construction workers, the mail carrier, dog walkers, etc. as long as they are wearing a mask. Often it’s just a quick hello, but sometimes they strike up longer conversations.
Anonymous says
Ice skating?
Anonymous says
Nope nope nope. I hate taking my kids skating on a public session even during non-COVID times for this reason. I am a former figure skater and can obviously skate without falling over, so all the random kids come over to me and want to talk to me and hold my hand and have me teach them to skate because I am the only adult on the ice other than the guard who is not clutching the rail for dear life. It is obnoxious and super annoying–I have my own kids to supervise and do not want to supervise everyone else’s. Please do not send your kid out on the ice with the intention of foisting her on other parents to satisfy her social needs.
Anonymous says
Whoa calm down, I’m the person who suggested this and I’m actually a former figure skater too. I definitely was not suggesting she turn her child loose on the ice to get close to other people!!! Good grief. I was suggesting it was something parent and child could do together that would get them out of their house and around other people with the opportunity for some light social interaction with strangers – e.g., small talk with the employee when picking up the skate rentals, kiddo might get to wave and say hi to other kids skating with their parents, etc. Much like you might get some distanced social interaction by taking a walk and waving at neighbors. My extroverted preschooler enjoys just being around other people even if we aren’t getting close to them and having detailed conversations, and I’m looking forward to taking her skating at our outdoor rink with masks on this winter. I’m not sure why you interpreted “go ice skating” as “take your child to an ice rink and turn them loose with no supervision.”
Anon says
I haven’t had a haircut since early summer and decided to make a salon appoint for just a trim to get in and out with no blow dry. Now, the salon is requiring every patron have a recent covid test from no less than 4 or 5 days ago. I’m pregnant and not about to add an additional chance of exposure with a completely unnecessary test (we haven’t seen anyone or traveled and have no symptoms). This is crazy right? For a haircut?
Anon says
it is highly unusual…but i kind of wish my haircut place did this bc i havent gotten a haircut since january and then maybe i’d feel comfortable going
Anon says
This is silly. A test is a snapshot of a single instance in time. A 5 day old test is worthless since the person had almost a week to get exposed or become infectious after testing negative. 4-5 days also happens to be almost exactly the standard incubation period of the virus, which means anyone who was exposed at the testing site would likely be pre-symptomatic (infectious but not aware of it yet) during the hair cut. If you’re not comfortable going to a salon, that’s fine, but the testing requirement does not make it safe. I actually think it makes it less safe.
Anon says
I think it’s crazy! Masks work, there have been hardly any cases tied to hair salons and like you said the test itself is a major point of exposure, especially for people who are being cautious otherwise. It almost seems sort of unethical too. Maybe if your city has abundant testing, it’s fine, but in my city the testing system is very strained with limited availability for people who aren’t sick, and getting a test before seeing elderly parents or after traveling seems like a much better use of asymptomatic testing than getting a test just to get a haircut!
anon says
+1 to all of this. Testing resources in my community are severely strained. My DH had potential exposure before Thanksgiving and it took several days to line up testing, and in fact, probably wouldn’t have happened had a physician friend not intervened and found him someplace to get tested.
TBH, I don’t have a lot of patience for the people who are getting tested in order to travel. Stay home and save those resources for the people who might actually need them.
Anonymous says
Lots of us live in places where testing is readily available
Anon says
Testing isn’t really robust unless the positivity rate is under 5% and I think the only states that are there currently are Maine, Vermont and Hawaii which have very small populations relative to the US. Just because you can get a test doesn’t mean it isn’t diverting resources from someone who needs it for a better purpose than a haircut.
Anonymous says
I say this as someone who is so cautious that she hasn’t even been inside a grocery store since March: That testing requirement is nuts, will not do much to protect anyone, and will expose you unnecessarily during the testing process. I am sure you will be able to find another salon without this insane hygiene-theater requirement.
Anon says
+1
Anon says
Wow how do they have any business?
I got a hair cut. They checked my temperature, had me wait for my appointment outside, and had everyone wear masks.
Anonymous says
Yeah, there are plenty of tests in my area, but I still wouldn’t submit to one just to get my hair cut! (and also I agree with those above who said this point in time snapshot is theater unless you also quarantine from the time of the the test until your appt.)
I last went to the salon over the summer and the procedure was the same. My salon is staffing only two stylists at a time and keeping the front door open + fans, so assuming the air mostly clears between appointments, you’re only exposed to like 5 people total, with masks.
Katala says
Wow. I would definitely not do a test for a haircut. I got a cut the first week of March and haven’t had one since. I’m getting pretty sick of my super long hair and being pregnant too I know it’ll just get worse with the hormones. I wish I had gone in the summer when cases were lower! What do people recommend to be as safe as possible? Masks required, obviously, and I’m thinking I’ll try to get the first appointment of the day. Any other tips?
Anon says
I had my mom and sister cut it in July, and DH is going to try in a month or two because I’m personally not willing to risk a salon. Other than that, there are a couple of hair dressers in our area who will come cut your hair in your driveway with masks on, which is about as safe as I can imagine (and the backup plan if DH does a hack job, unless my mom who is in our bubble can fix it)!
Anon says
Masks are the big one. As far as I know, there have been virtually no cases traced to hair salons and there was that famous case in Missouri where the infected hair stylists exposed hundreds of clients while wearing masks and none of the clients got sick. I’m not an epidemiologist but my work involves reviewing a lot of data from the health department about how Covid is spreading and pretty much all cases in our county are tied to 1) indoor social gatherings where masks were removed at least part of the time, usually for eating and 2) indoor businesses where masks are allowed to be removed some or all of the time (bars, restaurants, gyms). We’ve seen essentially nothing from hair salons, grocery stores or other indoor businesses where people are supposed to be masked the entire time. I would think temperature checks and reducing capacity inside would also be helpful but for me at least they’re not pre-requisites. I get my hair cut every 8 weeks.
Katala says
Thanks! I guess I was aware of all this but I’m still anxious when I think of actually doing something myself. I certainly am not going to bars, restaurants or gyms! Maybe I will just do it. Judging by DH’s skills with the kids’ cuts, not going to let him near me.
Anonymous says
Does anyone have good recommendations for some type of engraved or similar style jewelry that would have a child’s name or initial? I’m thinking a gold bracelet or necklace but am at a loss for brands, etc.
Anonymous says
I like Sarah Chloe–nice quality at a moderate price point. They have adult and kids’ styles.
Anon says
there’s a local houston business that makes initial necklaces I love – shop LeMel. They’re great. I can vouch for the quality.
It’s kind of a knock off of Maya Brenner but the two sisters who run it are nice creative people and I’m cool with it!
Anon says
I don’t have a recommendation for a brand, but I have seen engraved bar pendants showing up in gift guides and I think they are really pretty and stylish.
Realist says
This is a great chance to shop local. Etsy will filter results by location (just choose the filter option) and has tons of options that would fit any style/budget. Search for engraved name bracelet or similar. For quality, look for an established seller with good reviews.
AwayEmily says
Small success to report! My almost-5-year-old has been an INTENSE thumb-sucker her whole life. So much so that a year ago, even talking about stopping sucking her thumb would result in a full meltdown. But the mask requirement meant that she wasn’t able to suck her thumb at school, and we were happily surprised that she stopped doing it there with minimal complaint. But she was still thumb-sucking constantly in the car, while reading stories, on Zoom with her grandparents, etc. In August we started broaching the topic of someday stopping sucking her thumb, and in September I told her that whenever she was ready, I would order her a special necklace to help her stop (from Munchables.ca, which makes chewing necklaces). We didn’t push her at all, but about a month ago she suddenly told me she was ready for her necklace. We ordered it, had her wear it at home and in the car, and…IT WORKED. She would chew on her necklace instead of sucking (and we would gently say “necklace!” if we saw her sucking), but within a week started wearing it less and less and this morning she said to me “Mama, I don’t think I need my necklace any more.”
She may well have a relapse but I’m so proud of her for making the decision herself and then following through.
Anon says
Aw good for her! The pandemic also broke my kiddo of her finger sucking habit, although she still does it at nap and nighttime (we’re in no great hurry to force her to stop that though, since it isn’t a social issue and with our genetics she’s going to need braces anyway). When playgrounds first reopened we told her we wouldn’t be able to visit them if she was going to suck her fingers on the way home since she could only suck when her hands were clean, and then that combined with masks at school got her to drop all daytime hand-sucking. Covid silver linings I suppose?
Anonymous says
congrats mama! I was a thumb sucker for way too long and a big reason was that my parents didn’t give me any tools to self-soothe so I kept doing it whenever they weren’t there to say stop. The necklace sounds like a great way to ease off the thumb habit.
Anonymous says
Good for her! For other moms trying to help their kids stop sucking their thumbs or fingers, I do want to remind you that for some kids it’s an unconscious habit that may be difficult to break no matter how motivated they are or how many alternatives you offer. These kids may not even realize what they are doing, so an alternative will not help. For these kids, a physical reminder such as bitter nail polish may be necessary so they notice what they are doing and can make a conscious choice to stop or use an alternative.
Anon says
that’s awesome!!! one of those parenting wins for sure!
Anonymous says
Congrats! I think there is a good chance it will stick. When I was around that age, the dentist told me if I didn’t stop sucking my thumb I would have braces. For some reason this (or my parents reaction?) motivated me and I stopped that day. Sadly I still had braces for about 5 years, but my mouth was a “special case.”
AwayEmily says
Thanks, all! I suspect she will need braces anyway (both her father and I had them for eons) but the whole thing was low-level stressing me out (in a “someday we will need to do something about this”) way and i’m so glad to have it resolved. I think I was stressed partly because a close friend of mine put his 3yo thumb-sucking daughter in a brace to stop the habit, which always seemed kind of extreme to me but also made me wonder if I wasn’t being proactive enough.
anon says
For the first several years of my career, I worked closely with “A” and “B.” A was the senior of the two and the leader of our de facto team. B was midlevel and brought me onto the team as a junior. A and B were both very, very difficult to work with for different reasons. I was the only junior who could survive working with them, so I was continually getting staffed on their projects and got pigeonholed in their line of business, which limited my career development in some ways. B was an incredibly toxic person to work with. He was manipulative, sabotaged me and undermined me as I moved up in the organization and began to bring in my own projects, and engaged in a lot of gaslighting. It got so bad that I was about to quit, when suddenly he left the organization because his wife got a better job and they had to move. That was two or three years ago. I am now senior enough that I run all my own projects and don’t work directly with A much anymore.
I am leading an initiative to take our org into a new topic area. A has decided he’s interested in this topic area, despite having declined an invitation to participate in the initiative. He has reached out to B and is now trying to take my initiative’s product and spin it into an interorganizational partnership with B that will give A control over the topic. I am furious. Our org is very much an “eat what you kill” environment, and management is declining to manage the situation. I suppose I could try to leave, but I’ve been waiting for some things to fall into place that will put me in a position to command a higher-level position and a better salary. My job is also specialized enough that there are only one or two halfway relevant openings in the entire country each year, and I don’t want to grab at anything that isn’t exactly right out of desperation. Ugh. Advice?
Anon says
Sounds terrible. Do you have anyone at your firm to confide in about this? I’d start there.
But you’ve clearly succeeded in toxic situations in the past. What worked then? Does any approach carry over to the current situation?
octagon says
Help me shop: I want to find a divided piggy bank with save/spend/give options, but the only ones I’ve seen either are too small (like would only hold a few dollars’ worth of pennies) or are individual jars. I’m looking for something that’s all one unit with different slots. Has anyone seen something like this? Thank you!
Anon says
I’m looking for the same – particularly one that fits bills and not just coins. The best I’ve found so far is this:
https://www.amazon.com/Moonjar-Classic-Moneybox-Spend-Share/dp/0972428216/ref=asc_df_0972428216/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312201637912&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12235170441933159224&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004205&hvtargid=pla-617969495447&psc=1
Anon says
Another twin parent here, though I suspect this can also be a challenge with siblings of different ages. One of my twins has much more advanced fine and gross motor skills than the other, which is evident when doing everything from getting dressed to building a tower with Duplos. I don’t know if it is a coincidence or if the skill is correlated with interest, but even from day one has been more interested in things like playdough, building with blocks, etc. My other twin is starting to notice that their sibling can do things very easily that they can’t do yet and i think is starting to get upset about it, but is still too young to verbalize that exactly. i’ve read Siblings Without Rivalry and i recall an anecdote about a sibling who wanted to stop playing piano, even though they enjoyed it because they weren’t as good at it as their sibling, and we try very hard to focus on the effort rather than the results. My less fine motor inclined twin mostly likes engaging in pretend play and having us tell stories, which is fine, but also much more mentally exhausting. We try to give them each some time to play alone. I don’t want my other twin to feel like she isn’t as capable with anything since most things that toddlers do involve some gross and fine motor skills. Any tips on how to navigate this?
fallen says
How necessary is pre-school for a three year old? we both work full-time and I cannot find any full-day programs I love in our area (all good programs in our suburb are half-time and don’t extend the day , which is mind-boggling). I am finding it so hard to reconcile the idea of spending 20-30k a year for a full-day program AND 50k a year for a nanny. i guess the alternative is to find a part-time nanny, but I am imagining that it might be hard to find a good part-time nanny? Plus our son loves our current nanny and I hate to switch her.
Anon says
The cost is truly mind boggling.
AwayEmily says
Our kids love preschool and I love it too, but I don’t think preschool is “necessary” at all. Lots of wonderful, well-adjusted kids go into kindergarten with no previous schooling. I guess I’d also want to know more about what you mean by a “good program.” From my perspective, preschool is mostly just about learning to interact with other kids, messing around with paint somewhere NOT in my own house, and playing outside a bunch, but if formal learning is important to you maybe you could have your nanny take on some of that?
Anonymous says
It doesn’t matter at all
Anon says
Not necessary. My kid was supposed to be in it this year, but since COVID canceled the program, we’re not fussed about it because next year at 4 is what I view as important. If you really feel strongly about it, can you keep your nanny and do a part-day program 1-2 days a week (and have nanny do kid laundry or come late and stay late those days)? Our part-time church preschool was around $300 a month for 9-1 and my 3YO was supposed to be in a 3 day a week part-time program. Church is being very very conservative from a health perspective and canceled the program (including updated last week to cancel a January start, TBD if they do a March-May session), but we were in a 2-day a week class last year and LOVED it. Benefits include namely giving SAHD a break, socialization and the planned arts and crafts stuff we do not typically do at home.
Anon says
Not necessary. Some socialization, like a weekly free library class the nanny can attend, would be good, but preschool is not needed. I’m a SAHM and keep my kids home until age 4, when free public preK is available, because the cost is insane. We don’t really do any formal “activities” until that age, either, just occasional play dates and the library. My oldest did great in preK 4 and is doing great now in K, so I’m not seeing any ill effects of staying home an extra year. (We are also, as a family, rarely ill so I also think there’s many benefits to extra years home with a nanny!)
Seafinch says
I have intentionally limited all formal programming as much as I can for all my kids and we even opted out of junior kindergarten for my son. It has had no impact on their schooling and all have thrived once they started.
Anonymous says
I mean, your kid will be fine without it, but I do think it has some benefits. I would not count library storytime as equivalent to the social experience of preschool. Plus most kids (not all) at library times trend towards toddler age. And it’s not consistent kids each week. Does nanny do play dates with other kids in no Covid times? But that sounds insanely expensive to me and I live in MoCo outside of DC. Cant the nanny drive kid to/from part time preschool? Then I would ask her to do kid laundry during that time. Our DD goes 3 mornings a week to a church program for $300/month. FWIW she’s learning a lot of conflict negotiation with other kids.
Anon says
Agree that library storytime and the like are not equivalent. Library storytime is mostly babies and young toddlers who don’t even leave their caregiver’s lap (it’s literally called “Lap sit” at my library). At a playground, children’s museum or indoor playplace there will be some degree of needing to wait their turn while another child uses a toy or playground equipment they want, but I’ve never really seen kids especially in the 2 and 3 year old age group play interactively with kids they didn’t already know at these places. During lockdown, we did a 2 year old soccer class and none of the kids really had any interaction with each other (probably because the parents were all there and participating). I’m not a child development expert, but I feel like it’s hard for kids to spread their wings and really learn to socialize with peers when their parent or other trusted caregiver is there and, at least in my area, you can’t normally drop 3 year olds off for activities. So I see a lot of inherent value in a daycare or preschool in terms of socialization and peer interaction.
Anonymous says
Thanks – that’s what I was trying to explain! Having the consistent cohort of kids is great. And as someone mentioned below, working on those social skills with age appropriate language
Anon says
I agree formal academic schooling is unnecessary. I think some socialization is necessary by age 3, although it’s possible this is less of an issue for children with close-in-age siblings (I have an only child). In pre-Covid times you could get that socialization through a formal activity or two, plus less structured activities like library storytimes and museums, but I think that would be hard now because a lot of that stuff is unavailable and even to the extent it is available it’s probably safer to be in a school program with one cohort vs mixing with lots of different groups of kids every week. One additional thing that’s good about preschool is that they work on social skills really explicitly – like they have conversations about how to ask another child to engage in play or how to introduce yourself to another child. I imagine these skills come naturally to some people but they don’t to me and don’t seem to come naturally to my kid, so I’m grateful for school for teaching it. I often wonder if I’d be a more socially adept adult if I’d gone to daycare and gotten this kind of help at a young age myself. A toddler soccer class or something like that may introduce some basic social concepts like waiting your turn but is not going to give you the same kind of detailed “how to talk to peers” instruction that daycare or preschool will.
Anon says
I don’t think “pre-school” has any merits over full-day daycare at that point, if that’s something that’s available. Lots of kids have kindergarten being the first time they’re in a group envrionment out of their house, but I think there is some benefit to increased socialization starting around 3.
Anonymous says
This. Whether preschool or daycare, the benefits are from kids learning to function in group settings and learning classroom behavior starting around age 3. Is there a part-time program? Like 3 mornings a week?
Lyssa says
My kids are 5 and 7, and neither started PreK before 4 (and, of course, the 2nd one had a somewhat disrupted experience). Both have done absolutely wonderfully in school (in-person), so I would say that earlier preschool is really unlikely to make a difference. I would say it’s a good idea to have at least a few months of literal Pre-Kindergarten, just to get used to the idea of going somewhere, listening to a teacher, writing, getting along with others, etc., but I don’t see any real need for more than that.
Anon Lawyer says
Have you looked for cooperative preschools where it’s like a couple of hours three days a week and parents (or nannies or other relatives) do a shift helping out once a month? Those are cheaper. I find it hard to believe that the only good options in your area to get kids some pre-kindergarten socialization are 20k per year for part time.
Anon says
+1 Also I think church/synagogue preschools tend to be a bit less? I cannot believe the minimum for decent preschool is 20k/year. In my area, it’s very common for kids of stay at home moms to do at least one year of preschool, and most families with one income could not afford 20k per kid.
Anonymous says
Yeah, 20K seems high – we paid less than that in Brooklyn, for full-day, 11 months of the year. Granted this was a coop program but it wasn’t the absolute cheapest either. If you need to do a half-day program, you could look for a part-time/afterschool sitter instead of a nanny, or a nanny share, or if you want to keep the nanny do part-time preschool.
Anonymous says
Regional I guess? Our preschool/daycare, which is probably one of the most expensive in town, is currently about $16k for 7:30-5:30 10-month academic calendar care; pre covid when they offered option of only sending your kid 2-3 mornings a week that was maybe $400-500 a month depending on how many mornings, whether you needed early care, etc (and some church based programs were definitely a bit less).
Anonymous says
Do you have younger kid(s) you need the nanny for? If not, I would be inclined to move into a full-time daycare or preschool program by age 3 or 4, and that shouldn’t be cost prohibitive if you can let the nanny go. If you need to employ a full-time nanny for younger kids than I see how it gets really expensive.
SC says
I think there are some benefits to preschool, which others have described. But if you’re going to keep your nanny, a half-day program, 3 days a week, is enough. Most pre-schools have 3 year olds napping after lunch anyways, so if you don’t need childcare during that time, the kids are not missing anything for a couple of hours.
Child’a robe? says
Anyone have a child’s bathrobe to recommend? My nine year old has requested one for Christmas. A lot of the ones I’m seeing are fuzzy fleece, and I’m not crazy about that option. I’d prefer smoother fleece or cotton or terry cloth. Pockets ideally. Hooded would be fine. Not navy blue.
Thanks!
anon says
Pottery Barn Kids might have what you’re looking for.
Anonymous says
The Linum brand kids’ cotton terry bathrobe is nice. Available all over the web.
Anon Lawyer says
Anyone know any holiday “pick-me-up” I could send to long distance friends where shipping wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg? Like, I was looking for something like smallish box of chocolates or hot chocolate bombs, but shipping is usually an extra $8. Maybe this just doesn’t exist?
Anonymous says
Best option for this is usually a local supplier person who does deliveries for free over a certain amount. Maybe google can help you find a local chocolate source?
Anon says
World Wide Chocolate is a premium chocolate retailer and I’m pretty sure they have free standard shipping with no minimum order amount. At the very least, I’ve placed ~$10 orders that shipped free. The packaging won’t be cute like a bakery would do, but you can order some really nice chocolate bars and hot chocolates there.
This is sweet, literally and figuratively! You’re a good friend :)
Anonymous says
Cheryl’s Cookies cookie cards are $5-10 I think.
Toddler chair says
I want to get my 2 year old a little chair for our living room area. Are PB Anywhere chairs worth it? Does anyone have something else that they like for this, maybe a little bean bag chair or something?
Anon says
There are lots of options on A-zon. My mom sent my daughter this one when she was 16 months and she still loves it at almost 3. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KGX7XK6/?th=1
Anon says
my 2.5 year old twins love their PB chairs. we were gifted the regular size, but i actually wish we had the largest size. i’m sure they’d be equally happy with a bean bag chair.
OP says
Thanks. Im trying to decide between the regular and oversized. Any thoughts on why you wish you had the better one?
Anon says
I think they’ll still get more years out of the ones they have, but they are now too big to fit together in one chair or sometimes they’d like their dolls to sit with them too. And they also like to use them to climb on/mess around with. We received them as a gift when they were born but probably didn’t really start using them until they were about 6 months old.
Anon. says
I think they are kind of stupidly expensive, but my 1 yr-old and 3 yr-old fight over the PB chair regularly enough that I’m considering buying a second.