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A lightweight button-front blouse is a warm-weather staple — it keeps you cool in the sun but keeps the A/C at bay. Here’s an colorful version for spring from J.Crew.
This 100% cotton shirt in J.Crew’s popular “Signature Fit” comes in six fun prints. These prints are balanced by the shirt’s traditional silhouette — it has a sharp collar, front pocket, and functional button cuffs. Wear these shirts (you’ll want more than one!) under a traditional suit for a fun, fresh look.
This shirt from J.Crew Factory is $39.50, and it comes in sizes XXS–3X as well as petites.
Looking for other washable workwear? See all of our recent recommendations for washable clothes for work, or check out our roundup of the best brands for washable workwear.
Sales of note for 12.7.23…
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Holiday sale up to 50% off; up to 40% off selected designer styles
- Ann Taylor – 40% off your purchase & extra 15% off sweaters
- Banana Republic – 40% off your purchase; up to 40% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything & extra 20% off purchase; Gap Inc. cardmembers take extra 25% off
- Eloquii – $19-$49 holiday deals; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – 40% off your purchase with code; up to 50% off coats; up to 60% off present picks
- Lands’ End – Sleepwear from $19; 60% off everything else & free shipping (readers love the cashmere)
- Loft – 40% off your purchase plus extra 15% off
- Summersalt – Up to 60% off select styles (this reader-favorite sweater blazer is 40% off)
- Talbots – 40% off your regular-price purchase; 50% off all sweaters, coats, shoes & accessories
- Zappos – 34,000+ 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
- Carter’s – Up to 60% off sitewide; holiday deals $5+; up to 70% off clearance
- Crate&kids – Free shipping sitewide; up to 50% off toy + gift event; free monogramming for a limited time only (order by 12/15)
- Graco – Holiday savings up to 35% off
- Hanna Andersson – PJs starting at $20; up to 50% off the Holiday Shop; free shipping on all orders
- J.Crew Crewcuts – 40% off your purchase with code; up to 60% off present picks
- Old Navy – 50% off pants for the family; clearance styles from $2.99; 30% off your order, even clearance
- Pottery Barn Kids – Holiday sale up to 50% off; free shipping on 1000s of items
- Target – BOGO 50% off select toys; 30% off kids’ & toddler sleepwear; buy 2 get 1 free kids’ books
Anon says
My job just requires that I finish up projects, emails and other items at night right now. Kid schedules and working in a visible, central role in a global team mean that there are early mornings and later nights. But when I track my time, I’m not often logging more than 9 hours of work on any given day. But it feels like it’s ALL THE TIME even though I know it’s not. How do you manage this? Besides telling my brain that it’s wrong, ha!
Anonymous says
Tracking time is hard. Do you have to? Because the answer is probably that you’re just not doing a very good job.
Anonymous says
+1. It also depends on whether you’re billing clients or just tracking generally. You’re probably working all day, in that you’re going to meetings, preparing for meetings, doing calls and emails, thinking strategy, etc. but you wouldn’t necessarily bill a client for every minute of that. 9 hours of billables could easily translate to 11-12 hours of work.
Anonymous says
+1 perhaps not doing or not able to track all the time. When I was in a large global role, I was on calls at 4am to accommodate France and then up until midnight accommodating California. Every time I had off time from actual work, it was impossible for my brain to shut down. It was like a program running in the background. I would be reading a bedtime book to my kids, but thinking about the evening calls. It lead to severe burnout and harmed my kids and my marriage. I left the job for something that was less money, but I could get True time off.
SC says
I would block out larger portions of the day that you’re not doing your job. What schedule will work depends on your role and team needs and may vary day to day or week to week. I’m thinking of schedules like answer urgent emails first thing in the morning, but then get ready for your day and start work at 9. Or, if you know you’ll have to work late, block out 2 hours for lunch or (if you WFH) take a break when your kids get home.
Also, this may be a controversial opinion, but 9 hours of work “logged” is a lot, especially if you’re not counting stuff like administrative tasks, calendar/inbox/project management, the time to transition. Are you really working closer to 11-12 hours?
Anonymous says
Try some visualization activities like when you are stopping work for 2 hours, picture a light switch being turned off. Do some deep breathing and hold that visualization for 30 seconds. Then do the same when you ‘turn back on’ to go back to work.
TheElms says
I think this is just how it feels when you are fitting work around life. A somewhat typical day for me looks like the below and I’ve only done 8 3/4 hours of work. Sometimes I work through lunch if I have to get more done but I still have to get lunch so that probably only gets me to 9 hours, yet my work day feels like it starts at 7am and ends at 10pm.
7-7:15am Review emails respond to anything urgent
7:15-7:45am Get myself ready
7:45-8:30am Get 1 year old up, fed and dressed for the day, say hi to 4 year old, hand off kids to nanny
8:30-9:15am Drive to work
9:15-9:30am Grab breakfast at work
9:30-5pm Work (-30 minutes to eat lunch, take a couple short breaks)
5-5:45pm Drive home
5:45-8pm Get kids from nanny, Cook dinner, play with kids, eat dinner, bedtime routine
8-8:30pm Dishes/pick up house
8:30-10pm Finish up work tasks
EDAnon says
I think that you are working all the time in the time you have. You just have less “free time” than before you had kids. It used to be that I could work 10 hour days and come home and still have some time to eat and watch TV or whatever. I don’t have that anymore. It has helped me to frame that, in this phase of life, working more than 8/9 hours in a day is just not going to happen.
Anon says
The way I manage it, having just finished up an Asia project with a lot of early morning and late night calls, is to block time in my calendar during lunch or early afternoon when I am working from home that I would normally use to do things when I am now otherwise on the phone. Can’t do it every week because most of my projects are US-based and need daytime availability, but mentally having that block of time mid-day makes me feel better about the time I am spending on the phone from 7-9AM and 8-10PM. If I am having an office day, I will block either late morning and take my “break” from 9-11 and come in late or leave early to get a solid hour or two of afternoon freetime before logging on post-dinner for my evening calls. I am obviously senior enough and have a job where this kind of flexibility is possible, but hopefully you do as well.
Anonymous says
I really like this pick!
Anonymous says
Same. I have a lot of light colored animal prints and stripes but florals are definitely feeling like the way to go this year.
anon says
Florals for spring? GROUNDBREAKING.
(Poking fun at myself, because I love bringing out my floral tops this time of year!)
Emma says
I just bought a similar green shirt with an orange print and it’s making me feel cheerful and excited for summer!
Anon says
I usually do pick-up and dinner solo with DS #1 (5) and DS #2 (2). (DH gets home around 7:30 on a good day when he’s in the office).
It has been near IMPOSSIBLE to sit down with them the last few weeks. Keep in mind I’m only warming up/plating food that I’ve prepped and cutting fruit – not cooking. DS #2 is STARVING as soon as we walk into he door and either wants to cling to me or eat (I get it). He finishes quickly, and often will throw his plate (!!!) if I don’t hear him say “done” fast enough. DS #1 is just needy and needs some attention or will quickly devolve into a whining, crying mess. Yesterday my mom was there to help and it went much smoother since they each could get some undivided time but I still couldn’t sit down and eat until later.
This is such a small thing, and I know it’s a season but has anyone else gone through this?
Anon says
this is not such a small thing, it is a miserable way to end your day with your kids. and it is my day also just about every day with my twins. it was hard from 0-3 for different reasons, but from 3 to now (almost 5) it is exactly what you describe. so lots of commiseration. sometimes i try to hand them a piece of string cheese or fruit the second we walk in the door, putting on the tv, having some kind of ‘activity’ for them to do the second we get home
Anon says
I’m in the same boat, but slightly younger kids (2.5 and 9 months) – my husband gets home around 7. I bring a snack (usually 2 snacks) for 2 yo to eat on our way home from daycare (we walk – he eats snack in the stroller). I WFH so try to have dinner on the table or nearly ready before I leave to pick them up (table set, food sitting warm on the stove), so we can come home and eat immediately.
Also – I get my kids all set up and eating at the table then finish getting my plate. We almost always all eat together though unless it’s complete mayhem and then I finish eating later. My husband eats alone when he gets home.
The snack is KEY, otherwise 2yo is so cranky leading up to dinner and I can barely get him in the house without a meltdown. The 9 mo gets a snack at school around 4:30, which holds her over.
Anon says
Longer reply in mod but, SNACKS. Bring snacks for way home from daycare/school.
Anon says
This.
Anon says
Yes, my kids are hangry despite eating a big lunch and two snacks at daycare.
Anon says
My daycare always did a very insubstantial afternoon snack — like pretzels. I found out through a lot of trial and error that they needed really protein heavy snacks to stem the hanger tide. I straight up gave them beef jerky or lunch meat or a container of cooked chicken as soon as we walked out of their classroom. As soon as I realized that’s what we needed,
anon says
+1 million. Snack can even be part of dinner!
Also, it took years to figure this out and make it work for my family, but my kid who had so much trouble at pickup and evenings as a toddler is now an elementary schooler who does best with a super early, consistent bedtime compared to peers.
anonM says
Yup! Often seems worse for me on Mondays, during growth spurts, etc. When it seems to be a growth spurt, I bring cheese sticks to pick up. TBH, they often eat dinner on my lap when we have these stages, esp. if DH is not home/traveling for work. Hang in there.
Anonymous says
Oh yes. I have a 6 year old and two year old twins. DH is nearly always home for dinner but it’s still chaos. I wfh with a hard stop at 4:30. Dinner is either crock pot or something quick like tacos or sheet pan chicken. DH does day care pick ups and I prep dinner while kids play outside/whine. We sit at 6, kindergartener complains about what I made, twins either gobble their food or completely refuse to eat. They probably sit for 8 minutes total. I usually haven’t plated my food before someone is asking to be done. Eating dinner together as a family is important to us, but it’s still hard. We do pizza once a week and also do dinner in front of the tv once a week so it’s not like we’re perfect. Does your mom have any interest in coming over more often, just for a little while? I can tell our dinners are getting less chaotic as the twins get older.
Anonymous says
Yes. I very much understand what you’re going through. (I had 3 under 5 at one point and did evenings alone sometimes.) These times are tough, and not easy on you, or the kids. These are not small things. If you handle the small things now, they won’t turn into big things later. (I did not handle them and now they are big things.) How long are the kids in daycare each day? Is there a way for you to build in individual mommy time each day? For me, even 30 min with each kid helped. And if you can swing a family member or evening nanny or babysitter to help, that would be perfect. The idea is to give each child some unadulterated mommy time each day.
Anon says
What are the small things that turned into big things?
OP, right there with you. It’s so hard. Sometimes my kid refuses snacks so he can play, and that leads to a really awful evening.
Boston Legal Eagle says
We’re all a tired mess at the end of the day. Adults show it by wanting to sit down and relax. Kids show it by screaming, whining, throwing, etc. I don’t think it’s realistic to expect a pleasant sit down meal where you all happily eat and chat at these ages. If you’re ok with screens either before or after their dinner so you can have some peace, I’d lean in to that when you’re solo.
AwayEmily says
Yes I remember a REALLY tough period when the kids were 2 and 4 and I was doing solo evenings a lot. It is super hard and exhausting. Some things that helped:
– if I could come home briefly first before pickup, getting their food literally on the table waiting for when they got back so we could go right into dinner
– if not, 15 minutes of TV (one kid show) while I got things ready
– Asking a friend or relative to come over once a week to help with evenings
– before I leave for work, setting up something that will hopefully pull them in when they get home — like putting a coloring book they haven’t used for awhile out on the kitchen table, setting out the play-doh, etc
– making sure there is at least 1 thing on the dinner table they are genuinely excited to eat (like a few animal crackers), so that there is no immediate burst into tears upon sitting down
– as soon as the weather is nice, do as many afterschool picnics as possible (pick them up and go straight to a playground. if possible stop at home first to grab food, if not pick up mcdonalds en route). Kids are SO MUCH EASIER outside.
it gets better!!! this is hard, you are not imagining it.
It gets so much better.
OP says
Y’all. I’m a regular poster but went Anon for this because I felt so…silly. Your responses made me feel so good!!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Just the acknowledgement helped me more than I know I needed.
I’m inconsistent with snacks at pick-up but will be better – I think the grump in me always argues “why do you need a snack when we’re 5 minutes away from home?” but I need to get over it.
My Mom is available, so I can coordinate it to make it 2, or maybe do 1 with her and another with a sitter on weeks DH is out of town. I noticed SUCH a difference yesterday (still mayhem) – I was able to spend 10 minutes 1/1 with DS #2 after he ate, and my Mom was able to chat with DS #1 about whales and polar ice caps.
And I’m 100% ok with screen time – my issue is DS #2 doesn’t want to sit and watch before eating, and then since he finishes first, DS #1 becomes distracted by TV vs. eating which annoys me…
Anon says
Yes you need snacks for the commute because they probably needed them an hour ago and are already hangry. I’d also lean into the good weather – bringing a picnic or picking up takeout and going to a playground puts everyone in a good mood and tires them out.
Anonymous says
Does anyone have recommendations for men’s polo shirts that are not too thick? Sort of like the Underarmor golf shirts but thinner. My husband really liked the Maide ones from Bonobos but they don’t seem to make them anymore. He has some cotton ones from JosABank but they’re more like a tshirt with a collar. The ones from J Crew are also like tshirts or the more classic woven fabric. I think what I’m looking for is “performance”but not too think. And long enough to fit his long torso.
NYCer says
Tommy Bahama has nice men’s polos.
Anonymous says
Try Vuori?
FVNC says
Lululemon, although they may be too thick for what you’re looking for.
Anon says
Not performance fabric but look at Robert Barakett polos at Nordstrom. They’re a lighter weight cotton – my husband wears them often in the summer.
Anon says
Peter Millar?
SEAnon says
My husband really likes the Lululemon polos and *some* of the UA ones. IIRC, I think his preferred choice at UA is the “Performance Polo” – it also comes in Tall lengths.
Anonymous says
Thoughts on overnight camp for a 7 year old? My son is entering first grade in the fall. His best friend is going to a week long overnight camp, and another friend from school will go too. He said a few months ago he didn’t want to go, but now he says he really wants to go. DH has no strong opinion either way, having not gone to any overnight camps as a kid. I went to one between 2-3rd grade for 4 days and was horrified by the experience, but I am a pretty sensitive person. DS is a very active kid but can also be not so flexible.
Anonymous says
My daughter went to camp for a week on her own for the first time at age 6 and loved it so much she didn’t want to come home. It depends a lot on the kid, the camp, and the friends. In general I think the super rustic camps are harder for most kids to deal with, whereas the ones with posher accommodations and better food are easier. In my daughter’s experience going with a friend often tends to detract from the camp experience, as the kids who go together tend to stick together and not bother to make friends with the other campers, and the close quarters can cause drama.
Spirograph says
If he’s excited to go and going with friends, I say go for it. Has he ever slept away from home & parents before, even at grandparents house? If that went well, I’d have no qualms about camp. I loved camp as a kid. My oldest is not into the idea of sleepaway camp at all, my 2nd grade daughter gave me a 6 point presentation on why she wants to go to summer camp. It’s very kid-dependent.
Anonymous says
I was a counselor for many years and most kids started at 8 but we always had a few 7 year olds. If he wants to go and is going with friends I’d go for it, but I’d also not plan to be like traveling internationally that week in case it doesn’t work.
I’m sorry you had a bad experience. Mine is that camp is a great way to build independence!
Emma says
I went to camp for a week at 7 with a friend. I missed my parents but had fun. If he wants to go I think it’s the ideal first time at camp scenario.
Anon says
7 feels young to me but if he’s asking to go it’s probably worth trying. I’d one week at max. I have a pretty independent kid and we are not planning to do sleepaway camp until 8 or 9. I would not have been able to handle sleepaway camp at that age (I didn’t go until middle school) but my daughter seems a lot more independent than I was.
NYCer says
Summer after Kindergarten seems super young to me, but I think this is kid and camp dependent. My daughter would not have wanted to go at that age, buy YMMV since your kid sounds interested.
Anon says
Oh yeah I missed that. I saw age 7 and thought it was summer after first. I would not send a kid who has only finished K, no matter how mature.
Anonymous says
Holy cow, a 7-year-old in K?!? Is that 2 years of redshirting?
NYCer says
I assume OP’s son will turn 7 in the summer before the proposed camp. It is fairly common in NYC private schools to hold back kids with summer birthdays, particularly boys. (The cut-off for private schools here is September 1.)
Anon says
No…? It’s red-shirting, but potentially only a month or two. Kids are supposed to turn 6 in K. In my district, with an August 1 cutoff if your birthday is in August you turn 6 before starting K without any red-shirting. So a June/July birthday who barely makes the cutoff and is red-shirted would turn 7 summer after K.
Anon says
I would not. Thinking of my own kids (7yo in second grade, 5yo in K) that sounds really young. I also was horrified by sleep away camp as a young child (just one night!) and my oldest is a similar personality to me. There’s plenty of time for these experiences in the future; I tend to prefer not to rush things and embrace the littleness/family togetherness while they’re small.
Anon says
I also don’t feel the need to rush things. I’ve seen some people imply that if you don’t send your kid to camp in early elementary or whatever you’re smothering them and preventing them from being independent teens/grownups and I don’t agree at all – there’s plenty of time for these experiences later, there’s no need to rush. The little kid stage passes so fast!
Anonymous says
OTOH, I know a lot of parents who absolutely do smother their kids who want to do things independently–like the ones who refuse to send their kids to camp until age 12 or 13 even though they were begging to go. And my younger sister who couldn’t survive a week of a fancy camp at around age 12 turned out to be a total disaster of an adult. So I would not push a 7-year-old to go, but I’d send him if he wanted to go, and I would definitely require a 10-year-old to go.
Anon says
I would never require. And 10 is also very young. I never did sleep away camp and was a total homebody; I grew up, lived in Paris & NYC for many years, and am now a very capable mom of three. Maturity is a process you can’t rush. There are plenty of opportunities for independence and responsibility that don’t involve essentially abandoning your anxious child with strangers for a week+ in the name of “growing them up”. I’m so, so glad my parents never did.
Anon says
Yeah I would never require it either. Some kids are just not suited for camp, it doesn’t mean they’re going to be a “disaster of an adult” (and omg what a cruel way to talk about your sister).
And this is exactly what I’m talking about in terms of jumping to conclusions that because someone doesn’t want their little kid doing something it means they’re never going to be comfortable with it. You can be uncomfortable with your 7 year old going to camp and it doesn’t mean you’re going to deny them the chance to go as a 12 year old if they want to. That’s a pretty big logical leap.
Anonymous says
Omg that’s horrible. I would not require a 10 year old to go to camp. If a middle school to early high school kid is struggling with overnights I would look to treating anxiety overall. Signed, I could not handle school overnights in middle school (traumatic memory of principal trying to physically pull me out my car) and being forced to go would have caused all kinds of problems, but I grew up and went to overnight camp in high school and went to college and am a functional adult lawyer. Could help with anxiety have helped me overall? Yep! Would forcing me to go overnight when I wasn’t ready have helped? Probably not and would have destroyed my relationship with my parents.
Anon says
The idea that requiring a ten year old to go to camp when they didn’t want to would somehow turn their entire life trajectory around is … flawed. Kids can gain independence lots of ways without being tossed into the deep end.
SC says
My son is turning 8 in April, and we are thinking of sending him to a week-long camp at the end of the summer. As in, I’ve paid a $200 deposit, and the balance is due on May 1. Kiddo really wants to go. I spent 10 years (ages 8-17) going to the sister camp down the road, and the camp director has been there since I was a kid, so I feel a level of comfort. The one-week program is a “starter camp” for first-timers, so it will be a smaller experience, with only the younger kids and probably with more experienced counselors. And since it’s an 11-hour drive, DH and I will rent an AirBNB in the area–I’ll work, and DH will explore during the day. (Also, his parents independently will be vacationing in the area that week, so he could spend some time with them.)
anon says
Another factor to consider in the basket of “know your kid” is how are they about speaking up? Are they at a level of maturity where you think they’d be confident to call you and tell you if something did happen? Have you done some prep with them on things like body boundaries and bullying? Does the camp have vetting and a clear process for screening all adults interacting with kids? A complaint system? I will be the first to admit that my personal life experiences make me really nervous about overnights, but I don’t think it is being paranoid to ask yourself if your kiddo is old enough and mature enough to complain if something is wrong — from bullying to being homesick, to things more serious. And, to ask camp some questions to make sure that they’re serious about preventing bullying and abuse. (And before any comes at me about this, I’m not trying to say all camps are dangerous or something, but statistically, some are.)
Anon says
I think this is important, and it extends to less serious situations than bullying and ab*se. I had no trouble separating from my parents in early elementary school, but I had trouble speaking up for myself, and I think camp would have been really hard because I wouldn’t have been able to tell the counselors when I needed something. I think this is one reason camp is so different than sleeping over with family, etc. because when kids know the people they’re staying with well they’re more comfortable speaking up (and grandparents will likely sense when something is wrong).
Anonymous says
Ya gotta know your kid. My 9 year old 4th grader is going to sleepaway camp for the first time this summer, one week only. She’s been having sleepovers for the past 2 years and is very ready. Her BFF went to 8 weeks of sleepaway camp last summer, at 8.5. I thought that was a little young, even for someone who was really ready- 8 weeks is a lot!
My middle kiddo is about to turn 7, just finishing up 1st grade. She’s not ready. She might not be ready at age 9 either. My 5 year old would pack up and go tomorrow if they let her!
BayAnon says
With the caveat that I’m pregnant with my first so I can’t speak to the parenting aspect of this, I echo all of the other posters who say it depends on the kid. I grew up going to a YMCA overnight camp and loved it so much I was a counselor there for many years. I was in charge of the youngest cabin of girls at camp. Our official policy was 7 and up but we accepted the occasional 6 year old (twice in my cabin; both were a disaster). We didn’t do one week sessions; the shortest was two weeks (and some kids stayed all summer – two months). Most of the 7-8 year olds were completely fine; others had a really hard time being away from home at that age. It’s definitely the young end for overnight. Re camp in general, I absolutely loved it. I was a shy, non-athletic kid but for some reason found “my people” at summer camp. I think assuming your kid is on the more independent end of the spectrum, trying it for a week at 7 when he has friends going is a great idea. He may love it.
Anonymous says
Has anyone has experience doing therapy or play therapy for elementary age child with attachment issues? (negative self talk, inconsolable over small things, self destructive behavior, hitting self saying I’m so dumb, I’m the worst, I’m so bad at this, I will never learn to do X, no body likes me, you hate me, very dark art of fighting monsters all the time).
Anonymous says
Omg yes! I cannot recommend play therapy enough for this. My oldest has a lot of negative self talk. It hasn’t magically fixed everything, but it helps a lot. One thing I like is the provider will periodically schedule a consult with me to discuss patterns she’s seeing. Otherwise, kiddo and I don’t talk about his sessions, other than him telling me how much he loves going to play therapy. I found our provider by asking my CASA for a recommendation, because she was getting her masters in psych, but I think you can also Google play therapy if you don’t know anyone who could make a recommendation. We pay cash: I could not find a provider who takes insurance but it’s totally worth it to me.
Anonymous says
Hi, can you speak more about how you got a recommendation? Google says CASA is court appointed special advocate…any advice for us not in the legal field?
Anonymous says
My kids were fosters so that’s why they had a CASA. But mostly I asked her because she was a psychologist and had been a member of the community for decades longer than me. I would just ask around: day care, friends, or even just google “play therapists.”
Anon says
Following. My early elementary kid does not do the negative self talk (yet anyway) but she catastrophizes everything (if she falls and gets a minor scrape it’s “the worst day ever”) and I’ve been wondering if she would benefit from something like this.
Anonymous says
Same here!! With our 2nd grader…we hear a lot of “worst day ever,” “you hate me,” “no one likes me” when things don’t go his way. We would respond in the moment but are not sure how to approach it on a corrective, big picture level.
Emma says
Baby carrier advice? We are growing out of the Babybjorn mini with our tall, skinny 6 month old. We take most of our walks in the stroller but have a few hiking/international travel trips planned for the summer and will need an easy way to carry her, and also sometimes want something I can use to carry her around the house while I get stuff done. Should I get the ergobaby 360 or go straight to a hiking backpack? Any other suggestions?
Anon says
I love the Ergo 360 (two 100th percentile kids here).
Spirograph says
I also loved the Ergo for my tall, skinny kids. We had both an ergo and a hiking backpack… I found the ergo generally more comfortable (and also constantly useful around town, not just for hiking), but I also didn’t shop around for the carrier as much as I could have to find a comfy one with a perfect fit. I’m sure that exists. That said, it is certainly easier to pack/travel with than an external frame hiking backpack. Hiking backpack, to me, is more useful for a bigger kid that is starting to outgrow the ergo. a <1 year old will still be comfortable to carry in an ergo even while hiking.
octagon says
I really loved the Lillebaby. Hiking backpack seems like it would be bulky for doing stuff around the house.
Anonymous says
Kinderpack !!! So so so much more comfortable than a hiking pack or an Ergo in my experience. Tula is similar.
Anon says
I really like the Lillebaby. I have the airflow so it’s more comfortable in the summer. I have a frame backpack (actually two, a Deuter and a Kelty) and find the Lillebaby more comfortable to wear.
momofthree says
Agree with those that suggested the Lillebaby, especially the one with better airflow. That was our workhorse for 3 kids, where we did a lot of walks/ easier hiking.
We also had a Miamily that my husband was a big fan of b/c it had an bigger seat so more of the weight could be on the carrier.
If you are planning trips especially those that involve air travel, you do not want a hiking backpack. They are bulky and hard to get on & off & hard to get baby in & out of. With Lillebaby & Miamily, I never had a problem front wearing my bulky kids, and could, with some effort, get them on my back as well without any help. If you want something to wear around the house, you also don’t want a hiking backpack for the reasons listed above.
The only reason I’d think about getting a hiking backpack is if you’re doing strenuous/half-day or day+ hiking, otherwise, the baby carriers are going to be the most versatile.
DLC says
I used a hiking backpack and an ergo very differently. I found the hiking backpack tricky to get on by myself, but when we went for longer hikes I loved that it had lots of pockets so I didn’t have to carry a separate backpack, and also that it could stand independently, so if kiddo fell asleep in it, I could take it off and put it down on the ground without waking her.
But for puttering around the house it would have been impractical. For shorter hikes (a mile or two) I found my Ergo or Beco Gemini more than enough.
Anonymous says
Vacation help? We want to do a summer beach vacation with friends. They fly out of Phoenix, we fly out of Houston. We have a six year old, and two two year olds. They have a three year old and an 18 month old. My friend threw out the idea of Florida. I don’t know anything about Florida. Would a Mexico AI be better? I’ve not been to Mexico with kids. Or we could do Tahoe pretty easily too. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I just want easy beach access and not to spend the entire week cooking.
Anon says
Watercolor / Seaside / Rosemary Beach / Alys Beach are wonderful for family vacations in Florida, if you want to rent a house (not many hotels or resorts there). You can fly into Destin. Many restaurants are walkable or a short bike ride. You can have bike trailers and kid attachments delivered to your rental house.
FVNC says
Newport Beach, specifically Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas, might be good for those ages. The Marriott property is close (but still driving distance) to a beautiful public beach and has several large resort pools and restaurants. Or you could rent a house close/on the beach and be walking distance to restaurants.
ANon says
florida or mexico could be great – just be careful of Hurricane season and humidity. In some of the FLorida towns mentioned above chances are that most houses are already rented out for this summer
Anon says
Mexico AI will definitely be the easiest. Flights to Cancun are usually easy and relatively cheap. Look for a resort with a kids club starting at age 3 so the older kids can go to that. Some people are uncomfortable safety-wise with Mexico. I’m not, but it’s something to consider. Keep in mind everyone will need a passport (may sound obvious but I know a surprising number of people who booked trips to Mexico before realizing fairly last minute their kids didn’t have passports).
I think Florida would be good too, although it depends on your comfort with renting a house and eating meals out since there aren’t really all-inclusive resorts there. Renting a house doesn’t mean you need to cook – I’ve mentioned before but we went to the Destin area twice during the pandemic and rented a beautiful house right on the beach, and we didn’t do any cooking (mostly ate ready-to-eat grocery store things for breakfast and lunch, and went to a restaurant for dinner every day). The panhandle has some really beautiful beaches, and great wildlife. But if you don’t like the idea of renting a house Florida will be tougher.
I would not do Tahoe with so many toddlers, personally.
Anon says
people on this site always mention how it’s easier to take kids to picnic at a park than eat at home, maybe i’m missing something, but that does not seem to work well for us. kids get distracted and don’t eat and then are starving as soon as we get home, food gets spilled everywhere, the transitions in/out of carseats and having more transitions seems to lead to more meltdowns, kids always have to go potty a million times that time of day, etc. what are your tips to actually make this successful?
EDAnon says
And what do you pack to eat? My kids hate sandwiches and I don’t have any other picnic foods lol.
FP says
I am not sure if this is easier – but we have done this order and it works well: pick up a pizza on the way to the park. Immediately sit down to eat at a picnic table. Rule is kids have to eat one piece of pizza before going to play on the playground. My kids are 4 and 6 fwiw.
Anon says
Yup. Or have pizza delivered to the park.
Cb says
Ooh that’s a great idea.
Anonymous says
I’m with you on this, no one actually eats. We use our patio dining table at home a ton, but picnics are too hard to manage (kids are 4 and 2). I see this changing in a few years.
Cb says
We go straight from school to the park and basically do a charcuterie board. If we had to go home and go back out again, it wouldn’t happen. We then cycle home. But my child is always hungry.
Anonymous says
It never worked well for us either during the week. It does work well for us on weekends. Bring non-spillable finger foods, lots of wipes and have everyone go to the bathroom before leaving. Works better to just take a wagon to local park vs deal with carseats. Sometimes we do the pick up take out and eat at the larger park that’s driving distance away. I find happy meals or similar easier than pizza. I generally grab some apples/baby carrots as well.
AwayEmily says
Potty at daycare/school at pickup. We either have pizza or snack dinner — crackers, cheese, turkey, applesauce pouches, granola bar, etc. When they were younger I’d make them eat before playing but now (5 and 7) I usually just let them graze, with one “last call for food” before we pack up. I do sometimes need to offer one more snack before bed, but that’s nbd.
And yes I definitely could not go home first — it has to be straight after school otherwise too many transitions.
But if it doesn’t work for you, it may just not be a good fit! Some kids mellow in the outdoors and some kids don’t. Nothing you’re doing wrong.
Anon says
I’m not sure that it’s easier, but the park we go to has a pizza place within walking distance and it has real bathrooms. We’ve also packed pb&j’s. Realistically though my kids want to run around and not eat.
Anon says
I’m not a big picnic person, but when I’m solo parenting I definitely find it easier to go out to a restaurant than to eat delivery/frozen food at home. No clean-up and the “going out” part kills time during that tiring window between pickup and bedtime.
Anonymous says
Omg going out to dinner with one parent is my absolute worst nightmare!!
Anon says
I only have one kid which I’m sure is a factor and I didn’t feel this way until age 3.5/4 or so, but now it’s much easier than having dinner at home even if we don’t cook. She’s better behaved at restaurants than she is at home too, although as someone else said below, we tend to do a lot of patio dining where noise and wiggles are less of a big deal.
Anonymous says
You may not be missing anything: it just might not be a good fit for your family. I find it easier to eat at home (even if it’s takeout) so we don’t do park picnics either.
Anon says
For me it’s going out to eat. My kid does great at restaurants, especially with a patio involved where she can be louder than indoors and wiggliness is less frowned upon, and then time and daylight permitting we can stop at a park on the way home.