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After trying to make my luxurious Shiseido cotton pads last as long as possible, I decided that I was going to try the reusable route. I ordered these washable makeup remover pads and have no regrets. In fact, I even prefer them to any of the cotton rounds I’ve used in the past. These come with 20 rounds, and if I use one per day, I am definitely doing laundry within 20 days. What I’ve been doing is hanging the little wash bag from a knob on a drawer and putting the used ones inside. When I do a wash, I throw the baggie in both the washer and dryer, and they come out looking like new. One caveat is that I tried washing them all at once when I first received them in the mail, and the bag is a little too small to wash all 20. If you’ve used them to remove makeup, I recommend washing them before all 20 are used if you’re going to use the provided bag. Otherwise, they’re super soft but have enough “friction” to really get all the makeup off. They are $14.59 at Amazon and are eligible for Prime. Natural Bamboo Cotton Rounds
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Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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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?
Anonanonanon says
I know they’re tiny and it shouldn’t be such a struggle, but I really can’t accommodate reusable cotton rounds, using dishrags instead of paper towels, etc. Where do you put all the wet, makeup-covered rounds until you wash them? I can’t just throw them in with my clothes! We are in a row home with laundry all the way in the basement and I’m just really not going to keep multiple hampers two floors down from my bedroom that I regularly place these in, and there is certainly no room in my bedroom or bathroom.
Anonymous says
I also use paper towels a lot but still try to be more enviro friendly in other areas. I do think the suggestion she discusses about popping them in a wash bag until laundry day works. I could see myself hanging a hook for a lingerie bag under the sink and just tossing it in when I do towels/sheets. I had the same question about WTF to do with the rounds like wash day but I could see this as a legit option.
Anonanonanon says
I did switch to method brand wipes to cut down on paper towels for a bit because they’re compostable in a municipal composting facility, and my neighbor has a pail for one in our area, but I never got my act together enough to get my own composting pail and I felt bad about using hers all of the time. There’s a service that comes to pick it up and everything, I just haven’t actually looked into who/how
Anonanonanon says
OK I realized how lazy that was and just signed up for a composting service. It had the added benefit of making me feel like I was accomplishing something while avoiding some very stressful and important work.
anonymous says
For reusable cotton rounds, I keep a small laundry bag in the bathroom drawer and put them in there. I do all the laundry on the weekend and then throw the bag in the wash with the towels.
Anonanonanon says
There isn’t even a drawer in our tiny master bathroom. Just a sink with a cabinet full of chaos underneath. Some day!
Anonymous says
I live in an NYC apartment with no laundry in our unit.I but mine in a lingerie bag that is hanging in our closet by the hamper. It takes up approximately 3 square inches of space. Put a hook on the wall. Wet rags get draped over the edge of our hamper until dry, then they go into the hamper. We do still use a fair amount of paper towels and paper napkins, so not implying I’m a saint, but reusable cotton rounds have been easy enough to manage.
SC says
Everyone has to balance sustainability with what is practical for them. If you live in a small apartment, your environmental footprint is smaller because of that. If you live in a large city and walk/bike/take public transportation, your footprint is smaller because of that. Maybe, for you, the trade-off is that you use cotton balls or paper towels because you don’t have the storage or laundry situation to make the reusable ones practical for you.
Anonymous says
This. If you’re in a row house you’re a million miles ahead of someone in a mcmansion.
Anonymous says
This is why I don’t use washcloths!
lsw says
I throw them in my laundry basket and separate them out when I separate my laundry. I try to kinda pile them together.
CCLA says
We still use paper towels, but have cut our usage maybe in half in the last few months with buying a bunch of dish cloths and putting a plastic sterilite bin with holes in it for circulation under the kitchen sink. It takes up very little space, and also has helped with rotating kitchen towels more often which I always mean to do but had not been great about until we added this bin. We are in a 3 bd apt so not a huge amount of space.
AO says
I’m sorry, but your attitude is literally why our planet is on the brink of ecological collapse. When your children are old enough to question our generation’s choices, I really look forward to hearing you repeat this comment.
None of us are perfect, but that is simply no excuse for not doing better.
Anonanonanon says
I mean I don’t even use cotton rounds, I just wash my face and dry with a washcloth because I can’t sustain reusable ones, so I’m not exactly destroying the Earth by not using them but obviously I’m not all offended since you started with “I’m sorry” ;-)
Anonymous says
Disposable cotton rounds are not what have us on the brink of ecological collapse. I work in environmental law. Cotton rounds and other small personal items that contain minimal plastic are not why we are where we are.
Beth @ Parent Lightly says
I am not the best at stuff like this but I do try to use reusable towels, napkins, etc. in the kitchen. I just have a small bin in the laundry room to drop these in and then I wash them with towels once a week. I think a small mesh bag hanging on a door in a drawer could work too for things like the cotton rounds.
BlueGreen19 says
What are some good parenting websites that people use?
Personally I really love the NY Times Parenting section and their newsletter. I feel like that is geared toward people like us — busy working professionals who don’t have a huge amount of time, but are committed to both being excellent parents and to our careers.
I’m really curious if people have other blogs or websites that they regularly use.
And an even more specific request, does anyone have a website or blog they like that has ideas for things to do around the house with toddlers? We have toys and puzzles and stuff, but they can get boring after awhile.
Jessamyn says
For your question, I have a Pinterest board called Kid Activities, and I just search on Pinterest for ideas and save them. They tend to be the best of the best of the various blogs that put out those ideas, and it organizes them all in one easily-accessible place for me to look at when needed.
Anon says
busytoddler is great for things to do around the house with toddlers
Anonymous says
Yup busytoddler or days with grey
Anon says
Seconding both of these. Sensory bins seems like such a SAHM Pinterest-y thing, but a bin of rice and some containers can occupy my kids for an hour.
Seafinch says
handandheartathome is a fabulous Instagram account. She has great ideas.
DLC says
I like the On Parenting column in the Washington Post. They also have a chat (I think it’s bi-weekly) that I’ve found a helpful perspective. I find Meghan Leahy’s advice to be a bit brusque, but it is practical and unsentimental.
I also follow some Montessori blogs for good activities/ practices to instill. The Kavanaugh Report is great, and also The Montessori Notebook and How We Montessori.
Also The Artful Parent has really neat art ideas. Run Wild My Child is inspiring for outdoor activities.
Would love to hear what others follow- particularly on the parenting front!
Emily S. says
I like On Parenting from WaPo, too! I also subscribe to Janet Lansbury’s newsletter.
For activities, I have the book 150 Screen Free Activities for Kids, which is helpful. Artful Parent has a book, too, that’s pretty good. About half the time, I do the project from Highlights magazine with DD.
IHeartBacon says
This is the only parenting website I read. I have always felt that the commenters are so insightful whenever I have posed a question.
anon says
I really love The Mom Hour podcast and have been a listener for going on 5 years now. The hosts are very real and down-to-earth, and their tips are doable instead of shooting some pie-in-the-sky ideal. I dunno, there are so many parenting resources that leave me feeling like sh!t because the ideas seem impossible to implement or they have subtle guilt trips that I don’t need nor want.
Katy says
Thanks for the suggestions all – we are finally getting into more elaborate pretend play at 2.5. This weekend (toilet training – NOT a roaring success) and freezing…. we played tons of games with my yoga ma, the most successful was “diving board” (this was very successful and also included lots of big jumps for energy burning purposes). I also hid a “treasure” (elastic band from a bunch of asparagus), that the paw patrol had to find. This got us a solid 45 mins of missions. Eventually the LO was hiding / finding it all by himself with help from Skye and Ryder. We were however trailing him due to potty training. I had not thought about sending him on missions before. Not sure why…
Anonymous says
Two of my colleagues are currently on a business trip to Seattle. I am absolutely livid that our employer did not insist that the trip be cancelled, and that they are going to be permitted back into the office upon their return. I am at high risk for complications from the coronavirus. Now I am going to have to demand to work from home. I hate being put in the position of having to be the squeaky wheel just because my employer fails to take common-sense precautions to protect all of its employees.
For comparison, my husband’s company is banning all domestic and international business travel, and anyone who travels for personal reasons to a location where there is community spread of the virus is being required to work from home for two weeks upon their return. The company also appears to be gearing up to move to 100% remote work within the next couple of weeks.
Spirograph says
My company is similar to your husband’s, and I’m shocked your employer allowed travel to Seattle.
Definitely advocate for yourself regarding wfh, and I hope your colleagues will voluntarily self-quarantine even if it is not required. For the last few weeks, our HR department has been very vocal saying that all employees should feel comfortable refusing travel or working from home for health reasons, and encouraging managers to proactively cancel trips to avoid putting people in a position where they feel like they need to be a squeaky wheel. I would have a chat with your HR about this, you may help other colleagues who were afraid to speak up.
Anon says
Yeah, I’m also really surprised about the Seattle travel! My company is still allowing travel, but not to certain places,including Seattle.
octagon says
Be the squeaky wheel. That’s incredibly irresponsible leadership to let people come back from Seattle with no quarantine period.
Anon says
Is canceling domestic travel a thing?! I work for a university so maybe a bit more travel-centric industry than most, but travel is continuing as normal with the exception of a handful countries (China, Japan, Korea, Italy, Iran maybe one other). And even those countries, you can visit, you just can’t use university $$ to do so. I don’t even know any private sector employers in our city that have canceled domestic travel.
Anon says
My 75,000-employee company has cancelled domestic travel as of today.
So Anon says
My employer has cancelled all domestic travel within the US. There are certain segments of the company that travel regularly (sales), and approval from the executive office is required for airtravel. My company is discouraging personal travel to the hot zones and requiring that you wfh for two weeks upon return.
Anonymous says
It’s a thing. We have risk-based color coding: no travel to RED countries/locations (including Seattle), and SVP or above approval is needed for YELLOW. Business critical travel only, and conference attendance – even for speakers – is forbidden or at least requires high-level approval. Global F500 company. The execs are taking it very, very seriously. It’s been fascinating to listen in on the business continuity meetings.
No restrictions on personal travel, but they are asking for voluntary self-reporting of destinations and WFH for 2 weeks upon return from anywhere with higher risk.
Pogo says
Yes. We have cancelled all domestic travel that is not “customer critical” and anything domestic needs approval (to confirm it is “customer critical”). My husband’s company has as well.
We both work closer to manufacturing, though, and our employers have already had to shut down production abroad due to the virus (Europe and Asia); they don’t want to risk any employees shutting production down anywhere else (the Americas, unaffected portions of Europe). Bleeding money daily is a big motivator (esp after the market today omg).
Anonanonanon says
I see both sides. As a workplace, I understand the policy to follow CDC guidance, which hasn’t issued a travel advisory for anywhere in the US. I think it’s ridiculous the CDC hasn’t issued that, given the fact they did for Wynwood, Miami for Zika. However, I would push out communications letting people know we absolutely understand if they don’t feel comfortable attending, don’t do anything you feel isn’t safe, etc.
anne-on says
Curious – does anyone else have difficult parents? Both sets of parents have various personality/addiction issues (which, at least, each of us ‘get’ it and are on the same page as to how to deal with things/set limits). But those behaviors do come out at big gatherings (school events, birthday parties, etc.) and I’m now starting to get questions about it from my kid and his friend’s parents (childhood friends are WELL aware). Both sets are on their ‘best’ behavior at parties but still not really within social norms at times.
We’re addressing it with our kid in age-appropriate ways and language (thanks therapy!) but is there anything to say to adults other than, ‘yea, that’s just the way they are, it’s a bigger thing, would rather not get into it right now, thanks!’.
Anonanonanon says
I had Difficult with a big D in-laws until they decided to never speak to us again. We finally had to do a family-only celebration for kid birthdays and do the birthday party with friends from school separately. We framed it to them as wanting to make sure they got the attention they deserved from the grandkid while he wasn’t distracted by friends.
Anonymous says
This. Separate parties. One for friends/kids and one for them. Have them come over at 6pm for dinner and put kid to bed at 7:30pm. Or talk up how kid wants to have a picnic in the park with them and do a one hour lunch picnic with cupcakes and go home.
Limit the school events that you invite them to. Since it’s an issue with both sides, you can limit both sides equally. Just stop telling them about school events. You only get two tickets for the Christmas concert etc.
My MIL is difficult (d not D) but better around my BIL’s wife (who she adores). I refuse to vacation with her unless BIL and SIL and their kids come too. Bascially, figure out what factors keep them on their best behavior and don’t be afraid to limit or not allow situations that don’t have them on their best behavior.
Anon says
Can you just not tell them about school events? Have separate birthday parties for family vs friends? I have a Difficult FIL, but he’s never met any of our child’s friends or been to her school.
Anonymous says
Don’t invite them to parties with other people or school events if they are so inappropriate it’s gotten to the point where other parents are asking you about it.
anon says
Yeah … it must be pretty bad if others are bringing it up because that is not a comfortable thing to do with other parents.
FWIW, we have always kept family and friend parties separate. Anytime I’ve been to a comingled one, it has been so uncomfortable unless you have a previous history with the family.
Anonymous says
I’ve got a 7-month old in daycare so I’ve been getting a cold about every two weeks — how are folks with colds (and seasonal allergies) dealing with sneezing in public during the corona virus? I can work from home but I’ve been doing it a lot lately and would like to be in the office if I can. Plus I’m worried daycare will eventually close and then I’ll have to be home, so trying to get in as much face time as I can now.
AnonATL says
I was just talking to someone about this! I’m in the SEUS and allergy season is about to hit. Imagine the hysteria of blowing your nose or sneezing from allergies while this virus is going around. I feel like people glare at me hardcore when I blow my nose or cough in public already! Add on top of that the fact that I’m pregnant and sniffly almost constantly anyway, but simultaneously a little paranoid about avoiding this virus because of the currently unknown effects. It’s going to be a super fun few weeks.
Anonymous says
Follow good hygiene and decide that how other people react to a sneeze is beyond your control. Don’t think about it or engage about it.
Anon says
This.
ElisaR says
yes.
Anonymous says
I was sneezing a lot without feeling will from post-cold/mild allergies ? And I use flonase nasal spray daily which stopped the sneezing. Also saline irrigation helps.
Jessamyn says
Staying home today with coughy/sniffly kids. Normally would send them off to school like this (they are fine), but in light of COVID guidance, am keeping everyone home. Luckily, my workplace has sent out guidance showing they are taking containment very seriously, so I had no hesitation knowing I would be supported in choosing to WFH today.
Anonymous says
I mean…I think if they don’t have a fever then you don’t need to worry about COVID. I could be wrong. Are we really supposed to keep them home for common cold symptoms?
ElisaR says
i don’t know but my husband is staying home today with a common cold when normally he probably wouldn’t.
Pogo says
I’m still going to by the fever rule, but I think the concern is that COVID19 can be contagious BEFORE you have the fever. I just don’t know how we’re supposed to differentiate between common cold and COVID19, unless you have reason to believe you came in contact w/ an individual with the virus. I really assumed there’s no way we’d have come into contact with it, but all these cases in Boston from the person at Biogen are pretty concerning. We’re getting to towns that border mine now w/ schools shut down.
So much handwashing.
Anon says
There was a discussion about this on my town listserve. The conclusion was that if they don’t have a fever, it’s a cold, not covid19, so send them to school.
Personally, if we’re going to get stuck at home at some point, I’m definitely sending kids with mild colds to daycare because I have work I need to get done! (And my kids are toddlers, so I can’t really work at home when they’re home.)
FVNC says
I agree with this approach. Also, I thought the virus wasn’t typically producing a lot of upper respiratory (i.e., snot) symptoms, but I could be wrong. My youngest kid’s nose has been running like a faucet all winter, and he’s got post-nasal-drip-related cough…so he’s in school. And will be, until they inevitably shut down (uuuugh).
Spirograph says
This. It’s also getting into allergy season here, so there are a lot of runny noses and sneezing that aren’t contagious at all. I’m going to err on the side of caution bringing kids places that are likely to have people at higher health risk (like, rethinking visits to older relatives), but schools are schools. They’re petri dishes even when there isn’t a novel disease outbreak.
Pogo says
Ooo great point about allergies. My LO started snotting up the past couple days BUT that’s also the first 2 days he’s been playing outside in the presence of pollen since… last year. I have horrific seasonal allergies so would not be surprised if he had them too. I was taking his temp every few hours and nada, so it could definitely be that.
Jessamyn says
For sure, I think I could have gotten away with sending them, and I’m not here saying anyone else needs to self-quarantine their kids if they’re coughing with a stuffy nose. I happen to be in a position to keep them home today, and it’s certainly not WORSE from a public health perspective to do so, so this is what my husband and I decided was best.
Anon says
I’m continuing to follow our preschool’s guidance – fever free, vomit and diarrhea free, advil and tylenol free for 24 hours. So my little snotty nosed toddler who is otherwise acting normally will be going off to preschool tomorrow per her regular schedule – if she were acting sick I would probably keep her home. Given this is our first year in preschool, if I kept her home every time her nose ran, she would be there approximately 1 day per month. We are on back-to-back cold number 3, so c’est la vie. DH and I are also carrying on as normal because we’re all fever free.
Jessamyn says
Agreed re: the ubiquity of kids’ colds. Like I said, I wouldn’t normally think twice about sending them, it’s the context of COVID that made me choose differently this time. FWIW, we live one mile from a college campus that has shut down classes due to COVID concerns, so that also has me on higher alert than if we were somewhere without any cases identified.
Jessamyn says
To be extra clear, I recognize my kids are not symptomatic of COVID, since they are fever-free.
anon for this says
Seeking recommendations for resources on parenting an anxious kid. My 5-year-old is very sweet but has a tendency to fixate on worst-case-scenarios for things. We talk about things and I try to be supportive but not dismissive, but I feel like I could be better equipped for the conversations.
CHL says
I have recommended before but I cannot sing the praises of the Social Thinking method enough – we are in a therapy playgroup using their curriculum and my son has done really well. You could check out their website for resources or to see if any practices near you use their tools.
different poster says
I like this! Is there a good way to search if practices near us use those tools?
So Anon says
Check out the book Anxious Kids Anxious Parents by Reid Wilson. The book is aimed at helping parents help their kids. It really is great.
Anon says
This is kind of random – our daycare is looking to expand and offered parents an investment pack to fund the down payment on their new building. I’m sure the demand is there, the waitlist is like 3 years long and the school has a well deserved great reputation. According to their business plan, their margins are thin (it’s daycare) but they are profitable. They’re offering an “equity” share or asking for loans at 6% interest (60 month term). Would you consider this opportunity? What questions would you ask?
anon says
Absolutely not. Their margins are thin, so you’re unlikely to see much return. If you have extra cash for investment, buy stocks–they’re cheap right now.
octagon says
I might do a loan at that rate, but hard pass on the equity. I don’t know that business and don’t want to worry about my money. I’d want to look at the development plan and understand when construction starts/ends, what the contingencies are for delays, how firm the bids are, etc.
Anon says
As someone who has experienced how quickly an investment in a single business can fall apart, I personally would not invest, unless it was only a few thousand dollars, and I was driven by the desire to support a small business and did not expect to get the $$ back in full.
lsw says
Our daycare is multi-lingual but run by an Italian organization in our city, and staffed with about 50% women born in Italy who live in the US now. Is there a way to sensitively share support for family they have back home? I don’t see my son’s teacher most days when I pick up because they switch to after care at 4. I was thinking of sending her an email; is that weird?
Anonymous says
Not weird to send an email. DH’s college BFF’s mom lives in northern Italy. DH sent him an email basically saying, heard about the situation there/hope your family is doing okay/thinking of you.
Anon says
Does anyone cut their kids’ hair? My girls have shorter (chin length) bibs at the moment and it’s a pain to find time to take them to get haircuts on the weekends, so I’m thinking about just plopping them down in front of a show and doing it myself. Is this a horrible idea? It’s just straight across the bottom, no bangs or anything that will be obviously crooked.
ElisaR says
i do. and it looks like it but i don’t really care. my kids are boys so it’s a little “harder” to cut. the good news is if you mess up you can probably get it fixed since it’s a bit longer, right?
DLC says
I used to cut my own kids hair. I would either do it in the tub or outside on the back porch to minimize clean up. When my kids were toddlers, I would do it over several sessions because they would never sit still long enough for me to get to everything. Also it gave me chance to let the hair settle and see where it needed fixing. Definitely get the good haircutting scissors, a spray bottle, comb, and some barber clips to section the hair.
Now, though, my husband takes my daughter to get her haircut when he goes since the same lady cuts both their hair.
anon says
I would not do this. With shorter hair, you have even less margin for error.
AnonATL says
Not the same since he’s an adult, but I cut my husband’s hair and will trim our sons hair when he’s old enough. There are tons of videos out there that can teach you basic technique. Agree on getting a good pair of scissors, come, and proper clippers if applicable. Amazon has some basic sets that work well. It’s going to look like a non-pro cut it the first few times, but it gets easier. I can do my husbands hair now in about 15 minutes without thinking much about it.
Pogo says
+1 I remember Sherry from Young House Love posted a pretty detailed tutorial.
I currently use the clippers on the longest setting for my son and then clean up w/ scissors if needed. I do it in the tub.
I’m not sure if I’d do it for a girl, depends on the style. I did cut my own hair as a teenager a few times and it was fine.
Anonymous says
I don’t because my daughter has curly hair but my friend cuts her one boy/2 girls hair. They all have straight hair. She watched videos and uses good scissors and says it has gotten better over time
Anonymous says
I cut our whole family’s hair. It’s fun, convenient, and relatively easy (curly haired family). I seriously recommend watching YouTube how-to videos if the styles you’d like to cut, because even just straight across is usually a little more complicated than that.
anon says
I can’t even cut wrapping paper in a straight-ish line. So our family pays for haircuts.
CHL says
It’s that time again when I need to figure out how to get my two boys who only wear sweatpants to put on some pants that Grandma will approve for church. What “dress” pants do your kids find comfortable?
Anonymous says
Most of the boys at our church are in cargo pants or jeans. If it is for a regular Sunday, I think you can get a way with jeans and nicer shirt. If you’re talking about Easter, I’d do khakis of some sort. They might find khakis (cargo or not) more comfortable than jeans.
Pogo says
+1 I assume this is a special occasion? I don’t dress my kid up for church every week and very few people do.
How old are kids? With my toddler, I got him a pair of faux chambray shorts that are super soft w/ a stretchy waistband, and pair them with a collared shirt and Sperry’s. I don’t know that I’d do shorts on older kids but w/ toddlers you can get away with more (this was his outfit recently to a fancy dinner w/ in-laws).
Anon says
You know grandma best, but this is something I’d push back on. Hard pass on struggling to get kiddo into uncomfortable clothes so grandma feels better. But this is my extreme anti dress up for dress up sake stance. :)
anon says
I get this, and yet, I think it’s OK for kids to learn that some occasions call for dressier clothing and you can’t always wear whatever you want. I don’t torture my kids with truly uncomfortable clothing, but I also don’t think sweatpants are appropriate for church. (That’s regardless of what Grandma might think.) And boys have it fairly easy, without tights being part of the equation. JMO, though.
anon says
How old are your kids? For awhile, we had good luck with the chinos from Carter’s that have a jersey waistband. My kiddo is pretty picky about how clothes feel, and the elastic-waist shorts and pants from Children’s Place have been fine for him, too.
Anonymous says
This. Jersey waist band is key. It’s the zipper and button combo that my boys hate. Old Navy also has chinos with jersey waistbands.
Spirograph says
My 7 year old refuses is sweatpants only but LOVES wearing his suit to church. Our church is not formal enough that this is typical – I require him to wear nicer pants (jeans or chinos) and a button down shirt / sweater, but he insists on the full suit half the time. Ymmv, but if it’s a novelty, normal comfort rules may not apply.
Anonymous says
I had this battle with my 4 year old. He mostly won. We compromised with chino joggers. He thought they looked like sweatpants and I was happy he was not in sweatpants.
ElisaR says
if my boys “get” to wear a belt or suspenders or something “fun” with the pants, they are much more likely to wear them. just a thought.
ElisaR says
i make a big deal about accessories and it’s worked a couple times.
Vegetables says
We’re in a vegetable rut at our house. What are your kids favorites, including how your kids like them prepared?
Anonymous says
How old? We always have a bowl of cherry tomatoes in the fridge and baby carrots but that only works for school aged kids not pre-schoolers. Chopped colorful peppers are good for any age.
Roast carrots, cauliflower and broccoli are popular – especially if they get to help drizzle the oil before putting them in the oven.
Anonymous says
4. We do a lot of cherry tomatoes. Those are her favorite. I still cut them in half. She used to eat tons of salad, but I think I over-served it, because she is over it these days. She’s going through a generally defiant phase, and healthy eating is no exception.
Anon says
My toddler won’t touch vegetables unless by accident usually. She occasionally will nibble on raw yellow (and only yellow) bell peppers while I’m prepping something else. She ate a pork and vegetable wonton the other day and I nearly fell over (hasn’t happened since). Sometimes I can get her to eat a fritter (smitten kitchen has a couple of riffs on vegetable fritters – broccoli are my favorite). I also occasionally have luck with frozen peas or diced carrots steamed in the microwave with a little butter and salt (this is the same child who picks beef jerky over ice cream).
Anon says
Hits with my preschoolers are:
-cherry tomatoes
-broccoli (raw, steamed with butter, roasted with olive oil and salt)
-colored peppers
-carrot sticks
-frozen peas
-anyhing they can dip into salad dressing or hummus
My kids will also eat almost anything they are my cutting up in the kitchen before then, even if they’re refuse it when sitting at the table…
anon says
Cherry tomatoes are a big hit. Broccoli roasted with parmesan cheese/olive oil. One kid will dip spinach leaves in ranch.
Spirograph says
My kids love the following vegetables. Favorites are broccoli and green beans, to the unending confusion/amusement of anyone who overhears my kids at the grocery store.
Broccoli: steamed
Green beans: steamed (preferred) or sauteed with butter
Non-green bell peppers: raw and sliced
Cucumbers: sliced, preferably partially peeled
Frozen peas or mixed vegetables (the carrot, corn, peas, and greenbeans mix), microwaved
Celery: ants on a log style
Baby carrots with hummus
anon says
My kids gobble roasted brussel sprouts with cheese sprinkled on top and Indian-style curried okra.
Anon says
Baba ghanouj is a huge hit. Steamed peas. Those little cucumbers (she eats them whole, likes to gnaw on them or dip in hummus). Freeze dried carrots from Trader Joe’s, roasted carrots ( rapid she gets to put the oil and spices on before cooking). Steamed green beans. Roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoe fries (frozen from Trader Joe’s). Sautéed mushrooms. Steamed sugar snap peas (can pop open and mess around with peas inside).