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Nursing/Postpartum Tuesday: Pronto Signature Changing Station

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With my oldest, I dutifully lugged a diaper bag large enough to fit a week’s worth of diapers and wipes, enough clothes and snacks for a dozen children, a library of board books … you get the idea. After my daughter left diapers behind for good, I realized that I never used half of the stuff I packed “just in case.” With my second, I went the opposite direction and got Skip Hop’s minimalist Pronto Signature Changing Station.

This clutch opens up into a well-sized diaper pad with all of your changing essentials within easy reach. I found the various pockets can hold about 4–6 diapers (depending on how large they are), wipes (case included), a change of clothes, and a few small extras (like hand sanitizer, a small tube of diaper cream, etc.).

I just throw it into my bag (perfect for those who don’t like carrying something that looks like a diaper bag) or clip it onto the stroller. We’ve even taken it on day hikes: It fits into my CamelBak backpack and our hiking baby carrier.

It is $24 (marked down from $30) at Skip Hop and $26.49 at Amazon and is available in a variety of patterns. Pronto Signature Changing Station

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Sales of Note…

(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)

Kid/Family Sales

  • J.Crew – Up to 50% off kids’ camp styles; extra 50% off select sale
  • Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
  • Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off summer pajamas; up to 50% off all baby styles (semi-annual baby event!)
  • Carter’s – Summer deals from $5; up to 60% off swim
  • Old Navy – 30% off your order; kid/toddler/baby tees $4
  • Target – Kids’ swim from $8; summer accessories from $10

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About Ann

Ann is a working mom, a longtime reader of Corporette and CorporetteMoms, and has been writing our morning fashion advice for working moms since November 2020! She has a daughter (born winter 2014) and a son (born fall 2019) and is a public interest lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Comments

  1. Anon 2 says

    Good morning! I’m looking for an adult version of the Aden and Anais Dream Blanket (basically a few of their muslin swaddles layered together) in a King size. I’ve seen some that look like possibilities at Garnet Hill, but its so hard to tell on the Internet what they actually feel like. Anyone have a lead on something that would be similar to the Dream Blanket? Thanks!

  2. anon says

    Balance bikes – I’m considering buying one for my almost 4 year old for christmas/birthday because the grandparents want to get her a big gift. She has some gross motor delay so I’m not sure if she’ll even like it because she may struggle with it. Do you kids use theirs a lot? I also have an 18 month old – surely we’ll be fine with one they can share and don’t need two?

    • Cb says

      My son loves his! Basically abandoned the scooter in favour of the balance bike. I’d go for a decent one, I think the really cheap ones tend to be quite heavy and harder for children to move about.

    • Anonymous says

      You’ll need 2 – the seat will need to be much higher for the 4 year old vs the 18 month old. 18 month old is probably a little young for it right now. Our balance bikes got a ton of use. Our 6 year old even dug his preschool age one out of the basement and was tooling around on it indoors during the first months of the pandemic. It teaches balancing before peddling and I feel like the good balancing skills also helped with skating and skiing.

    • Anon says

      My kid has a cheap balance bike and never really took to it. I think it makes a big difference to have a quality version. Woom is the gold standard, but it’s expensive. I’d do your research to find a good model at your price point.

      Does your kid have a scooter? How does he do on it? Our micro mini scooters are super duper popular if your kid doesn’t already have one.

    • AwayEmily says

      We have one and both my kids (now 3 and 5, but we got it a year ago) have always disliked it, but they LOVE their scooters.

      I think it’s just one of those hit-or-miss things. Some kids love it, some don’t, and there’s not really a way to know for sure. Our good friends have a 5yo who always refused to use it, and a 2yo who adores it.

    • AnotherAnon says

      We got our 3 y/o a balance bike for Christmas last year and he uses it daily, without exaggeration. He has the one recommended on this site a few days ago: Strider brand. I think you should be fine with one for two kids that close in age.

    • anon says

      My almost 4yos who are behind for their age on gross motor skills don’t really like their balance bikes (Strider) and have much more fun on their micro mini scooters. I think scooter skills are easier to pick up and might recommend getting that if you don’t already have one.

    • Anonymous says

      An 18 month old and a 4 year old can’t share a balance bike because they aren’t the same size or even close

    • rosie says

      My 3.5 loves her balance bike. She was gifted a chillafish bmx one and it took while but used it a lot, then outgrew it (comically short) — that might be an option for your 18-month old to use soon, and it’s under $100. She got a strider 14 and it’s great. If she is ready for pedals and still fits it, we’ll be able to get a pedal add on pack for it. Is your 4-yo in OT? Maybe OT can make a suggestion for scooter vs balance bike vs trike.

      I do think you’ll need two. Unless your kids are close in size, one bike probably cannot adjust to fit both of them. And biking is a fun activity to do together rather than waiting to take turns. It’s worth checking out your local buy nothing FB group, though, people are often parting with these kinds of items.

    • Anonymous says

      My girls have scooters and balance bikes. My 4 year old prefers her balance bike- she really kind of figured it out around 3.5 (FWIW, she is not at all what I would consider advanced in gross motor skills). We’re now working on a pedal bike, but thanks to her balance bike, her balance is really spectacular and it’s pretty cool to see her on it.

    • TheElms says

      Similar question – tricycle that converts to a balance bike? My 18 month old (who is about 35 inches tall) has a radio flyer tricycle that you push with your feet (https://www.radioflyer.com/scoot-about.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2uH-BRCCARIsAEeef3nAEbBs-Eg1QyZAw1dp_Zgj4J56mq_cIWGat390-V-BADHXXpyEsKwaAqrJEALw_wcB), but she is too big for it as best we can tell because she keeps hitting her feet into the stability bar in the front when trying to go fast. I don’t think she is quite ready for a balance bike or a trike with pedals.

      • Cb says

        I’d be cautious. Kids can really get up speed on the balance bikes, so you want something they can actually steer. Maybe the micro mini 3 in 1 would be a good interim solution.

    • bikes says

      You’ll definitely want two. I have twins and it’s not something that they would have a willingness to share – apart from the size gaps that you are contending with – unless you are committed to taking out the kids individually. The good news is you will be able to pass down from one to the other

    • Clementine says

      IDEA!

      12 inch Strider balance bike for the 18 month old (they’re amazing)

      16 inch bike that can ride without the pedals and effectively be used as a balance bike until you add the pedals… at which point it becomes a two-wheeler for the older kiddo. (14 inch if your kid is on the smaller side). Best of both worlds? I think Guardian and Woom bikes can both be ridden like this.

    • Anon says

      threadjack on this post – a bunch of people are saying their kids prefer their scooters to their balance bikes – how do you ever get your kid to learn to ride a bike if they don’t use it? just wait until they are ready? my two year old twins love their scooters and i was thinking of balance bikes for their 3rd bday, but now i’m not so sure

      • Anonymous says

        We did balance bikes and kids were riding pedal bikes by age 4.5 because they were so good with the balancing, the pedaling was quick to learn. Neighbors who weren’t into the balance bikes just seemed to accept that their kid would use training wheels and bike later? They started with training wheels bikes at age 4 and it was about age 6 before their kids were riding confidently without training wheels. Total anecdata of course.

        I think it depends how into biking you are as a family as well. We like bike rides together and training wheels don’t work well on unpaved trails so we didn’t want to have to use training wheels when the kids were learning.

      • AwayEmily says

        I have some thoughts on this. To preface: balance bikes are GREAT and I think it’s wonderful that so many kids love them. But one does not need a balance bike to learn to ride a bike. We all managed perfectly well without them. And yes, they might help kids learn to ride bikes faster, but….so what? I feel a little like a knockoff Janet Lansbury saying this, but…childhood is not a race. If a kid learns to ride a bike at 3, at 5, at 7 — it’s all okay. I sometimes feel like the balance bike companies have, like, tricked us into thinking this is a Necessary Step in Bike Riding, but it’s not! It’s a fun luxury that I bought and many other people did, but kids don’t need it and it’s fine if they learn to ride later.

      • Anonymous says

        I think 3 is a great age to start balance bikes- we got our daughter hers, a Strider, at age 2 and it was too early for it. It wasn’t until 3 that she really got interested (and for awhile I definitely thought we had wasted our money). We go on a ton of walks around our city neighborhood, particularly during the pandemic, so she had lots of time to get used to it and it was really amazing to see her progression of skills from walking to gliding to balancing. I think she just got tired of her scooter and wanted to try something new, so your kids might be more interested in it then you might think.

      • Anon says

        I never rode a bike or scooter until I was 5 and I learned to ride without training wheels in about a week. And I’m not athletically gifted. Things go faster at older ages and I think balance bikes are a fairly recent thing.

      • Quail says

        We did scooter first at 2.5 and kid got really good at it and never took to the balance bike. His friends that started on balance bikes preferred the bikes, never got into scooters, and then were riding wooms at 4. Tried to get him to ride on a regular training wheels/coaster brake bike and it did not go well. He just got a woom at 5.5 and learned in about a week of daily practice. Kinda think the woom is magic – it’s so, so much lighter than his first pedal bike, and the hand brakes were much easier than coaster brakes. I have definitely drunk the woom kool aid.

      • anon says

        My kids never used their balance bikes (somehow we ended up with three, so it wasn’t just a matter of finding the right one – they just never got into it). They just did the tricycle/scooter/training wheels thing. And they learned to ride a bike just fine (7 for the oldest, 6 and then 5, probably more related to sibling pressure than anything else).

    • Jeffiner says

      I wouldn’t get two until you know both kids love it and will ride it. My daughter hated hers and preferred her scooter.

      • Anon says

        +1. And with something like the Strider it’s really easy/quick to adjust the seat height if they do share. The baby is still probably too little – my oldest rode it age 3-4 and my second rode it 2-3.

    • EB0220 says

      Consider trying one out at a bike shop first if possible. My kids never latched on to the balance bike. They preferred training wheels. On the other hand, some of my friends’ kids zoomed around on those things like crazy. I really think it’s kid-dependent. At 4 I think you could go either way.

  3. Anonymous says

    Any advice on transitioning a toddler out of a sleep sack? Our 2yo has decided he’s done with sleep sacks. He’s certainly at an appropriate age to switch to blankets, but the transition so far has been painful. It takes him forever to get situated at naptime/ bedtime, and then of course he’s constantly kicking off the blanket and calling for help. Is there some secret to doing this, or a type of blanket that helps? Do we just need to ride it out?

    • Anonymous says

      We did not have luck with baby blankets in the crib. They are just too small and don’t tuck in. It ceased to become an issue as soon as we moved kiddo to a twin bed with real sheets and blankets, tucked in at the foot and all along one side.

    • Allie says

      Not that helpful but our answer was just to get PJs and room temp to a place where blankets weren’t really needed. Our 4 1/2 year old is *just* able to consistently use blankets allowing us to keep the room a bit cooler.

      • NYCer says

        +1. This is what we did too. My almost two year old just stopped using the sleep sack last week, and she is just sleeping in long sleeves and long pants pajamas with socks. Her room is warm, and she seems fine. She used to sleep in just a diaper or a onesie with the sleep sack.

      • Pogo says

        +1 and also re-covering kiddo before I turn in. I am still called upon to cover him in the middle of the night sometimes.

    • rosie says

      I think you just ride it out, try to dress him a little warmer and turn up the heat if you can (assuming you’re somewhere cold and you think he might be cold without a blanket). We liked putting a Lands End twin fleece/plush blanket in the crib. It’s lightweight, easy to wash, and nice and soft. I would kind of put it on her but also just let her burrow in it in her crib with all the stuffies.

    • Anon says

      Some people might sideye this as unsafe, but we used really big blankets that are much harder to kick off than the little crib blankets.

      • AwayEmily says

        We also do this (and I don’t think it’s unsafe for a 2yo). We have a twin-sized fleece blanket and it’s big enough that he keeps it on for most of the night.

    • Anonanonanon says

      Sorry if this is a dumb question, but are you talking about the sleep sacks with the foot holes? If not, have you tried those? They’re still pretty warm and you can put a long sleeve shirt under and put some socks on

    • Clementine says

      We do cotton pajamas under fleece pajamas and then tuck the kid in like a burrito.

    • anon says

      We keep our house pretty cold in winter, so got sheet/comforter sets where the comforter and top sheet are half-fitted. Being able to have the comforter attached to the bottom of the crib mattress meant that my kids were able to keep themselves covered all night (rather than loose blankets which they just toss off).

  4. Anon says

    Any advice for getting preschoolers to eat faster? My daughter is almost 3 and meals have recently become like, take a bite, talk for 5 minutes, look around the room, talk some more, take another bite. Meal times take an hour even when she isn’t eating that much food. We’ve been doing repeated reminders that she needs to keep eating unless she’s done with her meal, but it’s not working. Anyone have any brilliant strategies?

    • anon says

      Ugh, so much sympathy. Our current strategy is that we will all sit at the table for 30 minutes, but after that the parents get up to work on cleaning the kitchen. Usually once we’re not longer sitting they focus more on eating and less on talking, or else decide they’re full and all done.

      Also, it’s worth remembering that it’s totally normal for some kids to barely eat any dinner and as long as she’s not falling off a growth curve just go with it.

    • AwayEmily says

      We just kind of roll with it. My kids go through these stages too…my youngest in particular can drag dinner out foreeeeever. But I like to think it’s because they are enjoying sitting and chatting and being with us. Sometimes if I get extra bored I will try to do a minor (non-device) chore at the table and enlist their ideas, like making a grocery list or coming up with gift ideas for someone’s birthday.

    • Realist says

      Around that age, we stole a strategy from daycare. At the end of the meal, we had 5-10 minutes of quiet eating time. During that time, we just focus on eating and not talking. We actually set a timer and after it went off, the meal was done. Since the timer didn’t come on until we had already been seated 25-30 minutes, there was plenty of time to eat.

      • DLC says

        I really like the mindfulness of this idea! It reminds me of the Buddhist practice of eating in silence. I don’t know if my kids would go for it, but I really want to try.

      • Anonymous says

        We do 5 minutes at the start, then we take turns talking about our day. DH and I pay attention to how the kids are eating and keep talking if they are eating well or stop talking, and let them have a turn to talk if they aren’t eating well. Then 10 minutes quiet eating time at end of talking.

    • Redux says

      We stole a strategy from a friend of either telling a story from our day or playing a little game, each of which requires taking a bite to get to the next element of the story or game. E.g., Ooh, kids, I went to the BANK today, do you want to hear about it? Take a bite. Well, I realized that Grammy sent me a CHECK last week.
      Take a bite. Etc. (btw, it’s amazing how intonation can make a not-at-all-exciting story about going to the bank drive-through exciting enough to keep my 6 and 4 year old rapt!)

    • ifiknew says

      Love reading these strategies. I have a 18 month old and 3.5 year old, so I feel like I can never sit with the 3.5 year old, because the 18 month old is throwing food off the high chair etc. so it requires a bit more ahnds on maintenance. Anyone else able to do these strategies before the youngest is maybe 2 or 2.5?

  5. Anonymous says

    I love these diaper changing stations. A wise, experienced mom gifted me one, and it’s probably the single most-used item I had for my kids during diaper years. These are one of my go-to gifts in normal times for anyone having a baby. Hopefully people will be Going Places With Babies and making these useful again soon.

    I lost my first and best one and couldn’t find the exact same one. I believe the second one I bought was this skip hop version, and it was bigger and a little clunkier/stiffer than my original, but it still was miles better than a whole diaper bag.

    • Clementine says

      This is also my favorite baby item and my Husband’s go-to gift for every new dad.

      (Husband hates that most men’s rooms don’t have changing stations and has used this diaper clutch to change our kiddos EVERYWHERE. He also 100% believes that diapers are and should be Dad/non-gestating paren territory – especially for the first few months.)

      • Anon says

        Of course diapers are the responsibility of both parents and not just for the first few months. It’s kind of weird to act like this is something to be proud of.

        • Anonymous says

          Nah, this is a strategy that’s worked really well for a lot of my friends. Nursing mothers spend a ton of time trapped feeding a baby, so having the other parent in charge of all the diapers splits some of that load. (mom does inputs, dad does outputs)

        • Anon says

          I get that the bar is low, but the mom=inputs/dad=outputs thing is not a widely recognized concept. We were the first ones in our circle to have kids, so we’re lucky that someone shared it with us because it worked really well. He made sure to share it with every new parent too, since it makes so much sense but just isn’t top of mind for many people.

          I get that it sucks, but the world we’re in is one where this concept gets a lot more weight when the dad is the one telling all his friends and family about it. And then those new dads tell their friends and families. And hopefully we raise a generation that automatically looks for ways to equalize the parenting responsibilities and assumes that of COURSE diapers are a shared responsibility and of COURSE you do all of them if your co-parent is doing all of the feeding.

          • Clementine says

            Yes, this.

            Also, to the person who is weirdly sassy that I’m ‘proud’ that my husband literally tells people whose partners have literally just grown a whole human and are often dealing with breastfeeding and just… a lot of ‘aftermath that ya don’t really realize’ (as he once put it) that a great place to take the lead is diapers – it was really empowering for him and I think contributed to putting off our parenting start on really equal footing.

            Tomorrow I think I’m going to start a post on what the biggest things you did that contributed to positive balance in your coparenting relationship…

    • Anon says

      Agreed – I love this thing. We were given two with my first and both were in nearly constant rotation in the Before Times when you could actually take your kid places.

    • Anonymous says

      Hahaha just goes to show we are all different. We have used one of these a grand total of twice before giving it away. Always seemed way bulkier than just chucking a diaper, wipes and an old receiving blanket in a bag.

      • Anon says

        Me too! My baby never fit well on the pad and it seemed uncomfortable to lay on, and the thing was so bulky. I just tossed diapers, wipes, cream, and disposable pads (that I reused) in a backpack.

    • Anon says

      Agreed. We had one for home, one for each car (stuffed with 2 diapers, a small package of wipes and a ziploc for clothing blowouts on the go, since I am notorious for forgetting the diaper bag!), and one lived at each grandparent’s house.

    • Boston Legal Eagle says

      Thanks for this! Very interesting, and so relatable, even for those of us not just coming back from mat leave. I think this also speaks to the other question raised yesterday on dropping out – right now, if your 60% is the best that you can give, it’s still probably better than most people’s 100% and is so so important for society as a whole for women to stay in the workforce.

  7. Anon says

    Any general advice for treating a cold in an infant? My 3 month old caught a cold from my older DS. I’ve been using nosefrida and a humidifier but he’s still so congested, poor guy. No fever or any other symptoms.

    • octagon says

      I don’t know if it helped, by my kiddo seemed to relax when I put Vicks babyrub on his feet and chest. My sympathies – having a sick tiny baby is so tough!

      • rosie says

        Menthol is not recommended for under 2 I think, but there is a zarbee’s rub that doesn’t have menthol but you can rub on bottoms of the feet and chest.

    • Anon says

      Spend 10-15 minutes a couple times a day in a steamy bathroom, nose suction (I personally prefer the bulb to the frida) before feeding (nursing or bottle), and lots of skin to skin and snuggles for comfort. When my baby was that tiny and sick, I would let her nap upright on my chest. If you suspect he has a sore throat from the post-nasal drip, a little tylenol may be soothing.

    • Anon says

      I’ve gotten the shower all steamy and stood inside with a baby. Also recommend using saline mist before the nose frida.

    • Anonymous says

      2×4 or a couple books under the legs of the crib at the head of the crib to elevate it slightly.

    • GCA says

      Saline spray then nosefrida, and wear baby to help them sleep. DD, an August baby, started daycare at 3 months right in time for cold season; that November-January it felt like I was spending half my workdays wearing a baby and typing at my standing desk, trying to scrape together enough brain cells for whatever I was working on.

  8. Redux says

    I loved the long discussion on yesterday’s board about pressure cooker schools. Given the reader profile of thissite I suspect we may not have as much collective experience with the opposite end of the spectrum, but can folks share their experience with the opposite– intentionally low-pressure schools? E.g., (not all of course, but generalizing) Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, etc.?

    My kids went to a Montessori and forest daycare/prek, and my elementary-age kid just started at a Montessori elementary (mostly because our public school was doing remote learning and Montessori was in-person). She has the same pressure-cooker personality that I do– the one that made me more successful at my ivy schools, but also contributed to my various and sundry anxieties. I like how low-key the Montessori school is, and I hope that it will help her to enjoy learning for its own sake and not for its external validation. But I don’t actually know anyone who went to Montessori as an older kid! Thoughts?

    • Anon says

      I’m not an expert but I don’t really think of Montessori as anti-academic. I get that they’re not TJ or Gunn but I think they’re often better than average public schools.

      • Redux says

        Oh, agreed. I didn’t say anti-academic, I said intentionally low-pressure.

    • Anon says

      I don’t really think of Montessori as anti-academic. I get that they’re not mostly on the level of TJ or Gunn but I think they’re often better than average public schools? I live in a college town and the only people I know who do Montessori are profs with PhDs who are serious about academics.

      • Anon says

        Sorry didn’t mean to post twice! I haven’t gotten the vibe they’re especially low pressure either, but the people I know at that school only have pre-K/elementary kids so far.

    • avocado says

      It really depends on the kid. My nephew went to public Montessori schools through middle school. It was not a good fit. He only put effort into what interested him and did the bare minimum in other subjects. He was totally unprepared for the rigor and structure of high school, and never really learned how to stay organized, write well, or study. College did not go well. Much of this was probably inevitable no matter what type of school he’d attended before high school, but Montessori seemed to exacerbate the problem. I would only send a very disciplined, independent, self-motivated child to Montessori school.

      It also depends on the school. Different schools implement the philosophies in different ways, even when there is central regulation. There are also schools that don’t subscribe to a particular brand but are loosely inspired by one or more of these approaches. One of my daughter’s friends attended this type of middle school, and it seemed to strike a great balance between structure and freedom. The school seemed to delve much more deeply into the subject matter than other middle schools of all stripes. I think it had as much to do with the small class size and the all-girls environment as anything else.

    • Patricia Gardiner says

      I went to a Montessori school through 4th grade! For me it was great – I was very self-motivated and got to study whatever interested me at my own pace. Switched to public school in 5th grade and spent the next 3 years going over stuff I’d already learned. Not sure how great it would be for less-nerdy kids though.

      • Redux says

        This is helpful! Why did you transfer, do you know? How was your social transition?

        • Patricia Gardiner says

          I think I transferred then because my parents were worried about the eventual social transition- the school was small, grades 3-6 were lumped into a single “Elementary II” classroom and my last year there were about 8 of us in 4th grade, and only a handful of older kids. My parents wanted me to have a couple years of public school elementary to meet kids before junior high. It was a little bit of a shock initially to suddenly be in a bigger school, but ended up being fine. I wasn’t the most popular, but made some friends pretty quickly!
          All in all I loved my Montessori time – I think it helped me be more self-directed up through high school. We are planning to send our kids (at least in the early years, which is what’s available here) once the younger one is old enough.

    • mix says

      I was one of the posters from yesterday who went to a pressure cooker high school. My elementary school was the opposite — very Columbia Teachers’ college alternative methods of elementary education. The good: I do think it really taught me how to learn — how to ask questions, investigate things etc. It fostered a love of reading and did a great job teaching it. The bad: I barely learned math and spelling. I did not know state capitols. I had to independently teach myself a lot of basic elementary ed things when I got to college and realized how bad it was not to have my times tables memorized (for e.g.).

    • Boston Legal Eagle says

      Admittedly I don’t really know the details of Montessori/Waldorf, etc., but when I think of who goes there, it tends to be the kids of highly educated and involved parents (usually rich too), who even have an idea that school can follow a certain “philosophy” – so, the kids are going to do well, but a lot of it has to do with their home environments. So I would think there are a lot on this board who consider it for their kids. That may just be my own anecdata though.

      • Redux says

        Right, that is more or less my situation, though we are not rich by this board’s measure. For us it was mostly circumstantial this year due to covid, but now that we are here we are considering whether this makes sense longer-term.

        • Anonymous says

          We’re in the same spot with covid pushing us into Montessori this year and now wondering whether we should stick with it. The school my kids are going to ends in 3rd grade so we will almost certainly go back to public after that, but my ADHD 2nd grader is doing so. much. better in this environment. I grew up in an excellent and large public school system where students kind of stratified into the level of academic intensity they wanted in their school experience (I never crossed paths with at least half of my graduating class), and that’s what I’d always planned for my kids, too.

          As parents, I don’t think DH and I are a good fit for Montessori; we just don’t want to be as hyper-involved as the school culture expects.

    • layered bob says

      Interested to hear replies to this… I did not go to one of the named pressure-cooker schools, although my schools were of the very traditional, college prep, rankings-are-important type. I learned to do exactly enough to guarantee a A and no more, and while I found myself overprepared for college compared to my peers (private liberal arts school; not an Ivy), that just meant I could do less and still get an A. It took me several years after college to recover my intrinsic motivation and curiosity.

      For that reason, we’ve chosen to send our kids to schools that don’t grade. Oldest is 6, so we’re not very far in yet, but I like what I see of the middle/high schoolers – they are bright, confident, curious, and producing work that, in the estimation of my siblings (all teachers), is far above grade level because there is no “cap” – you do as well as you can, not just what will get the A.

      We are religious and the schools are also religious, and focused on a developing a loving community that supports honesty and integrity – so being respectful and engaged with your teachers and classmates is prized more than what you actually learn. I could see this being a disaster for some kids. My kids, so far, are like me and DH – early readers, more driven than is healthy – so I think they’ll be ok wherever they go.

      But I’m curious to see responses from people who went to schools like this and are now adults.

    • Realist says

      Not exactly the same thing, but I went to a “low pressure school” in that it was not academically rigorous. At all. 70% of families lived at or below the poverty line, and less than 10% of the graduating class scored above 1000 on the SATs (dating myself as I know there is a new scoring system now). White people were in the minority in my school. The advantages I had:
      -I was able to be involved in and excel at a lot of different activities (sports, academic clubs, band, etc).
      -I did a lot of my own learning by reading about whatever I wanted from library books
      -I got tons of scholarship offers
      -I have life experience that still continues to give me a different perspective on class, race, education access, etc.

      For my own child, we chose our current school for its diversity, its focus on outdoor activities, and the range of programs offered to students (lots of art projects, yoga programs, nature walks, etc).

      More recently, I have been questioning the whole white supremacist structure and have been uncomfortably confronting the role that my own undergraduate school and graduate school play in that structure. Along with my own horrifying realization that certain neighborhoods and schools (some mentioned yesterday) seemingly just allow access to the top echelons of society, regardless of merit. I knew this at some level, but things like Twitter really reveal the family/money networks and it kind of shocking to learn how deeply entrenched some of the networks are.

    • Anon says

      Most of the Montessori schools in our area are pretty high pressure. High achieving, wealthy parents with high expectations. They might not be a high stress well known public school, but I think the parents are kidding themselves if they think that that make up of families doesn’t translate into the classroom. Your area may vary though! A lot of those kids are planning to go to the higher pressure schools in high school.

      • Anon says

        Yeah… I’m the one above who said they aren’t really low pressure and this is a better way of saying what I was trying to say. As you said, the makeup of families influences the school environment a lot. It’s hard for a school not to be reasonably intense when the parents are affluent, educated and driven, and pretty much all the people I know who’ve sought out Montessori or Reggio-Emilia are. Public school is also the default option for parents who are more hands-off about school, so if you self-select into an alternative school there’s an element of wanting a degree of control over your kids’ education that many parents who send their kids to the zoned public may not have. At least in my area, the people who go Montessori are what I would call extremely…involved (to put it charitably) in their kids’ education, compared to the public school parents.

        • Previous Poster says

          Haha I’m the one you were replying to. Agreed on all these points. Sounds like we know similar schools and parents!

    • Anonymous says

      For K8 I was at a public school that I would describe as good and also low-pressure. For the most part I think it was fine–in younger years, the magic sauce for me, a super motivated kid, was having teachers who took an interest in my interests and encouraged me. Where things broke down was when the school tried to figure out what to do with us gifted/ advanced kids as we got older (there were 7-8 of us out of 100 who scored way ahead on state tests). Oftentimes, particularly with math/ science, we were sent to the library while the other kids did the basics, and tasked with various group projects that were not well-designed (unit on amoebas? make a video–about amoebas). Starting around 5th/ 6th grade, I think I would have really benefitted from being in an environment that both prized and actually supported academic excellence, with a critical mass of kids at my level. By the time I went to college, I was sick to death of being the “smart girl.”

      Overall, I don’t think low-pressure is bad, necessarily. But I am wary of it in terms of math/ science specifically.

      • Anon says

        I went to a low-pressure elementary school that had high academic standards and engaged teachers. It was a great fit and set my love of school, which was good because my high school (and to a lesser extent middle school) were terrible.
        Expectations were so low at my high school (with some exceptions) that I think I could have gone to a much better college if I’d gone somewhere that put in any effort at all. But ultimately, I went to a great college and a great graduate school. I have a well-paying job that I love. My husband went to an elite private (not ivy) and is an attorney. We both agree that our paths led us to basically the same place, but mine was less expensive!

  9. anon says

    Parents of older kids — Talk to me about middle school expectations. I have a fifth-grader and am freaking out a bit that he has only one semester left in the safe cocoon of elementary school. He has ADHD, which gives me a bit of pause, both in terms of his overall maturity compared to peers and his executive functioning skills. He’s very bright and is doing well academically, but I am concerned about how he’s going to handle having relationships with multiple teachers, all with different expectations. It’s definitely an opportunity for growth, but I’m expecting it to be a rough transition. Is there anything we can do at home to start preparing him (or ourselves!) for this, or is this one of those “take it as it comes” situations? The middle school he will go to is a public school with an excellent reputation, and yet when I hear my friends talk about what their middle schoolers are expected to do and the workload, I start panicking a bit because I’m not sure my kid is prepared for handling so many transitions during the day (a common problem for kiddos who have ADHD), plus several hours of homework in the evenings.

    We don’t have many school choices here, so not looking at alternatives (which sound worse to us than the default choice, for a variety of reasons).

    • avocado says

      I would mostly take it as it comes. Our elementary school and middle school repeatedly warned parents and kids that middle school would be much more challenging than elementary and the expectations would be much higher. In reality, there was more homework in fifth grade because they piled on the busywork to “prepare” the kids for sixth grade, whereas in middle school they spent half the class period getting started on the homework. The middle school coddled the kids to a ridiculous degree. One kid who was caught literally stealing another child’s work and turning it in as her own was not disciplined in any way; instead, she ended up with lots of extra attention and support and was later given a “good citizenship” award. The coursework and grading system were set up so that the default expectation for every child was an A in every course and it was very hard to screw up enough not to get an A. 75% of the eighth-grade class received an award for getting at least a 3.5 GPA every semester. In general, middle school was just a place to park the kids for three years between elementary and high school while inflating their self-confidence to an unrealistic and unhealthy level.

      That said, the kids who did struggle were those who had ADHD but were also very smart and could compensate to some degree on their own, because the school didn’t want to “waste” resources helping kids who weren’t failing the state tests. If your son falls into this category, you will need to be prepared to advocate for him early and often, and possibly to hire your own outside help for organization and study skills.

      • anon says

        Interesting perspective on the coddling issue. I’ll have to get more intel locally. Kiddo has a 504 plan now, and we do plan to revisit that when we have a better sense of what he needs, in terms of study skills, organization, and other trouble spots. It’s hard to compare elementary vs. middle school in that sense. For the millionth time, I wish I had a better support network of parents of ADHD kiddos. There is nothing locally that I’m aware of, and so many of the online groups are … negative to an unhelpful degree. Or encourage providing a level of “support” that seems counterproductive. That’s about the kindest way I can put it. Yes, our kiddo needs extra time to build those executive functioning skills — and a boatload of patience from the adults in his life — but we will not do him any favors if we try to control the environment in every way. It’s HARD to find other parents who are on the same wavelength.

        Sorry, this turned into a whole other rant than my concerns about middle school! :)

        • avocado says

          One thing you can do is to try and identify a few key teachers who would be most willing to partner with you and reach out to them for feedback on how he’s doing and help with executive functioning if needed. I can usually get a pretty good sense from the BTS night presentations plus my kid’s random comments which teachers are sympathetic and willing to work with parents and kids or point you to resources and which ones just don’t care. I didn’t reach out to teachers a lot, but when the need did arise I was always able to figure out which teacher would be most likely to be helpful. A caring, observant teacher can give you a lot to go on in just a quick phone call. I don’t know whether the 504 will make that type of informal support more challenging to obtain, though.

          As far as the transitions and organization go, our middle school did a lot to make those easy on sixth-graders, and many of the strategies were ADHD-friendly. For example, all the kids were required to have the same planner and to write their homework in it at the end of every class period. Some of the teachers even reviewed and signed it every day. There were a lot of routines around transition time, such as warm-up exercises at the beginning of class. You could call the guidance counselor or lead teacher to learn about these measures ahead of time.

      • Anon says

        I’m sure this must vary by school and district. I went to a fairly average public school district and middle school (7th) was an enormous step up from elementary (6th) in terms of academic intensity and homework. Other than formally skipping a grade, it was also the first time we had the chance to become accelerated in a subject (we could test into 9th grade algebra, and there was a lot of work expected there since it’s a high school class). I don’t have ADHD and don’t have any advice on that front, but I certainly don’t think it’s universal that kids are just completely coddled and not given much homework middle school.

        • Anonymous says

          Not necessarily universal, but it’s not universal that middle school is academically rigorous either. The point is that OP needs to see what happens and shouldn’t assume it will be difficult.

    • Anon says

      so totally not trying to sell you on anything and I don’t know if it is in your budget, but have you thought about getting him hooked up with someone to do some executive function coaching, which will basically help set him up with good organizational and study strategies? i don’t know where you are located, but i know this has worked wonders for a lot of my friends’ kids who struggle with this. where are you located? i have someone to recommend who does now also do work virtually, but is located in the DMV area. Look up Think Organized.

      • anon says

        It’s a good strategy to keep in mind. I like to think DH and I are both organized and can teach this stuff; I also know that our kid may need to hear it from someone who ISN’T parenting him.

    • EP-er says

      In our district, there are no grades in elementary school, but fifth grade has really high academic expectations! And then sixth grade was really focused on the social transition. The transition to grades was hard… and then COVID hit and everything ended up pass/fail anyway. My son is in 7th now and did have problems managing multiple teachers and expectations. One good thing coming out of school from home is that all teachers are consistently using the on-line class room management software in more or less the same way. (NOT the case last year and it was a disaster.) I am able to log in to a view-only of his grades, assignments, and submissions. This helps me help him along – trying to get him to be more independent but still keeping an eye on late assignments. We’ve tried all sorts of folders, calendars, whatever until we found something that worked for him. He has a very different learning style than I do, which doesn’t always help!

      I will say, the teachers are less likely to call and have a relationship with parents, but they absolutely want the kids to succeed and will respond and help if you reach out. It is a different set up, though — more kids, more teachers. I don’t know the secretary, because she doesn’t want to deal with all the parents in the same loving way as the elementary school secretary…. but it is okay. It is growing up and learning new skills, and there will be bumps along the way…but I am amazed by my son and thoughts and connections he makes. He is really thriving with the current school from home and have my fingers crossed that this year is the bridge he needs to be successful next year.

      • anon says

        Thanks — this is super helpful, and is consistent with what seems to happen in my area, too. I had forgotten about grades actually being a thing … oops. :) I definitely don’t want to be the parent who is in the portal all the time, but I can see it being a helpful tool while kids are learning those basic skills like meeting deadlines, turning in completed assignments, etc.

        • EP-er says

          I will say, I would check the portal when I had time, which didn’t always mesh with my son’s expectations. (He would get stressed and feel ambushed. I get it.) We had to come to an agreement that I would only discuss with him at set times (initially 2/week, then 1/week.) We are back to ad hoc — he is mostly keeping on top of things himself these days. We are both growing here!

          Also, re: grades — We are in a pressure cooker district. I will never forget the start of 4th grade when the kids could write anonymously on what they were worried about. “Not getting all As” and “Not getting 100%” were the most common ones. And it broke my heart that 9 year olds were so focused on grades, not learning. We’ve always been a “try your best, learn a lot” family, which just doesn’t mesh with the hyper competitive district we are in. So, we are figuring that out together, too.

    • anon says

      I think it very much depends on the middle school. Our middle school focuses on transition to high school, so there are grades for the first time but it’s fairly lax in 6th grade (allegedly it gets more intense, we’ll see). They’re really focused on getting the kids to become responsible for their classwork and assignments and less on content. (The actual amount of homework is very low.). They also pair teachers, so he has 4 teachers, not 7 (reading and language arts is taught by the same teacher, as is math and science), so there is some continuity. I think what you can do is help him with strategies for independence (how do you check what assignments are missing, who do you contact, how do you organize your homework/deadlines etc.). And then maybe think on your strategy for helping him stay on task (like, are you going to check in daily, weekly, etc?). And talk to other parents!

  10. sleepy says

    My kid is 2 months shy of 3 years old. Lately she WILL NOT go to sleep until at least 10. She takes a nap 1 hour at preschool. When she is home, she doesn’t nap. She gets up around 7:30.

    We do all the things. Room is dark, noise machine, there is a routine with some milk, a snack, teeth brush (she gets a bath only a couple nights a week due to dry skin, and honestly, a bath riles her up because she has such fun playing). I am considering eliminating the snack but she tells me she is hungry. (usually this is a banana or some pretzels, something small).

    I can physically get in her in bed at 8:30 and spend 2 hours reading her books, then sitting there while she tries to fall asleep, chattering and singing and whatever the whole time. If we leave the room she screams, we have neighbors so I don’t think locking her in the room while she screams works for us, she is also super determined. I know 8:30 is late, but she won’t go to bed before then without forcing her and she just gets upset, and then we are sitting with her for 2.5 hours vs. 1.5 hours.

    She has always been lower on the sleep needs, but this is not working for any of us. For a while we had a good routine at the beginning of pandemic, she would go right to sleep at 8 and just cuddle up and close her eyes and we could leave. Somehow, we got into this routine with parents needing to be there until she sleeps.

    She goes to preschool for about 6.5 hours every weekday. No teething (all molars in), not sick (she actually sleeps better when she has a cold). I think its a FOMO thing with her. Any commisseration/tips? I am a mess.

    • Anon says

      I would talk to your ped and try melatonin. So much commiseration. I have a similarly determined child but fortunately she’s extremely high sleep needs and sleep has never been a battle for us. I can’t imagine how exhausting it must be to have an incredibly determined kid who doesn’t need much sleep. :/

    • AwayEmily says

      Sympathies…my almost-3-year-old also still naps and has trouble falling asleep (tho for him it’s bed at 7:45, then he falls asleep by 8:45/9). He has a Munchkin Owl Light and lots of books in his crib and he usually reads/looks at books for the hour. He and his 5yo sister share a room, but she has dropped her nap and falls asleep immediately.

      We also use some carrots (every once in awhile we’ll check in on him and congratulate him for being SO QUIET) and sticks (if he’s too loud we threaten to take away his owl light, or in extreme circumstances move him to the pack-n-play in the guest room, which he HATES).

    • NYCer says

      Can she cut the nap at preschool? When our older daughter was that age and took a nap (she didn’t nap every day at that point), she would be up until 9 or later. I am not sure if that is feasible at your school, but I suspect it is the culprit.

      • Anonymous says

        Yes. I saw she doesn’t nap at home so maybe not the issue, but at 3 our kid was up till 9:30-10 if he slept AT ALL during the day, even 15 minutes. That bedtime didn’t work for our family so we had to cut the nap.

    • Anon says

      No advice (other than drop the nap which will be brutal but may get you an earlier bedtime), just commiseration. My 3YO does not nap, goes to bed around 10 or 11 and gets up around 8, and no amount of leaving her in a dark room, letting her scream, tiring her out seems to make a difference. She has always been low sleep needs, even as an infant. It is SO HARD. In terms of the hostage situation you have going on (which we did too), we extricated ourselves from that by handing over her tablet. If she wants to snuggle with us, the tablet gets turned off. But if she stays in her room and bed, she can have the tablet. Then we go in and take it away once she falls asleep. Having those 2 hours back made a huge difference in my ability to cope with my engerizer bunny on steriods.

    • DLC says

      Commiseration! I second the melatonin.
      When we hit that phase, I would sometimes lie in the room and read a book to myself. The idea being I would hang out, but I wanted to do my own thing and they had to stay in bed. Sometimes I would even read my book out loud to them and they could get bored and drift off. (Definitely has to self edit the adult bits as I went though). I mean it wasn’t ideal in terms of me getting on with my evening, but at least I got a lot of leisure reading done?

      • Anon. says

        We went through a phase where this was the solution for us too. Mommy or daddy will sit with you, but mom/dad is bringing either a laptop or iPad for reading/working in the dark. Parent will leave if you are too loud. We did this for maybe a month then gradually pulled it back. I’m going to sit here with you for X minutes. When leaving it was I’ll come back to check on you again in Y minutes. With Y eventually extending until sleep. Yes there was some crying, but maybe only a day or two – it’s a bit blurry and it was less than a year ago. Eventually we got down to 4 minutes of sitting and then he negotiated a trade for a second book instead of the 4 minutes.

      • Sleepy says

        Thanks. I have been able to extricate myself from the hand holding (however dear it is) by laying down and reading on my phone.

    • Jeffiner says

      Commiseration here. My daughter is also on the low end of sleep needs, I think she needs less than I do. But my mother and brother have rhythms similar to hers.

      Three was a rough age. Daycare teachers don’t want to give up the nap, but she really didn’t need it. We gave her a light and told her she could play, read books, etc in her room as long as she stayed quiet. It took a while for her to get there without us being in the room. One night we broke down and let her stay in a pile of blankets in the floor beside us, as long as she was quiet. She fell asleep faster in the dark room with us, but it took us over a year to get her back to her room, so I’m not sure I’d recommend that.

      She started kindergarten this year, and I was really worried about her sleep schedules. But kindergarten is apparently exhausting, and she’s now ready for bed around 9:00 every night.

    • Anon says

      while having a kid on the low end of sleep needs sucks as a parent, it will be wonderful for your kid as an adult. i myself am on the higher end of sleep needs as are my kids, and you just can’t get as much done in a day.

    • Anonymous says

      No nap at preschool. Try for at least an hour a day of outside time. Even if you can’t get that a walk around the block after supper can work for this.

      2 new rules – she picks three books, that’s it. If she fusses, she loses a book. 2 hours reading books is crazy. Once she is in bed, 2nd new rule – you tell her that the new rule is that you can only stay in the room with her if she is lying still with her eyes closed but if she talks or gets out of bed, you have to leave. Give her a few chances on the first couple nights. Lights should be dim. You don’t justify the rules. That’s the rules and that’s it. Daycare has rules and Home has rules. You can’t do anything about it, it’s the rules.

      • Sleepy says

        I do think the preschool nap is an issue because she appears to be trading that 1.5 hours of night sleep for day sleep. I raised it with the school and they said oh most kids still need a nap and I didn’t push it because she just went back a month or so ago. But I will speak with them.

        I like your rules. I love my feisty little girl but she is so tough with boundaries. This is the worst age to be dealing with pandemic life.

    • GCA says

      Oof, commiseration. I also have low sleep needs kids – and one is night owl-ish while the other is more of a lark. The 5yo goes to bed shortly after 8 and wakes up at 5.30. The 2.5yo naps an hour, won’t fall asleep till 9, and wakes at 6.30. The other day she skipped her nap and then chugged merrily along till after 8. I am low sleep needs myself so exhaustion isn’t the issue, but I also like having leisure time…
      When you say this isn’t working, is that because you (parents) need post-bedtime work time/ leisure time? Could you lean in to the later bedtime (go for a post-dinner walk, drive around to see holiday lights, play board games) and trade off the bedtime routine with your partner each night so each of you has some time to yourself?

      • Sleepy says

        It’s not working because I am on zoom calls starting at 730 am, due to being on my employers covid response team, and am downright exhausted by 9 pm. I am an early riser by nature and not a night owl. My husband works a bit less intense job and does his share but she is in a mommy phase and always wants me lately. We still trade off. If I was not up with our kid, I would read for 10 minutes and fall asleep myself. My husband same.

  11. Anon says

    random question – do people go to playgrounds on Christmas? i’m jewish and have no clue what people do. the reason I ask is that where we live playgrounds have been open, but we haven’t been to any bc they are always crowded and people here aren’t the best at mask wearing, but i would love to take my kids and I was thinking that maybe christmas day or christmas eve day afternoon would be a good time?

    • Anon says

      I think Christmas morning might not be too crowded but Christmas afternoon a lot of people will go. In the Midwest at least it’s also highly dependent on weather. Whenever the temp breaks 50, the playground is mobbed.

    • Anonymous says

      Go on Christmas morning while people are having breakfast and opening presents. A lot of families like to go to the playground in the afternoon to get out of the house.

    • Anonymous says

      Agree that best bet is Christmas morning. Christmas Eve late afternoon might be ok in a non Covid year, but with a lot of people not attending church on Christmas Eve or going to parties…who knows. We usually take a walk/do playground in the afternoon if the weather is nice

    • Anon says

      I would be surprised if anyone did, to be honest. I think it’s worth a shot!

    • Boston Legal Eagle says

      We try to go outside whenever it’s not pouring rain or a snow storm, and since my children are ready to go in the mornings, we’ll probably be there on Christmas Day! I would think the earlier you can get there, the less crowded it will be, especially if some kids sleep in and then open presents.

    • Anon says

      We’re also Jewish and we live in a very Christian area where normally things are dead on Sunday mornings but this year has been really different and we’ve seen a lot of people in playgrounds even at 9 am on a Sunday. I assume because a lot of people are still doing virtual church? I don’t know if the same logic extends to Christmas because that’s normally celebrated at home, but I guess my point is this year is super weird and I wouldn’t expect past years to predict what will happen this year.

  12. Science books for kids? says

    What are your recommendations for non-fictional, “sciency” educational books for kids from pre-school age to maybe 2nd-3rd grade?

    My 5 yr old is super interested in learning about dinosaurs, space, volcanoes, the continents etc etc – just how stuff works.

    I’ve tried the Magic School Bus series, and find the content pretty great, but some of the storylines that embed the content are a bit ridiculous and frankly outdated (like, why have a girl character that is an unlikeable know-it-all and/or in her books while the boys DO things?
    National Geographics seems to have a few good books, but wondering what else is out there.

    • Spirograph says

      Curious, in which book do the boys DO things? The unlikeable know it all, Janet, in the Lost in the Solar System book saves the day! We also have inside the body, germs, water cycle, and inside the earth and I don’t think any of the kid characters stand out in any of those.

      Do you want fiction story books, or can straight how-stuff-works books work? My kids really like the “I Wonder Why” series. There are some very cool cross sections books (Stephen Beisty’s Incredible Cross-Sections is one of my favorites), but those are more about history, engineering & architecture than life/physical science.

      • Anon says

        +1 I feel like I’m hyper sensitive to sexism in kids books but I’ve never noticed it in Magic School Bus.

        • Redux says

          “According to my research…” – Dorothy Ann in Magic School Bus, also basically Hermione in Harry Potter. It’s definitely a trope! It’s one of the redeeming qualities of Magic Tree House– the boy is the bookish nerd and the girl DOES things (history, though, not science).

    • DLC says

      I love the DK Smithsonian books. I think they call them visual encyclopedias. We specifically have the Picturepedia and it’s a great combination of graphics and text. The text isn’t “easy reader” per se- but I found it informative on a preliminary levels. I also like that it has real pictures rather than drawings. We also have their “Cars, Trains, Ships, and Planes”. There is also a book called “How things work” that is really fascinating and goes into the mechanics of things like radios and toilets- it might skew a little older, though.

    • Anonymous says

      We love the National Geographic books. I find I learn a lot from them too haha! I also suggest calling your local library and asking the children’s librarian to curate a “book bundle” on a certain topic. Speaking from personal experience (librarian here!), they love to do this. Our libraries are still curbside pickup only, but browsing library books can be an inexpensive way to find a good series or author and then you can go from there with purchasing. Lastly, if you know anyone selling Usborne books I find their non-fiction books for early readers really great.

    • anonamommy says

      It’s fiction, but my daughter loves the Zoey & Sassafras series which uses real science as plot devices for fantastical/magical stories.

    • Anon says

      My kids (5 and 7) like the Nat Geo books you reference, especially their kids encyclopedias. Magic Treehouse is also pretty good but more fiction. The “I am” series by Brad Meltzer and the “Who Was” series are good for more of of a history non-fiction bent.

      But for Science specifically, they’ve really liked the Kiwi Crates (and Atlas Crates), and the magazine “Ask” by Cricket. They have a next level up, Muse, that my oldest is just starting to get into, but both kids PORE over each page in Ask.

    • Science books for kids? says

      Maybe these girl characters rubbed me the wrong way (I am a scientist and was sort of a know-it-all as a kid). I just don’t understand why a character like that is needed to support the story. Couldn’t you just have a bunch of smart kids figure stuff out without presenting them as unlikeable?

      I’ll definitely look into your suggestions, and will call the local library, too.

      • Anonymous says

        That’s interesting! I was certainly a know-it-all as a kid (and still, but with more self-awareness and attempts to tone it down), and I remember enjoying that I saw myself in all the books with the bookish girl. It may have been lost on me that the bookish girl was also unlikeable or that those qualities were supposedly linked. If anything, I thought the characters rolling their eyes at the girl saying something like, “according to my research” were the losers.

    • Anonymous says

      +1 to National Geographic Kids books and Smithsonian/DK – my 8 year old loves the “Animal!” book, and has the “Dinosaur!” one on his wishlist. Why Fly Guy? was a hit when he was a little younger and really into Fly Guy.

      FYI the National Geographic Kids website is also good.

  13. Nanny says

    For those with a nanny that you pay on the books, who do you use for payroll services? We’re in the process of hiring a nanny for my upcoming return from maternity leave, and must pay on books due to our jobs.

  14. Related question says

    So I’m the biggest fan in the world of balance bikes. My older kids both used and loved them and now do pedal bikes. But 20 month old little sis isn’t quite there yet. She’s really enjoying her scooter. And she saw a tricycle over th eweekend and was enamored. I think she’s a little big for the tricycles an adult pushes though? She’s a tall 20 months. Any suggestions on a tricycle for that age?

    • Anon says

      I think my 3 year old is definitely at the lazier, poorer gross motor skills end of the spectrum just like her mom but she still adores her stroller trike (she can pedal and/or we can push). My daughter is very tall and for her age and not especially skinny and fits in it just fine.

    • anonamommy says

      Don’t discount the push bar – you don’t have to use it, but it’s great if you encounter a hill or little legs are just too tired to go anymore. Ask me how I know.

    • Anonanonanon says

      I thought my kid was too tall/old for one of those at 2.5 and got a radio flyer trike and I don’t know what I was thinking because I despise the thing because I have to bend over and push it up hills. So, if I had it to do over again, I would have gotten one with a bar I could push, and my kid is older/probably taller/great motor skills.

    • Anonymous says

      My off the charts in size 28 month old is not too big for a push trike (although we got it hand me down and has no push bar). Has not quite figured out pedaling yet. Is just starting to experiment with the balance bike.

    • Anon says

      If you get a trike, I’d keep it in the driveway and not push her. Get her a scooter for taking walks. We have a Radio Flyer without a push bar and it’s been okay, but definitely not something my kids use a ton (mostly now for pretend play as a mail truck or similar). They don’t really seem fun, as they can’t really go up or down hills with any control. We are huge scooter fans, though!!

      • Anon says

        Whoops, just saw you had a scooter. I’d use that for out-of-Driveway excursions

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