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This is a cute dress from Old Navy. It looks flattering and comfortable. It is made from ponte, has a drawstring waist, and a V-neck. The drawstring waist makes me think that this would work well for a casual Friday situation, or a more casual-skewing workplace. However, it does have a true knee length plus full long sleeves, so I do think it is work-appropriate vs. weekend wear. This dress comes in three colors, and from the photos on the website, it seems that each color makes the dress look a bit different. The dress is currently on sale for $32 and is available in regular, tall, petite, and plus sizes. Waist-Defined Ponte-Knit Dress
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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?
AwayEmily says
fun kids clothes question: My almost-4-year-old just went through a growth spurt and no longer fits into ANY of her 3T clothes. Which means I get to order some new things, yay! Anyone come across any great clothing sources lately? Or specific items? I’m willing to spend a bit more since (1) she wears sizes for about a year nowadays and (2) most stuff will get passed on to her younger brother.
Anonymous says
I’m actually loving old navy clothes for my toddler (not always the case for me). The girls “boyfriend jeans” can be passed onto a younger sibling, and they look super cute.
Anonymous says
We too have gotten a lot of cute things at Old Navy for the colder weather. But not much other than some pants would be unisex.
Anonymous says
Adding that I think H&M usually has a unisex or gender neutral filter option on its site.
Anonymous says
Check out Peek Kids for awesome graphic tees featuring science, explorers, etc.
Cb says
I might try some of the UK brands for something a bit different. I bought some clothes for my cousin’s kids at M&S (which I think has free US shipping) and they had super cute colorful things. I like everything I’ve bought from Primary but I know there were some concerns about quality.
Io says
I’ve made three orders from Primary and each time they’ve sent me something that is the right color but the wrong size/item. Also my kid is not super tall/skinny. But their uniform dresses have pockets.
Anonymous says
That’s so weird! I’ve placed dozens of orders and never got the wrong thing. One time they sent me two of the exact same item and I thought they screwed up, but I checked and nope, I accidentally ordered (and paid for) two of them. Did you contact them? Their customer service is great.
Anonanonanon says
I’m loving Zara lately, and have gotten some overalls and cardigans for my toddler girl that could feasibly go to a younger brother.
anon says
If you’re looking for unisex, Primary is probably your answer.
Anon says
I like Old Navy, H&M and Primary, although my style runs more like dressing my kid in clothes that I would wear myself if they came in bigger sizes (but with soft leggings subbed in for denim). I’ve been really impressed with the quality of Old Navy, especially for the price. If you want clothes that look more like kids clothes, then Hanna and Boden are both great quality.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Primary! Solid colors and gender-neutral for non-dress items. We like Old Navy and Gap too, but they may be a little more gendered.
Pogo says
Primary just came out with a pastel line too that’s super cute.
Anon says
I wish it were true pastels! It’s “sunwashed” which is somewhere in between brights and pastels. I do love the hyacinth color tho.
Anonymous says
Boden has some pretty great graphic Ts, if that’s your thing. Other than that I’m generally pretty impressed with H&M quality and styles. I also love Primary and HA, but mostly for the dresses, which probably aren’t useful in your case.
lala says
We are loving Primary, Mini Boden, and Tea lately. Everything is on sale now, so i’s a great time to shop.
FVNC says
On the expensive side, but Polarn O. Pyret has gender neutral options and they’ve lasted in our family through my kids and their cousins!
Anonymous says
Yes! PoP has incredible quality and fun, often gender-neutral patterns
Anon says
I have a random source for slightly expensive but high quality (in my experience) kids clothes – not as gender neutral but my kids love it. Check out Rockets of Awesome.
AwayEmily says
These are super helpful, thanks! And a few new-to-me ideas.
Anonymous says
I recently purchased clothes from Target’s girl section for my 4 year old son. The options were better and the minimal amount of pink did not bother my son.
AwayEmily says
My toddler son pretty much only wears the toddler girls jeggings from Target. They are soft/durable/adorable!
lsw says
Baby Gap fits my son really well. I like looking for Baby Gap stuff on ThredUp. The brand of pants that fits my tall stringbean the best is Mayoral. The shop that carried it close to us closed (sad face) but I have found luck find that brand on ThredUP as well. Hanna Andersson fits my son well too so I shop the sales and try to buy ahead (this did bite me in the butt when he somehow shot directly from 2T to 4T and wore 3T pants for about a week; oh wel). I love the look of MiniBoden but they are too wide and short for my kid which is a bummer.
Anonymous says
There is not one single thing I like about this dress. Ponte fabric that will inevitably pill after a single wash. Frumpy 1990s button front. Drawstring waist that will create weird gathers, obscuring the line of the waist and making the hips appear lumpy. Not just pockets, but flap pockets to further magnify the hips. Hem that hits precisely at the most unflattering spot on the knee. Horrid depressing mustard color. The dress doesn’t even look good on the gorgeous, smiling, artfully posed model. There is no way it would be anything but awful on a real person in real life.
IHeartBacon says
Kate Hudson would rock this dress in this color.
ElisaR says
thank you for convincing me i don’t need it! you need to come shopping with me more often. i’m serious.
Tweeter says
Thinking about a summer trip to Italy with my DH and DS. DS will be around 21 months then. Is this a terrible idea? If it’s not, any region we should focus on that would be easiest with DS?
NYCer says
It is not a terrible idea, but it will be a trip with a toddler! As long as you approach it as such, and realize that the pacing and activities will be a bit different than if you were to go sans kids, I think you will have a great time.
I would probably recommend somewhere in Tuscany, not too far from Florence. There are lots of little towns to explore and the scenery is beautiful. Definitely rent a car.
If you want to do a few days in a city, both Florence and Rome would be good options. I think that many of the popular Italian beach towns (Amalfi, Cinque Terre) would be less toddler friendly, since there tend to be a lot of stairs. That being said, we have stayed in Porto Ercole (without kids), and there are some more traditional sandy beaches around there if you really want to go to the beach.
anne-on says
+1 to Tuscany. There are a lot of agro-turismo’s (certified, there is a website for them I believe) that cater to families. The ones I saw outside of Florence were amazing – great food, more of a family feel, and you can either lounge around the farm/explore Tuscany countryside, or rent a car and see more of the surrounding towns. Enjoy!
Anon says
Not a terrible idea! I think any region would be fine, but you might consider where you could fly non-stop at least as your home base for a few days while you recover from jet lag. So if you can fly to Rome, maybe you start with 4 days in Rome before you go onto other regions. Or base yourselves in Rome for the whole trip but do day trips to other places – although day trips can be tricky when you have a toddler, unless they’re really good at napping in a stroller. So far, I think the inability to do day trips has been the biggest change about traveling with my 2 year old vs pre-kid travel.
Anonymous says
Thirding that this isn’t a terrible idea! We took our 22-month-old twins to Europe (though not Italy) and it was great, you just have to realize that traveling with toddlers is different from adult-only trips.
We find it easiest to only stay in 1 or 2 places and then do daytrips, rather than packing up to move every couple days. For day trips we did a combination of trains and rental cars, but we were staying in a city so we didn’t need a car except for one day. Make sure to know what your kid’s limits for naps are. For mine at that age, we could get away with 30-45 minute naps on the go for a couple days (in baby carriers or stroller), but we couldn’t also push bedtime late on those days and needed to mix that up with some days where we went back to our apartment after lunch so they could have a solid 2-hour nap in their cribs.
Anonymous says
as someone with 20 month old twins, this sounds beyond miserable to me, but i am impressed with your parenting!
Anonymous says
We were meeting family there, so we knew that as long as we could get through the flight we’d have 4-5 spare adults to trade off toddler-wrangling with. We’re not quite crazy enough yet to take them on a long vacation solo. :)
Em says
We just took our 3 1/2 year old to Italy. We rented a car and did the western coast, Florence, and Venice. Honestly 21 months is a pretty terrible age to do that long of a flight. The flights were painful for us and our son is happy to watch a movie for several hours at a time. The actual trip was amazing though! People were SO nice to us about having a young child literally everywhere we went in Italy, so your options may not be as limited as you may think. You can take your kid into bars, cafes, really nice restaurants, and on public transportation and no one will give you the side eye, even if your kid is a train wreck. We had semi-famous chefs and standoffish airport workers and waiters go out of their way to interact with and fawn over our son and people were always offering him unsolicited snacks, desserts, and coloring supplies. People were nicer to us because we had our son with us than they were when they were just interacting with us. Venice was our favorite city, but would be a nightmare if you need a stroller (same with Cinque Terre). Tuscany may be a good option if you are open to renting a car. You could spend time in Florence, which is super walkable and would be easy to do with a stroller.
Anonymous says
How bad the flight is depends on your model of toddler, I think. We found trans-Atlantic flights at 13 months to be exhausting but at 21 months to be pretty easy, with a little prep. A late outbound flight meant kid went right to sleep on the plane and for the trip home we did lunch, nap, and then half a dozen activities we’d packed (some screen time, but that only bought us 30 minutes, so other things included stickers, playdoh, markers, new small toys, pipecleaners, etc.)
Anonymous says
+1. Traveling with a toddler is exhausting in many ways, but the transatlantic flights have always been the easy part for us. From the age of 12 months, she was entertained for hours by screens, and we filled the rest of the time with meals, people watching, playing with stuffed animals and coloring. No naps, unfortunately, but I can’t sleep on planes either so I can’t blame her.
Anon at 10:50 says
We only got naps because we brought carseats and bought seats for under 2s, which is definitely a personal choice.
Anonymous says
Oh, we did too. She still wouldn’t nap. Even rear-facing, she could turn around and see the seatback screen and that was way more interesting. She fell asleep for about 10 minutes as the plane was landing.
rosie says
What is it about landing that puts them (finally) to sleep?
NYCer says
Ha! This comment made me laugh because the only reason we have ever gotten naps out of the kids on planes is because we did NOT bring the car seats. Both of my kids hate the car sear. There is no one universal “right” answer for plane travel with little kids.
Anon at 10:50 says
Haha, yep, totally a know-your-kid moment! For our family carseats on planes are magical and I will put up with a lot of annoyances getting them through an airport for that 1.5 hour nap on the plane, but I have friends whose kids will just scream the whole time if buckled into their carseat.
lala says
We loved Italy with a toddler. Lucca is amazing for that age, as is Pisa. I would do Florence, Pisa, then Lucca if I were you. Avoid Rome and Naples.
Anonymous says
Thank you all! I appreciate the thoughtful comments and advice :)
Cb says
Any fun ideas for teaching letters and numbers? My son (2.5) is really interested in letters and words and I want to encourage this but I’m not quite sure how to teach them. My google search mostly brings up letter searches and things like that, but what do you do if he doesn’t already know his letters? My hippy dippy nursery doesn’t teach letters or numbers so it’s on us. We have a letter puzzle and he can pick out T, M, D (name, mama, daddy).
Anon says
There are a lot of books that say like “A is for alligator…” but we’ve had the most luck just writing the letters ourselves, and it has the added bonus of (sort of) teaching her to write them herself. She can write O and an extremely sloppy B. ?
Cb says
He has a magnadoodle he’s pretty obsessed with. Going to put it on the kitchen table and start writing some letters.
avocado says
My kid just absorbed the alphabet from reading alphabet books together. The Dr. Seuss alphabet book and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom were particular favorites.
The Hooked on Phonics Learn To Read series starts with letter recognition. We didn’t bother with those levels because she already knew her letters, but we found the first-grade kits amazingly effective at teaching phonics so I’d imagine the Pre-K and K kits are equally good.
Another great resource is Sesame Street. If you don’t want to have him watch entire episodes, you can find songs and segments dedicated to specific letters on YouTube.
You can play with the alphabet puzzle with him and name the letters as you search for them, pick them up, and put them in the puzzle, then ask him to name and find letters as his skills improve. You can ask him to name a letter he doesn’t yet recognize, pause, and then name the letter yourself, the way you’d have one-sided conversations with an infant.
Cb says
Thanks, all good ideas! Sesame Street would be fun. My son is a huge bookworm, yet somehow we don’t have any of the alphabet books?? I’ll go and buy some. I’ll check out the phonics books as well. Sight words were the trend when I entered school and my nana thought that was ridiculous, so taught me to read using phonics when I was 4 so I wouldn’t ‘learn wrong…’
avocado says
Re. phonics v. sight words, back when I used to tutor we used both. The combination seemed to be most effective.
As a former tutor, I encourage you to work on reading with him at home, at whatever age seems appropriate given his interest and your priorities. Most kids will readily absorb reading skills while sitting on a parent’s lap reading together or watching high-quality educational TV or playing letter games. One-on-one interaction and feedback is critical. In my experience, classroom instruction in large groups is much less effective.
Cb says
Thanks for this! He’ll happily read with me for an hour or more which I think is pretty unusual for his age so I do think he’ll absorb things naturally but it isn’t something nursery will specifically work on so I wanted to make sure I was doing things too.
avocado says
Oh, definitely do all kinds of interactive stuff! Just reading is great, but getting him to actively engage is what will really get him learning.
I love that your nursery is not working on academic skills. That was how our preschool was, and it was amazing. They get all day to play and do art projects and investigate the world, then you can spend a little time at home teaching them their letters in the most efficient and effective way. There are so many components to school readiness. Fine motor skills, social skills, following directions, problem-solving–all of these are what they should be learning in preschool, not letter recognition and how to fill out worksheets.
Anonymous says
Play-based preschool isn’t at all incompatible with learning letters though. Lots of people on this thread described the games and fun things they do with their kids to teach letters – school can do those too. Our school does games like the ones described and integrates “academics” into other activities, like having students line up to go outside by the letter of their first name. I don’t think it’s bad for a school not to teach letters, but let’s not act like every school that teaches kids letters is forcing 3 year olds to fill out worksheets.
Anonymous says
We got my kids a magnetic chalkboard and letter magnets when they were around this age. They liked to take the letters on and off and would ask us what they were, so learned most of them that way. Once he knows a handful of them (like the ones in his name) I’ve seen people suggest taping them up around the living room and playing a game where you say “Run to the T!”, “Now hop to the H!”, “Now walk backwards to the E”, etc
Cb says
Ooh, that’s a great idea. When we do our Thursday AM Pret date, he likes to find the giant T at the counter.
Anon for this says
We also look for letters in the wild…
My kid’s name begins with the letters ‘No’ so… starting at 2, kid would tell me all the time they found their name. “Look, Mommy! My name!” At the pool, ‘Their name’ was all over… No Swimming, No Diving, No Running…
Anonymous says
That’s adorable!
Anonymous says
I have twins whose initials are G and M. Every single morning on the way into daycare, M looks at the mat in from the the door that says “WELCOME” and exclaims “Look, it’s an M for M—!. There’s no G for G—, though.” Needless to say, G is not so pleased about that.
Anonymous says
They need a mat facing the other way that says “GOODBYE.”
Anonymous says
Haha, he would love that!
mascot says
We’d point out letters, numbers, and colors when we were out and about. Look, there is the letter R on that bottle. It is written in the color blue, etc.
For pre-writing skills, tracing letters in sand/shaving cream is fun. Also, working on the pincher skill of picking up small objects and putting them in another container helps develop fine motor skills.
buffybot says
We got foam letters to play with in the bath (when wet they stick to the tile) and magnet letters for the fridge (well in our case it’s a front door rather than the fridge). Our son likes playing with the letters (dumping them out, moving them around, etc) while we also talk about what they are and words that start with that letter. No idea if it’s effective teaching per se (and we’re not worried about that, frankly) but it’s fun exposure, at least?
Anonymous says
For letters, an alphabet bingo game. The same could work for regular bingo with numbers, but the alphabet bingo has been much more intuitive for our kiddo than regular bingo.
This is the one we have:
https://www.amazon.com/Peacable-Kingdom-Alphabet-Bingo-Board/dp/B06XG88N1R/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=alphabet+bingo&qid=1579793395&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyMkhTN05OTTA0ODVSJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjM4NzA2Mjc3S1NKU0dBUFpFVyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTUxOTAxMktKU0FWSFIxTUJXNSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
rosie says
Letter magnets that kiddo can use with a board or on the fridge.
Foam letter bath toys.
Matching/bingo game with letters.
anonn says
We have some foam letters for the bathtub. Munchkin brand. They stick to the wall of the bath when wet so we have lots of fun with that.
Anonymous says
Magnetic letters for the fridge!
Pogo says
We read a lot of alphabet books, and also sing the alphabet song. He likes to recognize letters in the wild as others mentioned, or in his toys. He has a little motorcycle with a fake license plate and said to me recently, “look mommy, it has its ABCDs!” He always says “ABCDs” instead of “ABCs” and it kills me every time.
Anon says
Mine says ABCO. Whenever she sees text “in the wild” she says “Look, ABCOs!” O is the first letter she learned so I guess it’s her favorite? LOL.
GCA says
When my son first learned of the existence of CDs around age 2, he called them ABCDs for ages. We were almost loath to correct him, given that CDs will go extinct in his lifetime anyway!
Io says
Best practices (according to two literacy teachers I know) are to not teach letter names, but letter sounds. Which I was doing and my kids daycare taught her the alphabet. I love the Montessori set up with sand paper letters, then a moveable alphabet. I picked up a moveable alphabet on Amazon for like $50. There are tons of ideas for using one online.
Beth @ Parent Lightly says
+1 My daughter LOVED the Montessori way of teaching letter sounds.
#1 Identify the beginning sounds of objects (letter “I spy”)
#2 Match the letter to the object (e.g. they have 4 sandpaper letters and 4 small objects and you match A to Apple or whatever else)
#3 Moveable alphabet
GCA says
+1 to the letter sounds, and it’s good pre-reading prep. This isn’t to everyone’s taste, but we have that Leapfrog magnetic phonics bus with the magnetic letters. Toddler likes to play with it while I’m making dinner. I have the jingles for most of the letters firmly embedded in my brain, but it is sort of helping the big kid sound out words.
SC says
We had/have lots of alphabet books. When Kiddo was 2, my favorite is Alpha Block, and his favorite was a touch and feel book called ABC Alphabet Fun.
We had foam letters in the bath. My kid loves baths and loves games, so we made a game of him finding certain letters in the water. (Add bubble bath for an additional challenge.)
Kiddo also loves puzzles, and we had the Melissa and Doug sound alphabet puzzle.
Someone mentioned Sesame Street. I particularly loved The Amazing Alphabet Race. I also loved the different celebrities singing the alphabet song–Usher, India Arie, Patti Labelle. (Slightly off topic, but my all-time favorite Sesame Street is Numeric Con, which doesn’t seem to available on YouTube anymore but may be available elsewhere on the internet or at the library.) We also had an Elmo doll that sang the alphabet. I’m not sure if Sesame Street had any direct effect, but I enjoyed it.
In general, my advice is to try several toys and games that involve letters. Jump off from what your kid already likes–foam bath letters don’t make sense if your kid hates the water. Keep it light and fun and interactive.
GCA says
If you work 100% from home, how do you stop yourself going quietly stir-crazy? I’m on calls most of the morning, but I don’t get much opportunity for casual coworker chitchat. I’m an introvert and a pretty independent worker at the best of times, and I already run or go to the gym before work, but I think winter blues are getting to me.
Anon says
Could you get out of the house and work from a coffee shop or library? Our library has some cozy nooks and good coffee or pastries always perk me up ;)
FVNC says
Every once in a while, I schedule time with my work friends to “just chat.” I also have a neighbor who works from home and we’ll go on midday walks when our schedules line up. But otherwise, yeah, sometimes I do go a little stir crazy.
Anonforthis says
Full-time work from home here and most days are fine for me. I get enough social stimuli from the spouse and work meetings.
Winters and long rainy stretches are super tough though when I am stuck inside all day. I find myself randomly going to the store just to get out of the house. I also find that I need to plan my evenings to be stimulating during these times. Going out for trivia night, trying a new recipe, short chores around the house. Anything other than sitting on the couch for 4 hours before bed and then wash/repeat the next day. The monotony seems to hit harder in WFH than it did in office life.
Anon says
I’m also struggling with this very thing. There are solutions but it’s hard to stay motivated to keep doing them when it’s just you there by yourself day after day.
shortperson says
i thought this would be a problem but it hasnt in my 7 years of WFH. my dog keeps me company.
lala says
rearranged my schedule to come in for an early team meeting. Said meeting was cancelled 5 minutes before it was supposed to start. This happens frequently in our group so I was not quiet about my frustration. Probably should have been, but I don’t have any cares today.
I wish there was a way to help people understand how difficult this is for working parents.
No advice needed, I just knew you all would understand.
Anonymous says
That stinks! It’s not just a working parent issue, either. Cancelling a meeting with 5 minutes’ notice is just straight-up rude and inconsiderate.
Pogo says
That is obnoxious. I hate that or when someone declines my meeting 5min before it’s scheduled to start. Um, I put it on your calendar weeks ago.
ElisaR says
good you should express your frustration, that’s baloney!
Anonymous says
Talk to me about good ways to incorporate veggies into my kids’ diet. None of my kids are picky eaters, so this doesn’t need to be about “stealth veggies.” And actually, my 6 y/o is my least picky eater but the kiddo that eats the fewest veggies. She likes salad but somehow I only ever present her with like, spinach leaves and cheese (the one thing she doesnt like is tomatos!)
One of my kids will just sit and eat cucumbers and carrots plain, happily, for hours. Everyone else (including me) likes veggies just fine as long as they are seasoned or served with something yummy.
I did a green smoothie this AM and my 6 y/o told me she’d rather just eat carrots ;).
So– what veggie sides go over well in your house? Mine will eat asparagus mixed up with risotto or rice, peas or broccoli mixed into mac and cheese, raw broccoli/carrots/cucumbers if served with ranch or hummus.
lala says
My kids will only eat raw veggies and I have given up resisting it. They get a serving of whatever raw veggies we have on hand and a small portion of the veggies my DH and I are eating (they don’t even touch it).
My DH and I just cook our veggies with a ton of butter and some salt and they are always delicious. Another instance of me not understanding these kids, ha.
Anonymous says
I don’t have the energy to prepare separate side dishes, so I try to incorporate veggies into the main dish whenever possible. You can put all manner of veggies into soups, curries, pasta sauces, and stir-fries. Entree salads. Pasta tossed with roasted broccoli or wilted spinach and a simple pan sauce. Veggie enchiladas. Baked sweet potatoes with various toppings. Vegetarian chili. Veggie lasagnas and pasta bakes.
Anonymous says
Anything roasted
Anonymous says
Lemon juice gets my 4 year old to eat mountains of green beans and asparagus!
Emily S. says
Roasted bell peppers or veggies, especially if combined with potatoes; roasted parsnips and sweet potatoes; corn on the cob or frozen microwaveable corn; edamame seasoned with lime rind, toasted sesame seeds, and sea salt was a surprise hit recently. That’s about it… the struggle is real in my house.
Pogo says
Sweet potatoes are huge. Crunchy stuff like peppers and carrots as others mentioned, with hummus or pb or just plain. My kid also likes plain old frozen peas and corn. I just offer whatever we’re having for dinner which always has some veggie component to it. He does not reliably eat anything except what I listed, though.
anon says
My kids love a baked sweet potato topped with steamed broccoli and cheddar. They gobble it up.
SC says
My 4-year-old will eat raw carrots (but weirdly, only large ones, not baby carrots); edamame; steamed broccoli, green beans, or sugar snap peas with butter; roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots; and boiled corn on the cob with butter. Last week, he came back from a 2-year hiatus on sweet potato and ate some baked sweet potato. This weekend he also asked for some bell pepper, another food he used to love and has boycotted for 2 years, thanks to Daniel Tiger.
Anonymous says
I am with your 4 year old on this. regular carrots are far, far superior to baby carrots. I feel very strongly about this.
Anonymous says
+1
DLC says
I find with my 3 year old I need to offer veggies first. If I offer the meat or carbs first, then it’s game over for the veggies. If I offer veggies first, he will go to town. We also cook a lot of vegetarian meals where we load up the meals with veggies – stir fry, burritos, quiche, curry, noodles, soups, sushi bowls, etc.
shortperson says
are you looking for vegetable recipes? my fave source is chez panisse vegetables which is organized by vegetables and has commentary by alice waters. most of the recipes are not hard.
KW says
It appears that my 8 yo daughter is starting puberty. She’s well-aware of what that means and is very comfortable asking me questions, but what do I need to be doing? How soon will she start her period? Should she start carrying a pad or something in her backpack? How do I know when she needs to start wearing bras every day? What’s that book that I’ve seen recommended here before? I prepared myself for the conversations and questions about it, but I’m not sure I’m practically prepared for what this means! Thanks.
Anonymous says
Check out Girlology. Their half-day in-person workshop is exactly what you need.
Emily S. says
I’ve seen the American Girls Care and Keeping Of You books recommended. I enjoyed Beyond the Birds and the Bees for adult reading on how to prepare yourself for puberty and beyond.
Anonymous says
Wow. My daughter is 6.5 and this was NOT on my 18 month time horizon by a long shot. May I ask how you know she’s starting? Is it physical stuff, or mountains of emotions, or something else?
I am SO NOT PREPARED to deal with puberty-driven emotions for at least another 4 years. I am still changing diapers!
lsw says
We have a 13 year old who still doesn’t have her period (she’ll be 14 in April) so you may have many years yet!
KW says
She’s been complaining for a few months that her b**bs hurt and feel hard and they are starting to look a bit bigger. She also said that she is getting pubic hair, but didn’t want to show me, but I did see tiny little hairs starting to grow under her arms. I wasn’t prepared for it to start this early either. I honestly do not remember how old I was when my period started, but I’m pretty sure I was older than 8.
Anonymous says
so I know way too much about this subject but 8 really is on the younger side and you might want to take her to the pediatrician to double check that this is puberty and not another issue. Like yes some girls do get their period at 8-9 but it’s more rare, especially if you don’t vividly remember having yours that young. Like did you get it around the same time as your friends? If so you probably at least 11-12.
Anonymous says
+1 I would be worried about endocrine issues with puberty this young. It’s definitely not typical.
Anonymous says
Yes I’m a little confused why you think she’s starting if she doesn’t need a bra yet. Usually b**bs are the first sign. And if you need to question if she should have a bra then she should def have one!! Some kids need deodorant years before they actually start puberty. When did you get your first period? That will give you a reference of when she’ll get hers. Like if you didn’t get it until 14 she’s prob fine. Just tell her she can get a pad at the nurse or ask a teacher/coach/etc… if she needs to.
Anonymous says
I’m definitely crossing my fingers hard that age of onset of puberty is genetic. I got mine at 15 and my mom was almost 17 (!). I can handle 12-13 but can’t imagine my daughter getting her period at 9-10. They still seem like such little girls at that age!
Anonymous says
Y’know, I quit growing once I got my period (at14). If my daughter was starting puberty at 8 I 100% would be looking into hormone blockers.
BabyMom says
Does anyone have tips for leaving the house with three little kids? I have a 2.5 yo, a 1.5 yo and a 5 month old, my husband works weekends about half the time and staying home all day on my days off drives me crazy. I’ve tried taking them shopping and to the library, but the oldest isn’t quite old enough to trust to stay close in a parking lot and my double stroller requires two hands to maneuver, so things always feel a little unwieldy and slightly unsafe. (I usually take two trips for daycare drop off, but you need a safe environment on both sides to make that work.). Is there such a thing as a triple stroller that is reasonably portable? Am I doing something wrong? Are there better places to go? Any advice is appreciated!
Anonymous says
Wow, that sounds challenging! I am awestruck at the fact that you have the energy for this. Some ideas to try:
-Wear one of the kids and push the other two in the stroller.
-Hire a sitter and take just one or both of the older kids out for special time with mom.
-Invite grandma or a childless friend to come along as an extra set of hands.
-Teach the oldest to hold onto the stroller at all times. Use a toddler leash as a backup to keep her from getting far if she tries to bolt.
-Hire a tween or teen mother’s helper to go with you and wrangle the oldest while you deal with the other two.
Anonymous says
I doubt you’re doing anything wrong, more that right now you have a tough combination of ages!
Would a leash backpack work for the 2.5yo so you could loop the leash around one wrist while still having two hands free for the stroller? Can you get a ride-along board for your stroller? Put the two toddlers in the stroller and wear the baby? My two double strollers I can push one-handed while holding a toddler hand, so maybe test out some others? Most triple strollers are heavy, but the Zoe one is quite light and folds up pretty nicely, though in two pieces.
Anon says
you are beyond supermom. the fact that you even attempt to leave the house is impressive to me. i have twins and we have a nanny because we thought it would be easier for us than doing daycare and financially about the same. I know that the Zoe has an option for a triple stroller and Lucie’s List might have some other recommendations. Is it in your budget to hire someone to help you a bit on those days? even a younger mother’s helper who could just be an extra set of hands for you? while at home or out and about? i would think putting the 5 month old in a baby carrier and then the other two in the stroller? or can the older one be trusted with one of those boards you can add to a double stroller?
TheElms says
Could you arrive at destination, set up stroller (while all three are still in carseats), buckle oldest two kids into stroller, and baby wear?
Anon says
Could the 1.5 year old stay on a rider board? As soon as that’s possible, what we do is baby rides in Cruz and both of my older two (3 and 4) ride on the rider board next to each other so everyone is nice and contained. Or what about wearing baby, 1.5 year old in stroller, oldest on rider board. Or wear baby and push double stroller. I’m all about keeping them contained!
Anon. says
No actual experience here, but would it be easier to wear the baby and put the older two in the stroller?
BabyMom says
These suggestions are great! Thank you! For those suggesting baby wearing, are you able to wear baby and briefly lift other kids into/out of the stroller? I do it, but I’ve always wondered if this was accepted or frowned upon. (Though I recognize that maybe keeping everyone in the stroller is the best bet at that point.)
Anonymous says
I have 100% done this and never worried about it… As long as you’re not squishing the baby, I think it’s fine! Also, as soon as baby can sit up, back carriers make it super easy to still do things with your hands for your older kids.
Anonymous says
Yes! Absolutely! Or, put the older two in first, then pop the baby in.
Anonymous says
Wear the little one and strap the other two into the stroller.
If in the grocery store, older 2 go in the cart (1.5 in front, 2.5 in big part) and baby is worn.
My are a bit older now but I feel you so so much!
Also, this was not your question, but buy a mini van.
Anon says
The Zoe triple and Joovy Qool are good bets for 3 kid portable-ish strollers.
DC Florist? says
Recommendation for a florist that could deliver to the Capitol Hill area? Would like to send a nice arrangement to a colleague-turned-good-friend who has been exceptionally supportive during some trying times recently. TIA!
Anonymous says
Urban stems! Everyone I’ve sent them too has said they’ve been beautiful, long lasting, etc.
AwayEmily says
+1
lsw says
I know there are a few other ‘rette moms in Pittsburgh. Get thee to 424 Play Factory! It’s amazing! And it’s still $5 per kid until 4 while their soft open deal is on. My son took his first nap in six months after running around the bounce houses like crazy for three hours. This place rules, especially for wintertime weekends.
AwayEmily says
And related PSA — if you are in a city with a SkyZone (or other trampoline place), check to see if they do “toddler time” where only little kids are allowed. We take our kids there every Sunday morning and they LOVE it and get so much exercise.
Anonymous says
I’m jealous! Our trampoline park has weekly toddler time but it is (like everything else for toddlers in our city) on weekday mornings from 10 am to noon. Bleh!
anne-on says
We’re going to Philadelphia for a long weekend over Presidents Day. My son loves geology/science/interactive museums – anything in particular we should hit? I assume the Franklin Museum, and the Drexel Museum – any others? I’d love to do the Rodin museum but doubt he’ll be ok with that for very long. I assume at 8 the please touch museum is a bit too young – any other fun indoor activities we should do? Maybe a food tour of the market other walking tour? We’ll be at the Comcast Center so pretty central.
Anon says
the comcast center itself has cool stuff in the lobby. Franklin Institute is great. He might like the mutter museum. a non-science museum is the national constitution center, which if i recall has some good interactive exhibits. you don’t necessarily need a food tour of Reading Terminal Market – just go – but a lot of booths are closed on Sunday so Saturday is probably better.
SF says
Small wins – I was watching my 3 year old solo last night, and we cooked dinner together – cauliflower rice, mushrooms, sauteed kale and shrimp. We sat and ate together, and he tried everything. He’s not super picky but typical three – he probably won’t touch any of those foods if I served it again today. But I felt great last night watching him eat. That’s all :)
Anonymous says
That is a big win! Good job, mama!
farrleybear says
Agreed! My kiddo is hit or miss with different foods, but recently wolfed down some trout I’d cooked and I was just speechless–didn’t want to jinx it:)
Anon says
my 20 month old loves to climb on everything. we’ve decided it is ok for her to climb up on the couch and then sit down once she is up, but that it is not ok to climb on the coffee table or stand up on a chair, etc. she seems to understand that she is not supposed to do this, but of course does it anyway :-) . I’ve tried empathizing that i understand she wants to climb on the table/thinks it’s fun and that the problem is that is dangerous, yelling (which i’m not proud of) which seems to deter her twin, but not her. I do also remove her from the table, over and over and over again while repeating that she cannot climb on it and have her sit with me and not play for like 30 seconds, which makes her mad, but she then proceeds to climb again anyway and this gets exhausting! i do realize we could get rid of the coffee table, but she has also tried to climb onto the window sill and we cannot simply remove everything from our home that can be climbed. tips?
Anonymous says
We removed the most dangerous things like coffee tables. But my toddler is super into standing on the couch lately, even though she 100% knows she needs to sit on her butt. I don’t know that this is great advice but what we do is: first time, stern warning (not yelling but very serious tone of voice), second time, remove her from couch, third time, remove her from the room and make her play in another room for ~5 minutes. The last phase is kind of like a little time out, although it’s definitely supposed to be more of a distraction than a punishment (one of us will stay with her in the other room if she wants, although lately she wants to just close the door and cry in peace like a teenager, lol). It does seem to be helping a little, but she still stands up from time to time while smirking at us, so definitely not a magic bullet.
Anonymous says
I do time out every time.
Toddlers, Yikes says
No help, but my 20 month old is right there with you. Also see: shaking everything they can reach (floor lamps, furniture, etc.) We’re obviously trying to baby proof / remove what we can, but short of never letting them play in the house I don’t have a solution that’s not removing every 10 seconds for hours upon hours. I think the general recommendation is make as much as “safe space” as you can … but that’s just not very doable for those of us in small apartments.
anon says
Rather than removing the stuff, you can move her to an area where she can play freely. Perhaps her bedroom or a playroom? Make it kid friendly so you don’t have to offer corrections. She’ll grow out of the constantly climbing phase soon, so don’t make yourself crazy about it. You just need to keep your sanity while you wait for her to become interested in something else.
Anon says
We have a climber. Baby gates everywhere (obviously you can’t do that for a coffee table), time outs for things she wasn’t supposed to climb (like the outside of the open staircase 6 steps up) where we put her in a safe place (PNP, inside the gated stairs once she was older and good with stairs, etc.) and walked away out of her sight for 1-2 minutes, then had a discussion about what was wrong, hug, and return to playing, and in general a good deal of fortitude, near misses, bruises and the number of your local pediatric ER or after hours pediatrics place (which we fortunately have not had to use for climbing related incidents yet!). I will say around 2-2.5 kiddo’s athletic abilities caught up to her sense of daring and so we rarely have serious falls anymore. And also recommend a coffee table sturdy enough for climbing and putting whatever bumpers you need to on it to make it kid safe, because I’m not sure you’re going to win that one. Our battle du jour is using the learning tower to climb and body surf and sit on the kitchen island, and we are not really winning that one either.
layered bob says
My tip is to let her climb.
What’s the worst thing that could happen? They fall and die in some highly unlikely one-off accident, but they could trip on a flat surface and die the same way. The most realistic bad thing that will happen is they fall and get a goose egg or head wound that bleeds a lot but is fine. Kids need to climb and take risks for their physical and cognitive development.
Sometimes we have to intervene where the risk is not apparent – ie running in the street – but mostly I think it’s best not to intervene and let them figure it out – they can sense the risk inherent in standing up on a chair, will push it until they fall off a couple times, and will stop doing it (but have a better sense of their abilities) when they hurt themselves badly enough.
shortperson says
i would remove the coffee table and replace it with a pikler triangle for the time being. hopefully that would keep her from the window sills. but im a fan of janet lansbury’s “yes space” theory.
Mama Llama says
No advice, but commiseration. I have 18 month old twins and was planning to ask almost this identical question here tomorrow. The main thing my LO wants to climb onto is the couch (though he’s started in on other furniture too), which isn’t very practical to get rid of. We have a pikler triangle (mentioned below as an alternative to climbing on furniture) and while my LOs enjoy it, they are not nearly as interested in climbing on it as they are interested in climbing on the couch.
Io says
My 4 year old is a serious climber. The first thing is to teach your kid to climb down safely. Turn around and slide down. / Three points of contact (one hand and two feet or two hands and a foot touching). She really wanted to climb on the table and that got her taken down and removed from the room. But I always let her climb on chairs/the couch/her step stool. What really got her over climbing inside was getting her on to the bigger kid climbing equipment at the playground. Since she was 3 she’s been climbing 15 feet up a rope climbing tower at the playground. (Until 2 we stuck to climbers instead of the cargo net/rope structures). Tables are not exciting when you can really climb! And next year she’s going to take rock climbing classes.
Anon says
My much-younger sister insisted on doing this, no matter what anyone did to deter her. It came to a screeching halt when she slipped off the couch back, smacked her head on the fireplace, and needed stitches.
ALC says
My baby has just mastered rolling and now loves to sleep on his stomach. Is there any way to prevent diaper leakage out the front while he’s lying face down? It’s been better with overnight diapers but it still happens frequently. Thanks!
Anonymous says
I have girls, so I forget the rules, but make sure his p*nis is pointing the right way. (I think down?)
You may need to size up in diapers. I find that we go up in overnight diapers before we go up in regulars.
lawsuited says
I feel you so hard on this. We double diapered – normal size overnight diaper with sized-up regular diaper on top.
lsw says
Sorry for posting late – have you tried putting the diaper on backwards? And definitely make sure his p is pointing down.