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After having so much success with the Peter Thomas Roth Acne Clearing Gel, I bought the Mix, Mask, and Hydrate set that comes with a few different masks. I think all of the masks work really well, but my favorite thing from the set is this moisturizer. They call it a “cloud cream,” and it really is a great description for what the texture is like. It’s soft and thick and absorbs into your skin very quickly. I put this on in my bathroom, and by the time I walk to my bed it already has absorbed into my skin nicely. When I wake up in the morning, my skin is noticeably softer and smoother. When I am done with the sample size, I definitely am going to buy the full 1.7-oz. size, which is $52 at Sephora. Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- Zappos – 26,000+ 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 – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 40% off everything
- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
EP-er says
Thank you to the posters who talked about their Roombas last week. I cashed in some points from a work program and it arrived on Saturday. I am in love! And also slightly disgusted – we clearly aren’t good at vacuuming under the furniture. It is a little louder than I was expecting on the hardwood floors — I had initially thought that we could run it in the middle of the night. It handles the transitions from carpet to hardwood with no issues. This really is a “make my life easier” tool!
Cb says
Amazing! We have a Eufy and it’s still going strong. It’s not a substitute for mopping (we have hardwood throughout and are continually tracking in things from the garden) but it really makes that maintenance cleaning so much easier.
IHeartBacon says
They’re also great for folks who have pets because they get all the pet hair from under furniture.
Spirograph says
We have a Deebot brand one, which replaced an earlier generation Roomba, and I love it. The one problem is that my kids will knock it off the charger and it won’t be charged when I want it to be, sometimes. But still, such a time saver.
Anon says
We have a Deebot brand one too. My 2 year old calls it “Deebot” like that’s its name. At one point, she was super into telling people her family was “Mommy, Daddy, [her name], [dog’s name], Deebot!”
Anonymous says
my husband named our robot vacuum Rambo and the kids use it as a verb (“mommy we need to rambo the kitchen!”) as well as referring to the robot by name. It has generated many quizzical looks when they discuss the vacuum with people outside our family
Anonanonanon says
So glad it could make your life easier! My Eufy has probably only saved me, in time, 10-15 minutes twice a day, but in reality it has been so nice to feel like something is getting taken care of for me and one less thing to do in the morning and evening!
Anonymous says
…. there are people who vacuum their houses twice a day?? My mind is blown. I’ve never vacuumed more than once a week and now that I have a biweekly cleaning service I don’t vacuum at all, we just let the floors get a little dirty between cleaning service visits.
Anon says
yes this probably makes me sound spoiled, but growing up we had a biweekly cleaning service and i don’t think i ever saw my parents vacuum. they used a dustbuster from time to time when necessary and my father is a neat freak
anon says
Hah, yeah, over here our Roomba means our house is vacuumed daily, not, you know, monthly…
EP-er says
I probably should be vacuuming daily/every other day since we are home all the time, but it happens maybe once a week right now. I walk barefoot in the house and get so irritated by the crumbs in the kitchen…roomba to the rescue!
Anonymous says
We have a dog so we never have crumbs in the kitchen for more than 5 seconds. Maybe that’s part of it.
anne-on says
For those of you who have ruggable – is it thick enough to protect hardwood from desk chairs? I finally bought a proper desk chair for my makeshift office and don’t want to ruin the floor.
Pogo says
hmmm… I’ve been rolling my chair directly on the hardwood… is that bad??
anne-on says
Not if your floors aren’t super soft pine ;)
Our floors scratch if you look at them funny, so we’re trying to do a better job of having rugs in high-traffic, high use areas.
EP-er says
Yes, I think that it would protect your floors. It is a two part system, a thin rubber/velcro pad plus the decorative topper. We have them on our hardwood floors and they don’t seem to slip or move around. We don’t have a wheelie chair on them, though.
There’s a 15% sale going on today!
Cb says
A positive Monday note. What have your kids enjoyed as presents lately?
My son’s 3rd birthday is next week and he’s going to be so excited by his presents from us and relatives. Nothing extravagant, but all things that fit his current interests – a bunch of vintage Duplo vehicles, Annie and Clarabel for his train set, a Matchbox sized tractor trailer, and some new books. My husband just wrapped everything and there is blessedly nothing that makes noise, long may that continue.
avocado says
A basketball goal for the driveway, at least until it got insanely hot.
Anon says
Wasn’t really a gift so much as a COVID summer tool – we finally blew up the inflatable family sized pool I was able to snag before they all went out of stock in April and she loves it. We cover it with a tarp overnight so we can get 2 days out of it without refilling and then take it down to let the grass recover and wait for another storm-free weekend. My daughter is getting a play kitchen for her birthday next week and she is going to be so excited. As it is now, she was serving me “tea” out of a stacking cup from a bathroom cabinet faucet this morning while I was brushing my teeth. I think my mom may also be getting her a digital camera which I also expect she will love because she steals my phone to take pictures all the time.
AnotherAnon says
The most surprising “gift” my 3 y/o loved were some 99 cent traffic cones. I bought them as party decorations, but if I had known they’d be such work horses for play, I’d have sprung for some nicer ones.
Cb says
Kids are so funny with the things they choose. Our workhorse for the first month or two of quarantine was a basket of vehicles and a big cardboard box with roads and various buildings drawn on it
Ms B says
Some tips on this would be great for the almost-tween age group, The Kid turns nine next month and we would like to get him something “big” because we will not be spending money on a party as we usually would.
ILs already are getting him Beyblades and a new Nerf weapon, but we could use suggestions for my parents.
Anonymous says
A Nintendo Switch, if you can find one.
Anne-on says
Gravitrax marble run kit and accessories have been a big hit in our rising 3rd grade class. There’s also a really good home laser tag set on amazon for about $200 that was our ‘big’ grandparent xmas gift this year. If you have the yard space for it, ninja warrior/slack line kits are also super popular.
Ms B says
We have a Mindware marble run set; accessories are a good idea.
Suggestions on ninja warrior sets that do not break the bank or take up the whole yard?
anon says
I swear up and down that I won’t buy more lego and then I buy lego because the kids love it and it’s the only thing all three will play together. My nine-year old asked for and got the Kylo Ren lego ship in June.
Realist says
Costumes and dress up clothes.
Pogo says
I ordered my 3yo (also next week!) a Bruder excavator from a local toy shop that is doing free delivery & wrapping for orders over a certain threshold during COVID. His mind is going to be BLOWN. He loves to watch the Bruder Youtube videos and he currently has a hand-me-down Bruder crane that he loves.
I think he is also going to be equally excited by the balloons I ordered and the lawn sign I had made. Both prominently feature diggers as well. Around my area it is a big thing to stand out with your LO and signs/balloons and have people drive by and honk at a specific time because you can’t have parties.
Cb says
I love our vehicle obsessed 3 year old birthday buddies.
anne-on says
Aww, that is so sweet. My son was obsessed with firetrucks at that age and the Bruder one was his ‘big’ birthday present and he was over the moon about it. Those things are STURDY, pricey, but totally worth it.
Leatty says
My 3 year old received this for her birthday and is obsessed with it: https://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-Design-Activity-Center/dp/B00012O42W/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=1XCHKSVOJ4DXZ&dchild=1&keywords=kids+drill+and+screw+set&qid=1595865973&sprefix=Kids+drill%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE3MUxBU0JQV01PU0gmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA5MzUzMjAxMldPTTNRSTlDMDY5JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0NDg1NDUyNFZSOUI2MFc4UEc3JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
She even plays with it independently!
Anon says
Oh I think I have to order this for my 2.5 year old. She’s obsessed with all things construction/building.
Anonanonanon says
Schleich figurines (animals for my younger one, the dragons etc. for the older). I like them because they are good quality and, most importantly, SMALL compared to some of our existing pretend-play toys.
My mother sent us more magnatiles now that both of my kids are within age to play with them, they’ve been a huge hit (and source of arguments until we received more)
AnotherAnon says
Welp. A kid at day care got Covid and the director has closed the day care down for two weeks. I guess in my heart I knew this would happen eventually but ugh. It feels very much like a preview of the Fall. DH is taking off work to watch kiddo because I have a huge project due this week. T&P appreciated!
Anon says
Sorry :( If it makes you feel better, I know several people with cases at their daycare and none of their kids got sick, so I think there’s a good chance this will merely be an inconvenience.
Cb says
Ugh, nurseries and schools are reopening here and I imagine the same will happen here. Cases are gradually going up again, still very low (20 a day) but I suspect as people seem to have decided lockdown is over, this will increase. Just trying to mentally prepare myself for an autumn of nursery closures. At least we’re a bit more set up for work from home, and my husband’s colleagues will all be in the same boat (all have primary school kids).
EB says
Yes, adding to the stories to hopefully make you feel better in case you’re worried – we have had several (unrelated) cases at our daycare. Each time, the specific classroom was quarantined. No teacher has gotten it. What a pain that your whole school closes each time though! That seems unsustainable if you’re in a hotspot, like we are.
Anonymous says
If you don’t start closing things down you’ll stay a hot spot forever.
Anon says
Daycares aren’t driving transmission, particularly if the daycare has already had multiple documented cases that didn’t spread to other kids/teachers. That means the safety procedures they put in place are working.
OP says
Yeah. Let’s close day cares and leave the gyms and bars open. Maybe you’re trying to be helpful but working moms sending their kids to day care are not the ones causing the surge in hotspots.
Anonymous says
I hate this and I hate this year. This summer we had outdoor camps open — one had a + case, but no spread and yet our schools are closed (which might not be a problem if distance learning had resulted in any learning at all, but it will suck and jeopardize my job to assist in the s*cking). I feel like I am on a ship with a leak heading full-steam towards an iceberg.
Boston Legal Eagle says
I don’t think daycares are the biggest drivers of the hotspots remaining hotspots. Everything I’ve ready points to kids at those ages not being big transmitters. I think quarantining a class at a time makes sense, but the whole point of the new daycare regulations is to prevent having to shut down the entire school so that the majority of kids can still get care.
avocado says
I don’t think day cares are the primary drivers of hot spots, but I do think that if you’re in a hot spot the odds are that you won’t get much actual child care even if your center is only closing individual classrooms.
Georgia Tech has put out a really neat interactive site that calculates the probability that an infected person will be present at a gathering, given the number of people in the group, the reported infection rate, and a range of assumptions about the undercounting of infections. In Florida, there is a 50% chance that someone in any given group of 15 kids/teachers is positive if you assume that the real infection rate is 10x the reported rate, and a 29% chance if you assume that the real rate is 5x the reported rate.
https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu/
Anonymous says
My doctor friends (all peds) insist that kids aren’t vectors (unless you mean bored 21 year olds home from college and going out to live their best lives since none of them have jobs this summer and are bored out of their minds).
anon says
For a different perspective, I just returned from my son’s well check this morning. Ped (with whom we’re close) told us a month ago kids aren’t vectors and had few concerns about sending kids back to daycare. Well, her response today was completely different. She said there’s a lot of risk in daycare and wouldn’t say the same things she said a month ago. Just one practitioner but it seems the assumption may be that now daycares are riskier than previously thought.
Anonymous says
For my peds friends (large SEUS city not in FLA or LA), they are sending their elementary school-aged kids to outdoor camps and their younger kids to daycares still. They are planning learning pods for this school year. One OB in the group doing the same.
We all see teens old enough to drive as a different animal. My kids are in middle school, so they still only go out the pool (<25% capacity, all outdoors) and outdoor camps and otherwise are social hermits, which makes me sad for them.
Math person says
I think that calculator is interesting but it’s important to remember that it’s based on averages, and there are people who are way more likely to be infected (hospital workers, etc) and way less likely to be infected (retirees who stay home, etc). Because we don’t compile our groups randomly in real life, you usually wouldn’t have a representative sample of the population in your group, and I suspect daycares tend towards the “less likely to be infected” end of the spectrum, especially daycares that serve white collar workers who are more likely to be working at home. As an example, a county in my state has had 3% of the population confirmed to be infected (which is significantly higher than the national average) but 98% of the infections were in meatpacking plant employees or their household members (and this was back in April so the opportunity for it to spread has happened). The Georgia Tech calculator would have told you large gatherings in that county were very high risk at the time based on the per capita infection rate, but in actuality the risk was incredibly small unless you were gathering with someone who worked in a meatpacking plant or their family. So, I kind of take it with a grain of salt.
Anon says
@anon, the risk to kids is not the same as the risk of kids spreading it to others. The data increasingly shows that kids (under 10 especially) don’t spread it, but your ped may be saying daycare is a greater risk to your kid now than it was a few months ago, due to higher infection rates and greater chance of a teacher being sick. I agree with your ped that daycare is much riskier now than in April, but I also agree with those saying young kids don’t spread it easily. Both statements can be true.
Pogo says
On the bored 21yo front, my dentist told me the other day she kicked her 21yo out of the house because he wouldn’t follow the rules. Which I understand totally, she needs to stay safe so she can keep treating patients, but she also clearly knows he’s not being safe and now he’s off living on his own in an apartment and going to parties or whatever and contributing to the resurgence. It made me so annoyed but also I don’t know what else you can do. They’re adults technically. They’re most likely not going to back to school this fall. The economy is crap, it’s not easy for them to get jobs.
Anonymous says
Thank you Math Person — I was going to say the same thing. Our spread is largely from younger adults with no kids (b/c people with younger kids are essentially on lockdown still) going out socially, with some nursing home spread, and some random outbreaks (jail, etc.). If you put me in a group with 50 21-30 year olds in some zip codes, I’d expect spread. If you have a bunch of 45+ office workers WFH b/c they are otherwise in highrises where they are WFH indefinitely and they have tweens that they got a home pool for and new bikes so they could be at home and outside all summer after being homescooled all spring, very very very different risk profile. Ditto my olderly parents and friend in chemo: they are isolating and will continue. Not all people in a county are fungible.
Anonymous says
Idk everyone hates this comment but in NJ we closed early and stayed closed longer and now day care has been open since the end of June mostly just fine. If you’re still in a hot spot day care shouldn’t be open at all. Maybe we are meaning different things by hot spot. I picture NY/NJ in March and April or Florida now. Except in April in NY/NJ we did nothing and in Florida they’re carrying on as normal.
Anonymous says
My roommate is from Myrtle Beach and gets pics of hotel parking lot cars from her parents who work in one. Lots of non-locals. IDK if they have to quarantine upon returning where they are from, but I feel that this may still be bubbling up this fall.
Anon says
yes, if you live in an area where case levels are not under control, the chance of their being a positive case at your child’s school/daycare are much higher and you will likely deal with more frequent closures. even if kids aren’t vectors, since that is not yet 100% certain, a daycare at a minimum has to close the class with the positive case. ideally, daycares would have measures in place that limit the need to close the entire facility, but that likely varies by size, location, resources, etc.
Math person says
Some mathematicians have theorized that herd immunity may actually have a much lower threshold than previously thought, and may have an impact when as little as 20% of the population has been infected. NY/NJ are there now, if you assume the 10:1 ratio of unconfirmed infection to confirmed infections, which the CDC and other experts use. It will be interesting to see what happens as you open up more, but if things stay good for you this fall and winter, I suspect herd immunity is playing a role.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-tricky-math-of-covid-19-herd-immunity-20200630/
I will also say that my Midwest state opened May 1 and had steadily declining cases until July, when they started surging. It does take time after reopening for people to get comfortable going out, so there’s a definite lag between reopening and rising case numbers. I think it’s too early to say NY and NJ will be fine.
Anon4This says
100% agree with this. I’m in a hotspot that re-opened way too early, and both teachers and 2 kids tested positive in my son’s class. They closed down the class for a week. That’s it. They weren’t even clear if they were requiring COVID(-) tests for positive folks to return. This is a relatively “nicer” daycare/preschool/private grade school. Tuition as normal, of course.
If we had no option, we’d send our son back but until the surge in our region calms down, he’s staying at home while we WFH. Not ideal. Ironic that it would have been a lot safer sending him while he was home March-June, SMH…
anon says
We’re in the DC area and our daycare has been closed since March with no reopening in sight. No summer camps. Our case counts never got as bad as NY/NJ and also aren’t even close to as bad as FL/AZ/TX, but still we’re talking about going back to Phase 2 and closing down again. Blech.
The only group around here that seemingly isn’t being conservative is 20-somethings at bars. All metrics show them driving our case counts. It’s infuriating and nothing is being done about it.
Anon says
I live in a western state and my daycare has been open early May, and we have had zero issues so far. I don’t say this to negate other people’s terrible experiences, but I do think bad news tends to get all the headlines and skews people’s perspectives, who then feel they have no viable options.
CCLA says
Similar story here, for more anecdata. We’re in Los Angeles (but on the west side, which appears to be doing far better numbers wise than the horrifying surge the rest of LA county has seen). Daycare has been open since June 1, and so far no cases. Kids 3+ are masked, temp checks every day, ~6 kids per class, lots of other precautions. Kids all have at least one physician parent, fwiw as far as risk profile of the population. I do figure we’ll need to brace for closures in the future but so far 2 months without issue is reassuring.
Anon says
More anecdata but a friend in Ohio (not a huge hotspot, but not as controlled as the northeast) has two kids in a hospital-based daycare, with pretty much all kids having at least one parent in healthcare, and they’ve had no confirmed cases. It is pretty big as far as daycare centers go too – bigger than plenty of elementary schools.
anon. says
Anecdata from a true hotspot (SE US) – Kid 1’s daycamp has maybe 10-12 pods/classes in it. Only one had a confirmed case all summer and due to the proper precautions, they only had to quarantine those kids. No confirmed transmissions within the camp. Camp is temp testing, hand sanitizing, masking the kids, masked adults, etc. Kid 2 is in year round daycare – also one case all summer, also no known transmissions to anyone in the school, and the person who had it was a teacher who interacted with most kids in the school. Hopefully these precautions to keep the pods separate work through the fall.
Anon says
Wow, that’s encouraging, thanks. My kid is going back to daycare next week (!) and I’m excited for her and me, but starting to get a little nervous. We’re not a super hot spot and I’m not too worried about other kids given what we know about kid transmission and since all the other families I know are super cautious, but one of her new teachers just sent us some videos of the teacher singing songs for the kids while hanging out at home in a large group of family and friends, no masks or distancing at all. So yeah… I think a teacher will probably get it, and I really thought transmission was pretty much guaranteed if a teacher in my kid’s class had it. It’s helpful to know it may be possible for a teacher to not infect kids she works with directly.
Same as Neutrogena Hydroboost? says
This looks a lot like the Neutrogena Hydroboost gel-cream moisturizer I use and love for about half the price.
Anonymous says
I’ve used both and they are very similar. This one has a different texture than the Neutrogena- lighter and airier, less gloppy. But they’re not dramatically different.
anon says
I love the Neutrogena Hydroboost stuff! And this is coming from someone with very finicky, sensitive skin.
Allie says
Is it very moisturizing? I have extremely dry skin and I’m looking for a new moisturizer, ideally not a cream because I’ve heard that can give more of a matte look than a glowy one.
Anon says
I have extra dry skin, and I like the one that is the gel-cream for extra dry skin, not the “normal” one. It is my “super duper” moisturizer that I use when my skin is super parched.
Anonny says
Maybe a weird question, but at what age did you stop letting your kids see you and your partner in the buff? I have a 4 yo girl and a 9 month old baby, and we still change in front of them or step into the shower or whatever while they are around. Obviously not an issue for the baby, but I’m wondering about the 4 yo. My parents were pretty conservative so I don’t have any other perspective than that. Thanks!
Anon says
on a related note – do you think it is bad if you never let your kids see you or your spouse sans clothes? we have two girls who are both under the age of 3 and DH is totally uncomfortable with changing in front of them. is this a key part of child development?
Anonymous says
No, they do not need to see their parents without clothes. There are books, and art museums, and health class.
Anon says
@Anonymous at 1:54 pm: I agree that kids need some exposure to nude bodies because, as Anon @ 11:21 am, suggests, there is a child-development component of it. My parents were conservative so they weren’t disrobing in front of us. My parents were also poor and uneducated and raised us that way, too, so we didn’t go to museums and they certainly didn’t get us books with nude people to explain our bodies to us, etc. I recall going on a field trip to the natural history museum so I must’ve seen nude bodies there, but I’m sure nobody was explaining the nude bodies to me during the museum tour. In elementary school, I remember our school was going to do some kind of presentation/class/video in the auditorium about sex ed/human anatomy/or something and we had to take permissions slips home to get permission to attend. My parents did not allow us to attend. In junior high, the same thing. This was also before the internet was really a thing so it was not like I could educate myself on the internet. So by the time I started my period, I had no idea what was going on and knew absolutely nothing about my body, how it worked, how to take care of it, what it was going to eventually look like naked, etc.
Same Anon @ 2:09 pm says
I should also mention that by the time I started my period, my mom wasn’t around any more, so it wasn’t like I could ask her about it.
Anon at 1:54 says
Yes, kids need to learn about the human body, but that doesn’t mean that the parents lose their own right to privacy.
Anon at 1:54 says
In fact, I would argue that it’s important for parents to model the concepts of privacy, consent, and healthy boundaries for their children. If Anon at 11:21’s husband is not comfortable with the kids seeing him n@ked, then his asserting his right to privacy sets an example for the kids.
Anon at 2:09 says
@Anon at 1:54: I agree with you re: parents modeling ideas of privacy, etc. And I’m not suggesting that parents should forced to be naked in front of their children or anything. My point was that I agreed with Anon @ 1:21 that seeing the human body nude is likely an important part of child development.
Anon says
Maybe this is outdated, but for the same gender parent I’m not sure it ever has to stop? Since you will see each other naked in swimming pool locker rooms and dressing rooms and stuff like that. I have no memories of my dad intentionally being naked around me so I assumed that stopped before I was 5 or so.
Anonymous says
My husband does not change in front of our 6 and 8 girls, but not make it a big deal. I change in front of them (they follow me everywhere!), and want them to realize my body is normal and nakedness isn’t weird. And still occasionally shower with the younger one. Eventually they will have hair and brea$ts and whatever and I want to normalize all that.
FVNC says
My husband doesn’t change or shower in front of either child (6 yr old girl, 3 yr old boy). He’s worked as a prosecutor in the past, including dealing with child molestat!on cases, and doesn’t want our kids to repeat anything about seeing their dad in any state of undress. He’s very, very conservative when it comes to these sorts of issues.
I still change in front of my 3 yr old son but I imagine I’ll stop in the next year or two.
Anonymous says
DD is 3, almost 3.5, and I believe DH isn’t letting her see him in the buff anymore. But he showers after the kids are in bed so it’s not really a big deal. He’ll still be in his undies around her though if he’s like getting out of bed in the morning.
Anon in Texas says
I’ve got three boys, oldest is 6, middle is 4. Both of us change clothes in our master bathroom or our bedroom. both of them regularly bust in on me when I am in the shower or getting dressed. I don’t say anything about it because I don’t want them to think being naked is weird. I’m gotten a few comments before and I respond by explaining I’m in the bathroom/shower/whatever and they can knock, wait outside, etc. Then they carry on as normal. I figure when it starts to be uncomfortable for them they will quickly learn to knock or not come in the bathroom. We also stress privacy when they go to the potty and leave the door open and will always leave the room if asked to do so.
Anonymous says
Around age 2.5. Not because I thought it was harmful for kiddo to see me without clothes, but because I wanted some privacy and found the looking and pointing and questioning intrusive. I am one of those people who had a very hard time with the loss of bodily integrity due to bfing and parenting an infant/toddler, so YMMV.
Anonymous says
“Loss of body integrity” good god thank you!! Yes!! I have a 3yo and a 1yo (nursing) and one day the kids and my husband were following me around when I was getting dressed and it was like oh my gosh I just need some privacy!!
anon says
Apparently we have no issues with nudity because I still shower with my 9 y/o (and 7 y/o, but she’s same sex) and vice-versatile. I won’t shower with my 11 y/o, but he almost certainly has seen me less-than fully clothed in the last 6 months.
Frankly, I think you can do whatever you want for as long as you want, as long as you’re open about what you’re doing and don’t create feelings of shame either way.
Anonny says
PSA, if you are looking for good books to transition between picture books and chapter books, the Mia Mayhem series is really great. My 4.5 year old daughter loves it. We tried stuff like Ralph S. Mouse, but there weren’t enough pictures and it was too long to keep her attention fully. MM is the perfect in between. And the main character is Black, as are many other characters, so helps to diversify your books, too!
anon says
+1 We loved Mia Mayhem. If you’re looking for something next, try the Dragon Masters series. It’s also very good.
Anonymous says
We just started dragon masters last night! Maybe the plot is interesting but the language is sooooo dull. Might be better suited for new readers reading to themselves? We also bombed out with Ralph S Mouse but have found all Roald Dahl to be of interest.
Anonymous says
Ivy and Bean and Nancy Clancy are great too.
anon says
Dory Fantasmagory is also great.
Anon says
Also Princess in Black
anonamommy says
Also Zoey & Sassafras series – main character is Black and there are lots of illustrations. Plus there’s a science lesson embedded in each story.
anon says
+1!
Ifiknew says
Princess in black, mercy Watson and a new one my dd loves is king and Kayla
Lily says
Can anyone recommend a puddle jumper (or similar floating vest) for an under-30 lb toddler? It seems like the traditional puddle jumper vest with sleeves are for 30-50 lbs. My 20 month old is about 24-25 lbs.
TIA!
Mathy says
Coming from someone who was a lifeguard for 10 years, and also who spends lots of time at our pool: 20 months strikes me as too young for a Puddle Jumper and I’d advise against getting one for your kiddo right now. Can you just hold her/him while in the water, and stay close if you’re going to be in a baby pool? You’ll want to be very close regardless, and these devices give both kids and parents a false sense of security.
If you really want something, maybe a swimming floaty chair? Check out LAYCOL Baby Swimming Float on The River S ite.
Lily says
Hi, yes, that makes sense. Right now we’re just in the kiddie pool (10 inches deep) and I’m hovering over her at all times. I figured having the extra security of the flotation would make me less paranoid about her falling (she’s still a little wobbly when walking in the water) and submerging her head accidentally. But we’ll wait until she’s a little older. Thank you!
Anon says
Yeah, seconding this comment. But when you get to that point, we have successfully put puddle jumpers on kids that are under 30lbs (generally between 23 and 28 lbs) even though it’s technically not allowed. Always older kids, though, from ages 2.5 to 4.
Anonymous says
You shouldn’t be less paranoid. That paranoia keeps your child from drowning.
Mathy says
Lily — totally understand! I think the paranoia is a good thing and it means that you are being very sensitive to your child’s well-being and safety!
When my son was your child’s age, we let him wade in the baby pool and were always within an arm’s reach of him. They will fall, and they will go under, and they will submerge their head. All of this is fine provided you are close and can pick them up right away.
anon. says
We have a pool and our pediatrician AND swim instructor said not to get a puddle jumper… ever. It’s harder work earlier for sure. But I really believe it helps encourage earlier swimming and much safer water time.
Mathy says
+1 to all of this — it’s harder on the parents for sure (when all they want to do is relax at the pool!), but it pays off in safer swimming skills over the long run. Totally worth it IMO!
Anonymous says
I really, truely get that. But for those of you reading this, I wanted to share that as a mom of 3 6 and under, I make my just-turned-2 y/o and my 4 y/o wear puddle jumpers. My 6 y/o is a good swimmer. My 4 y/o is learning to swim and when we are 1:1 or when I don’t have the 2 year old, she doesn’t wear one and we practice swimming. but my 2 y/o is a wild thing and I never, ever leave her unattended or let her in the water without me and we always swim in lifeguarded pools, but she has no fear. She will walk right down the stairs and into the pool over her head (which she has done, while I am watching her and actively holding her hand). She has gone under and gotten a mouth/nose full of water and it does.not.phase.her.
So, for us, when it’s me and all 3 kids, anyone that can’t swim or stand flat-footed in the water goes in a puddle jumper.
If it weren’t a pandemic, my 4 y/o would be in daily swimming lessons until she could swim and I would be teaching my 2 y/o how to swim instead, but these are difficult times.
Again, these kids are not allowed in the pool with a puddle jumper unless there is an adult actively monitoring them. Could they wear life jackets? Maybe. We tried and they results in screaming and removal of life jacket.
Mathy says
I hear you, Anonymous. Some parents choose puddle jumpers for their kids — totally fine and acceptable! Taking three kids under 6 to the pool can be so stressful (it’s stressful for two parents of a single child in our case), and I see how having these makes your time there more enjoyable for all.
Anonymous says
Y’all, my in-laws bought my 1-year-old a ride-on fire truck for his birthday, and it plays Chinese pop songs when you press the horn (the only song that has English lyrics says something like “Kiss me, kiss me, love me, love me, tastes like honey” etc). Just had to share the ridiculousness.
Anon says
Omggg!!!
GCA says
Oh my gosh, I can completely picture this in my head and hope it’s as over-the-top and ridiculous as I imagine (and I am both ethnically Chinese and grew up on similarly obnoxious Loud Toys, so I am saying this lovingly and somewhat nostalgically – please tell me it also has flashing lights). Happy birthday to your little and thanks for the chuckle!
ElisaR says
this is hilarious
Anon says
Someone sent my 2.5 daughter this book and she’s obsessed with it: https://www.amazon.com/Bugs-Z-Caroline-Lawton/dp/0545273307/
Does anyone know of any similar books about other topics? It’s basically just a list of lots of different kinds of bugs with pictures and a short fact about each one. I don’t think she has a particular interest in bugs, but she seems to really enjoy the photo + facts format over more plot-driven books.
TheElms says
Have you looked at the National Geographic Readers? It is one animal per “book” but its the same idea of real pictures with short facts. We have puppies, kittens, bunnies and ponies and my 14 month old is obsessed.
Anon says
Thanks, these look great!
Anonymous says
I like the Nat Geo ones as well and they’re not too expensive. 3yo likes “baby animals” and “woodland creatures” from Usbourne books. She loves animals so we try to lean into it
Anonymous says
My in-laws got my kids a set of DK children’s encyclopedias, and both my 4.5 and 2.5 year old LOVE them. I thought for sure they’d be way over their heads, but they enjoy looking at pictures of the plants and animals (2.5) and counting to 100 with the pictures and talking about the different kinds of airplanes (4.5). I don’t see a link to the exact one, but I think I’ve seen them at Costco. There’s a couple in the set about nature, history, culture, geography, science.
Diverse books for kids? says
I was wondering if any BIPOC parents had favorite books featuring BIPOC characters that particularly speak to them? I would love to add more diversity to our reading rotation- like books about a panoply of people rather than just animals or trucks. There are a lot of lists out there these days, but I was wondering what BIPOC in particular thought were good books. We have an 8 year old and a 3 year old so looking for both picture book and chapter book suggestion.
FWIW- my family is from Taiwan and I really like Grace Lin’s books- I think she produces some great books that balancing cultural awareness and story telling.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
Hi! We have a great board book about Michelle Obama, Diwali (tons of options, just google), the little Feminist series (not all BIPOC, but diverse) and the adjacent books (e.g. scientist). Also love Hot Hot Roti for Dadaji, Same Same But Different, Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth (really, anything that Sanjay Patel illustrates), ABC to Jay Z, and a ton more on our shelves. Will look into Grace Lin!
When I was pregnant with DS, I bought the book “Mixed” – not so much a kid’s book but a fun book that has pictures of all kinds of kids of mixed heritage, like our son. It’s fun to flip through with him. After growing up in the 80s and 90s where blonde hair/blue eyes were the normalized and coveted beauty features, I wanted to make sure (as much as was in my control) that wasn’t the case for our kids.
OP says
Thanks!
I completely know what you are talking about re: blond hair/ blue eyes. My husband (who is white) didn’t really get how important it is to have diverse representation in the media we expose our kids to until I told him that I grew up wanting to be blond because that was what I saw as the ideal growing up in the 80s and 90s.
Anonymous says
When I was a kid I assumed that books populated entirely by blond-haired, blue-eyed characters were a fantasy world that did not resemble real life. And I never understood why Anne of Green Gables was so upset about having red hair. I thought she should have been proud to be unique. There were zero kids with red hair at my elementary school and exactly one among 1,500 students at my junior high.
ElisaR says
i’m a redhead and i DESPERATELY wanted brown hair as a child. i remember thinking ok fine, i’ll take blonde but why can’t i have BROWN!!!
my mom made me brown braids out of yarn for a halloween costume (I was Laura Ingalls) and i wanted to wear them…. all year round.
i grew into liking my red hair around age 30.
Anon says
I’m white, but I have very dark hair and dark eyes and it’s news to me that blond hair and blue eyes was ever considered the ideal beauty standard. I had plenty of self-esteem issues as a kid, but never did I wish my hair or eyes were lighter. If I’d seen a book where all the characters had blond hair and blue eyes, I would have assumed it was set in Scandinavia or some place like that where more of the population looks like that (stereotypically, at least). In my very white Midwestern community I actually think darker, more “exotic” looking people were considered glamorous and beautiful, almost to the point of being fetishized – which is problematic in and of itself, but is sort of the opposite of the notion that the ideal beauty standard is blond hair and blue eyes.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
Wow, good thing as a kid you would’ve assumed the characters were in Scandinavia! You must have been a really smart kid. On TV, in books, and with dolls (e.g. Barbies), those were the features I saw everywhere. Even in school, the White, blonde girls were held out as the “pretty” ones from a younger age vs. me or my Latina or Vietnamese classmates until we were in middle and high school and there were just more people generally.
My cousins in India all wanted blonde hair/blue eyed dolls, and having “light” eyes and skin (e.g. colorism) is often still considered more desirable there and in many other cultures and communities. It’s something you’re likely not as exposed to as a Non-POC; my White in-laws had no idea this was a thing because they were…White and considered “norm” when it came to how they looked, with the exception of those with red hair who always felt different than their peers.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
YES! I totally remember asking my Mom “why isn’t my hair blonde” as a 1st grader. And I, too, have blonde haired/blue eyed husband.
Redux says
I have so many recs! We love anything by Monica Brown including Marisol McDonald (it’s a series) all about a biracial /bicultural kid who loves all the things about her that make her unique, Brown also has a number of wonderful biographies including Celia Cruz, Sonia Sotomayor and others. Sofia Martinez (series) of very short chapter books that are not expressly about race, which is nice– just brown girls being regular kids; Abueltia Full of Life about a kid whose grandma comes to live with them, great for normalizing multigenerational life. Anything by Rudolfo Anaya, who just passed away and who wrote especially lovely folktales for kids (I love these especially because all the characters are of color– i.e., kings and queens, and goddesses, doctors, peasants, etc.)– imagine that!
And I just discovered the gorgeous Chirri and Chirra series, translated from the Japanese and they are dreamy and delightful!
Anon says
Non-parent here with an old question that still bothers me. I thought of it today because I saw a news story about a shark. A few years ago I was at a rehearsal dinner. It was my husband’s friend’s family’s wedding so I didn’t know the other guests super well.
There was a girl probably 6 or 7 years old that kept hanging out with me and another woman I was seated with. I asked her about her interests and she loved sharks. I showed her an app I had on my phone that tracks where different sharks are around the world.
Eventually, her mother came over and told me “we don’t allow her screen time.” And I said, oh, it’s not a game or a show, it’s a scientific institute’s shark tracker app. She told me how much she loves sharks. Her mom replied “well, you should have asked me first.” I almost said “well, don’t let your kid sit at our table for an hour then” but I didn’t. I just didn’t reply.
Now maybe she was a tired mom and knew the kid would be begging for the app on mom’s phone or something but I swear, the woman reacted like I had shown the child pornography. Is it really the expectation that you get a parent’s permission before showing a kid anything on a phone? I sometimes show kids pictures of my dogs or cat. I’m guessing this woman was just a weirdo but I’d figured I’d ask the experts here. :)
Clementine says
naw, that woman was ridiculous.
Dude, you want to show my kid a shark tracker? And you’re willing to talk to him for any amount of time – but literally more than 10 minutes??? Assuming it’s not something horrible (like IDK, telling him he’s going to hell or teaching him to curse?), I’m buying you a drink and saying ‘THANK YOU’.
Honestly – I feel bad for that kid. Like, good for that self-righteous mom, but like… chill. I remember somebody showing my 4 month old a video of ‘Old McDonald’ and while I thought in my head ‘huh, kiddo is wayyyy too young for that,’ you know what I said to the well-meaning person holding my child while I went to the restroom? Thank you.
avocado says
Hahaha–totally agree.
Anon says
I finally got my 2 year old to cull through her hundreds of books and pick out some of the books she no longer looks at. They’re pretty well worn. Is it weird to offer them to her old daycare teacher? I’m always hesitant to offer people used things because I don’t want to imply they need my hand-me-downs, but I feel like you can’t have too many books in a daycare classroom.
Anon says
Oops mean to be a new post of course
AwayEmily says
Seriously, that poor kid. We also don’t do much phone time (makes my kids whiny) but I have never once asked anyone (strangers, family members, friends) not to show my kid a screen. I think screens can be especially helpful for people who find it tough to connect with kids. My little brother is 32 and spends most of his time in silent meditation (seriously). He has no natural instinct for communicating with children, so whenever he hangs out with my kids he ends up showing them random YouTube videos — they love it, I love that they are spending time with their uncle, and he loves feeling like the cool uncle who introduced them to Baby Shark.
Anyway, to repeat: you did a kind thing, and just happened to encounter a mom with abnormal control issues.
Anonymous says
If the mom let her 7-year-old wander around and chat with strangers unsupervised for an extended period of time, then she is out of line complaining that you showed her kid a shark tracker app. It’s not as if you showed the kid an R-rated movie. If a parent is that militantly anti-screen, it’s on her to monitor her child.
Anonymous says
This, exactly.
Clementine says
In mod, but: she’s ridiculous. If you talked to my kid about sharks for an hour, I would have bought you a drink and possibly a cupcake.
Anon says
Yeah, that’s super weird. I think she has a right to ask you to stop showing her kid the phone, and you should respect that request when she asks, unusual though that request might be. But her saying you should have gotten asked her permission first is beyond absurd. If she didn’t want her kids seeing anything on strangers phones, her kid shouldn’t be wandering around unsupervised.
Spirograph says
Yup. That mom was extra, and I agree that I’d generally be thankful for a benevolent stranger entertaining my kid for a few minutes. If I’ve left my kid unsupervised around other adults long enough that one of them is showing him/her kid-appropriate content on a phone, I don’t get to complain that someone else didn’t seek me out to ask about my parenting parameters.
Also, that app sounds very cool! I would probably be annoyed if someone were showing my kid an addictive game, or some obnoxious cartoon that I’ll now have to listen to in my house (still, I don’t get to complain because I should have been paying more attention if I wanted to prevent that), but science apps? Go right ahead.
Anonymous says
What is the app? I need this for my shark obsessed kid
Mathy says
+1 what is this incredible shark app?!
Anon says
There are a bunch of them but this particular app was OCEARCH Shark Tracker. They have a website too. Not only do you see where the sharks are, but you can click on the info and “get to know each shark.” It’s pretty cool.
I haven’t used it in a long time so I just checked it out again. You now need to create a login and they’ve added some kind of chat/comment section on the shark info page. Ugh. It was so much better without that. There may be a setting to turn it off.
Also, thank you for answering my question. I clearly have some anxiety issues that I still stress about an encounter a couple of years ago (thank you Catholic guilt) but I feel so much better knowing I wasn’t totally out of line!
Anonymous says
I would not tell a stranger she should have asked me first in that context. I do think it’s totally unacceptable for preschool teachers to be showing kids anything on their phones during the school day, which happened even at our fancy pants preschool. Same for our family members. But I wouldn’t have raised it with a stranger in that context.
Anon says
I finally got my 2 year old to cull through her hundreds of books and pick out some of the books she no longer looks at. They’re pretty well worn. Is it weird to offer them to her old daycare teacher? I’m always hesitant to offer people used things because I don’t want to imply they need my hand-me-downs, but I feel like you can’t have too many books in a daycare classroom.
Anonymous says
I don’t think it’s weird. The worst she’ll say is no.
If daycare won’t take them, your local public library may have an affiliated book donation site. Our libraries won’t take used books directly, but they’re sold at the “Friends of the Library” store, which benefits the public library.
AwayEmily says
Although I also think it’s fine to offer them to people you know! Books are my absolute favorite kind of hand-me-downs to get and I would love it if someone offered me a big box of used books.
Anonymous says
We put old books in neighborhood Little Free Libraries. Some near us are designated for kid books.