Our seven-year-old Nicholas recently had a party. He also has attended several kids' parties this year and has come home from every one of them with a bag or bucket of items that he considers treasures and his parents consider crap--you know, cheap plastic toys made in China and low-quality, over-packaged candy and gum. We … Continue reading A Different Party Favor–thrifty and earth-friendly!
Parenting
Public Transit and Summer Fun (Plus tips on vacationing in Pittsburgh!)
Warm weather is here, and I'm looking forward to summer! We won't be taking any big vacations; most weekdays, I'll be going to work in my office as usual, and our seven-year-old Nicholas will be attending art and natural history day camps at the Carnegie Museum while his dad works from home. I take a … Continue reading Public Transit and Summer Fun (Plus tips on vacationing in Pittsburgh!)
Change diapers in bathrooms.
When our child was wearing diapers, Daniel and I found it very easy to stick to this simple rule that teaches the child good habits for the future, simplifies clean-up of your hands and anything else that's soiled, is more courteous to the people around you, minimizes the spread of germs, and is respectful of … Continue reading Change diapers in bathrooms.
Morning Conversation (starfish and princesses)
The scene: Our dining room, 7:00 a.m. Nicholas is eating a Grape-nuts Smile. Mama is eating Tomato Toast and reading the newspaper, wherein she discovers some facts that might interest a 7-year-old. MAMA: Did you know? The starfish is not really a fish. Also, it has no brain and no blood. NICK: Did you know? … Continue reading Morning Conversation (starfish and princesses)
Breastfeeding While Working Outside the Home
My only child weaned 5 years ago this month, and I've been meaning to write this article ever since! I finally got inspired by a recent magazine article arguing that the whole concept of breastfeeding being any kind of good idea is A PLOT TO KEEP WOMEN DOWN!!! and supporting this argument by quoting outdated … Continue reading Breastfeeding While Working Outside the Home
Important Information on Blood Types of Parents and Children
There are two important facts about the blood types of parents and their children that are not widely known. One of them caused an unexpected health problem in my family, and the other could have caused a much more serious problem but didn't. Please read the facts in red text, and click on the red … Continue reading Important Information on Blood Types of Parents and Children
Don’t Save Room for Dessert!
One habit I am very grateful my parents taught me is this: When you finish your dinner, stop eating. If you get hungry again before bedtime, you may have dessert. In my childhood home, "dessert" was often canned fruit in syrup, homemade yogurt with jam, tapioca pudding, fruit crisp, a bagel, or something else that … Continue reading Don’t Save Room for Dessert!
Are you pregnant and dizzy?
[UPDATE: Editing this article to fix a link, I cannot prevent it from being re-publicized on Linked In, so I want to reassure readers that at this time (February 2014) I am pregnant. Dizziness and low blood pressure have been less of a problem for me this time around, probably because I followed my own … Continue reading Are you pregnant and dizzy?
3 Good Children’s Books
Today's 3 Books on Thursday theme is children's books, and I am going to limit this list to just 3! Of course, there are many other picture books Nicholas and I enjoyed together when he was 18 months-5 years old, before he started insisting on chapter books for bedtime stories as well as on-the-bus entertainment, … Continue reading 3 Good Children’s Books
Mama’s Personal DJ
A couple of Saturdays ago, I was all set for a big cooking binge, making a batch of Tart & Tangy Baked Beans from The Moosewood Cookbook plus four loaves of Raisin Bran Bread, then freezing some vegetables and washing dishes while the food was in the oven. I thought my seven-year-old son would help … Continue reading Mama’s Personal DJ
Dining at The Purple Tulip
Our son Nicholas is almost seven years old and has three possible careers in mind: railroad engineer, teacher, and waiter. This last interest has increased in the past year, and at dinnertime he sometimes wants to pretend our home is a restaurant. He got particularly elaborate during my mother's summer visit and named his restaurant … Continue reading Dining at The Purple Tulip
3 Good Books About Parenting
Jessica's Three Books on Thursday post today is about parenting books, so I decided to post my top three recommendations, even though they're already included in the longer list of Books That Blew My Mind. To prevent faithful Earthling's Handbook readers from feeling gypped, though, I'll first list three more books--actually, sort of categories of … Continue reading 3 Good Books About Parenting
Adventure in the Forest Across the Street
A few weeks ago, I explained how we appreciate the little forests within our city. During our Thanksgiving trip, Nicholas (almost seven years old) and I found a much larger forest to explore--in a place where we never knew there was a forest. Cousin Mike hosts Thanksgiving in his home near Albany, New York. I've … Continue reading Adventure in the Forest Across the Street
The Element Bearer
My son Nicholas is almost seven years old and is growing up in an Episcopal parish that has very few children or teenagers at the moment. I've been going there for 15 years. When we had more kids, during each service a teenager served as crucifer (carrying the cross to lead the procession of worship … Continue reading The Element Bearer
Explaining Addiction to a Young Child
You might think that addiction is a topic that wouldn't come up until children are in late elementary school, going through whatever passes for drug education in their school. You might be right. Then again, your child might ask questions at a much earlier age after noticing that someone you know or a television character … Continue reading Explaining Addiction to a Young Child
Money Management and Consequences for a First Grader
Nicholas has been getting an allowance since he turned five years old, almost two years ago. He does not get the "$1 per year of age, per week" recommended by many parenting magazines--that's crazy! I use the method my father taught me of dividing the money into Spend, Save, and Share categories: Nicholas gets 50 … Continue reading Money Management and Consequences for a First Grader
Words my three-year-old made up
Nicholas is six-and-a-half now, but I just found a post I made to a discussion board three years ago, answering the question, "Has your child invented any words?" I'm glad to see it again because I had forgotten 3 out of 5 of these! Pretendstructions. When Nicholas gets tired of his parents knowing all the … Continue reading Words my three-year-old made up
Traffic Safety for Little Kids
We live on a quiet street, but just around the block is the main street of our neighborhood, which has lots of traffic, parallel parking along both sides, and lots of intersections where right turns on red are allowed. Only some of the intersections have traffic lights and walk signals. There are lots of useful … Continue reading Traffic Safety for Little Kids
Walking to School
Happy Walk to School Day! My son and I walked to his school this morning, and his father will walk him home this afternoon. He's in first grade. Sometime during his years at this K-8 school, he'll begin walking by himself, but for now I am enjoying the walk and the time with him. We … Continue reading Walking to School
Sleep Strategies for Babies, Children, and Parents
Our son is six-and-a-half years old now, and while we've sometimes had trouble with his sleeping habits, in general we feel that the plans we made before he was born, influenced in part by the amazing books The Continuum Concept and The Family Bed, have worked out pretty well. Disclaimer: We have only one child. … Continue reading Sleep Strategies for Babies, Children, and Parents
The Earthling's Handbook 