Magazine

A messy toddler eating shredded BBQ pork on a leafy bamboo picnic blanket in the grass.

Smoked Baby Back Ribs: Safely Feeding Your Messy Little Ones

My neighbor Jim handed my nine-month-old a giant, sticky rib bone last summer at a Fourth of July block party. "Look at him!" Jim yelled over the sound of a lawnmower, completely ignoring the sheer, unadulterated panic on my face....

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Toddler twin girls roaring in the living room wearing dinosaur outfits

Surviving the baby dinosaur phase without losing your mind

Don't, under any circumstances, attempt to correct a two-year-old on the precise anatomical posture of a Stegosaurus. I learned this at 6:14 AM on a Tuesday, standing in my kitchen holding a lukewarm mug of tea while Twin One shrieked...

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A cardboard brooder box full of baby chicks next to a highly stressed father

I Googled "Baby Chicks For Sale" And Now My Living Room Smells Like...

I'm currently staring at a 100-litre plastic storage tub in my hallway that's emitting a continuous, high-pitched sound, much like a smoke alarm that has somehow developed a needy personality. Inside this tub are four baby chicks. I blame Instagram,...

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A single baby chick standing under a radiant heat plate

The 3 AM Reality of Raising a Baby Chick With a Toddler

It's three in the morning on a Tuesday. I'm standing over my bathroom sink with a warm, damp paper towel, delicately wiping dried feces off the backside of a baby chick. My husband is asleep. My toddler is asleep. I'm...

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A tired mother locking her car door from the inside while holding a sleeping infant.

The parking lot panic and the truth about keeping kids safe

Dear Priya from six months ago. You're sitting in the back of your Honda CR-V in the Target parking lot on Elston Avenue. The doors are locked. The engine is running. You're sweating through your grey scrub top. You just...

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Tired dad looking at a vintage Chinese gender predictor chart on his phone.

The Chinese Gender Calendar Trap: A Letter to Past Me at 3 AM

Dear Tom from six months ago, I know exactly what you're doing right now. You're sitting on the closed lid of the downstairs toilet at 2:13 AM, the harsh bathroom light burning your retinas, holding a plastic Tesco pregnancy test...

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Two toddlers surrounded by wooden blocks and silicone teethers in a living room

The great baby toys invasion: A survival guide for tired parents

It's 4:13 in the morning, and I've just stepped barefoot onto a hard plastic sheep that immediately responded by bleating the alphabet into the dark, silent hallway. I froze, my foot hovering above the floorboards, waiting for the inevitable twin...

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A tired mom holding a coffee mug looking down at the kitchen floor in shock.

My 3 AM Kitchen Panic: Finding Baby Roaches Near the Bottles

It was exactly 3:14 in the morning. I know this because my eyes were burning holes into the neon green numbers on the microwave clock while I stood completely frozen on the cold kitchen tiles. I was wearing these hideous,...

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Toddler watching a screen while playing with toys on a living room rug

Screen Time Reality: A Mom's Take On The Little Baby Bum Craze

When my oldest was born, my mom flat-out told me that looking at a screen before age two would permanently short-circuit his brain. My pediatrician shrugged at our six-month checkup and said fifteen minutes of a cartoon so I could...

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