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Frustrated mom holding a video game controller while a toddler plays on a wooden play mat

The Truth About That "Baby Steps" Video Game (Spoiler: It's Not For...

My mom swears that whatever video games my six-year-old nephew plays are totally fine for my three under five as long as I just cover their little eyes during the scary parts. My sister, bless her heart, thinks any screen...

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Toddler holding a wooden toy donkey next to a blurred tablet screen

That Viral Donkey Game Is Ruining My Search History

I was pumping at three in the morning in my dark Chicago apartment, half-asleep, trying to find a specific wooden animal push-toy my mother-in-law swore was the secret to getting my toddler to walk. I typed what I thought was...

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Small green baby rubber plant on a wooden nursery shelf out of reach of toddlers

Why The Baby Rubber Plant Is Perfect For Your Nursery

I was on my hands and knees scraping wet potting soil out of my relatively clean nursery rug with a plastic spoon when I realized the plant industry is actively trying to trick us. My oldest, Tyler, was ten months...

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A toddler playing with wooden building blocks on a rug instead of an iPad

The Ugly Truth About Those Viral Baby Hazel Games

It was 4:13 PM on a Tuesday and I was wearing my husband Dave’s oversized college hoodie that smelled faintly of old garlic, holding a lukewarm mug of French roast that I had already microwaved three separate times. I was...

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A dad staring at a collapsed block tower while his loser baby cries on a wooden play mat.

Why The Sore Loser Baby Phase Feels Like A Fatal System Error

7:14 PM. The structural integrity of the three-block tower has failed. My 11-month-old son, Leo, is staring at the fallen soft rubber cubes like they just insulted his ancestors. His face turns the color of a locally sourced Portland beet,...

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A toddler looking at a baby capybara in a zoo enclosure

Why a baby capybara is a terrible pet for your toddler

My sister-in-law texted me a video of a giant rodent eating a popsicle in a plastic wading pool with a message saying we needed to buy one immediately. Two hours later, a mom at the neighborhood park asked me in...

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Dad stepping over a massive pile of baby toys scattered across a living room floor.

The Great Baby Spielzeug Overload: Surviving the Toy Avalanche

It was 3:14 AM on a Tuesday, and I was performing what I thought was a routine diaper exchange protocol in the dark when my left heel made contact with a singing plastic farm animal. I don't know what kind...

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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 baby while two toddlers play in the background.

The Unfiltered Reality of Welcoming Baby Number Three

I was sweating through my favorite vintage band shirt in the middle of an August afternoon, staring at the back seat of my SUV with a tape measure in one hand and a half-eaten string cheese in the other. I...

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