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An exhausted mom holding a melting iced coffee while her toddler points at a small farm animal.

My Complete Meltdown Over Petting Zoos and a Tiny Baby Donkey

It's exactly 10:14 AM on a Tuesday and I'm currently wedged between a rusty chain-link fence and a toddler who's vibrating with the kind of feral energy that usually precedes a trip to urgent care. My four-year-old, Leo, is violently...

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6-month-oldanimal learningearly developmenteducational toysparenting humoursilicone teethers
A bewildered dad looking at a silicone baby animal teether in a nursery

The Science of Baby Animals (And Why I Can't Bring A Hamster Home)

I was standing in Petco at 4:15 PM on a Tuesday, staring blankly into a terrarium of baby bearded dragons, genuinely calculating if acquiring a tiny reptile would solve my 11-month-old’s mid-afternoon fussiness. In my sleep-deprived logic, she liked the...

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Toddler pointing at a small green reptile hiding in the tall summer grass.

Why We Said No To Pet Turtles (And What To Teach Kids Instead)

We were at the Canton First Monday Trade Days, sweating through our shirts in the brutal Texas heat, when my oldest, Jackson, locked eyes with a plastic tub the size of a cereal bowl. Inside it was a tiny green...

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London dad holding a peachick and two toddlers

The Absurd Reality of Raising a Baby Peacock With Toddlers

I'm currently watching my two-year-old daughter attempt to post a piece of heavily chewed toast into the ventilation slat of a heated poultry brooder. Inside that plastic tub sits a bird that cost more than my first car, looking less...

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Marcus holding a sleepy baby in an owl sleep sack next to a stack of toddler books.

The Baby Owl Bug: Sleep Hacks, Separation Panic and Bird Law

My mom told me on Tuesday to just let him cry it out because he's testing my authority, which is hilarious because he's eleven months old and mostly communicates by blowing raspberries at the dog. On Wednesday, our ultra-crunchy Portland...

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Toddler reading a book about mice in a safe indoor playroom

What to Do When Your Toddler Finds a Wild Baby Mouse in the Yard

My Tuesday morning began with a half-dead rodent. I was standing in our Chicago backyard, clutching a lukewarm coffee, while my two-year-old proudly held out her hands to show me her new treasure. Our family cat was sitting a few...

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A confused dad holding twin girls looking at a small wild canine in a garden

Surviving a baby coyote encounter with jetlagged twin toddlers

It was 4:17 in the morning in suburban California, and I was losing my mind. We had foolishly decided to drag our two-year-old twin girls on a twelve-hour flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles to visit my wife's brother, operating...

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animal learningbaby safetyearly developmentoutdoorparenting humoursurvival
A bewildered dad holding a baby while looking at a fluffy duckling

Backyard Baby Ducks: A Dad's Guide to Feathers, Fluff, and Chaos

If you've ever seen a cartoon or read a children's book, you probably think a baby duck’s default state is bobbing happily in a crystal-clear pond while eating breadcrumbs, which is exactly why I nearly short-circuited when my wife pointed...

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A tiny newborn squirrel resting safely on a smooth cotton cloth inside a dark cardboard box

My chaotic guide to finding an orphaned baby squirrel in your yard

The wind in Chicago in April is basically a personal insult. I was already standing in the kitchen watching my toddler have a full-scale meltdown because his morning banana had the audacity to break in half. I was mentally calculating...

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