Magazine

Old stuffed bear sitting on a nursery shelf away from a crib

The vintage toy bin disaster and why 90s plushies stay away

It was a Tuesday afternoon when my mother-in-law hauled a massive plastic tote up from her basement. The lid snapped off to reveal a sea of crushed velvet, holographic tags, and that unmistakable scent of damp cardboard. She was holding...

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A toddler sitting on a rug dressing a soft body doll in an organic cotton bodysuit

Dear past me: The ugly truth about the bitty baby

Dear Priya of six months ago. You're currently sitting on the floor of the Target toy aisle while Maya has a full code blue meltdown over a generic plastic doll with terrifying eyelashes. You're rubbing your temples, staring at the...

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A tired dad staring at a vintage 90s plush toy while twin babies play on a wooden gym

The Birthday Beanie Baby Trap: A Letter to My Tired Past Self

Dear Tom from exactly six months ago, You're currently hunched over your laptop in the glow of a half-eaten digestive biscuit, ignoring the faint sounds of Maya and Chloe practicing their synchronized 2 AM grunting from the other room. You...

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Confused dad holding a baby wearing a stiff vintage denim jacket

Debugging the Y2K Aesthetic When Your Infant Refuses to Flex

We were at our usual Saturday spotβ€”that overly loud Portland coffee roaster where the tables are made of reclaimed shipping palletsβ€”when my eleven-month-old daughter simply stopped working. Her entire motor function API just failed. She was sitting in her high...

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A messy living room floor covered in wooden baby toys and a half-drank cup of coffee.

Why My Real Life Looks Exactly Like a Baby Blues Comic Today

I'm currently sitting on my slightly sticky living room floor with a half-eaten fish cracker stuck to my left knee. My two-year-old is trying to put the dog in a headlock, and the baby just blew out his diaper with...

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A stressed British dad holding twin toddler girls while looking confused at a phone

The Truth About Baby Kia: A Letter To My Past Parenting Self

You're sitting in traffic on the M25. The rain is hammering against the windscreen of the Vauxhall Astra, and the heater is blasting a smell that can only be described as warm, wet digestive biscuit. In the passenger seat is...

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Purple 1997 memorial bear sitting in a dusty attic box next to modern wooden baby toys.

Don't Give Your Kid That 1997 Purple Bear

I was standing in my mom's sweltering Texas attic last July, sweating through my t-shirt, while she rummaged through a stack of plastic storage bins. She finally pulled out a Ziploc bag with the reverence of someone handling the Declaration...

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Mother holding her toddler looking at a smartphone screen with vintage audio playing

The Connie Francis Pretty Little Baby Trend Made Me Cry

I'm sitting on the faux-wool rug of my Chicago apartment, staring at my phone through the kind of sleep deprivation that makes your teeth physically ache. Rohan is asleep on my chest, a dead weight of milk-drunk toddler. If I...

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Toddler wearing a green baby g costume sitting next to destroyed holiday wrapping paper

Why the Viral Baby Grinch Trend is Actually Ruining Holidays

My mother-in-law told me I needed to establish firm dominance the second my toddler started acting like a green menace this December. The moms in my neighborhood group suggested the exact opposite, telling me to lean into the chaos and...

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