Magazine

A tired dad holding a wooden baby rattle while twin infants sit on a neutral playmat.

The newborn rattle timeline from potato stage to blunt force trauma

I was standing in the kitchen at 4am, holding a plastic object that resembled a neon torture device, trying to work out why my three-week-old daughters were actively ignoring it. It was a Tuesday. Or possibly a Thursday. Time becomes...

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A simple wooden baby rattle resting on a crumpled organic cotton blanket.

What I wish I knew about the holz babyrassel as a first toy

I was sitting on my living room floor at three in the morning, staring at a battery-operated plastic cow that was playing a distorted, low-battery version of a nursery rhyme on a terrifying loop. My son Dev was screaming. The...

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A wooden baby rattle next to a digital caliper and a cold cup of coffee

Dear Marcus: Stop Buying Loud Plastic Toys and Read This

Dear Marcus of exactly six months ago, It's 3:14 AM on a Tuesday. You're standing in the dark hallway of your Portland bungalow, clutching a lukewarm bottle of formula, staring at a flashing plastic boombox toy that's aggressively singing "I'M...

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A neutral infant play mat on a living room floor covered in scattered baby toys and an abandoned coffee cup.

Why Most Infant Play Mats Are A Trap (And What Actually Works)

I was on my hands and knees in the middle of my living room, frantically trying to scrub curdled breastmilk out of a felt lion’s mane with a single dry baby wipe, while my three-month-old screamed like I was actively...

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Two babies lying on a high contrast floor area surrounded by wooden toys

Why The Wrong Infant Play Mat Will Ruin Your Tuesday Afternoon

It was 2:14 PM on a particularly bleak, rain-lashed London Tuesday, and a plastic, primary-coloured toucan was aggressively singing a distorted, tinny version of ‘La Cucaracha’ while swinging precisely three inches above my daughter’s nose. I was sitting on the...

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A wooden bunny baby rassel resting on a messy living room rug

Surviving the Night with a Baby Rassel: Why Simple Toys Win

The digital clock on the microwave glared at me in aggressive, glowing red numbers: 3:14 AM. I was standing barefoot in a puddle of something unidentifiable (let's optimistically call it water) while holding a screaming two-year-old who was currently producing...

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A tired dad holding a wooden baby rattle while looking at his laptop

Why I Was Completely Wrong About Rasseln Für Babys As A New Dad

It was Tuesday at roughly 4:12 PM, and my living room looked like a warehouse explosion at a brightly colored plastics factory. I was sitting on the rug holding a neon green plastic hippo. I shook it. It emitted a...

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A messy living room floor with a round waterproof baby mat and wooden toys.

How I Finally Found a Play Activity Mat That Did Not Drive Me Crazy

When I was pregnant with my oldest, Tucker, I swear everybody had a loud opinion on where exactly the baby was supposed to exist when I wasn't holding him. My grandmother told me to just throw a handmade quilt on...

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A baby holding a large soft silicone twenty-sided die while sitting on a playmat

Safe Baby Dice: Why We Banned Regular D&D Sets At Home

Tuesday night, 8:43 PM. I'm wearing yoga pants permanently stained with breastmilk and a three-day-old messy bun that's defying gravity. My husband, Dave, is mid-sentence explaining how his half-elf rogue is going to pick the lock on the dungeon door,...

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