Magazine

A tired but smiling mom wearing a baby carrier next to a stroller at a sunny theme park with her infant

The Honest Truth About Taking a Disney Baby to the Theme Parks

My mother-in-law cornered me in the kitchen, squinted over her coffee mug, and told me I was throwing money straight down the drain because "the child won't remember a single second of it." Two hours later, my best friend from...

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Tired dad wearing an ergo baby carrier on the London Underground platform.

The Ergo Baby Carrier: Surviving A Sweaty Central Line Meltdown

It was a Tuesday in late November, approximately 4:13 PM, and the Central Line carriage smelled faintly of damp wool, ozone, and my own big despair. I had one screaming twin strapped to my chest in a five-yard fabric wrap...

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A very tired mom drinking cold coffee and scrolling her phone in the dark looking for parenting advice.

Searching Reddit for a Baby Walking Game at 2 AM Was a Mistake

It’s 2:14 AM. I'm wearing my husband’s horrific faded college track sweatpantsβ€”the ones with the inexplicable bleach stain on the left kneeβ€”and I'm hunched over my phone in the dark, furiously refreshing a forum thread. I'm holding a mug of...

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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 wearing a flutter sleeve bodysuit exploring a backyard garden safely

My Toddler Found a Baby Snake: The Ultimate Backyard Meltdown

Tuesday morning, 8:14 AM. I was wearing Dave’s gross gray sweatpantsβ€”the ones with the mystery bleach stain near the left knee that he absolutely refuses to throw awayβ€”and balancing my third, heavily microwaved mug of coffee on my hip. Leo,...

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Marcus staring at a slow cooker of meatballs while holding a digital thermometer.

Dear Past Marcus: Debugging the Baby Shower Meatballs Crisis

I've got a digital meat thermometer plunged into the geometric center of a frozen sphere of ground turkey, and the reading is hopelessly stuck at 138Β°F. It's 11:30 PM on a Friday. The kitchen smells like a confusing collision of...

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A pile of organic cotton baby blankets next to a wooden toy

The End of Humiliating Baby Shower Games (And What to Do Instead)

Five years ago, I stood in a drafty village hall in Surrey, holding a plastic cup of warm sparkling wine, watching my sister-in-law unwrap a massive ball of clingfilm while wearing a blindfold. Someone shoved a disposable nappy under my...

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A toddler looking at a tablet playing a colorful animated video

Why the baby shark video is actually neurological genius

We're stuck in gridlock on Lake Shore Drive. The smell of three-day-old formula is radiating from somewhere under the passenger seat. In the back, my daughter has initiated the kind of breath-holding, red-faced scream that usually requires a medical intervention....

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Tired dad looking at a smartphone while holding an 11-month-old baby with a messy uneven haircut

Why My Wife Wanted the 1980s Baby Shalini Haircut at Midnight

At 1:14 AM on a Tuesday, my wife shoved a glowing iPhone into my face displaying a grainy 1980s photo of a child with a perfectly symmetrical, brutally blunt bowl-cut bob. I was barely conscious, trying to reboot my brain...

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