Magazine

A toddler playing with a crying baby doll next to a wooden play gym

The Messy Truth About That Cry Baby Doll You're Thinking of Buying

Dear Jess from six months ago. You're currently standing in the middle of Target, heavily pregnant with number three, staring at a wall of wide-eyed, plastic toys in fuzzy animal onesies while convincing yourself this is the magic bullet for...

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A confused dad holding a highly realistic baby doll while an 11-month-old baby looks at it on the floor

Unboxing baby dolls that look real: A first-time dad's survival guide

The box cutter sliced through the packing tape at exactly 7:42 PM on a Tuesday. I peeled back the layers of tissue paper, fully expecting a wooden puzzle or maybe some harmless stacking blocks from my wife's aunt. Instead, I...

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Wooden building blocks scattered on a rug next to a play gym.

Why Most "Educational" Toys Are Just Overpriced Plastic

I'm currently staring down a plastic monstrosity that speaks three languages, flashes like a discount Vegas casino, and cost my mother-in-law forty-five dollars. It has a giant sticker on the box screaming that it'll teach my baby geometry, and let...

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A tired mother sorting through baby toys and organic blankets on a messy living room floor

Keeping your real newborn alive during the plastic toy craze

My mother-in-law told me to rub mustard oil in the baby's ears to prevent winter infections. My old charge nurse swore I had to wake him every two hours on the dot or his blood sugar would tank. The barista...

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A dusty 90s plush bear sitting next to a modern organic silicone baby teether

The Truth About The Most Expensive Beanie Babies

I'm sitting on the concrete floor of my parents' garage in the Chicago suburbs, sneezing thirty years of dust out of my nose. In front of me is a massive plastic storage bin labeled with my name and the phrase...

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A fresh sprig of rosemary next to a wooden baby teether on a kitchen counter

Is Rosemary Safe for Babies? A Mom's Honest Story

I was staring at a twenty-four dollar bottle of "all-natural botanical" baby massage oil in my kitchen trash can at two in the morning while my oldest son, Beau, screamed bloody murder in the other room. His tiny back was...

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A small infant rabbit resting near a patch of grass in a backyard

Note to Self About That Backyard Bunny Incident We Barely Survived

Dear Priya from last April. You're currently standing frozen in the damp Chicago grass, holding a weed whacker in one hand and a half-eaten string cheese in the other. Your toddler is strapped to your back in the ergonomic carrier,...

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A plush baby fuggler toy with human teeth sitting on a table.

The terrifying truth about the viral baby fuggler TikTok trend

It was exactly 6:13 in the morning and I was wearing yesterday's yoga pants with an unidentified yogurt stain on the knee when my seven-year-old, Maya, shoved her sticky iPad approximately half an inch from my face. I hadn't even...

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Toddler pushing a heavy wooden pram across a living room floor

The ugly truth about buying your toddler a baby doll stroller

There was a tiny pool of blood on my hardwood floor. Not a catastrophic amount, just enough to make my old hospital triage instincts override my standard maternal panic. Maya was on her back, screaming, holding a split lip. Tangled...

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