GoodyBlog

Be in Parents: Ever Disciplined Someone Else’s Kid?

It’s prime playground season and overly-excited kids will always end up getting out of hand at some point—including the ones that don’t belong to you. Ever been in a situation where your kid's playmate misbehaved in your presence? Maybe he wouldn’t give your child’s toy back, maybe she teamed up with your kid for a sufficiently dangerous wrestling match, or maybe he simply forgot to say, “please.” Whatever the situation, big or small, we want to know how you handled it—when did you say something, and when did you keep quiet? Post your story in the comments and it might end up in Parents!

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Be In Parents: Spill Your Lunchbox-Packing Tips

If you pack a school lunch for your kid, you’re a pro by this time of year. We bet you have a tip or two up your sleeve that you could share with newbie moms who are sending their first kid off to school this fall. Dish your best ideas for what to pack and how to do it in the comments and your tip could end up in Parents! (Don't worry we'll give you the heads' up if your idea makes it.)

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Be in Parents: Do Your Kids Nap in Peculiar Places?

Easter weekend at Grandma and Grandpa’s meant all the kids in the family were worked up, fighting off naptime, and terribly tired late in the day. Impromptu napping eventually struck, leaving snoozing toddlers strewn all over the place: under the dinner table, on the dog’s bed, in the hallway, even with one hand in the Easter basket.

So we’re wondering: Where is the strangest place your child has ever fallen asleep? Post a comment and your story might end up in Parents magazine!

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Do You Have a Sunday Night Tradition?

I have very mixed feelings about Sunday nights. They're quiet and everyone's around and I love that, but even if you love your job, knowing that you have to get up Monday morning is like being on the last day of a fabulous vacation: You know you should be enjoying your last day at the beach, but you can't help but remember that you have to go soon and that stinks.

So in an effort to make Sunday nights something to look forward to, I want to start a Sunday night tradition. Which sounds just lovely, except I have no idea what to do! I'm already cooking dinner, so that alone doesn't seem very festive. Maybe we rotate picking out movies to watch? Some sort of theme? I just don't know.

So I ask you, wise readers: Do you have a Sunday night (or any night, really) tradition? Something special you do even once a month to spend time together? If so, do tell. I'm very curious.

It Didn't Work for This Mom

In the January 2008 issue of Parents, I wrote about a new way of dealing with toddler tantrums based on Dr. Harvey Karp's book The Happiest Toddler on the Block. Dr. Karp's basic premise is that you have to talk to your toddlers on their level—at this age, in terms of brain development, these little guys are more cavemen than humans so logic and reasonableness are grown-up concepts they just don't get. So our challenge, as parents, is learning to communicate with them on their level, in a language Karp calls toddler-ese. It's all about speaking in short, repetitive sentences with a degree of emotion to mirror that of the upsetness of your kid. It's so he understands that you understand him. To read my piece, Click here . Anyway, a reader sent us this letter and it made all of us laugh:

Hi, After reading your article on speaking toddler-ese, I tried it with my 21 month-old son, Rylan. He was working himself into a huge tantrum because he wanted a Fig Newton. As the article instructed, I stomped my feet and waved my hands, using an excited voice, 'You're mad, mad, mad! You want a Newton, but I don't have any Newtons. So, I can't give you a Newton.'  About this time, my Balinese cat decided Rylan needed defending and bit my leg so hard she nearly drew blood through my jeans. So, I've learned my lesson; no speaking toddler-ese in front of the cat.

Have any of you guys ever gotten a piece of no-fail advice on how to deal with your baby or kid that...well, failed you? We'd love to hear!!

Spill It: The Junk in Your Trunk Whole Car

Is your car a black hole for all the various junk you (and especially the kids) accumulate? I don't have a car anymore (don't need one in the city) but when I did, my trunk was just brimming with crap. I'm a pretty neat person but somehow those pesky odds and ends just couldn't escape my car's tractor beam pull.

So we're asking, out of total nosiness because we think it's fun: What kind of stuff is stashed (and mashed) in your car (not just the trunk!!) right now?

Be in Parents: What's Your Family's Holiday Tradition?

Okay, I know it's August. But we're working on a story about holiday traditions for Parents, and we want to know what yours is! Does your family do anything unique and fun for Christmas or Hanukkah? For instance: When I was little, we made this amazing advent calendar out of those little cardboard milk cartons. It was assembled and decorated (mostly by my mother) and then every Christmas thereafter, it was filled with treats and my sister and I fought to open it each day. Another tradition: We name our tree each year. For some reason, it's always a boy. My favorite name was Chuck (not sure who was responsible for that.)

So what's your tradition? Post it in the comments (pretty please) and it might just appear in Parents! We'll let you know if your tradition is picked. (If you're a blogger yourself, we'll link back to you during our super-fabulous-TBA holiday blog party extravaganza.) Bonus points if you have a picture of the tradition.

Happy holidays in August!
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The Scariest Thing I've Seen In a Long Time

I am so disturbed by this service, which I came across while sk*rting today. Apparently, this company will retouch your CHILD'S photo (including, but not limited to: adding hair, moving irises, fixing teeth, adding headband and earrings, tanning skin, removing dark circles, adding powder, lipstick, and blush, and reshaping arms.) Wow. I truly can't (or don't want to) imagine what a parent would get this for... Just to hang it up on the fridge? When good old Glamour Shots aren't available?  To celebrate their imaginary airbrushed children instead of their real, lovely babies? (And, hey, I'm not even one of those people who swears every kid is cute. But every kid is cuter than this craziness!) How is this kid gonna feel when she's old enough to realize that she can't live up to her plastic self?

Please tell me this isn't catching on. Moms and dads--would you ever go there?

Let's Give A Warm Goodyblog Welcome To Dear Dr. Moz

Dr. Moz of Goodfather DVD fame has given birth to a bouncing new blog called Dear Dr. Moz. It's where I found this completely adorable handmade mobile! So, I think the good Dr. is getting off to a great start. And another cool thing is that you can ask Dr. Moz anything, you know, as in: Dear Dr. Moz, my almost 14-year-old is at sleepaway camp and I want to send him something really cool. It's easy to be the expert when it comes to someone else's kid gift problem, but with my own I'm totally stumped! Sending him something dorky, would be so, well...dorky! Any ideas? You know, questions like that! So, go check out ask a question, poke around or just say hi.

Do You Itch a Scratch or Scratch an Itch?

Okay, goodyblog readers, I need your help. A very vicious mosquito recently attacked my legs (I'm 97 percent certain it was on steroids, like that bugger to the right- you should see the freaking size of these bites), and now I can't sit still due to the intense itchiness. I'm trying so so hard not to scratch, but easier said than done. So does anyone out there have a secret remedy that will help me stop looking like I have fleas? I just applied Aveeno's Anti-Itch concentrated lotion, and I will report back if that helps out... in fact, they are starting to feel better as I type. So any advice for me and all the others out there who will suffer through the same fate this summer? My legs thank you in advance.

*Update*
3 1/2 hours later and I am still itch-free. I could marry this Aveeno lotion.