Get Out of the House!
by Nicole on 5/14/13 | 0 Comment(s)
Getting both of my children out of the house is one battle I never thought I would have to fight. It is harder than it looks when one child just decides he is not ready to go anywhere. Elana Gartner has some great ideas on how to motivate the little rascals to get a move on! [...]
Correcting Children and Picking Your Battles
by Nicole on 5/10/13 | 0 Comment(s)
Simplifying daily parenting routines like getting the kids out the door or bedtime routines is something I struggle with constantly. Sharon Peters from Parents Helping Parents has shared her thoughts with us on this. There are many things that need to happen every day to help home life run smoothly. Everyone in a family has places to go, [...]
Weaning – When and How?
by Nicole on 5/07/13 | 0 Comment(s)
Is there a “right” time and is there a “right” way to wean? Sara Chana Silverstein, a New York based, international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC), classical homeopath, herbalist, lecturer, author, wife and mother of seven children (yes, she really is superwoman!), wrote an article for us that tackles those questions. Weaning – Is now is [...]
Parents Sometimes Say Too Much
by Nicole on 5/01/13 | 0 Comment(s)
I recently discussed best practices when trying to talk to my children about their behavior and actions with Sharon Peters from Parents Helping Parents and she was able to offer me some very eye-opening advice. It can be helpful for parents to say their ideas in as few words as possible. A short, clear explanation [...]
Food Fights
by Nicole on 4/24/13 | 0 Comment(s)
Ahh, the everlasting battle at dinner time. And what do you do when it involves your partner too? Alice Kaltman of Family Matters NYC gives us her take. This article was originally published on Brown Medina’s Newsletter. Food is fundamental. We want our kids to be healthy and strong and we’ll do anything to make [...]
Brooklyn Baby Expo Tickets Now Available!
by Nicole on 4/24/13 | 0 Comment(s)
Tickets are now available for the 2013 Brooklyn Baby Expo! Enter code BBE2013 for a discount (valid until May 1st)! Join us for A Child Grows in Brooklyn 2nd Annual Brooklyn Baby Expo on Sunday, June 2nd at the International School of Brooklyn in Carroll Gardens! Brooklyn’s premier family event is returning for new and [...]
Fighting in Front of Your Kids: Guidelines on How to Fight Fair
by Nicole on 3/25/13 | 2 Comment(s)
Fight Fair by Alice Kaltman All couples have conflict. Those friends of yours who seem to be so ‘in love’ with each other, so fight-free? Believe me, they too have their moments. Every couple does. Couples with young kids are likely to have even more conflict. Stakes are higher, tensions are greater, sleep and sex are [...]
Lithium Cell Batteries: A Real Hazard
by Nicole on 3/20/13 | 0 Comment(s)
At the beginning of parenthood there is nothing more challenging than policing everything that goes in your child’s mouth. There are hazards everywhere: coins, game pieces, paperclips and now, an increasingly serious danger: lithium cell batteries. I kind of freaked out after I found this NY Times article and promptly pulled started hunting around the house for [...]
The Princess Diaries: How to Cope with the Disney Juggernaut
by Nicole on 3/17/13 | 2 Comment(s)
By Sarah Moriarty We’ve all witnessed it, the gravitational pull between little girls and all things princess related. Despite all our efforts to avoid gender specific toys, videos and stereotypes, many of our daughters end up tutu-ed and beribboned singing about being rescued. At my house we did it all, pushed the “masculine toys,” no [...]
Why I’m Going To Stop Saying “Good Job” or at Least Try
by Nicole on 3/12/13 | 3 Comment(s)
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I have been saying, “Good job, good sharing, or good _______ (fill in the blank) far too often. Not only am I sick of hearing myself say it, I am tired of hearing my husband say it and I suspect my children are sick of hearing [...]
Domestic Dilemma
by Nicole on 3/11/13 | 0 Comment(s)
Shayna Gehl of The Disheveled Parent shared her day with us. I am hoping you all had a better day than this…but we’ve all been there before. So this is the situation. I wake up and walk into my kitchen. There are dishes everywhere. Clothes are strewn all over the apartment. Some are actually clean (I [...]
How to Promote Literacy at Home with Books, Games and Apps
by Nicole on 3/06/13 | 0 Comment(s)
I try to read as often as possible to my kids because I continuously hear how important it is for their language development. I am also a voracious reader and I would love for my kids to share this passion. They have both gone through varying phases of interest, but I always try to incorporate [...]
24 Months Without Television
by Nicole on 3/01/13 | 0 Comment(s)
Before I became a parent, I said I wouldn’t let my kids watch any TV (I think I said a lot of things before my children were born that would make me fall over laughing now). Well that lasted until my second was born and then all bets were off. Elana Gartner has shared her [...]
Expanding your Child’s Vocabulary, At Home!
by Nicole on 2/19/13 | 0 Comment(s)
In honor of the upcoming Reading Awareness month, we will be posting articles on that theme! “What can I do to increase my child’s language and vocabulary?” This is a common question concerned parents ask. Parents, know this key tip: the most crucial step in speech and language development begins in the home! Strategies to [...]
Six Things Parents Can Do To Start Empathy in Children
by Nicole on 2/18/13 | 0 Comment(s)
With all the devastating conversations about bullying and violence going on among our children, we thought this was an important subject to cover. Empathy is a crucial skill for leading a successful and happy life. Empathy provides a strong foundation for listening, communications, collaboration and problem-solving – critical skills in a rapidly changing world. Empathy is also [...]
Putting My Own Oxygen Mask On…First
by Nicole on 2/13/13 | 2 Comment(s)
I’m going to be super-honest with you since this is the first you’ve heard from me. Sometimes it feels like I let everything slip and crash to the floor, and the pieces of my life, my work, my parenting, my self-care, all lie in a glinting, smashed pile of sharp shards in front of me. Let me [...]
Women Congratulate My Husband For Spending Time With Our Kids
by Nicole on 2/04/13 | 1 Comment(s)
People seem to think that my husband is an anomaly. He has spent the last three years splitting our parenting duties evenly, spending a day a week with our children and working the other four days. He took advantage of a program at his company that allowed him to have this schedule and, when he [...]
Being Complete – A mom’s journey of leaving home and coming back again complete
by Nicole on 1/29/13 | 7 Comment(s)
I have wanted children ever since I can remember. I played mama to teddybears and whenever I had the chance, to real babies. As a little girl I was totally infatuated with little, angelic people. I can remember my parents saying, “Oh, she just loves babies.” Then I got older, and it was true of [...]
The “New Circuit” of Parenting Books – Behavior
by Nicole on 1/28/13 | 3 Comment(s)
Parenting is hard work. I don’t think any mom or dad has ever said otherwise. And I find it to be all mini stages. If something is going well (or terribly) this month, just blink your eyes and it will surely be different next month. And bring in a second…or dare I say a third…kid [...]
Meet our Resident Dad! John Proctor joins A Child Grows!
by Nicole on 1/22/13 | 6 Comment(s)
Like many Brooklyn dads, I write, and like many Brooklyn writers, I’m a dad. And like many Brooklynites, I came here from somewhere else. Growing up in Kansas I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and watched Brighton Beach Memoirs, and sometime in junior high I decided, That’s where I’m going to live some day. [...]
How to Manage a Split
by Nicole on 1/17/13 | 0 Comment(s)
Unless you’re Kim Kardashian, it’s unlikely you entered your marriage already planning your divorce. All joking aside, however, what should you do if you find yourself in this position? Unfortunately, I’m finding this to be more and more common with friends….divorce, or separation, or splitting. Whatever you want to call it, it basically sucks for [...]
Tummy Time Connundrum
by Kim on 1/15/13 | 0 Comment(s)
We’re thrilled to run our first guest post of 2013! This week, Dan Rindler shares some advice on what to do when babies express discomfort during tummy time. Dan is a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner and Director of child’space NYC. It’s a pleasure to have him as a guest contributor to our site. Below he answers [...]
Holistic Moms- New Chapter Debuts This Week
by Nicole on 1/07/13 | 1 Comment(s)
Are you interested in holistic health or living green? Maybe you want to learn more about it or are an expert in the field. Either way, you will probably find some other like minded moms at the newly formed Brooklyn (Williamsburg/Greenpoint) chapter of Holistic Moms Network!™. Holistic Moms Network!™ is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization connecting [...]
What I Have Learned This Year (2012)
by Nicole on 1/01/13 | 0 Comment(s)
Happy New Year to you all! I hope 2013 will be a year full of good things for each of you: peaceful homes, employment, good health and love. I hope for those things for myself too: but, here I am on New Year’s Eve with a cold, fighting off chills, thinking not about the coming [...]
Sandy Hook: What We Can Do Now in Brooklyn
by Nicole on 12/18/12 | 0 Comment(s)
This is my first post since the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. It is weighing heavily on all of us. I am on a roller coaster of emotion; one minute I feel soul-emptying grief, and at others such intense anger that I almost don’t recognize my own thoughts. And, then I just feel so nakedly, [...]