Parents

editor’s note

Parenting Things I Did Wrong, but Everything Turned Out All Right I DID NOT have a bag packed for the hospital. But that was okay because when a Doppler ultrasound three weeks before my due date showed that Baby A was taking more nutrients than Baby B, I was scheduled for a cesarean that evening. When my husband, Steve, asked me what I needed from home, I realized that I had my ChapStick, my phone, my charger, and him. I had everything I needed. I did not breastfeed my babies. But that was okay because I pumped what breast milk I could into bottles that I fed equally to them for six weeks until my supply—and stamina—ran out. I did not yell for my toddlers to stop running, even when they were gaining…

let’s get real

• CELEB Words for All of Us Famous though they may be, these parents get it. “I had to throw away the pot. I totally burned the water. It totally evaporated, that’s how long it was on the stove or how little water I put in.”—Melissa Joan Hart, explaining why her husband is the family cook, on Rachael Ray“My least favorite thing about parenthood is having to be kind to spiders I would much rather squish.”—author Tahereh Mafi, on Twitter“[My] little chaos agent has been leaving apple slices all over the apartment so he always has a snack.”—Lin-Manuel Miranda, about his toddler, on Twitter“Six out of seven smiling? I’m calling that a win by decision. If I’d averaged that when I played baseball, there’d be a statue of me outside the stadium.”—James Van…

raise a math fan

HELP THEM THRIVE IN EVERY WAY You know it’s important to read to your child, but introducing math is crucial too. Preschool kids who engage in math activities at home improve not only their comfort level with numbers but also their vocabulary, according to research from Purdue University. Even if you don’t consider yourself a whiz at the subject, you can still fit in easy lessons at home, at the playground, or on your way to school. Get those gears turning with games from Shirin Lutfeali, the advisor for basic literacy and numeracy at Save the Children, who has trained teachers in math around the world. Count Your Claps. Learning numbers is a fundamental concept for 3- to 4-year-olds to grasp. It includes recognizing numbers, saying them out loud, and counting. Make counting…

when your kid gets plastered

CHANCES ARE GOOD that at some point down the line, your whirling dervish of a child will run too fast or leap too high, then fall too hard and—snap!—break a bone. As many as 64 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls sustain a fracture during childhood. “When kids fall, they reflexively put their hands out to catch themselves, so they’re likely to break their forearm or elbow,” explains Jennifer Ty, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, in Wilmington, Delaware. Forearms are the most common type of break for children ages 10 and under, but 1- to 3-year-olds are also prone to a “toddler’s fracture,” which involves the tibia, or shinbone. “Tripping over a toy or falling while running is usually the culprit,”…

8 ways to calm your child that don’t involve a screen

WHEN MY SON was 6 years old, he kept a comfort box under his bed. He filled it with all sorts of treasures to help him work through his feelings—a tiny blanket, a ball, even a sequined bottle with yellow-tinted water. The strangest things can be calming! To find methods to soothe your little one that you haven’t tried, we asked different kinds of health pros for their most under-the-radar strategies. Why not give their ideas a whirl? THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST SAYS… Be a Mirror Here’s a technique to keep a little uneasiness from escalating into a full-blown fit. “When your child shares a frustration, paraphrase it back to her,” says Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D., a professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. Suppose she yells, “The math teacher…

make family dinner happen

YOUR DINNER CHALLENGE: You work, then pick up from day care (or shuttle the kids to afternoon activities), and there’s no time to cook. And you’re all starving as soon as you get home. Remind yourself that you’ve just got to make it through 15 or 20 minutes of hangry whining. While you’re boiling the pasta water, appease your kids with vegetables. Parents contributing editor Sally Kuzemchak, R.D., author of The 101 Healthiest Foods for Kids, has a “veggies only” rule the hour before dinner. “The kids can pick something out of the produce drawer or even eat the veggie that I’m serving, but there’s no other snacking.” Molly Janik Gulati, a mom of two in Summit, New Jersey, has a “crunch contest.” She fills a plate with raw vegetables and challenges…