Parents

The All-Important Dog Question THE BARKING at home has become so spirited lately that I worry the neighbors will complain. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to get it to stop. Our puppies, brothers Shirley and Furley, who happen to be my human sons channeling their inner canines, usually respond to a stern, “Go back to being Gabriel and Joey!” They’re desperate for a dog, and this ongoing game (which involves a dramatic rescue from the shelter and fetching balled-up socks) is a way of coping with parents who are waffling on a decision. “Should we get a dog?” is a seemingly unanswerable question, one we bring up, and table, on a weekly basis. I wish I didn’t have this hesitation. Many families we know hopped aboard the pandemic puppy train. My husband still pines…

At Last, a Lucky Break So your kid used the living room as a kickball field or a cartwheel stage and knocked over the heirloom bowl/vase/pitcher. Enter kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with the help of metallic powder and epoxy glue. Etsy sellers carry loads of kintsugi kits to choose from, all of which include powder and glue to mix together and paint onto the edges of the broken fragments. All you need to do is puzzle the pieces back in place with a shiny new seam. The ritual celebrates life’s imperfections and reminds us that mistakes can be beautiful (even when we’re seething!). It’s also a sustainability win; fixing a vase instead of tossing it means one less item in the landfill. And when another thing crashes?…

• Recent parenting win Getting my daughter Olive to help me load and unload the dishwasher. • Recent parenting miss Losing it when Olive tried to tell me how to drive. • Upside to coparenting Both parents get a day off. • Hardest part of coparenting You miss them when you’re apart because that wasn’t the plan. • Cooking success Olive and Frankie are both using the Beautiful Blender under my supervision to make delicious smoothies. • Cooking failure We failed pancakes really hard the other day. • Movie I’m in that I’ll show my kids They’ve already seen Ever After: A Cinderella Story and 50 First Dates. • Movie I’m in that I probably won’t show my kids Scream (until they’re old enough). • Sweet sisterly moment Them (and me!) all listening to the soundtrack from Sing…

HELP THEM THRIVE IN EVERY WAY Sugar & Sprinkle Eggs Sparkly sugars and colorful sprinkles can offer as much unbridled joy as glitter. Instead of glue, opt for edible adhesive, a product bakers use to attach fondant flowers to cakes; this way, you won’t worry when your kid licks their fingers. WHAT YOU’LL NEED Shallow bowlsSanding sugar and/or sprinkles in several colors and designsClean (food-safe) paintbrushEdible adhesiveDyed or plain hard-cooked eggsPaper towels MAKE IT 1. Fill several shallow bowls with different types of sanding sugar and/or sprinkles. 2. Use a paintbrush to apply edible adhesive to an egg in the design of your choice—for instance, a letter, polka dots, or bands. Dip or roll egg in sugar or sprinkles until adhesive is coated. 3. Place egg on a paper towel to dry for 30 minutes. (If coating an…

Bunny Linzer Cookies Active Time 15 minutes Total Time 45 minutes Makes 10 sandwich cookies INGREDIENTS 1 16.5-oz. roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough½ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling⅓ cup seedless raspberry jam MAKE IT 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. Knead cookie dough with flour on a clean work surface until smooth. Divide in half; cover and refrigerate half. Roll out first half on a lightly floured sheet of wax paper to a scant ¼-in. thickness. (If dough is too soft, refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.) 3. With a 3½x2⅛-in. metal cookie cutter, cut out as many egg shapes as possible and transfer them to the prepared sheets. Repeat with the refrigerated half of dough and any remaining scraps. (You should get about 20 egg shapes.) Use a…

YOU NEVER asked to be the food police, and yet here you are: negotiating with your kids over steamed vegetables, arguing about staunch food refusals, and handing down “three more bites” decrees. You just want your kids to be nourished and healthy, but it feels like an uphill battle, one that’s making mealtime miserable. If you’re ready to turn in your badge, there’s help. A method for feeding kids that can restore peace to the dinner table—and protect kids against food hang-ups and even disordered eating as they get older—exists. Intuitive eating was pioneered more than 25 years ago, but it’s currently enjoying a resurgence. The philosophy is centered on honoring one’s relationship with food by finding satisfaction while eating and listening to hunger and fullness cues. Happily, kids are born…