Cynical Parent

Let’s face it: most toddlers are picky as hell.  

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made lunch or dinner for my daughter only to have her barely pick at it, push it away, and say “all done!” when she clearly needed to eat more.  

I hated doing it, but like many parents, I would give in and just end up giving her what she wanted, whether it was a pouch of applesauce, crackers, or some bread. 

I know, I know, parents shouldn’t do that.

And that’s why I set out to find ideas of what to make for lunch for picky toddlers.  You know, meals that they would actually eat so that I wouldn’t feel like I was just making food for the trash can (yeah, the dog would end up getting a fair amount of it too). 

So, keep reading, and I’ll share my top 10 ideas for lunch for picky toddlers that they will actually eat!

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You may have thought your little one’s sleeping problems were behind you.

Waking up with a newborn guzzler is no joke, but now your bug-eyed toddler seems to be going through the dreaded 2 year old sleep regression. And like me, you could be waking up with a kid’s foot in your face.

Although you may have thought this was the time to reacquaint with your partner, catch up on romance novels, or binge Netflix shows, think again!

But don’t worry – we’ve got some answers for you here.

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It’s that time of year again.  You’ve spent years dealing with Valentine’s Day with your significant other – some people love it, some people feel it’s just a Hallmark holiday excuse for buying cards and flowers.

And then, eventually, your kids enter this world. And they have to do Valentine’s Day too.  

I may be a little cynical at times (ha, yes, that’s the name of this blog), but I think Valentine’s Day is a fun opportunity for preschoolers and kids in general to do different crafts and start to explore the art of giving and receiving gifts.  It doesn’t need to have a romantic element.

Of course, we’re hot off of the holiday season, so your kids are likely well-versed in the gift receiving department.

With all of that said, we’ve rounded up a bunch of great (and easy) Valentine’s Day crafts for preschoolers that your kids will definitely enjoy.

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If you or your wife is giving birth for the first time, you’ve probably heard of the “push present.”

A push present is exactly what it sounds it like: a gift for pushing out the baby – to the woman who did all the pushing – typically given by the baby’s father.  Makes sense.

Giving birth to a child isn’t easy.  It’s an accomplishment of sorts; after all, it’s commonly referred to as a “miracle” (despite the fact that having children is incredibly common, and has been since the beginning of the human race).

Okay, I’m only kidding (a little bit); I don’t mean to downplay the monumental event that is childbirth. It is literally life-changing.  So naturally, it’s an occasion that may be worthy of a gift.

When is this gift generally given? What are the best push present ideas?

Where did the idea of the “push present” even come from? And why is it semi-controversial?

Relax, I’ll explain all of this – so keep on reading…

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At 18 months old, your baby isn’t such a baby anymore. Suddenly, you look across the room and your little guy isn’t toddling anymore… he is running!

He is getting curious and into everything. It’s getting harder and harder to keep him entertained for long periods of time with his baby toys. Finding the best toys for 18 month old toddlers can be a challenge!

This can be a difficult age because toddlers are busy but aren’t great at solo play or immersed in pretend play yet.

For toddlers, you want a toy that entertains, excites, and educates. This can be a recipe for a house full of toys that lay in the toy box and clutter the closet.

Instead of spending hours at the local box store scouring the shelves in an effort to find the perfect toddler toy, keep reading for my list of the top 7 best toys that will capture your toddler’s attention and really keep him busy!

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As a parent, you do whatever you can to help your baby sleep better.  It’s pretty simple: the more your baby sleeps, the more you can sleep.

When our daughter was a newborn, up until about 4 months old, we had a lot of crutches when it came to sleep. We used a rock ‘n play, a swaddle, a white noise maker, and the Magic Merlin sleep suit (which we wrote about here).

All of that was great, and worked for a little while.

But once she started getting bigger, moving around a lot more, and we moved her to her crib to sleep, we had to get rid of all these crutches (except the white noise).

Now what?

If you’re lucky and your baby is a good sleeper, you may not need to do anything else.  But for us, it was time to move onto the next logical sleep aid:

The baby sleep sack.

What is a baby sleep sack and how does it make your baby sleep better?  Which is the best baby sleep sack?

Keep reading, and we’ll get into all of that below.

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Is your toddler constantly climbing out of his crib? When my son first climbed out of his bed (at 8 months old!) and tumbled to the floor, I starting searching the internet for “how to keep toddler in crib” to save my sanity and help keep my kiddo safe!

As a parent, I do not look forward to transitioning to a toddler bed. I don’t want him getting out of his bed a million times or climbing the walls. He’s a tricky one, that boy.

Currently, my son is 2.5-years old, and guess what? He is still in his crib. Success!

Keep reading for to learn the secrets I’ve discovered for how to keep your toddler in his crib… for the sake of your sanity and his safety!

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Many kids go through a dinosaur phase.

My son is 2, and he loves to read his favorite dinosaur book and scare the snot out of me by running around the corner roaring! If you search the internet for the best dinosaur toys, there will be pages and pages of results.

For several years there wasn’t much happening on the dinosaur front. However, in recent years we have seen Jurassic Park make a resurface on the big screen. As a result, dinosaur toys are getting more popular than ever!

Okay, so there are seemingly millions of dinosaur toys out there…which ones do you get for your kid? We’ve done a bit of research and came up with a list of the best ones out there today.

Keep reading and we’ll dive right into our list of the 10 best dinosaur toys for kids!

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I’m guilty.

Even after hearing everyone tell me about how bad “screen time” is, I still let my not-quite-2-year-old daughter watch TV.

I instinctively know it isn’t good, but sometimes it just fits so perfectly into your day.

You’re trying to get something done.  They want to be entertained.

And there’s this magical box (okay, we’re not in the 90’s anymore – it’s more like a magical window) that will allow all of that to happen.

But then there’s this voice in your head that reminds you: “TV is bad for kids. Don’t get your toddler hooked on watching TV at such a young age.”

I know.  Thanks little voice in my head for reminding me.

Even though I’m pretty sure that TV watching is a bad thing, I wanted to research this a bit more.  Is it ACTUALLY bad? How bad is it? What about short periods of watching?

Let’s dig into it.

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When you find yourself expecting and the shock/excitement/oh-crap-I’m-having-a-baby emotions start to wear off a little, you will likely find yourself looking up to find all the baby “unfriendly” areas of your home. Wall outlets, table corners, toilet seats, and… stairs.

Keeping kids safe around stairs requires the best baby gates for stairs – but which one actually is the best?!?

There are baby gates that mount to the wall and there are baby gates that pressure mount between the doorway to the stairs.

While pressure-mounted baby gates are my go to for rooms and doorways, they are not as safe and effective for use in stairwells. They’ll work for a while until the baby is pulling up to stand and then entering toddlerhood. Once the child is big enough, it may be easy for him to push the gate over or loosen it with a carefully placed tantrum.

Shopping for baby gates to keep your little one safe around stairs can be overwhelming – there are so many choices! We’ve made it easier for you by narrowing the list of the best baby gates for stairs down to four…

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