How to Dress a Toddler

How to Dress a Toddler

There was a time when I thought they weren’t real. I saw them on a classic episode of The Simpsons and thought they were a clever joke. But, sadly, they do exist. And it’s hard to believe anyone would consider using one.

I’m talking about the “Baby Harness.” In the classic Simpsons episode that featured the return of Danny DeVito as Homer’s long-lost brother Herb, a baby-speech translator captures the feelings of a child who has been subjected to a harness: “This leash demeans us both.” (Watch the episode here!)

The sad fact is that even parents who refuse to succumb to the convenience of the baby harness can’t help but regularly demean their children. Sometimes, all it takes is the wrong shirt.

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Hey Parents, Why So Serious?

Hey Parents, Why So Serious?

When did parenting get so serious?

Every where you look these days, parents are up in arms about the ways other people raise their kids. Don’t Cry It Out! Don’t spank! No TV! No fast food! No smoking!

And yet, despite all these precautions, the ultimate result – the person your kid ends up being, regardless of how strictly or loosely he is raised – is still a mystery. So why can’t we all lighten up a bit?

Why so serious?

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How to Train Your Baby

How to Train Your Baby

We leave for a trip in two days. With my baby. I don’t know why either.

My son is going to hit the eight-month mark while we’re on vacation in Ireland. I’m pretty nervous about my son’s first plane ride. Nervous and scared. Mostly that another passenger will get so pissed about my unruly child that he’ll yell at my wife and things will get physical. You know, valid concerns.

We’ve gotten some tips for flying with a baby, things like: try Benadryl, and bring a new toy to distract and confuse him with its newness, distribute pre-emptive goody bags, etc. And we may or may not try these. But there’s one thing we’ve been trying already – conditioning my son for what he’s about to experience, in order to make it easier on both him and ourselves.

I wrote a list about how to train your baby – for vacation and for life.

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Second-Favorite Parent

Second-Favorite Parent

I mentioned we took the kid swimming. The first week went, ahem, swimmingly. The second week? Not so much.

The differentiating factor?

Daddy. Because I’m the second-favorite parent.

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Real Parents Do It All By Themselves!

Real Parents Do It All By Themselves!

There a lots of different types of parents: Good parents, bad parents, absentee parents, foster parents, single parents, gay parents, neo-Nazi parents, etc.

And then there are those cute little couples who have children and live near family. But I hardly consider them parents at all.

Real parents do it all by themselves.

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