Twelve (very serious) tips on how to get your picky child to eat
Since Dominic was born twenty months ago, I’ve gotten good at letting most unsolicited parenting advice roll off my back. I can shrug and smile now when people tell me my child is tired or cold, or when total strangers look offended when Dominic doesn’t respond to their overtures with open-armed affection and kisses on demand. However, there’s one parenting mantra that people trot out that I could quite happily never hear again. That line is: “When a child gets hungry enough, they’ll eat.” This really pushes my buttons. You see, Dominic is what you might call a picky eater...
Read MoreTimeless Choices
Christmas was just a couple of weeks ago, right? I remember thinking that I needed to write a post on books I’d loved in 2012, set some creative goals for 2013, and find a great birthday present for Mike to make up for the fact that my Christmas presents consisted of some basil seeds, my old broken kindle, and a child’s toy with a bite taken out it. But now it’s April. I still need to do all of that, and Mike’s birthday was in the beginning of March. I’m taking a deep, soothing breath and telling myself that this is to be expected when you live in a small town whose slogan is...
Read MoreWhen messy is good
Dominic’s latest trick is to waddle over to the shoe basket, dig until he finds a tiny shoe, and then carry it over and drop it in front of me. Then he plops down on his bottom and holds his foot out. If I don’t move quickly enough to please him – i.e. immediately – he kicks me, points imperiously to the door, or screams. Or all three. He loves going outside. I have to admit, I love it less. It’s hot here at the moment – a steamy, sticky, hot. And Dominic is so unsteady on his newly-shod feet that he has to hold my hand to get anywhere safely. Dominic, of course, doesn’t have...
Read MoreDear Dad, Love Dominic
Dear Dad, Mum said that since we haven’t seen each other for almost three weeks now and you’re all by yourself in Sri Lanka at the moment, it would be nice of me to write and tell you all the news Well. Important things first. You must tell Mum to stop putting me down on that horrible green furry stuff that’s just everywhere outside. It makes no sense. She scolds me for ripping leaves off the plant in the kitchen, and she doesn’t want me picking things up off the floor and putting them in my mouth, but she regularly abandons me to whatever might be lurking in that filthy fuzzy carpet...
Read MoreDear Dad, Love Dominic (A letter for Father’s Day)
Dear Dad, This is the 2nd Father’s Day you’ve had since I was born, and I’m not even a year old yet. Mum says that America and Australia have different Father’s Days, so there are two Father’s Days every year and only one Mother’s Day. Then she says “Figures” in the same tone she says “Of course he did” when you tell her that Zulu’s fetched another dirty diaper from the trash and ripped it apart on our front step. Just between you and me, I don’t understand why she feels hard done by. You made her a lovely card last month for Mothers Day with pictures of me on it...
Read More10 Ways My Baby Is Like My Dog
(Yes, that is the dog’s water bowl. Yes, that is my child. No, I did not take this photo.) * When we brought home our adorable mutt, Zulu, a number of friends told us that a puppy was a great training run for parenthood and that we’d have a baby within a year. Much to our surprise, they were right on both counts. We had our first child eleven months later, and this year we’ve learning that puppies and babies are remarkably similar in some ways. 1. How they’re similar: Once upon a time, I said that I would never have a dog or a baby sleeping in my bedroom. Both dog and baby ended...
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