I'll be back on January 14. Happy Holidays! What a great time of year to be a kid....
- posted by Michael @ 10:01 AM

 
I have heard from a mom with four kids and a mom with five kids that they finished their Christmas shopping around Thanksgiving.

I have one kid, and I find it impossible to make any progress.

So I better skip the blog for now and try shopping online while I have a few moments peace!
- posted by Michael @ 12:34 PM

 
This disturbing story from Time magazine is a reminder of why we choose to pay attention to our kids. But it's also a reminder that our hard work can be undermined if our neighbors don't pay attention to their kids.

I don't want my kid surrounded all day by kids acting out because they have been ignored for years.

So, a note of caution to full time parents: while it might be comforting to think we are giving our kids a competitive advantage over all those latch-key kids out there, let's remember that our kids will be playing with, hanging around and learning from those lonely kids. Energy you put into changing the broader culture, then, can have a real impact on your own children.

We need all parents paying attention to their kids.

- posted by Michael @ 1:29 PM

 
I tried to pick up my new-born niece the other day, and I barely remembered how to do it. Ancient history.

My guy is almost 3, which means he can go from being an incredibly needy toddler to an authoritative and demanding executive in a blink of the eye.

Sometimes, after a long run of perfectly normal conversation—like I’m talking to a bright sixth-grader—he’ll throw his food on the floor and laugh. Incredulous, I have to pause and remember he’s two. Given that food on the floor is somewhat funny when you’re pushing 40, it must be absolutely hilarious at 2.

Now that language skills are making quantum leaps again, it has also forced Mommy and Daddy to improve our logic. Nonsense answers no longer work. Now he wants a thorough explanation of why we can’t go to the toy store RIGHT NOW, and he demands a detailed action plan for how we will get to one later.

All in all, it is mentally exhausting. But it’s also the most fun age yet.

- posted by Michael @ 11:46 AM