March 2, 2023

…Celebrating “The Good Parts” of parenting more often, while acknowledging that the tough parts will always be there. Nothing like wet baby kisses.

…Why some rural hospitals are shutting down maternity units despite a maternal health crisis in this country. Spoiler: It has to do with money.

…How some parents are paying up to 19% of their income on childcare costs, according to the US Department of Labor. Check the average costs in your region by using this search tool.

…Different ways to avoid accidental poisonings around your home, according to a poison control expert. Simple things can make a huge difference.

…This umbilical cord art going viral on social media. To gold plate or not to gold plate?

Q: My toddler’s preference for me over her dad is cute, but it can lead to tantrums. How do we handle this?

This is normal in toddlers, and it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you, your partner, or your kid, says Dr. Cathryn Tobin, a pediatrician and founder of Healthiest Baby, which offers online toddler parenting courses. "Toddlers have a powerful drive to feel in charge, and there aren’t a lot of options at this age. So demanding, ‘Only Daddy change my diaper’ or ‘Only mommy sit here’ is an effective way to feel in control,” she said.

You can try to be understanding and support your kid’s feelings, but you don’t have to give in to their requests. You can say, ‘Wow. You’re really good at making decisions, but tonight dad is going to put you to bed.’ (PSA: If you’re the preferred parent, don’t step in if your partner is trying to manage things).

Parental preference can be especially tough for the rejected parent. But Dr. Tobin said when a child is comfortable rejecting you, it’s because they know you love them unconditionally.

An Easier Way to Help Baby Sleep

There’s a reason so many parents have the Baby Shusher on their registry. The company’s Sleep Miracle soother uses a real voice to “shhh” your baby to sleep in 15 or 30-minute sessions and is portable, according to their site. It has 4.4 out of 5 stars and nearly 18,000 reviews on Amazon. Many reviewers shared that it helped their babies relax. Sarah, who has a 7-week-old, wrote that it “saved us in the newborn stage.” A downside, according to several reviewers, is that it can’t play longer than 30 minutes at a time.

How to Start a Social Media Cleanse

A social media “cleanse” is just a fancy name for getting off Instagram and TikTok (or whatever your platform of choice may be). And there’s a good argument to be made that most of us could benefit from one because, as clinical psychologist Jenny Taitz said, “We only have so many hours of the day, so how do we want to spend them?” In addition to freeing up precious time, social media cleanses have been shown to boost mental health. 

Whether you’re looking to take a full-blown hiatus or just slow your scroll here are some ideas to get you started:

• Turn off notifications…because your high school friend posting 'for the first time in a while' isn’t a reason to sign back on. 

• Set app limits…so you’ll get an alert when you’ve spent too much time scrolling. 

• Go on an unfollowing spree…to clear out the negative energy.

• Delete the apps…and use other apps like Freedom and Self Control to prevent you from accessing the platforms on your browser.

• Deactivate or delete your accounts…which looks different depending on the platform.

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