Child Safety

I was recently watching one of my Friday guilty pleasures, "What Would You Do?" when John Quinones presented a conundrum that was near to my heart: should parents decide what sports their children play? Here was the scenario: a kid would plead with his parent, begging to play football. The parent wouldn't allow it, citing safety reasons. The social scenario, then, was whether strangers would intervene, and, if so, whose side they would support. Although the show presents its scenes somewhat objectively, there is usually a response they're hoping to solicit. The shocker for me, though, was that they seemed to be in support of the pleading child, no matter how scientific or well-founded the parent's logic was. I was frustrated...

Author's Note :: The below is what has worked for me & my family. They are suggestions, but as always, please follow the instructions of your child's pediatrician for managing food allergies. We found out about our son's severe food allergies to peanuts and eggs at the doctor's office 9 years ago. We were confused and overwhelmed but after a few months, living with food allergies became our new normal. I learned how common food allergies are and that countless other families were navigating the same road. Here are some things I learned over the years that have made our lives easier ::  Have snacks on hand wherever you go. I stash a few of his favorite snacks in my purse in case we...

The journey to keeping our baby in her bed has been tough. She was a climber from the moment she could crawl and began climbing the couch before she could even walk. So naturally, trying to climb out of the crib came as soon as she was barely tall enough to see over the side rails. We tried the usual ... lowering the crib to the lowest available space. For most toddlers, this would be enough. But for my little gymnast-wannabe who can hike her tiny leg up to the top of the rail, this move was not enough. She was attempting to pull her tiny body up over the railing when she figured out how flexible she was. So clearly, we...

Tonight Henry and I joined some of his school friends and their families for dinner at a local pizza place. Super casual and kid friendly, mind you. Well, when we eat out at casual places I usually let my son roam around a little and explore ... all within eye sight (and ear shot). Tonight was no different. He wandered from our table to the patio sitting area then came back to his seat when I motioned for him to come back. A little bit later he did it again. Same exact situation. Same outcome. Then, he did it again ... except this time he took a turn and BOLTED towards the parking lot and one of his little friends followed....

Disclosure :: this post is sponsored by Children's Hospital. My oldest child is now 11 years old. I vividly remember the food-allergy challenges our family faced during my son’s preschool years. Times have changed, and the approach to infant feeding has changed drastically. Only a decade ago, the medical community recommended to delay the introduction of highly allergenic foods. We now know that those old recommendations, by which I raised my son, are not the best action to take. Introduce peanut early Regarding early food introduction, the most convincing research comes from a large study conducted by leading experts in the field of allergy: Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) study. The study showed that introducing peanut at 4 months of age...