A lot of people ask when the right time to talk to your children about their feelings is. Denise Daniels, founder and CEO of Moodsters believes it's never too early. As a leader in child development, Denise has collaborated with a Yale University psychologist to create a ...read more
Five days till Christmas! Five days till Hanukkah! Five days left to browse, buy, and wrap all those games and gadgets and stocking stuffers and trinkets and knick-knacks and toys for your favorite good boys, nice girls, and itty-bitty babes. I thought I was way ahead of the ...read more
Before I had kids, my siblings and I established a fun "adult" family tradition: board games on Christmas Eve! After all the guests left and all the food was put away, we'd open up the wine and pull out a few grownup classics: Apples to Apples followed by Cards Against Humanity ...read more
My kids love free-style coloring with crayons, but my four-year-old son was especially excited when I told him he could finally use markers. (Of course, they have to be washable!) He was over-the-moon pumped when I showed him these amazing fuzzy posters from Rose Art. The ...read more
Imma just come right out with it... My kids think farting is hilarious. We call it "tooting," around these parts, so it definitely ups the kiddie-cuteness factor, but, let's be honest, there's nothing all that adorable about beeping the horn, booty belching, butt sneezing, ...read more
Preschoolers are so much fun! Everything is new and exciting, and they are so curious about the world around them. My little guy just turned 3 and he got some pretty fun preschool STEM toys for his birthday that he is totally loving. For his recent birthday, my mom got him ...read more
We're going "classic" with today's Toy Tuesday post... Not that we don't love screens and techie toys and all sorts of fancy gadgets and gizmos here at The Shopping Mama. But, sometimes, it's the good old-fashioned fun finds that keep us coming back for more and more, again ...read more
There’s nothing cuter than a real-life baby with a sweet baby doll. My precious little P has suddenly started expressing interest in “babies.” The second she spots a human that’s her smaller than her (and sometimes even bigger!), she giggles and points and says “Mama! Mama! ...read more
My big guy has been in Pre-K for four whole days now. That’s 10 hours total of school time under his belt thus far this academic year. (Yes, preschool is a whopping two and a half hours around here, but, hey, it’s five days a week—so I’ll take it!) Grant really likes to play, ...read more
My son is super tentative at the playground. He lets other kids pass him when he hesitates at the top of the slide and starts screaming if my husband pushes him just a hair too high on the swings. He generally skips the tall ladders and desperately clenches the ropes at the ...read more
Every child loves to celebrate his or her birthday. It's most likely a favorite day of the year! As parents, caregivers, friends, and family, we love seeing their little faces light up at the sheer joy and excitement of it all. Any way to foster their happiness ranks at the top ...read more
We have a new bedtime routine in our house... and it involves a game! That's right, we're playin' our way to snoozeville—and, yes, it means my son actually asks to go to go up to bed every night. (Hashtag Winning--in more ways than one!) Busy Town is part puzzle, part game, ...read more
My parents actually got my son his first car on his third birthday. Incidentally, they also got him his own [backyard play] house and a personal [baby] pool for "his" backyard. (Yeah, this kid livin' the American dream!) (And to think, they refused to get ME a pink Barbie Power ...read more
Have I drilled it home yet that I’m totally all about water play? (Did you read last week’s Toy Tuesday post about our family’s wet-and-wild obstacle-course adventure?) Yeah, we like our water fun around these parts. What can I say? It’s summer—we want to play outdoors and ...read more
Water play all day! (I think I need to hashtag that!) It’s been insanely hot in New York. Sunny, stifling, sticky, and humid as H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks. And, let me just tell you, my two babies do not take well to the heat. They’re flush-faced and cranky within minutes of ...read more
In case you've been living under a rock these last few weeks, allow me to inform you: it's still National Ice Cream Month. We've been celebrating since the first of July with peachy-keen homemade ice-cream recipes and adorably easy DIY projects. (We also have a ridiculously ...read more
We interrupt our regularly scheduled Toy Tuesday with this breaking news... It's National Swimming Pool Day! (It's basically a national holiday.) And so we think it's completely acceptable to abandon every work-related responsibility, annoying errand, and household chore to jump. ...read more
Maybe you love the ocean and are as gentle as a mermaid. If so, you might be best friends with Camille. Or perhaps you're creative and can draw and create new inventions. You should meet Kendall. The latest additions to the American Girl brand are the little lovelies called the ...read more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIQkQvw4RAI I’m going to be honest here… I love my kids, but sometimes I don’t feel like playing with the same ole toy or game over and over and over again. It can get a bit tedious, repetitive, and, um, exhausting... Especially at 5 AM. (It's ...read more
We love bringing you the latest toy trends every Tuesday in our Toy Tuesday segment. We choose toys that are not only fun, but have a lot of "play time" inspiration and encourage our littles to think creatively as well. This week, we will be chatting about two of our favorite ...read more
"Mommy. Not all art has to 'look' like something." And just like that I was schooled—by my toddler. Yes, that was his articulate response when I asked him if he had built a train or a jet or a rocket or a speed boat with his new Tegu blocks. "No, mom. Sometimes art is ...read more
We've been big fans of GoldieBlox for a while; and now that they've come out with the Zip-Line, we're totally hooked! This is the perfect way to get your girls interested in STEM activities. I loved seeing the girls open the box and immediately get to work. Together, they ...read more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuNEQD7gveY With three littles, you would think our house is overrun with toys. I am not sure, if it's a nature vs. a nurture thing here or what, but my children are drawn to play things that do not restrict their play and allow them to drive ...read more