Every toddler has the touch of the OCD. One minute, your child
is the sweetest little ray of sunshine, and the next, she busts out with a Courtney Love on Mountain Dew level meltdown because you poured milk in her Dora cup instead of her Elmo one.
There are some kids who easily adapt and simply roll with the punches. Forgot the pink sippy cup? Well, that’s alright, mom – the green one is just spiffy! These toddlers are a rare breed and often cause a mom to stare at them with a mix of awe and wonder usually reserved for a free Hermes bag stuffed with Skinnygirl and Dove bars.
However, the breed of toddler most often observed in nature is that which mysteriously sprout talons and fangs if you put too much toothpaste on their brush.
My three-year-old falls in the latter.
When it comes to education, I have a lot of – and some would
say too many – opinions.
I don’t believe in homework – at least not the ridiculous amount that so many elementary-age children are given every night, often to the detriment of quality family time, extracurricular activities, and some nights even sleep.
I’m not a fan of the current trend towards full-day kindergarten, and the belief that we have to force our children to be “smarter faster” if they’re ever going to succeed in the adult world.
I often wonder if all the rules and schedules and bells and detentions in our schools are really preparing our kids for their future – or just teaching them to fall in line and do as their told and never truly learn to think for themselves.
Most importantly, I believe that our children need more time to play, and that the current trend to limit recess time to accommodate extra academics is both misguided and irresponsible.
And while I know I’m in the minority when it comes to many of my opinions, it turns out that even the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) agrees with me on that last one.
It's a few weeks into the new year, and resolutions are falling like snowflakes. Case in point: A coworker who’d just plunked down half a mortgage payment for his wife’s new ultra-powered blender was miffed that she isn’t using it.
It’s not that he was loving the idea of green smoothies every morning, but she asked for it, he sighed. Why did she ask for it if she wasn’t going to use it?
A trip to the movies is supposed to be a fun form of family
entertainment, but finding a film that appeals to children and adults alike – and contains subject matter that is suitable for all ages – can be quite the challenge for today’s parents.
Throw in substandard sequels (I’m looking at you Ice Age 4) and Hollywood’s escalating penchant for using its family films as mere marketing vehicles (just see last year’s partnership between The Lorax and a certain Mazda SUV), and it’s difficult to know what kind of movies are right for family audiences.
What Are We Supposed to Watch?
Don’t get me wrong – there’s a time and a place for those Hollywood films. Even shiny 3-D blockbusters with plots that don’t make sense (Cars 2 anyone?), outdated gender stereotypes (every Disney movie ever made), and massive marketing campaigns (think Happy Meal toys) can be good for a few laughs. I’m not ashamed to admit that Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is probably one of my favorite movies ever made.
Stop judging. It’s that damn weasel, Buck. He gets me every time.
As a mom, though, I find myself wanting to also introduce my kids to films that, well, offer a bit more.
Even before I became a stay-at-home Mom I wasn't what anyone 
would consider a snappy dresser. Blame it on my Midwestern small town roots – prior to K-Mart coming to town the only place we had to buy clothes was the gas station.
That, and the fact that it took three nights of babysitting to buy a new pair of jeans (is anyone else disturbed at the inflation rates of babysitters in the last 15 years?) put me well on the path of choosing sweats over stilettos.
However, when I worked in an office, my ratio of clothes you can't sleep in vs. clothes that double as pajamas was about 5:1.
But slowly, over the course of the past three years of hanging with my kids, the tides have turned. Some people might call the way I dress “slovenly”, or “disgusting to look at,” however, every piece of clothing I wear comes with thought and purpose.
I like to call it the uniform.
As you can see, even famous moms (like Katie Holmes, above right) take cover in "the uniform," and on the streets of New York, no less.
Every month, an invitation to our elementary school’s upcoming 
PTA meeting arrives in my inbox. It’s a nice touch, this clever use of modern technology to gently remind the slacker moms and dads among us of our parental obligations to sell wrapping paper and plan pancake breakfasts.
But every month, I still promptly hit the delete button.
For baseball diehards, it’s a long, dark, cold winter without the
sun on your face, a St. Louis dog in hand and Mike Shannon on the radio. The 2012 baseball season is a distant memory, and spring training is still seven ice-covered weeks away.
However, Jackie and Me, a new production from Metro Theatre Company and Edison Theatre is keeping baseball in play this January and bringing kids face to face with the man who broke down barriers in stadiums across the U.S.
Through the power of a magical baseball card, Joey Stoshack, a young baseball fan, and the Metro Theater Company audience are transported back to 1947 on the day Jackie Robinson becomes the first black man to play for the major leagues.
When my first child turned out to be a girl, I was ecstatic. 
And while you might say that the whole “becoming a mother and falling head-over-heels in love with my daughter” was the cause of my ecstasy, I’m embarrassed to say that there was another factor involved:
The pretty pink outfits that you can only buy for little girls.
At an event the other day, my friend – a new mom with a six-month-old
– mentioned an upsetting trend at her office.
“I’ll be sitting in a meeting with my boss and coworker, and two minutes into it, they’re reminiscing about last night’s happy hour like a couple of frat boys. Five minutes later, my coworker gets the lead on the project I wanted.”
I've always wondered what kind of jerk parent would take 
their sick kids to a public place. Specifically a public place where there would be a bunch of other kids.
I tirelessly work day in and day out sanitizing shopping carts, administering vitamins and sacrificing virgin chickens to the gods of children's wellness all to drop them off at pre-school to see some kid with the creature from the green lagoon hanging out of his nose.
I mean, how selfish! Kids spread viruses faster than Lindsay Lohan at a... well... anything – and dropping a sick kid in the middle of a bunch of healthy ones just so you can have a little break just shows a total lack of respect for anyone and everything. Reckless.
Then there was last week.
The three weeks after Christmas are a sad, sad time for a TV fan.
On the plus side, we’re no longer exposed to that creepy Folgers commercial where the brother and sister practically make out at their Christmas reunion. But on the downside, we’re limited to constant reruns and bowl games named after snack foods.
Cadan Christopher Frericks would have celebrated his fourth 
birthday Thanksgiving weekend. But on December 6, 2008, his mom and dad held him for the first and last time. He was only twelve days old when he died of a birth defect called congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).
As New Year’s Eve approaches, parents are faced with the 
inevitable question: Should we celebrate as a family, or do we dare ring in 2013 with an "adults-only" celebration?
Unfortunately, there is no right answer, but here in St. Louis, we’re lucky to have a variety of spectacular New Year’s Eve events, all specifically designed with the needs of both kids and parents in mind.
Whether you’re looking for a fun event for the whole family or a safe and entertaining place to drop off the kids, we’ve rounded up 10 of the best family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebrations that St. Louis has to offer.
Santa doesn't know it yet, but he has been my tick
sanity this holiday season. If I had a nickel for every time I said, “Remember, Santa is watching so don't _____,” (blank is usually filled in with either hit your sister or poop in the bathtub) I would have enough money to, well, pay for Christmas.
It's hard being a parent. So when you find something that works it's hard to stop, even if you know it's wrong. Like rocking your baby to sleep or giving your two-year-old a hefty dose of Benadryl at 9:30am because you might actually go insane if you play one more game of Red Light Green Light.
It wasn't my intention to turn Santa into a creeper – it just sort of happened slowly, over the course of a few weeks. It started with Santa watching them on a high powered television from the North Pole and ended with Santa living in their closet at night to get them to stay in bed.
And yes, I did think about doing the Elf on the Shelf, but frankly that takes a lot of work and I'm super lazy. By the time I put the kids to bed I'm lucky if I remember to rinse out my wine glass and take my Zoloft.
But, like any quick fix that seems too good to be true, there have been some repercussions.
2012 has been a year of firsts for me. My first time hiking a
trail – which I learned the hard way should not be done in flip-flops and a sundress. My first time camping – in a tent, at a campground so remote I didn’t even have cell service. Even my first time staying at a place with a word like “lodge” in the title.
Ackermann's Swim Program has been teaching children ages 4 to 11 the life skill of swimming and water safety in Kirkwood for over 60 years. Our non-competitive, safe teaching environment builds confidence and self-esteem.
Group swim lessons take place in four heated pools with different water levels for progressive, safe learning. Enroll in one-week or two-week sessions. Hours are 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, with drop off and pick up at the curb. Visit ASPKirkwood.com to download an application.
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