Friends of my family, who are also our neighbors, often drive with their kids, ages 9 and 7, in the front seat. They’ve easily been doing this for the past three or four years, well before their children were legally allowed to be out of car seats (not to mention that in our state, kids under the age of 13 must be seated in the back). I wince whenever I see them coming or going with one of their kids in the front seat,...

As any new parent knows, car seat installation can be confusing. But as Holly Wagner will tell you, making sure your child is secured the right way can be a matter of life or death. In April of 2013, Wagner’s then-boyfriend was driving with her sons, Connor, 3, and Cameron, 11 months, when he reportedly ran a stop sign. In the resulting crash, Cameron was ejected from his incorrectly fastened front-facing car seat and went...

Question: My youngest daughter’s preschool class keeps putting food dyes in various projects. I have read that when eaten, they are linked to various things like hyperactivity when you eat them. I’m curious if they’re safe to play with. Actually I’m curious about art supplies in general. What’s safe? – Anabelle, mom of 3 Answer: Such a good question. What’s a proper childhood without crayons  and markers and...

Image source: Thinkstock      In August of this year, 4-year-old Fae suffered from anaphylactic shock on her flight home from a family vacation. She stopped breathing and lost consciousness 20 minutes into the flight, after a fellow passenger opened a bag of peanuts four rows away. The most disheartening part of the story is that this passenger, along with all the guests on board, was given three clear warnings from the...

I was four months pregnant with my third child, and pretty obviously showing. This is the time when most women avoid sushi, wine, and various thrilling or hazardous escapades. Me? I pretend not to be pregnant in order to hop aboard a kiddie ride at an amusement park. I believe that women, in general, are familiar with their own bodies. We know when something’s amiss. We know when we’re pushing ourselves too far – and...

Everything smelled like burnt plastic and seared wood and I just wanted to get back in the Honda and drive. You couldn’t escape the stench. Even the unstoppable January winds couldn’t seem to blow yesterday’s fire back into yesterday. I was with two women from the Red Cross and, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t want to be there. But who would? Who would want to be on the front porch of their home, a place of...

This post was written by the parenting experts and child development specialists at Twigtale. Bullying is a hot topic. Numerous news sites have covered it, from The New York Times to The Atlantic, journalist Emily Bazelon wrote a heartwrenching book on the subject called Sticks and Stones, and even President Obama has touched on it. It seems everywhere you look, someone is talking about the most dramatic cases, like the...