So my wife is pregnant. Hooray! (Still early enough that we don't know the gender). We're starting to think about names. It seems to me that the world's great hope and story of progress is the expansion of rights and consideration of the views & interests of an ever-widening swath of humanity. Which historical figures stand for pluralism, for rejecting provincialism, in word or deed? I've picked up, but haven't yet read
Kwame Anthony Appiah's Cosmopolitanism; I'd be grateful for suggestions of books or other resources that might be useful.
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 29, 2013 -
30 answers
Tell me about your daily schedules, parenting logistics, etc., with a newborn
plus a toddler or older child.
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posted by Bardolph
on Mar 7, 2013 -
15 answers
My son (12 months) has been sleeping through the night since he was 3 months old, but now...he hates bedtime (but naps are fine) and wakes up screaming and wanting to play (usually around 1 or 2 am). What's going on?
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posted by The Hyacinth Girl
on Jan 5, 2013 -
17 answers
What are some nursery rhyme compilations that are top-notch, musically speaking?
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posted by Liesl
on Dec 13, 2012 -
6 answers
I'm building a baby registry. a) What was your absolute most-used, wouldn't-survive-without-it thing you had on your baby registry? b) And what were you absolutely certain you'd use all the time that just gathered dust?
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posted by davebug
on Sep 18, 2012 -
67 answers
A 2-parter for parents (from a soon-to-be):
1) What did you think was going to be easy, but turned out to be hard?
2) What did you think was going to be hard, but turned out to be easy?
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posted by davebug
on Sep 4, 2012 -
42 answers
I am the mother of a beautiful, 5 week old baby girl. I wonder if I've made the biggest mistake of my life.
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posted by elizamina
on Jun 26, 2012 -
75 answers
We're going to Rome in a month's time, and are looking for great places to eat that won't mind us bringing our baby along.
Any other tips for enjoying Rome with a push chair/stroller are also welcome!
posted by Harald74
on Mar 18, 2012 -
6 answers
Movie identification request: There's a movie that features a group of friends who grew up together and are now back together as adults. When they were kids, some of them put a cherry bomb or some other big explosive in a woman's mailbox as a prank, and while they were watching for it to go off, she came out to get the mail carrying a baby. They tried to stop her (I think) but the explosive went off, and presumably she and the baby were killed, traumatizing the boy who did it (?) for life. For years, I've thought that was "12 and Holding" but I just watched that today, and while there are some similarities, that's not what I thought it was. Can anyone identify the movie with the exploding mailbox for me? IMDB didn't seem to find anything using obvious keywords.
posted by Death by Ugabooga
on Jul 16, 2011 -
5 answers
We are expecting our second child in the next fortnight. What sort of things did you find most difficult and challenging transitioning to a family of four and how did you deal with it?
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posted by razzman
on May 14, 2011 -
19 answers
Please recommend small, pretty gift ideas (preferably personalized!) that I can hand-make as new-baby, birthday or Christmas presents for small children.
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posted by Bardolph
on Feb 7, 2011 -
21 answers
Why do babies/young children need help falling asleep? Why do most of them need to be taught or trained to sleep through the night?
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posted by xo
on Nov 28, 2010 -
17 answers
Thought I found the perfect preschool for my son. Then I learned the preschool has accepted a couple of not-fully-vaccinated kids. We will have a newborn in the house this fall. Is that a dealbreaker?
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posted by anonymous
on May 17, 2010 -
42 answers
My baby is terrified of her grandfather. What can we do to get her to like him a bit better?
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posted by Bardolph
on Mar 2, 2010 -
19 answers
Artists, creative types, and scholars: What are your experiences with parenthood in the arts and academia? Have you been able to find success in your career as a parent?
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posted by theantikitty
on Feb 25, 2010 -
14 answers
How can I maintain some optimism about my child's future, given the crappy crappy world we live in?
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posted by anonymous
on Feb 24, 2010 -
45 answers
Please recommend good winter clothing for 1-year-olds, especially super warm coats. We're talking months and months of ice and snow here.
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posted by puritycontrol
on Oct 8, 2009 -
19 answers
How much has where you grew up determined your personality? How important is location? Those who grew up in New Zealand, how much has its culture and limitations shaped you? Children of expats, how did having expat parents influence you? Any Americans in NZ want to tell me why they are raising their children there?
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posted by scazza
on Jun 19, 2009 -
9 answers
What should I be doing to help my baby's development? Baby Ava is now 6 months old and she is starting to really become a little person. Mommy and daddy talk to her, read to her, sing to her, play various style of music for her. She plays with blocks, rattles, and spends a little time in an exersaucer. What else can we do to help her mind grow and her body develop?
posted by jasondigitized
on Apr 6, 2009 -
30 answers
Kid's due this spring, and we've amassed huge piles of used baby gear. What are some safe disinfecting procedures that will reliably rid all this stuff of any lurking mold, bacteria AND viruses?
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posted by Bardolph
on Feb 11, 2009 -
12 answers
How do you tell a three year old that they won't be having a baby brother after all?
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posted by anonymous
on Nov 16, 2008 -
8 answers
So, we just had a baby and grandmothers keep coming up to us and handing us checks for $50 and saying "This is so you can buy a savings bond for the baby." However, I would like to hear about alternative saving/investing ideas for my daughter.
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posted by ND¢
on Jul 28, 2008 -
18 answers
How did having a baby change your life? I'm intentionally leaving the question as broad as it is and would love to hear your answers, mothers and fathers; but especially in regard to how it may have changed you, as a person. My wife is expecting in 5 weeks, I feel both tremendous excitement, but also a slight anxiety as I know my life will never be the same.
posted by razzman
on Jul 22, 2008 -
33 answers
Give me your baby hacks! My wife and I are expecting our first child in November. What tips and tricks can you offer us to make our lives a lot easier? For example, a friend of mine swears that putting a crying baby in front of a mirror will cause it to stop. Another uses noise cancelling headphones to temper the noise from his shrieking child. I am looking for hacks on everything from diaper changing to stroller modifications. Make our lives easier as we enter into parenthood.
posted by jasondigitized
on May 20, 2008 -
46 answers
What influences trends in baby names? And why have popular girls names changed more over the past 20+ years than boys names?
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero
on May 11, 2008 -
65 answers
What do I do with a one year old? She has toys, and seems content with them, but what else should I be doing?
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posted by desjardins
on Sep 12, 2007 -
24 answers
Where can I find specific window safety devices for highrise casement windows and floor-to-ceiling windows?
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posted by acoutu
on Oct 3, 2006 -
2 answers
Having grown up with very little good childhood memories and the absence of both parents, I'm trying to read/learn as much as possible on parenting before my child is born.
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posted by Sallysings
on May 30, 2006 -
26 answers
I was looking at mathowie's weblog:
a.wholelottanothing.org, and he talked about the "theme" of the baby shower they just had - "bring your absolute favorite book you owned as a child". What was yours?
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posted by slactoid
on Feb 28, 2005 -
67 answers
If I wanted my baby to learn a second language from a family member who speaks it natively, how many hours per week minimum would they need to spend together? I know the more the better, but I am trying to figure out if four or five hours a week will do the trick if we are extremely consistent and do this for many years.
posted by limitedpie
on Jan 20, 2005 -
12 answers
My wife and I are looking to purchase a jogging stroller. Any suggestions?
posted by mudhouse
on Jan 3, 2005 -
11 answers
What to do with an old dog that sometimes bites? We have an old (perhaps 10-12 year old?) terrier mutt that we got from a rescue organziation 3 years ago. We have a new baby (now 5 months old) and I am worried that she will grab his hair and he will bite her.
He's bitten my dad who didn't lift him up the right way. He's bitten my husband when he was trying to wash the dog's ear. He "nips" at you life you accidentally step on him but doesn't bite. He's very calm and mellow usually, and really good around our parrot who preens his tail, jumps on his head, and does other things like that that many dogs would bite over.
Should we get rid of him-is he a threat to the baby? Do you think there's a shelter or group that would take him since he's old, mostly deaf, going blind, arthritic, and sometimes bites? Should we just put him down and be glad he's had a wonderful last 3 years of his life? Some help please. It breaks my heart...
posted by aacheson
on May 28, 2004 -
27 answers
