Modern Parents Messy Kids

We're all about finding ways to make family life better while keeping our sense of humor. Check out our famous MPMK Top Toy Awards, already viewed over 7,000,000 times!

Parenting Styles: When Your Child Just Isn’t Ready for Childcare

by

Image Credit: © Presidio of Monterey | Month of Military Child Parade | CC by 1.0   After spring break ended – sob – and three kiddos went off to school today, I tried taking our youngest, three in July, to the playcare thing at our gym. It did not go well. She’s been going on weekends for months now, with all three siblings, and it’s been great. She comes out proudly bearing scribbles and curls of tissue paper haphazardly glued to more tissue paper. She excitedly tells me about … [Read more...]

Parenting Styles: The “Spring Break (Is Over) Blues”

by

Is it just me, or is spring break awesome? And not the college kind of spring break, which, if memory serves me here, was fun in an alcohol-specific way. But I’m talking about spring break in my mid-thirties, four kids deep, when two weeks off of school doesn’t even mean a vacation. Instead, it means three things that I’ve come to deeply appreciate: No alarm clocks (except for my husband, and we all feel terrible for him). No making school lunches, and for some reason, this feels … [Read more...]

Why Dinner and a Movie Isn’t Enough to Keep the Spark Alive

by

  Being a parent to young kids is no joke. There's a lot on our plates; busy schedules, sleepless nights, and the responsibility to keep those little ones well fed, stimulated, learning, happy and just alive! One important part of parenting as a couple is also keeping the spark alive, something that is often a lot easier said than done. But science is here to help. Studies show there's one big thing couples can do to stay happy and sane while dealing with it all. So what's the … [Read more...]

The Ultimate Guide: Protecting Your Kids Online

by

Image Credit: © zeitfaenger.at | ...next generation | CC by 2.0 Children using the internet is a modern parenting dilemma. How can we let them enjoy and benefit from this world-changing, infinitely educational tool that can span the globe in seconds while also protecting them from its potential dangers? Setting aside the issue of how much “screen time” children should have, here we will look at how to make that screen time safe, fun and productive—whether you are thinking of letting your … [Read more...]

7 Ideas From a Teacher On What to Do with The Kids Over Spring Break

by

The kids are about ready to break free from the monotony of school for a week.  This means two things...no packing lunches and we need to keep them busy for the week. It's a blessing and a curse. While I love having my kids home without the schedules we are normally bound to, I also can feel a little stressed out when I start to think of how we will spend the hours. This year, I'm channeling my inner 1st grade teacher and using those years of experience to remember what kids need during … [Read more...]

Parenting Styles: The One about Choking and the Internet

by

One of the things that really, truly scares me as a parent is a choking child. Give me bloody knees and elbows and hematomas sprouting from foreheads, even sprains, and fractures. None of that is a party, sure, but it’s all manageable stuff. A kid who’s actually choking is a race against the clock, and it makes me kind of panicky just writing that. I’ve never had been put to this particular test, probably because the powers that be know it’s beyond my abilities. But a few weeks ago, my … [Read more...]

Parenting Styles: When You Have 3 Siblings, You Share Your Parents

by

  This morning, our two-year-old woke up crying. She’s a sunny kid most of the time, padding downstairs to beam and greet us all, “Good merning!” However, we’ve been dealing with runny noses and terrible coughs and croup and double ear infections in our house over the last two weeks – horror – and E was the last of the kids to go down. I scooped her up and climbed into my bed with her. She snuggled up and closed her eyes until her big sister slid in to join us. E took immediate, … [Read more...]

Parenting Styles: I’m NOT Teaching My Kid to Have Grit… And It’s Totally Fine

by

Our five-year-old locked himself in the bathroom at the neighborhood coffee shop a few months ago, and now we're dealing with the fallout. At the start of the school year, I fell into the habit of a latte and a chat with a few other moms before the 3:30 pm chaos, so we hit this place up regularly. It’s not every single school day, but we’re there enough that the baristas all know me by name and drink order – and my husband has pointed out more than once that an espresso machine would be a lot … [Read more...]

Mom Rant: Stop Calling Your Husband Your Biggest Kid

by

I'm so interested to know how you guys feel about Jessica's post today- she certainly has some strong opinions! Do you agree? Not agree? Does the whole thing just make you smirk? Stop by our facebook or instagram pages and let me know... I saw something on Pinterest the other day, one of those e-cards or memes or whatever that had a picture of a goofy guy in his 30s giving a thumbs up and the caption, “Your husband will always be your biggest and oldest child that requires the most … [Read more...]