Parenting Roundabout

When we heard that photos from inside a wifi-enabled refrigerator might be used in a dating app, we started wondering—and worrying—about where else those pics might turn up.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Catherine was Instagram-influenced to buy a cozy, new-but-recycled sweater from Everlane [https://www.everlane.com/products/womens-waffle-pullover-recashmere-bone]. Nicole found some gluten-free crackers with just the right amount of spice (Good Thins Jalapeño & Lime Corn & Rice Snacks [https://www.goodthins.com/jalapeno-product.html]). And Terri's loving a Walker Hayes playlist made by a fan named Nick Simmons [https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/walker-hayes/pl.u-6LbWuVL1NM]. Hayes is more than just "Fancy Like"!

You can get everything at Walmart, even parenting advice: The retailer has a new service called Tot Squad [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tot-squads-parenting-services-now-available-on-walmartcom-and-select-walmart-stores-301487833.html], with on-call experts to help parents with advice on topics like sleep, breastfeeding, and car seats. That's great, but where's the Squad for parents of older kids? That's what we need!

Gruesome images on cigarette packs and soda bottles can deter consumers. So we came up with some more products (and people) that should come with warning labels to keep our kids away.

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2: As We See It episode 5, "Ever Had an Edible?" pushed all of Terri's mom-of-kids-with special needs buttons, and she has a few choice words for Jack's aunt, Julia the French fry guy, and most especially Harrison's mother. Next: Episode 6, "Fear Is My Bitch."Over on The Gilded Age's "The Long Ladder," everyone was much better behaved, even when they were being racist and hitting on their bosses and just generally acting clueless. Next: Episode 5, "Charity Has Two Functions."

Back in the fall of 2020, we talked about Play-Doh for grown-ups [https://www.parentingroundaboutpodcast.com/blog/yesterdays-toys-today]. Now, Build-a-Bear has gotten in on the action with stuffed animals "just for adults" [https://cafemom.com/news/build-a-bear-after-dark-collection/build-a-bear-announced-the-collection-on-february-2] We say there's no shame in enjoying a teddy bear at any age, and it doesn't need to come with an adult accessory (like a glass of Champagne). Plus, we drift into whether candles make a good gift.

Hey, did you hear that Nicole wrote a book? And it's finally here! We celebrate her book-release day with a little talk about Inclusion in Action: Practical Strategies to Modify Your Curriculum and why you should run out right now and buy it: https://www.amazon.com/Inclusion-Action-Practical-Strategies-Curriculum/dp/1681252244.

Terri's been obsessing about her kids' jobs for a while, and now Nicole is joining her. How much pressure should we put on our high-school students to be gainfully employed?

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Terri shared another delicious snack option: potato sticks from Utz [https://www.utzsnacks.com/products/utz-potato-stix-original-potato-sticks?variant=9121492271148]. Nicole's enjoying season 2 of the not-for-kids TV show Euphoria [https://www.hbo.com/euphoria], and Catherine has another word game to suggest. If Wordle isn't enough for you, try Quordle [https://www.quordle.com/]!

After watching the most recent season of The Amazing Race (which just wrapped up), Catherine obsessed about which of her family members she'd team up with on a race around the world--and she made Terri and Nicole play along too. Mentioned: GeoGuessr [https://www.geoguessr.com/], the Holderness Family [https://theholdernessfamily.com/].

Today, we're complaining about those times when we disagree with our spouses about a parenting issue. We don't understand how this happens, since our way is always the right way.

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2: As We See It's episode 4, "The Violetini," centered on a birthday party that did not go well for two out of three roommates--plus, Mandy's staying (who would have guessed?). Next: "Ever Had an Edible?"On The Gilded Age, the New York City aldermen find out what happens when you cross George Russell (and insult his wife--big mistake), and it's not good. Plus, both Marian and Peggy receive proposals that take them aback. Next: "A Long Ladder."

A surprising weather event in Southern California got us talking about life experiences we, and our kids, have missed out on (or been spared from), like broken bones and sleeping under the stars.

It's family birthday season for Catherine and Terri, and book launch season for Nicole, so it seems like a good time to review our celebration traditions, from ceremonial plates to congratulation cheesecakes to paying too much for dinner.​​

Kids thrive on routines, but so do parents. So today we're complaining about having to deal with changes to our daily habits—and the best ways to bug other people until they fix things.

On this week’s Roundabout Roundup, Nicole had us all drooling over the Baskin-Robbins Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Layered Sundae [https://order.baskinrobbins.com/menu-details/reese-s-peanut-butter-cup-layered-sundae?id=95ea2b0c-3e7f-41b2-bda4-5f218f60d25e&sizes=%5B%5D]. Catherine went practical with her pick for KN95 masks from Bona Fide Masks [https://bonafidemasks.com/face-masks/kn95-respirators/]. And Terri went cozy with a fleece blanket from L.L. Bean [https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/121749?page=polar-fleece-blanket-full-queen&bc=&feat=blanket-SR0&csp=a&searchTerm=blanket&pos=3].

A Wall Street Journal article titled "College Students Have to Learn to Make Small Talk Again" [https://www.wsj.com/articles/college-students-forgot-how-to-talk-to-each-other-11644627316?st=xvyy5prs97qhn5h&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink] got us obsessing about the ways social media. the ubiquity of smartphones, and of course a global pandemic have changed the ways people interact with others in public.

This week's complaint is about a mom-shaming incident we read about [https://www.parents.com/news/neighbor-shames-mom-for-using-car-to-soothe-children-to-sleep/], in which an anonymous (cowardly!) neighbor told a mom to stop using her car as a baby sleep aid. We say, Let he who is carbon-neutral cast the first stone. Mentioned: The Snoo baby sleep solution from Dr. Harvey Karp (we're looking for an adult version, please) [https://www.happiestbaby.com/collections/snoo-accessories].

On this week's entertainment-themed Round 2, the As We See It roommates continue to navigate family ties, friendship, and romance in episode 2, "When Violet Met Douglas." Next week, it's another Violet-titled episode, "The Violetini." Mentioned: A book about sex for young adults with disabilities [https://norabaladerian.com/the-rules-of-sex-for-those-who-have-never-been-told/].On The Gilded Age, George Russell throws his money at a problem on behalf of his wife Bertha and we are just as impressed as Mrs. Astor (even if we didn't get the morning off like she did). Next: "Face the Music."

An article about an ingenious solution for parents juggling small children and work [https://www.moms.com/desk-parents-with-toddler-goes-viral/] (or just Web surfing; here's a pic [https://twitter.com/FamiliesFwdVA/status/1484940785476935690]) got us talking about the ways in which we restrained our little ones when we needed to--and suffered when we couldn't.