Bunch Family

What we’re reading today:

1. Happy Monday! Let’s get right into it shall we? Spanking: Canadian parents might still be doing it, but few parents believe there’s much benefit to it.

2. Toddlers not going to sleep when they ought to? Sleep doula and Bunch pal Tracy Ruiz has seen a whole lot of kids who refuse to go to bed and has acquired quite the arsenal of tactics for dealing with them. Here are her suggestions for dealing with streakers, cuddlers, toilet trainees and fraidy cats.

3. Mommyish contributor Lindsay Cross watches a lot of Disney movies with her kid, but she fast-forwards through some of the scenes. Do you censor the scary/sad parts of family movies? Which ones? We remember Maleficent when she turned into a dragon as especially terrifying, so we kinda get where Cross is coming from.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. Have you seen the new baby name trends? Our next child is definitely being called Alionahma-Ruth.

2. Speaking of baby names, here are the most popular middle names of all time.

3. Here’s some advice for parents with sleep monster children. (Those who deny you any sleep)

4. Thomas Friedman thinks parents are the way to a better education system.

5. Nightmare scenario: toddlers get their hands on a bag of flour.

Photo by Alan Light via Flickr

What we’re reading today:

1. If we tell little girls they’re pretty, will they start to think that their appearance is the most important thing?

2. Should you raise your kids to be nerdy? CNN’s LZ Granderson says society places too much importance on athletics and people are taught to look down on the smart kids. Instead, Granderson says we need to take academics a little more seriously.

3. Kids between the ages of 3-5 who watch scary and/or violent TV right before bed have trouble sleeping. (So do we!)

4. Mombian is proud of LGBT parents and the kids of LGBT parents. It’s been a pretty great year for inspiring kids and stories and bringing conversation about queer families into the mainstream. Let’s keep it up! Happy Pride!

5. Candy is good for you. Kind of. Like, don’t eat Twizzlers for dinner or anything, but treats are OK.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. Reality TV is responsible for currently trendy baby names.

2. Amy Julia Becker looks at sleep, love and parenting on the Motherlode today.

3. a U.S. economist says that the key to happier parenting is doing less of it. This is the same economist who says if you’re happy in your parenting, you might be inclined to have a few more kids.

4. Aaron Gouveia at the Good Men Project says that for Mother’s Day, he’s leaving his wife the f*ck alone.

5. Remember your first kiss? It wasn’t nearly this adorable:

Photo by Yusef C via Flickr

What we’re reading today:

1. A recent New York Times article argued that picture books aren’t as popular with the kids these days as they used to be. A California elementary school disagreed with the article and sent in a letter to the editor. In the form of a 15-foot scroll.

2. A new celebrity (fake) gossip site is only covering the Hollywood kid scene, TMZforKidz. We wish this Apple Martin headline was true: “Mummy Needs to Chill the F— Out” Via Jezebel

3. Nail polish and gender stuff part 2: GeekDad spawn, age 10, hears about Fox News’ outrage with J. Crew and decides he would like to be photographed with his nails done. Cute.

4. If your toddler isn’t sleeping through the night, you should think about changing his sleep environment. Via L.A. Times

5. Australian kids hang out with a small Tyrannosaur via BoingBoing  Read more...