August's Six
The aim of this series is to corral some favorite things and share them in a short and sweet post. Whether it’s a song, book, recipe, tip, or product, hopefully you will find some inspiration in this list.
1. This installment of the Six Series is going to have a theme because my son turns one this month. And yes, I am having a difficult time keeping it together—sometimes just looking at him makes me tear up. So, these six picks are all baby/toddler/parenthood oriented. I want to begin with something my parents used to tell my siblings and me at school drop-off in the morning. “Be good. Get along. Work hard. Make something of your life.” These rules to live by are perfect from childhood and beyond.
2. There are many precious children’s books out there. For proof, check out April’s Between the Lines post (linked here). I have loved reading to my son the very same books my mom read to me; but since I was little, there have been a number of lovely children’s book published. Emily Winfield Martin’s The Wonderful Things You Will Be is one of those books (here). It is so sweet, it brings me to tears every time I read it to my baby boy. The message is simple, but important, and I want to live up to it as a parent. I will try—and I know sometimes fail—to help him become the wonderful human being he is meant to be.
3. My little man loves to eat so this post would be incomplete without some reference to food. Current research is showing that exposing your infant to common allergens basically as soon they eat solids minimizes the likelihood that they will develop allergies. In fact, some doctors and scientists have attributed the astronomical increase in people battling life-long allergies to the older recommendation of delayed exposure. For example, check out this article. Of course, always check with your pediatrician! Happily, when our son was 6 months old, ours encouraged us to offer him basically everything besides cow’s milk. Good thing, or we wouldn’t have discovered how much baby boy loves peanut butter—just like his mama. Lately, he’s been especially happy to eat nectarines, hummus, and (extra) buttery broccoli. By the way, the sippy cup, bowl, and snack cup that have been especially useful at mealtime in our family can be found here, here, and here.
4. I found Khazan’s discussion with a psychology professor (via the Atlantic, here) about the difference between self-esteem and self-compassion interesting and compelling, especially insofar as parents are so frequently encouraged to carefully look after their children’s self-esteem. For any of our readers who have studied Rousseau, you will hear echoes of amour-propre (a comparison-motivated and problematic version of self love) in Neff’s analysis and take-down of self-esteem. Even if you’re not a parent, this is a very worthwhile read.
5. Summer is in full swing which has put me on high alert as far as water safety is concerned. Maybe I’m extra-nervous as a first-time parent, but after hearing horror story after horror story, I have decided to pick up a life jacket for my son to wear around the pool and at the beach. Find the Puddle Jumper at Target for less than $20 here. Do not buy it from Amazon as many reviewers claim they received a knock-off.
6. Apropos of the The Wonderful Things You Will Be (see #2), I have a song pick that’s beautiful, uplifting, and communicates the adult-version of the same message. Valerie June’s “Astral Plane” is perfection in a song. Listen to it here. June’s voice is mesmerizing—it’s the kind of song you will play over and over again.
Alison