5 minute read
Editor’s Note
I N E V E R Y I S S U E
6 Editor’s Note 9 Playbook 104 Giggles
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34 75 55
K I D S
15 Teach Your Child What Family Really Means
Whether you have a nontraditional household or a nuclear one, you can show your kids that love is what it’s all about.
22 50 Ways to Raise an Adventurous Eater
Inspire picky eaters with these (no-stress) ideas.
28 Health News
Virtual pediatrician visits and baby sleep basics
32 The Book Nook
Bette Midler’s latest
34 Play Your Cards Right
Modern, DIY valentine crafts to make together
40 Sheet-Pan Nachos for the Win
Three cheers for queso (and easy cleanup)
44 The New Registry Essentials
Our annual Best for Baby awards, picked by parents!
50 Color-Coated Coolness
Berries with a fun twist
52 Animal House!
Meet Emma and her rescue dog, Rosie Perez.
Y O U
55 Beauty Hacks for Busy Days
When a shower feels impossible, dry shampoos and other assists can help you look and feel good.
62 “This Baby Is Not Okay”
The grief and hope of having a child with an undiagnosed illness
64 Mothers of Invention
Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile writes about her road to queer parenthood in this exclusive essay.
73 Women’s Health News
Stiff-neck cures and more
L I F E
75 Divide and Declutter
Space-saving ideas for cool kids’ spaces from design expert Joy Cho
80 Good Morning, Valentine!
Serve up a cute heart theme for breakfast.
O N T H E C O V E R
Brandi (right) and Catherine Carlile with their daughters, Evangeline, 6 years, and Elijah, 2 years. Photograph by Victoria Kovios. Wardrobe styling by Maryam Malakpour. Hair and makeup by Tiffany Hanseroth. Prop styling by Kendra Smoot. On Brandi: Jacket, Mother Denim. Blouse, Bella Freud. Jeans, Citizens of Humanity. Boots, Frye. On Catherine: Shirt, Mother Denim. Jeans, Citizens of Humanity. Boots, Frye. Jewelry, Jenny Bird. On Evangeline: Robe, Elder Statesman. All other clothing, Zara Kids. On Elijah: Zara Kids.
88 Playdate With Your Pet
Fun and easy games that will keep cats, dogs, and kids all entertained
92 Mix + Match Soup
Pick one of four bases and choose your own f lavor adventure.
A G E S + S TA G E S
100 Pregnancy
Make a birth plan, and talk it through with your team.
101 0–12 Months
Learn to clean and care for baby teeth.
101 1–2 Years
Celebrate their physical milestones.
102 3–4 Years
Know lies are normal—and encourage truth telling.
102 5–6 Years
Help kids learn to focus.
103 7+ Years
Offer reassurance when mistakes happen.
Let’s Hear It for All Families!
“For me, ‘nontraditional’ family is a tradition! My husband has two great kids from his first marriage, and we now have a son. My stepkids’ mom is cool—we did a joint Moms’ Day brunch one year. And when I was growing up, my gay mom was an early advocate for marriage equality.” —Miranda Van Gelder, Executive Editor
“My mom was just 16 when I was born. We lived with my grandparents for many years until she married my stepdad. It was fun growing up in a multigenerational Italian family! Plus, when my mom became a grandma (I have a teen daughter now), she was still in her 40s and able to be super-active.” —Karen Cicero, Senior Editor
The Common Thread Is Love
W E L C O M E T O the season of sparkly hearts, homemade valentines, and yes, pink sweaters. The world may feel upended, but we can still rely on love (and chocolate) to help get us through the winter.
Love of family inspired many of the stories in this issue, from the DIY cards on page 34 to the heart-motif breakfasts on page 80. But it simply radiates off the cover featuring singer Brandi Carlile, her wife, Catherine, and their daughters. This cover is our first to spotlight two moms—a long- overdue Parents milestone. As Carlile points out in her moving essay on page 64, depictions of gay parenting in mainstream media remain few and far between, even in 2021. What’s more, models of all kinds of nontraditional families (divorced, blended, single-parent, adoptive, foster) can be hard to come by, even though more than half of all families in America fall into this bucket.
As the editor of Parents, I am privileged to share a slice of my family’s life on this page each month. But in this issue, I wanted to make sure you knew that my experience is just one of many guiding our content. Parents editors hail from loving families of all kinds—a fact that inspired a story (page 15) on how to expand kids’ conception of what family truly means, written by staffer and single mother Adrienne Farr.
Enjoy this love-filled issue. But first, please “meet” just a few of our editors’ families.
We’re here to help. Email JuliaE@parents.com to tell me about the topics you’d like to see in future issues of Parents.
“You hear the fairy tale: Get married, have kids, live happily ever after. Mine is being a mom (via sperm donation) of a 4-year- old princess, taking care of my 81-year-old mom, who has Alzheimer’s, and living with my younger brother. The love is palpable, even if it doesn’t fit the fairy tale!” —Adrienne Farr, Executive Operations Coordinator
“My girls are 11 years apart. I divorced when Abby was 3, after my ex-husband realized he was gay. I was a single mom, then met my husband, Daniel, and we had Jane. When Abby recently got married, her dad and I walked her down the aisle, and we all celebrated as one big happy family.” —Diane Debrovner, Deputy Editor
“As a gay, divorced dad of two girls, I am continually—and happily—surprised by how traditional our nontraditional family seems to my daughters.” —Patrick Moffitt, Managing Editor
“My parents separated when I was 3, and I was raised by two strong women: my mom and my aunt. But my mom and dad were model coparents before I’d ever heard the term. I also have a half brother, who I just refer to as my brother. Our dad passed away, but that has only strengthened our bond.”
—Gillian Nigro, Social Media Editor
“I’m a coparenting single mom, and I share my 4½-year-old daughter, Esme, with my ex, 50-50. We coparent amicably, spend holidays together, and try to give her as happy an upbringing as we can. Her dad is expecting a baby, so Esme will have a half sibling to add to our blended family in 2021.”
