It was a typical Monday evening, sitting down to a swiftly cooked spaghetti dinner that now sat cold, as my toddler, who’d begged for spaghetti, no longer, in fact, wanted spaghetti. I was nursing the baby in one arm and eating with the other, and that’s when we heard the notifications on my phone; one after the other, after the other, like the sudden sound of fireworks. My first thought was that it was a family emergency since I’ve never received that many notifications at once. But the notifications were from Instagram. It seemed that a “reel” I’d posted a few hours earlier (reels are what ..read more

If your idea of the perfect toy for your child is a handful of wooden pegs or a cloth sack full of cream-coloured scarves; if your baby’s first birthday featured a cream and coffee-brown balloon arch; if your nursery aesthetic is warm beige contrasted with a crisp white, accentuated with a single potted plant—you might be a millennial parent. And a viral TikTok account is calling us on our curated BS. That Sad Beige Lady, run by librarian, writer and mom Hayley DeRoche, makes fun of “sad beige toys for sad beige children.” In hilariously nihilistic videos in which she adopts the persona (and ..read more

The playground is already busy at 8 a.m. on Saturday. It’s the only early morning activity in my otherwise quiet and sleepy residential neighbourhood. My daughter loves the swings and I try to take her every weekend. At 10 months, she’s still small for the infant swing, but it’s endearing, almost like she’s wearing a gigantic rubber diaper over her crisp bright yellow onesie with black and white zebras on it and a matching sun hat. I push her with one hand and with the other, sip a latte from the local coffee shop. As she swings back and forth, a giant smile spreads across her face revealing ..read more

My breasts have eaten themselves alive. To be fair, they were meagre to begin with. Neither tantalizing melons nor soft pillows upon which a baby soundly slumbers. Since weaning my youngest child, they look especially pitiful. It’s hard to look away. Our culture provides consistent advice to pregnant and postpartum women, but the body that has ceased “producing” seems to get only mixed messages. To some, it’s a remote ruin, to be viewed (but not touched) with nostalgic curiosity. To others, it’s a damaged house undergoing a renovation of indeterminate scope. Lose the baby weight, they say, bu ..read more

Prince George and Princess Charlotte joined their parents today to say goodbye to their great-grandmother. The nine-year-old and his seven-year-old sister took part in part of the procession, standing behind Prince William and Kate as they walked into Westminster Abbey behind the Queen’s coffin. Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images) The royal kids arrived in a car with their mom and the Queen Consort. Prince George, who is now second in line to the throne, wore a navy suit, while Princess Charlotte, now third in line, wore a black coat with matching hat, tights and Mary Janes. Photo: Anthony ..read more

I received my first dick pic on public transit, after dropping my kids off at school. I wasn’t even halfway through my latte. New to dating apps and dating in general, I’d been chatting with another recently separated soul. We were planning to meet for what would be my first date in 20 years when a pixelated icon appeared. As a safety precaution, I had to tap to actually open the picture, which should tell you a bit about what can happen in dating apps. I closed one eye and reluctantly opened the image, hoping​​ it was a puppy. The photo that greeted me was later dubbed “the worst dick pic I ..read more

Bringing a new baby home from the hospital is nerve-wracking at the best of times, and COVID-19 has added a whole new level of anxiety for parents of pandemic babies. Fears have swirled as parents wonder how badly their newborns would be affected if they got COVID and how to keep babies who are too young to be vaccinated safe from the virus. Luckily, researchers have some good news that’s sure to put concerned parents at ease. A new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) found that newborns aren’t infected with COVID-19 as often as people think. Out of the 1 million newbo ..read more

They say your family is your legacy, and on top of being the longest-reigning monarch in British history, the Queen has a huge legacy—four children, eight grandchildren and a literal gaggle of beautiful great-grandchildren (13 to be exact). Over the years, we’ve been treated to a measured number of family photo ops that show Her Majesty posing with her littlest family members, plus some delightfully candid moments at events like Trooping the Colour. But we’ve also gotten some sweet and often hilarious soundbites from the famously quick-witted monarch, who died peacefully at age 96 today ..read more

The end of the first week of school is definitely something to be noted and celebrated. For kids, shifting from their relaxed summer routine spent mostly with their parents to suddenly being back in class, with new faces and new expectations, can be a lot—and making it to the end of Friday on the first week back relatively unscathed can feel like a pretty big milestone. That’s why many parents’ inclination is to make a fun plan for their kiddos on Friday to mark the end of the first week. Maybe you’ve made reservations for a celebration dinner, or intend to hit the local ice cream parlour or ..read more

An unavoidable quirk of modern parenting is the nonstop stream of research and “findings” that make their way into our parent group chats and news feeds. That’s why Today’s Parent is compiling monthly roundups of the studies we think are worthy of your limited—and therefore precious—attention. This s*** is bananas: Do you already feel pressured into giving your overripe bananas a second life as banana bread? Now scientists say, the peel has delicious potential, too. More than just a prop for some old-timey slapstick, banana peels ground into flour and added to, say, sugar cookie dough, result ..read more