A few weeks ago while hanging out with my boys in their playroom, my four year old looked at me and said, “Mommy, I’m so glad you’re playing with us and not with your phone.” There it was, the punch in the gut that totally and utterly changed my social media habit.   You see, I’m a blogger, so social media is absolutely VITAL to my business. But here’s the thing. I wasn’t keeping my work life and home life separate—it creeped in every day through me checking my phone way too often and no

As an expecting parent, you are rightfully overwhelmed with all that's ahead for you when your little one greets the world. This tiny creature will depend on you for everything, and you want to be prepared to do the best for her, right?    Dr. Rebecca Unger, a pediatrician at Northwestern Children's Practice, answers some pressing questions about newborn care below.   What are some things that happen in the first month of a newborn’s life that many parents are unprepared for?

Imagine growing up with little to no access to books—no library nearby, no books at home, not even a library at school. For many Chicago kids living in poverty, this is the norm. Bernadette Dorman and her organization Books First! aims to eradicate "book deserts" by receiving book donations from Chicago families and donating them to Chicago Public Schools that lack libraries.    So far, Books First! has received 22,000 books and delivered them to 10 schools. Every single one of tho

As a women’s health physical therapist (PT), I see many women during their year of childbirth. Popular culture often depicts pregnant women effortlessly exercising into the third trimester, then “magically” back to their pre-pregnancy shape and activity soon after delivery. The female body goes through much transformation during this year, but for many women, it does not feel so “magical.” Many of my patients say they wish they had known to look for some of the issues I treat them for. Here

Does bedtime feel like a battle in your house? Do you end up giving in to the demand for more water, another story or other excuses your child comes up with to stay up later? Are you trying to transition your child to sleeping in her own bed and not having success? Follow these 8 tips to get your whole family sleeping more soundly. 1. Routine: Make the transition to bedtime smooth and predictable by creating a consistent routine. Include nighttime rituals that are calming and comforting, tu

My dad had spent the last several years very unwell, and my mother spent a lot of her time taking care of him. That is a difficult situation for any family, but it is even more difficult when the person you are caring for continuously makes choices that contribute to his bad health. And so, although he was a man we loved, the result was a team of fairly frustrated family members. My biggest frustration was trying to understand why he didn’t make choices that would allow him to be involved m

Maybe you always knew you’d wind up in Chicago. Maybe Chicago is the last place you thought you’d be when you started raising a family (insert raised hand here). In either case, Chicago is home now, and for me, the distance to my own family never felt as great as when I started having kids of my own. While I still feel pangs of jealousy when I hear another mom talk about dropping off her kids at her sister’s house for impromptu afternoon cousin playdates or romantic long weekends away while

Congratulations on your double whammies! You are in for the best and most challenging adventure of your lives! Here is some information I wish I had heard from other twin parents before mine were born. Instead of taking turns with your spouse at night, you will both be up. All night. One baby will wake up first, and, after feeding, rocking and gingerly placing the first back into the crib (while holding your breath and crossing your fingers), the second baby suddenly will wake up. It is as

Being the sibling of a child with a developmental disability, learning challenge or other special need can be complicated.   As with any sibling relationship, these brothers and sisters will play a variety of roles throughout life; playmate, confidant, teacher, protector, friend, enemy, follower and role model. Sibling relationships are often the longest-lasting relationships, and the “typical” sibling’s role will change over time, often taking on many of the concerns around caregiving t

After we got engaged and heard an ongoing chorus of well wishes and congratulations, the first question came—then another and another, always from different people, typically those we had never expected. It was shocking. After all, the way we planned to raise our interfaith children, who didn’t even exist yet, was none of their business. But questions are inevitable when you have an interfaith family. My husband was raised Jewish and I was brought up in a Catholic home, but to be perfectly

“It takes a village”—an over-used phrase when it comes to raising children, but it’s true. Day one: More like day 40 of being a new mom and a new stay-at-home mom, I decided I needed to take control of my new career. If I was going to be happy and “good” at this, I had to make some new friends. This decision led me to join NPN and enroll in an infant music class. I also decided to join an NPN New Moms Group for stay-at-home moms (SAHM—I didn’t even know what the acronym meant when I was loo

This is the time of year when many of us reflect with gratitude on what we have, and look to help those who have less. For Amy Kadens (pictured, above), founder of Chicago charity Share Our Spare, taking care of the less fortunate is a year-round endeavor. Her four-year-old non-profit provides new or gently used baby and children's items like diapers, toys and clothing to low-income or homeless families. Where does she get these donations? From awesome people like you! Read on about how this org

When I became a mother, one of the things I was most worried I’d have to sacrifice was travel. My husband and I share a passion for visiting new places and taking in new experiences, and I couldn’t see how that would be possible while carting around young children. I imagined us struggling through airports with too many suitcases, fighting with folding strollers and carting around car seats, taming toddler tantrums and hiding our faces from other travelers while our children melted down in their

At the beginning of October, IKEA announced that it will only carry blinds with no cords or inaccessible cords in all of its global stores by January 2016. Kids In Danger (KID) spoke to Linda Kaiser from Parents for Window Blind Safety to find out what this change means in terms of ongoing safety and what parents can do to keep their kids safe with regards to window blinds.    What makes this move a big win for window blind safety? This sets the tone for other retailers to join in an

Many of us parents like to plan (often to have our uncooperative children thwart those plans). And with the holidays upon us, there's so much to do in the city that you'll want to mark events on your calendar. What are the best things to do with kids during the holidays? One member posed that question on our main discussion forum, and our members had great suggestions. Here they are, in no particular order: Christkindlmarket: German-style open-air holiday market in Daley Plaza. Get

Of course we all want to have a relationship with our nanny that is both personal and professional. It’s a fine line and it’s in your hands to get the relationship off on the right foot. An ideal nanny will ask us about our weekend but refrain from asking details of our night out. How can we establish this relationship and not get in too deep?   When hiring a nanny… Make sure you share the same values about children as your nanny. Talk about expectations, values and education.

Early in my son’s life, I was on the phone with one of my closest girlfriends, also the mother of a baby boy, and we were talking through the challenge du jour of parenting. (I think I was talking about finding a feeding routine that worked best for my son’s reflux, and she was talking about getting her son on a good nap routine).    She said, “You realize we are in for a lifetime of this, right? It doesn’t end with solving these problems…we will worry about something else next, like how

If I could write a letter to a woman going through infertility, I would tell her all the things I learned along the way on my journey, all my best advice, and it would go something like this. Dear [Desperately Wanting To Be A] Mom Struggling With Infertility, As you read this you are probably in a deep dark place, wondering “why me?”. I am here to tell you: The sun will shine again. Your morning routine won’t always include a trip to the infertility clinic to get your blood drawn and

Hi, remember me? Your friend who doesn’t have children? I’m still here. I still love you and want to be part of your life. But I can see that your life has undergone a huge change that I can only partially understand and relate to. If we were to follow societal norms, our friendship would fade over time as I keep inviting you to social events that you can’t attend, and your friendships would deepen with others who are at a similar stage of life. Here’s the truth: I want to support and help

Heather and Mike Shaffer, pictured above, found out early in their pregnancy that one of their twin boys, Tyler, had a congenital heart defect. They knew he would be faced with several open-heart surgeries, and his survival wasn't guaranteed. But what they didn't know was how Tyler's fight would change their lives.   The brave little boy in the photo above and below, showing off his last open-heart surgery scar, inspired them to help more kids like Tyler get the treatment they need—and t

It’s your kids who are starting school, but for many parents searching for schools feels like being in the classroom all over again! You’re taking notes on various schools, coming across brand-new terms you’ve never seen before and—gasp!—maybe even compiling a spreadsheet to keep everything straight.  It’s overwhelming, and the urge to play hooky to escape all this is tempting. But we at NPN are here to ease some of the anxiety that comes with finding the right school for your child with ou

Whether you’re attending the NPN School Fair or you’re going on a school tour, asking the right questions of a school representative is one of the most important ways of determining whether a school is right for your child.  But what should you ask? Below are some of the most common questions parents ask when chatting with school reps, along with why their answers are so important. 1. What is the education philosophy? You’ll want to know whether it lines up with what you believe and

In the first of our new monthly series that shines a light on local charities that support Chicago children, we feature Jackson Chance Foundation co-founder Carrie Meghie (above, with her son Max). JCF aims to help parents whose baby is in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) by paying their transportation costs, including hospitals' pricey daily parking fees, so nothing stands in the way of spending time with their little one. What's your personal connection to this cause? My husband,

If your child has asthma, or you suspect he or she might, you likely have a lot of questions about care and prevention. Dr. B. Louise Giles, an asthma expert at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital, answers the most common parent questions.    Is my child at risk for developing asthma?  Your child is at greater risk if your family has a history of asthma and/or allergies, and if he or she was exposed to tobacco smoke before or after birth. Asthma is also overr