Carrie Kirby's blog
About Carrie Kirby
Carrie writes about saving money realistically at www.frugalisticmom.com.Carrie Kirby's profile
Posted October 20, 2010 - 21:00 by Carrie Kirby
Etiquette
If you don't approve of her parenting tactics, can you still be friends? Yes, if you learn these 10 techniques. (Most of them involve keeping your mouth shut.)
Posted October 4, 2010 - 21:00 by Carrie Kirby
Diseases & Disorders
I found out a little too late that eczema can scar your kids — literally. As a lazy mom, I hadn't wanted to deal with it. But now I've developed a protocol that even the laziest moms can follow to keep mild to moderate eczema at bay.
Posted September 24, 2010 - 09:00 by Carrie Kirby
Shopping
Amazon has a new club for all parents and caregivers that will net you a 30% discount on diapers and wipes, free 2-day shipping, and other deals.
Posted March 26, 2010 - 05:48 by Carrie Kirby
Safety
A disturbing number of drivers -- especially teens -- think it's perfectly safe to read and send text messages while driving. It's not safe -- just ask the parents who have lost their children to distracted drivers.
Posted February 13, 2010 - 03:00 by Carrie Kirby
Breastfeeding
Should you donate breastmilk for hungry Haitian babies? Seems like a good idea, but turns out it's not. But now that you're thinking about it, maybe this is a good time to start pumping for other needy infants.
Posted January 15, 2010 - 15:03 by Carrie Kirby
Home Life
The new book Nurture Shock aims to throw our ideas about parenting for a loop, and it succeeded with me. I found out that research shows that the best way my kids can spend their time isn't studying -- it's sleeping. I also learned that they will most likely lie to me thousands of times before they become adults -- and that maybe that's OK.
Posted October 14, 2009 - 19:17 by Carrie Kirby
Shopping
Looking around my house, I counted six different devices for strapping my baby to my body. So I think I'm well-positioned to advise parents on which baby carrier might be right to help them wear their baby. Here are the baby carriers I use. We also have two Snugli Sways to GIVE AWAY!
Posted July 14, 2009 - 05:56 by Carrie Kirby
New Parents
There are so many products out there marketed at new parents, and you get one chance to register for the stuff you will depend upon for your baby's first year or so. Take this mom's advice to select what you really need.
Posted February 12, 2009 - 13:09 by Carrie Kirby
Safety
For years, our parenting culture has moved toward more supervision, more safety, and less independence for kids. Has it gone too far? Increasingly, parents are wondering if they need to loosen up a little -- but it's not easy to do when all the other parents are watching.
Posted February 6, 2009 - 12:24 by Carrie Kirby
Etiquette
If kids are supposed to be on their best behavior in the air, then adults should too. I'm talking to you, Ms. Business Traveler who can't believe she got seated next to my brood.
Posted February 3, 2009 - 13:20 by Carrie Kirby
Home Life
Are adults' ambitions getting in the way of healthy childhood in the modern world? A British report says they are.
Posted December 19, 2008 - 07:27 by Carrie Kirby
Entertainment
This toy may keep little hands off your real camera, at least for a few minutes. But of course, at $9.99, it lacks the single most mesmerizing feature of a real camera -- the LCD screen.
Posted November 30, 2008 - 20:11 by Carrie Kirby
Wellness
How could a mother -- no matter how depressed -- choose suicide when it means leaving your child forever? Paula Kamen's "Finding Iris Chang" helps explain how it happened to one brilliant supermom.
Posted November 5, 2008 - 12:43 by Carrie Kirby
Shopping
Training wheels are a classic part of childhood -- but do they really teach kids what they need to know to ride a 2-wheeler? Marketers of glide bikes say they have a better way.
Posted November 3, 2008 - 12:21 by Carrie Kirby
Culture
Parenting magazine recently asked which candidate parents would trust to babysit their child. Obama won by a landslide. As long as parents get out to vote tomorrow, I believe the real election's results could be the same.
Posted October 14, 2008 - 11:34 by Carrie Kirby
Home Life
I always thought my kids would enjoy an Aquadoodle, and I was right. This latest version isn't exactly a major step forward, but any version of this no-mess toy will likely amuse your kids for good stretches of time.
Posted October 9, 2008 - 12:34 by Carrie Kirby
Entertainment
As much as I want my daughters to enjoy a full range of toys without gender stereotypes, I just couldn't keep the girls interested in this remote control car. No wonder Tonka's motto is "Built for Boyhood."
Posted September 28, 2008 - 19:53 by Carrie Kirby
Learning Tools
All my parental bias against more little parts coming into my home dissolved when I watched my girls independently spend 15 minutes or more engrossed in making a Cookie Monster (with widely varying results).
Posted August 23, 2008 - 11:56 by Carrie Kirby
Wellness
It always seemed like you'd be able to lose weight just chasing around a toddler. But now you have a kid or more, and you can't seem to schedule in a workout. Here are 10 suggestions for fitting a little cardio into everyday kid life.
Posted July 30, 2008 - 20:57 by Carrie Kirby
New Parents
OK, there are millions of things people never told me about this particular topic. What if I had known all this beforehand -- would I still have had kids? Yeah, but I would have definitely gotten more therapy, worn more bikinis and stayed later at more parties first.