Go boldly forth! Find adventures with your family! Try these time-tested and beloved family resources that come so highly recommended by our readers (many, many thanks to those who voted! Your free six-month subscription to Minnesota Parent starts in August!) that we have given them the cherished label “Minnesota Parent Family Favorites.” We wouldn’t put our name (and yours!) on them if they weren’t fantastic.
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When my children were really little, I wanted nothing more than to be a fly on other people’s walls. Breastfeeding, sleep-training, whether to wear Baby and if so in a sling or a Björn — the decisions were all-consuming and the stakes unprecedented. Much of the time, I saw each as a giant opportunity for failure. It didn’t help that all of the other new parents I knew seemed to be running this gantlet of anxiety without so much as a scintilla of self-doubt.
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High school graduation parties are fun, but for parents with young kids, these rites of passage tend to give us indigestion. After all, they remind us that our little cherubs will one day grow up and become textbook-toting college students with intimidating tuition bills. Now instead of popping an antacid and pushing these feelings to the back of your mind, it’s time to come up with a plan.
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My dad was an ideal driving teacher. He remained patient and unruffled, even when my older brother misunderstood his instructions and pressed down on the accelerator as we rounded a sharp curve, causing the car to careen ominously toward a cemetery.
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Our annual Family Favorites awards cover a lot of bases, from kids’ menus to clothing stores, but we know there are still plenty of fabulous Family Favorites out there to share. So we asked you, our readers! Here are some of the great recommendations added to this year’s ballot.
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I have a confession to make, one that may well lose me some good friends and loyal readers: I hated Anne Lamott’s Operating Instructions. Hated it.
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Perfect Piggies
By Sandra Boynton
Workman Publishing, $6.95, ages 0–4
A new Boynton book is always a delight. Heck, a stack of old, lovingly chewed up, favorite Boynton books is a delight. The latest in the Boynton on Board series — so exactly the right size for little hands — is Perfect Piggies. It’s hummable and diaper-danceable (download a copy of the song at Boynton.com or make up your own tune) and celebrates what’s perfect about every little baby and toddler. While it doesn’t quite rise to the lyrical heights of Barnyard Dance and Hippos Go Berserk, Piggies is bound to become another Boynton favorite.
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