What chores do you give your kids?

Growing up, my siblings and I had loads of chores. Beyond the usual daily chores, my dad even assigned bigger project-based chores for us to do, especially in the summer time when we were home from school. He believed we should be kept busy working and helping around the house.  We were given chores like weeding the flowerbeds, watering the trees, washing the car, and sweeping the garage, etc. My dad also had a ‘do it right the first time or you’ll do it all over again policy’, so we didn’t dare put in half the effort. If we were given a chore, we knew we had to do it well. As a child, of course I found this incredibly annoying, but looking back on it, I think it instilled good work ethic and an appreciation for the work/play balance. While we found it really tedious to pull weeds in the vegetable garden on a hot summer’s day, we enjoyed the feeling of being finished and getting to go for a swim in our grandparents’ pool after the chores were done.

Another thing about chores is that it gives your kids a sense of responsibility.  For example, it’s Marlow’s job to empty the dishwasher every morning.  She is so proud of the fact that this is her task and she is ‘the best’ at it.

Not only do I think it’s important for kids to have chores, I also think it’s the secret to having a big family and keeping a tidy house. Everyone helps out. Many hands make light work. 

I was chatting to a friend the other day about the chores we have in our house. I told her about how our kids have to wash out their own lunch boxes when they get home from school every day. She reminded me that the lunch boxes could just go in the dishwasher. ‘I know,’ I replied, ‘but I like that they have a chore they have to do when they get home from school, and I like that I don’t have to worry about how their lunch boxes get cleaned!’ While I am generally a pretty relaxed parent in the sense that my kids are often playing on their own without my constant supervision, I suppose I am a strict parent when it comes to chores, rules and manners. I get it from my parents. : )

Here are some of the normal daily chores we have in our family. (I’m so curious to hear what chores you give to your kids!)

• Make beds every morning
• Wash and dry lunch boxes after school every day
• Empty the dishwasher every morning (Marlow’s job)
• Take out the rubbish and recycling bins when they’re full
• Help me hang the laundry on the drying line
• Put folded laundry away into closets
• Set the table (this is usually Ivy’s chore)
• Clear plates from the table after every meal
• Wash dishes/load the dishwasher after dinner (this is usually the boys’ chore)

Please share your thoughts. Do you give your kids chores? From how early on? And any good chores I’m forgetting about? ; )

Courtney x

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5 Questions with Ula from Baby Tula

We love babywearing – that it helps us hold our little ones close and, well, that it is so handy! We are BIG fans of Baby Tula’s ergonomic, comfortable and stylish soft structured baby carriers, wraps and slings. Using Tula’s products and knowing them to be an inspiring family-run company with purpose, we were delighted when founder Ula agreed to answer our five questions. Read on to find out how this mama has grown a global brand and community, as well as her family!

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself, where you live and about your family.

Hello everyone! My name is Ula. I am the founder and president of Baby Tula. I originally moved to San Diego from Poland as an exchange student when I was in college. I currently live in San Diego with my husband, Mike, our three children: Amelia, Julian, and Leo; our two dogs (Coco and Toto), and our pet turtle. We love that we are close to both beaches and mountains in our San Diego home, but Poland still holds a special place in my heart. Every year our family takes a summer trip back to enjoy time with our friends and family in Poland.

2. Tell us a little bit about your brand and how you came to create your label.

At Baby Tula, we create baby carriers, and other baby essentials, that support families while they do what they love with ease and style. Beyond our products, we have grown to encompass a special community of parents. They support each other, celebrate bonding with their little ones, and love expressing themselves.

After meeting my husband in college, we were bitten by an insatiable travel bug that took us all over the world together. While sitting in a café in Buenos Aires with a huge appetite for comfort food, we realized that our family of two would be growing.

When our daughter was born, we experienced how convenient babywearing was and learned how much it benefits both parent and baby. A few years later, our son was born and we discovered the ease of ergonomic soft structured carriers. We tried many different carriers and never found one that completely satisfied us, so we had our Ba Noi (Vietnamese for Grandma) sew us one to our specifications. It was close to perfect.

At first we made carriers for friends and family. But whenever we traveled, strangers would inquire about our carriers. And that was just what I needed to finally focus my energy and passion. Since then, I have loved every single moment of it!

Today, it has become our mission to promote babywearing worldwide through our quality products, education, and community outreach. It is truly the community of mothers and fathers, who share an enthusiasm for Baby Tula, that has catapulted the brand and driven us to continue to create and innovate.

3. What is important to you when designing your products?

Traveling and being with my children really inspires me when I am designing. After some travelling or a day at the beach with my children, I am filled with lots of ideas and excitement. The result of all that inspiration is that we are able to keep our collections fresh and full of variety.

One important characteristic of our brand is that our products look as good as they feel. That might sound simple, but it truly drives our choices in how our carriers are designed to adjust, the materials we use, the way we produce, and the number of different prints and styles we offer. Everything is given special attention to ensure it is safe, innovative and meaningful.

I was once a new mom still in a bit of a fog from having a baby, wondering how I would balance a new baby and everything I needed and loved to do. An easy-to-use, comfortable carrier that also had a print that fit my personal style made all the difference. By keeping this original motivation in mind, I find that our products continue to resonate with other people and bring them ease and joy.

4. How do you juggle motherhood and your career?

Family time has always been important to my husband and I. We try to be present with our children and share plenty of experiences with them to make memories together. It helps that those family adventures really help me to stay inspired in my work. It also helps that Baby Tula really is a family business: our vacations to Poland include visits to our factory, my husband might take the kids to soccer while I finish up in the office – and when our children were younger, they always napped or nursed in a Tula Carrier while I worked!

5. What is next for Baby Tula?

It’s an exciting time for Baby Tula and for me! As our community continues to grow, we are learning how much of an interest they have in seeing new things from us. So, we are exploring what other parenting essentials, beyond baby carriers, we can introduce to our brand – like the recent addition of baby blankets. We are also committed to making babywearing more widely practiced. We are looking at how we can become more accessible and how we can continue to reach more and more communities. We are excited about bringing everyone new, fresh, prints and designs; and are looking forward to connecting more families!

Baby Tula is a valued member of our shopping portal and a sponsor of our upcoming ShopUp in NYC. Stop by and try out their carriers on September 17 or 18 in Brooklyn!

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Indi Kids — come find them at the ShopUp in NYC!

On first glance, the beautiful indigo-dyed clothing featured above looks like it could come from a local label here in Byron Bay. There is a natural, bohemian vibe to these pretty pieces that looks right at home on the beach, paired with bare feet and happy smiles.

Indi Kids is, however, a Brooklyn-based brand of clothing founded by designer and father, Matt Apirile, and while the pieces he creates are laid-back and effortlessly beautiful, the mission of the brand is more resolute: to honor artisans and their craft through fair wages and consumer education.

Indi is a line of clothing that honors the tradition of natural indigo dyeing and the artisans skilled in techniques like mud resist dyeing, shibori, and woodblock printing. Their goal at Indi is to help keep these traditions alive for generations to come. They’re also committed to giving back — for every garment produced, a portion of the cost is invested in the empowerment of children through Indi’s partnership with girl2b and their artisan communities.

Full of texture and pattern, these items are both special and unique. The loose shapes and comfortable styles also ensure the clothes are infinitely wearable and comfortable — the type of clothing your kids ask to wear.

Indi Kids is taking part in our upcoming ShopUp event in NYC this September 17th & 18th. Please pop by the event, meet the founders of Indi, and check out their beautiful collection in person!

Courtney x

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‘Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls’ — an inspiring book for girls (and boys!)

I was chatting to a friend over the weekend and she told me she recently read an interesting article about raising girls. The article pointed out that when a young girl is showing signs of being pioneering or dominant or even simply independent, she is called ‘bossy’, whereas when a boy acts in the same way, he is applauded for being a leader. The article highlighted the discrepancy between the way we (or society in general) raise boys versus girls. When we call a girl ‘bossy’, she is discouraged from becoming a leader, whereas boys are naturally encouraged. And of course we all know the effect that has on girls later on in their life with their career path. Interesting, right?

Our discussion reminded me of a book I bought a couple months ago called Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls . The book features 100 heroic women from every corner of the globe. Each page is devoted to a different woman’s story from Catherine the Great to Serena Williams, Amelia Earhart to Rosa Parks, highlighting their story of overcoming obstacles and going on to change the world. Accompanying each woman’s story is a beautiful, illustrated portrait by different female artists from around the world, and at the end of the book, there is a page to write your own story and draw your own portrait.

The dedication page reads, “To the rebel girls of the world: Dream bigger, Aim higher, Fight harder, And, when in doubt, remember you are right.” I bought this book for my girls — to inspire them with stories of ‘rebel’ women, but the truth is that all of my kids have enjoyed reading this book, even the boys. I think it’s so important that even the boys understand that beauty manifests itself in all shapes and colours, and that gender does not define how big you can dream or how hard you can fight. Girls have just as much potential as boys to become a leader and change the world.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls can be found in local bookstores (I even found it here in my little town!), and of course on Amazon (US and UK).

Courtney x

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Starting School by Janet and Allan Ahlberg — helping with the transition into school

As summer winds down, the beginning of school is on our minds. Not just a new school year, but actually starting school. It is our first child’s first step into real school. It feels very big and grown up. Where has my baby girl gone? I started school in the US at 5 and a half, but in the UK they start school at four — a whole year earlier, so perhaps that is why it seems too soon!  But regardless of her age, she is starting school in one month. And I want to fully embrace this exciting time for her and mark this new beginning with more than just new uniforms or end of the summer playdates. 

So for her Reception year (the equivalent of  US Kindergarten), this book, Starting School, is simply perfect. Beginning school can often seem big and scary for both children and parents, but this book by the Ahlbergs makes everything seem easier. It’s a wonderful book written and illustrated by a husband and wife duo, who are some of my favourite children’s book authors. If you know Peepo!, Each Peach Pear Plum, or The Baby’s Catalogue (all favourites in our house) then you will also love Starting School with the sweet, detailed, and classic illustrations. 

The Ahlbergs wrote this book when their daughter was beginning school, so it is a well considered book. The book takes away those BIG feelings by simplifying things into small ‘bite sized’ pieces. Organised by days, then weeks, it ends with Christmas holidays (hooray for a future holiday to look forward to!). And the daily repitition of routines like eating, storytime, and going home creates a rhythm that makes everything seem manageable. It makes the prospect of school anything but overwhelming. And it is an enjoyable read too, with funny little illustrations to discover which paint a picture of how quirky classmates and silly situations are all part of the school experience too. Very real, and a lot less serious than big school sounds.

We’ve kept this book on our holiday cottage windowsill and we dip into the pages casually, reading it in our pjs both morning and night, rain and shine. Beatrice adores the book, and recently has shown even more interest in reading it. It is as if she knows school is getting closer, and she races into my mom’s room in the morning to jump under the covers and hear it again. Needless to say, she is excited, so perhaps she really is ready… my big girl going to big school. 

Enjoy,

Lara

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Team Favourites : Best 12 Summer First Aid Kit Items

Summertime grants permission to let loose, stay up later, run a bit faster, and truly embrace life outdoors without school, schedules, and routine. So if long days are spent running in meadows, hiking in mountains, or swimming at the seaside… then possible scrapes, bug bites, or bruises, are unfortunately inevitable. Because we don’t want summer fun spoiled for our little ones, we have rounded up our favourite first aid kit items that we trust when a teary child needs to be fixed, cured, then kissed and cuddled to make them smile again. (And perhaps given an ice cream if the injury is really bad:) !)

Our First Aid items range from those that help prevent problems, other items to fix them, and some that are just good to have on hand just in case. Of course it isn’t just summertime that many of these items come in handy, so hopefully they will become part of your medicine cabinet at home too.

Enjoy our summer secrets for carefree (and pain free) fun:

1. Buggle Blue – A mosquito repellent made of a mix of essential oils, we have this on hand all summer long. – Shannon
2. Dr. Selby Ointment – We discovered this ointment when we were in Uruguay last year. It’s what everyone uses for rashes, insect bites, stinging nettles, etc. And how cool is the retro-style packaging! – Courtney 
3. Savlon disinfectant spray – Great for cleaning out cuts and grazes, we call it the magic spray as it seems to miraculously make the pain disappear. – Kate
4. Little Seed Farm Booty Balm – We use this as a diaper balm for the baby (and it’s excellent for that!), but I also rub a little on my the ever-present nicks and scrapes on my daughter’s arms and legs. It makes her feel better to know we’re ‘doctoring’ them, and the cocounut oil (which is infused with comfrey and calendula) and shea butter help soothe her skin. – Shannon
5. Bandages – So fun to have a collection of. – Esther
6. Micropore – I always carry this in my handbag. It is efficient, (one roll lasts for years), and stays on longer than plasters. It is waterproof, so great for swimming in, and it stays on little fingers, or bendy elbows and knees. – Lara in London
7. Emergency Cream – Great for sunburn, rashes and minor grazes. This cream is all natural plant based & has no nasty parabens. It’s sensitive enough for baby skin too. – Kate 
8. Squitos – Natural mosquito repellent with little cute stickers, so super handy. We love the patches! – Esther 
9. Beeckman Bug Spray – Lara in London
10. Tick Twister – Okay, this is a sort of unpleasant one to think about, but we’re having a terrible tick season here in the US, and bought this to have on hand for tick removal after it was recommended by my childhood pediatrician. We thankfully haven’t had to use it on any human member of our household yet (and we are vigilant about checking for ticks!) but we’ve used it on my brother’s dog and it worked beautifully. – Shannon
11. Biafine – We use this on any scrapes, sores and burns. Such a good product for all year round! – Kate
12. Arnica Gel – I always have Arnica gel around, for the frequent falls of a baby who starts to walk. – Lara in Paris 

And are your children obsessed with bandaids and plasters too? My daughter even wants her doll to wear micropore when she has it on. Perhaps I need to add it to a first aid kit with Esther’s Doll Hospital ideas she shared a few years ago — so cute!

What are your favourite first aid items? We would love to know!

Lara

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Teardrop Park in Battery Park City

I included Teardrop Park in Battery Park City in my list of favorite places to take a break around town, but a repeat visit this past weekend made me eager to share more about why I think it’s such a fantastic little park. Filling the space created between four tall residential towers, the park offers far more than you might think at first glance if you strolled by one of the entrances. Serpentine pathways reveal new and surprising areas of the park at every twist and turn: hidden nooks and secluded benches, climbs to vantage points and features that accentuate the changes in the park’s topography, and excellent play spaces for children of all ages. The plantings and extensive use of stone stand in direct contrast to the surrounding buildings, creating a natural world in which to immerse yourself. The somewhat concealed location of the park means it feels like a hidden gem, and even with perfect weather this past Sunday the park still wasn’t crowded — a rarity in New York.

This most recent visit was our first during the summer months, so my daughter was able to enjoy the park’s water feature. Like much of the rest of the park, it’s built of stone, with waterfalls that cascade down piles of rocks and jets that shoot from the ground and out the sides of the vertical rock faces. The water pools in several places, allowing for maximum splashing and easy bucket filling. Older children will delight in climbing the rocks that surround the water feature and during our visit we were caught several times in the middle of a water gun fight with children racing around and squealing in delight. In quieter moments, it was easy to imagine playing in a stream in the mountains upstate instead of in a park in the middle of the city, which was the goal of the firm responsible for the park’s design who wanted it to “address the urban child’s lack of natural experience, offering adventure and sanctuary while also engaging mind and body.”

Directly south of the water feature is the part of the park we’ve enjoyed so much on previous visits during cooler months – a giant silver slide descending a mountain of stones and a large sand pit ringed with boulders. Amphitheater-Style seating on one side of the sand pit and an overlook above it offer vantage points for watching children (and adults!) make the daring descent down the slide. Scrambling up the stone steps that run along the slide in order to take another trip down is practically a given. Another sand area, this one gated and fenced, can be found behind the amphitheater steps. I couldn’t resist including some photos from past visits in December 2015 (she was so tiny in her gray coat!) and November 2016 here – the park really is beautiful year round, as perfect to explore in the winter months as it is to cool off in during the summer ones.

A few additional details:

• The park is located between Murray and Warren Streets, west of North End Avenue and east of River Terrace. The closest subway stops are the A and C trains and the 1, 2, and 3 trains at the two Chambers Street subway stations. The nearby ferry terminal at World Financial Center offers service to and from several points in New Jersey.
• Public restrooms can be found in the Solaire Building located at the northwest corner of the park.
• Our favorite lunch and dinner options close by include Shake Shack at 215 Murray Street for burgers and fries, Blue Smoke at 255 Vesey Street for barbecue, or Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place, a food hall where you’ll find everything from bagels to Vietnamese sandwiches, tacos, salads, and sushi.

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