It’s that time of year when we gather with friends and family, eat too much and make great memories. I married into a large, close-knit family and the holidays mean not only do we see many of the relatives we don’t get to see during the year, but in addition to Thanksgiving, we also celebrate my wedding anniversary and my husband’s birthday. It’s exhausting and filling to have so much crammed into to a week and a half but it’s truly my favorite and most fun time of year. All this family togetherness has me thinking about what’s going on in other families. Here are some of the top family stories being talked about online:
- Having a toddler who literally won’t sleep past 5 am is a family game-changer. My own almost four year old regularly gets up for the day between 4:30 and 5 am which ends up dictating the family dynamic. It’s hard to enjoy the Thanksgiving feast –or any other outings if you know you’ll be going to bed late and getting up early. This article profiles one family and the advice they got from a sleep expert on how to handle the toddler early morning madness
- The end of the year holidays are typically filled with too much overindulgence. But on a daily basis, many parents do their best to emphasize nutritious fare. I’m absolutely floored by Congress declaring that the sauce on pizza counts as a vegetable.
- Since much of the holidays revolve around meals , this Five Day Holiday Manners Makeover was recently featured on the New York Times’ Motherlode parenting blog and will hopefully effect change among your little ones.
- The end of Thanksgiving means the start of the holiday shopping season. This article is a fun look back at those “gotta have it” toys we (or our parents) all remember waiting in line for. The flip side of the shopping frenzy can mean too much of a good thing. This mom says why her kids have too many toys.
Robin Saks Frankel
An Episencial Mom