Link-apalooza #1
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Exciting times here at Explorations! We just launched a Facebook page; please feel free to like it for updates on new posts and random musings. And today we are rolling out a new feature: Link-apalooza!
Link-apalooza, as the name clearly indicates, will be a collection of links to articles from around the web. The idea is to highlight interesting takes on parenting, family, community, and Kanye West, but we’ll see if we stick with those topics or branch out. The plan (again, subject to change) is to roll out a new Link-apalooza every Monday or maybe every other Monday or possibly on other days of the week and with varying intervals of time in between. Got it? Good.
OK, let’s do this…
Why does my kid freak out? The science behind toddler tantrums
If there is one question every parent of a 2- to 3-year-old wants answered, it’s this one. The other day, Jacob cried uncontrollably when he––and then, more egregiously, I––couldn’t attach a balloon on a string, by threading it through the collar and down the sleeve of his shirt, in such a way that would allow him to fly. Sorry dude, I can’t control the laws of physics!
This article, published in Slate in 2013 (btw, much like its namesake, one thing you can count on with Link-apalooza is that it holds no illusions of being temporally relevant), is great because it provides perspective: in particular, your child’s perspective. I don’t think we, as parents, typically think about what our child feels like when she is losing her mind over something that we consider to be ridiculous. It probably doesn’t feel great and it’s probably not a feeling she wants to experience. (In fact, I’m not sure if it was this article or another one I couldn’t find, but I remember seeing an article on my Twitter feed awhile back with a tag line something like, “What a tantrum feels like to your child.” If that article exists, it’s not this one, and you have it, please share.)
The Deep, Troubling Roots of Baltimore’s Decline
Baltimore: the power of history, perspective, feelings and labels of ‘otherness,’ community, family, and of course, ambiguity. There is certainly more than meets the eye here and I found these three pieces––two in Slate and one in The Atlantic––to be eye-opening primers.
Charlotte Elizabeth Diana is the New Royal Baby Name!
At first, when I heard this news, I was a bit disappointed…no Katniss or Pixie. However, I am coming around; after all, this instantly becomes #11 on my list
11. They have a daughter named Charlotte Elizabeth; we have a niece named Charlotte Elizabeth!
OMG, this is happening! I’m starting to get a bit giddy. I have to make the right choice for party snacks to serve when they come over; we only get one chance at this, we can’t blow it! And I need to start drinking tea. Actually, I’m going to do that right now.
Jacob's Weekly Words of Wisdom
When walking on floors with square tiles, step only on the tiles and not the cracks, because the cracks have Tick-Tock Crocs in them.
Be careful out there, people!