Blog Posts by Parentables

Would your kid eat sushi?

Mac and cheese, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, PBJ, and spaghetti and meatballs are classic kid's meals. Yes, these foods are tasty and that is one reason kids love them. However, they also become favorites simply because the are often offered repeatedly. Some kids are picky eaters. These kids get into food ruts and declare they will eat no other foods. Eating the same few foods over and over may be okay for the inexperienced eater, but most adults crave a little variety and variation of different cultural cuisines.

Read More: 10 Vegetarian Meals Your Kids Will Love

As a foodie and dietitian, it pains me to see kids limiting their foods for whatever reason. I know that when given the opportunity many children will expand their palates. It may take some creativity and determination on the parent front, but it can be done! Kids have the ability to enjoy spicy foods, sour fruits, sushi, stinky cheeses, and many ethnic foods.

I have often caught myself skimping on the spices while

Is self esteem overrated?

We know that positive reinforcement can help kids' brains grow bigger, but there's a flip side to building up self esteem. Julie has already explored how praising your kids as smart can backfire, creating a sense of complacency that leads to a lack of effort. (Praising them for their efforts, on the other hand, encourages hard work.)

Family psychologist John Rosemond explores this very topic over at The Star Press, suggesting that self esteem is seriously overrated, and that we should learn to value humility once more:

When advice isn't welcome.

"That baby is spoiled," said the waitress as I rocked our fussy 3-month-old. I smiled politely and hoped our burgers would arrive soon.

"Seriously, if you pick a baby up too much, they'll never let you put them down. I KNOW what I am talking about."

Sadly, this was one of those restaurants where you order and pay before you are seated - otherwise this waitress would not have received a tip. Sites like STFU Parents may be designed to stop parents sharing too much information on Facebook, but we may need to start another site dedicated specifically to naming and shaming those parents who think they know how to parent everyone else's kids too.

Sure, we all have opinions about other peoples' parenting styles, and public discussion about these views is an important part of how we operate as a culture. Despite my observations that judge not should be the first rule of parenting, I have plenty to say about the dangers of smacking or using a firearm to discipline your child, but

The author's husband as a new dad.
If you're reading this, chances are good that you've read my previous posts on stuff you shouldn't say to people, particularly pregnant women and new moms. In my effort to help society (and myself) stop saying boneheaded things all the time, here's a cheat sheet of comments we should all avoid saying to another key group: new dads. Feel free to add your own ideas and experiences in the comments section below, so that we may all be further enlightened!

Read More: 25 Things You Should Never Say to a New Mom

1. "Are you sure he's yours?" That's a great way to call a man stupid and his wife a slut at the exact same time. I don't care if the baby comes out looking exactly like his best friend. Unless you are extremely close with a person you should never voice concerns over his child's parentage.

2. "Sorry you had a girl." I've actually heard this one said before, although not to the dad's face. It seems that some people think that men are disappointed by any baby that

Sleeping newborn.For nine months, we pay careful attention to taking good care of our bodies and unborn child. We decorate the nursery, make sure we have all the gear, take birthing classes, and mentally prepare ourselves as best we can for the grueling hours that we will spend in labor and delivery. But what a lot of people don't talk about is the things that happen after the baby has arrived. Sure, we all know that there will be sleepless nights, nervous moments wondering if we're doing things right, and there's a good chance we won't be getting anything done beyond taking care of the baby, but what about the things your girlfriends aren't telling you? Warning: Most of this is not pretty.

1. Insignificant Weight Loss. You just gave birth to an eight pound baby, a placenta, and a whole lot of fluids left your body. You must have lost at least half the baby weight you gained, right? Wrong! Do not, I repeat, DO NOT step on a scale for several weeks. It seems like a fun thing to do to see how much

The Duggars welcome spring.During playtime it can get loud in our house, especially during the colder months when the kids are playing with toys that beep, blink and play music. Sometimes we'll gather up a few of the toys and put them away and bring them back out when spring comes around. That way they seem like they're brand new again and they can play with them in the yard.

When it's pretty weather the kids are able to really get out and play; they just have at it. They love to play basketball and they enjoy playing broomball, a game that's played by setting up hockey nets and hitting the ball back and forth with broomball sticks -- it's a lot of fun and gets rid of a lot of energy!

More from Michelle: Michelle Duggar's No. 1 Exercise Motivator

One of the kids' favorite places to hang out is on our tree swing, although the trampoline and the slides are usually the first place that they head. But mostly I think it's just the fact that they're outside enjoying the sunshine after so many winter days

Parking lotI wrote previously about the case of a father who left their child in the car by accident, only to discover his tragic error when he left for home after work. At the time, I argued that such events call for empathy, not judgement. Sadly, this topic is cropping up again as a Virginia mother was sentenced to serve six years of probation and to perform 400 hours of community service on account of leaving her son in the car one morning. Janice D'Arcy over at the Washington Post writes about the futility of using the law to "punish" parents who are suffering unimaginable trauma already, and she cites a separate case to prove her point:

Catherine Bach with her daughters, Sophia (left) and LauraThe National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) estimates that 50 percent of teenage girls and 33 percent of teenage boys will go to unhealthy measures to control their weight. They list such extremes as skipping meals, taking up smoking, or popping laxatives to attain the "ideal" body image.

This idea of the perfect body can be seen in many places: on TV, in magazines, online, in the movies. It can be perpetuated by dance teachers, bullies, advertisers, fashion designers, and even a child's own parents. Unfortunately for a child's self esteem, it's not reality for most kids: The ANAD states that this ideal body type is only possessed naturally by 5 percent of females in the United States.

And it would stand to reason that the obsession over attaining the "perfect" body would be much more common in places like Hollywood, where the streets are full of thin women with perfect figures. But one actress, who herself was a pin-up girl in the early