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5 Signs You are a Hip Parent: Observations by SmartyGirl Editor-in-Chief Paws for Tales Volunteer

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1. You recognize that PBS programming is outrageously funny and slightly subversive. For example, Neil Gaiman and others guest-starred on the Arthur TV series. In addition parodies of South Park, Beavis and Butthead and other shows that grown-ups watch slid into Arthur-writing . You also know the fun fact that Arthur is the second most popular, long-run show just behind the Simpsons.

Photo Credit: Redwood Shores Library Paws for Tales Neil Gaiman Book
2. You take time for yourself to recharge so you can be your best self when you parent. For instance, a night out with the guys or a girls’ night in keeps you grounded so that you model how to live a balanced life when giving your kid quality time.

Photo Credit: Redwood Shores Library Wetlands Interactive Exhibit
3. You know the top 10 things to do with kids in your neighborhood that’s free or is connected with a social media coupon. No-cost, online, interactive musical play such as Keeping Score is cool with you too.

Photo Credit: Redwood Shores Redwood City Library Storytelling Room
4. You are authentic. You don’t become crabby when you make a mistake in public. For example, how would you answer when Kid President asks you, “Do you toot?”
You roll with it so that your kids will see that you don’t take yourself too seriously and you’re not undone when others notice you are human rather than a demi-god.

Photo Credit: Paws for Tales Kids Read to Therapy Dogs at San Mateo Libraries
5. You allow your child freedom to be different from you. You communicate boundaries and teach him/her to be assertive too.

Photo Credit: SmartyGirl Seaside Cafe Green Tea Latte and Mexican Torta

You let your child mature by defending boundaries, expressing expectations, and negotiating with humor and respect. For example, he/she may say, “I don’t like the way dad’s sardine and avocado sandwich smells but he likes to eat like celebrity chef Alton Brown. Not everybody has to be the same as me. I prefer a Mexican torta with arugula.”

Photo Credit: Whale Puppet Stage at Redwood Shores Library
Disclaimer: Though I volunteer for Paws for Tales, the views expressed in this article and in this blog are my own and not a reflection upon the Peninsula Humane Society. 
Here’s a quick Q&A About Me:
Why do you promote literacy? 
I taught English Literature and Composition for two years as a classroom teacher.
What’s your educational background?  
I discovered that I was more interested in coaching and entertainment than enforcing classroom control. Therefore I went to business school to be with the other hams.
What do you do when you are not recruiting kids and their parents to read to trained therapy dogs in the library? 

Photo Credit: Amazon.com The Grouchy Ladybug

I use my degree in English and my MBA to create funny ads for the tech industry. In order to make jokes that resonate with parents, I keep GeekDad, Father Muskrat as recommended by Babble, and Kotaku on my weekly reading list.

On my off-time, I love to give parents a break and spell-bind their kids for 15 minutes or so with silly books such as The Grouchy Ladybug or The Tushy Book.

Did your parents train you to love to read? 

My mom emigrated to the United States for college. She was a mini-skirt wearing free-spirit mom who swooped up bunches of kids books that rebellious librarians displayed as banned books. So librarians shaped a good part of my intellectual life. My dad read for information. He liked business news.

How did school encourage reading? 

My second-grade elementary school classroom had an unbelievably awesome indoor treehouse where kids could use as a reading nook if we finished desk work early. That’s how I learned my multiplication tables so quickly. I did math speed tests so I can get to the good stuff, reading.

Reading went well with my enjoyment of children’s theater troupes and local light opera singers who came to our school. It was a break from the ordinary business of mechanical pencils and class president candidates who would promise us more vending machines with bubble gum soda. Yuck. 

What’s your favorite fictional character?

Photo Credit: Mr. Bean Imdb.com

Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean. And I’ll sneak in another one: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgreen. 

Mother’s Day Party Tips: Avoid these 3 Mistakes with Toddler Guests

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My husband and I are Dual Income No Kids (DINKs). We love entertaining families with children at our home. Our friends are great parents and we enjoy having them in our lives. Disclosure: I have not been paid to endorse any blog, company, brand, or product.

Photo Credit: Amazon.com Capsela Science Construction Toy System

Hubby Nik is a children’s toy marketing professional so educational toys such as preschool electronic readers, construction toys that are submergible, and 3D collectible card games for kids up to 8-years-old fill our apartment. I’m also a consumer behavior marketer. I am a former classroom teacher and library storyteller.

I have experience teaching composition to junior high and high schoolers. I’ve been trained to entertain audiences over age 3. However, I have limited experience with people under age 3. That’s why I am trying to make up for this weakness by following writers of articles such as “Why Being a Toddler is Hard” on Babble.com.

If you are thinking about giving the best mother’s day gifts to your buddies with children, I recommend a visit on such a parenting site or the top parenting blogs to find out what parents want most. I like the parenting blog Girl’s Gone Child because it’s so raw and funny. Blogger of The Girl Who insists that the best mother’s day present would be to sleep in rather than be attacked by a tray of breakfast in bed.

In a recent survey, my girlfriend answered that she feels refreshed when the takes time out of her day to be reminded of her identity separate from being a mom. When she returns, after taking “me” time, she has more energy and motivation to care for her kids. As mothers, who are reading this, please contact me if you feel the same way.


Screening questions for buying the best gift for a friend who is also a mom:

  • Does this gift remind her of her identity apart from her role as mom?
  • Does the gift make reference to some of her hobbies or interests when she was single and without children?
  • Does the gift make it easy for her to return to activities that made her happy in the past? Does it make her look forward to the future?
Maybe your girlfriend gave up her motorcycle, horseback riding competitions or historical gun collection in order to create a safer lifestyle as a parent. What are some mother’s day gifts you can give her to touch upon these hobbies she cares about but in a way that gives consideration to her children? 
Photo Credit: Amazon.com The Indian Motorcycle by Todd  Rafferty
In another example, I have a girlfriend who is a fan of cooking using the AllRecipes site. She also follows Real Simple and Better Homes an Gardens for home decor. What would be a good gift for her? 




Photo Credit: Amazon.com Westminster Mr. Bacon Walking Pigs With Sound

Only this past Halloween, did I get to interact with those under 3-years-old at a church carnival in Los Angeles. I managed a pig racing booth for a Harvest festival. I helped the young competitors send their battery-operated, neon pigs down the chute to the finish line.The toy pigs would stop to snort or wiggle their tails at random.The festival organizer was Matt Kleinhans of Cornerstone West LA Baptist Church in Santa Monica.

Photo Credit: Target Toy Sale Lego Emma’s Friends

Twice a month, Nik asks me to come along on his toy marketing research field trips to the Target toy aisle as pro bono consultant.

We take joy in cheering on our friends with toddlers and older kids. Because of our common interest in marketing to parents, Nik and I study how moms and dads make decisions.

We learned through trial and error to avoid these 3 mistakes when having a dinner party with very young guests:

  1. Showing off toys that young guest aren’t permitted to touch
  2. Letting a smile disappear for more than 15 minutes
  3. Neglecting to read about child development milestones

I am grateful, that even before I graduated with my MBA, I had pioneering girlfriends who are awesome moms. I keep in touch with those, out of the area, through Facebook and watching the clips of their kids that they post on Youtube. 


The clips of my friend’s two-year-old son rocking out to Old McDonald on an iPhone and another friend’s seven-month-old daughter bobbing her head to Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now”.


Staying in touch with girlfriends with children gave me an opportunity to observe tips for a healthy marriage and tricks moms us to bond with their kids.

Photo Credit: IMdb.com Toy Story 3

My husband and I are still learning to be better hosts to our junior guests. When he teaches financial literacy in elementary school classrooms and when I visit daycare centers to do puppet storytelling, I know we are not getting the full-picture of kid-life.

Watching Toy Story 3 helped us learn the contrast between age appropriate toys for one group of kids and ones who are slightly older.

For example, our friends M. and her husband came for enchiladas at our apartment one night. My husband was chatting with the dad and I was talking with my girlfriend M. who was holding her 2-year-old on her lap as she was eating.

Suddenly, her son threw a wadded paper napkin at Nik’s head then bawled.

His parents apologized and we laughed about it. It might have been then we were using our serious grown-up voices and did not smile for little while. The little boy might have thought he was being scolded by us.

We tried to show ourselves attentive to our younger guest by switching to family games after dinner.

M. demonstrated how their little boy liked to watch his small metal cars collide. The mom and I retrieved the green and blue metal cars as they rolled across our hardwood floor and under our beige couch.

Photo Credit: Amazon.com Air Hogs Spin Master RC Havoc Heli Metallic Red

So that inspired Nik and I to bring out our durable, indoor helicopter. It was red and black and great at hovering. We thought, “If he likes action toys like cars, he might like flying toys.”

When we accidently steered  the copter into a bookcase, the blades stopped and the plane fell from a height, tears flowed from the little one.

He understood that the metal car did not have passengers because he had inspected them. However, he cried because he was compassionate. He worried that people were injured inside. What a dear heart! We four tried to reassure him that it was a replica, not the real thing and no people were hurt.

Throughout the rest of the night, the sweet boy’s tears dried but he asked softly, “Helicopter” in his toddler pronunciation. Nik and I believe it was to check, “Really, no one was hurt? Are you sure?” 

Unfortunately, we could not give the toy to the 2-year-old to examine, for himself,  that it was unmanned because it was a teen toy, too fragile for toddlers and costly. It was our fault, our guest was distressed. We were very sorry. We learned our lesson.

After that I borrowed a child development and psychology book from the library. Our youngest guest was right on target, in social development. In what what? Two-year-olds become empathetic and aware of others’ hurts.

I believe birthdays also shape personality. My husband and I have autumn birthdays. I know I felt like a turkey. Our youngest party guest was born on Valentine’s day. 

Visit SmartyGirlHome again for an educational article, “7 Parenting Tips from Wives and Mothers” for Mother’s Day.  


Happy Hosting!