Toddler Tales

Toddler Tales: Judgement day

By Jennifer Barton, May 22, 2012

Here's something they don't tell you about parenting before it happens to you: as a parent, every action and choice you make is potentially subject to criticism, rude commentary and glares from random strangers.

Toddler Tales: Bag of tricks

By Jennifer Barton, May 15, 2012

In the almost-two years since Diana was born, her nappy bag has been my saviour in times of need and my nemesis on a daily basis (I'm convinced I'm shrinking under the sheer weight of the thing).

Toddler Tales: TDA (Toddler displays of affection)

By Jennifer Barton, May 8, 2012

Unlike PDA, I'm discovering that TDA (the toddler display of affection) is rather sweet, even when it's not directed at me.

Toddler Tales: Stairs

By Jennifer Barton, May 1, 2012

From the moment Diana started crawling, stairs have been a source of fascination for her and of terror for me. For D, stairs signify a new adventure every time she sees them; for me, they're just another safety worry.

Toddler Tales: Crying over spilled milk

By Jennifer Barton, Apr 24, 2012

I often hear parents of toddlers, when speaking to other parents of toddlers, spelling out certain words instead of saying them in front of their kids: "If the weather gets better, we may go to the p-a-r-k later so she can ride her s-c-o-o-t-e-r."

Toddler Tales: The escape artist

By Jennifer Barton, Apr 17, 2012

As a (slightly bedraggled) mother who spends her days chasing a toddler who's climbing, running, jumping, walking and stomping through her newly discovered world, I'll admit that I take comfort in the moments when D is contained.

Toddler Tales: Mile-high tantrums

By Jennifer Barton, Apr 10, 2012

Our toddler tales columnist recently took her active toddler on a plane, and found it was much more difficult that flying with a sleepy baby

Toddler Tales: Magic words

By Jennifer Barton, Apr 3, 2012

Diana, being the child of a New Yorker, is in possession of an above-average amount of natural savviness. Or so I like to think. Whether out of necessity or simply to sleaze a few more smiles and rounds of applause out of people, she's recently decided that looking cute is only part of a toddler's appeal, and that saying cute things is even better.

Toddler Tales: Having a ball

By Jennifer Barton, Mar 27, 2012

Diana has more in common with David Beckham than a similar hairdo and penchant for bulldogs: she loves to play ball.

Toddler Tales: Mum's the word

By Jennifer Barton, Mar 20, 2012

I've been feeling rather smug lately. Diana, having mastered the word "Ma" several weeks ago, has since started saying "Mama," "Mummy," and even "Mommy" (my American influence still, occasionally, prevails).

Toddler Tales: Toddler pals

By Jennifer Barton, Mar 13, 2012

Diana is becoming quite the social butterfly of the toddler set lately, and between playgroups and play dates, she's accumulated a lot of friends. With the exception of Diana's constant companion and BFF, Bolshy the bulldog, D's friends can be divided into three different categories.

Toddler Tales: Keeping toddler appy

By Jennifer Barton, Mar 6, 2012

I remember rolling my eyes when we were last in New York and a nice man advised us to get an iPad for surviving the plane journey - he had a toddler and said it was a life-saver.