Siliskin tops come in packs of three. They’re made of 100 percent silicone and are available with either a spout-style lid or a straw-top. Thanks to the grippy silicone, the tops slide in easily but create a nearly air-tight seal that stays on when being slurped from and that’s tricky for little fingers to pry off (don’t kid yourself, they’ll get curious and try at some point). Yes, both variations have an opening, which means that if the entire cup goes flying, liquid will go flying too....

If putting up lights is something you and your family does yearly, or you want to make sure you’re able to do that this year, you’re going to want to stock up early and check your supply. Wait? There’s a holiday light supply shortage? According to Slate, holiday lights are the latest product that’s experiencing a supply shortage. It won’t be the only holiday shortage: kid’s toys, particularly the big plastic kind, will be hard to find this year due to supply chain issues....

According to the National Association of Realtors, the Housing Affordability Index has dropped by close to a third in just this year alone. The Housing Affordability Index is what’s used to measure whether a typical family can afford a mortgage loan on a typical house based on their income. It’s calculated using several components, including a monthly principal and interest payment that’s not more than 25 percent of the median family monthly income nationwide....

But how will that all shake out? Here’s a breakdown of the ending of The Batman, plus how it could set up a less-than-predictable sequel, that won’t retread familiar territory of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Spoilers ahead. The ending of The Batman sees The Riddler (Paul Dano) placed behind bars in Arkham Asylum, but that doesn’t mean Batman’s (Robert Pattinson) crusade to save Gotham is anywhere near complete, or that The Riddler will be out of the picture for long....

Take it from the Old Testament, strict corporal punishment has been a popular form of discipline for a long time. Proverbs 29:15 offers parenting advice in the form of, “the rod and reproof” which it says “give wisdom” while a “child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” Yes, strict discipline methods were generally accepted for millennia, but there is history of dissent that is just as deep. RELATED: Why Corporal Punishment Should Be Illegal in America Even in the Medieval era, an age that put heretics on the rack and subjected adulterous women to breast rippers (yes, that’s the technical title), physical harm to children was far more controversial than violence towards adults....

READ MORE: The Fatherly Guide to Divorce and Kids Wendy Paris, author of Splitopia: Dispatches From Today’s Good Divorce And How To Part Well, has first-hand knowledge of just how much divorce can suck. “Nobody gets divorced for the divorce. You don’t say ‘I’m really unhappy, so I’ll move out and live on half my income, and that’ll make me happy,” she jokes.But she also knows this necessary evil can have a positive spin....

Gut bacteria, also known as a microbiome, is having a moment lately — and for good reason. Microorganisms swimming around your pipes not only digest food and fight disease, but they also secrete mood-regulating chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA. There is a growing connection, in other words, between a diverse microbiome and health, stability, and even athletic prowess. “There is definitely communication between bacteria in the gut and the brain, but we don’t know which one starts the conversation,” says the OSU study‘s co-author Dr....

My son Danny is 14. He’s going to start high school this year. It’s a very, very important for the next four years for him to lay the foundation to become an adult. Danny has been in sports in the past, but this last summer, before high school, he was hanging out with certain crowds. They’re good kids, but they’re lazy. They just don’t have any focus on sports this year....

Esther Gokhale has you covered. She’s spent 20 years studying indigenous populations in Burkina Faso, India, Brazil, and elsewhere. It turns out, there are a few specific ways you should carry a kid, as well as some practical ways to maintain your back muscles and spine so you actually get stronger as the kid gets older (and heavier). Because if your ancestors could haul fresh kills for miles without throwing out their backs, you should be able to carry your kid for a half hour without having to call a chiropractor....

“The key to a good transition from summer to the routines needed for school is to never give up on having a routine,” explains Ari Yares, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist with more than 15 years of experience working with families and children with academic and behavioral problems. “Even with the lazier days of summer, some basic routines need to be in place. This might include getting lunches ready in advance and having a bag packed and ready for a trip to the neighborhood pool....

In The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life, available now from PublicAffairs, Kamenetz examines research and personal anecdotes to find balance between digital media and family life. In the below excerpt from her book, she argues why screens offer opportunities for parents to connect more with their kids. READ MORE: The Fatherly Guide to Screen Time I took my older daughter, Lulu, to see her first movie in the theater on a very rainy Saturday....

Your child is home from college for an extended summer break. While you’re thrilled to have her back, you are quickly reminded of the friction you felt over the relatively short holiday visit last winter. You begin to wonder how you’ll be able to manage three months. Emerging adults come home from a year at college with new (sometimes troublesome) habits, contrary political views, and a fresh sense of independence ⏤ not to mention, they’re often utterly exhausted....

I carried deep pain throughout most of my adulthood because of my father, who I derisively called Frank. I referred to my father by his first name because it reduced his stature in my life, and oddly gave me a morsel of peace about his lack of presence. This story was submitted by a Fatherly reader. Opinions expressed in the story do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Fatherly as a publication....

How to Get Poop Out of Carpet Carpets are perhaps the worst place for unexpected blowouts and poop stains since carpets, like other textiles, can have feces ground into the fibers if the cleaner isn’t careful. In this case, the fibers are essentially glued to the floor and can’t be easily cleaned. And any stools on the floor are susceptible to being smeared by foot traffic. First, parents should use a paper towel to gently pick up the poop and throw it away....

Where the world of LEGO has changed over the years is in the themes and sets that are being produced. Part of this churn is the natural limitations of the company; there are only so many sets that can be produced at a given time, and there is a moneymaking imperative to always be designing and selling something new. So what is an AFOL–an adult fan of LEGO–to do if he wants to recreate a treasured childhood memory of a specific set?...

One person who knows how to endure extreme situations a bit better than most is Ohio educator, solo-adventurer, and athlete Bryce Carlson. In 2018, he became the first American to ever complete a west-to-east solo row of the Atlantic, traveling 2,000 miles from Newfoundland to the Isles of Sicily in 38 days, six hours, and 49 minutes (he also shattered the previous record). Even more astounding, Carlson completed the row in a 20-foot vessel named Lucille....

He could be sad, depressed, caustic, or some shifting combination. Even if it was his decision, he could still be any of the above because he’s facing shared custody and being alone half the time. Some changes he’ll know. Others he’ll sense, some he’ll wonder about, and through it all, he’s left with a stigma and a new thought that won’t leave. “The hardest part of divorce is you have to accept you can’t trust your own judgment,” says Mitch Abrams, clinical psychologist in Tinton Falls and Fords, New Jersey....

A few weeks ago, you learned the term ” pphubbing,” which describes what you do when you snub your partner in favor of intimate time with your phone. But while the term is new, the idea that technology can insert itself into your sex life like an IRL pop-up ad is probably not unfamiliar to you. Because if it were uncommon, then licensed marriage and family therapist Ian Kerner, PhD wouldn’t be so damn successful....

“The bottom line is toddler safety,” says Dr. Shalini Paruthi, medical co-director of the St. Luke’s Sleep Medicine and Research Center. “What do I do once the baby has started to climb out of the crib consistently?” Since toddler beds are lower to the ground, Paruthi says, they’re worthwhile because restless sleepers and active toddlers simply have less distance to fall. There are cost-effective alternatives to toddler beds and parents on a budget can often solve many of their problems by simply placing a mattress directly on the floor....

The CDC recommends that if you’re at a loss, you should consider using alcohol-based wipes or sprays containing at least 70 percent alcohol to disinfect touch screens. Dry surfaces thoroughly so liquid doesn’t pool (and ruin your device). Without question, phones are havens for germs of all kinds. Dan Barnes, the co-founder one smartphone sanitizing company, PhoneSoap, called phones “the third hand you never wash,” which is a weird mental image but a point well taken....