It started last October when my daughter found the picture of my girlfriend. (Not that kind of picture, relax.) From the time I had both a smartphone and children, photos of my kids have served as the “home screen” and the “lock screen,” updated every few months as the kids grew. And then at the beginning of the fall, I fell in love with a girl from Texas. Hazel and I quickly got serious, and in early October, I put a photo of her on my phone’s home screen....

“You idiot!” screams Tony as he stands up and shoves Patrice to the ground. The younger boy starts crying. It’s pathetic and sad and I have to step in. I forcibly put Tony in time-out (‘But he jumped on me first!”) and speak sternly to Patrice, who is still in tears. All three of us want to cry; two of us are crying. I can’t help but think that there must be a better way to do this....

John Legend, Grammy Award Winner, producer, actor, activist, dad, has spent a lifetime listening very carefully. He does this professionally and he does this personally. When he was young, growing up in Springfield, Ohio, he listened to his teachers and graduated high school at 16 (and University of Pennsylvania at 21). Now, he spends the bulk of his time listening to his 18-month-old daughter Luna Simone, his wife Chrissy Teigen, and his innumerable professional collaborators....

When I take my toddler outside to play, I sometimes discover she has dirt crusted around her mouth. Once, I actually caught her gnawing on a dirt clod. Is this dangerous? How can I get her to stop eating dirt? Felix Chicago, Illinois * I’m a soil muncher from way back in the day, Felix. I was a connoisseur of mudpies and loam. I can still taste that minerally grit in my mouth and feel it crusting on the corners of my mouth....

According to the New York Times, the F.D.A. has issued a ban against using electric shock devices. Still, it only targets the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center school in Canton, Massachusetts. The school serves both adults and children who have emotional, behavioral or psychiatric problems or intellectual disabilities and is the only school in the United States that uses “painful electric shocks to discipline students, and the practice has been in place there for decades....

If you already received a letter from the IRS letting you know you qualify, then you’re all set. If you haven’t, the Advance Child Tax Credit Eligibility Assistant is an online questionnaire that parents (and others with dependents under 18) can use to see if they qualify for the new CTC advance payments, the monthly disbursements that are meant to help families throughout the year instead of all at once at tax time....

Winner of an innovation award at last year’s JPMA Show, the On-the-Go Dome is a lightweight 2-in-1 mesh play space/nap crib that folds flat at the touch of a button. It’s designed for babies from age just-born up to 12 months (25lbs) and features a cushioned mat and two dangling toys to help keep them busy/develop motor skills. Better still, it’s made for both indoor and outdoor use and a retractable fabric UPF20 canopy turns the whole thing into a little Safeco Field, so the kid’s protected from the sun and bugs....

The Fondoodler may look like a cheesy joke (like that one), but it’s totally real. Even weirder, it’s licensed and sold by BuzzFeed, so try it out, then post an article about 23 Genius Fondoodler Hacks That Made Your Day In 2016. It comes in three simple dishwasher safe parts — gun body, cheese canister, and push rod — and is so easy to assemble you could probably do it blindfolded, just like a culinary Navy SEAL....

It’s hard to believe that Rogers has been gone for nearly 20 years; he died in February 2003, just a few weeks shy of his 75th birthday. Tom Hanks played him in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, but that 2019 drama, while quite good, actually focused more on a cynical journalist (Matthew Rhys) interviewing (and being won over by) Rogers than on Rogers himself. Far more enlightening was Won’t You Be My Neighbor?...

These two programs — and, in particular, the child tax credit — amount to a “type” of basic income. With a federal government that has been notoriously skittish over providing cash benefits to citizens, instead choosing to give out EBT cards, food stamps, and in-kind benefits over no-strings-attached cash, the move to expand the Child Tax Credit, which has dramatically slashed child poverty in its few months of existence, is nothing short of extraordinary....

There’s simply no way to describe the power of this meme, without giving examples. But it is important to note that every parent on the planet should try to figure out a way to channel Berne’s big-mitten energy in 2021. He’s not being disrespectful to Joe and Kamala. He’s just chilling out. Bernie’s Lebowski-esque vibe is exactly the kind of mood we need to settle into this new year. Here are just a few of the great examples of the Bernie Mitten Meme we saw on Twitter and Instagram....

Although hair clippers may look quite similar to the beard trimmer or electric razor that you probably already have somewhere in your bathroom, their function is vastly different. Clippers come equipped with blades that resemble something like a comb, which are designed to help you trim your hair to the exact length you want, which makes it much easier when working with longer hairstyles. While most sets of hair clippers look similar enough to what your barber uses, there are a few very important factors to keep in mind when shopping for the best clippers to add to your dopp kit....

It’s been a full year since Evelyn Shaw was able to hug her granddaughter. Speaking to Insider, Evelyn’s daughter, Dr. Laura Shaw Frank, said that she and her kids would stand 6 feet apart with masks outside their door to see each other. But they were never able to spend time together for a meal or quality time. It’s just not been the same. “We’ve been really carefully following the rules and the laws, and what the CDC says and what Fauci says and what Cuomo says and what everybody’s telling us to do, we do it....

Either way, a Hasbro-Mattel merger brings up the tantalizing possibility of combining their extensive catalogs of brands. Barbie and Nerf? My Little Pony and Matchbox? The theoretical must-have mashups are practically endless. After cycling through dozens of dream crossovers, we picked the seven we’re hoping show up on shelves shortly after the merger. Beyblade and Hot Wheels So much of the fun of Beyblades, Hasbro’s dueling spinning tops, comes from that initial, euphoric rip of the launcher....

That’s because HBO Max will be automatically bundled with many other different services, a perk similar to some Verizon customers getting a year of Disney+ gratis, but on a larger scale. AT&T Plans TV Most people who get TV service through HBO owner AT&T’s TV providers — DirecTV, U-Verse, and AT&T Now — will get some access to HBO Max. As long as you subscribe: DirecTV Premier and Lo Maximo; AT&T U-Verse U400, U450, and U450 Latino; AT&T TV Now Max and PremiereOne year: DirecTV Choice, Xtra, Ultimate, Mas Ultra, and Optimo MasThree months: All other U-Verse, AT&T TV, and DirecTV plans except AT&T U-Verse Family and Basic plans, AT&T TV Now Plus, and DirecTV Family...

Hey, Fatherly My wife and I have been struggling to potty train our little girl. She’s 3 and a half but she’s not doing great in the bathroom. It started out okay but she’s been really messing up so we are trying to figure it out. But anyway, my wife and me are all the time fighting about this because she thinks our daughter should go back into pull ups and I think we have to keep pushing her....

If you thought Fake Pietro (Wanda’s brother) was a huge fake-out, prepare yourself for being totally rick-rolled by the Illuminati. Full spoilers ahead for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Seriously, you’ve been warned. Prior to the premiere of Multiverse of Madness, Marvel fans were perhaps most excited that the film seemed to be about to introduce the Illuminati, a shadowy group of some of Marvel’s most powerful heroes who dealt with multiversal threats....

In many cultures, however, that first haircut is a right of passage treated with great reverence. For some, it’s a family affair, with all members of the extended family lopping off a child’s locks. For others, it’s a celebration akin to a baptism (or that other snip session, the Briss) that follows strict religious protocol. Here are some of the most interesting first cut traditions and haircutting ceremonies around the world....

What Is Child Support? First, some basics. Child support is the term for the payments a noncustodial, divorced parent is required to make to support their child or children. For a more precise definition, here’s how attorney and author of the new 20 Great Tips for a Successful Divorce Tanya Helfand defines child support. Child support, she says, is “typically a monetary payment from one parent to the primary caretaker of the child, typically the other parent, to cover the financial needs of the child, including but not limited to housing, food, clothing, transportation, entertainment, and health care....

“Research shows that getting angry with one another is not a problem and that couples who fight can have long, happy relationships,” says Dianne Chambless, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied pronoun use in marital communications. “But it’s a matter of how you do it.” Most couples realize that screaming and hurling insults (and objects) at each other when they’re angry probably isn’t good for their relationships....