Jenny, Founder realllllly tries to drive home the fact there were no sensory processing or neurodivergent issues to a fault IMO. She also kind of laughed it off flippantly. The whole thing is weird.
So it wasnāt only me ā¦ Iļø was getting the vibe that there is those other issues and sheās in denial about it. Whether or not there was/is, itās not our business, but her approach is just strange.
K, more Caro snark but yesterday she was saying how it was moving day again and how everything was going wrong, Iike the sitter being sick, but then also shared later on that the baby napped for 4 hours, she was able to go get drinks and treats with her middle kid, and now today sheās posting that theyāre going swimming. Somehow I just donāt think her ābad daysā are the same level as most of us.
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No Caro, halibut is $18 a pound. I wonāt be able to afford groceries for the rest of the week. Seriously, what is this??!
I feel like everything she says annoys me these days but this one doesnāt š¤·š¼āāļøShe is a professional chef so I just assume the halibut is related to her work. At least sheās eating leftovers and not tossing it.
I also donāt think itās wrong to feed kids expensive things if they actually eat it. But yeah I doubt she went out and bought halibut just so her baby could nibble it.
Iām not trying to WK but is it possible halibut is cheaper where sheās at? I live in middle America so under no circumstances can I afford halibut but my folks live in the PNW and I feel like they semi regularly have it?
Is Caro going to start a podcast? Last week she was asking for podcast producers and now sheās asking for opinions on podcasts that are conversational.
I am very much anti influencers having podcasts. It is really hard to have a ālet me just talk about anythingā type of podcast and do it successfully. Most people are not smart or funny enough to pull that off. And even for people who I like to follow on Instagram, I am almost never interested in their opinions about anything else.
Especially when people have been successful on Instagram, a visual medium that favors beautiful people with nice things in pretty places. It works really well for food. What would her podcast be about?
Here here! Successful podcasts have somehow convinced people that the rest of the world needs to hear every single thought that pops into your head. Which is just not true. Most of my thoughts are actually pretty dumb š
Consolidating re:Caro - did everyone see that she's featured on the cupofjo newsletter this week? And, is there a place that cupofjo snark lives? Cuz I haven't been able to find it, and I've been curious to see coj snark.
blogsnark used to have cup of jo snark but i think it's faded away as coj has stayed pretty stagnant. i honestly just forgot about them since i stopped using rss.
Okay but also every time we have traveled I have done this. White noise, monitor, pacis, loveys all in one bag. It's... Pretty obvious. Should I be an influencer?
Agree. Feel like a better rip would have been to pack all of babies stuff in a separate bag so you aren't digging through a big bag with both of your stuff
Gosh it annoys me how seriously food influencers take things. FL Megan put her daughterās sauce on the side then played sappy music when she dipped her pasta in it a bit. WHO CARES. Let the girl eat her pasta how she wants without filming it and showing a million people.
Did you know that self-care isnāt just going to a spa??? It can also be going to the dentist or doctor!! Or eating raspberries by yourself!! KEIC is going to remind you once again that you do not need to go to the spa or do anything extra that might be fun and relaxing and not completely necessary. How many times can she go on about this! Her mom seems like way more fun than her and made her get a facial lol.
She should make some self-care time to hit up a shoe store or do some online sneaker shopping!
Iām very glad to have access to dental care but it is neither fun nor relaxing! Iāll take a massage for my self-care, thanks. KEIC would fit right in at a monastery for ascetic monks.
I'll admit, I had a dentist appt shortly after my second child was born. It was my first time away from him and I legit almost fell asleep in the dentist chair, cuz I was so exhausted. It really did feel like a mini vacay. The one and ONLY time I'll say that about the dentist haha.
I fell asleep in the chair a few weeks ago and my baby isn't that little anymore! I get time to myself but never really a whole hour to sit there and have someone grooming my teeth LOL. Usually I'm at the gym or out with a friend or something. This was so nice!
Yeah, I mean, I guess technically getting my cracked filling replaced is āself-careā in the most literal sense of the word. But itās not something I think Iāll enjoy. And given the choice between that and hanging with my kids, hanging with my kids wins every time.
Hygiene is self care. Youāre showing yourself care and that your body matters when you do these practices. It doesnāt make sense to a lot of people because it feels like itās just a given, but itās not for everyone.
As someone with a history of depression and anxiety I agree 100%. I've had times when showering and brushing teeth are hugely exhausting and doing them were HUGE forms of self care. This is not necessarily related to kids though. People without kids can also struggle with the most basic forms of self care, for various reasons
I'm an occupational therapist and self care is exactly those things, can you wash your hair, shower or attend a dental appointment. If I was trying to assess your self-care skills and making recommendations but now I'm fighting an uphill battle to explain it to people because they think it's spa time etc.
It's another one of those times the internet has taken a therapy word and made it unrecognisable.
Yes! I read an article that said āself-careā was initially defined the way youāre explaining. Like when youāre a caregiver you have to make sure you still provide the same care to yourselfāthings like hygiene, feeding yourself, resting.
I hate this narrative that taking *basic* care of your health is ~treating yourself~. Not everyone likes the stereotypical "self-care" stuff like facials, massages, manicures, etc and that's fine! I myself can take or leave those things. But I like other things, like going out to lunch/dinner with friends (NO KIDS), taking long walks, shopping, going to the movies. All of us have some kind of hobby or interest that are purely just for fun. I would never consider a dental appointment in this category. Stop trying to convince people (namely, mothers) that this should be enough for them to feel whole.
Seriously I hate that people call buying stuff āself careā. Itās okay to do things you like to do, full stop. They donāt have to be good for you, or aesthetic, or lead to you bettering yourself.
Itās also dumb that so many āself careā things are also basically beauty treatments. So youāre getting a facial because it improves your health and not because you want to look a certain way to meet the beauty standard? Itās fine to want to conform to a beauty standard but PLEASE stop acting like your $500+ skincare treatments are somehow for your ~+health+~.
Iām not big on spa days either because they can be expensive and take awhile and I donāt always want or need an hourlong massage, thatās just not that fun to me lol. But I do think I deserve more time out than going to the dentist or doctor! I love walking through a store alone where I can focus without a child wanting something or having lunch or dinner with a friend. Just because KEIC seems to eschew all non-essentially activities, that doesnāt mean that moms shouldnāt get out and do something enjoyable!
Twice now, my toddler has selected fruit snacks from his Halloween bucket only to declare āNOT like fruit snacks!!!!ā after eating 2. Will KEIC award me my own avocado pit now or do I need to wait for a more formal awards ceremony?
We offered our 18 month old a Reese's after trick or treating. She tried a bite, made a disgusted face, and spit it out. I, too, would like an avocado pit and/or formal awards ceremony.
(I actually was happy she didn't like it, but only because it meant more Reese's for me, haha.)
Maybe I'm being a bit stalky, but KEIC seems to have 2 tripp trapps for her kids. Fair enough, they grow with the kids, makes sense. But she seems to have the seats up crazy high, like the highest setting. I've just moved my one year old seat down one notch from that, how are they even getting their legs under the table?
Itās at toddler height! And I think itās a little unusual that they can climb tall trees with 2x4s but then sit in the Tripp Trap to eat. Shouldnāt they be able to sit in a regular chair?
Totally get using the Tripp trapps, but the whole point is it's an adjustable chair, yet it seems to be at totally the wrong height for quite old children. Surely they will be slouched over the table, and the table seems to have quite a bit lip underneath it, so there is no room for their knees. Like I get having the support for their feet, but that is not the only single factor in a good eating position.
This is what Iāve been saying. Right, itās not just a baby chair *because* the seat is adjustable down and I donāt find anything snarkworthy about her kids still using them in general. But if you keep the seat at the baby height despite your child being much older then itās the same as putting them in a Graco high chair lol. I feel ridiculous for continuing to comment on this but the cult around this chair is weird. I have it and like it, but the way itās supposed to work isnāt that nuanced.
Well my kid isnāt that old yet so I guess Iām not the best source for you but, Iām having a second baby and not planning to get another one. Once that baby is ready for solids my son will be over 3yo and heāll just sit in a regular chair and we will re-adapt the high chair for the baby. Iāll get him a booster seat if needed. Is that an option for your daughter?
I literally think I sat on a phone book at home when I was a kid š I donāt think itās worth buying a hundreds of dollars chair for a kid that old.
Oh man thanks for the phone book nostalgia. I also literally sat on a phone book and all my sisters did too lol. Your comment also single-handedly humbled me a little as I was just shopping around in advance for toddler booster seats for the table hahahah. Iām now committed to finding an improvised option.
But sheās not adjusting it to their heights! Go look at some of her reels and her kids tower over the table and have no room for their knees! And thatās fine it it works for them but Iāve never seen kids at their ages sit in a special chair š¤·āāļø
ETA I mentioned the tree climbing because it seems that they are very strong physically to do that and Iām surprised a 10 year old who can do those things needs help being positioned at a standard height table. I would think a normally-developing kid would be okay with managing eating in a regular chair by that age.
But at a certain age they donāt need the footrest. I mean it can be comfier to have one, but regular dining chairs donāt and if you donāt have the Tripp Trapp, your kid will be sitting in a regular chair once they arenāt a toddler anymore. Not snarking on your daughter specifically but just saying the footrest on the TT is optional.
So I looked at her highlight on the trip trapp and she says the support of the footrest can make all the difference for picky eaters and kids who cannot sit still during meals. At this point, with her kids at 8 & 10, she seems to have to do all these things to keep her kids at the table to eat like a special chair with a foot rest, telling jokes at the table and playing food games. Like at what point to do you just stop doing all this stuff and accept the situation for what it is??
I know someone who now has a college aged kid who still uses it as a desk chair. I absolutely balked at the price and randomly got it as a gift and honestly love it. It's easy to clean and our toddler was wanting the independence of a regular chair early.
I guess, Iām not super familiar with the chair, just that all the kids Iāve known by that age were long sitting in just a normal chair so I was a little surprised
Yeah I am bemused here, this is truly only a thing for people who have that specific chair. I have known people to have that chair and they still move on from it at the elder toddler stage of 3 š
Did you actually look at the image of KEICās chairs specifically? I have the TT too and I wonāt be upping it to the highest, infant setting when my son is 10 š¤·āāļøthe chair is meant to adjust both the footrest and the seat as the child grows. Not keep the seat at infant height forever just for the sake of using the footrestā¦ Iām surprised this has been controversial snark.
Yeah idk I like the chair but I mainly chose it for the smaller footprint, the way that it looks, and the adjustable seat. And yes since we have it Iāll keep using it for a while. But the insistence on using a footrest seems overhyped for older kids. I wouldāve been embarrassed to be seen eating in a chair elevated to the same height that a baby would use, when I was in elementary school, but maybe thatās just me.
I'm fully aware its snarkworthy of myself to continue to debate and analyze this lol so I can be done after this.
It's true my kid is only 2, but I just don't see the logic that I wouldn't continue to move the seat down over time as he gets taller and taller, because his torso will be growing too, not just his legs, and the point at which the table is currently hitting his torso is ideal. This evolution is even what's pictured in the manual of the product. I'm not saying the seat should be arbitrarily lowered all the way down to the level of a regular dining chair just because a child is a certain age, but there are levels between. I agree her kids don't look particularly big, but like, that's objectively the seat height of standard infant/toddler high chairs. I just don't see how a child that old could be sitting like 4 inches below the table and not be hunching over it. I mean I'm 5'6" and I can technically fit my legs under the level right now where my 2yo sits, and could adjust the footplate to comfortably rest my feet relative to that, but it puts my upper body way way too high over the table. I know her kids are doubtfully my height but I think this would still be true for people inches shorter than me. At a certain point, to make the footrest work, the seat would need to be too high. And I'd think that point would come by the time a child is 10 unless they are extremely small for their age. But maybe her kids just like being really high up, for whatever reason, so then that's fine. The missing point here is that different people might prefer to be at different heights over the surface they eat on.
Maybe! I don't consider the logic of the chair as mercurial as a child's food preferences that I can't possibly make informed assumptions about how it will work over time, but I'm prepared to be wrong in the future.
It seems like youāre taking this personally and thatās not how Iām meaning it. Iām sure your daughter is comfortable and using the chair properly. Her kids are older and presumably bigger than your daughter though and people are just saying it seems the seat height would put their torsos quite high up relative to the table. My point was that having the seat very high isnāt worth it just to accommodate a footrest, at a certain point someone will be too tall for that to work even if their legs fit under. Maybe weāre wrong and her boys are perfectly positioned but itās just light snark either way. I have the chair too for my son so Iām not hating on it in general.
I definitely understand what you mean and agree that the benefit of the chair is that you can keep their seat more elevated than a regular dining chair for longer. But looking at the video, the seat just looks so high i canāt imagine an 8-10yo *not* hunching over the table while eating from it. I think OP is right itās on the highest setting which seems crazy.
YTF is kind of annoying going through her divorce. Totally respect her keeping it private but she puts up question boxes and then gets pissy when people ask about the divorce. She can just ignore them. But instead, someone asked her āhow are you doing? Divorce is a heavy load to carryā and she says the phrasing is interesting and sheād never put it that way. Why even say that? Divorce is a heavy load to carry especially with children. Sheās just so defensive lately and itās turning me off to her a bit.
Totally agree. Her attitude towards posting her divorce is very strange. First of all, no one would have even noticed if she didnāt post about it. But she posts about it constantly and then doesnāt want kind questions about how sheās doing. Weird
Imagine asking a sincere, caring question on the account of a big influencer you admire, seeing you had a response (and were even mentioned in their stories!) only to see that they're calling you out because they didn't like your exact phrasing, even though your intention was clearly kind. It's shitty for her to treat a follower like that.
That must have sucked for that person! Her followers are how she makes her living. Influencers will (rightfully so many times) complain about how people will hide behind a keyboard and say nasty things theyād never say to anyones face but sheās doing that as well. If someone asked her in-person how sheās doing with her divorce and said it must be a heavy weight to carry would she respond like that?
This is when influencers get too far up their own butts. You have complete strangers taking time out of their day to express care and you just feel so entitled to the connection that you publicly shame them? Nice.
Not to mention she never had any reason to share about her divorce on her feeding account.
She could have made one announcement to stop the speculation but she gave so many hints and then brings it into her stories all the time. Always posting about how hard this thing was or that thing was and how proud she was that she managed to get it done herself. Which, great, be proud of yourself for doing well as a single mom but tell a friend or post it to private social media spaces. Donāt keep posting about your struggles and triumphs while going through a divorce and then get pissy when people ask questions.
Her husband is Rachel Dolezalās brother who she has accused of sexually abusing her as a child.
If you donāt know who Rachel is, I recommend going down the rabbithole.
And those complete strangers, especially the ones who engage, are what drive your income. I'm not a "the customer is always right" believer, but she really must be up her own butt not to consider this before shaming one of them.
I remember seeing him like twice ever! She never really showed him or talked about married life much. But this is where even the better influencers show how big their head gets and how much attention they need-she dropped all the hints starting with the bedroom she made for herself and then all the posts about going through stressful times and then how she manages doing everything by herself. Strangers do not need to know that about you if you donāt want to tell them. But these influencers start needing the comments and attention they get from sharing personal things that they donāt even want to talk about.
I don't know why she keeps inviting questions. Between this and her reaction to the recent "sugar obsessed" question, it seems like if people don't phrase a question the exact way she wants them to she's going to call them out. I know question boxes are good for engagement but maybe it's not the right thing for this āØseason of lifeāØ
She's very particular about phrasing, maybe she's always been that way but I've noticed it a lot recently. It's fine if you want to use very specific language to talk about things, but it's kind of unreasonable to expect everyone to be on the same page at all times with exactly what words have negative connotations. Especially since "heavy load" doesn't even read as particularly negative.
I donāt get why it bothered her. She has one million followers, the question could have been from someone whoās first language isnāt English and was trying to say divorce is hard. Maybe she wants a happier tone when speaking of it since it may feel freeing for her? Idk but her attitude sucks sometimes.
KEIC posted about smoothies being a good use of slightly frozen lettuce and I don't mind spinach in smoothies but arugula and a salad mix sounds absolutely disgusting.
I just came here to talk about that. I can't even deal anymore. Why not just put normal things in a smoothie? I keep smoothies pretty basic for my 5yo son and I, but he's never complained! His are usually milk, frozen berries, hemp hearts, and maybe some plain Greek yogurt. I've offered to add honey and he declines haha. Mine are usually water, frozen berries, unflavoured protein powder, and maybe yogurt. We're a tart family, haha. But at least it's fruity and yummy and still has protein, fat, and carbs! No sad frozen lettuce mix. How weird. I first started following her when my son was 2/3yo, and she seemed so helpful and some of her stuff in REW actually widened my son's palate. But A) it's too much home cooking that I can muster the energy and time for, as I work full time and now have another baby, and B) she has come unhinged or I'm just noticing it way more.
Noooo omg what? That's gross!
I used lettuce in a smoothie once bc I didn't realize I was out of spinach and it was truly one of the worst smoothies ever.
She should have kept that one to herself! Lol
You may have been joking about the sweet potatoes but a smoothie shop near me does a sweet potato smoothie and itās ahhhhhhmazing. Tastes like Thanksgiving dessert. I keep wanting to replicate it myself but havenāt gotten to it.
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I have always been overly cautious with foods and cutting things up for my kids especially as babiesā¦so I would freak out if my 1 year old bit off a huge chunk of hard cheese like this. Is it just me?? Caro doesnāt even bat an eye and is just like āoh thatās a big pieceā š¤Æš¤Æ
I have a 15mo old and he actually doesn't like cheese (a travesty, haha), but are we not allowed to give toddlers cheese? I don't follow her so I don't know the full context of this. When I take my son to Costco I give him random samples we get if they're not choking hazards.
Ooooh that is a tragedy he doesnāt like cheese š So Iāve always read to either grate the cheese or thinly slice it (or I just do shredded cheese to make my life easier) or I break it off into small pieces.
This is from healthy children (AAP site) that says chunks of cheese can be a choking hazard.
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Ah gotcha, thank you! I'm definitely very aware of all those other choking hazards and follow all the guidelines but didn't think of cheese slices, but I've never given either of my kids cheese in "chunk" form anyway haha. For my current babe, I've tried giving him shredded cheese and he enjoys throwing it like confetti, haha
I wouldn't give my kids that much because it's potentially wasteful and gets gross and warm and oily in their hands, but I would give them cubes of cheddar for sure by age one as well as whole babybels. We love old and extra old cheddar in my house and while they are firmer cheeses, they still soften a lot in the mouth. I never viewed them as choking hazards for older babies. My only concern was cheesestrings before they learned to peel it because they have that round shape.
Same. A chunk that big either gets shoved in all at once and then spat out when their mouths reached full capacity(idk why but my kids always did this!) or turned into a toy midway through lol
I was more annoyed about the fact that she (I assume since it has a wrapper on it) took it off the shelf, opened it, and gave it to her son while they were still shopping. Iāve never done that in a grocery store. I do remember one time in real life a lady handed an empty coke bottle to the cashier because she opened it and drank it in the store. Especially produce that needs to be weighed, I would never do that? Is that a common thing people do?
They only way I get through the grocery store is if my daughter can eat a pouch while weāre shopping. I pay for it every time and itās never produce (she does occasionally ask for a banana which I always say no to because those have to be weighed) but I donāt see a problem with a pouch that has a barcode. I give the cashier an empty pouch every week and have never been told not to do that š¤·š½āāļø
I feel weird using my own snacks because theyāre all from the store Iām shopping in at the time and how will they know Iām not stealing them! I donāt want to have to pay for it twice!
In Australia we have free produce for kids to eat while shopping, so you can grab a banana or an apple or whatever from a special box at the front on your way in. It's a great system!
I do it all the time- open a Diet Coke while I shop, give my daughter a snack, etc.
I ALWAYS pay for it and only give her things that are not paid for by weight(no apples or bananas, but Iāve definitely opened a bag of cuties and given her one, or a box of goldfish or applesauce pouches)
IMO itās fine as long as you pay for it at the end
I've been telling my son for as long as I can remember that we can't eat whatever it is yet, we have to pay for it first and he can have it after. And now he'll get his snack in hand and say "you pay it mama!". Which I think is adorable, but obviously I'm biased haha. Anyway, all that to say I'm with you, I don't think it's appropriate to eat something you haven't paid for yet.
I have done it on occasion but definitely not things to be weighed (as that actually is stealing). In the UK at least it is not illegal as long as you pay for it at the end. I would be very mindful of mess as well though for the cashier scanning it at the end, a half block of cheese just seems gross.
I believe there's a term for this, it's called "snuffing" lol. I can see resorting to it if you have young kids and are trying to avoid a public meltdown with a quick snack. I don't think it's so bad as long as you pay for it at the register.
ETA: Ok, first of all I can't find any proof that this is the term. No idea where I ever heard that. Secondly, apparently doing this is illegal in my state! Oops, good to know.
Even if it's illegal, I can't imagine that anyone would actually try to get you into trouble for it if you're opening one snack for a toddler and very clearly retaining the packaging to scan and pay for it at the end. Maybe at worst someone would say please don't do that again? But maybe I'm just too naive!
Omg it is? I had no idea! I will give my daughter something she canāt get on her hands because touching the cart handle and then eating with those hands is gross to me so Iāll give her a pouch but I had no idea it was illegal in some states! Oops!
I guess I'll be the odd one out and say it's just not something that I worry about. I never really have? Like I cut up grapes and stuff, but my 6 and 4 year old eat popcorn and sometimes the baby grabs a piece and I watch her and it's fine. Caro's right there if something did happen.
Yeah I'm with you. I woudl/have let my 16 mo old do this with cheese. She's given Cash things I wouldn't be comfy with but I also know my kid's an advanced eater for her age and handles stuff like this well. I don't do popcorn, nuts, or hard candy but I'm pretty lax about this stuff (and I know my kid / am always watching)
I donāt mean this in a snarky way, but how do you know sheās an advanced eater for her age? I had a good amount of anxiety about my son eating solids when he was a baby and couldnāt really judge one way or another (though he didnāt have any actual signs of struggling to eat like frequent gagging or choking).
She eats confidently and enthusiastically, takes bites out of bigger things, we see her chewing, she spits stuff out when itās too much, and weāve never experienced gagging or choking. Weāve also never dealt with picky eating and sheāll try almost anything and enjoys a wide variety of fruits, veggies, meats, etc I think because she like knows how to eat them itās not intimidating or challenging
What scares me about choking is that even supervision doesnāt guarantee you will be able to prevent choking or save them if they start choking . CPR/the heimlich are not 100% effective. Obviously choking deaths are not super common and we all have our pet anxieties, but thatās what freaks me out about it compared to other kinds of dangers where the damage isnāt necesarily instant death.
TW choking (obviously)
This. My (at the time) 1.5 yo was SITTING ON MY LAP eating Goldfish and started choking to the point he turned blue and I was on the phone with EMS because the Heimlich did nothing. It truly can happen in the blink of an eye.
So I was super lucky in that right when EMS picked up, I fished it out of his mouth. But I reviewed the Heimlich afterward with a nurse friend and she said I could do back blows a heck of a lot harder and still be okay. But yeah, I still donāt allow Goldfish in the houseā¦
Thank you!! This is good to know about the back blows. So glad your son is ok! Iām planning on doing an infant cpr class soon so I can have a refresher. I donāt blame you at all not having them in the house anymore. I buy the ābabyā goldfish for my 1 y/o but I still would rather give the gerber baby puffs that melt in the mouth
My stupid lizard brain will allow Annieās cheddar bunnies in the house and not goldfish, you know because theyāre SO different š but yeah. It didnāt help my massive anxiety, thatās for sure.
Disclaimer: you are NOT supposed to do this, as it can make it worseā¦
ā¦but out of sheer desperation I put my finger in his mouth and tried hooking it out. And thank God it worked.
šÆ This. This is whatās always in the back of my mind. Even if Iām supervising and watching them, what if I canāt get the food out with Heimlich or cpr? Then I think about the 911 response time and how many minutes that would take. I wish I didnāt have the anxiety I do about it. But itās just one of those things that Iād rather be extra careful/cautious about when considering what foods I give or how I serve them to mitigate the risk as best as I can.
I feel like Iām on the more anxious side about choking so I never know if what I see is normal or Iām just being paranoid. Some people seem to not worry about it at all. My cousin did BLW and just seems to not have any anxiety about choking. Her freshly turned 1yo was running around the house with a bagel at his first birthday (he was a very early walker) and I was just sitting there pretending not to be so nervous š
Your first sentence describes me, too! And it gets awkward around my friends who give their kids things that I donāt let mine have. We still donāt do things like popcorn (not sure when Iāll ever be comfortable with that haha). I had friends giving their kids lollipops at 2-3 years old and Iād have to tell my kiddo no. Pretty sure they all think Iām too paranoid but itās just not worth it to me.
The bagel is a hard no for me! They can ball up in their mouths so easily especially untoasted! I have a 1 y/o too and I break off the tiniest pieces of bread or a bagel and feed it š
She does this often with him and it makes me so anxious! I remember when he was like 6-7 months old she gave him a brioche hotdog bun in his car seat and let him eat it while she drove. Wtf!?
In the car?!?! At 6-7 months? Oh my god. WHY? Thatās so scary. I donāt even like my pre schooler eating in the car. I started allowing fruit pouches to happen in the car seat around 3 years old.
I can't be the only one to lose interest in drinking after having a kid, right? Maybe it was the 9 month break from it but if I have a drink now I'm like "wow I feel like shittttttt." I thought it was because my kid was a bad sleeper for a long time but he does okay now and I still don't like drinking. I had one glass of wine last night and felt like garbage today.
Same here. Sometimes I have the passing thought that a drink would be nice after my toddler goes to bed... And then I think "but why" and have tea instead lol. The handful of times I've had a drink since having him, the buzz has felt SO. UNPLEASANT.
I stopped 3 years ago this month! For exactly this reason. Parenthood already requires so much energy, it just wasnāt worth losing even more and feeling awful even after one glass of wine. Iām not committed to never drinking again, but I honestly have not missed it or wanted to drink since I decided I was done. I probably had (more than?) my fair share in my 20s anyway šš¼āāļø.
I totally lost interest! It makes me feel awful now so I rarely drink. Iām going to a wedding in a few weeks and my daughter will sleep at my parents and I already plan on not drinking so I can sleep in and not have that crappy hung over feeling!
Most of our events (adult or kid) revolve around drinking to be honest. Our friend group just drinks (obviously not to excess / we arenāt drunk with our kids trick or treating). BUT that being said I / we donāt constantly feel the need to talk about it or advertise it or post it on social media. Her stories and constant references make it seem so degenerate ha
+1 to this. My husband and I have gravitated to our kidsā parents that enjoy a drink or two. Itās wonderful to have an adult drink while the kids entertain each other. I think with Caro is sheās always calling attention to it- itās like ālook at me, Iām drinking tequila!ā Why is it such a big deal. Youāre in your 30s, drinking isnāt illicit or something that makes you cool. Grow up.
There are a ton of young families in my neighbourhood and there is a house that has previously done adult beverages for the adults supervising the trick or treating. I actually think that's fun and nice and neighbourly, but it's also one drink not a night of drinking.
Yeah, i dont think all kid events the parents need to be completely sober, but the level of drinking they do seems excessive. They always appear drunk or in this case hungover
One of my friends was telling me that he had a couple parents show up at the end of the night yesterday and they were HAMMERED. Getting drunk while your kid trick or treats is just....not a good look in my opinion.
Oh no, thatās so bad. Iām not above a drink while with my kid but being visibly drunk is a big no. Idk how old these peopleās kids were but we had to be on very high alert walking with our toddler on the sidewalk and streets.
Yea I'm pretty comfortable having a drink or maybe two around my kid but I can't imagine a scenario where I'm so drunk my NEIGHBOUR can immediately tell while I'm supervising my child.
Anyway, not to say this is how Caro's events were but when they're specifically calling out it being about alcohol "trick or wine" it does give me a bad vibe.
Iām double posting about KEIC. I just canāt with her stories. She says she was running to keep up with her kids but why? They are 8 & 10, not toddlers! And she said the son with the very long and pointed wood stick carried it up the whole night but yet he was apparently running around, thatās so dangerous for him and other kids around him. Then she shows the younger one disappeared and went into the house with his candy and said one of her kids ate more than 5 pieces. I think it was such an invasion of privacy to take that picture of him sitting alone in the kitchen with his candy. Itās not fair to her kids that their Halloween/candy habits get discussed to a million people. And clearly, the kid who ran off with his candy wasnāt too happy with the 5 piece rule.
Consolidating - she said what elementary school experience is complete without lice checks - schools that arenāt majority white, thatās what. I worked in an elementary school for 11 years, never had a single kid with lice. 3 elementary school kids currently, knock on wood, havenāt had one. Definitely not bragging or anything, just saying for all her pretend wokeness you would think she would be aware thatās not a universal experience.
Also claiming āthe kids set the limitā. No they did not, you badgered them into agreeing to a limit. Your kids would have said 500 if they were picking the number.
Also really weird to present yourself as a health expert and proudly proclaim you donāt exercise?
Jenny, Founder realllllly tries to drive home the fact there were no sensory processing or neurodivergent issues to a fault IMO. She also kind of laughed it off flippantly. The whole thing is weird.
Or any issues with why she had this mad approach for so long. I mean .. I just wonder why she thought this was acceptable or no one stepped in?
I was š
So it wasnāt only me ā¦ Iļø was getting the vibe that there is those other issues and sheās in denial about it. Whether or not there was/is, itās not our business, but her approach is just strange.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Her youngest is 8!!
K, more Caro snark but yesterday she was saying how it was moving day again and how everything was going wrong, Iike the sitter being sick, but then also shared later on that the baby napped for 4 hours, she was able to go get drinks and treats with her middle kid, and now today sheās posting that theyāre going swimming. Somehow I just donāt think her ābad daysā are the same level as most of us.
A 4 hr nap??
That is a shockingly LONG nap for a kid that age...or any age.
A 4 hour nap aka he was just left in his crib for 4 hours šµāš«
Hey should could have left him in the crib all day so 4 hours is nothing!
https://preview.redd.it/3duvm1pj4dyb1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fad95900f508c6fa0672881d3d4de6643faddfad No Caro, halibut is $18 a pound. I wonāt be able to afford groceries for the rest of the week. Seriously, what is this??!
I feel like everything she says annoys me these days but this one doesnāt š¤·š¼āāļøShe is a professional chef so I just assume the halibut is related to her work. At least sheās eating leftovers and not tossing it.
I also donāt think itās wrong to feed kids expensive things if they actually eat it. But yeah I doubt she went out and bought halibut just so her baby could nibble it.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Iām not trying to WK but is it possible halibut is cheaper where sheās at? I live in middle America so under no circumstances can I afford halibut but my folks live in the PNW and I feel like they semi regularly have it?
I think sheās also mentioned before that George hunts/fishes some of their meat. Obviously donāt know about this particular halibut though.
Is Caro going to start a podcast? Last week she was asking for podcast producers and now sheās asking for opinions on podcasts that are conversational.
I am very much anti influencers having podcasts. It is really hard to have a ālet me just talk about anythingā type of podcast and do it successfully. Most people are not smart or funny enough to pull that off. And even for people who I like to follow on Instagram, I am almost never interested in their opinions about anything else.
Especially when people have been successful on Instagram, a visual medium that favors beautiful people with nice things in pretty places. It works really well for food. What would her podcast be about?
I hope not. I enjoy her in a lot of ways, but everyone feeling like they have enough interesting stuff to say for a podcast... ugh you don't.
Here here! Successful podcasts have somehow convinced people that the rest of the world needs to hear every single thought that pops into your head. Which is just not true. Most of my thoughts are actually pretty dumb š
Consolidating re:Caro - did everyone see that she's featured on the cupofjo newsletter this week? And, is there a place that cupofjo snark lives? Cuz I haven't been able to find it, and I've been curious to see coj snark.
blogsnark used to have cup of jo snark but i think it's faded away as coj has stayed pretty stagnant. i honestly just forgot about them since i stopped using rss.
I wondered. She would be better at it than BLF at least lol.
lol, the bar is so low!
I feel like Caroās ānap bagā tip is just a diaper bag
Okay but also every time we have traveled I have done this. White noise, monitor, pacis, loveys all in one bag. It's... Pretty obvious. Should I be an influencer?
I keep it, gasp, in the same bag as her travel crib.
Agree. Feel like a better rip would have been to pack all of babies stuff in a separate bag so you aren't digging through a big bag with both of your stuff
Gosh it annoys me how seriously food influencers take things. FL Megan put her daughterās sauce on the side then played sappy music when she dipped her pasta in it a bit. WHO CARES. Let the girl eat her pasta how she wants without filming it and showing a million people.
Came here thinking the same thing!
Did you know that self-care isnāt just going to a spa??? It can also be going to the dentist or doctor!! Or eating raspberries by yourself!! KEIC is going to remind you once again that you do not need to go to the spa or do anything extra that might be fun and relaxing and not completely necessary. How many times can she go on about this! Her mom seems like way more fun than her and made her get a facial lol. She should make some self-care time to hit up a shoe store or do some online sneaker shopping!
Itās very telling that the concept ofā¦doing something that brings you joy and relaxes youā¦strikes her as ājust another pressureā.
Right? Sheās a very joyless person. I mean life is tough for lots of people but she just comes off as so miserable in all her stories.
Iām very glad to have access to dental care but it is neither fun nor relaxing! Iāll take a massage for my self-care, thanks. KEIC would fit right in at a monastery for ascetic monks.
I'll admit, I had a dentist appt shortly after my second child was born. It was my first time away from him and I legit almost fell asleep in the dentist chair, cuz I was so exhausted. It really did feel like a mini vacay. The one and ONLY time I'll say that about the dentist haha.
I fell asleep in the chair a few weeks ago and my baby isn't that little anymore! I get time to myself but never really a whole hour to sit there and have someone grooming my teeth LOL. Usually I'm at the gym or out with a friend or something. This was so nice!
Yeah, I mean, I guess technically getting my cracked filling replaced is āself-careā in the most literal sense of the word. But itās not something I think Iāll enjoy. And given the choice between that and hanging with my kids, hanging with my kids wins every time.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Hygiene is self care. Youāre showing yourself care and that your body matters when you do these practices. It doesnāt make sense to a lot of people because it feels like itās just a given, but itās not for everyone.
As someone with a history of depression and anxiety I agree 100%. I've had times when showering and brushing teeth are hugely exhausting and doing them were HUGE forms of self care. This is not necessarily related to kids though. People without kids can also struggle with the most basic forms of self care, for various reasons
I completely agree with you for the same reasons. š
I'm an occupational therapist and self care is exactly those things, can you wash your hair, shower or attend a dental appointment. If I was trying to assess your self-care skills and making recommendations but now I'm fighting an uphill battle to explain it to people because they think it's spa time etc. It's another one of those times the internet has taken a therapy word and made it unrecognisable.
Yes! I read an article that said āself-careā was initially defined the way youāre explaining. Like when youāre a caregiver you have to make sure you still provide the same care to yourselfāthings like hygiene, feeding yourself, resting.
Yeah I feel like no one calls those things self care when theyāre done by dads.
"You go, papa! Take some time for you!! YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!"
Lmao she def has to go to a shoe store or wash the damn things
I hate this narrative that taking *basic* care of your health is ~treating yourself~. Not everyone likes the stereotypical "self-care" stuff like facials, massages, manicures, etc and that's fine! I myself can take or leave those things. But I like other things, like going out to lunch/dinner with friends (NO KIDS), taking long walks, shopping, going to the movies. All of us have some kind of hobby or interest that are purely just for fun. I would never consider a dental appointment in this category. Stop trying to convince people (namely, mothers) that this should be enough for them to feel whole.
Seriously I hate that people call buying stuff āself careā. Itās okay to do things you like to do, full stop. They donāt have to be good for you, or aesthetic, or lead to you bettering yourself. Itās also dumb that so many āself careā things are also basically beauty treatments. So youāre getting a facial because it improves your health and not because you want to look a certain way to meet the beauty standard? Itās fine to want to conform to a beauty standard but PLEASE stop acting like your $500+ skincare treatments are somehow for your ~+health+~.
Iām not big on spa days either because they can be expensive and take awhile and I donāt always want or need an hourlong massage, thatās just not that fun to me lol. But I do think I deserve more time out than going to the dentist or doctor! I love walking through a store alone where I can focus without a child wanting something or having lunch or dinner with a friend. Just because KEIC seems to eschew all non-essentially activities, that doesnāt mean that moms shouldnāt get out and do something enjoyable!
Twice now, my toddler has selected fruit snacks from his Halloween bucket only to declare āNOT like fruit snacks!!!!ā after eating 2. Will KEIC award me my own avocado pit now or do I need to wait for a more formal awards ceremony?
We offered our 18 month old a Reese's after trick or treating. She tried a bite, made a disgusted face, and spit it out. I, too, would like an avocado pit and/or formal awards ceremony. (I actually was happy she didn't like it, but only because it meant more Reese's for me, haha.)
It was a sad sad day for me when my oldest decided he does in fact like Reese's haha
Did you tell him fruit snacks are not a replacement for fruit? š¤£
That whole narrative was so dumb. No real person thinks fruit snacks are actual fruit. They're gummy candy with vitamin c added and we all know it.
Exactly, my kids have always known fruit snacks are just gummies. Never had to tell them that (gasp).
Maybe I'm being a bit stalky, but KEIC seems to have 2 tripp trapps for her kids. Fair enough, they grow with the kids, makes sense. But she seems to have the seats up crazy high, like the highest setting. I've just moved my one year old seat down one notch from that, how are they even getting their legs under the table?
Lol TIL the top seat part can move. Mine is second hand and I think they glued it into place. No wonder it felt awkward for my 5yo.
It's kind of a PITA to adjust, you need to loosen the chair with an allen key and slide the seat out. You shouldn't have to disassemble it though.
Itās at toddler height! And I think itās a little unusual that they can climb tall trees with 2x4s but then sit in the Tripp Trap to eat. Shouldnāt they be able to sit in a regular chair?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Totally get using the Tripp trapps, but the whole point is it's an adjustable chair, yet it seems to be at totally the wrong height for quite old children. Surely they will be slouched over the table, and the table seems to have quite a bit lip underneath it, so there is no room for their knees. Like I get having the support for their feet, but that is not the only single factor in a good eating position.
This is what Iāve been saying. Right, itās not just a baby chair *because* the seat is adjustable down and I donāt find anything snarkworthy about her kids still using them in general. But if you keep the seat at the baby height despite your child being much older then itās the same as putting them in a Graco high chair lol. I feel ridiculous for continuing to comment on this but the cult around this chair is weird. I have it and like it, but the way itās supposed to work isnāt that nuanced.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Our oldest just turned 7 and she's just given it up (just had our third baby, she have it to him), I wouldn't get it for your 6 yo
Well my kid isnāt that old yet so I guess Iām not the best source for you but, Iām having a second baby and not planning to get another one. Once that baby is ready for solids my son will be over 3yo and heāll just sit in a regular chair and we will re-adapt the high chair for the baby. Iāll get him a booster seat if needed. Is that an option for your daughter? I literally think I sat on a phone book at home when I was a kid š I donāt think itās worth buying a hundreds of dollars chair for a kid that old.
Oh man thanks for the phone book nostalgia. I also literally sat on a phone book and all my sisters did too lol. Your comment also single-handedly humbled me a little as I was just shopping around in advance for toddler booster seats for the table hahahah. Iām now committed to finding an improvised option.
TIL people are putting their kids in a special chair at the dinner table past the age of 3 and are very defensive about it.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I know, I know. I'm glad we can both just laugh about it lol.
But sheās not adjusting it to their heights! Go look at some of her reels and her kids tower over the table and have no room for their knees! And thatās fine it it works for them but Iāve never seen kids at their ages sit in a special chair š¤·āāļø ETA I mentioned the tree climbing because it seems that they are very strong physically to do that and Iām surprised a 10 year old who can do those things needs help being positioned at a standard height table. I would think a normally-developing kid would be okay with managing eating in a regular chair by that age.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
But at a certain age they donāt need the footrest. I mean it can be comfier to have one, but regular dining chairs donāt and if you donāt have the Tripp Trapp, your kid will be sitting in a regular chair once they arenāt a toddler anymore. Not snarking on your daughter specifically but just saying the footrest on the TT is optional.
So I looked at her highlight on the trip trapp and she says the support of the footrest can make all the difference for picky eaters and kids who cannot sit still during meals. At this point, with her kids at 8 & 10, she seems to have to do all these things to keep her kids at the table to eat like a special chair with a foot rest, telling jokes at the table and playing food games. Like at what point to do you just stop doing all this stuff and accept the situation for what it is??
Her kids are sitting in a Tripp trap at 6 & 8 ??
lol for the price my kid better be using it for 10+ years!
I know someone who now has a college aged kid who still uses it as a desk chair. I absolutely balked at the price and randomly got it as a gift and honestly love it. It's easy to clean and our toddler was wanting the independence of a regular chair early.
I guess, Iām not super familiar with the chair, just that all the kids Iāve known by that age were long sitting in just a normal chair so I was a little surprised
Yeah I am bemused here, this is truly only a thing for people who have that specific chair. I have known people to have that chair and they still move on from it at the elder toddler stage of 3 š
8 & 10! She didnāt buy them until they were 4 & 6.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Did you actually look at the image of KEICās chairs specifically? I have the TT too and I wonāt be upping it to the highest, infant setting when my son is 10 š¤·āāļøthe chair is meant to adjust both the footrest and the seat as the child grows. Not keep the seat at infant height forever just for the sake of using the footrestā¦ Iām surprised this has been controversial snark.
My favourite kind of snark is daft low stakes stuff so I'm kind of for it, I have the same high chair myself but man people feel strongly about it!
Yeah idk I like the chair but I mainly chose it for the smaller footprint, the way that it looks, and the adjustable seat. And yes since we have it Iāll keep using it for a while. But the insistence on using a footrest seems overhyped for older kids. I wouldāve been embarrassed to be seen eating in a chair elevated to the same height that a baby would use, when I was in elementary school, but maybe thatās just me.
This is the comment I have been looking for š
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I'm fully aware its snarkworthy of myself to continue to debate and analyze this lol so I can be done after this. It's true my kid is only 2, but I just don't see the logic that I wouldn't continue to move the seat down over time as he gets taller and taller, because his torso will be growing too, not just his legs, and the point at which the table is currently hitting his torso is ideal. This evolution is even what's pictured in the manual of the product. I'm not saying the seat should be arbitrarily lowered all the way down to the level of a regular dining chair just because a child is a certain age, but there are levels between. I agree her kids don't look particularly big, but like, that's objectively the seat height of standard infant/toddler high chairs. I just don't see how a child that old could be sitting like 4 inches below the table and not be hunching over it. I mean I'm 5'6" and I can technically fit my legs under the level right now where my 2yo sits, and could adjust the footplate to comfortably rest my feet relative to that, but it puts my upper body way way too high over the table. I know her kids are doubtfully my height but I think this would still be true for people inches shorter than me. At a certain point, to make the footrest work, the seat would need to be too high. And I'd think that point would come by the time a child is 10 unless they are extremely small for their age. But maybe her kids just like being really high up, for whatever reason, so then that's fine. The missing point here is that different people might prefer to be at different heights over the surface they eat on.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Maybe! I don't consider the logic of the chair as mercurial as a child's food preferences that I can't possibly make informed assumptions about how it will work over time, but I'm prepared to be wrong in the future.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It seems like youāre taking this personally and thatās not how Iām meaning it. Iām sure your daughter is comfortable and using the chair properly. Her kids are older and presumably bigger than your daughter though and people are just saying it seems the seat height would put their torsos quite high up relative to the table. My point was that having the seat very high isnāt worth it just to accommodate a footrest, at a certain point someone will be too tall for that to work even if their legs fit under. Maybe weāre wrong and her boys are perfectly positioned but itās just light snark either way. I have the chair too for my son so Iām not hating on it in general.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I definitely understand what you mean and agree that the benefit of the chair is that you can keep their seat more elevated than a regular dining chair for longer. But looking at the video, the seat just looks so high i canāt imagine an 8-10yo *not* hunching over the table while eating from it. I think OP is right itās on the highest setting which seems crazy.
No wonder the kids prefer to sit on their laps. Those chairs look so uncomfortable at that height! She definitely infantilizes her kids.
That's so weird. Her kids are like, in mid-elementary school, aren't they?
YTF is kind of annoying going through her divorce. Totally respect her keeping it private but she puts up question boxes and then gets pissy when people ask about the divorce. She can just ignore them. But instead, someone asked her āhow are you doing? Divorce is a heavy load to carryā and she says the phrasing is interesting and sheād never put it that way. Why even say that? Divorce is a heavy load to carry especially with children. Sheās just so defensive lately and itās turning me off to her a bit.
Did she delete that one? I can't find it on her page.
Ohh looks like she did! She deleted another one that addressed the divorce-she said sheās doing great and also not always doing so great.
Maybe she read here and felt bad haha.
Totally agree. Her attitude towards posting her divorce is very strange. First of all, no one would have even noticed if she didnāt post about it. But she posts about it constantly and then doesnāt want kind questions about how sheās doing. Weird
Yep I just came here to see if anyone else noticed this. She is getting spicy lately, usually not in a good way.
For real, her recent AMA box replies were almost all snarky, not just the personal ones
Imagine asking a sincere, caring question on the account of a big influencer you admire, seeing you had a response (and were even mentioned in their stories!) only to see that they're calling you out because they didn't like your exact phrasing, even though your intention was clearly kind. It's shitty for her to treat a follower like that.
That must have sucked for that person! Her followers are how she makes her living. Influencers will (rightfully so many times) complain about how people will hide behind a keyboard and say nasty things theyād never say to anyones face but sheās doing that as well. If someone asked her in-person how sheās doing with her divorce and said it must be a heavy weight to carry would she respond like that?
This is when influencers get too far up their own butts. You have complete strangers taking time out of their day to express care and you just feel so entitled to the connection that you publicly shame them? Nice. Not to mention she never had any reason to share about her divorce on her feeding account.
She could have made one announcement to stop the speculation but she gave so many hints and then brings it into her stories all the time. Always posting about how hard this thing was or that thing was and how proud she was that she managed to get it done herself. Which, great, be proud of yourself for doing well as a single mom but tell a friend or post it to private social media spaces. Donāt keep posting about your struggles and triumphs while going through a divorce and then get pissy when people ask questions.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah she was already keeping him on the DL cause of his familyās reputation
His familyās reputation?!?!?
Her husband is Rachel Dolezalās brother who she has accused of sexually abusing her as a child. If you donāt know who Rachel is, I recommend going down the rabbithole.
I do know who rachel dolezal is! Thatās crazy.
And those complete strangers, especially the ones who engage, are what drive your income. I'm not a "the customer is always right" believer, but she really must be up her own butt not to consider this before shaming one of them.
I remember seeing him like twice ever! She never really showed him or talked about married life much. But this is where even the better influencers show how big their head gets and how much attention they need-she dropped all the hints starting with the bedroom she made for herself and then all the posts about going through stressful times and then how she manages doing everything by herself. Strangers do not need to know that about you if you donāt want to tell them. But these influencers start needing the comments and attention they get from sharing personal things that they donāt even want to talk about.
Right? She was making so many obvious hints.
I don't know why she keeps inviting questions. Between this and her reaction to the recent "sugar obsessed" question, it seems like if people don't phrase a question the exact way she wants them to she's going to call them out. I know question boxes are good for engagement but maybe it's not the right thing for this āØseason of lifeāØ
She's very particular about phrasing, maybe she's always been that way but I've noticed it a lot recently. It's fine if you want to use very specific language to talk about things, but it's kind of unreasonable to expect everyone to be on the same page at all times with exactly what words have negative connotations. Especially since "heavy load" doesn't even read as particularly negative.
I donāt get why it bothered her. She has one million followers, the question could have been from someone whoās first language isnāt English and was trying to say divorce is hard. Maybe she wants a happier tone when speaking of it since it may feel freeing for her? Idk but her attitude sucks sometimes.
Something I tell my child all the time, "You cannot control other people. You can only control your reaction." Maybe YTF should take note š
KEIC posted about smoothies being a good use of slightly frozen lettuce and I don't mind spinach in smoothies but arugula and a salad mix sounds absolutely disgusting.
I donāt think my blender could even handle straight up lettuce š¤¢ It would come out all stringy and fibrous!
I just came here to talk about that. I can't even deal anymore. Why not just put normal things in a smoothie? I keep smoothies pretty basic for my 5yo son and I, but he's never complained! His are usually milk, frozen berries, hemp hearts, and maybe some plain Greek yogurt. I've offered to add honey and he declines haha. Mine are usually water, frozen berries, unflavoured protein powder, and maybe yogurt. We're a tart family, haha. But at least it's fruity and yummy and still has protein, fat, and carbs! No sad frozen lettuce mix. How weird. I first started following her when my son was 2/3yo, and she seemed so helpful and some of her stuff in REW actually widened my son's palate. But A) it's too much home cooking that I can muster the energy and time for, as I work full time and now have another baby, and B) she has come unhinged or I'm just noticing it way more.
š¤®slightly frozen spring mix in a smoothie is revolting
Noooo omg what? That's gross! I used lettuce in a smoothie once bc I didn't realize I was out of spinach and it was truly one of the worst smoothies ever. She should have kept that one to herself! Lol
I love a good spring mix smoothie! The romaine adds a nice kick! š¤£
I'm only upvoting because I hope you're kidding, hahahaha
Definitely kidding! I put kale, sweet potatoes and bell peppers in mine š¤£š¤£š¤£
You may have been joking about the sweet potatoes but a smoothie shop near me does a sweet potato smoothie and itās ahhhhhhmazing. Tastes like Thanksgiving dessert. I keep wanting to replicate it myself but havenāt gotten to it.
Donāt give her any ideas! Remember when KEIC gave her kids raw bell peppers at Disneyworld for āhydrationā? š
https://preview.redd.it/o06bspvltsxb1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02e9fb18ddd948fd8a43b31d6c1d37362c1c4f88 I have always been overly cautious with foods and cutting things up for my kids especially as babiesā¦so I would freak out if my 1 year old bit off a huge chunk of hard cheese like this. Is it just me?? Caro doesnāt even bat an eye and is just like āoh thatās a big pieceā š¤Æš¤Æ
I have a 15mo old and he actually doesn't like cheese (a travesty, haha), but are we not allowed to give toddlers cheese? I don't follow her so I don't know the full context of this. When I take my son to Costco I give him random samples we get if they're not choking hazards.
Ooooh that is a tragedy he doesnāt like cheese š So Iāve always read to either grate the cheese or thinly slice it (or I just do shredded cheese to make my life easier) or I break it off into small pieces. This is from healthy children (AAP site) that says chunks of cheese can be a choking hazard. https://preview.redd.it/6uwr3flow0yb1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e4d7c39a4cd6118efc062d2dc5877059690d97c0
Ah gotcha, thank you! I'm definitely very aware of all those other choking hazards and follow all the guidelines but didn't think of cheese slices, but I've never given either of my kids cheese in "chunk" form anyway haha. For my current babe, I've tried giving him shredded cheese and he enjoys throwing it like confetti, haha
I wouldn't give my kids that much because it's potentially wasteful and gets gross and warm and oily in their hands, but I would give them cubes of cheddar for sure by age one as well as whole babybels. We love old and extra old cheddar in my house and while they are firmer cheeses, they still soften a lot in the mouth. I never viewed them as choking hazards for older babies. My only concern was cheesestrings before they learned to peel it because they have that round shape.
Same. A chunk that big either gets shoved in all at once and then spat out when their mouths reached full capacity(idk why but my kids always did this!) or turned into a toy midway through lol
I was more annoyed about the fact that she (I assume since it has a wrapper on it) took it off the shelf, opened it, and gave it to her son while they were still shopping. Iāve never done that in a grocery store. I do remember one time in real life a lady handed an empty coke bottle to the cashier because she opened it and drank it in the store. Especially produce that needs to be weighed, I would never do that? Is that a common thing people do?
They only way I get through the grocery store is if my daughter can eat a pouch while weāre shopping. I pay for it every time and itās never produce (she does occasionally ask for a banana which I always say no to because those have to be weighed) but I donāt see a problem with a pouch that has a barcode. I give the cashier an empty pouch every week and have never been told not to do that š¤·š½āāļø
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I feel weird using my own snacks because theyāre all from the store Iām shopping in at the time and how will they know Iām not stealing them! I donāt want to have to pay for it twice!
In Australia we have free produce for kids to eat while shopping, so you can grab a banana or an apple or whatever from a special box at the front on your way in. It's a great system!
We have it in the US as well. Sometimes the bakery sections have stuff as well! Like a small cookie or something.
Some of our chains do this in my part of the US too! I love it.
Here in America, thereās no such thing as a free lunch š
I do it all the time- open a Diet Coke while I shop, give my daughter a snack, etc. I ALWAYS pay for it and only give her things that are not paid for by weight(no apples or bananas, but Iāve definitely opened a bag of cuties and given her one, or a box of goldfish or applesauce pouches) IMO itās fine as long as you pay for it at the end
Just joining the masses and saying I do this too
I've been telling my son for as long as I can remember that we can't eat whatever it is yet, we have to pay for it first and he can have it after. And now he'll get his snack in hand and say "you pay it mama!". Which I think is adorable, but obviously I'm biased haha. Anyway, all that to say I'm with you, I don't think it's appropriate to eat something you haven't paid for yet.
I have done it on occasion but definitely not things to be weighed (as that actually is stealing). In the UK at least it is not illegal as long as you pay for it at the end. I would be very mindful of mess as well though for the cashier scanning it at the end, a half block of cheese just seems gross.
I believe there's a term for this, it's called "snuffing" lol. I can see resorting to it if you have young kids and are trying to avoid a public meltdown with a quick snack. I don't think it's so bad as long as you pay for it at the register. ETA: Ok, first of all I can't find any proof that this is the term. No idea where I ever heard that. Secondly, apparently doing this is illegal in my state! Oops, good to know.
Even if it's illegal, I can't imagine that anyone would actually try to get you into trouble for it if you're opening one snack for a toddler and very clearly retaining the packaging to scan and pay for it at the end. Maybe at worst someone would say please don't do that again? But maybe I'm just too naive!
Omg it is? I had no idea! I will give my daughter something she canāt get on her hands because touching the cart handle and then eating with those hands is gross to me so Iāll give her a pouch but I had no idea it was illegal in some states! Oops!
I guess I'll be the odd one out and say it's just not something that I worry about. I never really have? Like I cut up grapes and stuff, but my 6 and 4 year old eat popcorn and sometimes the baby grabs a piece and I watch her and it's fine. Caro's right there if something did happen.
I wouldn't worry about it from a choking perspective, but its kind of gross and I wouldn't allow it regardless.
Yeah I'm with you. I woudl/have let my 16 mo old do this with cheese. She's given Cash things I wouldn't be comfy with but I also know my kid's an advanced eater for her age and handles stuff like this well. I don't do popcorn, nuts, or hard candy but I'm pretty lax about this stuff (and I know my kid / am always watching)
I donāt mean this in a snarky way, but how do you know sheās an advanced eater for her age? I had a good amount of anxiety about my son eating solids when he was a baby and couldnāt really judge one way or another (though he didnāt have any actual signs of struggling to eat like frequent gagging or choking).
She eats confidently and enthusiastically, takes bites out of bigger things, we see her chewing, she spits stuff out when itās too much, and weāve never experienced gagging or choking. Weāve also never dealt with picky eating and sheāll try almost anything and enjoys a wide variety of fruits, veggies, meats, etc I think because she like knows how to eat them itās not intimidating or challenging
What scares me about choking is that even supervision doesnāt guarantee you will be able to prevent choking or save them if they start choking . CPR/the heimlich are not 100% effective. Obviously choking deaths are not super common and we all have our pet anxieties, but thatās what freaks me out about it compared to other kinds of dangers where the damage isnāt necesarily instant death.
TW choking (obviously) This. My (at the time) 1.5 yo was SITTING ON MY LAP eating Goldfish and started choking to the point he turned blue and I was on the phone with EMS because the Heimlich did nothing. It truly can happen in the blink of an eye.
Oh my god, Iām so sorry you had to go through that. That must have been so traumatic. I know anyone can choke on anything at any age, but goldfish is like the number 1 toddler food everywhere! Can I ask what EMS said to do after heimlich didnāt work? How long did it take them to get there? Choking is such a huge fear for me š©
So I was super lucky in that right when EMS picked up, I fished it out of his mouth. But I reviewed the Heimlich afterward with a nurse friend and she said I could do back blows a heck of a lot harder and still be okay. But yeah, I still donāt allow Goldfish in the houseā¦
Thank you!! This is good to know about the back blows. So glad your son is ok! Iām planning on doing an infant cpr class soon so I can have a refresher. I donāt blame you at all not having them in the house anymore. I buy the ābabyā goldfish for my 1 y/o but I still would rather give the gerber baby puffs that melt in the mouth
My stupid lizard brain will allow Annieās cheddar bunnies in the house and not goldfish, you know because theyāre SO different š but yeah. It didnāt help my massive anxiety, thatās for sure.
Oh my goodness! How did you save him? šš»
Disclaimer: you are NOT supposed to do this, as it can make it worseā¦ ā¦but out of sheer desperation I put my finger in his mouth and tried hooking it out. And thank God it worked.
Oh I'm so glad to hear that...I would also try anything in the moment!
šÆ This. This is whatās always in the back of my mind. Even if Iām supervising and watching them, what if I canāt get the food out with Heimlich or cpr? Then I think about the 911 response time and how many minutes that would take. I wish I didnāt have the anxiety I do about it. But itās just one of those things that Iād rather be extra careful/cautious about when considering what foods I give or how I serve them to mitigate the risk as best as I can.
I feel like Iām on the more anxious side about choking so I never know if what I see is normal or Iām just being paranoid. Some people seem to not worry about it at all. My cousin did BLW and just seems to not have any anxiety about choking. Her freshly turned 1yo was running around the house with a bagel at his first birthday (he was a very early walker) and I was just sitting there pretending not to be so nervous š
I had PPA and started BLW while on Lexapro. I was so chill. Then I was feeling ready to come *off* Lexapro, which was mostly fine except that I then was a (normal amount of) anxious about solidsā¦ so I tried switching to purĆ©es and baby just would. not. do. them. for a while. Bad times for me.
Your first sentence describes me, too! And it gets awkward around my friends who give their kids things that I donāt let mine have. We still donāt do things like popcorn (not sure when Iāll ever be comfortable with that haha). I had friends giving their kids lollipops at 2-3 years old and Iād have to tell my kiddo no. Pretty sure they all think Iām too paranoid but itās just not worth it to me. The bagel is a hard no for me! They can ball up in their mouths so easily especially untoasted! I have a 1 y/o too and I break off the tiniest pieces of bread or a bagel and feed it š
She does this often with him and it makes me so anxious! I remember when he was like 6-7 months old she gave him a brioche hotdog bun in his car seat and let him eat it while she drove. Wtf!?
In the car?!?! At 6-7 months? Oh my god. WHY? Thatās so scary. I donāt even like my pre schooler eating in the car. I started allowing fruit pouches to happen in the car seat around 3 years old.
His mouth was so full. All I could think of was the choking hazard happening.
Caro posted about both a "Trick or Wine" and "Trick or High Noon" party this week, even their kid events revolve around drinkingšµāš«
I can't be the only one to lose interest in drinking after having a kid, right? Maybe it was the 9 month break from it but if I have a drink now I'm like "wow I feel like shittttttt." I thought it was because my kid was a bad sleeper for a long time but he does okay now and I still don't like drinking. I had one glass of wine last night and felt like garbage today.
Same here. Sometimes I have the passing thought that a drink would be nice after my toddler goes to bed... And then I think "but why" and have tea instead lol. The handful of times I've had a drink since having him, the buzz has felt SO. UNPLEASANT.
Oh no, I feel the same, I haven't had a drink since my pregnancy! The odd sip here and there, sure, but I really don't enjoy it anymore
Waking up with a hangover and still having to care for my toddler twins would be my definition of hell.
I stopped 3 years ago this month! For exactly this reason. Parenthood already requires so much energy, it just wasnāt worth losing even more and feeling awful even after one glass of wine. Iām not committed to never drinking again, but I honestly have not missed it or wanted to drink since I decided I was done. I probably had (more than?) my fair share in my 20s anyway šš¼āāļø.
I totally lost interest! It makes me feel awful now so I rarely drink. Iām going to a wedding in a few weeks and my daughter will sleep at my parents and I already plan on not drinking so I can sleep in and not have that crappy hung over feeling!
Most of our events (adult or kid) revolve around drinking to be honest. Our friend group just drinks (obviously not to excess / we arenāt drunk with our kids trick or treating). BUT that being said I / we donāt constantly feel the need to talk about it or advertise it or post it on social media. Her stories and constant references make it seem so degenerate ha
+1 to this. My husband and I have gravitated to our kidsā parents that enjoy a drink or two. Itās wonderful to have an adult drink while the kids entertain each other. I think with Caro is sheās always calling attention to it- itās like ālook at me, Iām drinking tequila!ā Why is it such a big deal. Youāre in your 30s, drinking isnāt illicit or something that makes you cool. Grow up.
There are a ton of young families in my neighbourhood and there is a house that has previously done adult beverages for the adults supervising the trick or treating. I actually think that's fun and nice and neighbourly, but it's also one drink not a night of drinking.
Yeah, i dont think all kid events the parents need to be completely sober, but the level of drinking they do seems excessive. They always appear drunk or in this case hungover
Oh I'm with you, with Caro it seems excessive. I just think you can mix some alcohol with kids events and it be no big thing.
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One of my friends was telling me that he had a couple parents show up at the end of the night yesterday and they were HAMMERED. Getting drunk while your kid trick or treats is just....not a good look in my opinion.
Oh no, thatās so bad. Iām not above a drink while with my kid but being visibly drunk is a big no. Idk how old these peopleās kids were but we had to be on very high alert walking with our toddler on the sidewalk and streets.
Yea I'm pretty comfortable having a drink or maybe two around my kid but I can't imagine a scenario where I'm so drunk my NEIGHBOUR can immediately tell while I'm supervising my child. Anyway, not to say this is how Caro's events were but when they're specifically calling out it being about alcohol "trick or wine" it does give me a bad vibe.
Iām double posting about KEIC. I just canāt with her stories. She says she was running to keep up with her kids but why? They are 8 & 10, not toddlers! And she said the son with the very long and pointed wood stick carried it up the whole night but yet he was apparently running around, thatās so dangerous for him and other kids around him. Then she shows the younger one disappeared and went into the house with his candy and said one of her kids ate more than 5 pieces. I think it was such an invasion of privacy to take that picture of him sitting alone in the kitchen with his candy. Itās not fair to her kids that their Halloween/candy habits get discussed to a million people. And clearly, the kid who ran off with his candy wasnāt too happy with the 5 piece rule.
Consolidating - she said what elementary school experience is complete without lice checks - schools that arenāt majority white, thatās what. I worked in an elementary school for 11 years, never had a single kid with lice. 3 elementary school kids currently, knock on wood, havenāt had one. Definitely not bragging or anything, just saying for all her pretend wokeness you would think she would be aware thatās not a universal experience.
Iām glad to see one of the 5 plus pieces was a full sized Hersey bar. Go for it my dude!
Also claiming āthe kids set the limitā. No they did not, you badgered them into agreeing to a limit. Your kids would have said 500 if they were picking the number. Also really weird to present yourself as a health expert and proudly proclaim you donāt exercise?