The folks at Quirk Press put together two nifty little volumes just in time for Mother's Day and Father's Day this year: "Stuff Every Mom Should Know" and "Stuff Every Dad Should Know."
The compact tomes (measuring 3 1/2 inches by 4 inches) come in hard covers of dark blue for dads and bright pink for moms and are chock full of helpful tidbits and details from babyhood, to toddlerhood, to the school years, to teenagerdom and beyond.
The dad book, written by Brett Cohen, starts with how to save money for college; progresses through bathing and burping step-by-steps; and goes on to provide the recipe for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the lyrics to kids' songs such as "Itsy Bitsy Spider." Valuable info can be found about child nutrition, temper tantrums, parent-teacher relationships and more.
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One of my favorite pages is titled "Male Humor: What Is and Is Not Funny": "Smart dads are self-deprecating. When the baby pees on you while you're changing the diaper, it's funny. When he pees on your wife, it's not funny ... unless she laughs first."
In the mom book, written by Heather Gibbs Flett and Whitney Moss, there are simple baby food recipes, lullaby lyrics, medicine cabinet essentials, baby-proofing tips, how to de-louse your house, online safety guidelines, how to successfully record a video of your child's preschool graduation and how-tos for last-minute Halloween costumes.
A great chapter for parents of preschoolers is "Ostriches Are as Fast as a Car and Other Fun Animal Facts." Did you know sloths hang upside down all the time, even while eating? Or that butterflies smell with their feet? Any preschooler will be impressed with these tidbits - and you'll be the coolest and smartest mom in the universe for knowing them.
Fact Box
Win these books! Send an email to editor@ovparent.com with the title of the book in the subject line. Include your name, address and phone number in the body of the email. Send a separate email for each book. One entry per book per household. Deadline to enter is May 31.
Is some of this "stuff" pretty high on the "well, duh?" scale? Perhaps, but for a new parent who hasn't spent much time around kids, it could come in quite handy.
