Parents are people, too

Hiya! Some readers asked for more random activities or internet finds in the newsletter that are just for adults or kid-ults reading the newsletter, so we added a ‘Not for Tots’ segment in this week’s post. Who knew that you could think about yourself sometimes? Wild.

Activity of the week

Show-and-tell, in reverse: At dinner or on the way home from school pickup, the first question most people ask kids is something like, “How was your day?” If you’re lucky, they’ll tell you all about what happened in excruciating detail. Other kids will be radio silent, channeling their inner teenager. Well, this activity gives you the chance to shine.

Step 1: Make a list of things you did throughout the day. You can start with how you felt when you woke up, what you were looking forward to the most (and why), what you were looking forward to the least (and why), what you ate for breakfast, what you did while your kid was at school, and what you are thankful for. You don’t have to write out all of these things. Pick what stands out and what you want to share about your day with your kid. You can use your calendar, but that just seems less fun.

Step 2: Grab some paper, a pen or markers, and draw each event. Be creative, or keep it simple. Draw stick figures. Draw anything!

If you don’t want to draw, take pictures of things that represent what you did during the day, and print them out. Take a picture with your computer and that world-changing email you sent that just happened to have a typo.

Take a selfie with your breakfast. Take a screenshot of you and your coworker on a video call. Take a picture of you pumping gas. Nothing is off limits! And print those pictures.

Step 3: Use painter’s tape to showcase your day on a wall in your home.

Step 4: Before or after dinner, talk about your day with your kid, and use your drawings or pictures as a guide.

While talking about your day, share your hopes, concerns, excitement, boredom and any other emotion you had throughout the day.

Step 5: Last, thank your kid for listening, and ask them about their day. Hopefully, they’ll want to model the excitement you shared with them when you discussed the memorable and mundane things that made your day unique.

PS Today’s activity was inspired by this TikTok of friends hosting a PowerPoint night with each person presenting what they do at work all day. Highly recommend.

PPS Your parents probably want to know what you’re up to all day long, too. Feel free to repurpose the activity, and present it to them. Just don’t do it as a Mother’s Day gift.

Book of the week

Cyclops of Central Park by Madelyn Rosenberg is an under-the-radar classic about a fearful Cyclops and his adventurous sheep, Eugene. When Eugene goes missing, Cyclops needs to muster the courage to leave their home, go out into the scary world, and find his sheep. The book’s a reminder that there is no place like home, but sometimes new experiences make our world a more exciting and less scary place.

Not for tots

Parents, surprisingly, have interests in things outside of Bluey. Bluey is objectively high-quality content, but there’s more to life than navigating how to use an overly complicated television remote control so you can correctly navigate to that godforsaken streaming service.

So, in this new section of the newsletter, we’ll share random internet finds and worthwhile rabbit holes that might just pique the curiosity of the kid in you. Maybe one day you can also share these finds with your kiddo.

• Ever wonder where your rain goes? You can enter any location here and follow the path of a single raindrop all the way to its final destination.

• Relive the euphoria of watching 90’s TV with a channel clicker here. This website has 90’s programming and a Windows 95 aesthetic to match. I can confirm that the channel clicker on the site does not require its own instruction manual.

Stat of the week

What is a person in America doing at 10:17am? Here’s a visual of what they’re likely up to based on 2014 data from the American Time Use Survey.

Here’s the visual simulation of what people are doing on an average day at any given time in America.

Thinking about tomorrow, today

Recent enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows trade school interest is on the up-and-up, with double-digit increases in many vocational programs, including mechanic, repair, construction, and culinary courses.

That’s quite unlike two- and four-year college enrollment, which is on the down-and-down (7.8% and 3.4%, respectively, for public programs). The jobs that are popular today won’t necessarily be the jobs that are popular tomorrow.

Parenting-ish Headlines

• You can now book the floating house from the Disney movie Up or the X-mansion from X-men on Airbnb. If you’re a fancy person, you can also book a night at the Musée d'Orsay. Think of it as an opportunity to remind everyone of that time you studied abroad.

• Forget the Met Gala. What’s the fashion trend defining 2024 so far? “Eclectic Grandpa.” 

• You can now buy real-world Walmart products in Roblox. Watch out for unexpected purchases on your credit card while your kid is looking through all the skins options 🤑 

• There’s one more thing to plan for your trip to Disney World: reservations at Victoria & Albert’s, Disney’s first Michelin-starred restaurant. Kids under 10 aren’t allowed 🫢

We’ll google it for you

Have you ever looked longingly in the fridge, but can’t find that “je nais se quois”?

If so, you’ve experienced “snubgrub.” Snubgrub refers to the specific feeling or situation in which an individual experiences hunger or the desire to eat, yet simultaneously expresses a strong aversion or reluctance to consume any of the available food items within their immediate environment.

I hope you remember your DoorDash password whenever snubgrub hits.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.