Random Article: The rise of sad beige parenting: how primary colours, shiny surfaces – and fun – got banished | Parents and parenting | The Guardian
Random question: habds up if you have felt guilty for being a calm beige parent failure [poll type=multiple results=always min=1 max=2 chartType=bar]
lol no. I feel like those people either lucked out with children that just sit there playing quietly or they don’t have children. Or pets. Or dirt.
I just packed Kiddo’s stuff for going to see my family for Thanksgiving and I did pack khaki shorts but otherwise it was all colorful stuff.
I just found a set of miniature Encanto characters, including rainbow-dyed Isabela, and added them straight to my shopping basket (“immediate yes” as the cool kids say), so I’m all about the colorful plastic chaos.
Omg i am jealous
The only reason my walls are grey is because my tiny chaos makers mean i have no time to paint them colours (and they were pale grey when we bought. It may change at some point in the next 5 years). Beige is one of many in my palette. Do feel sad I cannot afford the super pretty colourful wooden toys sometimes.
Light colors near children seems insane to me. I like wood toys over plastic just for the weight and feel, but we do have some plastics still. Her clothes are primarily hand me downs and cheap target stand bys, so lots of color- and she usually picks the most colorful of her options. Sure I’ll try to pick neutral colors for furniture and stuff, but that’s just so not every single item in the space is bright colors all at once.
Some of it can be pretty, but I’m too pragmatic (kids are dirty and dirt is good) and cheap (hand me downs, etc) to bring it into my own life that much.
Between these and the Bluey Industial Complex we aren’t hurting for color
And the trains and the city cars and the baby dolls and the dollhouse and the books and the markers and the chalk…. Childhood should be fun, not ~~aEsThEtiC~~
Definitely not a beige parent but in our case we had tons of color all over including super colorful rugs/mats. The first thing the VI therapist told us when visiting our house was that the color was likely overwhelming B’s brain which is why should couldn’t find toys. There was too much “visual clutter”. She recommended beige/white /muted solid colors for flooring, stands, baskets, etc. Sure enough B can find things much, much easier now.
Slight topic detour—lotion recommendation for winter-dry toddler cheeks? I have Aquaphor, but that’s kind of a heavy-duty “oops, I let I go too long” intervention and I’d like more of a lighter daily maintenance option.
This is kind of what I try to do! Neutrals as the background, color welcome for anything else. But they’re not necessarily light colors since I haven’t been prioritizing contrast. The biggest thing is I try not to have too much out at once- I get really overwhelmed with visual clutter so I try to tackle it via toy rotation rather than tighter control of the items that come in themselves, if that makes sense.
We use Babo botanicals- it’s a nice mid weight that keeps her eczema away. She only gets spots when it’s winter or if we bathe her too much.
It costs a lot to dress your child like a 19th-century workhouse orphan.
Dying. Love u @elle
I love bright light walls because they feel good sensory wise but my maximalist tendencies and flair for the dramatic overwhelm this. Also i think it’s fun to have a house where everything that greets you reminds you of a hobby or interest you have.
I have an avene lotion that is maybe still thicker than you are thinking? Last winter I was using my own face cream, but that is pricey! And the cheaper/no bad stuff ones are usually too much water to work. Sometimes zinc sunscreen stick
Our play room is teal with hot pink accents. So definitely not beige at all. We love alllllllll the colors in the house.
We used coconut oil on infant dry skin. Don’t know how a toddler would feel about the extra few seconds to warm it up in your hands or rub it in, though!
I really like Tubby Todd.
I do not understand the beige references. Is it trendy to not have colors? I think trends are stupid unless they improve life. Then I think we call them hacks though.
ETA: My kids play areas are full of toys. They are colorful.
I blame Instagram and influencers for the beige thing. Makes me sad that kids are denied color so mom can make a few bucks off of a photo
We have gotten into the habit of watching Netflix every morning. How can I stop this? I know screen time needs to haev a place but I would rather it be a choice than a habit if that makes sense?
ETA I know the way to stop this is just say “We are doing something else” so let me rephrase - thoughts on how to move away from this that wont make us want to kick each other?
We’re in a screen time rut after sickness and daycare holidays too. What’s worked best I’m the past is talking about it ahead of time and talking about other things we do instead.
Pipsqueak is still pretty young so she’s no ot great at brainstorming but I bet Meowlet is!
We usually say “we’ve been watching a lot of Daniel Tiger because you were sick and your body needed rest, but now you are all better and your body needs different things! So tomorrow we’re not going to watch any. We can draw or dance or read.books instead.”
I think it depends on the kid. For us we just have to go, cold turkey, and have a rough couple days and find a new habit. That being said, you can look up “days with gray morning invitations for play”. I know she has an account on Instagram, I don’t know if she also has a website. But her whole idea is to stage fairly independent activities for them to find every day when they wake up in the morning.
