Should you get your 3-year-old a magazine subscription?

As a magazine junkie, I am more than happy to see my daughter pick up a magazine (that's age-related, of course!) at Chapters or Indigo.

But when I look at the price of a magazine donning Strawberry Shortcake or Barbie, I think, "WTF?! It costs $6?! That's half the price of In Touch!"

So if you're wondering if there's a magazine worth getting for a young child -- even if it it's close to $5 or $6 per issue on newsstands -- that magazine is Chirp.

My daughter received a subscription for her birthday last year, but once it runs out, I will be happily renewing it.

P.S. A subscription is $34.95 CAD for 10 issues, but I think it's worth every penny. Here's why:

• Great craft ideas that are easy and creative for my three-year-old daughter to embrace. In fact, they have saved my husband and I from my daughter's "I'm bored" whining! And I gotta admit, I did have a lot of fun making finger puppets out of pipe cleaners.

• The jokes are simple enough for kids to understand! In fact, Chirp magazine has encouraged my daughter to make up her own knock-knock jokes.

• The alphabets in "Word Play" highlight illustrated letters, which help kids recognize letters from a "word-of-the-month."

• In "Chirp Fun", there are symbols that kids can point out that allow you and your kid to read aloud together. 

• In "Let's Move", they have kids encouraging readers to move in simple activities, such as stretching, moving your body to look like letters, pretending to grow like a tree, etc. 

Chirp has won my three-year-old -- and ME -- over!

Does your family read Chirp? What are your thoughts? 

I don't make my own play doh - am I a bad mom?

When my daughter started playing with play doh, you won't believe the number of comments I had from people telling me I have to make my own OR ELSE.

If I used store-bought play doh, I was told my daughter would a) be exposed to harmful chemicals; b) she will EAT the play doh and we'll never know what she's digesting; and c) it builds bonding, makes your kid smarter, yada yada yada.

I agree, making play doh is a fun activity, but I'm perfectly comfortable buying it for my kid at Walmart. I made my own childhood crafts out of store-bought doh and I survived. My daughter doesn't have food allergies either. And my daughter is smart.

So in other words, "to each his or her own" - if you have a firm belief in homemade play doh, go for it. And if you don't, who cares?! In the end, it's whatever works for you.

You're probably thinking this is a weird topic to discuss. Bottom line: when you're a first-time parent being criticized for small things,  it can get to you. However, it is possible to filter out those unwanted thoughts that doubt your parenting skills – it just takes time to find that little voice in your head that says "screw it, I know what's best." YOU know what's right for you and your child – not the lady you met at the park whose kid is eating sand. 

My daughter is three now, and when I get those play doh-like comments, I smile, say thank you and think, let's move on to more important things: how the heck am I going to watch season 2 of Orange Is The New Black if I don't have Netflix?!

What are your tips for handling parenting criticisms? I would love to know your thoughts.

Review: Is Reptilia Right For You?

If you're little ones have surpassed the excitement of pet stores, but they're not ready for a long trip to the zoo, Reptilia is your next step. 

After last Christmas, my husband and I took our three-year-old daughter to Reptilia, located in Vaughan, Ontario. A helpful mom from the Adventures in Baby Savings Facebook Group posted a Groupon deal for Reptilia, which was $7 per person (free admission for kids under 3 years old). Adult admission is regularly priced at $15, so this was a pretty sweet deal!

So here's what we observed during our visit to Reptilia, Vaughan's 25,000 square foot facility reptile zoo:

1. It's small but not claustrophobic, which is THE place for NOT worrying about your tot's safety as he or she runs around – or away. 

2. Unlike large zoos, you can get a closer look at reptiles, including anacondas and tortoises. I've never seen alligators up close, which made my visit to Reptilia extra special!

3. We were lucky enough to be around for the alligator feedings, BUT here's the problem – since it's a small venue, it gets crowded very quickly. You may not see a thing during crowded feeding times.

4. In all honesty, it took about an hour to walk through the zoo, but you can stretch it to two if you stay for the feedings and "meet the reptiles" shows (hey, you can touch a snake here!).

So final thoughts? If you live near Vaughan, take the kids to Reptilia – you'll get a kick out of it, too! But if you live close to an hour away (I'm about 40 minutes away), then plan it as an excursion to Vaughan – stop by Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre to make it worthwhile.

Do you have the right home insurance for your family?

If you're wondering why the heck I'm discussing home insurance on Adventures in Baby Savings, here's why: I literally had to use it over the last month!

In my previous post, I revealed how my condo unit experienced a massive flood (which, by the way, we are STILL recovering from after moving back into our home last week!).

One thing this experience has taught me is that you should NEVER assume you won't need home insurance. We didn't expect a flood to happen in our building — but it happened, and thank goodness we had insurance to back us up. We ended up replacing our entire flooring, plus furniture, cabinets, dressers, tables and such. Imagine the money we'd have to spend if we never had insurance!

So if you're looking into home insurance for the first time – or you want to be sure you have the right policy – follow this list:

1. Read your coverage pamphlet from beginning to end. For instance, insurance policies do not cover all types of flooding.

2.  Double check that you're covered for additional living expenses. This includes having your hotel accommodations covered while your home is getting repaired.

3. Looking for discounts? See if you can combine your auto and home insurance.

In addition, if you already live in a condo building, do NOT assume your condo will automatically pay for your damaged belongings! Bottom line: it's worth it to invest in home insurance, trust me.

Can you add more noteworthy home insurance tips to my list? 

UPDATE: Adventures in Baby Savings news for 2014

Not me or my home during the flood, but you get the picture!

I  owe all my readers a huge apology.

If you haven't joined the Adventures in Baby Savings Facebook Group yet,  you may not be aware of my situation. For almost six weeks, my family has been hotel-ridden due to a flood in our condo building. (This is before the huge ice storm in Toronto!)

Long story short, firefighters came, cops put red tape across our unit, I have to put an upset, homesick three-year-old to bed every night. Overall, we have been dealing with a heavy mess.

However, this situation has sparked some interesting lessons on savings! Here are some upcoming posts on Adventures in Baby Savings:

• Condo living: is it right for you? 
• Why we should never underestimate home insurance
• Reptilia review (this was our break from the post-flood chaos!)
• ... and more!

I'm looking forward to connecting with you during this new year and beyond. Let me know this: What do you want to read about in Adventures in Baby Savings? 

Ikea deal on stocking stuffers and last-minute gifts

I have a confession to make: I'm addicted to Ikea.

My family and I have recently moved which means... we've made multiple trips to the famous furniture/home accessories store.

I won't bore you with my home adventures (hello, our new kitchen cart just doubled our counter space!), but I will tell you to check out Ikea's children's department for stocking stuffers.

Now I already know how Ikea's announced some children's furniture recalls, however, their toys are super attractive.

Right now at the Etobicoke, Ontario location, soft toys are 50% off. Plus, when a soft toy is purchased, the IKEA Foundation gives a dollar from that purchase to UNICEF and Save the Children until January 4, 2014. And when you sift through the children's department, you'll find other cool stuff that's half price, such as costumes, finger puppets, etc.

If you need a last-minute gift or you just want to top off a stocking, Ikea will be worth your time. Seriously. Plus, they've got Swedish meatballs. Enough said.

Guest blogger reveals life change as a new dad

Casey Palmer with his newborn son

I'd like to introduce a new guest blogger to the Adventures in Baby Savings roster, Casey Palmer. His first son was born almost a month ago. Check out this excerpt from Casey's blog, which perfectly highlights that new-found feeling of hope, protection and love as a parent to a newborn: 

I'm Not Dead, I'm Just A Dad - And Baby Makes Three
...It’s only two weeks later and I’ve already learned a lot. The best way to put him to bed. What it sounds like when he’s going to cry. How to change diapers and give baths without horrible freak-outs. Baby paraphernalia that seemed like a good idea, but ultimately proved otherwise. All this is a mere glimpse of what lies ahead, but I don’t regret it.

I’ve always said that there was more than the life I was living. More than social media, more than swag, more than free trips, booze, food or VIP invites. While this is only the beginning of the longest chapter in The Book of Casey yet, I see it every time I look in my child’s face — I can do this. Everything I’ve learned, done and experienced was only for my sake for a bit. Ultimately, though, all that will mould and shape this little guy through my efforts. I can either create the greatest Palmer of them all — or perhaps I’ll fall short and rend him another statistic.

But it’s on me. The choices I make, the actions they take — maybe not tomorrow, maybe not for decades — but I’ll see what effect they have in the generation ahead.

And that legacy is something worth putting my soul into.

So how’s fatherhood? It’s good — while I’m clearly just the guy who changes diapers, sings ridiculous lullabies, gives sink baths and bundles him up for bed, I have my role and I play it. It might be hard to see now, but I will impact my child’s life, a notion that some fathers perhaps forget all too easily.

It’s not perfect all the time, but if I were to shy away simply because of that, there’s not much in life I’d do at all if I applied the same logic to the rest of it.

Parenthood isn’t for everyone, and it seems daunting at first, but like everything, it takes practice. You’re never going to do everything right — in fact, you may have some colossal screw-ups — but a life without learning is a life not lived.

So here’s to the rest of my life. Here’s to seeing this little man grow and change as the years fly by. Here’s to not forgetting who I was before, always remembering to bridge the gap between Casey the Man and Casey the Dad. Here’s to raising someone who can do all the things I could not, and lives the best life that he possibly can with all the things I can give him.