We allow our teens (16 and 14) to use social media, but only after family discussions about their safety, using discernment in posting, privacy settings, etc. And they know we will be checking up on them!

I bought my son a Land's End backpack (on clearance!) when he started first grade. This kid is not gentle with his things at all, but his Land End backpack made it through 8th grade before retiring. It was still in pretty great shape to tell you the truth, but we upgraded to a larger backpack for all his high school books.

We had such a great experience with Kawaii diapers. Kawaii Goodnight Heavy Wetters were amazing for overnight.

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another..." - Ephesians 4:32 "Comparison is the thief of joy" - Theodore Roosevelt "The most important decision you will ever make is to be in a good mood." - Voltaire

I started my kids on solids right at 6 months. They were all sitting well and showing an interest in what we were eating. I believe I started them all off with mashed bananas, followed by pureed squash, peas, and other veggies.

So smart to have a backup plan, Lisa. They can be so quick to change their minds! My daughter also wore her favorite princess dress to the library or grocery store on the regular. It did make other people happy - who doesn't love a preschooler in a princess dress or superhero costume?

My older son is the same way. He hates jeans and dress pants (poor kid has to wear school uniforms every day). He strips the second we walk in the door, lol. He has always reminded me of Huckleberry Finn - just can't tame him.

My older daughter has always been something of a fashion diva (the first time she crawled it was toward pink, sparkly shoes). She often wore creative (non-matching) outfits to preschool, which was fine by me. I drew the line at dress-up clothes (like princess dresses) or her top choice (swimsuit), so many tears were spilled! I love seeing kids express their own sense of style.

We've taken our kids on a few international cruises, which is such a fun & easy way to travel outside the US with kids. We haven't had the time/money to fly internationally with them, but I imagine that would be more difficult. Switching time zones would definitely throw my little ones for a loop!

We allow sleepovers, but typically only with families we know and trust. Cousins and best friends mostly!

Coconut oil is cloth-diaper safe too! It worked wonders for us.

We have a German friend who runs a forest kindergarten in Germany. When he came to stay with us, he had our 4 and 6 year olds chopping veggies with real knives, and stirring them into a great big pot over the stove. I was a little apprehensive, but was surprised at how well they did. (No fingers were lost!) I wasn't truly comfortable with them using kitchen knives until age 7-8 though.

I think my kids first enjoyed going to the movie theater around age 3-4. I remember bringing my daughter to a $1 summer kids movie when she was 2 1/2 and she was definitely not ready to sit still for that long.

Yes, in a perfect world the library books would actually stay in their special spot. We used to joke that the library would name a new wing after our family because we've lost our fair share of books and kids DVDs.

My kids school (a private K-12) collects extra Halloween candy to send in care packages to last year's Seniors who are away at college. I think this is such a nice way to get rid of some of the extra sweets!

I made my older kids wait to see the movies until after we read the books together. They were about 8 and 6 when we watched the 1st movie. It took a couple years to read through book 7 and see the movies, which was good because some of the later movies are dark/scary.

I was (pleasantly) surprised that none of my kids had too bad a time transitioning to being a big brother or sister or regressed in their behavior. There were a few moments when they realized they were no longer the baby though!

I think it is all in good fun, and I am always happy to pass candy out to groups of teens, costumed or not. I even ask parents if they'd like a mini Snickers bar or Reese's cup to help sustain them, lol. I've never had issues with teens being rude or destructive - I feel like that is a separate issue.

My son began trick-or-treating with his friends (no parents) in 6th grade. One of his friends had a cell phone with him, and we asked them to stay in our neighborhood. Now that he is in 8th grade, he says he is "too old" for trick-or-treating, so it doesn't last long!

Up until about age 4! Having a toddler sized baby carrier really opened up so many opportunities for our active family. We've hiked to waterfalls, through caves, and braved crowded festivals where a stroller would have been a giant pain and where preschool-sized legs and stamina couldn't keep up.