Celebrating Type C Parents, Recognizing "Minorstones" and Praising The Family Dinner Manager

What's up this week:

• Why we should all be a little more Type C

• The tiny parenting wins known as “minorstones”

• Meet the family dinner manager

• Why high-school seniors are carrying little-kid backpacks

• The viral video that has parents debating tone of voice

• Why kids can’t get enough of collectibles

• Why grandma showers are still having a moment

Also known as lowering the bar just enough, letting Dora the Explorer go to Grade 12 and accepting that “What’s for dinner?” may be the hardest question you answer all day.

Editor, ParentsCanada

Are You a Type C Parent?

We hear all about Type A and Type B parents all the time. But what about Type C? The term describes parents who live somewhere between colour-coded calendars and laissez-faire, go-with-the-flow energy. In other words, they’re organized enough to keep the wheels on the wagon but chill enough to accept that one of those wheels may occasionally roll away.

If you fall firmly into the Type A or B category, this probably seems like a foreign concept. How can you be both things? But maybe the better question is…how can we all be a little more like this? Modern parenting can make us feel like we’re always behind, always letting something fall through the cracks. Type C parenting offers a more forgiving alternative: Have a plan, do your best and understand that sometimes you’re going to end up going through the drive-thru instead of cooking the chicken you have thawing at home.

👉 Ready to loosen your grip without letting the wheels come all the way off? Here are 10 ways to embrace Type C parenting.

Forget Milestones—We’re Celebrating “Minorstones”

Baby’s first year comes with a pretty well-established list of milestones. And yes, they are important. (If your child is missing big developmental markers, that’s a sign that you should call your primary care team to see what’s going on.) But there are so many smaller changes to notice and enjoy, too.

The trend of recognizing these everyday achievements, dubbed “minorstones,” helps early parenthood to feel a little less overwhelming. Your baby napped somewhere other than your chest? You deserve a medal. You left the house in an outfit that didn’t have spit up on it? Sound the trumpets. Your little one fell asleep in their crib on their own? Commission a commemorative plaque. Or, you know, maybe just text your best friend and let them celebrate with you. The trick is to acknowledge when something changes for the better.

When you’re in the thick of bone-deep exhaustion and varying degrees of WTF, these little wins can make all the difference.

👉 “Minorstones” don’t stop with babyhood either. Click through for a list of “minorstones” to celebrate for the first 18 years.

Congratulations, You’re the Family Dinner Manager

There’s a new job title for the resume of whichever parent regularly answers the question, “What’s for dinner?” If that’s you, you’re the dinner manager.

Studies show that most Canadian households rely on one main person to navigate the routine mental load of deciding, planning and executing dinner. That person spends up to two hours a day on meal-related tasks, with more than half an hour going to planning and list-making alone. Moms are more likely to identify themselves as the dinner manager but doesn’t mean there aren’t dads who have assumed the “dinner manager” roll.

It’s a useful name for an invisible subsect of family labour. Because sometimes the hard part isn’t the chopping or stirring or basting. It’s realizing that at 4:47, everyone has to eat and they’re going to expect you to know what.

👉 If you’re the dinner manager and need a silent sous chef, we’ve got you covered. Check out our Food section at parentscanada.com for tons of recipes, tips, tricks and more.

What Kindergarteners and Twelfth Graders Have in Common

For their last first day of high school (sniff, sniff), some seniors are ditching the trendy, grown-up backpacks in favour of something a little more nostalgic: little-kid character backpacks.

You read that right. For kids about to embark on what is essentially their last year of childhood, they’re suiting up with Paw Patrol, SpongeBob, Pokémon and other little-kid faves. The tradition isn’t new, but it’s gaining steam (thanks, TikTok).

Sure, it’s funny to see big kids strolling down the streets with the same knapsacks as little ones just starting their school journeys, but there’s something sweet about it, too. Senior year sits in that weird place between being a kid and being an adult, and carrying Hello Kitty to calculus feels like a harmless way to acknowledge that you’re not quite ready for the real world yet. And frankly, parents, you probably aren’t quite ready for that either.

Are Parents Not Allowed to Sound Annoyed Anymore?

Recently, a candid parenting video went viral after it showed reality star Martha Kalifatidis, holding her newborn while making breakfast, firmly telling her excited three-year-old to stop yelling and leave the kitchen. Cue the parent peanut gallery (of course).

Some commenters said she was too harsh. Others were more empathetic, saying she just looked like a tired parent with her hands full. Experts weighed in and said the important distinction was what she was trying to do: set a firm boundary, even though she lost her patience. That isn’t the same thing as routinely speaking harshly to your child.

Of course, parents should think about how they speak to their kids and know how to apologize when they’re too tough. But parents are human beings, too, with their own self-regulation and emotions to contend with. What matters more than a moment of snappiness is what the relationship looks like 99 percent (okay, maybe 95 percent) of the time.

👉 Lost your cool and wish you’d handled things differently? Here’s how to repair after yelling at your kids.

Schoolyard Collectibles Are Back (Again)

Every generation of kids seems to have its collectible. Marbles and baseball cards date back decades, followed by Pogs, Pokémon cards and countless other game-related items. And every generation of parents learns the same lesson: Yes, it gets very serious and, yes, the hottest items will almost certainly get banned from the schoolyard eventually.

Right now in Canada, the collectible market runs the gamut from blind boxes and miniatures to squishies and trading cards, with kids buying, swapping and assigning enormous value to tiny objects adults may struggle to understand. Last spring, there was even a frenzy around the Disney collectible stickers Loblaw was handing out at participating stores and gas stations.

Of course, the appeal isn’t really new. Collecting can be fun, and trading gives kids a chance to negotiate, socialize and figure out what something is worth to them (even if you cannot fathom why that tiny plastic thing is apparently priceless). But where there’s trading, there can also be lopsided deals, hurt feelings, lost treasures and playground drama.

👉 So, as we gear up for another school year, the question is: Should you let your kids in on the fun? Read on for how to navigate collectible culture in your home.

Grandma Showers Just Won’t Go Away

At ParentsCanada, we’ve been talking about grandma showers for a while now, and to be honest, we thought the trend would go away. But apparently not. Because months later, the fad is very much still with us.

The premise is exactly as it sounds: In addition to a baby shower for the expectant parents, friends throw a part for the grandparents-to-be. Sometimes it’s just an excuse for a party, no presents requested, but other new grandparents are actually creating their own registries for gear and supplies that can stay at their house, to help care for a visiting grandchild.

The jury is out on its propriety: Is it acceptable to ask people to contribute to a life event that really isn’t yours? Does it take away from moms and dads and what they need to welcome their child and care for them every day? On the other hand, if Grandma and Grandpa are going to be on childcare duty regularly, why wouldn’t they have their own stash of baby stuff?

There really isn’t a right or wrong answer, but we’re just saying: If great-grandma showers become a thing next, we’re going to need a lot more cake.

👉 Tap here to read our Grandparenting Unfiltered columnist Kathy Buckworth make the case for grandparent baby showers and gifts, and how they can help new parents, too.