Story Hour at Tea Lounge

Having recently moved to Brooklyn and left my day job for the "Bean life", I find myself hanging around at coffee shops more often than not. Today I'm at the Tea Lounge on Court Street. One fun thing about my new Brooklyn neighborhood is the way that all the local businesses seem to welcome the little ones with open arms. So I wasn't too surprised when I saw a sign for a weekly story time here:

Story Time
9:30am Thursdays at Tea Lounge on Court
with Lauren from Bija

I hadn't heard of Bija so I did a little internet search - looks like they run a kids dance and yoga studio as well as a playspace for parties and events. Anyone have any experience with the place? Leave us a comment!

What's the Craziest Thing YOUR Kids Eat?

The Times Dining In Section had a funny piece today about kids who are almost unbelievably adventurous when it comes to food – namely the author’s own, who were born and raised in China. Matthew Forney’s kids have been known to eat (and actually enjoy), among other things, “Sichuanese Snails and ….Tibetan Yak Jerky”. The author goes on to contemplate the factors that makes kids into picky or non-picky eaters: his wife insists that breast-feeding “opens the taste buds”, while the two agree that growing up in a poorer nation forces people to let go of their fussiness and consume what’s available.

Now we all know many children (and ahem…some adults) who are notoriously picky eaters….my own younger brother is among my most memorable cases (only candy was unequivocally accepted). I also hear a lot of parents talking about whether or not they should insist that their kids eat what they prepare for the whole family. My instinct is that this cold only help them to be come adventurous eaters, but putting this into action seems easier said than done. Kids do have magical powers of persuasion - I'm taking about you, Mr. Tantrum.

Favorite Parenting Websites

When we were looking to do some advertising for Bean awhile back, I asked a bunch of my friends who are expecting or new parents what websites they like to check out. I got a bunch of ideas from them (thanks guys!) but what surprised me was that there was nearly unanimous love for babycenter.com. Mom friends cited the week-by-week pregnancy guide and resources for everything from baby names to potty training as reasons for their devotion.

What do you all think? What do you look for in a pregnancy/parenting site? What other sites rank high on your list?

The Bean Blog Is Here!

Now that BeanNewYork.com has been around for 2 WHOLE YEARS(!) we've decided to start a blog to talk about all things baby. Having never done something like this before, we'll be winging it at first - so please send us your comments and suggestions!

Check in here often to read about our new products and promotions, recommendations for other cool baby-related sites, commentary on parenting stuff, and whatever issues we deem fit for elaboration. Again, we'd love to hear your feedback, so please add your comments!

Thanks for visiting and may this be the start of something fabulous!

Johanna and Gail