child care

Remember those days before kids when you spent your nights of freedom at concerts or movies? When an outing at the theater didn’t mean Sesame Street Live or Disney on Ice? Once you become a parent, a night out can be as a rare as a full night’s sleep. Finding a babysitter is hard enough – paying said babysitter can be traumatic on your ever-shrinking wallet.

A new gathering place for moms, kids and families has “hatched” in the St. Louis area, much to the delight of local parents – and particularly local moms.
 
The Nest, a self-described “stay and play creative café designed to function as a modern day community center, restaurant and membership club for women and families,” officially opened its doors in Frontenac last week. With an indoor play forest, drop-in childcare, classes for women and children and unique and healthy dining options, The Nest fills a niche that has been long overlooked in the St. Louis region.
 
According to Co-Founder Christina McHugh, the idea for The Nest was born from what she describes as “a HUGE deficit in the current market.”
 
“For me,” says McHugh, “what was lacking was a space that caters to children AND offers variety to adults. That was really missing in our area. We try to create an environment that supports families – where mom feels comfortable breastfeeding, where the kids are going to have a good time and not want to leave, where parents will always have that helping hand.”
 
“We’re the ones,” she continues, “who will hold the baby while you pay your check or put on your coat.”

Every morning, my 3-year-old and I live our own personal Lifetime mini-series. It’s called The One She Left Behind, and it’s particularly heart wrenching.
 

Farewell, flip flops. Sayonara, sandals. Ciao, crocs. My son’s elementary school has a policy against all of them, along with any other footwear that gets in the way of running and playing. I used to think such policies were harsh, back in the days when my 7-year-old was first in preschool. Now that I’m older and wiser (and have seen the scientific studies to support the bans) I see where they’re coming from.