Already Over the Christmas Presents Edition

On this week’s episode: Dan and Jamilah are joined by Care and Feeding columnist Nicole Cliffe. They answer a question from a mom whose brother’s attempted suicide is causing her to reevaluate her son’s relationship with his uncle. He’s recovering, but can she trust him to look after her 8-year-old? They also answer a question from a father whose kid regrets choosing an iPad over a Nintendo Switch. Should he just break down and buy the Switch? And how can he teach his son that getting the next shiny thing doesn’t necessarily make you happy?

For Slate Plus, special guest and Slate staff writer Ruth Graham discusses her parenting dilemma that included a highly anticipated trip and … barf? Sign up for Slate Plus here.

Recommendations

Dan recommends two Oscar nominations for your tweens and teens: Knives Out and Parasite. Jamilah tossed in the Oscar-nominated short Hair Love. Many art-house theaters screen the Oscar nominated shorts; so go see them in person.

Jamilah recommends Trader Joe’s cauliflower products. Cauliflower au gratin, great! Cauliflower tot casserole, delicious! Plus, you don’t really have to cook.

Nicole recommends Contigo water bottles for kids, which come in blue and orange.

Join us on Facebook and email us at momanddad@slate.com to tell us what you thought of today’s show and give us ideas for what we should talk about in future episodes. Got questions that you’d like us to answer? Call and leave us a message at 424-255-7833.

Podcast produced by Rosemary Belson.