Do you know how to clean your travel mug lid? If you think you do, check again—because when one woman checked her YETI, she found a hidden world of downright yucky-ness.

After hearing about a couple who discovered that their mystery illnesses came from travel mug lids, Veronica Lucas did some at-home investigation. And what did she discover? After taking apart the mug’s removable seal, she found all kinds of not-so-nice looking moldy gunk growing. After finding the growth, Lucas posted pics of it to Facebook—getting plenty of attention.

Lucas isn’t the first person to go viral with a moldy mug warning. Last fall, sports chiropractor Dr. Beau Pierce, posted a YouTube video explaining how he solved one of his patient’s mystery illness complaints by looking under their travel mug lid.

Even though both Lucas and Pierce referred to YETI products, this isn’t a brand-specific problem. Any travel mug (or for that matter, any reusable cup or container) that is exposed to moisture on a regular basis is at risk.

What can you do to protect yourself? Take apart your travel mug completely, including that little rubber gasket under the lid. Scrub the mug thoroughly or use a dishwasher and hand-washing combo (assuming your mug is dishwasher safe). Thoroughly dry the mug after washing.

Another tip? Replace your mug every so often. That ages-old coffee cup that you’ve had since college may seem nostalgic, but in reality, it could make you sick.

—Erica Loop

Featured photo: Lisa Fotios via Pexels

 

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We’ve all been there—both as parents and personally (even if we don’t remember it): teething. The crying kiddo, the pain, and the fact that you’d do pretty much anything to stop the insanity. But what about those teething necklaces and bracelets your mom friends rave about? Well…about that.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued a statement recently issued a warning to parents and caregivers of young children about how teething jewelry—worn by your cranky baby or the caregiver—can actually be potentially dangerous.

Photo: Alex Smith via Pexels 

How can parents soothe teething pain, anyway? Teething gels aren’t a great solution, either; the FDA notes that benzocaine-containing products (such as gels, sprays or ointments) can lead to a potentially life-threatening condition that reduces the red blood cells’ ability to carry oxygen.

If you can’t use a gel or cream, what can you use? It’s this very question that leads plenty of parents to teething jewelry. Often marketed as a safe, “natural” alternative to other products, these items look like necklaces or bracelets are typically made from amber, marble, silicone or wood.

Following reports of serious injuries and tragically, strangulation deaths, the FDA now cautions parents to avoid teething jewelry altogether. If you think that adult supervision will reduce the risks, think again. According to the FDA, a seven-month-old infant choked on a wooden beaded teething bracelet—while under parental supervision. Luckily, the child was okay following a trip to the hospital.

The new warning from the FDA stresses using alternatives to soothe teething pain—and of course, avoiding teething jewelry. Instead, gently massage your baby’s gums with clean fingers. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that you can give your kiddo a firm rubber teething ring (but not the frozen kind). Always inspect the teething ring for damage and supervise your child while they’re gumming it.

—Erica Loop

 

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An Illinois mom’s viral Facebook post is making parents laugh after she wrote “good luck” note to her husband before leaving him alone for the weekend with their kiddos. “I’m writing this to you out of love, not fear,” begins Meghan Maza Oeser.  “I wanted to go over a few things with you before you embark on this weekend alone…with the others,” she continued. The “others” being their six children: Jack, 15, Ella, 12, Bailey, 9, Harper, 7, Quinn, 5 and Penny, 3.

Continue reading the hilarious message below (warning: foul language):

“A letter to my husband as I leave for girls’ weekend…

(Warning: foul language)

Dearest Husband,
I’m writing this to you out of love, not fear. I wanted to go over a few things with you before you embark on this weekend alone…with the others.

Nighttime, daytime, breakfast time, and somewhere around lunchtime can easily be mistaken for pure HELL, with Satan coming off as a My Little Pony in comparison.

First things first…

Upon arriving home after work, things won’t seem so bad. The others will hug, jump, and for the most part, be pretty excited to see you. This will be short lived…I promise. School season or not…this is also known as hell hour. The others will fight about anything and everything, with Quinn and Penny being the biggest instigators. It’s most likely that Quinn will be pissed off about Penny wearing her Elsa dress, and Penny equally pissed off because Quinn will ONLY refer to her as Anna. Penny will also be fighting sleep, which I’ll get to later.

Dinner will suck. Bailey will want pizza, while Harper will ask for hotdogs. Quinn will cry when you say the word hotdog, and will insist on Mac n cheese (but not the orange kind or the white kind, but the purple kind). We’ll be fresh out of the purple kind, so she’ll then ask for toast. You’ll already have started making mac n cheese for Penny, but since she heard Quinn ask for toast, she’ll also want that toast. You’ll end up tossing the Mac n cheese because Bailey got the stomach flu 5 years ago after eating the orange kind, and Harper prefers the white kind. You’ll also forget about Harper because her friend Lily “unexpectedly” stopped by, so they went ripsticking down the street. Everyone will eat cereal for dinner, and Lily will come inside for a bandaid.

You’ll want to sit down and relax after dinner/breakfast, but I’m warning you against this. It will get quiet…REAL quiet. This is when you’ll realize that the threenager has fallen asleep somewhere. Do NOT let the threenager fall asleep. You’re basically screwed if this happens. She will be wide awake until at least 1:30am if you’re not careful. Given your 9:30 bedtime and 5am wake up, this is less than ideal.

Moving along.

Lily’s still there. You’ll then wonder where in God’s hell her parents are. You’re guess is as good as mine. I’ve yet to meet them.

Bedtime…
Good. F—ing. Luck, buddy.

Pajamas. F**K pajamas. Don’t even ATTEMPT anything but a nightgown for Penny. And if you cannot find a nightgown for Penny, keep looking. She’ll ask for her Minnie Mouse nightgown, but once you put it on, she’ll scream in agony because the sleeves are CLEARLY ripping her f—ing arms off. Just find her Elsa one. Chances are, it’s dirty as hell, but so what…so is she. I can’t remember the last time I put soap to that one.

Go ahead and leave Penny on the couch with you. God knows you let her ass fall asleep somewhere prior. Quinn, Harper, and Bailey will go down seamlessly. Just wait. As they lie in their beds, they’ll then realize that their tiny mouths are on God damned fire, and they’ll act as if they’ve just walked 800 f—ing miles through the Sahara. They will come down…one by one…every god damned 5 minutes…for water. Don’t let ANYONE use Quinn’s pink Elsa cup. If she sees this, she will lose her holy cap.

You’ll end up bringing Penny to bed with you, thinking that’s a good idea. Ha ha ha ha ha! You may as well sleep next to Evander Holyfield on uppers.

Just try getting her into her bed. Give her the iPad. This will save your life…promise. Make sure you turn the volume down, along with the screen brightness. Speaking of brightness, don’t forget the diffuser. Fill that up, and add 2 drops of Peace and calming, one lavender, and one stress away. If she was a real dick that day, add some frankincense. Set the light to PURPLE. Sweet baby Jesus, please remember purple. If you set it to blue, she will act as if her retinas are on the god damned sun. Don’t forget her sippy cup. Seriously…DON’T. She’ll drink some, and then ask you to take it. She’ll want you to place it on her dresser. She’ll call you in 5 minutes later for the rest. She’ll call you in AGAIN to put that it back on the dresser. She’ll then, sure as God made little green ass apples, wake up at 3am screaming that someone has stolen said sippy cup. Just fill it back up, and pray to Peter and Mary that she falls back asleep. Oh, and don’t forget her fan. That girl sweats like a whore in church that just ate 12 beef sandwiches.

Breakfast. Ha! Just as fun as dinner…if not worse. Get coffee. LOTS of coffee. You’ll need it. Penny might want cereal, or she’ll go for toast. Whatever you do…LET HER PICK HER SPOON. Chances are, Quinn will have the ULTIMATE spoon, and Penny will convince you that you’ve left her with the worst spoon in the bunch. Sometimes I’ll give her a fork, and then flip her off. Breakfast will be such a s**t show that you’ll forget to eat, and begin to experience the caffeine shakes.

It’s almost lunchtime. Just start drinking now.

Lather, rinse, and repeat. I’ll see you Sunday.

Oh, also…just incase you wanted to get ANYTHING done this weekend…good f—ing luck. Quinn cries basically every 5 minutes, and you would think that Penny’s esophagus was on certain fire every 4.5 seconds. She’ll need constant refills, which leads to more potty breaks. Sometimes she can go by herself, and sometimes she’s completely useless and will whine about everything. Including, but not limited to, her underwears feeling funny. Have backup underwears. Oh, and since you made me get rid of most every sippy cup, leaving me with 2…she’ll lose those. Good f—ing luck finding them.

Kisses.

The wife”

 

When when the last time you had a girls’ weekend? Tell us in the comments below!

The sounds of summer: sprinklers, splashes, honking horns, and your family’s favorite songs playing in the background (or blasting through the car speakers). No matter what’s in store this season, from road trips to afternoon play dates, every activity is better when you add a little music. Get those tunes flowing with the brand-new Bright Horizons Radio on Pandora®, a station that’ll features music everyone in your family will dig. Read on to learn more about this kid-friendly station, but fair warning…spontaneous sing-alongs and un-choreographed group dance parties may ensue.

How It Works
Bright Horizons Early Education and Preschool created Bright Horizons Radio on Pandora® to give parents easy access to tons of great tunes. Bright Horizons Radio on Pandora® uses a unique algorithm to customize a rocking playlist for you and your family. With just a few clicks your family can listen to their favorite music anytime, anywhere on their phone, tablet, or computer. One of the best parts? It’s totally free to use and you don’t need Wi-Fi to access it!

Listen In to Bright Horizons Radio on Pandora® & Find Harmony
Music is a powerful learning tool and no matter their age, all children can benefit from its ability to impact creative, cognitive, and social development. It has the power to brighten a rainy day, lift a bad mood, and create peace among siblings on long car rides. Yet finding a collection of kid-friendly songs, in a variety of genres, all while avoiding the “cheese” factor can be a challenge, and Bright Horizons Radio on Pandora is the solution to your musical woes.

Why It’s a Hit
Even the pickiest music aficionados will find the songs they love on Bright Horizons Radio on Pandora®. So if your eldest loves pop while your preschooler is still bopping along to their favorite movie anthem, don’t fret. Available right now, Bright Horizons Radio on Pandora® is free for all listeners, with additional educational activities being added throughout the summer. Now that’s music to our ears!

Access the station by clicking here. 

What’s your favorite summer track? Share with us in the comments below!

— Lauren Rich Hill

Photo: Petras Gagilas via Flickr

We might think our two-minute screen time warning is saving our children from completely melting down, but researchers are telling parents to stop. Giving young children a two-minute warning that “screen time” is about to end makes transitions away from televisions, tablets, and other devices more painful, a new University of Washington study has found.

The researchers at University of Washington’s Computing for Healthy Living & Learning Lab initially interviewed 27 families about how they manage media and screen time experiences for their toddlers and preschoolers. Those answers informed a diary study in which 28 different families documented screen time experiences over the course of two weeks — what children were watching, on what kind of device, what parents did during that time, what prompted screen time to end and how upset or amenable children were.

22 percent of the families claimed unplugging situations were followed by tantrums or other negative reactions. Also, according to the families’ diaries, parents were better off just shutting screens down, rather than warning kids beforehand.

Kids seemed to respond better when screen time was part of a daily routine rather than a special treat. They also had an easier time moving on when their shows and games had natural end points, like an episode ending. Researchers also suggest turning off any auto-play functions, like on the one on Netflix, if applicable.

How do you regulate your kiddo’s screen time? Tell us in the comments below!

H/T: Science Daily

“This Is Us” is NBC’s newest show coming this Fall. The drama, starring Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Justin Hartley, and Sterling K. Brown, shows the emotional realities many of us face. Check out the trailer below (Warning: Mild Nudity (i.e. Milo’s butt cheeks).

What do you think? Will you watch?

 

Daily
Today Is Train Day
Ride the rails.
1

Ride the rails in the comfort of your own home by creating cardboard cars, tracks and things that go clickety-clack on down the track.

2

Don’t worry, the train hasn’t left the station yet when it comes to
these amazing train apps perfect for obsessed engineers.

3
Warning: you might drool a little while you click through this slideshow of the country’s most amazing train rides. All aboard!

{ Today’s ideas brought to you by Casey Jones }

 

Daily
Today Is National Awkward Moments Day
It’s okay, we’ve all been there.
1

Kids are nothing if not honest. Read up on some cringe-worthy #awkwardmoments from parents that will make you feel way less awkward next time your kid blurts out the truth.

2

Scroll through the instagram feed of these oh-so-wrong family photos. Warning: some of these pictures you cannot un-see.

3
Sometimes, oversharing can be healthy. Find out why funny lady
The Bloggess takes comfort in awkwarding, and why you should too.

{ Today’s ideas brought to you by Uncomfortable Silence }

There are hair challenges, and then there are hair challenges. We’ve heard of kids getting hair brushes, gum, even slinkies stuck in their hair . . . but imagine giving your kid a gift and discovering that it’s essentially taken up residence in her hair. This toy — called Bunch’ems — looks totally awesome, but unfortunately has a rather inconvenient side effect: the pieces squirrel their way into hair and simply don’t come out.

Despite the company’s warning labels, parents who have bought the toy are warning others with product reviews on Amazon. Yowza. Our sympathies to these parents. #weveallbeenthere

 

All photos courtesy of amazon.com

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve found stuck in your child’s hair?

—Francesca Katafias