Today, Lauren Davidson has a very simple plea: Please, please, don’t bring a birthday gift.

She writes: “I know I’m not alone. I see Facebook posts over and over again in my moms’ group: ‘We have too much stuff. How can I get my family members to respect my wishes not to get us too much this year?’ Or: ‘How can I politely ask family members to contribute to a membership to the children’s museum or my kids’ art classes instead of more toys we don’t need?’”

And yet the gifts keep showing up! What’s your strategy on gifts? And have you found a phrasing that works? Asking for… a whole lot of friends.

Kelly Faircloth, Executive Editor

“The realization hit me a few weeks postpartum. I was holding my newborn daughter and looking at myself in the mirror with disgust. ‘Ugh, I look awful,’ I said, examining the 15 pounds of extra, flabby skin around my midsection. It was hardly the first time I had criticized my appearance in the mirror (nor was it the last), but this time was different,” writes Morgan Flaherty. “It was at that moment that I realized the potential for passing along my unrealistic beauty standards to my daughter. And that scared the sh*t out of me.” And today, she’s talking about how she’s fighting that battle. Give it a read, it’s important.