When we met up with Ginger Zee and Ben Aaron for this month’s cover shoot and interview, they had been parents for a little over a year and one of the pleasures of working with them was seeing how attached and attuned they are to each other and to their adorable 14-month-old son, Adrian. Photographing a family with a young child isn’t always easy, but their cover session had the joyful vibe of a parent-and-me class, with the photographer, Lindsay May of Classic Kids Photography, hamming it up in her interactions with Adrian, and Ginger and Ben feeding the fun with lots exaggerated “ooohs” and “aaahs” and “wows.”
I spend a lot of time in the office thinking about what kinds of stories would help parents. It was enjoyable for me to be among actual parents just doing their thing. Later, I also enjoyed listening to Ginger and Ben discuss their lives as partners and parents with our executive editor, Mia Weber. For now, I just want to credit them with the best single-word description I’ve ever heard of parental support: “Flanking.”
I think lots of our readers will relate to Ginger and Ben’s give and take, which is why I’m especially pleased to share that they will be Honorary Parent Ambassadors at the 2017 New York Baby Show, helping us to open the grand weekend event for expectant and new parents on Saturday, May 20!
With the Baby Show on the horizon, we have a number of stories in the issue for expecting and new parents, notably the retail and trend report on shopping for baby. But of course there are lots of good stories for parents with children of all ages. My recommendations include the coding classes round-up, the birthday party guide, and a personal essay by a well-educated mom who finds herself in the unexpected position of considering homeschooling.
Happy Spring,
Eric Messinger
Editor, emessinger@manhattanmedia.com
