Dr. Becky’s Favorite Things | Strategist

Photo-illustration: Strategist; Photo: Joe McKendry, courtesy

If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what everyday items celebrities add to their shopping carts hair spray or electric toothbrush. We asked Dr. Becky Kennedy, who recently launched Good Inside: an app for parents — about the half-zip sweaters, the board game and the one-day calendar he can’t live without.

I received this as a gift at the G9 conference, the women’s summit, and I’m definitely a repeat buyer now. I mean, I’m not a makeup artist. You can see me. This is how I live in the world. And when I do my makeup, my sister always jokes, “That’s not how people do makeup.” And I said, “What do you mean?” And she said, “You just put your fingers in things and randomly put them on your face. Your eye shadow was your blush. I thought, “Oh, well, that’s how I do my makeup.” I feel like Miracle Balm was made for me because I put my fingers in the jar, rub it, and apply it to my cheekbones. I can use it as eye shadow; I can use it on my lips. I leave still feeling very much like myself, but a little brighter. It also has a wonderful scent and I now recommend it to everyone. I don’t have any makeup other than Miracle Balm in my office.

This is the whole family’s favorite game. We love board games. I am passionate about maintaining a board game routine with my children. I find it to be an antidote to screen time in many ways. It’s physical; this is real. You pay attention to each other, you build relationships, you laugh, you build tolerance to frustration. It’s all good stuff. I love SushiGo party for so many reasons. No. 1, there are many strategies that can be used, but if you are playing with younger children who may not be at a strategic level, they can simply learn the rules and play. In Sushi Go Party you can build the board in many ways and the board becomes a game. This also means that every time you play it can be a new challenge. Every person in my family loves this game – me, my husband, my 7-year-old, my tween and my tween – and we play together on weekend mornings. The box is big, but we can take it on a trip or to a friend’s house and everyone will always have fun.

Connections, Spelling Bee, Wordle — there are many things I love about these games. I do them solo while riding the subway to work, and there’s a big family element to them as well. My husband and my older son have a friendly but intense relationship Spelling bee they compete with each other to see who will reach genius level first. There is an amazing young woman in my office who is a master at solving mini crosswords, and my oldest son is always trying to beat her latest score, but he never succeeds. My two younger children often help me with this Acquaintances AND Wordle. I love watching them work hard and try and then be happy, “Oh, I did it Acquaintances!” or “I invented a new word!” My middle kid is really good at acquaintances, what is her personality like? He’s always looking around the world and connecting things. AND spelling bee, I think I’m the worst in my family of five, but that doesn’t stop me and I continue to get involved. It’s fun, safe, easy to learn, and an addictive challenge that seems pretty cool these days.

(Editor’s note: The NYT Games app is free to download and available for in-app purchases. Subscription plans range from $4.99 to $39.99.)

I think I first heard about it from Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. At the women’s retreat I attend, there were tons of women looking so cozy that I thought, “What is this?” And that’s how I got my first Spanx Air Essentials zipper. And I say “my first” because I actually have, I think, five or six of them now. I have white, black, red, gray and this golden tan. I have almost nothing in my closet, except for one thing. I just love this sweater. I wear it literally everywhere. I keep two of them in my office for Zoom meetings or when the air conditioning is cold. I wear one every morning while I drink coffee in a comfy chair before my kids get up. I can wear it to my kids’ soccer game or to run errands. And honestly, people ask me about it all the time. We do group gifts for my friends birthdays and I always suggest including this in the group gift.

This is a dream and I feel like I need everyone to know about it. I have it in our kitchen. It is a one-day calendar and every day there is a rather interesting and completely random fact. One thing I like about this is that during the school year it’s a reason for my kids to get dressed and come to breakfast. It’s always a conversation starter: “Oh, did you read the fact of the day?” Or, “Oh my God, did you know that?” And then we always have some conversation about it, sometimes longer than others, never forced, but introducing some topic we would never touch on. For example, I still remember this situation – I think I posted it on Instagram because it blew me away – every time you shuffle a deck of cards, you get a combination that never existed before. And I said, “This is crazy.” But if I thought about the factorial of 52, I know that’s a big number. We ended up talking about decks of cards, shuffling, the concept of factorials, and what it meant. It’s not a deep conversation, but it lasts a few minutes and it’s always a nice, family moment.

This is the second one I’ve had multiples of. And I must admit that I’m proud that one of my most fashionable friends recently asked me, “What kind of shirt is that?” Great basic, that’s what I need.” All my friends know I need all the dress tips I can get – now that I’m going to more public events. One of my friends or co-founder Erica always sends me a dress and she says, “It’s perfect.” And “No, Becky, actually don’t wear it together. It doesn’t look good. So the fact that one of my most fashionable friends, who gives me the most tips, now has multiples of these shirts – makes me proud. Honestly, these tees are so cozy and feel good hanging around the house with sweatpants on. They work well if you wear them with leggings, they go well with jeans. If you had to go to, I don’t know, your kids’ lacrosse game and then go out to dinner, they’d be fine. They fit, they are comfortable. I feel like they help me really cut down on my outfit decisions, which is what I like in the morning. I can just take one and be done with it.

I’ve always been a fan of pouring coffee the night before, but I was at a friend’s house having coffee and I thought, “Oh, I’ve always dreaded that. What is this? She said she appreciated having that free moment to herself in the morning. It’s not that automated. She’s not looking at her phone, she’s pouring herself some coffee. And I really like good coffee. I thought it was for both reasons OK, let me try. I could measure out my coffee the night before, but boiling water and standing in it reminds me of meditation. I am a person who moves a lot. I may have trouble slowing down, but it feels like a nice morning reminder, not only to take care of myself, but also to take things slower than necessary, which is probably a good thing in my life.

I was at a friend’s house and she had tons of them, almost where I would expect a coffee mug to be. I got up very early, made my own coffee, and wasn’t about to ask her, “Hey, do you have mugs?” So I just grabbed one of them and then I realized, “Oh, this is amazing.” It keeps my coffee hot all the time, but not hot. And I love the feeling of holding a cup without a handle. There’s something about a bubble that feels warm and cozy. I then ordered one for my own home and it is part of my coffee routine. Since then, I haven’t had my morning coffee at home in a regular mug.

Over the past two years, we’ve been building this online library as part of our Good Inside membership. We have films, workshops and scripts. At the same time, we know that parents are busy and need something personalized in the moment. The Good Inside app is a really big change from our previous membership because it gives parents instant access to exactly what they need, exactly when they need it. As a parent, I don’t want to have to look for something. I want to tell you how old my child is. I want to tell you what I’m struggling with and I want you to tell me what to do every day. I don’t want to make a decision. And that’s it. For example, imagine that it’s bedtime and your baby won’t go to bed and you’re exhausted. At this point, you can use the Good Inside chatbot to get the exact scenario for your 4-year-old. Now you can respond with power, not frustration, and you’ll go to bed feeling like a million dollars instead of regretting your last interaction.

I actually use the Good Inside app every day. My children do not have Dr. Becky as a parent; they have Becky as their parent. And just like any other parent, I am human. I’m fighting. I forget things. I’m moved. I need to refresh myself with ideas that I once learned and then completely forgot because I was busy. The app gives me instant access and the dose I need to stay in good shape. There may be a serious problem that I will have to solve. But every day I also want to know what I should be doing to build my children’s resilience and help them gain self-confidence. I want to be able to look back when my kids aren’t home and say, “I’m really proud of how I showed up most of the time.”

(Editor’s note: The Good Inside app is free to download and available for in-app purchases. Pricing for a 3-month membership plan starts at $84.)

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