• I used to try to find activities to do with all three of my children but found it exhausting.
• Then, I started doing one-on-one outings with them and found we connected better.
• While we still spend time together as a family, taking them out individually is important.

For a long time, I used to try doing everything with my three children together. We'd all go to the movies or for a walk outside. The truth is, it was often a disaster. My children range in age from two to nine, so their needs are vastly different. They also have different ideas about what constitutes "fun." I found it exhausting, and it was never really enjoyable for any of us.

A friend who used to be our neighbor inspired me to take a different approach. I'd see her going out one-on-one with her son or doing things alone with just her and her daughter.

One day, I asked her about it, and she said she made a habit of spending special time with each child on their own doing the things they loved. She said she didn't expect all three of her kids to enjoy the same activities, and she felt it was important to recognize their individual interests and hobbies. It was a lightbulb moment; her words made so much sense to me.

Taking my kids out one-on-one helped us connect

So, after years of trying to make everyone enjoy the same outings, I decided to divide and conquer with my husband and occasionally take each kid out alone. When I did, it made a world of difference to our relationships.

Nowadays, I go on dates with my 6-year-old daughter to see films her brother may not enjoy, like "Snow White." Then we'll have a snack together and talk about the fashion on screen or the love story. I know that my 9-year-old son would cringe listening to our girly chats, but this way, he doesn't have to.

When it's time for a mother-son date, my older son and I will play pickleball or go on a two-hour hike into the wilderness and chat. Sometimes, we stop and skim rocks together or investigate some weird-looking bug. Often, on these long walks, my son opens up and talks about issues at school or asks me questions about things he doesn't understand. I'm so grateful for the open dialogue with him and the chance to provide advice and reassurance.

My younger daughter loves to go to the library with me, and we'll often stop for a hot beverage afterward or play in the playground. As the third child, she has to tag along with the older kids a lot, and I think she may often feel overlooked. When it's just her and me, I know she loves being the center of attention and really benefits from the quality time together.

Our one-on-one time is important, but we still spend time as a family

I've realized that spending one-on-one time with each child is so important, as it allows us to connect on a deeper level. I feel less stressed than when I have all three kids out and about myself and can give the child I'm with my full attention.

It's also helped minimize sibling rivalry between the kids and helps ensure that everyone's needs are being met. In the past, my kids would act more frequently to get my attention. Since the one-on-one dates started, that's happening less and less.

Of course, we still spend time together as a family of five. Usually, on Sundays, we'll do a family bike ride or go for a picnic. But we've made sure to prioritize these one-on-one activities. Spending time alone with each child has been a game changer. It has enriched our family dynamics and made our household a happier one.

• UPPAbaby brand strollers and car seats are going to cost parents more because of tariffs, one store owner tells me.
• Elizabeth Mahon, the owner of a baby goods store in Washington, DC, is raising prices on one stroller by $300.
• UPPAbaby says it's trying to absorb increased costs of production, but calls price hikes "unavoidable."

Parents, get ready: It looks like it's going to get a lot more expensive to raise a family — and some places are already raising prices, like one baby and toy store in Washington, DC.

I talked to Elizabeth Mahon, the owner of Three Littles, which she's run since 2019. She told me price hikes are on the way, and she said they're because of Donald Trump's tariffs.

She said she'd have to raise prices on items that are manufactured mostly in China, like the popular UPPAbaby Vista stroller, which will now cost $1,199 — up from $899.

Massachusetts-based UPPAbaby has said it's passing the increased costs of production onto customers. "Please know that we've made every effort behind the scenes to absorb as much of the cost as possible," the company said in a statement on its Instagram, "but some price increases are unfortunately unavoidable."

Mahon told me how tariffs are already affecting her store and her customers. And about her biggest worry: that some families won't be able to afford necessities like car seats at all.

(This interview has been edited for length and clarity).

Business Insider: So what's going on with the price hikes with strollers and car seats?

Elizabeth Mahon: Nuna and UPPAbaby both reached out about a week ago and said, "Hey, this is going to be a new price list moving forward."

Then, on Monday, we got another email from UPPAbaby with an amended price list. When they first emailed, it was when tariffs were at 54% and now tariffs are 145% — they had to fix the prices to better reflect the current tariffs.

Is this across the whole range of things? Strollers, car seats, accessories?

Yes, pretty much everything is going up in price. Initially, a lot fewer items were included in these price increases. There were still price increases, but they weren't as drastic or far-reaching. And now, the prices of just about everything that they manufacture have to go up.

So the UPPABaby Vista stroller, which is about $900 for the base model — that's going up about $300. It's basically like a 33% increase. Is that about what you're seeing across the board? 33%?

It depends. Some things are going up 20%, some things are going up 40%. It just depends. But 30% is, I would say, the average.

Have you heard from other manufacturers about tariff increases in other categories? Clothing, toys, books?

A ton. I've been getting a phone call or an email a day from our vendors letting us know that the prices are increasing. We've received a couple of emails from vendors telling us that they will no longer even be able to entertain a wholesale program.

I do know that some other stroller and car seat brands are chatting about what it would look like to sell exclusively online. This would be a huge detriment to families because they won't be able to test them out in person.

What are you hearing from your customers?

I think there's a lot of panic buying. People are hurrying up to buy car seats that maybe they don't need yet because they are worried about these price increases. We've been talking to a lot of customers who are considering buying for children they don't even have yet so that they can get these prices.

I would be remiss not to acknowledge that we have a shop in a community where there's a lot of privilege.

I've heard a lot on social media that these price hikes aren't going to deter people who are shopping for these more expensive brands. But I absolutely disagree. I've heard daily from people who have said, "This stroller at $899 was already a huge splurge for me, and $1,200 is just too far out of my price range."

Beyond that, the bigger conversation I think is that there are going to be many families who just cannot afford a stroller for their kids or a car seat for their child, period. Even the lower-end products — there is no option to just buy exclusively American.

There is no option to just not use a car seat. You have to have it, but we're going to see price increases across every brand no matter what if they're manufactured in China.

With car seats, that's the kind of item that — unlike strollers — it's really recommended you don't get one used, right?

Absolutely. I am a child passenger safety technician, and we just would never recommend getting a secondhand car seat because there is no way to prove that that car seat has not been in a crash, which makes it no longer safe to use.

As a small-business owner, how will these price increases affect your bottom line?

I've just had to make some really big decisions already and spend money that we didn't really have to spend on extra inventory because these tariff hikes and the hysteria surrounding these new inflated prices are causing a lot of people to buy.

There are going to be a lot of gaps where people aren't going to be able to buy things when they need them. That's because people are buying convertible car seats today for kids who won't fit in it for a year. The people who need that car seat now might not be able to get it because it's sold out. The manufacturing facilities can't produce at a faster rate than they had already planned on, or they don't have the materials, or they don't have the money, or they're trying to navigate the tariffs.

Are you worried about what will happen having to pass on the prices to customers if that will turn customers away from your store?

Absolutely. We already have customers who will come into the shop and demo the products we have and then come back in and tell us they bought them secondhand. And that's everyone's prerogative. I totally understand why people do that. The baby industry is expensive and the products we sell are on the higher-end. But I think that we'll be starting to see a lot more of that.

I do think we'll see the resale market inching up higher, which will make some of these products that people used to be able to buy secondhand unaffordable, too.

Even more than business, I'm worried that there are going to be families that aren't able to get seats for their children at all because they can't afford them.

• Sophie Steiner moved from Chicago to Shanghai 10 years ago with a year-and-a-half work contract.
• She struggled to navigate Chinese culture and ultimately began to question her own sense of identity.
• Over time, she has formed her own distinct identity that merges elements from both cultures.

I touched down in Shanghai from Chicago in 2015, armed with a year-and-a-half work contract, an overstuffed suitcase, and 20 more boxes en route. It was not the most conventional way to arrive in a country I'd never set foot in.

But after stints in Israel and Argentina, I saw myself as a "global citizen," convinced I'd settle in within weeks. Spoiler: I was wildly overconfident.

The lesson came swiftly: China does not bend its will. Instead, one learns to adapt, to alter one's rhythm to the customs of this vast nation. I've found that the answer to most questions is merely, "because China."

We moved into a high-rise complex "maze" in Shanghai, which has a population equivalent to that of my husband's hometown. As the years passed, I learned to expect boiling tea at restaurants even during sweltering months, and stopped being shocked when every face wash included skin-whitening ingredients.

The mantra was used during many moments of frustration as I attempted to navigate this foreign culture.

Culture shock, both ways

During my first few years in China, I lived for those rare moments when a local would compliment my minimal but slowly improving Chinese. Yet, it was more common for children to point at me and shout: "Look, mom, a laowai!" A foreigner.

No matter how many Chinese landmarks I visited, soap operas I watched, pop culture references I learned, or hours I spent practicing writing Chinese characters, I would forever be a laowai.

On a recent trip back to my hometown in the US, I took part in one of my favorite end-of-summer pilgrimages: the Minnesota State Fair — an annual ritual for every ever-affable Midwesterner, myself included — filled with carnival parade antics, agricultural exhibits, fireworks, and, most importantly, the overconsumption of all things sugared, battered, and fried.

I weaved through the rows of American flags, snapping photos. The unfamiliarity felt similar to what I felt during my first year in China, — mouth agape with reverse culture shock. I didn't fit in anymore with my football-throwing, beer-chugging, farm-friendly kin.

Yet again, I found myself a foreigner, but this time in a familiar land.

The boundaries of identity

My definition of home has evolved over the years, and my everyday practices have changed alongside it.

From perpetually drinking hot water to cure any ailment to relying on Traditional Chinese Medicine — like acupuncture and Chinese herbs — rather than Western remedies, my values and beliefs have shifted in ways I never anticipated.

I will never fully belong in Chinese culture, just as I will never quite fit into the mold of my American upbringing either.

This sense of alienation is a common theme for many expatriates. It's a bittersweet realization: the more you adapt to a new culture, the more you risk losing touch with your roots.

By living abroad, I've traded the dream of a house with 2.4 kids and a white picket fence for the freedom to microdose retirement — traveling on a whim to far-flung islands across Asia.

As the world becomes increasingly multicultural, feelings of dislocation and juxtaposing belonging often resonate. While I am technically not a "third culture kid" — a term coined by sociologist Ruth Hill Useem referring to those who spend their formative years outside their parents' home country, resulting in a lack of belonging in both places — I find myself a "third culture adult."

I blend elements of my American upbringing with experiences gained in China, forming a distinctly fluid identity that doesn't quite fit into traditional categories.

I struggle to relate to friends and family back home — they don't understand my yearning to hike the upper reaches of the Tibetan Autonomous Region or my fixation on black sesame desserts. It all sounds foreign to them, just as their experiences of refurbishing their bathroom for the umpteenth time feel foreign to me.

A familiar foreigner

Now, I have learned to embrace the "China moments" that arise with a sense of humor and humility.

During my early years in China, being called laowai was a marker of my otherness. Now, I wear it as a badge of honor, evidence of my journey and growth.

As I look ahead, I recognize that my path is not just about navigating the complexities of being a foreigner in another country but also about reconciling that identity with my origins. Perhaps I'm not meant to belong entirely anywhere but instead to find solace in the spaces between cultures.

I embrace my life in Shanghai and the challenges that come with it.

Do you have a story to share about relocating to a city in Asia? Contact the editor at [email protected].