How To Listen To Disney’s ‘Encanto’ Soundtrack

Well, Adele had a good run, folks. But after six weeks at the top of the charts, her latest album, 30, was bumped down by the soundtrack for Encanto, Disney’s latest animated film, on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. And, honestly, if we have to see our queen’s crown fall even a little bit, it’s comforting that the new reigning champion is something as fun (and family friendly) as the Encanto soundtrack! So how can you listen to the Encanto soundtrack? We’re here to help.

If you haven’t seen the film yet, first of all, do so: it’s great. Secondly, you should know that it’s set in a magical, protected village in Colombia and tells the story of the loving, civic-minded, but somewhat dysfunctional Madrigal family, whose “miracle” founded not just their village haven but their sentient, architecturally impossible house, “Casita.” But their miracle didn’t stop there: as they grew, each member of the family was imbued with a special gift. Superhuman strength, shapeshifting, controlling the weather... every member of the family, that is, except Mirabel, our cheerful, plucky heroine. The story comes to life with sumptuous animation (OMG guys, you could spend all day just looking at all the characters’ hair!) and music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who, in addition to being the genius behind the Broadway hit, Hamilton, also wrote the songs for Disney’s Moana.

And, like the soundtrack for Moana, Encanto’s soundtrack is, truly, a bop (the score by Germaine Franco, also on the soundtrack is also *chef’s kiss*). Here’s how you can listen for yourself.

In Most Cases, A Subscription To A Streaming Service Is Your Best Bet

While the soundtrack is available on pretty much every popular streaming service you can imagine, most require a subscription or premium subscription. AKA: you’re going to have to pay. But! If you do have a subscription to Tidal, Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, iHeartRadio, and/or Deezer. You can also access the soundtrack if you have a premium subscription to Pandora.

You can listen to the Encanto soundtrack for free

You’ll just have to hear the occasional ad for the privilege. Spotify requires a subscription, but even an unpaid subscription will give you access to Spotify’s Encanto Official Play List. Similarly, YouTube, YouTube Music, and Walt Disney Record’s Soundcloud all have Official Encanto Play Lists, which you can access for free.

You can buy the soundtrack

The Encanto soundtrack is also available digitally and in “hard copy.” Download the complete soundtrack for $7.99 on iTunes or Amazon. If you’d like to kick it old school, you can pickup the CD from a variety of retailers, including Target, Walmart, and Amazon. If you want to kick it really old school you can preorder the vinyl (it’s having a moment, people, and we get it – records are satisfying) on Disney Music Emporium, as well as the aforementioned retailers ahead of its mid-April release.

Read More

D.C. Child Care Workers to Receive $10.000 Checks From Government

Child care workers are considered some of the most underpaid and underappreciated employees out there. The work they do on a day-to-day basis is not only important, but integral. And it seems legislators in D.C. have decided enough is enough. Thousands of child care workers in D.C. are going to be getting checks for $10,000 in an effort to compensate them for their hard work, and that money is coming directly from tax dollars redirected from the city’s richest citizens. And it’s a pretty momentous move on the part of D.C. town council.

As The Washington Post reporte,d In 2021, D.C. councillors voted to raise taxes on the city’s highest earners to the tune of approximately $100 million, and to use that money to offer housing vouchers, give low-income families tax credits, and subsidize the wages of child care employees. According to Indeed, the average child care provider in D.C. makes around $16.80 an hour, and the council agreed that was not enough.

Now council has decided to use $53 million to give those child care workers a raise. Any eligible child care provider who applies will be directly given a check; for child care workers who care for babies and toddlers, these checks will be between $10,000 and $14,000, depending on their position in the child care field. There are more than 3,000 child care providers working in D.C., and hopefully these checks will help subsidize their wages. D.C. council will hire a company to manage the application system for child care workers, and the checks will be given out either in installments or in one lump sum.

“It’s just a breath of relief, and a galvanizing force for us to develop this long-term permanent program so teachers can actually have paychecks that reflect the work that they do,” Ruqiyyah Anbar-Shaheen, a member of the D.C. child care task force told The Washington Post. “I can’t believe we’re here. I’m so glad we’re here. I’m grateful.”

D.C. council’s unanimous decision to reroute funds from the city’s richest to the city’s child care workers is a real step in the right direction. A reminder that access to quality child care is the key to healthy, thriving families. And deserves to be treated as such.

Read More

15 St. Patrick's Day Gifts For Kids, Family, & Friends

You have your head-to-toe green outfit planned for a night of pub hopping and you’ve mapped out your town’s parade route with your kids so you can catch bucketsful of candy, but have you done any shopping for St. Patrick’s Day gifts? When you think of the mid-March holiday, the first thing that probably pops into your mind isn’t gift-giving, but perhaps it should be. How fun would it be to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a gift or two for your kids, your parter, your friends, or anyone else in your life who could use a bit of joy?

Are you rolling your eyes at the thought of having to shop for yet another gift-giving holiday so soon after the Christmas rush and Valentine’s Day sprint? I totally get it — being a magic-maker is exhausting. But, if you’re looking for a way to spread some goodness and cheer in the world, a sweet surprise on a holiday not typically reserved for gifts can do just that.

From thoughtful presents like a four-leaf clover charm necklace for your Irish BFF to a silly leprechaun-adorned beanie that your teen can (sham)rock on a cool spring day, there’s something for everyone in your life on this list. Whether you gift your child’s teachers a sweet coffee mug or fill a basket with green-themed goodies to drop on your neighbor’s doorstep, these St. Patrick’s Day gifts are sure to brighten anyone’s day on March 17.

We only include products that have been independently selected by Romper's editorial team. However, we may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

A Holiday-Themed Popcorn Box

Packed With Pop St. Patrick's Day Popcorn Sampler

The Popcorn Factory

Fancy popcorn is an appropriate gift for pretty much anyone you can think of. Your kids, your spouse, your boss, your friends, your kid’s teachers, your parents — it literally works for them all. If they like popcorn even a little bit, it’s a good gift because there are a variety of flavors to choose from.

The “Kiss Me I’m Irish” popcorn gift set from The Popcorn Factory includes five flavors — butter, cheese, caramel, cookies and creme, and white cheddar — all individually wrapped and packed inside of an adorable St. Patrick’s Day-themed box. This is also a great gift choice to send to loved ones who may not live close to you.

A St. Patrick’s Day Picture Book

"How To Catch A Leprechaun" written by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Andy Elkerton

Bookshop

Part of the How to Catch series, if your kids love titles like How to Catch an Elf and How to Catch a Unicorn, consider adding How to Catch a Leprechaun to their collection as a St. Patrick’s Day gift. Author Adam Wallace and illustrator Andy Elkerton really hit it out of the park with this zany, Irish-themed tale.

Books are my go-to gift for my own kids, but also for all of the other kids in our life. Going to a birthday party? Gift a book. Want to give your nephew a St. Patrick’s Day surprise? A book is perfect. Basically, you just really can’t go wrong with a sweet picture book, especially when it’s on-theme like this one.

Shamrock Soap

St. Patrick’s Day Goat Milk Soap

Blooms and Bushels

Spread the luck of the Irish to your friends, coworkers, neighbors, or anyone else who would appreciate a delicious-smelling soap set with this St. Patrick’s Day gift. Each box comes complete with three shamrock-shaped soaps in varying scents like spearmint eucalyptus, greenhouse, clover and aloe, sweet clover, and cucumber melon.

Made in small batches, each soap bar is handcrafted from a goat’s milk base and hand cut into an adorable shamrock shape, perfect for celebrating the holiday. They come wrapped in clear cellophane with a cute gift tag, but you can also upgrade your soap’s packaging to a small gift box for just a dollar extra.

A Four-Leaf Clover Fanny Pack

Lucky Fanny Pack With 6 Drink Holders

Tipsy Elves

For the person in your life who you can guarantee will be at a pub pounding green beers like it’s their paying job on March 17, this hilarious beer holder fanny pack is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day gift. With this gift, there’s no need to shout “hold my beer” when they take to the floor to recreate Riverdance.

The fanny pack set is made from shimmering gold nylon and is adorned with shamrocks and green lettering to spell out the word “lucky” across five of the six beer pockets. Look, if they’re going to dance the night away doing an Irish jig (or at least attempting to) why not gift them somewhere safe to store their drinks while they do?

A Stuffed Shamrock

Seamus The Shamrock

Kisses And Caffeine

A smiling shamrock is a cute gift to give small kids in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. This adorable plush pal from Kisses and Caffeine on Etsy is called Seamus the Shamrock, so while the toy is admittedly very on-theme for the holiday, he’s even got a strong Irish name to back it up.

Each hand-crocheted shamrock measures approximately 7.5 inches tall and 6 inches wide and is filled with soft poly-fill stuffing, so it’s just perfect for your little one to snuggle up with. Choose from light or dark green yarn when you gift your child this fun, handmade toy for St. Patrick’s Day.

A St. Patrick’s Day Tee

Mickey Or Minnie Mouse St. Patricks Shirt

Available in sizes 2T to 4T, Youth XS to XL, and Adult XS to XXL

Custom Cottage Design

Everybody needs a fun shirt for St. Patrick’s Day, and I will never actually outgrow wearing clothing with classic Disney characters like Mickey and Minnie. These St. Patrick’s Day tees from Etsy seller Custom Cottage Design come in sizes for toddlers, kids, and adults, so they’re perfect for parents who want to twin with their kiddos for the holiday.

Choose from green, heather green, gray, or white for your t-shirt’s primary color and then pick whether you want a St. Patrick’s Day-themed Mickey or Minnie Mouse printed on the front. There’s just something so nostalgic about a holiday shirt with these iconic figures that it’s hard to go wrong giving them as a gift, no matter who it’s for.

Shamrock Socks

Women's St. Patrick's Day Low Cut Socks

Women's sizes 4-10

Target

What do you gift your hard-to-please tween daughter that won’t make her roll her eyes like it’s her paying job? Technically, there’s no way to promise that won’t happen even with the most ideal of gifts, but cozy socks are usually a safe bet.

These green-striped St. Patrick’s Day socks from Target are warm and comfortable. At just $4 for the pair, they’re an affordable gift to give on their own or add to a small gift basket of green-themed goodies. (Plus, your tween doesn’t actually have to wear them out of the house if for whatever reason shamrocks are suddenly “uncool” by the junior high crowd.)

A Shamrock Charm Necklace

14K Solid Gold Four Leaf Necklace

Maya And Mia

How beautiful is this minimalist-style clover pendant? The necklace chain and shamrock pendant are made from solid 14K gold, and the pendant is shaded with a bright green enamel coloring. The standard chain length for this necklace is 18-inches, but you can also customize the length and style of the chain for an additional fee.

If you’re looking for a special gift to give someone who has strong ties to the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, this is a fantastic choice. It’s also a great piece if you want to treat yourself with something gorgeous to wear in honor of the holiday.

St. Patrick’s Day Pajamas

Peanuts St. Patrick's Day Sleeper In Organic Cotton

Available in sizes 0-3m to child's size 3

Hanna Andersson

Will your baby actually remember what gifts you gave them for their first St. Patrick’s Day? Of course not. But they will be able to look back at photos of it one day and see the adorable Snoopy-clad St. Patrick’s Day pajamas from Hanna Andersson that you dressed them in. Those holiday photo ops make a simple pair of PJs a gift that keeps giving.

There’s also a two-piece long john set in the same fun Peanuts print available from Hanna Andersson for older kids, and they come in adult sizes, too, so the whole family can get in the spirit of the holiday!

A Set Of Shamrock Mugs

Shamrock Mug Set

Belleek Group

From your kids’ teachers to your mother-in-law, your favorite neighbor, or even yourself, this shamrock-adorned mug set is a fun St. Patrick’s Day gift idea for the tea and coffee drinkers in your life. This set of two ivory-colored coffee mugs features a basketweave design with a hand painted sprig of green four-leaf clovers.

Each mug holds 8 ounces of liquid luck (or, you know, coffee and Irish cream) to celebrate the holiday in style. They’re microwave safe (for anyone who needs to reheat their cup of coffee for the fifth time) and can also be put in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.

A Rainbow Pop-It

Rainbow Fidget Pop

GLLBTPT

Does your child need yet another pop-it to add to their (already overwhelmingly large) collection? Not necessarily. But, you know they love them, so if you’re going to get them a St. Patrick’s Day gift anyway, you might as well get them an inexpensive toy that you know they’re going to play with for hours on end.

According to St. Patrick’s Day lore, leprechauns hide their pots of golden treasure at the end of the rainbow, so a rainbow-shaped pop-it is a cute choice for the holiday. These pop-its are made from non-toxic silicone and include 29 flexible bubbles to poke, prod, and pop back and forth from one side to the other.

A Leprechaun Beanie

Leprechaun Knit Beanie Hat

One Size Fits Most

Happy Hatter

If anyone in your life is in need of a St. Patrick’s Day gift that they can also wear out in the world to celebrate the holiday, consider this hilariously fun leprechaun beanie. Complete with red eyebrows and a sprig of shamrocks on top, it is just too cute to pass up.

The beanie is a one size fits most style with an opening that can stretch to accommodate various head sizes. The hat’s opening measures 21 inches around when not stretched. While this might not be the right fit for especially young kids, it would likely work just fine for older kids, teens, and adults alike.

A Clover Candle

Four Leaf Clover Medium Single-Wick Candle

DW Home

What’s better than a gift that smells good? A gift that smells good and is sparkly. This Four Leaf Clover candle from DW Home is one St. Patrick’s Day gift that is sure to (literally) brighten anyone’s day.

The candle is a glittery green color and features a clover scent with notes of sweet island willow, green sugarcane, white hyacinth, blonde woods, and citrus. One reviewer noted that it’s “entrancing to watch the glitter” as it sparkles, and another said the scent reminds her daughter of a trip to Ireland. One 9-ounce candle offers approximately 30 hours of burn time.

A St. Patrick’s Day Bath Bomb

Leprechaun Poop Bath Bomb

Bon Bon Bathhouse

If your kids have ever wondered what a leprechaun’s poop looks like, you can gift them the answer in the form of this fun St. Patrick’s Day bath bomb. I really don’t know what it is with kids and their love of all things poop-shaped these days, but for some reason, a poop-themed present is always good for a few laughs.

You can order these bath bombs from Etsy seller Bon Bon Bathhouse with or without glitter and even add a fun toy surprise (poop-shaped, naturally) inside for a dollar extra. Each green bath bomb is made from natural, non-toxic, kid-safe ingredients like epsom salt, vitamin E, and aloe vera.

A Mini Personalized Pub Sign

Personalized Name Irish Pub Sign

nefarmhousedesign

A personalized Irish pub sign is a sweet gift to give friends and loved ones this St. Patrick’s Day. Each sign is customized with the name and year of your choice and comes complete with a wooden frame in gray elm, dark walnut, or black. You can even add a traditional Irish prefix like “O” or “Mc” to the name to give it a real Irish feel.

Choose from a 4-inch square frame or slightly larger 5.5-inch square that’s perfect for decorating. They look cute set up on a shelf, the mantle, or as a fun addition to a St. Patrick’s Day-themed tier tray.

Read More

Why Does My Baby Have A Bald Spot On The Back Of Their Head? It's A Pretty Simple Reason

Baby snuggles are the best, especially when they’re still so tiny and have that "new baby smell," which is even better than a new car smell. While snuggling their babies, many moms may catch a glimpse of the back of their beautiful baby’s head and panic, wondering, "Why does my baby have a bald spot on the back of their head?"

Why Do Babies Have Bald Spots On The Back Of Their Heads?

Because babies spend so much time on their backs, they’re definitely prone to getting bald spots. Especially since, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, all babies should be put to sleep on their backs in an effort to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

But are babies with certain skin conditions more susceptible to getting bald spots? According to pediatrician Eboni Hollier, "The most common skin condition that may cause babies to get bald spots is cradle cap (also known as infantile seborrheic dermatitis). This is very common and is harmless — it's called dandruff in older children and adults," she says to Romper in an email.

However, in rare cases, ringworm of the scalp (also called tinea capitis) may be confused with cradle cap, Hollier warns. "It’s caused by a fungal infection, and while it’s possible for babies to get it, it occurs most often in children more than 2 years old." Thankfully, the hair usually grows back after treatment.

Not only can your baby have baldness from laying in the same position all the time, but it could be hormonal. According to pediatrician Alison Mitzner, "After birth, there is a change in hormones for both mom and baby, and because there is a drop in hormones, the baby can lose hair… this occurs in the first six months and is totally normal," she says in an email to Romper. "There may be other rare medical conditions that your pediatrician can rule out if there is any concern it is not a positional or hormonal cause."

Can You Prevent Your Baby From Getting A Bald Spot?

Hollier says you can prevent bald spots from happening (if the cause is positional) by "alternating your baby's head from either side during sleep" in order to prevent too much pressure in one particular area. "Doing this may prevent hair loss, as well as the head becoming flat in one area. When your baby is awake, allow her to spend lots of supervised time on her tummy (also called tummy time), and when your baby is not spending time on her tummy, hold her or carry her in a baby carrier — this also helps promote parent-baby bonding," she adds.

By 4 months, your baby should be able to lift their head on their own, and will also start trying to roll over. Because they aren’t stuck on their backs or having their head supported, this gives the hair time to grow back if it’s missing from being in one position for too long.

And Mitzner says once the baby is 6 months old, if the loss is due to hormones, hair loss decreases. Plus, they’ll start moving around more in their cribs, and not having their heads lay in one spot for too long. "Remember, your baby’s hair will start growing in soon after, and when it’s positional or hormonal, the balding is temporary."

So continue to enjoy your baby snuggles. With or without a bald spot, your baby is still totally the cutest.

Experts

Eboni Hollier, MD, pediatrician

Alison Mitzner, MD, pediatrician

Read More