Christmas traditions are big in my family. I love to make magical memories for us all to enjoy over the Christmas period to make it that little bit more special. From the way our Elf arrives at the beginning of December, to writing letters to Santa, to the way we celebrate Christmas Eve, it’s all …
Like all the moms out there, I have a stroller for transporting my little one around. But I have a few tricks up my sleeve to get the most use out of your stroller. Let’s start by checking out the stroller collection we have at home. Heavy Duty Stroller Our main stroller came as a …
School bells are ringing, the air is still muggy from summer, and everyone is trying to figure out this new routine. Why this is a surprise every year? We may never know. Between the time the first school bell rings and the time sleigh bells are ringing, it is so important to make time to …
So, you’ve got a room overflowing with baby junk and you have no idea where to start. As Julie Andrews would say, “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…” We will get your baby’s room in order in no time! It just takes 3 steps! Categorize. Prioritize. Organize. Categorize First …
The Difference Between Sizes 24 month, 2T & 2 Is my math right? Your little bitty baby is growing up quickly and is starting to outgrow their 18-month clothes….now what? You now have the choice of 24 month, 2T and 2? By my math, those are all the same thing, right? A two-year-old is 2 …
Top-Selling and Best Strollers When you have a baby or young child, you know how many different things you need to purchase to care for them. Cribs, diapers, diaper pails, mobiles, high chairs, clothing, bottles, pacifiers, special shampoos, playpens, all sorts of chairs or cradles with an array of features. And, of course, you also …
5 Awesome STEM Educational Apps for Learning About the Solar System I’m always on the lookout for apps that inspire children to explore. We can model for our children how to make sensible choices in regard to app selection and app use for lessons. Introducing a few space apps to your child’s app collection is a great way …
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Baby Shopping: Buying Guide for First-Time Parents Shopping for baby items can be an exciting time but if easy to find yourself getting carried away. There are the cute necessities, the tried and tested must-haves, and the items that cost the price of a trip abroad. It’s important when shopping for baby items that you …
Date Ideas for Mom and Daughter Having some one-to-one Mommy and Daughter time is not only important, it’s also a lot of fun. With the fast-paced lives we live these days it’s sometimes hard to slow down and really appreciate quality time with our loved ones. With work, running errands, meeting the needs of a …
When to Take Away Pacifier Out of my four children, all of them had to be broken from the pacifier. These steps have worked wonderful to successfully break the pacifier habit in my fourth child and were collected in my experience of breaking the older three children. My first child was by far the hardest …
Toddlers and Pacifiers – How to Get Rid of Pacifier Read More »
10 Tips for Kids Backpack Safety So, you’ve already bought your little one’s backpack, and that backpack now seems so very big. Turns out the hugeness of your baby’s backpack may not actually be an illusion. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, more than 79 million students in the United States carry a backpack …
Grandparents are so important in the lives of little ones. Whether they live right down the road or they reside farther away, spending time with grandparents is great for both the grandkids and the adults. The real question is: how can they NOT have a blast? After all, going to visit the grandparents is an …
Tips for a Great Sleepover or Playdate for Kids & Grandparents Read More »
Feeding Milestones for Babies Your baby’s first year is a wonderful time, with new things for you to marvel at every day. It’s a constant cycle of development and one of the big changes throughout the year is the change in your baby’s eating habits. Just think, your baby moves from liquid food at the …
Teen Depression Facts Are you aware of the basic facts about teenage depression? If you don’t, you need to arm yourself with them ASAP. Although depression is a serious mental illness, it is often overlooked in teens and passed off as erratic hormones which they will soon outgrow. According to research by JAMA, depression and …
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3 Dangerous & Poisonous Plants for Kids Some of the most beautiful indoor and outdoor plants are actually poisonous and dangerous to children. While consuming a single bite of some plants may not always produce symptoms worse than a stomachache, other plants can have much more serious effects. Poisoning can occur from more than just …
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Keep Your Kids Safe in Summer The school bell has rung, the pencils and notebooks have been packed, and the kids are ready for some summer fun! Children enjoy the hot summer months because they allow them to spend a lot of time outside. Swimming in the pool, hiking through the woods, long walks, or …
Helping Your Children to Learn to be Organized Teaching good habits is one of the things for which we as parents are responsible. In order to help our children to keep their own space well organized, we’re also responsible for providing the tools with which to accomplish that task. It’s normal that your child isn’t …
Decluttering a Child’s Room – Teaching Organization Read More »
Organizing Toys Recently over on Facebook, we asked our community what questions they most need answering when it comes to organizing toys in the home. I felt like some of my answers may end up too long for an Instagram story, so here they are in full… Toy rotation seems like a lot of effort. …
Toddlers love to help out around the house. One area that is easy for them to help with is laundry. Laundry can be one of those tasks that can feel quite mundane. However, with the help of a toddler it can go from a chore to an exciting new adventure. Below are 6 ways your …
Here are some ways to help teach compassion Compassion and kindness are traits that all parents wish to cultivate in their children. When you tell a child that compassion is “a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress combined with a desire to alleviate it,” their eyes will probably glaze over in confusion. Compassion can be difficult …
How to safely co-sleep with your baby For many years, co-sleeping has been shunned by mainstream parenting advisors for being dangerous, creating needy children, and having bad marriages. However, times are changing, which can only be a good thing. Co-sleeping is defined as sharing a sleeping space with your infant – whether they are in …
Ways for Baby And Toddler To Play I don’t know if it was because we miscarried before having Joy or if it was because my children were almost three years older than the last time we had a baby, but my children were very excited about Joy being born. Very excited. Once she was born, …
Teaching Siblings How to Play With Baby: 0-6 Months Read More »
Fine Motor Activity & Sensory Play with LEGO My children love playing with Lego. As you can probably tell by looking at my house. Imagine this scene: The children are gathered around their newest creation. Happily oblivious to the destruction in their future. A child looks up. “No! Stay away!” What could it be? What …
As a mom, I think of everything I need to remember and do. No wonder I have a hard time thinking! There’s too much to remember. Creating routines in my day helps to free up my mind for more important things. I believe everyone needs automatic routines in their life. But there is no doubt …
15+ Must Have Activities for A Mom’s Daily Routine and Some for Kids Too Read More »
Napping is essential – for me. I have to have a nap every day. One of my favorite saying is, I take back every nap I ever refused as a child. I need a nap. My children? Not so much. At least, they don’t seem to think so. Even when they sleep well they still …
Quiet Time: Help Your Kids to Relax and Re-energize Read More »
Teaching a child to ride without stabilizers I learned how to ride a bike the traditional way. My father ran next to me until I got going. After letting me go, I panicked and ran into a bush. I then refused to learn until my sister (who is three years younger than me) learned before …
How to Teach a Child to Ride a Bike With Almost Zero Effort on Your Part Read More »
Need some suggestions of great, fun games for teaching skills? In my work experience of teaching skills to families, I have learned the importance of fun games that also teach those crucial skills for social development, coping skills, and life skills! I learned quickly that fun games can build rapport, promote family-bonding, teach skills, and …
7 Great Games for Teaching Social, Coping, & Life Skills Read More »
Positive & Effective Ways to Discipline Your Children It’s so very easy to get overwhelmed with parenting – especially if we don’t have a plan. Finding simple tips for parenting that really work would definitely be win! So I will share with you that for my employment, I have done a lot of research into …
When You Hurt Someone I’m a big movie fan in addition to being a mental health counselor and wellness advocate. I was watching an old Alfred Hitchcock film called “Rich and Strange” one day when I was struck by what one of the characters said about love and relationships: This quote, I believe, encapsulates so …
Q: I have a one-month-old baby. All she wants to do is eat or be held. Is it normal for a child to need such constant attention? Your new baby is making a big adjustment to her new world. What a different world it is than the one she was in for the last nine …
The first week of breastfeeding is tough. Really tough, but so very worth it! I honestly believe that so many more women would breastfeed if they knew just how much better breastfeeding life gets once you just get through the first seven days. Your body (and boobs!) go through so much in the first week …
Panic Attacks in Children at Night I must admit that bedtime around here is usually met with the whines and whimpers of “but it’s not time yet?” or “Oh, I didn’t tell you about this” and most commonly, “I don’t want to go to bed because I don’t want to go to school tomorrow?”. Anxiety …
Date Ideas for Mother-Daughter. This past year, you probably spent more time with your children than you’ve ever had in your life. But is it always some good one-on-one quality time, or is it more something like “you go play while I do my work” kinda time? Having occasional mother-daughter, or dad-daughter date is a …
You’re not my mom! Have you ever heard that one? While my kids may not have said those words exactly, the message was there in other things they said or in ways they acted. When my husband, Tony and I first married, we were really conscientious of reinforcing with them that I was not replacing …
Challenges Fathers Face Raising A Daughter Every father faces psychological and cultural barriers on the way to full engagement in a daughter’s life. We must understand these hurdles to be effective fathers and stepfathers—or to work effectively with fathers and families. These hurdles may seem silly, unnecessary, or insignificant to others. But they are not …
Temper Tantrum Survival My 2 year old daughter is going through the typical stage of throwing tantrums on a regular basis. Whether she is frustrated with me, herself, or even and object she begins to throw out tantrums. I have been down this road 3 times before and probably due up again in another 2 …
The Fundamental Dynamics of Tantrums and How to Avoid Them Read More »
As parents, we sometimes struggle to understand our children’s perceived lack of motivation for the really important things in life, such as school work or physical fitness. Leaving you exasperated with what appears to be your lazy child. In fact, by pushing them into doing those things, you are likely to be met with resistance, …
As a internet professional, I am concerned when I hear about parents allowing their children unsupervised access to social media. It is critical that we, as parents, not only understand our children’s digital footprints, but also understand how each of these platforms works. Don’t be embarrassed to enroll in a class to learn the ins …
A List Of Basic Baby Bath Essentials Who doesn’t find a chubby cheek baby laughing and splashing in a bath full of bubbles too cute for words. When it comes to bathing your baby you only need a handful of baby bath items. Bathing techniques, accessories, and safety precautions evolve as infants progress through developmental …
How to Keep a Baby Cool in the Summer Summer is on it’s way and the last thing you want is for your baby to get too warm and become dehydrated. Herewith are 7 tips on how to keep your baby cool in summer. 1. A Cool Bedroom Sleeps Better If your baby’s room is …
