Helpful hints & tips Archives – The Pinterested Parent

Set Up Your Yard for a Backyard Camping Adventure (Guest Post)

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I have great memories of camping with my parents as child, but as I have gotten older the idea of lugging coolers & chairs into the woods & sharing a bathroom with a whole campground of strangers has somehow lost its appeal. Thanks to some great ideas in this guest post from Danielle from Modernize.com, you can enjoy the fun of camping without ever leaving your backyard.

Set Up Your Yard for a Backyard Camping Adventure

By: Danielle Hegedus

Via Modernize

Backyard camping is a great idea for families with young children (or parents) who aren’t 100% sure about camping. You get to enjoy the fun of being outside and sleeping beneath the stars, without having to worry about wild animals or having to use the bathroom outside.

While your kids may sulk about not being able to play video games or watch Netflix, get them excited about cooking outdoors, storytelling, fun glow-in-the-dark games, and if all else fails, start talking about the s’mores! Your enthusiasm will be contagious.

Follow these simple steps to make your backyard camping adventure a great success.

Clean Up Your Yard

Enlist your family’s help in getting your backyard ready for camping. Make sure your grass is freshly mowed. Attend to any potential pest problems like ant-hills and make sure the lawn is clear of animal waste.

Set Up Your Tent

Unless you think you’ll be camping in the woods relatively soon, you don’t have to worry about investing in an expensive tent right now. However a simple tent will give you a little bit of protection from mosquitoes and other pests that can quickly make sleeping outside miserable. Assembling a tent can also be challenging, so it’s a great opportunity to teach your children how to work as a team, and to practice before you go on a camping trip further away. That said, if the weather is nice, a plastic tarp or even a bed sheet strewn up between fence posts will suffice. If you don’t have sleeping bags, try using an air mattress or pool floats (we’re not picky).

Don’t Forget the Food!

Even though you’re close to your kitchen, try to pack foods that you could make in the outdoors. You probably don’t want to start a campfire, but a small charcoal grill is great for grilling hot dogs and melting marshmallows for s’mores. Bring some healthy snacks like baby carrots or peanut butter and crackers to quell late night hunger pangs. Make sure that everyone has clear responsibilities when it comes to the food. For instance, who is managing trash? Who is packing up leftovers? These simple tasks will help your children learn responsibility and make your camping adventure that much easier.

Tell Spooky Stories

Part of the fun of camping is passing around the flashlight to tell scary stories. Encourage your kids to use their imagination to invent or recall their favorite ghost story. If scary stories will keep your kids from sleeping, consider sharing funny stories about your childhood. Your kids will be interested in hearing about your past camping trips or what you were like when you were their age. You could also sing songs, just be careful not to drive your neighbors crazy!

Play Games

Sure, your family may love cornhole or Jenga, but you can play those games anytime. Make the most of your time outdoors at night with games like flashlight tag or glow in the dark water balloons! If you’d rather stay dry, wrap glow-in-the-dark tape around inexpensive hula hoops that can be used for giant ring toss or hopscotch.

In addition to not having to pack your car or navigate community showers, taking your family on a backyard camping adventure this summer will raise money for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Sign up for the Great American Campout and NWF supporters will donate $1 to the fund for every participant up to $100,000. What are you waiting for?

For more ideas and inspiration, head to Modernize.com.

Mon
09 ^th

7 Fun Cleaning Day Activities For Kids

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When you have a toddler, cleaning your home is not always the easiest thing to do. Having an only child, I am in charge of my daughter’s entertainment, so when I am busy, she wants my attention. Today our house needed a good cleaning, but Mai wanted to play.

On Cleaning Day, there is a lot of potential for fun. Here are some fun activities for your kiddos while you clean.

1. Cushion Mountain- Is it time to clean your sofa cushion covers? While they are in the washer, pile up your cushions in a safe, clear area & let them have some fun.

2. Let Them Help Out- We may not like our chores, but give a kid a broom and they are tickled pink. There are many chores your child can help you with, sweeping, dishes or wiping down tables.

3. Loose Parts Play- Cleaning out a junk drawer or throwing out other odds & ends around the house? Give them to your child to play with, provided that they are clean & safe. Playing with loose parts is a fabulous way for a child to work their imaginations.

4. Sheet Forts- Are you stripping your bed to make way for clean sheets? Use your dirty sheets to make a monster sheet fort.

5. Laundry Basket Or Hamper Fun- Laundry day is always fun for our daughter. Kids love to jump into an empty laundry basket. Our daughter has a pink collapsible hamper. When it is empty she likes to pretend that she is Sheriff Callie & ride it like a horse. “Giddy up, Sparky!”

6. Obstacle Course- If you clean the house anything like me, you tear it apart & trash it before you put it back together. With all the moved tables & chairs, cushions & laundry baskets lying around, it is a great opportunity to build an obstacle course. Climb over the ottoman, jump over a broom, crawl under the play table and climb your cushion mountain to victory.

7. Imaginary Beach- Before you throw those sheets and blankets in the washing machine, lay them down on the floor for some imagination play. We placed a blanket down for our water & a sheet for our sand. We broke out a few shovels & beach toys and our daughter’s mind did the rest. Lunchtime? Let them have a beach picnic.

You don’t need to wait for cleaning day to enjoy these activities. These are fun on any day. I have to admit that I stopped cleaning to join in on some of the fun too. Before we put our couches back together, we let our princess do one more thing. The princess did not feel the pea on her royal bed, but then again I had just swept the floor. Happy cleaning.

Thank you as always for stopping by. Please follow us on Facebook as well.

Tue
30 ^th

A Potty Training Dilemma

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When you are pregnant, there are things that you prepare yourself for before the baby comes. You know that you will have sleepless nights, you know that there will be crying & you know that you will change dirty diapers. What you might not realize is that those sleepless nights can last for days, that the crying continues even in to the toddler years & that your child can produce an obscene amount of poop.

When my daughter was an infant, I barely fastened the straps on her diaper before she started pushing out her next poop. When we left the house, we were armed with a diaper bag filled with extra diapers & 3 changes of clothing. Many public poops ended with wet feces that shot up my daughter’s back & soaked through her clothing. As a new mommy, I would frantically try to remove her clothing without covering her hair & face with her own bowel movements, while wiping her butt & back clean and getting her in a new diaper before she went again. Let’s not even talk about bath time, which became dubbed as poop soup. As she got older, I was relieved that diaper changes got easier. Messy blow-outs were a thing of the past.

Enter the potty training era. We have had a very successful month with toilet training. Mai now strictly pees in the potty & takes great pride in wearing her big girl undies. The problem is that she is still afraid to do the dreaded number 2 in the potty. When a poop is brewing, she dives for her nearest hiding spot. Anywhere out of reach will do, under her tea table, in her cardboard playhouse, under her safety stool. Finding that unreachable spot is not enough though. She must barricade herself in by pulling toys, boxes, pillows and chairs around her to keep her safe. “Don’t look at me, mama.”

We have been trying to give her a gentle nudge to the toilet. We were successful in getting her to sit on her potty one day, but it ended in pooptastrophe as she had a change of heart halfway through & stood up and tried to diaper herself. I will spare you the messy details.

Since that day, I have backed off a bit. She didn’t poop for days after the incident, so we needed to take some of the anxiety off of her. When she is ready to poop, she asks for a diaper. I change her into one & then she heads to her favorite poop spot. Mai has accompanied me to many bathroom trips lately, so that she can see that it is no big deal. She is not quite convinced. Has anyone else encountered this & what did you find that was successful for you?

Tue
21 ^st

Toddler Cold Remedies

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*This post contains affiliate links*

It has been a vicious 4 weeks in our home. The change of season has brought a lot of beauty, fall treats & fun things to do, but it has also brought with it a collection of colds, stomach bugs & other viruses. Let the passing around of illnesses begin. Until I can find a giant bubble on Amazon or matching hazmat suits, it is inevitable that we will continue to get sick as the cooler weather approaches.

This week our daughter was sick for the 3rd time within the past few weeks. She has had a rough run of it & so have mommy and daddy. The difference is we can take medicine to alleviate our symptoms. There are not many options over the counter for a toddler, but there are things that you can do to remedy your young one’s symptoms.

Fluids: Keeping them hydrated is essential. Fever, vomiting or diarrhea can cause dehydration. Give them water or 100% fruit or vegetable juices.

Rest: Our poor little toddler’s bodies are working so hard when they are sick that they need the extra sleep to get better. Of course as we all know, if a toddler does not want to sleep they won’t. Books, videos and cuddle time are a great way to get them to relax.If you are lucky they will doze off somewhere in between.

Garlic: When I was sick as a child, my father used to make me hold a clove of garlic between my teeth. He said that it had healing properties. Turns out he was right. I am not so sure if holding it between the teeth will work, but eating it certainly will. If your child has an appetite, add a little fresh minced garlic to their meal.

Vapor Rub: Vapor rub is wonderful for clearing a stuffy nose. Do not apply too close to the face. When our daughter caught her first cold I read that you should apply the rub to the feet instead of the chest. I did it & then tried it on myself the next time I was sick. It worked great. Our daughter loves Vicks. She asks for it even when she is not sick, of course mommy has to say no.

Humidifier: Every home should have one of these. A cool mist humidifier can help ease many cold symptoms. Running one while they sleep can help the little one breath better and control coughs.

Honey: Raw honey has a number of health benefits. It can be used on skin ailments & it can be used to help cold symptoms. It is a great alternative to cough syrup. If your child is resistant to take a spoonful like mine is, sneak it into their juice or try a peanut butter & honey sandwich.

Ball Syringe: Have your child blow their nose as much as possible to clear out all of the mucus. Too much mucus can lead to post nasal drip which will irritate their throat more. Teach them not to suck it back in. If they let you, use a ball syringe to clear out the mucus.

Chicken Soup: Every mama’s favorite cold cure is hot chicken soup. Studies have proven that this is not just an old wives tale.

Popsicles: The frozen treats are fun to eat & will help sooth their little sore throats. Try to stick to bars that are 100% fruit juice.

Elevation: There is a reason that your child’s cough & sniffles always seem worse at night. Staying propped up will keep the nasal passages clear.

Don’t forget to give plenty of hugs, kisses & cuddles while your precious little ones heal.

Thank you as always for stopping by. Please follow us on Facebook as well.

Sun
24 ^th

Yes, My Daughter Wears Hand-Me-Downs

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Do you remember when you first found out you were pregnant? The anticipation to welcome your new little family member was overwhelming. There were so many things to do & buy before you brought home your new little bundle. If you were like me, you started brainstorming for themes for the nursery right away. You chose the perfect pattern & needed to compliment it with just the right furniture & paint. It would all be added to your baby registry of course. You saw a million adorable outfits & you wanted to buy every one. After your baby shower you came home with enough loot to last you what looked like a lifetime. It did not last a lifetime. It was more like 1 one year & 4 months. After your baby out grew all those beautiful outfits that you received (half of which never even got worn) & you packed up all those infant toys, it was time to hit the mall for new clothes, shoes, toys, books, etc, etc, etc… Cha ching!! Holy Crap, having a kid is expensive.

Right now my daughter is wearing high waters because she has outgrown most of her pants almost overnight. Thank goodness it is summer & we can pass them off as capris. With their little bodies growing out of clothes every few months & their interests changing almost as quickly as they learn, it could bankrupt a mommy & daddy. Luckily, there are ways to cut costs..

1. Hand-me-downs: If you are lucky enough to have a friend that is willing to give you their children’s old clothes, TAKE THEM. Hand me downs are one of the greatest things you can give to a mommy. We have clothes, toys, books & videos that have been handed down from assorted friends & family members. I have taken many hand-me downs & given many as well. As long as it is new to them, kids don’t care whether it was bought new.

2. Tag Sales: If you don’t go to tag sales you should. Tag saling is just fun. There is something about finding a great deal that makes you feel like you just uncovered a buried treasure. This is a great place to find kid’s stuff. You can find clothes with tags still on them & great toys & books for just cents. Our town just had a town-wide tag sale. We went this weekend. My daughter was in paradise. We left with a few treasure for her & even something for mommy,

3. The library: Our whole house is over-run with books. Our daughter loves to read & so do my husband and I. We would go broke buying new books all the time. That is why I love the library. Many libraries even have a kid section with a seating area & toys. Our local library has a Lego table that will entertain my daughter for hours. I pick out books for the whole family while my daughter happily plays away. Here is the best part, it is all free. How can you beat that?

4. Cut coupons & look for sales: I am not going to lie, I am terrible at cutting coupons. I am good at looking for great deals though. I have found amazing things on clearance. Buy out of season clothing for the following year, this is especially great for items such a winter coats which tend to be pricier.

5. Second hand stores: Do not scoff at thrift shops & second hand stores, if you are willing to take the time to poke, you can find great deals. There are even some stores that only deal in children’s items, such as Once Upon A Child. They sell everything. You can find gently used toys, furniture & other must haves such as strollers & pack n plays for dirt cheap.

6. Group Exchange: If you are Facebook or any other type of social media, I am sure that you have seen some sort of a children’s group exchange. People post photos of their old kid’s items & sell them at a reasonable rate.

7. Pick free activities: We love going on fun family outings with our daughter, but it can get expensive. If you are a family on a budget, pick activities that do not require any money. Take a trip the park, go to a local pond or lake, as I said before the library offers a lot of fun options.

8. DIY: If you or your husband are crafty or are able to sew, knit, quilt or build, Do It Yourself is always a great way to go. We are lucky enough that our mother in law both sews & quilts. She has made us sheets, clothes, washing mitts & one beautiful ABC quilt that I keep trying to get her to reproduce & sell on Etsy.

9. Recycling Toys & Books: There is no need to keep buying new toys & books. Pack away toys & books and rotate them. After they have been out of sight for a while they become new and exciting again.

Tonight I am enjoying a fun family night playing the Ants in the Pants game that I bought for 50 cents at a tag sale & then following it up by reading good night stories from the library .

Fri
22 ^nd

What Daycare Teaches An Only Child

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When we made the decision to start a family, it never occurred to me that we might only have one child. In every day dream that I ever had there were always two children. I saw my husband carrying a little girl on his shoulders while I held a little boy’s hand. Of course they were perfect well behaved children & we were all full of smiles walking together hand in hand. After our daughter was born, I woke up from that dream. After what seemed like endless sleepless nights & a colicky infant that cried constantly, we started to rethink baby #2.

Things eventually began to get easier, the cries slowed down, our baby began to sleep through the night & I began talking to my husband about baby #2. His mind had not changed. We went back and forth with it, named off the pros and cons and even asked for opinions here on my blog. It was a hard sell, but after a lot of convincing the day finally came and we began to try to get pregnant. We were not successful. With my advanced age and some medical issues, it seemed that my dreams for a second baby came to an end.

Even though my husband & I were perfectly happy with being parents to our one sweet little girl, there were some concerns about her being an only child. I worried about how it would affect her socially. Would she be spoiled from always being the center of attention? Would she learn how to share? These were definitely valid concerns as I already noticed that Mai had problems in dealing with organized events & classes she was in involving other children.

We recently started her in daycare a couple times a week. Even though it still pains me to send her off to day care, I know that it will be beneficial to her. Being an only child there is much that she can learn from this environment.

1. Sharing: Our daughter came home from daycare the other day and said to me “Mama the kids took my toys.” This made me sad for a moment and then as horrible as this sounds, it made me smile. While the kids were not actually taking the toys out of her hands, she still thought they were taking them from her because in her mind all of the toys are hers. Other than the occasional play date, she has seldom had to share. She has free reign over a houseful of toys daily.

2. Patience: At home when our daughter wants something she is attended to right way or at least pretty quickly. She is not accustomed to waiting. With several other children to attend to, her daycare provider is not always at her instant beck & call. At daycare she is not the center of the universe. She needs to wait until it is her turn.

3. Learned behaviors: This can be a good thing and a bad thing as she may also pick up bad behavior, but socializing with other child especially of an older age can be a great learning tool. For instance, my daughter has a difficult time sitting still in her seat & eating, but at daycare we get a report back each day that she sat & ate almost everything on her plate at each meal & snack. I was amazed. Our provider explained that at first she was resistant pushing her plate away as she often does at home, but when the other children continued to eat & talk, she joined in. Hopefully she can take some potty training cues.

4. Basic socialization: We talk with our child all the time, but it is not quite the same as interacting with her peers. After 2 1/2 years of mostly talking to mommy, daddy & nanna, she is now able to chat with children her own age. Today she told me all about her new friend Colton & how he really likes bears, but is still afraid of them too. Oh, the conversations they must have.

5. Dealing With Conflict: All of my friends that have multiple children have kids that fight like cats & dogs. They love each other. They hate each other. They beat up on each other. Having only our daughter I feel that we shield her from far too much sometimes. After daycare the other day, our daughter told us, “Colton hurt me.” What happened? “Colton pushed me.” I checked with the provider to make sure that it was nothing serious. She assured me that nothing concerning happened, but then I learned that they also got into a verbal argument over a picture in a book. One was certain that the picture was of a boy, the other thought it was a girl. Neither backed down. Debates, conflict, differences of opinion are a part of life & something that should be introduced early. The longer you shield your children from these things the harder it will be for them to deal with at a later age.

I am enjoying listening to all of Mai’s new experiences. She is loving her days with her new friends & is learning a lot along the way.

Fri
25 ^th

Choosing A Daycare

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I was extremely fortunate that after the birth of our daughter I was able to take a year off from work & stay home with her during such a crucial period in her life. It offered me the opportunity to be there for all of those beautiful milestones that I might have otherwise missed out on. It gave me the ability to nurse her for a full year, to take daily naps with her, to grow our bond & to just soak up every second of her short infanthood even with all of its difficulties. What was even luckier than that was when I was ready to re-enter the workforce I had a mother-in-law that was willing to take on our child care responsibilities.

Under her Nanna’s care, Mai flourished. Together they would read books, go the park & library, do puzzles and built forts. Our daughter is bright, imaginative, caring and so happy & I know that it is largely in part of her time with her Nanna. There was only one thing missing during these past 2 1/2 years, social interaction. Sure we would play with her friends on occasion, but being an only child I found that Mai lacked a certain understanding in regard to waiting her turn, not always being the center of attention and sharing.

When we made the decision to put her in daycare a couple of days a week, I am not going to lie it freaked me out. It still is and she hasn’t even started yet. Being the helicopter mom that I am, I am extremely paranoid about entrusting my heart to a stranger. Choosing a daycare has been very stressful. I found that many were full or that they didn’t have the days available that I needed or the hours did not work with our schedule. Then I also found that I myself had reasons that I did not like the facilities. When you are picking a place that it going to be caring for your most precious of packages, you better be sure. It turns out I found one that I liked. I interview with them next week.

Here is my checklist in finding a daycare…

1. Figure out what is most important when choosing a facility. Is it distance, cost, curriculum, # of children? For me I wanted her to be in a smaller more intimate daycare where there was more attention to each child & the same educational values as we have with her at home.

2. Make sure that they are licensed & accredited. You can find this info online by state. Believe me that I stalked each daycare to make sure they were legit.

3. What hours do they operate? Is there a fee if you run behind? I discovered that many of the daycares hours were outside of our needs. With my husband and I’s schedules we would have to juggle a few things to make it work. What I did not realize is that some places will charge you an additional fee for picking up your child even a few minutes late.

4. Do they have a set nap schedule? This is something you should find out ahead of time. Mai is on a nap as she gets tired schedule. Many daycares have a set nap schedule. If you are thinking of putting your munchkin in daycare you might want to start them on a mid-day nap schedule right away to make the adjustment.

5. How many children do they have & how many workers? I opted for a smaller home based daycare. The one I am interviewing with next week only has 4 children at a time.

6. What kind of activities do they do? I was pretty certain that I found a winner when I saw all of the things that this child care professional did with the children. She puts a lot of focus on nature activities, does nature walks, lots of crafts and alphabet & number lessons. When I saw the photos on her site, it looked like things that I would do with Mai.

7. Meet the caretaker in person & check out the facility. This I will do next week. We have spoken several times on the phone.

8. What is the daily menu for meals and snacks? If it is Pop Tarts and Spaghetti Os 5 days a week than it is not for me.

9. Do they have a policy on toilet training. We are still in the process of potty training. We have taken a more natural approach and have been doing it slowly. Some daycares will not accept a child that is still in diapers. Be sure to find this out up front.

10. Don’t be afraid to ask a million questions. If they don’t want to answer then you probably do not want them there anyways.

Wed
21 ^st

Dining Out With Your Toddler

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It is Friday night. You are out to a romantic dinner with your main squeeze. You are sipping wine and gazing into each other’s eyes…then suddenly out of nowhere a small head pops up from the booth behind you and tries to hand you a half-eaten roll. Meet my daughter ladies and gentleman.
Dining out with a toddler can be difficult. If you are one of those mothers that was blessed with a child that can amuse him/herself for 2 hours with a sugar packet & a straw, you are one of the lucky ones. I am not so fortunate. My daughter is a ticking time bomb. The countdown starts as soon as we walk in the door. Let the countdown begin…

1-10 minutes: We are usually still in the safe zone. She is looking around and taking in the new faces, noises and atmosphere. We are still smiling and hopeful that we will have a good meal. I agonize over what to order her. What will she actually eat? I order the most fattening thing on the menu because it doesn’t matter, I won’t be able to eat it anyways.

10-20 minutes: The table is covered in salt & pepper & her pretty new dress has a lovely brown wet spot on it from her trying to drink her chocolate milk with a spoon. I am not ready to break into my bag of dinnertime entertainment yet. It is too soon. I beg the waitress to quickly bring out a fruit cocktail.

20-30 minutes: Dinner is served. As my daughter’s decibel level rises, so do the other diner’s heads. I am remembering being one of those glaring people before I had our daughter. I remember saying or thinking, “Why can’t they keep their child quiet?” Now as I eat my dinner, I also eat those words.
Perhaps during the dinner, Mai will make a statement such as “Poop is not good for supper. Jellybeans are good for supper.” The couple at the table next to us looks over at us. I assure them that I do not feed my daughter poop. I bribe my daughter with fruit snacks to take a bite of her food.

30-40 minutes: Where is our waitress? Did she go home? Mai starts sliding under the booth. I break out more fruit snacks & pull out some books from my bottomless purse.
Mommy: “Do you want to color?”
Mai: “No, not yet.”
Mommy: “Sit down & you can have more fruit snacks.”
Mai: “No fruit snacks anymore.” “What’s that?” “I go there.”

40-50 minutes: Seriously where is our waitress? The clock is ticking down. My two year old gets increasingly more agitated. She tries to wriggle past me to run after the fan she sees in the corner of the restaurant.
“Fan goes round! Fan goes round!”
No Mai, you have to stay here.
“NOOOOOOOOO!”
Uh oh! We are running out of time. Quick cut the blue wire or is it the red one?
“Mai, do you want to play with Mommy’s phone?”
“Yeeeeeeaaaah!”
Ahhhh. Disarmed….phew!

Always be prepared when you are dining out with your child. Pack snacks, a favorite cup, a change of clothes, crayons, toys, books and in a pinch a smart phone pre-loaded with child friendly apps and games can come in handy. Bon Appétit.

Fri
04 ^th

Potty Training Methods & Tips

Posted by Pinparent — 9 Comments

Today was an exciting day in our home. Today our daughter reached another milestone. She peed in her potty for the first time. Let me be more specific, she peed on the potty for the first time after telling us that she had to. While she still has a way to go this was a huge step for us.
As most parents of a child in diapers know, there will come the time where you will need to start potty training. As much as you may be sick of changing diapers, the idea of starting the potty training process may be a little scary. There are so many methods and tricks that parents use, it is hard to know which one will work best for you and your family. Every child is different, so what works for one child may not work for another.

“The Monkey See, Monkey DooDoo”
Children learn by watching. They especially love mimicking our actions. Show your child how you use the potty. My daughter comes to the bathroom with me and will tell me “Mama, mama has poo poo in the bum.” Just pee pee baby. I’m just going pee pee.

“Potty Boot Camp”
Pick a free weekend and spend the weekend in the bathroom with your child, some toys , books and their potty. Keep your child in either training underwear or go bottomless. If you see signs of them having to pee or poop or if they are in the process, direct them to their little toilet. I have known friends of mine to have great success in a short time using this method.

“Read All About It”
There are so many different potty training books out there. Everyone Poops is probably the most popular and famous of these toddler stories. One of my daughter’s favorites is “Potty Time”. It is a cute little story with an audio flush feature that my daughter loves. At the end there is a nice potty chart to keep track of their progress.

“The Wait & Pee”
You may not be in a rush to get your child out of diapers. What is the rush really? When your toddler is ready they will tell you. My daughter started being verbal about having poop in her diaper around the time that she turned 2. She understood this without very little pushing from us. She picked up on poop & pee just from us discussing it during diaper changes and such.

“Web Training”
I actually picked this up from another blogger. She was offering a review for a potty training app & it piqued my curiosity. We downloaded this app to our daughters Nabi Tablet & she loves it. She cheers every time the animals go potty & she loves the music too. The app she uses is called Potty Training: Learning Animals, but there are many others out there.

“Potty Champion”
Who doesn’t love being rewarded or praised? Offering incentives, prizes and praise after a successful potty experience can be all the motivation your little one needs. Our daughter received a little piece of chocolate after today’s success. You can try keeping a potty chart where they earn stickers or ribbons too.

“Potty Here, Potty There, Potty Everywhere”
Try putting the potty where your child resides the most during training. Move it into the living room and let them get comfortable with it. My daughter will sit on the potty in lieu of her chair. When she wants to sit on the potty, we take off her diaper & let her sit. If they pee or poop, tell them “Good Job” for pooping or peeing. Keep a package of wipes handy.

“The Renaissance Trainer”
Have you ever done so much research on something that in the end you were not sure which option to take? Well that’s me. So what do you do? Try them all. We have dabbled a little bit in all of the above.

I am in no rush to have my baby grow up too quickly, but she is starting to get the hang of it on her own. She will get there in time.

Look for the signs of readiness: http://www.babycenter.com/0_potty-training-readiness-checklist_4384.bc

Remember to be patient with your child.

Don’t get frustrated. You do not want your child to feel negatively about potty training.

Be prepared for accidents and messes.

Get a fun potty. Ours sings a little song whenever pee pee hits it.

Please feel free to share your potty training advice, tips and anecdotes.
Good Luck & happy potty training.

Mon
10 ^th

Who Needs Toys – Playtime Made Easy

Posted by Pinparent — 23 Comments

You always hear people joke that you don’t need to buy young children expensive toys because all they end up wanting to play with is the box. This is no joke. There is no truer statement. Toddlers are easy; they can find the fun in anything. Their little spongy minds are absorbing and exploring everything. Things as simple as the box, are still new and fascinating territory for them. At 2 years old, my daughter is past the excitement of the box, but still has a taste for the simpler things in life.
We have more toys in this house than we know what to do with. Between the play kitchen, Little People Villages & Twisty Tracks, she should have enough to keep her occupied until she is in her teens, but as kids tend to do, she gets bored of these things very quickly. There are many things that you can do to occupy your child’s day without the use of fancy toys.

Here are some simple and fun things for your child to do.

Water play

It doesn’t get much simpler than this. This is one of my favorite activities to give my daughter while I am cooking or doing dishes. Lay out a towel & fill a large container half way with water and add some measuring cups & spoons. Here my daughter told me she is making coffee.

Chick Peas, Beans & Rice

Similar to above, I have a container of chickpeas & colored rice set aside just for play. It is amazing how long my daughter will play with them. She will count them out & transfer them from cup to cup.

Couch Cushion Fun

My daughter has a lot of energy. She loves to jump & is always throwing herself on the ground for some odd reason. Take your couch cushions off the couch & place them on the floor & let your child roll around on the pile of pillows.

Stringing Pasta

Pasta necklaces are an old classic. This requires a little bit of hand – eye coordination. Mai strung up the 3 shown below & told me that it was the mama pasta, daddy pasta & baby pasta.

Read, read & read some more

We spend about a half hour before bed reading books every night, but books are not just for bedtime. We often read to our daughter while she is eating to keep her firmly planted in her chair during her meal. Many times even if my daughter insists that she does not want a story, if I just start reading she will eventually jump up on my lap.

Bubble Wrap

We order from Amazon a lot, I mean a lot. Bubble wrap comes with most of these packages. I think that bubble wrap is fun for small children and adults alike. Who doesn’t love popping that stuff?

Blanket forts

Being that mommy is always cold, even in the summer, we have blankets all over the house. Mai loves it when we make forts over the couch. “Mommy, play in the fort toooooooo?” Definitely! Here she is reading with a flashlight under her fort.

Song & Dance

My daughter loves music. She has been dancing as long as she has been walking. She also loves to sing songs with mommy & daddy. Don’t underestimate the power of music.

Red Light, Green Light & other games

My daughter loves running around our house in circles. I had to teach her Red light, Green light just to catch my breath in between chases. Pheeew! Also try Simon Says or Hide and Seek.

Get outside

If your toddler is like mine, then he or she loves to run free. Take them outside, weather permitting & let them run & jump and play. Here is Mai walking the track at the Relay for Life in memory of her grandmother & namesake.

Color & Draw

I have an unlimited supply of poster board in our home. My daughter loves to doodle & color. She also loves when we draw for her too. She & I will lie on the floor and she will ask me to draw pictures of caterpillars & horses. She has a vivid imagination. She creates different scenarios for these pictures. Here Mai asked Mama to draw a mama & dada spider. She said that they were both sick & needed medicine.

Stacking boxes

I love stacking boxes & have quite a few sets strewn all over the house. My daughter shares my love for them. She likes piling them up & placing them inside of one another.

Styrofoam & Yarn

Seriously! Yarn sticks to styrofoam. If you are like me & have styrofoam cones laying around this is a great busy activity.

What easy & simple activities do you have for you & your toddler. I would love to hear.

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