I simply love these baby showers. Absolutely inspirational, don't you agree?
Offer an array of objects and props that support your child's world of make-believe. Put together prop boxes for your kids with three of four props that help get your child's play theme under way. Then, as the child's interest dwindles, add another theme-related item to re-stimulate the play. After a trip to the fire station, provide a fire truck, a helmet, and a piece of hose. Later, add a walkie-talkie, and a toy ambulance. Go to the library together and find a book about fire fighters.
Grocery Store
Kids are natural collectors. Make collecting more exciting by helping your child display a collection in a fun and unique way.
Yet another play food, this time, from Treasures for Tots.
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Now, who doesn't love cookies?! Everyone loves cookies! Especially little chefs, and these from bug bites play food are super easy, fun & infinite variations are out there for color & design combinations. Have fun!
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If you are a parent who takes your toddler or preschool aged child to an after school class, be it ballet, music, gymnastics, or an academic preschool, and you do so because you believe this schedule will provide the best brain-enriching experiences, you might want to re-consider. Instead, or in addition, do what you can to support your child's imaginative play by offering space, uninterrupted time, and props to enhance that play.
After taking your child to the fire station, realize that he will best absorb and make sense of the experience if he can reenact it in imaginary play. Preschoolers who spend more time in dramatic play are more advanced not only in general intellectual development, but also in their ability to concentrate for long periods of time.
Some parents seem skeptical that play, which looks to some like merely a pleasant pastime, can really be the most intellectually stimulating activity that children do. Parents need to understand that there is a big difference between how they and young children learn. For instance, if you are curious about what a doctor does in his work, you ask questions and read to gain an understanding of his occupation. Your preschooler doesn't learn as you do. After a visit to the doctor, he needs to reenact the experience. You help out by providing a doctor's kit and then just watch as your child relives through play the visit to the doctor's office. And don't be surprised if you are recruited to be the patient!
When siblings recreate a trip to Mom's office, they work together remembering what they experienced, thus building their memory. They'll pretend to use a copy machine, scanner, and laptop computer.
Other benefits of imaginative play.
Pretend play not only enhances intellectual development, but also exercises all facets of the developing child. Here's how:
I love how Nap Time Journal turned this tote bag into a portable art centre for kids. They also share other uses for the bag. A must-read indeed.
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Learn how to create plush alphabet characters on Chez Beeper Bebe.
Grab their tutorial:
DOWNLOAD PLUSH ALPHABET TUTORIAL
Fit magnets at the back, and turn them into fridge magnets for your young one to play with, or stitch yourself a simple sackbag and hold them together. Either ways, it's a whole lot of fun!
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Young children don't learn merely by observing life around them; they use all their sense and motor ability to learn about the world. When they see a ball, they want to feel it, taste it, listen to the noises it makes, determine how it moves, and smell the material it is made of. Then they want to watch the ball knock things over and ricochet off floors and walls. When they are about 18 months old, they check to see your reaction to the ball bouncing off windows, floors, walls, and stairwells. Are you going to respond with horror, interest, exasperation, or glee?
Toddlers are on the go with no inner controls, and they like to make things happen. They pull strings to make lights go on and off, push buttons to turn the TV on and off, and turn dials to hear music louder and then softer. There will be many days when you wish your toddler had come with a pause button of his own, and you could push it for just 5 minutes.
Toddlers are so busy exploring the world around them; no parent can take an eye off them for even a second. 18 month old children are little scientists and psychologists testing their hypotheses about such substances as water, milk, and juice, and then watching the parent's reaction as they deliberately spill that substance on the floor.
Most kids are generous; they are usually more willing to pitch in and help raise money for a good cause. One fun way to raise money, is to take part in some kind of '-thon.' A read-a-thon, a bike-a-thon, a walk-a-thon, it really does not matter. What matters is that the proceeds go to a good cause!
Easy-peasy tutorial results in this absolutely gorgeous smock for your little artist. The tutorial allows you to create a smock in any size you choose to fit your child.
Craft Passion shares this oh-so-gosh tutorial with us that we're certain every child and adult would LOVE to have.
Let's say your 10 year old is tempted to steal a pack of gum from a convenience store, but doesn't. What stops him? Is it the fear of being caught and getting into trouble with the store owner, the police, and you? Or does he stop because he knows it is wrong to take something that doesn't belong to him?
Regardless of the reason, it is his conscience that keeps him from slipping the gum into his pocket. The conscience tells him to do what's right, even when no one is watching. Developing a conscience does not just happen. Kids do not acquire control over their impulses without teaching, interference, and limits from parents and other significant adults.
Many parents quite naturally go about building their children's conscience. If you are not sure you are doing an effective job and don't want to leave the process to chance, there are two emotions which can help you guide your child.
Pride
Let your children know what brings you pride. When any of your kids do something that in your eyes is right, let him see the adoration and approval on your face. Then underline your pride with words.
When your preschooler, without a reminder, carries his plate from the table to the counter after dinner, complement him. When you exhibit pride in such situations, your child learns that helping and responsibility are right.
As children grow older, they no longer need to hear your approval, they feel pride in doing what is right all on their own. The power of parental pride transfers from parent to child. They do what is right automatically; it is the positive voice of their conscience talking.
Guilt
When your child does something you believe is wrong, reprimand him. Inflict a little guilt. Guilt imposes an uneasy feeling that relates to parental disapproval. Don't however paralyze your child with guilt. Use it in small and appropriate doses, building a healthy conscience.
Parents have the power to use pride and guilt to teach children right from wrong. Use your power wisely and responsibly. Keep your expectations realistic. Realize you'll need to teach lessons of right and wrong over and over again.
Do you make a conscious effort to build up your child's conscience? If so, what are your secrets?
KID’S REPUBLIC in Beijing has an activity room on the first floor and a children’s bookstore on the second floor. The activity room on the first floor is a rainbow-like space created with 12 colorful ribbons of different perimeters. Activities like story-telling and animation shows are periodically held here.
7-year-old named Julian drew an idea to fix the Spirit Mars rover. His drawing impressed NASA such that they're trying the idea, and sending him an award for ingenuity. Rumours are that Mars Rover engineers say they can't implement Julian's suggestion, for several technical reasons.
Turn your re-cyclables into an atomic starburst. All you will need are:
Get this adorable printable bookplate from dhbuscher.com. Originally created for her friend's book (baby) shower, this pdf of Bookworm Bookplates is for you to download and print.
You can either print on regular cardstock and use doublesided tape to adhere to the book or you can print this straight to label paper. Enjoy!
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Today's disciplinary panacea is a technique known as "time out." Many parents feel frustrated with time outs as they seldom result in better behaviour.
So, what exactly is time out?
Here's how it typically works. A young child misbehaves by hitting, grabbing, screaming, throwing objects, or talking back. The parent, then sets the child in a designated spot for a period of time. This could be on the stairs in the hallway, on a chair facing the corner of the kitchen, or in the child's bedroom.
And time out is meant to work, because... ?
The theory behind the discipline is that the child will not like sitting on the chair or being alone, so this will stop the hitting, grabbing, etc...
If such time outs result in improved behaviour, all is good and well; using the time out method for discipline was effective. If, however, such periods of isolation evoke unnecessary frustration and deteriorating behaviour from the child, then it is best to re-think the conventional use of time out.
Rather than isolating a child when he misbehaves, scold him briefly. Take him to a quiet spot and stay with him. Once he is calm, offer suggestions for how he can improve his behaviour.
By remaining with the child, you are telling him that his behaviour was not acceptable, but you still love him. If a parent puts his child repeatedly in a time out spot without any suggestions for how he can improve his behaviour, the child is left alone feeling terrible about what he did, but without the knowledge of how to change his actions for the better.
An alternative use of time out is simply to move the child away from the person, place, or thing that is contributing to the misbehaviour.
Another approach to time out is to notice when a child is on the verge of misbehaving. Sometimes a parent can see a child welling up with frustration- ready to explode or do something mischievous. At the point, the parent can say, "Let's go to your bedroom and read a story." This might be all it takes for the child to pull his emotional and behavioural self back together.
After reading the story, the parent might say, "Now stay in your room for a little while, look at some books, and then come out into the kitchen when you are feeling better." If the child is willing to stay in his cozy bedroom surrounded by stuffed animals and books for a quiet time out, he learns to manage feelings of angst without causing disruption and further negative repercussions to himself and others.
Take care when employing time out. If a child exhibits feelings of self-loathing, stop using time out. Shunning, or shutting a child off can prompt lack of self-confidence. Time out backfires when a child says things like: "I hate myself." or "No one likes me."
There are many approaches to time out; each is effective only when the child's behaviour improves and the child continues to exhibit good mental health.
Other forms of time out
Love this idea. Babies do seem to go crazy for the crinkles, and this looks like the perfect baby gift to stitch up in an afternoon.
How cool is this?
As babies smash on the keyboard, colored shapes, letters and numbers appear on the screen. Baby Smash will lock out the Windows Key, as well as Ctrl-Esc and Alt-Tab so your baby can't get out of the application. Pressing ALT-F4 will exit the application and Shift-Ctrl-Alt-O brings up the options dialog.
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You've either experienced it, or witnessed it, a mom and a toddler at the grocery store. Mom is trying to do her shopping. Toddler is trying to touch, open, smell, and taste everything, and take it home. When she's told to stop this, the classic temper tantrum takes place- wails, screams, tears, and flailing arms and legs.
It is so embarrassing. Everyone's staring at you, criticizing you, and judging you. You would like to cry and flee. But you know you can't do that. Thankfully, there are other options. But realize, once a temper tantrum has taken off in a public place, there are few perfect solutions.
You can go to the car and let the child calm down, and try shopping again in a few minutes. Or you can go home, and shop when you can be yourself. Or you can zoom around the aisles with the wailing child and get your shopping done as quickly as possible, ignoring all the glares and raised eyebrows.
Can such scenes by avoided? Is this normal?
Some tantrums can be avoided, and yes, for children between 18 months and 3 years tantrums are normal. Toddlers have between 3 to 5 tantrums a day, while preschool aged children have about one per week. Young children simply have a low tolerance for frustration. When they want to complete a puzzle, but can't, they scream.When they are having fun playing and it is suddenly time for bed, they stomp.
Toddlers do not have the skill to express their feelings in words. So they show their frustrations with rage.
When children are tired or hungry, tantrums come more easily. Shopping malls, restaurants, and grocery stores are inappropriate environments for most young children. Here children are expected to behave beyond their age and ability. While this happens, tantrums occur with frequency.
To reduce the chance of your child having a temper tantrum, give her lead time from one activity to the next.
If you take your child to a restaurant, make sure she is rested and fed. Also, bring along a simple activity, and plan to attend to your child rather than your meal.
Shopping can be successful if you have lots of time to include your child in the outing. Talk about what you are seeing and doing, and let your child "help."
However, sometimes, tantrums just cannot be avoided. Here's a typical scene. Your child wants a cracker. You sit her at the table, get a cracker, and it breaks as you set it on the table. The child expected a whole cracker, not a broken one, a tantrum erupts. Once begun, it will probably have to run its course. Don't desert or isolate the tantruming child; you need to stay near to provide emotional protection. Yet, you do not want to offer undue attention either. It's a fine line you walk!
Avoid trying to talk your child our of his tantrum. He can't hear reason, logic, or explanations when throwing a tantrum. Try to resist throwing one yourself, although sometimes you'll feel like it.
Some children need to be held during their tantrum. This helps them get over it, because being so out of control is scary. This approach is tough, but you must try to hold the flailing child while keeping yourself emotionally detached.
Some children at the height of the tantrum refuse comfort, but as the wails reduce to whimpers, that's your signal to move in with hugs, holding and rocking.
All children need parents to reflect their feelings. Since you are using words, in time, your child will too.
How to guarantee a tantrum
There are 3 factors that keep tantrums occurring beyond the normal age range:
Use materials with interesting textures to make a fun book for your baby or toddler.
Such a sweet thing – the Sweet Cake Tub designed in a cupcake form.
It´s an absolute all-rounder, whether it´s used as a pet bed, planter, mini sandbox, a kid´s wading pool or even as a tiny garden pond. Made from sturdy plastic (6 cm thick), thus making it suitable for indoor and outdoor use.
Material: Polyethylene
Dimensions: height 27 cm, Ø 70 cm
weight: 5.5 kg
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Although most young children bite once or twice in their careers as toddlers, when it's your child doing the biting, you cannot let the incident go without reprimand.
Biting is the toughest aggressive behaviour to respond to because it's upsetting for everyone involved- the bitten child, the biting child, the other children watching, and the adult responsible for the children.
Toddlers are easily frustrated and they sometimes sink their sharp little teeth into the skin of another child. Some toddlers even bite their parents. Biting is not unusual, it's a characteristic particular to toddlers.
Toddlers: What To Do
If an incident occurs with only one adult present, put the biter on one side of you and the bitten child on the other. Comfort the bitten child, administer first aid, and allow the biter to watch. The bitten child's care should include an eventual trip to the doctor if the skin has been broken.
Once the bitten child is calm, deal with the biter:
We love this tutorial primarily because, t couldn't get any easier. Use two hangers, a pair of tights and some duct tape, and you find yourself with a very easy and cheap project!
Although frustrating, such aggressiveness is typical of many toddlers and 3 year olds. Young child are unskilled in social graces. Some feel threatened when another child innocently approaches their play area or possession.
There's no need to fear that just because your child exhibits these hurtful forms of aggression now, he will always behave this way. He simply doesn't have the social wherewithal to see from another's perspective or play cooperatively. However, you can't just stand there and do nothing.
When you watch toddlers play,notice that about half of the social interactions between them are agrgressive. By the time they are age 3.5, there is much less aggression. The main reason is that by then, children speak their mind rather than go on the attack.
In fact, some toddlers are innately aggressive, while others are docile. The may be perplexing, but there's no need to ponder at length why some children are more trying on the playground and in play groups than others. Instead, if your child is one of the go-getters, develop a plan to nurture him through this difficult period. In doing so, he'll arrive on the other side of age three better able to control himself.
How to Handle the 3 Evils
Just look at these darling babies in cozy knits and you’ll agree!
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There's no behaviour that shocks parents more than a mouthy child who talks back. You would have never spoken to your parents that way. What's going on?
You probably encouraged your children to state their opinions and express their feelings, but because they are kids they do not always know how to express themselves using respectful language.
Kids today are definitely not the "seen and not heard" generation. Unfortunately, today children are not only seen and heard, but often it's over and above their parents. Encourage your children to express their opinions and feelings, just realize it's a long, complicated process for them to refine their language skills enough to assert their point of view in a respectful manner. It is important to keep at it. Everyone benefits when children learn to communicate respectfully.
When your child talks back, when he's rude, sassy, disrespectful, or mouthy, you need to know how to respond. Here are some options:
To mark the launch of the partnership, Bugaboo has created a special (BUGABOO)RED product range. The (PRODUCT)RED Global Fund helps fund AIDS programs in Africa for families and children. Through BUGABOO (PRODUCT)RED, the company is launching the snazziest special edition denim-canopied Chameleon stroller, which we simply can't stop drooling over!
They've also created a short animation, Go and Good Things Happen which features "The Guillemots song" which is lovely. We guarantee your children will love it!
So if you've been thinking about buying a Bug, this would be the perfect timing. Bugaboo contributes 1% of their revenue to the Global Fund, and considering how much their products cost, that's a big 1%.
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I just LOVE how she uses the fabric design for the eyes.....aren't they great!
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Singapore Zoo is on a roll with the latest addition to the jaguar family following the birth of a cub in July this year. The father and mother of the recent cub is Kahn and Angel respectively and can be spotted at the zoo’s Cat Country.
Prior to the recent birth, two cubs Shamu and Shala, male and female, were born in 2003.The father is currently in a separate holding area from its mate and cub. In the wild, a jaguar mother may separate from her partner after mating, and she would then be left to give birth and care for the cub alone.
Here's a troublesome, yet common scenario:
A toddler and a 3 year old are playing together. One grabs a toy from the other, and the other refuses to share. When a parent sees their sweet little child hold onto a toy refusing to give it up to another, Mom or Dad might fear that they're raising a child who is selfish, hoards objects, and who has no sense of generosity or fairness. What could be worse?
While this most likely will not be the case, parents are eager to help their child on the road to sharing and not grabbing.
Typically, when toddlers see an interesting toy, they are curious about how it works, so they grab it. They don't know to ask properly, so they just snatch it away. Your task is tough. On one hand, you want to respect the toddler's immature social skills, but you also need to respect the other child's right to not have toys taken from him.
How to Handle a Snatch and Grab
How cool is this?
Sisters Kirstin and Jordan and constantly faced with the insatiable need to create lovely things. Check out this witty basic sewing project, that turned out oh-so-lovely.
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Before having children of your own, your probably witnessed other people's children misbehaving in the supermarket - flying into a tantrum, talking back, and hitting one another.
Well, now you're walking in those very same parenting shoes as your fellow shoppers. You yearn for emergency techniques and approaches to discipline that will help you with these difficult and embarrassing situations. There are approaches to discipline that you can tuck under your parenting belt to pull out when needed, but it's important to be realistic. There will be a time, and probably times, when your child will be the one throwing a temper tantrum in a toy store because you won't buy one more plastic truck. No parent is exempt.
In humiliation inevitable?
Before diving into a disciplinary situation head first, examine where your children live, learn, and play. Children's bodies are active and their minds are curious. Their brains don't start working when at child-care or school and then stop when home or in public places. They need unstructured downtime involving play and hobbies, but even then, they are still learning. They're eagerly trying to be successful in whatever environment they enter. If they are forced into inappropriate place that do not allow them to use their mind and bodies adequately, they'll resort to mis-behaviour.
If you're shopping with your 4 and 8 year old children, most likely they'll be interested in riding the escalators, running up and down the mall, and playing hide-and-seek between the clothing racks. It's unlikely they'll behave like little ladies and gentlemen while you pick out a dress for your class reunion.
When you find yourself in an unpleasant situation with your children, just walk away. It's tough to remedy the situation right then. It's best to just give it up for the day and evaluate the circumstances: You may want to wait a few years before trying such an excursion again.
Even in an appropriate environment, you may still see your children exhibit dreadful behaviour. The behaviours that parents respond to with horror including biting, grabbing, and not sharing, temper tantrums, talking back, hitting, pushing, and kicking. When the child is school aged, it's lying, stealing, and cheating.
What embarrassing moments have you experienced in this area? We'd love to hear from you!
Most kids are long on enthusiasm, but short on patience. They will expect sprouts to be popping through the ground the day after the seeds are planted. To keep them excited, their first gardening experience should happen quickly.
Not just a wall decal, this is a multifunctional wall-mounted tree that screams out creative expression. Kids would be tempted to draw with chalk, display favorite photos or drawings with magnets, or create scenes with our magnetic birds and birdhouses.
The instructions are so easy, it'd make you wonder why'd you never try it?
1) Please tell us a little about your company.
I started Ma Mi Skin Care because I wanted a natural skin care product once I became a mom and was much more aware of chemicals and all the toxic ingredients in many of the things on the store shelves. I was not impressed with the options for natural products that I tried, they were either very expensive or didn't work well.
I decided that we could do it better and make the products more affordable considering moms many times do not have a ton of disposable income on hand. My family has been in the skin care manufacturing business for the last thirty years so I had a lot of exposure to the industry and I had learned a lot over the years. I started the company with my husband and brother and we did a ton of ingredient research before we chose our product line to ensure we were offering the highest quality ingredients that had the most anti-aging ingredients without any fillers, parabens or known carcinogens.
I am very proud of our entire Ma Mi product line, I use it myself and I would recommend it anyone.
Our Ma Mi products are natural with high quality active ingredients that have been shown to have incredible anti-aging properties. They do not have fragrances or additives and they go on feeling clean and light. We have a complete daily regimen for normal to oily skin and one for normal to dry skin along with specialty products so we have something for everyone. Our line is quite simple with easy to use pumps for moms who do not have a lot of time and sometimes do not even have two hands to open and close caps.
I have been exposed to the industry for years since my family has been a skin care product manufacturer almost my whole life. When I became pregnant with my son, I really became aware of what I was eating and putting on the outside of my body. I tried a lot of products and decided that it could be done better and that was the beginning of Ma Mi Skin Care.
Pure, clean, healthy, anti-aging ingredients, high amounts of active ingredients, affordable no fillers, no toxins!!! Our business is constantly trying to be as green as possible using recylable bottles and limiting the amount of packaging we use.
We give back a percentage of our profits to a wonderful organization,The Thusanani Childrens Foundation in South Africa that provides occupational therapy to orphans in South Africa and educates their caregivers.
Daunted at the prospect of being an effective disciplinarian? Don't be. Your task becomes simpler when you consider taking one of the three options. Put simply, you have three options for responding when your child is naughty, inappropriate, or out of control.
Before reacting to a situation, quickly run through in your mind your three options for discipline. Ask yourself which one is appropriate given the situation at hand. Although you probably won't always get it right, you'll feel more effective when you take time to decide what to do rather than just jumping in without a plan.
