After countless hours researching the best car seat for your newborn or high-back booster seat for your toddler, you’ve finally decided on the perfect one. Unboxing it, it is perfectly spotless (that won’t last long) and has that fresh, new car seat smell (again, also won’t last long). It’s perfect. But what do you do […]
Childproofing for the Outdoors
Following up on last week’s water safety post, this week we discuss other ways to keep your kids safe in your own backyard. Summer is officially in full swing, which means the sprinklers are flowing and swimsuits have become everyday wear. As toddlers and young children ask to spend more and more time playing outside, […]
Sibling on the Way? 5 Things to Do Before Baby Arrives
A new sibling means some major changes for your toddler. From the toddler’s perspective, once the ruler of the roost, they now have to share you with a tiny, crying, pooping machine. Not fair, right?! You may have heard that it’s going to be a bumpy road as you adjust to your newest addition, but […]
Pester Power: The Art of Negotiation
Children are born negotiators. They learn early on that with a little persistence (and pestering) they can eventually wear down their parent’s resolve. “Pester Power” is the power children have to repeatedly make requests until their parents give them what they want. Whether it’s cake for breakfast or wanting to go to a friend’s house, […]
Risky Business: The Benefits of Letting Children Take Risks
The phrase “Helicopter Parent” gets thrown around a lot these days. It’s used to describe parents who overprotect their children from risk or failure, whether it’s physical or emotional. Most of us are not as extreme as “Helicopter Parents,” but we want to protect our children. Allowing our children to take risks can be challenging […]
Creatures Under The Bed: Toddler fears about imaginary things and ways to help
Spend just a few minutes playing with a toddler and it becomes clear that their imaginations are capable of taking them to wonderful places and on amazing adventures. The downside to their busy brains? They don’t come with an “off” switch. At around age 3, the fear of imaginary creatures (such as monsters or shadows […]
Keep the Conversation Going: Talking With Kids
As parents, we invest a lot of time and attention in our baby’s language development. We sing songs, read board books, make extra effort to point out what things are called and to describe what we are doing throughout our day—even if it’s only folding laundry. And we delight in their accomplishments: first word, first […]
Más allá de la melancolía – Cómo reconocer las señales de la depresión posparto
Como se conversó en la publicación del blog de la semana pasada, es común que muchos padres de familia nuevos sientan melancolía después del nacimiento de su bebé. La melancolía ocurre dentro de los primeros diez días de nacer. Durante este tiempo, los padres pueden sentirse emocionalmente frágiles o bloqueados, pero gradualmente vuelven a su […]
Creating A Media Plan As A Family
The digital age is upon us. As children move up in school, it becomes harder to control what our children have access to. At some point, as a parent, you’ll likely want to develop a plan for media usage. You might find that “no limits” work just fine for your kiddo. Other families may need […]
Oodles of Doodles – Getting Creative With Toddlers
Art and creativity are an essential component to the human experience. While we may not all be master painters or seasoned pianists, we all have outlets for our creative endeavors. For some of us, it’s organizing clutter or designing floral arrangements—or maybe, it’s simply getting down and dirty with some finger paints with your toddler. […]