Time Out Tips

Anyone who has had a toddler or a young child knows what time outs are all about. Sometimes, though, they can seem so drawn out and hard to manage that they are easy to cave on if they are not effective.

You know what I mean. The screaming, protesting and eventual calm down only to be asked, "Can I get out of time out yet?"

While time out is not supposed to be fun, it also is not supposed to be traumatic, either, for parent or child.

Here are some ideas on how to make time out more effective and easier to administer for parents:

1. Have a specific place in your home for time out. I suggest a corner, or another quiet place in your home that is not a bedroom. A bedroom has too many distracting things in it and the child can begin to associate their room with bad behavior. You want their bedroom to be a place of peace.

2. The general rule is 1 minute for every year of age for the child. So, a 5 year old would get 5 minutes.

3. In my home, time does not start until the child is calm. If you have a child who is very upset, this can take a while. To help calm them quickly, try making a "time out bottle". Simply get a plastic water bottle, add food coloring and glitter and when the child is upset, shake it up and have them watch the glitter settle. It may take a minute or two, but the calming water will help calm them down.

4. Don't ever make threats of time out and not follow through. One of the hardest parts of parenting is being consistent, even when you ware tired. If you tell your child the behavior will get them a time out, follow through in every instance.

5. Time outs do not have to be viewed as punishment. Let you child know that sometimes, even adults need time outs to calm down. Show by example that you do on occasion.

20 Finger Foods For Toddlers

When starting to feed your baby and toddler, it can be scary to not know what to feed them as there are foods you should stay away from (Honey and nuts for example due to potential allergies) and some they could actually choke on easily. You want to feed them the best, most natural foods.

I have created a Top 20 list for foods most toddlers enjoy and are super easy to make and prepare for meals, snacks and in between. What you feed will depend on how far advanced you are in your child eating table foods. Always providing a drink such as milk or water and some 100% juice is a good idea as well with meals and snacks. Attach a Huggerz to the sippy cup and you have one stylish drink :)

Super Fun Ways To Announce a Pregnancy

One of the hardest parts of being pregnant early on is not spilling the beans about it and waiting to tell family and friends your big announcement.

There are so many creative ways to tell the world about your little bundle on it's way! With social media, its so easy to do one announcement and send it to tons of people instantly.

How do you make it one to remember? Check out this nifty idea list!

Hold Your Own BackYard Water Park!

"Mooommmm..I'm Boreddd!" "Moooommmm..I'm Hoooottt".

How many times have you heard this so far, this summer? I know I have heard it too many times already. The funny thing about summer is kids think it is gonna be great being out of school, but within a couple days, they see how boring life really is when you don't have a schedule or anything you have to do.

Top 5 Reasons to Get Huggerz

We love to have fun at Kidzies. Good thing it is summer!

With fun often comes so many activities they can make your head spin. Every parent needs as much in the way of little helpers as they can! That is why Huggerz are the perfect little helper for summer fun!

Here are the top five reasons to get a Huggerz for each of your kids!

1. Summer camps: Whether it is day camp or overnight camp, hydration is important and with all the running around done, it is easy to lose which water bottle is your child's. Huggerz will help your child be able to identify theirs easily in group activities.

2. Sleep-overs. If you have another child over and they are doing a movie night or you are letting them take a drink to bed with them, the best way to keep them separate is to use a Huggerz on each one. No more mixed up drinks and the guest at your home will feel so special to have a cup of their own!

3. Baseball/Softball games. With so many other players walking around the dugout, it is easy to loose which generic bottle of water is your child's. Mark one with a Huggerz and the problem is solved!

4. Apart from keeping drinks cold and hands dry, Huggerz have some unconventional uses as well. Try using it to store sunglasses for the little ones in your beach bag. Then, when you get to your destination, they are scratch free and you have a Huggerz to use to keep their drink cold.

5. If you are a daycare worker or a church summer camp worker, you will love this: Get several Huggerz for all the kids in the class and you will no longer have to label drinks all day.

Did you know Huggerz fit virtually any drink from juice boxes to tall water bottles? You gotta get  Huggerz today!

Tip: Huggerz are not just for kids! They are great for coffee on the go and keeping Mom & Dad's Drinks cool as well ;)

6 Fun things to do with Food Coloring

Food coloring is a huge staple that any parent should have in thier cupboards.Not only is it great for making colored frosting for cookies, there is so much you can do with it in play!
Try out these fun things to do with food coloring and yourkid's eyes will just light up!

1. Make "Rainbow Spaghetti". Add cooked noodles to a bowl filled with food dye and water. Let them sit for about 15 minutes.

Children Say The Darndest Things

 

 

 

I'm not sure who coined that phrase but I'm fairly certain that they met my oldest son way before I did.  He is an adorable 10 year old who has no clue that he is well over 5 feet tall and his arms and legs are monstrously long.  Moreover, he has no clue just how smart he is.  We try not to make a really big deal out of it but sometimes, he is just out there in his own world and honestly, his world looks pretty doggone inviting sometimes.