11 Fun Activities For When Winter Weather Traps You Indoors

It's freezing outside and your baby has already completed his usual circuit of activity mat, bouncy seat, and Exersaucer. With hours to go before his next nap, you need tactics to keep your wee one cooing when Old Man Winter traps you indoors. Try these fun indoor activities to pass a gray day. The time will fly!

By Sara Lippmann

Let Her "Help" You Cook

Strap your sidekick into a high chair and narrate in a silly voice as you noodle around in the kitchen. Tickle her senses with your spice rack, offering a sniff of cinnamon and cocoa, and then black pepper, just for kicks. Let her watch you peel and core an apple, then boil it down to mush for a tasty snack. The house will fill with heavenly smells, and your petite sous chef will adore your Julia Child imitation. Got a toddler? Make pancakes and let him stir. Lindsay Dewar-Fontana, of Westport, Connecticut, loves cooking with her boys, ages 20 months and 3 years. Bonus: "They're more willing to try any food that they've had a hand in!" she says.

Board Approval: 7 Classic Board Games for Kids

Chutes and Ladders

Best for ages 3 to 5  For more

What kids learn: To take turns, count spaces, and accept rewards and consequences.

The basics: Spin the wheel to move your pawn up the board. Land at the base of a ladder and you get to climb up. But if you stop at the top of a chute, you'll slide back down.

Keep in mind: At this age, games are more about the journey than the destination. Your kid may actually want to go down the ladder. Let him.

Game tip: "For a preschooler, this game could evolve into an elaborate fantasy, or he may get bored and quit in the middle," says Parents advisor Kathleen McCartney, PhD, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, in Cambridge, MA.

Kid-Friendly Casserole Recipes

These one-dish dinners feature kid-favorite flavors and ingredients, making them perfect for family dinners.

 

Tortellini Casserole
Cheese-filled pasta makes this a heartier version of the classic mac and cheese.  For more

20 Games to Play in the Snow

20 great games to cure cabin fever.

By Amanda Kingloff and Lauren DeBellis

Shake It Up!

Use strong glue to attach a plastic toy to the inside of a jar lid, then add baby oil and glitter for a homemade snow globe; it makes a fun souvenir of a great day.

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if-your-kids-could-make-the rules

In week six of Children of Divorce and Changing Families' 8-week program, we do an exercise where we ask each child in the 10-12 year old group to create a set of rules that they wish their parents would follow to ease post divorce stresses.

The rules they write privately are then shared with the class, the goal of which is to create a list to present to the parent's group. Rules that start out specific to each child merge with other similar requests. The kids tweak the wording for these and other parallel rules until "stop saying mom is stupid" and "don't tell me my dad abandoned us" gets written down on a large strip of paper as the all encompassing: "Don't say bad things about my other parent".

The top ten rules listed below were the most commonly wished for, compiled from the many times I've conducted this exercise (3 times a year for the last 5 years).

9 Development Reasons Why Toddlers Can be Difficult to Discipline

9 Development Reasons Why Toddlers Can be Difficult to Discipline

To cope with toddler behavior it helps to remember the basic principle of developmental discipline: the drive that babies have to develop is the same one that creates discipline challenges.

1. Wheels to run on

Imagine how it must feel to learn to walk! He can see all those tempting delights around the room, and he finds ways to get his hands on many of them. once the developmental skill of walking appears, children have an intense drive to master it. So toddlers toddle—constantly. And they can toddle into unsafe situations. Walking progresses to running, and climbing a few stairs turns into scaling kitchen counters.

2. Hands as tools

Along with learning how to pick up things, the one- year- old baby develops hand skills to manipulate what he gets. Doors are to be opened, knobs turned, drawers pulled, dangling cords yanked, and waste cans emptied. Everything within walking and grabbing distance is fair game, or so he figures. To the inquisitive adventurer, the whole house is an unexplored continent, and he intends to leave no stone unturned.

child tracker while growing up

She's Here!

Congratulations! After weeks (and weeks) of waiting and wondering, your little one has finally made her grand entrance. And overwhelmed probably doesn't even come close to describing how you're feeling right now. After all, in the space of one magical day, that comparatively low-maintenance baby bump suddenly transformed into a bona fide little person, the kind who needs to be fed, diapered, and comforted 24/7. A little scary, right? Trust us, you'll get the hang of it faster than you imagine.

Luckily, new babies are fairly straightforward creatures, with daily routines that revolve around sleeping, eating, crying, and pooping. For now, sleeping is at the top of her to-do list. The average newborn snoozes around 16-1/2 hours a day -- and some for hours more than that. For now, enjoy the momentary peace -- and snag a catnap (or two) for yourself while you're at it.

tips-for-raising-a-terrific-toddler

Top Tips for Raising a Terrific Toddler

The toddler years are some of the most exciting and dynamic in all of childhood. During this stage, children experience extensive cognitive, emotional, and physical development.

By Dr. Caron B. Goode

From our provider: 

/tips-for-raising-a-toddler

Need help with your toddler? Here’s an easy guide with nine tips containing common mistakes and helpful remedies.

1. Be Consistent.

Toddlers do best when they know what to expect, whether it's what time they bathe or go to bed or what consequences they'll face for misbehaving. The more consistent and predictable things are, the more resilient and agreeable a toddler is likely to be.

Fix it: As much as you can, keep regular routines for your child. Consistency can be a challenge when parents (or other caregivers) don't see eye to eye.

Not sure how best to react if your child dumps food on the floor or ignores bedtime? Sit down with your partner ahead of time to decide on an appropriate response -- and stick with it.

"You don't want to send mixed messages," says Tanya Remer Altmann, MD, the author of Mommy Calls: Dr. Tanya Answers Parents' Top 101 Questions about Babies and Toddlers and a pediatrician in private practice in Los Angeles. "You really want to be consistent."

http://www.mytoddlerguide.com/

Welcome to My Toddler Guide

We wish to create a parents resource and community for the upbringing of toddlers aged 1 to 5 years old. Focusing on nutrition, beds, toys, books, clothes, activities, discipline, health, safety and parental support. Our articles allow for your ratings and comments, let's hear your feedback. Additional content can be found with our partners KidsComplishment and in our discussion forum.

20 Everyday Items My Toddler Finds Fascinating

It’s no secret that toddlers are fascinated by the most mundane things, but man, it’s like striking gold when you realize which everyday household items your toddler fancies because you know what that means: your kid is occupied! Unless of course, your toddler is fascinated by plugs and kitchen knives and then, well, not so good.

When I discover Violet is into some run-of-the-mill item just lying around the house, I encourage her interest because DUH, she’ll be entertained. Secondly, this kind of interest is excellent for the little imagination. For instance, Violet loves candles.  LOVES them. She especially likes the scented kind and will sniff them several times and say the same thing each time: “Mmmmmm. Smells good!” She also moves them around the house and creates little scenarios with them: “Oh no, candle, come back!” She makes them chase each other and help each other out of sticky situations. I’ve cooked an entire meal for the family while Violet is engrossed in candle play.

What Were They Thinking?! The Most Age-Inappropriate Toddler Gear

(courtesy of http://blogs.babble.com)

I am notoriously freaked about raising a happy, healthy, well-adjusted daughter among the madness of today. It isn’t just the media that is screwing with our kids’ heads either. Clothing can be pretty messed up. I mean, high heels for babies? Seriously? And toys! Who’d have thought toys could be mentally harmful for toddlers?

I hate Barbie. I hate all dolls, actually. But if my daughter wants a doll or plays with a doll, I’m cool with it. However, I have never bought her one just to buy her one. She’s been given dolls as gifts but, for the most part, they remain untouched. That may be a good thing when you get a load of some of the dolls on the market.

10 Things You Should NEVER Say to a Toddler

(courtesy of http://blogs.babble.com)

None of us know what we’re doing as parents, or at least that’s what I like to tell myself. Besides, anyone who claims to know better than the rest of us better have children who sleep past 9 am, wipe their own butts (and well), and actually enjoy being seen rather than heard.

Babble editor, Mira Jacob wrote the piece, 15 Ways NOT to Raise Your Toddler because she’s a mom who’s keepin’ it real; real honest and real hilarious.

Just like our toddlers, we don’t always want to be told what to say or do so I offer the following list of things you should NEVER say to a toddler …

FOODS TO PREVENT OSTEOPOROSIS

CHRISTMAS 2011: O HOLY NIGHT - JOSH GROBAN

HMS OCEAN : ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS (2011) YOUTUBE

Deb Roy: The Birth Of A Word