Are your go-to outdoor activities becoming a bit stale? If your kids have had enough of the backyard, are a little burned out on beach activities, and your local playground is getting more crowded by the day, try taking your kids out on a hike! Getting a little exercise while checking out the natural beauty and animal habitats which surround …
Using Meditation to Help Your Children Focus and Relax
Adults often commiserate about their busy schedules, hectic jobs, and difficulties managing their households and children’s activities. Yoga and meditation have become an important outlet for stress and anxiety for many adults. But do our young children also feel everyday stresses when managing major transitions, minor daily transitions, and busy, active lives? Meditation can be a great resource for kids …
Separating Myths from Facts in Terms of Car Seat Safety
Many parents may think they are providing a safe environment for their children while in the car, but a great number of families do not comply with safety recommendations in their personal vehicles. Myth: Following the instructions on the car seat installation manual guarantees a safe, secure installation. Fact: Many diligent parents follow the instruction manual to a T, and …
How to Talk About Your Divorce with Your Young Children
Once you and your partner have reached a decision about your relationship, and choose to dissolve your marriage, one of the hardest steps is still ahead of you. If you have young children, communicating to them about your divorce in a way that makes them feel safe and loved is incredibly important. Say it simply. Toddlers and preschoolers do not …
Five of the Most Common Infant Skin Care Issues and Solutions
Red bumps, strange flakes, and splotchy skin can case parents a great deal of alarm in the first year of their baby’s life. Many parents call their pediatricians at the sight of skin conditions, but most are innocuous and either need no treatment, or can be treated at home. The issue: Within the first few weeks of life, you may spot …
Tackling Dawdling: How to Get Everyone Out of the House in the Morning!
Ask any parent what the most challenging time of day is, in their family, and they’ll tell you that it’s the early morning hours. The hours between waking up and leaving the house are packed with a multitude of sticking points, from selecting clothing to eating breakfast to getting socks and shoes on. As a result, frazzled parents become even more frazzled, …
Take Back Your Bed: How to Ease Your Toddler Out of a Co-sleeping Arrangement
Maybe you began to co-sleep with your little one when she was a newborn, keeping her close in order to meet her needs throughout the night. Or perhaps when she got her first high fever, you brought her into bed with you for the night, only to find that she wanted to sleep with you every night after that! Once …
Talking About Mental Illness with Very Young Children
Mental illness can be hard for very young children to understand. If a parent, sibling, or other close family member is coping with depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder, or another mental health issue, their change in behavior can be distressing to a young child. And if your child has been diagnosed with a mental illness herself, she is likely scared and …
Teaching and Modeling Respectful Behavior at Home
Kids do their best. When they’re in the toddler and preschooler stages, kids are learning an enormous amount about the world, and it’s all they can do to finish their dinner, sit still long enough to use the potty, and hold your hand when crossing the street. Adding kindness and generosity to their list of to-dos may seem like a tall …
The Five Rules of Playground Etiquette and How to Enforce Them With Your Child
The sun is shining. A breeze is blowing. Children are laughing as they stumble across a play structure at your local playground. Toddlers swing with their parents, squealing with happiness. But then someone pushes someone else. Sand is thrown in another child’s eyes. Tantrums occur, and feelings are hurt. Navigating your local playground can mean sticking to a few important …