Great Designers at Great Prices

As I find myself getting caught up in the Suri Cruises of the world, I of course would love to dress my little one in fabulous outfits daily. Then the reality sets in and the check book is balanced and I realize that I would be NUTS to spend that kind of money on little clothes that she wears six months, ever! But, recently I have found that there are tons of different websites out there that allow us "normal" people to have the designer dudes at somewhat "normal" prices. Most of these require you to become a member prior to allowing you to look at their inventory, but I have not had any privacy issues to date. I hope that you enjoy!

www.zullily.com

www.totsy.com

www.gilt.com

www.theminisocial.com

Picky Picky Eater

As we immerse ourselves further in the terrible two's, I have found that foods our child used to eat, she will not touch. And that our menu has dwindled down to yogurt, cheese puffs, and grill cheese. In panic I have found a couple of menu options that seem to be getting her more interested in eating and guidelines to help. Granted with that being said, we may end up with the original three menu items only. But, it gives me hope!

"A Terrific Toddler Menu"

Breakfast - 1/2 hard boiled egg, 1 piece of whole-grain toast, 1/2 C berries, and 3/4 C milk

Snack- 1 piece string cheese (cut up) and water

Lunch - 1/2 C mini pasta tossed with 2t olive oil and 1/2 C broccoli and 3/4 C milk

Snack - 1 small banana with water

Dinner - 1/2 cod fillet (sauteed in a little oil), 1/2 C cooked brown rice (Trader Joe's frozen brown rice is the best that I have found), 1/2 C cooked squash, and water

You can also add a 50 to 70 calorie treat like a cookie, ice pop, or mini piece of chocolate.

"A Day Plan for Preschoolers"

Breakfast - mini whole grain bagel with 1T peanut butter, 5 lg sliced strawberries, and 3/4 C milk

snack - 6 baby carrots and 1/2C broccoli with 2T low fat ranch dip with water

Lunch - turkey and cheese sandwich on whole grain bread with 1/2 C apple slices and water

Snack - 2T hummus, 5 whole grain crackers, and water

Dinner - 1/2 small piece grilled chicken, 10 sweet potato fries (again, Trader Joe's has the best ones), dinner roll, 1/2 C grapes, and 3/4C milk

You can also add 50 to 70 calorie treat here too

Pick a Time to Get Dirty

I feel that most of my time during the day is picking up or cleaning up. Then followed by laundry and dishes. So when I even think about messy projects, my first thought is no, followed by NO NO. However, during a recent discussion it was brought up that sometimes you just need to make time to get dirty. And then I thought, okay I will give it a try. Especially since I have taught my child to not get dirty and am now regretting it and have been inspired by my fabulous mom friends. So, now once a day we have a time that we are going to get grubby. Whether it is with sand, play dough, finger paint. I go into the mind set of this is what we are doing and then clean up time. My child LOVES it and it has helped her to get more interested in washing her hands and cleaning up. So try it, you might like it!

Bag of Tricks

During my Creative Discipline course, the instructor shared her bag of tricks with us. I had to share this as I have already found it to be so useful!

What is needed:

A bag (this can be anything with handles. I choose my Vera because it was sassy:) )

Pad of paper and pen - This can be used for scribbling, making a wish list of toys if you are at the toy store and are not buying for your child, a want list for a toy from their reward program, etc.

A book that has pictures of fruits and vegetables - you can either buy this or make it yourself. When you are grocery shopping this helps your child to be engaged with the shopping and learning. A great distraction method.

Stickers - Your child can put these on everything that goes into your cart, then in the end you can count them or whatever. My child LOVES stickers

Fake Phone - While you are shopping and the child starts to get un-happy you can say, "okay, can you please call daddy and see if we need some..." this will help them to engage and distract so that you can finish your shopping

Crayons in case - the instructor had a really cute fabric roll of crayons, or just a pack will do

Magnets & magnet board - this is great while you are out at a restaurant. They can arrange them, count them, make art. It is endless opportunities. I got the Melissa & Doug alphabet magnets so that we could use to spell words and stuff

Lacing shapes and small puzzles also help at the dinner table while you are out

I have already used my bag twice and our child has loved it. I hope you will try it and it will work for you as well

Creative Discipline

This past weekend I attended the NPN Parent University class on Creative Discipline. The director of Art & Soul in Bucktown presented ideas and topics on how to work through tough tantrums and debates when it comes to discipline through the use of art. It was so extremely helpful to me that I wanted to share a few of the top topics and the best thing that I took from it, "The Bag."

Right out of the gate hitting was discussed. Every toddler goes through this at one point and she re-enforced how this is a non verbal way of communicating. The most important thing is for the parent to stay calm. The child will mirror whatever reaction you have.

She recommended that an art table be present and out at all times. That art should not necessarily be something "special," but a part of everyday art. She noted that our culture is one of the few that view art in this way. However, in our homes here in Chicago, that would be tricky due to our space. But, for some of you this could be great.

Scribbling is important for toddlers as is allows them to have self-expression at an early age. She also said that this helps with their emotional tolerance. If they are upset or feel the urge of anger, scribbling can sometimes allow the child to self sooth versus hitting, screaming, etc.

Photography is another great creative way to allow your child to help discipline themselves. For her children she created a "Feelings Wheel." She had her child make faces for several different emotions and then took her child's pictures. She did anger, happy, sad, scared, and a few more. Once she had them developed she cut each of her child's pictures out in a circle and placed then on a large circle with an arrow that could move around the board. When the child was having a hard time communicating, she got the wheel and had the child point to the emotion that he was feeling. This helped the child to identify his/her feelings along with de-escalating the situation immediately. (If you have questions about the design, but email me)

Sculpture - 3D (which means that it is not a flat surface, then foam, feathers, etc.) sculpture helps the child with energy and stress because they can hold their art and create rituals around it. For example if your child is suffering from nightmares, then you can create together a "Dream Catcher" which will help them take control. If they are suffering from separation anxiety they can create "Family Picture Books" that you put together with family's or friends pictures. This was one of my favorites was a "Mommy Rock." It is a special rock that you paint for them and they can keep in their pocket to help them if they feel that they need mommy. It can be as simply as a heart and I Love You!

Pounding Play Dough - helps the child to deal with anger and frustration. Have a table or special place set up so that if your child is feeling very angry, it is better to hit the play dough than a friend. She also providing a recipe to make your own play dough. It is super simple and if you would like a copy, please email me.

Construction/ Deconstruction - Breaking down and rebuilding blocks is an excellent way to help them work through frustration. Have a bin that has old paper towel or toilet paper rolls, old boxes of tissue, old cereal boxes, etc. When they want to use tape or just built it and tear it down, you will automatically have a free resource.

TIME OUT

This for me was of most interest since Time Out seems to be the most fun game for our Child. After reading 1,2,3 Magic, I found that there were not a lot of options for discipline. I would count to 1 and then our child would say 2. She had a couple of solutions for Time Out venues. I am not sure that I fully agree with them since I see art as fun. But, I wanted to share them with you.

Containment allows them to be safe - be present for them but not do anything for them. Have a stack of papers that have a circle dawn on them. This stimulates a visual cue that Time Out is occurring. Place them at their table with the paper and pencils and have them redirect their emotions to the scribbling versus the situation occurring.

Create a "Hitting Pillow" so instead of hitting a friend, they have a pillow that they can hit if they are feeling angry.

Always name the bad behavior that is occurring. Be sure to tell them that this is not okay behavior.

This I thought was interesting, if two children are fighting over a toy, put the toy in Time Out.

Gentle Hands is also another great way to use good behavior and redirect from No Hitting.

"When in doubt, always bring it back to Feelings"

PART TWO

I know that this is a longer post, but I found this information really useful. As I begin the second part it was focused on the parent.

What can we control? Identify our Feelings, Manage our Emotions, and Take Care of Ourselves.

The third one shocked me. So much it talks about our actions, what we are doing wrong, what we should be doing. But taking care of ourselves is so important. She gave us a list of 101 things simple things to do to help us get through that tantrum or just get through the day. While I will not list all 101 things, here were some that were "ah ha" moments for me: Write a letter, Do a good deed, Take a walk, Light a Candle, Sign in the Shower, Say "no," Take the phone off the hook, and Ask for help. If you would like more examples I would be happy to share.

Conscious parenting - This means that when the behavior is occurring, take a pause before you respond. This will help you to get control. Another way to do this is modeling with the child. Before you respond tell the child that "Mommy needs a breath," or "Let's take a breath together." Getting the child to do this will help the child de-escalate themselves and help them to start reacting in a good way to feelings

In conclusion here are three things to live by:

Be Calm, Be Consistent, and Be PREPARED!

Suggested Reading from Creme de la Creme

I usually hate data dumps, but as we have begun our start of looking at Pre-Schools I want to share lots of information. During a recent visit to Creme de la Creme (a highly priced daycare here in Chicago) they shared lots of helpful information. Although we did not feel it was the correct fit for our child, their recommended reading list we found helpful. Below is there list, enjoy!

Baby Smarts by Jackie Silberg

Brain Smart Choices by Dr. Becky Bailey

A Good Start in Life: Understanding Your Child's Brain and Behavior by Norbet Herschkowitz

Right from Birth: Building Your Child's Foundation for Life by Ramey

Start Smart, Building Brain Power in Early Years by Pam Schiller

Multiple Intelligences: The Theory and Practice by Gardner H.