Feeding Your Toddler – What We’re Eating Now

One common dilemma faced by the parents of toddlers is getting them to stop playing and exploring for long enough to refuel their bodies with nutritious foods. Exactly how to do that is up to you. What we eat at our house and how we eat it may be different than in your home. What is most important is that we as parents offer our toddlers plenty of opportunities to eat nutritious foods throughout their day. In the morning, Dylan wakes up hungry. We all wake up at about the same time, so we head out to the kitchen. He … Continue reading

Progressive Cooking Class for Kids

If you’re going to be in the Disney World area the weekend of June 11-13, then there’s a unique event happening for your children that you should know about: progressive cooking classes for kids. Tampabay.com and TheDisneyBlog.com reveal that on Saturday June 12, three restaurants at Downtown Disney will open their doors to children, age limit unspecified, for an afternoon of cooking classes. The executive chefs at Portobello, Wolfgang Puck’s Grand Cafe, and Fulton’s Crab House will lead the classes. Starting at 11 a.m., kids move from one restaurant to another to receive cooking tips from masters in the trade. … Continue reading

Start a Baby Book Club

If you are looking for a fun play date activity for the little kids, then this might be your idea. Start up a baby book club. Not only will the kids (and the adults) have a great time, but there will also be a lot of learning going on. A baby book club is a great way to introduce children to the love of reading, logical thinking, and some socialization, too. 1. First determine who will be in the club. Ideally, children should be near the same developmental level. You can start a club for children that are as young … Continue reading

Baby Blog Week in Review: July 28th Through August 3rd

Safety and summer fun have been two themes occurring in the Baby Blog for last week. From tougher toy standards and new information about you baby and second-hand smoke, to fun in the baby pool and enjoyment through volunteering, you’ll find a variety of information and opinion. Some of it might even be controversial. Add your comment! Here, now, is the week in review. July 28th Baby Blog Week in Review: July 21st Through July 27th What types of activities do you like to do with your baby? Is it playing on the floor, reading or taking walks? How about … Continue reading

Baby Blog Month in Review: July 2008

Two of my three children are summer babies. That is, they were born in the summer and had their first months surrounded by sunshine streaming in the windows, the sound of birds chirping, and days spent wearing nothing but a diaper and a “onsie.” I made sure that they had Fourth of July outfits ready, even though one of them arrived a week after the holiday. I guess he just wasn’t interested in the parade. Do you have a summer baby, too? We had a lot of new information to share this past month, such as recall notices and new … Continue reading

Ideas for Volunteering with a Toddler or Preschooler

Making the time to do good works is important for all families. Getting children started early with the concept of volunteerism is a wonderful way to make the acts so much a part of their lives that it comes natural for them. One of the added benefits of volunteering with your toddler or preschooler is that it may give you the means and motivation to volunteer yourself. Isn’t it difficult to carve out the time to volunteer when you are busy taking care of little ones. Making volunteering a family affair solves that problem! So how can you get started? … Continue reading

Baby Blog Week in Review: July 21st Through July 27th

What types of activities do you like to do with your baby? Is it playing on the floor, reading or taking walks? How about cooking? Check out this past week’s articles for new activities as well as some important baby safety news and recalls. July 21st Babies Are Most Likely to Get Bitten By a Dog According to a 2006 study published by the Journal of Pediatrics, children less than one year of age were the most likely group to be bitten by a dog. What is even more disturbing, is that children less than nine years old are more … Continue reading

Cooking with Your Toddler

The next meal you make, consider asking your toddler to help. Toddlers can be so much fun to cook with, and the educational value of the activity to high. In a short cooking session, you can introduce your child to language arts, math, science and life skills. And toddlers just love to help out. They get a great sense of accomplishment from doing things on their own, especially when they are “grown up” activities. As I mentioned earlier in a previous post, I love cooking with my toddler, especially in the early morning. I’ll share some of the things I … Continue reading

Cooking with Your Young Baby

Cooking with a baby can be a lot of fun. Yes, it can be done. As I mentioned earlier, cooking together is a way of spending quality time and introducing your little one to all sorts of new experiences and life lessons. I started cooking with my children almost as soon as they were out of the womb, and you can too. Some people wait for the baby to nap before getting their cooking out of the way, but I always found it nice to be able to cook with your baby. By the way, if you missed the introductory … Continue reading

Cooking with Kids from Baby through Toddler

One of my favorite things to do is to cook with my kids. When we cook together, we get to spend great quality time while being productive. Cooking together is also sharing in valuable life lessons, and introduces important life skills. You child will be introduced to new smells, new textures and even new vocabulary. There is also a lot of math and science involved with cooking. Although sometimes we all cook together, I find that spending that one-on-one time with each child separately while cooking can be a lot of fun and allow me to focus on the lessons … Continue reading