Baby Angels Blog

Thought i’d share these great tips. It was from Practical Parenting Magazine.

Ban cabin fever with our easy, fast and, best of all, cheap ways to keep babies, tots and pre-schoolers happy…

Entertaining your baby
1. Babies are fascinated by faces. Cut out a large photo of someone’s face from a magazine and stick it in a place where your baby can easily see it, but not grab it. You’ll be surprised by how long this will fixate her.

2. Give your baby a massage. Undress her, lie her on a towel in a warm room and then cover your palms in oil (baby lotion or even olive oil will do). Put on some relaxing music and talk to her softly while you gently massage her arms, legs and torso with circular movements.

3. If it’s a warm day, put a bowel of water on the lawn and let your baby splash her hands in the water. Add bubbles for extra fun! But never leave a baby unattended near water.

4. Have a dance. Put your favourite song on, pick your baby up, and move her arms and legs in time to the music.

5. Give her scrunched-up paper to play with (but not newspaper because of the print) - babies love the rustling noise. A shiny, thermal blanket looks great and makes an even better sound (from camping stores or simplehike.co.uk, £3.99).

6. Do finger painting! If it’s a nice day, strip her down to her nappy and move outside for less mess. Try the ELC for finger-paints or add food colouring to custard. Yum!

7. Put some jelly or cooked spaghetti on your baby’s highchair tray for her to play with! Make sure you’ve covered the floor with plastic sheeting. Try small pieces of cereal to keep your baby busy practising her pincer grip!

8. Fill a small, plastic bottle with rice (put the lid on!). She’ll love the noise it makes when shaken.

9. A baby who can sit up will enjoy making music with a pan and wooden spoon.

10. A garden centre with a pet section is a great place to visit. An older baby will love a trip to look at animals.

11. Young babies love lying under trees so they can watch the leaves moving.

12. Sit her in front of a mirror for a few minutes. She’ll be fascinated by the other baby!

13. Babies who can sit unaided will love putting things in and out of containers. Show her what to do first with a tub of blocks.

 Entertaining your toddler

14. Let your tot help with the washing. Show her how to sort the ‘coloureds’ from the ‘whites’, and then let her stuff them into the machine.

15. Give her water and a brush and let her ‘paint’ the patio.

16. Get out her plastic tea-set and a bowl of soapy water and let her wash up.

17. If it’s a cold day, put some sand from the sand-pit in a washing-up bowl and hide mini treasures. A spoon makes a good-sized spade and a sieve’s fun, too.

18. Make some playdough. Give your toddler biscuit cutters and a rolling-pin and show her how to cut out ‘biscuits’. A garlic press is fun for making squiggly bits. In a pan, mix together 4 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 4 cups of water, 4 tbsp of cooking oil and 1/2 cup of cream of tartar. Cook over a low heat until formed and not too sticky. Knead in some food colouring for interest.

19. Wrap up a few of her favourite toys for her to unwrap. Don’t use too much tape or she’ll need your help. See if she can guess what’s inside.

20. Make a photo album together. Find some family shots and a notebook and help your toddler glue the pictures in.

21. Do some magic painting! Draw a simple design on paper with a white candle or crayon. Make up watery paint in a strong colour and let your tot paint the paper to reveal the lovely designs - she’ll be amazed.

22. Play ‘Follow my leader’. Your toddler has to copy everything you do, jump up and down, pat your tummy, sit down, stand up, walk up stairs, put your slippers on your head? The sillier the better! Once she’s got the idea, let her lead you.

23. Trace a toddler using an old roll of lining wallpaper. Get your child to lie on it and trace her outline! Then let her colour or paint it (if you’re feeling brave!).

24. Put on a lively piece of music and play musical bumps. Tell her she has to sit down as quickly as possible when the music stops.

25. Make a letterbox! Cover an old cereal box in red paint or paper. Cut out a slot for letters and make pretend envelopes. Your child can write on the envelopes, stick on pretend stamps and post them.

26. Dig out your old home videos. She’ll love it if there are people she knows - more fun than watching endless Postman Pats!

27. Go to the park. Take a ball or a ride-along toy. You might find other mums to chat to.

28. Make up thick poster paint, then paint your toddler’s hands. Get her to make handprints all over some paper. When they’re dry you can make a special birthday card with them.

29. Slice some potatoes in half and cut a shape into each flat surface. Dip the potatoes into saucers of poster paint and let your toddler use them for printing.

30. Make a collage. Toddlers like sticking things. Use sweet wrappers, scraps of material, foil, cotton wool -anything really!

31. Make jam tarts. Your toddler will love rolling the pastry.

32. Have a dolls’ tea party. Use a picnic rug and real food.

33. Make a mask. Draw a cat’s face on card and cut holes for eyes. Let her colour it, then attach a straw so she can hold it in front of her.

34. Help her to set out that train set, farm or zoo she got from Santa Claus at Christmas and hasn’t played with yet!

35. Paint your toddler’s face. If you don’t have the real thing, use water colours or make-up.

36. Play traffic lights. You’re the policeman and she’s the car. When you shout ‘red’, she has to stop; ‘green’ means go.

37. Plant a tub with flowers.

38. Have an ice cream ‘factory’. Put a scoop of ice cream in a bowl and let her choose a topping from a variety set out.

39. Play buses. Line up chairs impairs and fill the seats with dolls.

40. Make a tent. Just drape a sheet over a couple of chairs.

Entertaining your pre-schooler

41. Go to the library. An unending supply of books - for free!

42. Settle her down with a story tape or CD or pre-record yourself reading her fave books.

43. Make a hat. Cut a strip of card to fit round your tot’s head, then get her to decorate it.

44. Make a birthday card for someone in your family - get your tot to draw her own picture.

45. Construct a rocket by covering a loo roll in foil. Make a cone shape to attach to one end and add orange streamers to the other.

46. Play skittles. Make some building block towers outside on the patio, then roll a ball to try to knock them down.

47. Do some dusting! Kids really love to copy Mum (just mind those expensive knick-knacks!)

48. Go swimming. Lots of leisure centre run special children’s sessions when they have extra equipment such as floats, balls and little watering cans.

49. Make a playdough sweet shop. Use different colours and shapes to make lollies, chocolate bars, candy bars and fruit drops.

50. Be sleeping lions. Your child must lie still for as long as possible!

51. Play musical statues. When the music stops, they must freeze!

52. Ask a friend over. At this age children love to have a companion and are easier to entertain.

53. Make a paper-bag puppet with buttons for eyes and wool hair.

54. Play hide-and-seek but pretend to be a bit short-sighted when it’s your turn to do the seeking!

55. Play hunt the teddy. Take it in turns to hide it in the house.

56. Go on a bus ride. It doesn’t matter where to - it’s the adventure of the journey that counts!

57. Paint designs onto each other’s hand using watercolours.

58. Thread tubes of pasta on to lengths of string to make some pasta jewellery.

59. Play hospitals with dolls. Provide loo-paper bandages and a few plasters, then line up dolls and toys as patients.

60. Make an alphabet scrapbook. Cut out photos from magazines for each letter of the alphabet.

61. Decorate cakes or plain biscuits with icing and little sweets.

62. Peg boards or ‘Hamma’ beads keep little fingers occupied for ages at this age.

63. Make a home-made obstacle course in the living room or garden. Use chairs to crawl under, ropes to jump over, balls to dribble or throw into a bucket ? use your imagination.

64. Ask your child to cover a piece of paper with colour patterns, then help her fold it to make a fan.

65. Cut out a fish shape from a sheet of newspaper, about 30cm (1ft) long. Make a tube out of the rest of the newspaper. Move the fish along by beating the tube behind its tail.

66. Play dressing-up. Old hats, scarves, shoes, beads, shirts and any other cast-offs will do.

67. Make a garden in a seed tray. Fill it with soil and add plant cut-offs and flowers. A small container lined with foil and filled with water makes a pond.

68. Make magic potions! Fill plastic bottles and pots with water, food colouring, bubble bath, glitter, petals and stir. Remind your child that she shouldn’t taste it.

69. Wash the car together.

70. Go on a bug hunt. Look under stones and leaves.

71. Do crayon rubbings. Coins work well, as does bark.

72. Put on some lively music and tidy her bedroom together.

73. Let your child draw with chalk on your patio or drive.

74. Play going to the seaside! Help her find her swimsuit, sun hat, bucket and spade.

75. Put 20 household objects on a tray. Show them to your child for 2 minutes, then hide them. See how many she can remember.

76. Turn the living room into a cinema! Put dolls and teddies on a row of chairs. Take money for tickets, then show a DVD. An interval with a chance to buy a snack is popular!

Great stuff, thought i’d share it.

My friend and fellow Dad blogger Jim Turner (aka Genuine) and I had an interesting discussion this evening over a rather extraordinarily long and delicious dinner away from the wee ones where we talked about whether children should be required to apologize if they break the rules or hurt someone. It sprang out of a relatively minor incident at Jim’s house, but we see something transpire every day with our three that might warrant an apology or two.

This isn’t as obvious as it may appear on first glance, and Linda and I have discussed this very matter more than once in the recent past too.

Obviously, you want to teach your children to be kind, polite and mind their manners, if nothing else than just to be able to survive having them in your house for so many, many years, so from that angle, yes, they need to be taught pleasant behavior like “don’t throw the broccoli at the dog during dinner!” (no further explanation needed, I bet)

But other than training them in some sort of Pavlovian way to monotonically say “yeah, whatever, I’m sorry” or similar, does it really matter if they say “sorry” or not?

Clearly insisting they “say it like you mean it!” is more of the same knee-jerk response to the situation and again, do you really care if someone’s hurt you and they say, but cleary don’t mean, an apology? Does it make your broken lamp get fixed? Your skinned elbow heal?

Having said that, it may surprise you that I believe children should apologize and Jim captured my reasoning well when he observed that it’s just politeness training. Linda, however, believes that it’s quite possible that some children are just too young and since you won’t get a genuine apology, you should just let it go if they don’t automatically say “woah, sorry!”

I’m kind of on a fence about this (but don’t tell my wife) because I have seem my children do something bad and immediately apologize with a heartfelt upset about the situation. Not always, but let’s be frank: do you always mean it when you apologize for things like accidentally bumping someone getting onto the subway?

So what do you do? Do you require 100% compliance with the “say you’re sorry” rule, do you let it go completely, or do you rather sporadically request an apology from the offending party with the perhaps naive belief that somehow they’ll learn to be nicer and more polite and pleasant in the future?

Fantastic - had to share this with every mother lacking a good night’s sleep:

Bananas. They’re practically a sleeping pill in a peel. In addition to a bit of soothing melatonin and serotonin, bananas contain magnesium, a muscle relaxant.

Chamomile tea. The reason chamomile is such a staple of bedtime tea blends is its mild sedating effect - it’s the perfect natural antidote for restless minds/bodies.

Warm milk. It’s not a myth. Milk has some tryptophan - an amino acid that has a sedative - like effect - and calcium, which helps the brain use tryptophan. Plus there’s the psychological throw-back to infancy, when a warm bottle meant “relax, everything’s fine.”

Honey. Drizzle a little in your warm milk or herb tea. Lots of sugar is stimulating, but a little glucose tells your brain to turn off orexin, a recently discovered neurotransmitter that’s linked to alertness.

Potatoes. A small baked spud won’t overwhelm your GI tract, and it clears away acids that can interfere with yawn-inducing tryptophan. To up the soothing effects, mash it with warm milk.

Oatmeal. Oats are a rich source of sleep - inviting melatonin, and a small bowl of warm cereal with a splash of maple syrup is cozy - plus if you’ve got the munchies, it’s filling too.

Almonds. A handful of these heart-healthy nuts can be snooze-inducing, as they contain both tryptophan and a nice dose of muscle-relaxing magnesium.

Flaxseeds. When life goes awry and feeling down is keeping you up, try sprinkling 2 tablespoons of these healthy little seeds on your bedtime oatmeal. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids, a natural mood lifter.

Whole-wheat bread. A slice of toast with your tea and honey will release insulin, which helps tryptophan get to your brain, where it’s converted to serotonin and quietly murmurs “time to sleep.”

Turkey. It’s the most famous source of tryptophan, credited with all those Thanksgiving naps. But that’s actually modern folklore. Tryptophan works when your stomach’s basically empty, not overstuffed, and when there are some carbs around, not tons of protein. But put a lean slice or two on some whole-wheat bread mid-evening, and you’ve got one of the best sleep inducers in your kitchen.

For an extra treat, here’s the ultimate sleep-inducing snack…

Lullaby Muffins
Makes 12 low-fat muffins
Between the bananas, the whole wheat, and the honeyed touch of sweetness, these muffins are practically an edible lullaby.
· 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1 tablespoon baking powder
· 2 large, very ripe bananas
· 1/3 cup applesauce
· 1/4 cup honey
· 1/2 cup milk or soymilk

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine the flour (make sure it’s whole-wheat pastry flour or you’ll produce golf balls, not muffins), salt, and baking powder. In a blender, puree the bananas; add the applesauce, honey, and milk. Blend well. Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Line muffin tins with paper muffin cups, pour in batter, and bake 30 minutes or until tops are lightly brown and slightly springy.
 

Nutrition Facts
Per serving: 119 calories; 1g fat; 2.5g protein; 27g carbohydrates; 10g sugars; 133mg sodium; 3g fiber; 35mg magnesium