Sass and Sippy Cups

It seems that in recent years, all anyone is concerned with is the ability of children to read at an early age. How many commercials have you seen for baby reading programs? Forcing kids to read is only going to make them hate reading. I truly feel that this is why many adults end up hating to read. I truly feel that adults who love reading began as children who loved reading, and were exposed to it before it became mandatory. Think about it, if your only exposure to books were the ones you had to read in English class, you'd probably hate it too. That's why it's SO important to get little ones into reading without forcing it on them.  So here are my tips for getting kids to love books (and maybe spend some more time away from that tablet). 1. Just read to them!   The easiest way to get your children to love reading is to read to them. I've been reading to my toddler since the day she came home from the hospital. Now she will crack open a book and say "mommy, I...

My soon-to-be two year old is just a bundle of curious energy, which leaves mommy a little haggard and insane sometimes. She gets so bored (or mad) when I leave her alone for five minutes that her toys just end up thrown around and not actually played with. She had a ton of toys out in her room, which made cleaning up a Herculean feat sometimes (because this mama refuses to clean up after a little girl who is perfectly capable of doing it herself). So recently I tapped into my early childhood education background, and tried a tactic we used when I was working in a daycare: toy rotation.  This involves only allowing your child a small selection of toys and swapping them out every once in a while. This is what my daughter's toy rack looks like now. I put all her other toys in bins in her closet, separated into the following categories: pretend play puzzles and games blocks tech toys (VTech or pretty much anything that talks) She also has a stuffed animal hammock,...

I am always the first one to say “let your kid do it.”   It’s always been my thought that if you rob a child of that pride of mastering a new skill, you might be damaging their self-esteem. Or even worse you might be raising an entitled little brat who expects that the world will do everything for them for the rest of their lives. Yes, I went there. Now, letting your child be independent is no easy task. It takes patience (and sometimes a strong stomach) to let your child learn new things that could potentially hurt them, and when you have a kid like mine with a mind of her own, you don’t even have a choice.    Take the other day for example. I’m sitting at my kitchen table scarfing down a bowl of oatmeal in the five minutes of quiet while she watches TV. My inner monologue went something like this: “Ah, quiet. I can have my coffee and my oatmeal and…. HOLY CRAP. Quiet? Not good.” So I ran into her room and what do I see? My 19-month old had used the computer...

Like all kids, our little one loves animals.   Well, really I should say she likes looking at them from far away: once they get too close, she’s kicking and screaming.   We took her to the zoo last year, but she was still too little, so she slept the entire time.    Now she loves watching any show with animated animals.   So I thought it would be beneficial for her to see what they really look like. She was able to recognize a couple of the animals, but most I had to compare to the characters she sees on the Disney Channel (zebra, cheetah, bear) which she was super excited to see.   One she did recognize was an elephant, which we were lucky enough to see getting a bath. Right away she recognized the zebra from The Lion Guard on Disney Channel. They also had a contact yard with goats the kids get to pet and brush.   This is where her attitude started to go downhill. Remember how I said she doesn’t like getting too close?  ...

Little peanut has been going through a"girly-girl princess" phase. As much as I was hoping the tomboy streak would prevail, I've decided to roll with it. So now she has a mirror and a tiny vanity with a brush, comb, and pretend makeup. What else could a princess need? Why, a castle, of course! So of course, I took to Pinterest. And of course they have some awesome stuff. Now I've mentioned before that we live in a small apartment. As much as I would have loved to make those cool castles and houses, they would take up too much space. So I would have to get creative and make it collapsible. Which also would require nagging my husband every week to bring home big cardboard boxes from work... I'm sure he loved that, BTW. But of course, anything for his little princess! Here's how I did it: I used 4 20"× 20" boxes A 30" × 30" box Electrical tape Contact paper (yes, more contact paper) Popsicle sticks Velcro 1. Cut the flaps...

Baby Registry Do-Over As their children get older, parents often think about things they could have done differently. One thing I wish I could re-do is my baby shower registry.   Parenting magazines and websites like to make you think everything is either necessary or will save you space or money, when the opposite is true for a lot of things.   These are the products I either wish I had registered for or wish I had skipped. Skip: Convertible Crib Don't fall for it!   In theory these things are great, and you can get a good deal on them sometimes. However, the majority of them will not save you money in the long run.   Many of them are upwards of $300, and that doesn’t include the conversion rails, which you have to buy separately. The one we got was almost $400, and you had to buy the rails which cost another $300! It might save you some space, but in my opinion, it’s not worth the investment in the long run. Register for: More newborn cloth...

Mommy Rant: Babyproofing v. The Strong-Willed Child If you have kids, you know that as soon as they’re mobile, the pediatrician asks you if you’ve “babyproofed” the house yet. Working in a daycare, the concept made total sense: bolt furniture and move things the kids could hurt themselves with. Common sense, right? Now that I’m a mom, I’ve become convinced that the concept of “babyproofing” is a gimmick created by baby product companies to get you to spend money on things that might not even work. Here’s why. From the time I first felt my little one kick, I knew she was going to be one tough cookie.   I was working at a child care facility at the time, and the class had a child with some impulse control issues.   During one particularly violent episode, he gave me a good kick in the abdomen. And you know what? SHE KICKED HIM BACK. From that moment on, I knew I was in trouble. She also flipped us off and stuck her tongue out at us in a sonogram, but I digress… ...

Have you ever noticed a child playing alone with their toys? Try and observe one day. Are they really "just playing?"  Are they using the toy for its intended purpose, or are they playing with it another way? Are they talking to their toys or an imaginary friend? I've posted about this topic before, but they aren't "just playing."  Everything a young child does is their individual way of exploring and learning about their environment. When I was studying Early Childhood Education, I found the following poem and it made so much sense to me that I found myself questioning how anyone could think otherwise. Building with blocks teaches balance and critical thinking. Imitating everyday situations (cooking, cleaning, taking care of other children, driving to work, etc.) helps kids to learn what skills they're expected to one day know how to do as adults. When kids are running around like lunatics for what seems like no reason at all, they're learni...

Praise and Compliments: Appreciating the Whole Child Everyone loves a good compliment.   Even if you’re one of those I-don’t-give-a-shit-what-anyone-thinks type of people, it feels good to hear that someone appreciates you.   But think about this: Do you like being complimented only on one aspect of yourself (looks, smarts, work ethic, etc.)?  Of course not. We are more than just our physical appearance, intelligence, or talents. The same goes for kids.   Kids love being praised for what they do, but adults often only verbally recognize a few positive attributes.   As a child, I was the stereotypical nerd.   I always got good grades and was an early reader. I was a scrawny, awkward little thing with old lady glasses that took up half my face. I very rarely received praise for anything other than my intelligence. So as I got older and school became more challenging, I started to question my self-image.   As if being a preteen and...

Toddler Fun Tuesday- Mommy Rant Edition Fostering Independence I apologize in advance to anyone I might offend with the following post. Everyone has their own opinions and parenting styles and this is just mine. Feel free to skip past this one. I was always a very independent kid. My mom loves telling the story of my first day of kindergarten when she dropped me off and instead of clinging to her leg, I just took off with barely a “bye, mom!” So naturally, I always thought it was weird when I saw other kids screaming and clinging to their mommies. As an adult, I get a so annoyed when I see parents doing things for their kids that they can do themselves.    I’m the first one to shake my head and think “THIS is exactly why we have adults that think everything should be handed to them” or “THIS is why every time I’m at Walmart some entitled asshole is screaming at the top of her lungs that the line isn’t moving fast enough, and when she gets to the cashier, she’s ...

Sensory Play Now that my little munchkin is officially a toddler, I decided to try and fix my terrible time management skills and find a schedule that might work for the two of us and keep me sane in the process. (HAHAHAHA!!! A schedule? For my clingy, teething little monkey? What a joke... I'm lucky if I can get a shower in without her screaming her little head off.)  The crazy thing that happened when I checked Google for ideas was that when I typed in"toddler" it was immediately followed by the word "worksheets" in my recommended searches. Yes, you read that correctly.... WORKSHEETS SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE?!?!!! When was the last time you saw a toddler (ages 12 months to just under 3 years) be able to hold a pencil/crayon correctly, let alone write/circle/color in the lines on a WORKSHEET?!?! Kids this age learn best through sensory experiences (things they experience with their senses).  It is super important to their developmen...