For mental growth and development of your babies, giving them toys is a great idea. It helps sharpens their minds at the same time giving them so much enjoyment. However, as parents you need to very careful about the toys you give your babies, make sure that they are safe to play with and your babies like them. Babies are attracted to bright colors and to different sounds. There are some educational toys for babies that can make different sound of the alphabet. These toys will surely help them get ready to talk.
Bright colors like red, blue, yellow and green attracts most babies. You might want to buy some that comes in different shapes of even large puzzle pieces to incorporate cognitive development at an early age. But your baby might just probably throw them away or bite on them. This is fine babies love to bite especially when teething. So you have to be very picky when it comes to the texture of the toys, they should never come with small parts or a string. These are hazardous especially to babies, since they love biting on the toys, they might choke accidentally on those tiny parts.
Building blocks are great toys for babies especially those that come in varying bright colors. This will help them develop the hand and eye coordination. You may want to teach them how to build blocks at first and then gradually introduce how to make big blocks out of them. These safe and developmental baby toys are great your child.
Large doll houses have entirely changed the playing landscape of children. No longer limited by the confines of the truly miniaturized versions of houses, the larger versions ensure more playing opportunities with playmates. The bigger size not only makes it possible to have more features that can hold a child’s attention, it also allows playmates to play simultaneously in different areas of the doll house.
Opting for large doll houses necessitate minor assembly work as it is not practical for manufacturers to have them packed fully assembled because of their size. The expected joy derived from having an excellent doll house choice more than makes up for the little extra work. The size also permits the inclusion of more furniture and accessories which are of course, such a delight to young children.
Large doll houses also offer more flexibility in personalizing doll houses while providing more opportunities to highlight a child’s creativity. The small hands of children may not yet be up to the care required by smaller versions of doll houses. The semblance of realism in a child’s point of view is much better achieved in the doll house’s advantageous size.
The size of large doll houses likewise allow for more extra details such as turrets, balconies, surprise rooms, and drawbridges. It also facilitates a wider range of interactive activity such as rearranging rooms and furniture to produce an entirely new look for the house. They are also much sturdier and can handle maximized play of children. Many models are provided in fun designs and colors to make imaginative play more exciting. A custom-made doll house can be as large as a young girl wants it to be.
This post is dedicated to our reader, Betty, who is expecting her baby next month. For many mothers-to-be, the last month or so of pregnancy can be the hardest period for many reasons. If you are a working mother, and you get to stay at home during the last couple of months (or even the last month) of pregnancy, the respite from work is very much welcome. After a while, though, you might find yourself wanting to do something – anything – to help you kill time. Even if you’re a stay at home mom (and maybe even more so), you might be interested in alternative ways to bide your time while you wait for your bundle of joy to arrive.
Here are some web sites that you might like if you’re the type who would want to spend some time on the computer playing games.
Fupa.com is a web site that features tons of flash games. They have a parenting section, which has many alternatives to choose from. Some of the more interesting ones that I saw are Childs Play Word Search Game and Parenting Word Search Game, which I think are perfect if you’re the kind that likes word games – and I sure do. There are also games for little kids, which are pretty safe for your tiny ones. You do, however, have to register for FREE. It’s like an online community of its own, with some benefits.
Another fun site that I discovered is BabyYum.com. There is just one game – Baby Yum. It’s a pretty easy flash game, where you can practice your multi-tasking skills. I love the stork, which is actually your character. For some reason, the game reminded me of that old Game & Watch game where you caught eggs that fell off the shelves, which you can find left and right. Maybe it’s the set up of the graphics. In any case, I think this is a great game to play when you have some free time.
Of course, there are other countless games that you can play online – not necessarily parenting games, but still games that are worth your while. And, if you’re on Facebook (I know very few people who aren’t), you can have all the games that you want to keep yourself busy. If you like cooking, go for Restaurant City and Café World. If you’re into fantasy, try Castle Age.
For you mums who are not into games, what do you suggest?
We cannot deny it: we are living in a media age. Think back to when you were growing up. It might be that you didn’t have television, or perhaps if you did, your viewing time was limited. The chances are that you didn’t have Internet access. After all, the Internet didn’t really become widely used till the last decade or so.
Today, however, our children are bombarded with information from all sorts of media: TV, radio, and the Internet. There is no way that we can shelter them from these, is there?
One question enters my mind: is it really necessary to shelter children from the information available to them? After all, we cannot overlook the fact that there is a lot of useful information to be had. I suppose the trick lies in us knowing how to handle the amount and quality of information that our children access.
This is where this book, Parenting Well In A Media Age, comes into the picture. I haven’t had the chance to read the whole book, but I came across it on Amazon; and the title was enough to catch my attention. The product description reads:
This illuminating investigation takes a fresh look at the role of media in children’s lives. An overview of the formidable challenges parents face and creative ways to overcome them are included, as are strategies for turning a home environment from “high-tech” to “high-touch.” Moving beyond demonizing the media, this work, like none before it, articulates the difficulties of parenting in our depersonalized society. It offers hopeful alternatives for all parents wanting to protect children from, and teach children about, media’s impact.
I like the way the contents were described – it does not pinpoint media as “bad” in general. Instead, it highlights the fact that our society can become depersonalized even more because of the way information is presented. I am sure that no one will disagree when I say that parenting is a highly personalized job!
Then again, due to our busy schedules, it is quite easy to fall into the trap of providing our children with entertainment alternatives more than we ought to.
Go watch this education DVD while I make dinner. Go play with your PS3 or Xbox360 while I finish some paperwork. Go on the Internet to find the answer to your question.
These are some common “commands” some parents give their children too often. Perhaps in this book, we might find ways to handle various situations better. I am quite interested in getting my hands on a copy.
Has anyone read the book? Or maybe, you have your own pointers on how to become a good parent in this media age.
All kids love Disney whom we have all been witness to has grown from one theme park to a huge corporation that all kids see as the place where dreams are made of. Another fact about Disney, we as parents know that stuff we see, hear and read about that comes form them are wholesome and educational for all ages(even you parents).
We might have outgrown our love for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck but they are part of kid’s fantasies and pop culture that they are forever part of history as some of the most recognizable cartoon characters of all time. Thinking of a gift for your child? Why not consider getting some of the best Disney tshirts around to suit their choice of favorite characters from the cartoon classics as Snow White to Wall-E the robot who has caused many a tear with his unexplainable emotion hard to imagine from a robot who falls in love.
Just the other day I got an email from my friend Katy telling me to check out the Tiny Art Director because it reminded so much of her daughter Max (who happens to be my Godchild). Maxine is an angelic looking 3 year old, who likes watching Igor in the morning and just had to have some scary dinosaurs at her birthday tea party. Katy said that she and her husband laughed, then breathed a sigh of relief when they read this blog, thinking that Max “Was not such a weirdo after all“.
And I totally agree with them, because my Nat was just like that at age 2,3,4. She even has a photo when she was around 3 where her expression and hair (and the angle) made her look just like that terrifying kid in the Ring. Her first word was “Wow” and she was such a tough, eloquent and opinionated little girl. She was sassy and certainly NOT your girly pink princess-loving little girl- and still is. That face on the book pictured above is very, very familiar to me, and I still get it now and then, despite her being in 1st grade.
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Whether it’s on the days leading up to Christmas or on Christmas day itself, after the presents have been open and everyone is stuffed full, happy and needing a good laze on the sofa, one tradition my family loves to do is to watch a Christmas film.
Here are our favourites:
1. It’s a Wonderful Life – No need for introductions here, who doesn’t know the Jimmy Stewart classic that makes me and my husband cry, no fail, every Christmas. Our kids have so far been a little young for this, but this year we’ll be trying it out on Nat (who’s 7 in February).
2. Miracle on 34th Street – This was one of my favourites growing up, and while I think the new version (with the fellow from the Practice) isn’t bad at all, the classic film with Natalie Wood is still the best.
3. The Grinch – My kids like the Jim Carey film and actually watch it all year round, but I prefer the old cartoon – obviously because it’s what I grew up with, and also because the cartoon Grinch is much more charmingly evil than Jim Carey with all that weird makeup.
4. Scrooge – We love musicals, and so this rendition of “A Christmas Carol” is something the kids enjoy too. Lovely old-fashioned songs, the classic Dickens tale, a film we can’t miss watching every year.
5. The Santa Clause (1, 2,3) – Tim Allen makes us all laugh in this household, and the festive effects in all 3 films are pretty wonderful. The modern twist is also fun to watch – and makes my kids wish it would happen to their Dad!
6. A Christmas Story – I love coming-of-age films, and this one is a firm favorite – just the thought of the “leg” lamp in the “fragile” package makes me laugh out loud! Letting the kids see the “olden”, simpler days of the 50′s is also good.
7. A Charlie Brown Christmas – Ok, so my husband who’s not so big on cartoons won’t join us for this one (also because he’s English, so Charlie Brown isn’t really something he grew up with), but I love watching this with the kids for its quiet, jazzy music, old-style humour (you blockhead!) and nostalgic feel. Perfect!
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!!
Madonna's Sprained Ankle
Since my sprained ankle, I’ve been stuck at home for the past three days, trying very hard not to go mad. You see, I’m the kind of person who can’t sit down for more than half an hour at a time (uh-oh, now I know where my daughter gets it). My bottom actually starts hurting and I have to get up and busy myself with something, anything, on my feet. That’s why I love to cook, I find it somewhat gratifying to labour in the kitchen, over a hot stove for hours on end. No stools needed, thanks.
So you can understand that the doctor’s instructions of RICE or Dr.ICE for the past 48 hours has not been fun. Well at least I’ve been able to catch up with my photo album-ing (forget scrapbooking, that was B3K – before 3 kids!) which have been sorely neglected as my husband always likes to point out (he did so admire the book I did for our firstborn).
While the kids are at school and baby Wills is asleep I’ve also managed to catch up on my DVD watching, which has been impossible in recent months (ok, years). Like most other Mothers, we are no doubt at the bottom of the dibs-on-the-tv list- with kiddie shows, sports and even Baby Einstein taking precedence over things like that latest Spanish film with subtitles that make everyone in my household pull faces.
Speaking of television, I’ve also discovered that quite a few celebs have been seen up and around town sporting their sprained ankles, giving me a boost in thinking I can make it to the supermarket this afternoon and look as cool as Madge (pictured above). Poor thing, it happened right before her 50th birthday bash last August too. Another celeb sporting the same injury as moi is one of my daughter’s favourites, Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers fame. Nobody really know how he got it, because like Madonna, they seem to think there’s some reason for secrecy here.
Photo via The Daily Mail
We recently paid a visit to our friends and we all had a blast. You know how my husband and I love video games but we do not really want the kids to be too attached to them. I still place a strong emphasis on reading. Our friends had a Wii, though, and we all played some games – children and adults alike.
So how was the experience? I have to say that it was better than I expected. You see, with the other video game consoles, most of the time, the person playing is totally engrossed in the game and does not have much interaction with the people around him. With the various games offered for the Wii, however, there are more opportunities for groups of people to actually interact with each other while playing the Wii.
Do you know the board game Cranium? Well they have a Wii version called Kabooki and children and adults can spend a whole night playing the game. It presents more of a challenge because the game utilizes actual movement of the controller for certain tasks. The Wii Sports package also presents opportunities for players to develop team work.
That being said, I actually think that Wii is good for children. Aside from the fact that human interaction is not lost when playing Wii games – in fact it can be enhanced with certain games – I think that there are more Wii games that are geared towards kids.
So would you agree with me that getting a Wii is a good idea?
Do I have what? What in the world is parental street cred? Well, let’s start with street cred. According to the Urban Dictionary, street cred is:
1. Commanding a level of respect in an urban environment due to experience in or knowledge of issues affecting those environments.
2. Your “coolness” factor.
3. Imaginary “points” you get when you do something cool.
So what does it have to do with parenting? Pam Stillman, one of our readers, brought a new site to our attention – ParentalStreetCred. It is about being seen as “cool” by your children and at the same time exhibiting good parental skills.
I paid a visit to the site and was immensely amused by the instructional videos on offer. I like how they used a geeky (sorry for the term but it seems so appropriate) man to give tips to parents. In this site, parents will learn how to relate to their kids, who may seem to be worlds apart from them. Topics include saying hello, dance floor etiquette, skateboarding, clothing, dissing, and video games.
Though the videos may seem a bit goofy at first, the pointers offered are quite practical and provide various insights to our children. Let us say that it is a refreshing way of looking at the differences in generations. One thing I’d like to say, though, I really prefer the PS3 to the Xbox360, which is the sponsor of this site. 
Does that mean I have more parental street cred???
