30 Nov
A quick recap of the video:
13 Nov
Parents often go overboard when buying Christmas presents for their children, especially when that child is their first. What parents find out, after their babies are old enough to sit up and play, is that babies usually love boxes more than the toys that were originally in them.
Don’t become too discouraged. It happens to nearly every parent. When someone suggests that you may not want to spend so much on actual gifts because an infant won’t be able to appreciate them, you might want to listen. If they have children of their own, you may be able to avoid some of the same frustrations they’ve had.
What is it about boxes that draws the attention of babies? Part of the appeal may be that boxes are large and easily manipulated. Boxes are also lightweight so they won’t hurt if the baby drops them. Finally, as everyone knows, nothing tastes better than cardboard!
Since babies love boxes so much, don’t fight it. Take advantage of their interest in boxes to begin to teach them to use their imagination. Your baby won’t totally develop their sense of imaginative play until they are pre-school age, but there’s no reason to wait too long before encouraging this type of play.
Actually, if you haven’t looked at toys lately, you can buy pretend food
One box that parents probably have in large numbers is baby wipes box
With babies, it seems that simple is best. They really don’t need to have toys with all the bells and whistles. Lights and noises at this age may get their attention, but they may not hold that attention for long. Give them a couple of small boxes and they’ll be happy for quite some time.
As your baby grows, they have the potential to turn almost anything into a toy. They’ll find things in your home that you may not wish them to play with, so be concerned about baby-proofing your home.
Babies grow up so fast. One minute they’re brand new, small, and helpless. The next thing you know, they’re trying to get around on their own. Give them simple things to play with. Babies love boxes and they’re great items to help them use their imagination.
13 Nov
Nothing can be more nerve racking for a parent than the wail of a baby who can’t be comforted. You can lose a lot of sleep and at some points come close to losing your sanity. While everyone has their own ideas for raising children one of the best things you can do for your baby is calm them naturally. Here is some information to help you finally calm your baby.
Many parents and doctors will tell you to just leave your baby alone when they are crying. The philosophy is that if no one comes to help the baby, they will learn to “self soothe”. The truth is small babies don’t have the emotional capabilities to self soothe. Yes, the baby will stop crying eventually, but only because it feels it has been abandoned and has given up on seeking help. A baby who isn’t comforted when they cry believes their parents no longer care. This can destroy the parental bond and the child’s self esteem. Letting a baby “cry it out” may not always be the best option.
On the other hand, your psychological health matters too. There’s bound to be the occasional time that you can’t take it anymore and no one is around to help you. If you feel you’ve reached your breaking point, it’s all right to take a break from your child for a few minutes while you regroup. If your child knows you’re coming back eventually, they will be less likely to feel abandoned.
The best way to learn to soothe your crying baby is to get to know them. Most of the time, the child is crying because something is wrong: they’re hungry, tired, grumpy, sick, bored, or have one of a multitude of other needs, and every one of these problems has a different cry. If you spend time with your baby and listen carefully, you should be able to distinguish one cry from another. You should for other cues such as facial expressions and body language. The sooner you learn to interpret your child’s crying, the sooner you’ll be able to satisfy their needs.
Sometimes, babies don’t really have anything wrong with them and are just plain upset. Here are a few suggestions for calming a fussy baby:
If you’ve tried these and other remedies, but your baby still won’t stop crying, you should take them to the pediatrician just in case. They may have something simple (but annoying), like colic, but it’s best to be sure that it’s not something more serious.
11 Nov
It can be a challenge to decorate your new baby’s nursery when you have decided not to find out the gender of your baby during pregnancy. Thankfully we have a lot more choices available to us today than our parents and grandparents had when they were having babies. They worked with the two basic baby colors; blue and pink. We have the entire rainbow and our imagination is the only limit.
Before you put anything into your nursery, it’s a great idea to tackle the walls. You’re going to want something gentle and soothing that will work with all kinds of ideas you come up with later. Without being girlish or boyish, you could go for a simple blue sky scene using a few shades of light blue. Add in some fluffy clouds and you have a great backdrop for anything. Carry this same theme over into curtains with some fabric paints. Just about any fabric color you choose for the windows will look complimentary.
Most nurseries have four basic elements of furniture. The baby crib and changing table usually match. Then you have dressers and a rocking chair for Mom. You may also have a cradle, but that’s more likely to be in your own bedroom. Since you won’t know the gender of the baby until you bring him home, and you certainly won’t feel like shopping for furniture then – you will probably want to go with natural wood tones. If you pick up some unfinished pieces, you can add color and design elements later when you have more time.
The next step in decorating your baby’s nursery might be all about the functions of the nursery. If you’ll be spending time in the nursery late at night, a little side nightstand with a lamp next to the rocker will be nice. Find a plain white lamp and lamp shade and you’ll be able to modify it later to match the theme you choose.
Look for two or three large shelves, two or three feet wide, at least eight inches deep and hang these up strategically around the room. Choose a natural wood tone to match the furniture or stick with white until later. These shelves will be a blessing to you for things like a small stereo, some baby books to read your baby are so versatile and can flow with any ideas you come up with later when the baby is settled in. Whether you end up adding butterflies or frogs to the room later, the blue sky and neutral additions will fit perfectly.
This is a room with a really nice canvas of sky and all of the basics in place. You can wait for baby to reveal his or her gender to really dig into a decorating theme, or just choose to go with something that isn’t girl or boy specific to get everything done in advance. Whichever you choose, don’t be afraid to be daring – remember, the nursery gets redecorated in just a few short years and you get to have the fun all over again.
Baby Furniture for Frugal Families – Ideas to get you thinking frugally before rushing out to purchase furniture for your baby’s room.
Popular Nursery Theme Ideas for Baby Girls – You’ve found out that your precious bundle of joy will be a girl. Pictures of pink and frills suddenly fill your head. But, decorating for a little girl doesn’t have to be limited to pink.
Popular Nursery Theme Ideas for Baby Boys – The ultrasound showed that a bouncing baby boy is on the way. Now you need to prepare a room in which he can grow and have adventures.
7 Nov
Baby nursery on your mind lately? You’ve come to the right place: here you’ll find ideas on picking a theme for your baby’s room, as well as what are some of the essentials you need to decorate a special room for
a special baby.
One of the first decisions new parents make regarding a baby nursery is the theme. For some parents this is simply done by selecting a character or favorite cartoon, such as Charlie Brown from Peanuts, or Strawberry Shortcake. However, your baby nursery theme does not have to rely on a character theme.
Some playful themes for your baby nursery may include the following ideas:
Keep in mind when you are selecting the theme for your baby nursery, you will have to subsequently decorate the room accordingly. Some themes might be easier to accommodate for than others. For example, a Winnie the Pooh theme would probably not be difficult to plan for. Almost every baby store has hundreds of Pooh themed sheets, clothing, wall paper and other paraphernalia. On the other hand, selecting an obscure theme such as “salamanders” might be more difficult to shop for. It can be done however, so, should you select an unusual idea, just give yourself plenty of time to research the theme and find appropriate materials.
There are definite do’s and don’ts to consider when planning a baby nursery. It’s important not to go overboard! Remember how rapidly babies grow. At some point, your beautiful little baby is going to turn to you and say “mommy, I want a different themed room!” and it may be sooner than you think!
That being said, there are a few essential items you need to consider purchasing to furnish your baby nursery:
Now for those extras that make your baby’s nursery so special, here are some suggestions:
No matter what theme you decide upon and what furnishings you select, your baby nursery is bound to become a place where you and your baby have countless opportunities to bond and grow together.
And here are some safety tips for your baby nursery:
Baby Center – create a safe center for your baby’s activities.
4 Nov
Many folks set about creating a nursery knowing that the space is being designed 100% with a new baby in mind. Other areas of your home however, often do not take on much significance related to the baby. One novel idea that might better enamor your baby and soon to be toddler to other areas of the home, particularly your main living space, is creation of a “baby center.” A baby center can be located in any area of the home, but most commonly works well in the living area or family area.
The purpose of a baby center is to provide a focal point and activity center for your child as they learn to crawl, toddle and gain an active interest in exploration and toys. Remember that as babies begin to explore the world around them with newfound excitement and interest, they often “taste” anything and everything that falls in their path. Therefore it is critical that you ensure that the area where your baby will be spending a large part of their day is safe, secure, and free of small objects that your baby might accidentally ingest.
Creation of a baby center alleviates the need for excessive monitoring. You can set aside a section of your home, and fill it with fun baby oriented toys and learning items such as books, bouncing chairs, building blocks and discovery centers. Some tips on creating a safe center for your baby’s activities and some common baby proofing ideas are listed below:
To keep things organized within your baby center, consider purchasing a large plastic tub to store all of baby’s toys when they are not in use. Also have a supply of spit up rags handy to catch any mess that is produced as a result of baby’s adventurous activity.
Baby Room Themes – Decorating your baby’s room is one of the most important things you can do while waiting for your little one to arrive.
Baby Furniture for Frugal Families – Ideas to get you thinking frugally before rushing out to purchase furniture for your baby’s room.
Nursery Theme Ideas for Baby Boys – The ultrasound showed that a bouncing baby boy is on the way. Now you need to prepare a room in which he can grow and have adventures.
Popular Nursery Theme Ideas for Baby Girls – You’ve found out that your precious bundle of joy will be a girl. Pictures of pink and frills suddenly fill your head. But, decorating for a little girl doesn’t have to be limited to pink.
4 Nov
(NC)-When it comes to learning, the age-old question “How young is too young?” arises.
“Children begin learning from birth. And, when it comes to literacy and numeracy development, a child can’t begin learning early enough,” says Dr. Donna McGhie-Richmond, Educational Specialist with Kumon Math and Reading Centers. “Learning to read is the foundation of all academic achievement.”
Parents need to provide developmentally appropriate ways of encouraging and supporting early learning. It is important to understand that young children learn through play, exploration, dialogue and interaction.
While building sandcastles in a sandbox or molding an inter-planetary spaceship with play dough may seem like only fun, children are actually fine-tuning their motor skills with every shape they create. They are learning about shapes and quantities, and if we look very closely we can see that they are expressing their understanding of their world.
And while a child’s head may perk up over hearing about how old Mother Hubbard got stuck in a cupboard, the child is also absorbing the rich language and sounds of the words expressed in the nursery rhyme.
Nursery rhymes and songs are a good way to teach young children about rhythm, language and rhymes. Understanding and being able to manipulate the individual sounds in words is critical to learning to read.
Fundamental skills are learned through play and contribute to the development of early literacy and numeracy skills.
And, as the family becomes a child’s first teacher, the learning experiences they provide will have an impact on their child’s future reading and math skills.
But, there is a limit to how a baby or young child can be taught through structured learning activities.
Kumon recommends that children this young learn in a stress-free environment. “Learning should be stressed, not stressful,” says Dr. McGhie- Richmond. “It can be part of their routine, not all of their routine.”
In answer to the question, it is important to remember that children are never too young to start learning, but in the early stages, critical fundamental math and reading skills are best developed naturally through play, exploration and dialogue with family members.
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