The Mom Crowd

Lately it has been pretty stressful around our house. Our five year old daughter has all of a sudden been on her own agenda each day. She thinks the world revolves around her and she doesn’t have to do anything other than what she wants to do. When I correct her with her wrong actions it’s a constant battle and often times I feel defeated at the end of the day as if I have given her complete control of the situation. So after some research I have found a few key points that are crucial if you are experiencing the same type of thing in your home.

Do not overreact

Keeping your composure and not overreacting is extremely important in this type of situation. Even though it might be difficult at times, your child is in a very vulnerable state to copy everything that you do. So if you yell back at them, even though you are correcting their actions. They are just going to continue to think it’s okay to yell as well. If your child is yelling at you something you could respond with is, “I think you could find a better way to say that.” By you yelling back at them it will only add to what ever frustration might be the root of their behavior.

Offer choices

Children want to feel like they are in control of their own life. If at all possible during the day give your child options to make their own decisions. “Would you like to wear shorts or pants today?” “Would you like a sandwich or soup for lunch?” By letting them make their own decisions they will begin to feel like you are including them and allowing them to make their own big kid decisions versus you always deciding for them.

Setting limits

If your child says something that is not acceptable in your house. Be sure you draw the line and make it known that we do not say that in this house. It is extremely important to set limits with children and stick to them. If you don’t stick to the limits that you have set forth, your child will more than likely become defiant because they know you are not serious. It is also important to communicate in a calm fashion that every thought that runs through their head does not need to be verbalized. Whether it be the way someone looks out in public, or how something tastes when you are at a friends house having lunch. Set limits with your child and let them know what is acceptable and what is not.

Keep your eye on the goal

Always try and focus on the solution. Be sure that in your child’s calmer moments you try and understand why they act the way they do. Maybe the reason they don’t stay in their bed each night isn’t because they don’t like their bed, but because they see monsters on the wall. If so, buy them a nightlight to take care of the problem. Try to focus on how to get to the bottom of their problems versus always fighting them and thinking they are just being a little brat. There is almost always a reason behind it all.

When I came across this book, The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet By: Tina Ruggiero, I thought it was going to just be another book on how to make your own baby food. However, I was way off base, I absolutely LOVE this book for many reasons.

After reading just a few of the first pages and thumbing through the book I quickly realized how many actual recipes for baby food were possible to make. The author, Tina Ruggiero, does a phenomenal job in laying out the basics of homemade baby food, the different stages and what to feed your baby, toddler feeding, nutritional information about elements of food, special considerations for children, and in the very back is a feedback chart so you can document what your child liked and disliked.

Basics of Homemade Baby Food

In the first section, Tina equips you with all the knowledge you will need to successfully make homemade baby food.  She lays out a nice list of all the tools you will need to prepare all your foods. She has also put together a nice list of different foods to keep in your pantry for your children, and and extensive list on food safety tips.

Stages of feeding your child

The bulk of the book is broken up into different sections for the different stages you will go through with your child. There are recipes for six months, eight months, nine months, ten months, and eleven months, and she rounds out this section with twelve to twenty three months. The recipes are compounded of different foods to incorporate into your child’s diet. It is not just a book on how to boil vegetables, blend them and freeze them. Tina has constructed her recipes in such a way that your baby will enjoy each food, and as the parent you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your baby actually likes their vegetables. She has recipes such as Pear Potato Puree, Apple a Day Oatmeal and Blueberry and Banana Breakfast.

The great thing about this book is that it covers a wide age range. I can use this book for my six month old, my two year old, and even my five year old loves the recipes. Such a versatile book, it is awesome.

Nutritional Information

This is a fantastic section to become familiar with. It takes you through the different components of things such as Fiber, Fat, Carbohydrates, and Proteins. It describes what it does, the different types of each nutrient, and the sources of where you can find it. What a great section to give parents knowledge of why each component of food is important in your growing baby’s health.

Special Considerations

Now a days kids can be extremely sensitive to many different things when it comes to food. In this section you will learn information and get a better understanding for lactose intolerant children, high risk children, fish and shellfish, teething and even choking.

I can’t recommend this book enough. I highly suggest if you are new to the world of making homemade baby food, then pick up this book and get to preparing these recipes. They are awesome and your baby will only thank you in the long run. Great Job Tina, for putting together such a great resources for families to feed their children in a healthy way. To get your copy of this fabulous book CLICK HERE.

For other great articles on meal time for toddlers check out this article by The Mom Crowd’s Contributor, Tara.

The right mattress for your baby is a very important decision.  The process can be confusing, overwhelming and even a bit scary when you hear about “harmful chemicals” and other scary words.

Not only will a mattress help support your growing baby possibly up to age 3 or four, parents need to take into consideration that mattresses for babies need to be firm but comfortable.  Mattresses too soft can not only be a suffocation hazard, but also can increase the risk for SIDS.

Image credit: Image Source

You should consider not only how much the mattress costs, but also many other factors.  There are mattresses that come in all types from foam to spring coils, to organic materials.  Think about what is most important to you and make sure you take your time.  This was one of the first things I started looking at when I was pregnant because I knew it would take me a while to decide.

When searching for a baby mattress, it is important to start Comparing baby mattresses based on the following:

• material quality
• chemicals used in preparation
• size
• shape
• actual materials used
• price (if you need to be on a budget)

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When I met my husband, I was blown away. “He is perfect.” I told my mom. There are a couple of other things you need to know though. He is divorced, has 3 kids, and is 10 years older than me…I know. A lot to swallow especially coming from her 18 year old daughter. Needless to say, she was speechless and my dad was not happy at all.This guy was so perfect, I didn’t care at all. In fact, a week after meeting him I moved from Texas to Washington D.C. So I became insta-mom. FAST.

Being a stepmom is no piece of cake. It is hard work. It is probably the most challenging thing I have ever experienced.  I don’t think any woman ever dreams up a fairy tale of being a stepmom. The same goes for marriage. Nobody gets married with the intention of it ending in divorce. It has been almost 7 years since we met and here are some key points I have learned during my time so far as being a stepmom to 3 kids.

• Leave the discipline to their dad. This is tough to learn and respect. I will never be their ‘mom’ and I shouldn’t try to be. When we first met, I would try to discipline the kids and the outcome was laughable. Who are you to discipline me? We just met you! Believe me when I say this, Leave it to their dad! If something comes up where the kids need discipline, tell the dad and let him handle it. (At least in the beginning.) Once your relationship grows, the kids will learn to respect you and your rules.                           (more…)

For many moms, there comes a time when when choosing a day care is part of the parenting process.  Whatever the reason, it is not an easy decision.  It can be a very stressful time because you are choosing the place where your sweet child will spend the better part of many days.  As a former infant/toddler, twos, and preschool teacher, I have found myself giving friends and family advice when they are on their quest to find the best center for their child.  There are a few things I always stress when having this talk and I would like to share some of those things with you in this article.

One thing that shocks most new parents is the high sticker price for child care.  It is especially expensive for infants and toddlers.  It is tempting to shop around for the best price, but you may be making sacrifices that aren’t apparent when you choose a less expensive day care.  Centers that charge less have a smaller budget to run their business.  Since it is a business, after all, you will find that these facilities go to great lengths to cut costs in order to keep their business profitable.  This doesn’t mean that it is necessarily a bad place, but you will find that they are most likely striving to meet legal requirements and not much more.

For example, an infant/toddler ratio is four babies to one teacher/caregiver.  Two-year-old children have a legal ratio of one teacher to twelve students.  Depending on your experience with children, you may or may not realize that these legal requirements are quite a bare minimum.  Twelve two-year-olds are A LOT of two-year-olds! As are four infants to one caregiver.  I am not claiming it is an impossible situation, but when you consider the type of care and attention your child gets when they are one-on-one with mom and dad,  they are definitely going to get less personalized care when the ratio goes up.

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