Insting Blogs

Today I packed my son's lunch with items I knew were his favorites in hopes of getting him to eat his lunch after 5 days of coming home with a lunch box full of food. This is not like him to not eat his food entirely. And I even implented my MTM  stylings to his lunches with no luck. So I am at a loss. I decided to video my concerns, discoveries and frustrations. Can you relate?



Email subscribers can click here to see the video.

UPDATE: 
Thank you so much for your comments and encouragement! As of 9/22, he has eaten his lunch all the way through 1 time. That's progress.

My Action Plan:

• Continue to build positive reinforcement about school lunch. 
• Talk about how we need healthy food for energy and fuel to play and learn. 
• Involve him in the process both in shopping and in preparing
• Start an initiative to have recess come before eating lunch for the lower grades in our school.
• Visit the school to see the lunchtime routine for myself.
• Create a sticker chart which rewards him for completing 1 week of eating his lunch.

Thank you again for your comments, it has been such a huge help! I can't wait until he is back to his normal eating habits.

Recently, after spending a good portion of my day doing copious amounts laundry, I devised a simple, yet effective way to get my kids to put away the stacks of freshly clean clothes. Armed with a stack of post-its and a black sharpie pen, I labeled each dresser drawer with the corresponding clothes item (and I drew a little picture to go with each word).

Here's why it works:

• My kids learn independence
• Helps hone their sorting skills
• Helps my new reader learn words
• Helps my emerging reader with letter recognition
• Post-its are temporary-perfect for dresser drawers that always seem to be in transition
• They know where every clothes item is and where it goes
• One item off my to-do list
• My kids love it!

I am so pleased to welcome Allie of No Time For Flashcards as she opens up about her preschooler's transition away from naptime, the importance of routines and the tools and methods that have helped her along the way.

RIP Nap Time

My son is almost 4 years old and in that time he has probably slept through the night 20 times. I often refer to him being "allergic to sleep" as a way to make light of what took me a long time to accept, he is simply not a sleeper. The only shining silver lining was that he was a great napper. Was. Can you hear me crying? I am so sad he isn't napping anymore. In June, he became a big brother and during my daughter's super sleepy newborn days I could get them both down for wonderful long naps. I admit I was kinda smug about it. I should know by now if you brag, it will jinx you.

The breakdown came when I was trying to get him down for a nap, baby girl was asleep, my workout clothes were on and I was ready to sweat and try to reclaim my not so fat jeans ( my skinny ones are months down the road), and I lost it. He wasn't settling and I hear the hungry cries from the other room.

" I just want to fit into my clothes!"

I started crying harder than my infant , my son looked at me like I had two heads and that was the last day we even tried to take a nap.

Enter Quiet Time.

It's not really quiet and we are still working on making it a full hour but I have learned a few things since starting this new adventure a few months ago.Some kids need structure. Just going into a room with toys and closing the door may lead to disaster and possibly carpet cleaning. Here are some things that have worked for us.

# 1, 2, 3 !

I use little cards I made with the numbers 1-3 on them to choose three activities for my son to do in his room. Today he read a pile of books, used his magna doodle then played post office . After he is done those three activities he can play with anything in his room. This has helped him focus on something instead of simply focusing on opening the door and asking " Can I come out yet?" I switch up the activities daily ( puzzles, Lego, stickers) and try to have a large rotation so he doesn't get bored.

A Clock !

This works marginally well for us ( I haven't given up yet) but I know has worked beautifully for many friends. Give your child a clock and show them where the hands have to be before they may come out of quiet time. I show my son every day but if he is "done" it won't matter. With kids like my son, try an incentive.

Remove anything that might trigger shenanigans.

My son loves music. He loves making music with drums, his keyboard and harmonica. He is not allowed to play with these toys during quiet time. Instead of running upstairs 300 times to tell him no and get into a negative loop with him and attention , I take them out every day and return them once his sister is up from her nap.

Routine and Rituals

Kids crave routine and being able to predict what will happen next. My son knows that quiet time starts at 2pm, it's always in his room and knows that when it's over we have "Today's snack" and chat while his sister naps. Then he may play quietly for another hour , do a craft or learning activity with me, go outside or read. At 4pm he may watch a show if he has been listening. The rules are always the same, the house is peaceful and it's helped get over the insanity of no nap.

Giving up naps has changed us as a family, now my son goes to bed at 7:15 and is asleep before 8pm, which gives my husband and I some extra together time a bonus we hadn't thought about. It has also given my son and I more time together during the day while my daughter is sleeping, which I think has really helped his adjustment too. I don't get as much alone time but as angry as I was getting when he would fight his nap simply wasn't healthy. So like all parts of parenthood you try stuff until it works, I hope some of the things that have worked for us will help you too.

[image credit: Dianna]
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Allison McDonald is the wonderful blogger behind No Time For Flash Cards, a website full of activities, crafts and ideas for young children. She is one of my daily blog reads and I count it a privilege to have her guest post here today. Thank you, Allie! For more fantastic ideas about how to promote play, discovery and learning in your child be sure to visit www.notimeforflashcards.com

Children love to be told how proud you are of them and how much you love them. They love to hear specifically what they have done that has earned a compliment or moment of praise. Nothing beats hearing "I really like it when you.." or "wow! You picked all your toys without whining or complaining. I am so proud of you. Keep it up." And while that is always a top priority it my book, a little "love gossip" is a great way to well, share the love, so to speak.

What's "love gossip", you ask?

Here's how it works. While your child is within ear shot, talk to a stuffed animal or doll about your child. Maybe your son or daughter ate all their dinner or was kind to friend or sibling. Choose something and share it with that toy-paying careful attention to make sure your child can hear you. Be sure to be authentic and not too "over the top".

Example: (to "bun-bun" the stuffed bunny) What? I know, I saw that too. K was kind to her brother tonight. She shared her treats with him. She didn't have to. What was that? You want me to give her a hug for you and tell her how proud you are? Okay. (hugs). K, bun-bun is really proud of you and so am I.  

This also works in 3rd person when talking to dad, grandma and grandpa, or another friend.

Example: Daddy, did you read K's report card today? Her teacher wrote that she is a very good listener. I agree, she IS a good listener. I am so proud of her. 


Nothing boosts a child's self confidence more than a parent who believes in them. And to be clear, telling someone else about your child doesn't replace telling them yourself, that should always come first. "Love Gossip" is just a great way to add to it. :)

**I first read about this concept in  Dr. Karp, MD's The Happiest Toddler on The Block Although he doesn't call it "love" gossip.


*photo by aussiegal

If you need me, I'll be in the bathroom, disinfecting the you know what out of our bath toys...

One way to measure the amount of praise and encouragement you are showering on your children is to grab a handful of pennies and place them in one our pockets (if you don't have pockets, try jars). And every time you say something nice to your child, for example, "Good for you!", "I'm so proud of you!" or "I love you", take one penny from your pocket and place it in the other (empty) pocket. By the end of the day you should have no more pennies in the first pocket. Conversely, for every negative comment, take a penny away from the second pocket.

Your child deserves to hear you sing his (or her) praises.

Just a thought.