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Orlando: Tips For Planning Your Ultimate Family Vacation

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Planning your next family vacation? One of the most family friendly holiday destinations has to be Orlando, Florida. The famous amusement parks have plenty of indoor and outdoor activities to keep kids of all ages entertained. If you need a break from the wild thrill of rides and costumed characters, there are plenty of other attractions to keep you and the kids busy.

Where To Stay

Once you’ve booked your flights to Orlando, you’ll want to look at accommodations. Whether you’re looking for budget family holiday accommodations or would prefer a five star resort, there’s a hotel in Orlando to suit your taste and budget.

The Walt Disney resorts are second to none but it’s not hard to find a great resort and save some money by staying off-property. Many resorts run shuttle services to the big amusement parks so staying on site isn’t essential. Do plenty of research: savvy travellers can take advantage of great deals on hotels, car rentals and even find discounts to theme parks.

What To Do

There are numerous Walt Disney World parks including the Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot and their water parks, but here are a few firm family favourites:

Universal Studios is great: brilliant for lovers of thrill rides and movie fans but also has plenty for small kids. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter takes you into the world of the famous boy wizard, you can check out Diagon Alley and Gringotts bank as well as book a seat on the Hogwarts Express. For the little ones, there is a Curious George themed play area that includes a wet section, so remember to bring your swimwear!

SeaWorld Orlando has a diverse line up of entertainment suitable for all ages. The park has huge rollercoasters for the thrill seekers and calmer rides for the kids along with amazing killer shark shows and fun animal displays.

If you need a break from the amusement parks, Orlando Science Center is a must for your ‘things to do in Orlando’ list. The center has four floors of exciting exhibits, live shows and amazing giant screen movies.

Guaranteed fun awaits visitors the Orlando, the only problem is trying to fit it all in one trip.

This post was brought to by: Karlie Dunn is a mom of two under-fives: Jessica and Owen. She is also a part time blogger and specialises in travel. Her favourite destination is New York.

4 Parenting Tips For Dealing With a Fussy Eater

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Photo by Brightbabyhood.com

We’ve all been there – the stubborn head shake, the raised voices, food on the floor, and finally the exasperated sighs, pleadings and reprimands. When mealtimes become battlegrounds is a situation many parents, or those looking after children routinely face, and it can be an exhausting affair. However, it is a commonplace problem, and luckily there do exist some solutions to get your fussy eater to, well, eat. Remember, these things don’t happen overnight but with patience, care and love you can succeed!

Keep Calm and Carry On!

Some of the biggest dinner table crises can be avoided if you simply refuse to allow things to escalate. Raised voices will simply exacerbate the problem, and leave both you and your child upset. Rather than forcing your child to eat when they shake their head no, just excuse them from the table. Remind them of proper behavior at mealtimes, and tell them that you expect better from them at next time. N.B. ‘Disappointment’ is so much more effective than anger!

Do Not Resort To Bribes!

When you’re at the end of your tether, the temptation to resort to that most deliciously uncomplicated parenting trick can be strong (“If you finish all your vegetables…you can have ice cream/watch your favourite TV show/play video games later). But be strong and resist! Tricks like these distract your child from her own hunger cues, turning eating into reward system rather than the nourishing activity it is.

Children must learn to enjoy eating healthily for what it is, rather than for some promised ‘prize’. Rewarding children for eating healthily with sweets or some other desired snack simply increases their desire for such foods, as opposed to the central point of creating desire in your child for healthy foods.

Bit By Bit

Many parents or caretakers of children achieve success by simply taking it slooooowly with new foods. Children find it much easier to deal with tiny increments of culinary complexity as opposed to dishing out a full plate of greens on day one. Start with a basic food that they love (e.g. bread) and keep adding extra items (bread with a bit of cheese, bread with a bit of cheese and egg, bread with a bit of cheese, egg and avocado etc.) Techniques like this will help the child build ‘trust’ in what you put down in front of them.

Make it Fun!

We play games with feeding our babies from day one, so there’s no need to stop as they begin to grow. By making eating fun, with songs, mimes, make-believe and so on, can create positive associations in your child’s mind with eating healthy foods. Pretend to be dinosaurs eating trees when you eat broccoli, create exciting names for foods (‘Penguin pasta bake’), allowing your child to help you with the cooking – anything you can think of to make it more enjoyable will help you enormously in the long run.

4 Delicious (& Healthy) Vegetarian Recipes Kids Will Love

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Eat your greens! It’s that age-old dilemma: how to get your kids to eat those green vegetable-looking thingys? Mealtimes often end with a sad, conspicuously arranged pile at the edge of the plate, and a stubborn shake of the head when you urge them to just try them, go on…for me? Luckily there are literally tons of delicious recipes packed full of greens that your kids will love. I headed over to the folks at BBC to gather some of the quickest and easiest dishes to get your kids eating the good stuff.

Cauliflower Cheese and Spinach Pasta Bake

Kids love pasta. Kids love cheese. Throw in some cauliflower and spinach and they’ll never tell the difference. Or better yet, they will tell the difference and love it even more so. This pasta bake is incredibly simple yet packed full of goodness, a substitute for macaroni cheese with ten times the nutrients for your young ones. A tried, tested and firm favourite in my household:

Click here for recipe.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Another deliciously easy dish that your kids will love – and love to help you make! Simply stuff tomatoes full of mozzarella, basil, peppers…and whatever other veggies you fancy (you can also add couscous or rice to make them more substantial), pop them in the oven and you’re done! Finally, serve them on toasted bread and you and your child can admire (and enjoy) your handiwork!

Click here for recipe.

Veggie Lasagna

This is an absolute staple – a meat-free lasagna, easy to knock up and (provided you chop them up small enough) packed full of veggies to make sure your child is getting the goodness they need. Let your child help with the layering of the sauce, cheese and lasagna slices to make it more fun – my 9 year old loves to help me out with this.

Click here for recipe.

Pea Hummus

An ingenious way to get your child eating peas, this is simple to make and really useful for packing into lunch boxes as a healthy alternative to Dairylea dunkers. Whizz up peas, tahini, garlic and cannellini beans in a processor for a protein-rich dip to be enjoyed with breadsticks, pitta bread or crudités – your kids will love it!

Click here for recipe.

4 Awesome Educational Apps For Kids

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The use of technology with your children can be a hand-wringing dilemma: how much is too much? Is it bad parenting to allow them free reign? Should I use a reward system?

The dawn of the iAge has brought many parenting puzzles (as well as guilty solutions to child-related dinner party problems) with it. However, the use of tablet technology doesn’t always have to be the reluctant surrender to your child’s demands or reward for their good behavior. There are now available huge numbers of Apps which are both fun and educational, so relinquishing the iPad to your youngster can be a guilt free experience.

Here are four of the best:

LEGO Creationary

It’s no secret that LEGO can be hugely educational, so it’s our luck that they’ve created an App for young learners. Incredibly simple but fun, the app delivers a timed guessing game, where you have to guess the object being constructed on the screen to earn points.

Great for vocabulary and visual analytical skills. Game on!

Ages: 5+

Zoo Train

Two kiddie favourites for the price of one: animals and trains! This app is perfect for very early learners. There are 5 educational games to play (alphabet and letters, shape recognition, word construction, musical note recognition, and matching patterns) plus a bonus sticker activity. Lots of original music and original animations, this will keep your little one learning for hours!

Age: 2-4

Hakitzu: Code of the Warrior

This highly original (and entirely free!) app wants to teach your kids to…code! While it’s probably too late for many of us, many predict that coding will soon be a subject taught in schools and possibly essential for many areas in the not-so-distant future workplace. This app teaches children to code in the JavaScript language, in the form of a game where your child builds robot warriors and battles them against friends or themselves in single-player mode. Cool!

Age: 8+

Mystery Math Town

Get your kid down with numbers early with this fun and hugely educational app. Presented as a game where you explore mysterious houses, tapping on windows, doors, ladders and stairs and solving math problems before you can enter them. The difficulty level can be adjusted for the age and ability of your child. Who knew math could be fun?!

Age: 5+

Remember to allow your kids downtime to play on fun ‘in the now’ apps, but make sure they earn it first. No one wants their kid to become one of these zombie-kids who stare at screens all day. Fight the system and mix education with pleasure when your little ones want to let loose in the digital world!

The Best 5 Family Dogs

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Adding a dog to your family will be the one of the best decisions you ever make, these loving creatures are a never ending source of joy and are the perfect family pet, providing of course that you choose the right breed for all of your needs.

With this in mind here is a list of dogs that will be perfect for your family.

Bulldog

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Despite their angry appearance, the friendly Bulldog is a perfect family dog, these thick set dogs can withstand the boisterous nature of kids and are known to strike up close bonds with them as they offer incredible loyalty and love human attention. The Bulldog is a great source of amusement too with their snoring and slobbering. The dogs are very protective over their home and are considered average shedders, simply put, the Bulldog ticks all the boxes as a great family pet.

Labrador Retriever

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The Labrador would be a great fit for all the family, they thrive on exercise and play and shower you in love. Lab’s are independent so don’t require round-the-clock attention, great for those with busier lives. Labrador’s share a child’s zest for life and will give unconditional loyalty. These dogs are gentle and adapt well to humans, they can be easily trained and are not difficult to look after. The Lab has been regularly voted America’s best loved dog and will be the ideal addition to your family.

Cockapoo

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The hilariously named Cockapoo is a medium sized dog that have a long life expectancy at around 16 years. These dogs have a soft coat and rarely shed, they are intelligent and easily trained. The dogs love being around people and will match the energy of children. The Cockapoo is largely an indoor dog but still loves to go out and play, great for those who can’t commit to a daily walk. With such a peaceful and friendly nature this breed will make the perfect family pet.

Beagle

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The Beagle is a medium sized, playful, athletic, loving and loyal breed and would be a great choice for a family dog. Beagles require a lot of activity and love to bound about, they are mild mannered around humans and love playing with kids. This breed comes from a line of Hounds so they don’t enjoy being alone and will require plenty of care and attention, but in return this floppy eared bundle of joy will give you unconditional love, a great pet for the family.

Boxer

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This loveable dog is not only super friendly but is very intelligent, easy to train and will adapt seamlessly to your family home. The Boxer is easy to care for, sheds moderately and has boundless energy when it comes to playtime. Boxers are incredibly robust dogs so can easily put up with kids and their mischievous nature will keep you entertained for hours. These dogs are affectionate and protective and love being a part of a human ‘pack,’ making them an ideal choice for you and your family.

Any one of these dogs will bring joy and love to your family home and within a short space of time become a fully fledged family member.

get children’s educational toys from dhgate.com

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