Children Archives - Page 4 of 40

10 Tips for Building the Perfect Baby Registry

October 15, 2020 by Mandy

Did you just find out that you and your partner are expecting a child? If so, congratulations!

There are few things more exciting in life than discovering that you’re expecting. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.

But finding out that you’re going to have a baby can also be stressful. There are so many things that you’ll need to buy before the baby comes.

Creating a baby registry is one way to ease the burden that you feel. There are all kinds of baby registry must-haves that you can ask your family members and friends for to make sure that you have everything you’ll need to welcome your child into the world.

Need help coming up with the ultimate baby registry checklist? Here are 10 tips that will help you put together the best baby registry possible.

1. Start Creating Your Baby Registry as Soon as You Can

You don’t necessarily need to create a baby registry the day after you find out that you’re expecting. But you should try to get it together by the time you’re entering your second trimester.

It’s not going to be too long before people begin asking you, “Where are you registered?” You should be prepared to tell them so that they can go and check it out for themselves.

2. Consider What You Want to Put on Your Registry Before You Begin Making It

While you might be tempted to dive headfirst into creating a baby registry, you should take your time with it and think about what you want to put on it before you actually start making it. It’s easy to get out of control when creating a registry when you go into doing it without any ideas as far as which items you want to include on it.

Sit down with your significant other and consider which items you want to put on your registry prior to creating it. It’ll help you see which items are the most important to you.

3. Find the Right Place to Put Your Registry Together

In this day and age, there are so many different stores that you can create a baby registry at. From brick-and-mortar operations to online retailers, you should choose the one that you like the most.

Look around at a few different places to see which one carries items that you’d like to buy for your baby. This will be the place that you should use when creating your registry.

4. Make Sure You Put Your Big-Ticket Items on Your Registry First

There are some big-ticket items that you’re 100% going to need when your baby arrives. This includes things like:

Crib
Car seat
Stroller
Changing table
Bassinet

You’ll also want to get your hands on things like an affordable baby monitor camera.

It’s very easy to lose sight of these items and focus on things like baby clothes when you’re making a registry. You should instead try to hone in on the things that you need as opposed to just the things that you want.

5. Limit the Total Number of Items That You Put on Your Registry

The average baby registry has just over 120 items on it. You should do your best to keep the number of items on your registry under that if you can.

If you put too many items on your registry, there is a decent chance that you’re not going to get all of them. And it would be a real shame if people purchased things that you don’t need in favor of those that you do.

6. Try Not to Put Anything on Your Registry That’s Too Expensive

You shouldn’t shy away from including a few expensive items on your baby registry. There is no getting around adding things like a crib or a stroller.

But if almost everything on your registry costs several hundred dollars, it’s going to make it hard for people to find something for you that fits into their budget. You should have something that will fit into almost everyone’s price range.

7. Think About Whether or Not You’re Really Going to Use the Items on Your Registry

Once you have your baby registry together for the most part, you should comb through it and see if there are any items that you might not ever get around to using. If you’re on the fence about any of them, it’s best to leave them off your list.

This is a simple way to limit what ends up on your registry. It’ll ensure that you only get things that you’re definitely going to put to good use.

8. Read Reviews for Every Item That Ends Up on Your Registry

Another way to narrow down your registry when it’s all finished is by reading through reviews for the various items that you have on it. If you see any items that have nothing but bad reviews, you should knock them off the list.

The last thing you want to do is have people purchase low-quality items for you that you don’t even want to use. You should look exclusively for items that have garnered good reviews from those who have used them.

9. Prepare to Purchase Some of the Items on Your Registry Yourself

Even if you trim down your baby registry and don’t include that many items on it, you’re probably not going to get everything that you put on it. You should be prepared to purchase at least a few items on your own.

This is another good reason why you should start making a registry on the early side. It’ll give you plenty of time later on to buy any items that people don’t buy for you off your registry.

10. Steer Clear of Letting Your Registry Stress You Out

When you’re in the process of preparing for a baby, you’re inevitably going to get stressed out. There is no avoiding it.

But you shouldn’t let something like your registry stress you out. You should have fun with it and enjoy putting it together and seeing people buy things off it.

Remind yourself every day of just how lucky you are to have so many family members and friends willing to buy things off your registry. It’ll help to keep everything in perspective for you.

Begin Building the Perfect Baby Registry Today

Now that you know how to build the perfect baby registry, get out there and do it. You’ll have a blast brainstorming items that you want to put on it.

Keep the tips found here in mind at all times to ensure that you end up with everything that you need for your baby. They should help lead the way and leave you with the best possible registry.

Read the other articles on our blog for more tips on preparing for a new baby.

Teaching Empathy by Example: How Parents Can Be There for Kids

October 14, 2020 by Mandy

If your child learns to be empathetic to the extent they’re capable of for their age, and they continue to develop this skill, then you’re setting them up with a fundamental skill necessary for success in so many aspects of life.

Many people have a life-long struggle in developing and maintaining healthy relationships with others. This is because they struggle to understand how other people feel.

Teaching empathy to a child from a young age can go a long way to equipping them with essential life skills and helping them develop rewarding and meaningful relationships with others, that includes you!

A major point here is that if you lack empathy or unaware of how to develop this quality in your child, you could unintentionally teach your child to show a lack of feeling. That is the last thing you want, so make a determined start by reading this article.

Empathy – What Is It?

Empathy is a complex set of emotional reactions in response to the emotions of another person. It involves being sensitive to the feelings of others and being affected by those feelings. It has been said that empathy is someone else’s feelings in your heart.

Empathy is more than sensing or reacting to the feelings of others. It’s a quality that enables a person to imagine a different perspective and consider what emotions might be involved with that perspective. Someone who can do this could be described as emotionally intelligent.

Be The Person You Want Your Child to Be

Your child’s mind is like a CCTV monitoring what you say and do. As your child matures, their attention focuses on how you interact and react to others. This means that if you want to help your child in learning empathy, then you will need to be their role model.

Being empathetic towards your partner, and towards other children in the family is the best foundation for helping your child to develop this quality themselves. Learning to be empathetic is not limited to children, adults continue to learn and develop this quality throughout their life.

Connecting Actions and Feelings

When children are very young they do not understand the connection between their actions and the emotional reactions of others.

Like all children, when your child does something they shouldn’t or they hurt a sibling or friend, instead of simply making them say sorry it’s good to reason with them on how that action has emotionally hurt the other person.

Using questions like ‘how would you feel if…?’ Or, ‘how would you like it if they did that to you?’ You can reason with them on when bad things happened to them, how did they feel then, to show them how others are feeling now in response to their behavior.

Teach Them to Value Others

An important aspect of empathy is learning to respect others who are different from us in some way. Not only that but to value the differences of others. This involves teaching your child to respect other nationalities, religions, and cultures.

Closer to home, it’s helpful to teach your child that everyone has different abilities and that somethings are challenging for everyone. For example, they may join some after school activity like dancing. You can prepare for dance class together and help them to see that everyone will feel nervous, to begin with.

Help them to see how those feelings can change with preparation and also how that preparation will affect the instructor.

Communicate Freely

Communication is the window to your child’s mind and heart. Keep that window open by taking the time to have quality interactions with your child. Ask them about events, conflicts, and problems they’re experiencing at school.

Challenge them through reasoning on how others may feel or think. Help to always consider the perspective of the other person and to use that insight to further affect their own feelings and emotions. This takes time and there are no shortcuts.

Create Opportunities to Display Empathy

Consider creating opportunities for your child to show empathy. If there is a big family decision to make, perhaps moving home, or some other matter that needs to be resolved in the family you could arrange for a family meeting.

This is an excellent opportunity to be an example yourself but also to see how your child is progressing in being able to relate to others and accept different viewpoints as equally valid as their own.

Positively Reinforce Empathetic Behavior

We all thrive on commendation, which is especially true of children. When you observe positive behaviors that reflect their progress in being an empathetic person, then make sure you acknowledge that with them.

You can praise them for their actions as well as reward them in other ways. Perhaps giving them a special treat or taking them somewhere they love to go. The important thing is that they know that you notice and appreciate it when they show empathy.

Ready to Start Teaching Empathy

In this article, you have read about teaching empathy to your child. They will imitate the kind of person that you are. Follow the advice in this article and you and your child will be more empathetic with each other and others.

Empathy in the family will contribute to a more peaceful and happy home life. Don’t stop reading there, you can read more excellent advice for parents that fit with your needs on the rest of our site.

Picking the Right Holiday Gifts For Your Kids

October 11, 2020 by Mandy

What a surprise. Child surprised excited holds gift box turquoise background. Kid girl surprised gift. Girl curly hairstyle adorable wondering face celebrate birthday. Kid happy loves pleasant gifts.

As soon as we hear those sleigh bells ringing, we know that the holiday season is approaching. With the holiday season also comes picking out gifts for your kids.

Seeing your child’s face light up as they unwrap an anticipated present is a joy for many parents. Yet, how are you supposed to know how to pick out the right holiday gifts for kids?

In the world of Tik Tok, YouTube, and virtual learning, there are plenty of different gifts that children are going to love in 2020.

Keep reading for our guide on how you can pick the right gift for your kids this upcoming holiday season.

Something to Wear

One thing children might not love getting as much for Christmas, Hannukah, or any other holiday coming up this season is clothing. Yet, if you find something that they like, then you might be surprised.

Giving a winter coat as a present for the holiday season is perfect. This time of the year is the peak of the cold season, which means that we have a ton more freezing days to endure.

Plus, your child more than likely spends lots of time outside, so a new winter coat is great for staying warm. There are tons of different winter coats for kids to choose from depending on what type of climate you live in.

Besides a coat, you can also get them a few new outfits for school. Whether they’ll be doing virtual learning or heading back to the classroom after winter break, everyone loves to wear a brand new outfit to show off to their friends.

These Japanese pop culture-inspired T-shirts by an Australian clothing brand may just be the perfect clothing gift for kids, especially those who love Japanese animation and video games. The T-shirts are made from ethically sourced combed cotton, so they’re guilt-free and super comfortable. There are a bunch of unique designs created by the brand’s artists that you won’t find anywhere else.

Some New Technology

You can never go wrong with getting your children the latest Apple product as a present for the holiday season. Whether it is a new iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or even a Macbook, you know that they’re going to love opening it up on Christmas morning.

If you’re not looking to spend top dollar, or are afraid that your toddler might break an expensive piece of technology, then Amazon’s Fire Tablet is a great alternative.

The Fire Tablet is an awesome piece of equipment for kids of all ages. They’ll have access to over 20,000 apps where they can play games, watch movies, sing songs, read books, and even have access to educational content.

There are even parental controls available on the tablet so you can control and manage the way that your child uses it. You can set time limits on how long they use the device as well as cut it off at a certain time of day.

Something Adventurous

There might a bit of inspiration from A Christmas Story, but if your child is old enough not to shot their eye out, then they might be ready for their own BB gun.

Before letting your child use a BB gun you should talk about how they can be safe with their new Christmas present. While it may seem like a fun new toy, BB guns can still be very dangerous. They use tiny pellets instead of bullets which should only be shot at targets.

Check out the best BB gun for kids so you can ensure that you’re getting your child the correct BB gun for your child. Getting a BB gun that is too big or heavy could make it so they aren’t interested in shooting.

As a parent, you should do as much research on BB guns as possible before getting one for your child. When you finally decide to gift a BB gun to your kid, then they need to know it’s a responsibility. It will also bring plenty of fun and memories for your family.

Something Crafty

If you’re looking for gift ideas that involve staying in the warm house this holiday season, then try getting your children something to get their creative juices flowing. There are tons of different gifts that you can get for your children that will get them inspired to do crafts!

You can start with the basics and get them an art set and sketchbook. Art sets will normally include markers, colored pencils, drawing pencils, and even paints. Your child will look like a little artist carrying around their art set filled with art supplies.

Another type of craft your children might be interested in is clay. If they like playing with playdough, then they’re going to love making things out of clay. Except now they can keep their creations forever!

You also might be interested in teaching your child how to do crochet. Getting them fun yarn and a book on doing crochet can lead to endless hours of fun. It’s great for older kids who like doing repetitive tasks.

Something Exciting

One thing that you can never go wrong with is getting your child brand new board games for the holiday season. Board games are fun and they can get the whole family involved.

If you’re looking to play some of the classics, then you can get games like Monopoly, Sorry, Trouble, Clue, or Candyland.

Yet, there are also tons of new age board games that your kids are going to love playing. You will love playing with them too! Your kids might have to teach you how to play, but you’ll get the hand of it eventually.

These are games like Sloth In a Hurry, where you have to quickly act out scenes based on who, what, and how. This will have the whole family laughing and acting out different scenarios.

The Right Holiday Gifts for Kids

There are tons of different gifts that you can get for your children this upcoming season that they’re going to love. The best thing to do is a little investigation and see what’s on top of their wish lists so that you can always choose the right holiday gifts for kids.

Our website has tons more parenting advice for moms (and dads)! You can also find advice on cooking, health, finance, travel, and so much more. Be sure to follow us on social media so that you never miss a helpful post!

7 Great Ways To Improve Your Kid’s Health

October 11, 2020 by Mandy

Starting healthy is the best way to stay healthy, but getting your kids invested in their own health might not be such an easy task. Obesity currently affects over 13 million children and adolescents in the US.

Poor health can have a huge impact on a kid’s mental health as well as making them more prone to illness throughout life. If you’re worried about your kid’s health then look no further. Here are some great ways to help get your kids engaged in the process of getting healthy.

1. Get Them Active

Kids should get an hour of moderate/vigorous exercise daily according to health experts. If your kids aren’t showing in interest in participating in sport then it’s time to get creative. Not all kids want to play soccer or join the various sports team their school offers.

Help your kid find their sport. They might want to try boxing, cycling, or swimming. They might even want to start lifting weights. Whatever it is support them on their quest to get active. Teach them that its an investment in better health later on.

2. Take Control of the Kitchen

Stock up the kitchen with healthy foods so your kids get used to them. When it comes to health care for kids it starts at home. Plan healthy meals and encourage healthy alternatives to the usual snacks.

3. Invest in Hygiene Rituals

Teaching your kids to look after their own hygiene is crucial for their health. Be sure to highlight the importance of good dental hygiene and the regular washing of hands. Having your kids take pride in their appearance can be a great start to helping them stay healthy.

4. Vitamins and Other Supplements

Whether you’re trying to help your child stave off illnesses or grow big and strong, there’s nothing wrong with giving them kids vitamins. It’s important to make sure your little ones receive all the vitamins and nutrients they need while they’re growing.

5. Encourage Openness

Making sure your child feels like they can be entirely open and share whatever is on their mind is essential for a kid’s mental health. Be sure to spend time discussing the ‘bigger’ questions with your child so they feel they have somewhere to go if something starts playing on their mind. Be open and caring, never judge or try and enforce your own beliefs.

6. Encourage Healthy Sleep Patterns

Sleep is as important as exercise and diet. Kids can need up to 11 hours of sleep a night to function properly. Be sure to encourage a proper nighttime ritual. Make sure phones and computers aren’t used too close to bedtime. Try and get your kids to stick to the same time for going to sleep and waking up the next day.

7. Be The Perfect Role Model

Whether you like it or not, kids look up to their parents. If you want your kids to be healthy then you should show them what healthy looks like. Eat healthy, exercise, and be positive. If you’re complaining that there are too many vegetables on your plate and getting caught snacking on fried chicken and chocolate, then you’re setting your kids up to fail.

Kid’s Health Starts At Home

Children are so responsive to their environment that its important that you create the right kind. Making your home a model of good health will help to secure that your kids grow up healthy. If you want your kid’s health to be good then you need yours to be too. Good health starts with family meals and encouragement.

Be sure to take a look at the rest of our site for more on staying fit and well.

Ways to Get Your Kids to Play Outside

October 5, 2020 by Mandy

Kids nowadays spend most of their time indoors, which is very detrimental to their wellbeing, and as a parent, you should work on getting them to play outside. Outdoor games help the children develop physically, and mentally.

Getting your child to stop the bad habit of staying indoor glued to the phone/television is not easy, but it is possible. It is not suitable for your child to stay in the house without seeing nature, and you can do the following to get him to play outside.

Limit screen time

The main reason why children are comfortable staying home is that televisions keep them occupied. Once your kids spend less time on the screen, they will find other ways to occupy themselves and play outside.

Remember that you are the one who knows what is good for the kid, and even when the child is angry because you limit screen time, he/she will get over it. It is time to take action and get your child out of the cycle of staying indoors.

Work on your backyard

A backyard is the best place for your kid to play, and you should try your best to make it an excellent center for the kids to play. You can turn your backyard to a playground by having some gadgets that enable playing to be fun, and comfortable.

You can get trampolines online, and have them set in the backyard. Once you get such playing gadgets, your children will be excited to play outside.

Organize an outdoor play date

Sometimes your children fail to play outside because they lack the proper motivation, and you can encourage your kids by joining them in an outdoor activity. Despite your busy schedule, organize a play date where you will take your children to the park.

You may also play with them, but you can cheer them on if you cannot keep up with their pace. Being there encourages kids to play better, and they have more fun.

Explore nature with your kids

It would help if you planned a holiday to take the kids/ or the whole family to enjoy nature. It is essential to develop your child’s interest in nature, and taking the kid to a geographical area such as a mountain, or an ocean can help achieve that.

Other practices include taking the child for a walk around your home, and involving the kid in fun activities such as biking, and hiking. The activities mentioned above will help the child know that there is more to life than staying indoors glued to the television.

Come up with fun activities for your kids to engage outside.

You can be creative, and find some exciting activities that your child may do out of the house. One example of such an activity is a scavenger hunt where your kids can search for items and collect them.

Bottom Line

It is essential to get your kids to play outside and get out of the cycle of staying indoors. Ensure that you develop the child’s interest in nature.