Parenting strategies: how to feed kids

Since my first son was just a baby, we made a habit of eating dinner together – now we do it with all 3 kids! My mom was over last week to witness the spectacle that is dinner at our house, and her opinion was that we should feed the kids first and then we’ll be able to eat better afterwards. Although she does have a pretty good point, I decided that I would stick to our current routine.

My 4 year old has grown so accustomed to the family dinner that he completely misses it if we are out or if for some reason he has to eat alone. I found that having this routine with my kids, no matter how challenging it can be at times, has made them pretty good eaters. I mean, I know that it is possible that they just naturally love food, but I have a feeling that the practice is a key part in them not being fussy eaters.

While they were still within their first year of baby-hood, I did feed them before we had our dinner, but I would still keep them in their highchair with us and I think each of them grew comfortable and accustomed to sitting down at the table and eating a meal. Routines are greatly instrumental in the development of kids and really helps them to understand complex concepts and to have situation-appropriate behavior – simply by the virtue that they know what to expect.

When it comes to the actual dinner, I do try to make one meal usually, but I will not force them to eat things that I know they don’t prefer, like red peppers for example, I will instead choose the ingredients that I know they enjoy and this way I know that the chance of them finishing their meal is greater – and isn’t that the aim? Often parents may forget that the point is to get kids to eat healthy foods, and not necessarily to eat foods that we may enjoy! Serving kids a healthy selection of foods that they like is key in ensuring that they are actually getting all the nutrients they need, and not complaining about they stuff they may not be particularly fond of.

There are surely times when they refuse to eat – they are kids after all – but I don’t really push them at those times because in general I know they are good eaters, and because I am usually careful with what they eat at home, when we go out I don’t mind if they indulge in ‘not-so-healthy’ alternatives!

How do you feed your kids?

Fishing and other summer fun

Over the weekend we went on a family picnic and fishing trip, it is well documented over on my husband’s blog

Enjoy!

Surely someone has a photo

to enter into my content

Come on mommas!

happiness

The “I stay at home” contest!

or the “I stayed at home, instead of going to Blogher” content

To win a great book and cd set:

You have to post a photo on your blog with a one-word caption, then link back to this site (leave a comment here if you’ve entered), I’ll do a random draw on Monday. Open to everyone, (whether or not your stay at home) except family. Have Fun!

Mesmerize

Idea!

Excite!

more here

Stay at home sanity: 15 ways to have fun with your little ones

There are a lot of things that kids do on their own, like playing on the computer, building things with blocks, coloring, and watching their shows on TV, but when it’s time for us to play with them, it may be challenging to find activities that keep them interested and us entertained! As a stay at home mom, I think that I have found a few activities that I enjoy as much as the kids, and they are diverse enough that I can choose one that matches the mood I’m in! I hope that my list is useful to you and your kids too!

1. Dance
   Kids really love a lively beat and its great exercise for them, and us! What I try to do is play ‘follow the leader’ with the dance moves, so each child takes a turn doing silly moves while the rest of us follow along. This is really an excellent and fun way to keep them happy and to do some de-stressing for us! We really like African drums.
2. Listen to a story on CD
   Sometimes when I am just really tired, I play the kids stories on CD, (especially Mouse Cookie & More because it includes great little songs and fun activities along with the stories) and I get to lie on the couch. It’s nice to be able to listen to a story along with them sometimes!
3. Play with clay sticks
   I get these from the Dollar store, and they are a little harder than playdoh, so there is not as much mess, and I find that it’s really enjoyable for me as well.
4. Pretend to be animals
   Baby Einstein has a DVD called “World Animals”, it is filled with video of many different types of animals and sea creatures; while the DVD is playing, we pretend to be the animals on the screen by imitating their movements and sounds. This is a pretty entertaining activity, especially for babies and toddlers.
5. Sudoku
   The kiddy version is really educational and challenging for my 4 year old. I got him a visual one, so he has picture stickers instead of numbers, but the logic of the game was still there and he really enjoys it, as do I! My 3 year old loves ‘hide and seek’, which is a ‘where is waldo’ type game; it consists of a large complex, puzzle picture and a bunch of small items to locate within the picture – he absolutely adores it.
6. Color the patio stones
   Or the sidewalk – whatever is more convenient! I bought really large chalk from Costco, and it’s been a huge form of stress-relief for me; there is just something about coloring that erases bad thoughts from my mind! And the kids enjoy it too.
7. Pretend to be space explorers
   This is a great way to teach kids about different planets. BBC’s website has a 3D solar system tour which describes the planets in an exciting format for kids, so once we go through it, we pretend to be on the different planets and describe what we are feeling – like if we’re on Mercury, we’ll exclaim that it’s really hot!
8. Collect stickers
   Dollar stores have a truly excellent collection of stickers for both young and old, and they have a collection of journals and other books that can be made into sticker books. Get $10 worth of stickers from the store and go nuts creating a sticker book! There are letters, numbers, characters, and even really cool foam ones to get really creative.
9. Treasure hunt for daddy
   Or mommy, depending on who’s gone out to work. Get little post-it notes and write out some clues, let the kids draw some clues, or use different items to create the clues, and then when daddy gets home, he’ll have something fun to do while babysitting the kids!
10. Origami
    This one really depends on how much you like crafts, and may require more patience than the others if you have a kid who is a perfectionist! I try to let my husband do this one with the kids because he enjoys it and does it much better than I can, but letting kids play with lots of colorful paper can keep them busy and happy for a long time!
11. Art journaling
    Since I started doing art journaling, I have found it to be almost therapeutic – just the ability to use any medium for self-expression is very freeing. I got the kids involved as well – each with his own journal, and since I do it with them, they are pretty serious about the activity!
12. Photobooks
    I guess this is similar to scrapbooking, but simpler! I get them kiddy albums from Walmart, the kind that has inserts that can come out, and then I print out a few photos from a recent trip or event and they have the opportunity to put it together how ever they want. Sometimes I am very tempted to intervene (usually I do) when I feel they are messing it up, but I try to let them do their own thing, it’s not for show, it’s just for fun!
13. Make a movie
    Well, not exactly a movie, but create a scenario for the kids and then start acting it out – usually the kids will catch on very fast and start adding in their own scenes! Watching their imagination and creativity can be extremely entertaining.
14. Nature walk
    If you’re in the mood to get out of the house, a little exploration may be just the thing you need. The only problem with this idea is that kids love to ask a million questions, so if you’re not in the mood to answer all of them you can get the kids to collect some of the items that intrigue them, and take a couple photos of anything that cannot be collected, put all of the treasure into a box for safekeeping, and then they can ask their daddy all about their interesting finds when it’s his turn to baby-sit!
15. Charades
    My 4 year old really enjoys playing this game, and the younger 2 still enjoy the fun and laughter even though they do not grasp the concept of the game. We tend to play this one as a family, so my husband and I would pretend to be simple things like a ball or a train (my 3 year old is pretty good at guessing what we are pretending to be), and then my eldest gets his turn and sometimes he even stumps us!

I compiled a few kiddy favorites for your stay at home sanity arsenal. Enjoy!