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{ MC: How To Handle Picky Eaters!! }

January 27, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: kids advice, MC, mommy panel, picky eaters, The Mom Connection 3 Comments

I am part of an AWESOME mommy panel with Cassie from Two In Diapers and Julie from Naptime Review.

Each Saturday, we will bring you fresh new ideas and advice about motherhood.

If you enjoyed what you read, we encourage you to tweet about it!

Coming on February 2nd, we will discuss:

How do you keep your family’s bedtime routine manageable?

Now on to this week’s topic!

How do you handle picky eaters?

Here is what Mom Connection shared:

Welcome! I’m Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of two wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest just turned 4 and my baby is 17 months old. This is how I handle picky eaters:

I think this issue is important and can form and shape how children view food. In fact, I try to be very conscious of the words, I choose when discussing eating in our house. I don’t want to form any unhealthy relationships with food. I want my children to try new things and to learn how to eat a balanced meal. I believe in having kids try new food but not forcing them to eat new foods. I also always put a vegetable on their plate even though it rarely gets eaten. We make our plates colorful! In fact, there are many resources out there encouraging children to eat through the rainbow. Click here to learn more!

I also try to involve Averie into the meal planning and cooking process when feasible. I was so excited that she would enjoy the zucchini muffins we made together but she took one bite and said, “Yuck!” Oh well at least she tried it.

We enjoy kid friendly foods that can be eaten with our fingers. Sometimes, I cut sandwiches in fun shapes with cookie cutters! I try to make meal time fun and creative! Click here to check out a great blog, with lots of kid friendly recipes and suggestions!

I also try to keep in perspective that adult serving sizes and kids are WAY different. A nutritionist once told me, “Kids eat a TBSP per age.” For example, a serving of fruit for Averie is 4 TBSP since she is 4 years old. I try to keep that in mind when fixing their plates.

Bottom lines though, pick your battles on what you really think they need to eat. It is not worth fighting over a meal, making empty threats, and forming unhealthy relationships with food. Children will eat when they are hungry. You just need to make sure when they are hungry they have healthy choices and options.

Hi! I’m Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I’m a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 4, 3, and 20 months. This is how I handle picky eaters:

With a lot of patience and delicacy. You see – I happen to be married to the pickiest eater on the planet, so I definitely have at least one that inherited this unpleasant quality.

I strongly believe that forcing a child to eat something he or she doesn’t like is pointless, and the “eat 4 more bites and then you can get down” battle just sets everyone up for a long, frustrating meal. While each of my littles definitely has vegetables that they won’t touch, they also each have vegetables that they really like. For the most part, I really stay flexible and try to rotate around the healthy foods that they like. If someone doesn’t like something, we encourage them to eat it but don’t force them to {and I should add that we have a strict rule about saying rude things like “it’s yucky”}.

You might be thinking that my kids must eat horribly and I have no control over their health, but here’s the thing… when my oldest {Emily, 5 next month} was a baby and didn’t like a food item that I gave her, I left it in front of her. I didn’t make an issue out of it or try to force her to eat it. Each time we had the food that I knew she didn’t like, I keep putting it in front of her but not making a big deal out of her eating it. Eventually, she almost always ended up eating it. I’ve continued that on with all of them. Sometimes they never touch it {in which case we package it up and stick it in the fridge after the meal is over}, but many times they end up trying it later on.

One final thought: I think it helps a TON to either make food look interesting or to serve it in a way that they like. I often carve their names out of cheese slices or cut shapes out of other foods. Emily loves when I hide the letters of her name in her school lunch. And I definitely don’t have a problem with peeling off some bread crust if my littles will devour an entire sandwich this way, and I won’t complain about peeling an apple when my three-year-old will eat the entire fruit every day it it’s peeled.

In the end I know that we moms all have the same desire: to raise healthy children. I’m so looking forward to gleaning some ideas from the rest of you!

My name is Alexa from No Holding Back. I am the mom of Nayner Bug (male, 5), Jelly Bean, (female, 3) and Tiny (female, 1). This is how I handle picky eaters:

Aren’t all kids picky eaters? I have always wondered how some moms I know could get their kids to sit and eat a plate full of vegetables. I think I figured it out way too late. They introduced them young and just kept introducing them. And didn’t offer them chips and chocolate instead. Oops. I know where I went wrong! I am trying to reverse the damage done, but in my defense, I was put on bedrest early on in my 3rd pregnancy, hospitalized three times, (the last time for 36 days!) and had a preemie in the NICU for 3 months! So, the poor 4 year old and 2 year old were lucky they ate most days. However, months of chicken nuggets, pizza, and other junk set us back a few steps on the path to getting my picky eaters to eat well. So, after reading up on the subject, we implemented a simple plan. 1. Don’t make the junk food easily available. We don’t have chicken nuggets as a meal anymore. We have chicken breast, (as an example) and they are served what we eat. If they don’t want to eat it, they may be excused, but no other snacks for the evening. (Eventually they get hungry.) 2. They must have a “no thank you” serving. One bite of everything, and if they don’t like it, we don’t force it. 3. No snacks within an hour of dinner. A hungry child is more willing to dry different things! 4. Be relaxed about it. Who cares if your kid doesn’t eat every vegetable or fruit as long as they are eating some of them. It doesn’t really matter to me that neither of my kids will eat strawberries or pears, because they eat apples, oranges, grapes, melon, etc. 5. Give them choices. I have less of a battle over healthy foods if I let them choose between a variety of healthy options.

My name is Fotini! I blog over at Glamorous Affordable Life. I am the mom of (Isabella 20 months and Christian 6 years). This is how I handle picky eaters:

Christian ate just about anything as a toddler, even calamari! There wasn’t anything he wasn’t really interested in trying. Now that he’s older, he seems to have much more of an opinion about certain foods. If it doesn’t smell good, he won’t try it. If it looks bad, he won’t eat it. I mean, this is understandable, but it’s stuff my husband and I like! He loves cheese, but not melted cheese and refuses to eat a grilled cheese. Who doesn’t like grilled cheese?! So what I do with him is, I tell him to at least try a bite or two, and if he truly doesn’t like it, he doesn’t have to eat it. I’ve found this works for me right now because more often than not, he ends up liking it. It’s gotten so bad before, though, that I’ve asked him to try something and he’s gagging.. So I don’t “force” him to eat anything, I understand he is becoming his own little person, with his own likes and dislikes!

As for Isabella, we have had such a time with her teething, that some days she’ll chow down and others she only nibbles on things throughout the day. It really helps with her, if we are all sitting down at the table together, chit chatting about the days events, as well as eating. She seems to eat more. Not sure whether that’s coincidence or not?! She always like to try a bite of whatever I’m eating, so sometimes when she’s refusing to eat, I’ll pretend I’m eating it and then suddenly she wants a bite! Oh, how I’d love to know just how those little minds work

I really must admit, my kids are as picky as some I’ve seen so I’m fortunate for that! Can you relate with me?

My name is Kristen from The Mrs. & The Momma. I’m the momma of three girls (ages 7, 5, & 3) and a little boy (18 months). This is how I handle picky eaters:

Having picky eaters in our house is nothing new….my husband is King of picky eaters. So efforts to get my kids to try different things is sometimes futile. But I’ve learned a few tricks that I keep up my sleeve. Most kids go through a picky stage that usually starts to improve by about 5 (in our experience at least). There’s always that fear of our kids not getting enough nourishment when they have two Cheerios for breakfast and a rice cake for lunch, even though other food is offered. Basically to deal with my picky eaters, I offer only what I cook but make sure there’s at least one thing in the meal that they like. That way, if they refuse the main dish for example, I don’t feel as guilty telling them that breakfast will be their next meal. (read: This momma is no cook-to-order chef.) I think also disguising foods in others can be a useful strategy to help picky eaters get nutrients they need. As a parents of little ones, it’s tough to not hand over some processed bar or cracker when they’re hungry, but we really try our best not to…even if that results in some disgusted faces, throwing food, or full out melt-downs….and that’s just from my husband. 🙂

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Your Turn:

Do you have a picky eater in your house?

Leave us a comment; we love to read your tips and advice!

Need advice? Check out these previous Mom Connection topics:

Setting Goals with Your Children

Teaching Your Kids to Share

Getting your Preschooler Dressed

Balancing Blogging and Motherhood

{ MC: Balancing Your Time & Attention }

January 12, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: balancing your time, blog love, kids, mommy panel, The Mom Connection 6 Comments

I am part of an AWESOME mommy panel with Cassie from Two In Diapers and Julie from Naptime Review.

Each Saturday, we will bring you fresh new ideas and advice about motherhood.

If you enjoyed what you read, we encourage you to tweet about it!

Coming on January 19th, we will discuss:

What is your favorite indoor activity when it’s too cold to play outside?

Now on to this week’s topic!

Balancing your time and attention with more than one child!

Here is what Mom Connection shared:

Welcome! I’m Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of two wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest just turned 4 and my baby is 16 months old. This is how I balance my time and attention between my children:

When my first child came into my world she became my world. I put my career on hold and wanted nothing more than to be with her. She got all my time and attention. When Alice came, I was very worried about how her arrival would affect the oldest. I also worried about being able to give Alice everything I gave Averie. I tried very hard to make Averie feel special knowing that babies can be very demanding. I think I focused my attention more on Averie. I am trying to shift that attention and make it more equally balanced now that Alice is getting older.

When the oldest is at preschool or at a friends house, I give the baby FULL attention. Meaning, I have weekly play dates at Little Gym. Even if Averie’s schedule changes, I still keep our Little Gym time. I drop Averie off at Grandma’s and enjoy my time with Alice. When Averie isn’t around, I try to get on the floor and read stories and play with Alice. In fact, Averie had a play date last weekend, and instead of cleaning the house, I just played with Alice. It was fun! I knew my house could wait until tomorrow but when would be the next time for the baby to get some QT with Mommy!

With Averie, I try to schedule our quality time. I really have noticed that when Averie and I do something special without the baby, she really shines and enjoys that one-on-one time. Therefore, once a month I try to take Averie somewhere special and fun. We go on “Mommy dates.” So far we have enjoyed, Tea with Cinderella at the Magic House, lunch outings, tea parties with other friends, and just running errands alone. Those are the moments, I think are very special and memorable for both mommy and Averie.

So when the baby gets older, I plan on dating both my kids regularly. In fact, I am enlisting the help of my husband for this mission. We will each date and swap with children monthly. I think it is very important for Daddy’s, especially with girls to get that quality one-on-one time. I am sure my children will enjoy Home Depot and the Golf Galaxy right?

So my answer to balancing time and attention is to schedule one-on-one dates with your children!

Hi! I’m Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I’m a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 4, 3, and 18 months.

This is how I balance my time and attention between my children:

Wow… this topic is very close and personal with my life! With my three babies spaced 19 months apart each in age and a hope for one or two more in the future, this is something that I have to be conscious of daily.

My answer is… there is no way to do it perfectly. There’s just not, no matter how hard you try. But I believe it’s possible to do it well, and that is my daily goal. I strive to give special time and attention to each child in a way that fits their own unique needs. Whether this means a daily post-nap snuggle with three-year-old Bentley, 10 minutes to read Emily a book while the boys play, grabbing just one child for a trip to the grocery store, or taking advantage of a neighborhood babysitter occasionally to pick Emily up from school and enjoy her bear hug with both arms and really listen to her chatter on the way home.

So I suppose my answer is… it’s different with each family and each child each day, but I think sneaking in those moments of undivided attention randomly throughout the day when they are needed is the key to making each child feel loved, special and unique. I heard/read somewhere that the sign of a good mom is when each of her children is absolutely sure that he or she is her favorite. I’m really not sure who I heard this from, but I think it’s adorable and definitely one of my goals – to make each child feel uniquely special to and loved by me.

My name is Alexa from No Holding Back. I am the mom of Nayner Bug (male, 5), Jelly Bean, (female, 3) and Tiny (female, 1). This is how I balance my time and attention between my children:

When I found out I was pregnant with my second child, I was scared because of this very topic. I was afraid I would never be able to love a child as much as I loved the first one and that I’d never have any quality time with my children. Well I was definitely wrong on the first account – who knew one person could hold so much love in their heart??? But the second one requires constant awareness. Originally the word that came to mind was “effort” but I don’t want to use that word with relation to spending time with my kids. So awareness is a better word choice.

It is so easy to get caught up in everything going on around us, especially now with three kids. School schedules, appointments, dance lessons, playdates, and all of the other things taking up time in our lives with small children. Honestly, I am still working on the balancing act. Not only do I have three children to balance, I have my duties as CEO of the household, and my writing. And my spiritual life and my social life, which are also both very important to me. I do have some dedicated one on one time. I take the 3 year old with me to run errands on the weekends so that we have some girl time. Every night before bed I say prayers with each child individually and I read for about 20 minutes with the two older children. Usually separately so it is their own time with me. We have dinner as a family each night and the 5 year old tells us all about his adventures and his day. I’m sad to say at this point, that’s about where it stops. I am terrible at balancing in general! I am focusing on doing projects with the kids, but we usually do them as a group. But even though I’m not able to spend a large amount of individual one on one time with them, I do make sure to pay them each individual attention. We get into tickle fights, play hide and seek, dance, or I just snuggle with them and tell them I love them a million times a day.

My name is Fotini! I blog over at Glamorous Affordable Life. I am the mom of (Isabella 20 months and Christian 6 years). This is how I balance my time and attention between my children:

For the most part, I would really like to think I share my time and attention evenly between my children, husband and home. But, it’s something I tend to get too comfortable with. It’s been a big adjustment for Christian having a little sister. He was the “baby” for five years before Isabella came along, so that is something we’re all still getting used to. He is an amazing big brother in so many ways but at times I can see he’s getting jealous of how I talk to her or how much time I still spend holding her and loving on her. It’s really important for me to give him the same attention I give her! He was my first baby and is growing into such a smart, loving little boy! I make it a part to spend one-on-one time with Christian while Isabella naps during the day (for 1-2 hours) and once Isabella is in bed each evening. We play games, watch movies and cuddle. Throughout the day, I try my best to get us involved in activities we can all enjoy so he can “enjoy” Isabella and love her more than resent her.

One Saturday, at least once a month, I have my husband watch Isabella so Christian and I can go out and do something of his choice. Sometimes it’s just going to Barnes and Noble to look at books and play, or go to the movies or out to lunch at his favorite restaurant! No matter what he chooses that day, it gives us the chance to live in the moment and have fun with each other!

Spending extra time with Isabella comes when Christian spends the night with family members. She’s really girly, so we play with my makeup, fingernail polish and she likes to dress up in my clothes! The kids playroom is upstairs, so we spend as much time up there as possible and she just runs the halls having a good time! By the end of the night, though, she’s asking for her brother!

How do you spend one-on-one time with each of your kids?

My name is Kristen from The Mrs. & The Momma. I’m the momma of three girls (ages 7, 5, & 3) and a little boy (18 months). This is how I balance my time and attention between my children:

Ensuring that each of our four children gets the love, time, and attention they need and deserve has become almost a science in our household. On a logistic level, having my two older ones are in school allows for a better balance at home during the day, especially during nap time. One they’re home from school is when it gets tricky. One thing I try to do is get down on their level when they speak to me so that I am both eye to eye with them and they understand that I am listening to only them.

My husband and I make it a habit to discuss each one of our children’s needs on a weekly basis….and we then adjust our time depending on who might need more of our attention that week by doing various activities such as a daddy/daughter dates, quiet one-on-one reading, or simply treating them to something I normally don’t allow, such as putting on Momma’s make-up. 🙂

Making sure our children are feeling loved enough and heard enough is our biggest and most important job….and something I struggle with on a daily basis. I mean, not only do my older two notice if they’re not getting their fair share of my time, but they crave it. Attention is love to them. And children who don’t feel loved at these young ages are susceptible to all sort of issues later on in life that I sure wouldn’t want to be responsible for causing. As parents, it is our job to make sure each one of our children do not ever feel slighted in the least. Dividing time between multiple children takes effort and organization…but it’s critical to our children’s thriving and absolutely worth it!

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Your Turn:

How do you balance your time and attention between your children?

Leave us a comment; we love to read your tips and advice!

Need advice? Check out these previous Mom Connection topics:

Disciplining your Babies

Teaching your Children to Clean up

Getting your Preschooler Dressed

Balancing Blogging and Motherhood

{ MC: Setting Goals with Children }

January 5, 2013 by Fotini Filed Under: blog love, kids, MC, mommy panel, setting goals with children, The Mom Connection 2 Comments

I am part of an AWESOME mommy panel with Cassie from Two In Diapers and Julie from The Naptime Review.

Each Saturday, we will bring you fresh new ideas and advice about motherhood.

If you enjoy what you read, we encourage you to tweet about it!

Coming on January 12th, we will discuss:

Balancing your time and attention with more than one child!

Now on to this week’s topic!

When and how did you begin setting goals with your children?

Here is what Mom Connection shared:

Welcome! I’m Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of 2 wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest just turned 4 and my baby is 16 months old. This is how I handle setting goals with my children:

I think it is important to set goals for everything in life. I am a goal setter and I hope to install that quality with my children. In fact, each year my husband and I write out our new year’s resolutions in the form of a letter and exchange them at midnight. Click here if you’d like to learn more about our New Year’s tradition.

As for my children, they are still young. However, last year, we got this time capsule from BabbaBox. If you haven’t heard of this monthly preschool activity box, I highly recommend it. In the box came a time capsule along with books, activities, and an App for our iPad. We wrote out our goals and buried the time capsule in our backyard. We had so much fun digging it up this year and reflecting on our goals. It was great to see how our handwriting changed as well as our favorite foods. My 4 year old’s resolution was to be a better eater. Meaning, not to play with her food or to paint the table, the dog, and her face with food when she ate. I am happy to report we have successful mastered that goal. However, I think the baby is following in “Big Sister’s” footsteps as she loves to pour bowls of food on top of her head. Can’t wait to start working on goals with that one!

Averie’s goals for 2013, are learning to ride our new bike that Santa delivered and learning to master writing our name. We set the goal and then discussed how we would achieve the goal. We came up with doing custom tracer pages from Kidzone. I customized a handful of name sheets and each day at breakfast my daughter will practice her name while I make breakfast. Not only does it serve as a distraction while Mommy gets breakfast on the table, but it also helps Averie master the task of writing her name.

When your children are small setting goals consists a lot of modeling and thinking aloud so children can see the whole goal setting process. I am hoping that by modeling and helping my children set and achieve goals they will be better equipped in the future and will one day achieve their own goals.

Hi! I’m Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I’m a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 4, 3, and 18 months.This is how handle setting goals with my children:

Wow, when I first sat down to write my answer to this question, I had nothing. I immediately beat myself up over yet another thing I had failed to start doing with my children.

But once I got to thinking about it, I realized that I set age-appropriate goals with my children all the time! This is because I feel that setting goals and simply planning go hand in hand all the time, especially at the ages that my littles are. My daughter brings home a homework folder from pre-K each month. It contains just a couple of papers worth of preschool-age projects for her to count, cut, color, or trace, and is due by the end of the month in order for her to be allowed to choose something from the treasure box. We always decide which day we will turn in her folder, and then ration out the homework accordingly. I do this mainly to plan ahead so that we don’t forget it, but at the same time I am teaching my daughter to set and achieve goals in an organized and attainable manner.

I also give my littles small tasks constantly, especially when we are trying to get out the door in the morning. I might instruct Bentley to gather up everyone’s shoes, Emily to clear the dishes off the table, and little Grayson to go find his “kook” (coat). When each child completes their task, they come back to me for a “great job, sweetheart!” {which always rewards me with a gigantic and heart-stopping smile} and are sent out on the next “task”… all of which are achieving smaller goals to work towards our family goal of leaving the house successfully on yet another morning.

These may seem like somewhat of a stretch to some of you {especially considering some of the amazing answers I’m seeing from my fellow panel moms!}, but I feel that these are small tasks that my children can achieve, which will help build their confidence and independence. Isn’t that what goals are for anyway?

My name is Alexa from No Holding Back. I am the mom of Nayner Bug (male, 5), Jelly Bean, (female, 3) and Tiny (female, 1). This is how I handle setting goals with my children:

Goals for my little ones tend to focus on developing routines and habits that make our life function a little more smoothly. To do this, I use checklists, rewards charts, repetition, and a little bit of good ole fashioned bribery! (ahem, I mean positive reinforcement!) Even at the ages of 5 and 3 there are so many things that they can accomplish. I set goals for the kids mostly to help them develop the habits I would like to see them carry through life. (Picking up after themselves, helping with chores around the house, reading, even down to making it through the day without hitting or fighting). Even though I stay at home with the children, I do not want them to get into the habit of me doing everything for them. So we instituted some checklists to start developing habits early on. There are some really great free checklists out there that are perfect for small children because they are picture charts and certainly age appropriate with attainable goals/responsibilities. These are two of my favorite, that you will literally find printed out and taped to the kids walls: Routine Printables (after school, bedtime, etc) at Get Snazzy and The Family Chore Charts which can be downloaded free at Power of Moms.

My children seem to thrive on recognition and feeling like they are appreciated, so I love chore charts such as the second one above. The kids can see their weekly accomplishments and know exactly what has to be done to be rewarded for meeting their goals.

In order to set the goals with the kids and make sure they understood, we had a little “meeting” and I explained the charts and expectations, the reward system, and what everything meant. Then, over the course of the next few days, I walked them through it. There was some trial and error followed by adjustments. Some things worked, some didn’t. It’s a goal for my son to make his bed every day, but we found we never had enough time to do it before school, so he does it before he plays with his friends after school. I have found that as long as the goals are attainable and I am consistent in my expectations, the kids do a great job at following through! They work best with very specific directions. They are only 3 and 5, so they do need plenty of reminders, but overall they are doing great with their tasks and goals!

My name is Fotini! I blog over at Glamorous Affordable Life. I am the mom of (Isabella 19 months and Christian 6 years). This is how I handle setting goals with my children:

I think setting goals with your kids is really important because it teaches them you have to work for the things you want. I started setting goals with my son when I started potty training around two and a half years old. I made a potty chart and each time he went potty in the toilet, he got a star. Once he reached a certain amount of stars (whether it be within a day or a week) he was rewarded. Some rewards would include letting him pick out a surprise from the store, a new book, choosing dinner or dessert that evening or going to the movies! Some of his favorite things that he wanted to earn! Now that my son is six, he is beginning to understand more and more setting goals for yourself allows you to grow! Christian’s goal for 2013 is to get really good and baseball and score a home run! I have no doubt that if he works at it, he will have no problem accomplishing that goal!

I haven’t started setting goals with my daughter yet; I think she’s still too young. At what age do you start with your children?

My name is Kristen from The Mrs. & The Momma. I’m the momma of three girls (ages 7, 5, & 3) and a little boy (18 months). This is how I handle setting goals with my children:

There are two things I believe are critical to goal setting with children….

1. Making it an attainable, understandable, and realistic goal.

2. Writing it down and make it visibly available for them to see each day.

For the first one, we don’t want to set our kids up for failure…no one does, right? A child’s goal should be something they can actually accomplish…and in a fairly short time period, as most kids don’t have a grasp of time to plan a whole year away. For example, yesterday we opened goals my two oldest made in 2011, that they’d written down and sealed in envelopes. One of the goals was to be able to do a cartwheel. This was both realistic and something that she was reminded of almost everyday to work on. It was realistic and she understood exactly what that goal entailed.

For the writing it down part, I’m a firm believer in that for anyone, no matter their age…but to help drive it home a bit more…we have our children write it themselves or draw a picture of it to display on the fridge. I think doing this cultivates ownership in their goal. They usually feel proud of themselves for making and putting to paper this “big responsibility” of setting a goal like Momma and Daddy do.

Goal setting is a wonderful thing we enjoy teaching our children at an early age. If if the goal isn’t achieved or realized, I’m satisfied to teach them the importance of wanting to better ourselves each year, in an effort to hopefully bring up a shining generation.

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Your Turn:

When and how do you begin setting goals with your children?

What works for you?

Leave us a comment; we love to read your tips and advice!

Need advice? Check out these previous Mom Connection topics:

Disciplining your Babies

Teaching your Children to Clean up

Getting your Preschooler Dressed

Balancing Blogging and Motherhood

{ MC: Disciplining at an Early Age }

December 29, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: disciplining kids, kids, mommy panel, The Mom Connection 14 Comments

I am part of an AWESOME mommy panel with Cassie from Two In Diapers and Julie from The Naptime Review.

Each Saturday, we will bring you fresh new ideas and advice about motherhood.

If enjoy what you read, we encourage you to tweet about it!

Coming on January 5, we will discuss:

Setting goals with your children!

Now on to this week’s topic!

At what age and how do you begin disciplining your babies?

Here is what Mom Connection shared:

Welcome! I’m Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of 2 wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest just turned 4 and my baby is 16 months old. This is how I discipline at an early age:

I actually don’t. In fact, I was amazed the other day, when I was sitting around with a group of friends, listening how they implement time out with their babies. I thought, “Wow, I need to start with Alice.” So when Alice turns 18 months, I do plan on getting a spot in the house and designating it as the time out area. For now, I use positive reinforcement, such as hooting and hollering when she does something right. I also make up silly songs and dances to get her to follow directions. You have never seen me so excited when she cleans up her toys or heads to the door singing, “March, March!” Besides positive reinforcement, I say “No” very sternly. No comes in handy when she is skydiving off the fireplace or jumping and landing on her bottom in the bathtub. This child is CRAZY! I foresee many trips to the ER in the near future. If saying “No” doesn’t work I remove her from the situation. Unfortunately, she has a memory like an elephant so that often doesn’t work. Then, I just have to ignore the tantrum that is unfolding right before me.

I really struggled with finding what motivated and worked with my 4 year old, so I am hoping God gives me a pass on this one. If not, I am well versed and educated in the area of discipline. When Averie was 2 years old, I dragged my husband to a Love and Logic seminar. If you aren’t familiar with their theories and methods, I highly recommend checking them out. Click here to learn more about positive discipline methods.

Hi! I’m Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I’m a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 4, 3, and 18 months.This is how I discipline at an early age:

We begin at the age where they first learn that they can cause a reaction. I’m sure this age is different for every child, but for ours it usually begins around 6-9 months. This may sounds harsh, but we don’t begin with full-on discipline. In our household, we do our best to be consistently gentle but firm {although, of course this doesn’t always happen!}, which means that our baby getting into something that they aren’t allowed to play with results in a gentle but firm “no-no”, followed by a distraction – handing them a toy or playing a quick game of peek-a-boo. I don’t know about your littles, but mine seem to be more attracted to anything that causes a big scene… hence the calm correction followed by immediately moving on from the situation.

We are also firm supporters of Love and Logic! We strongly agree with teaching the kiddos that their actions result in consequences. If Grayson purposely drops his sippy cup on the floor, he doesn’t get it back until he is done eating and gets down from the table. If Bentley throws a toy, he loses that toy. We try to be as consistent as possible, which is definitely difficult at times. But we believe that calm, loving discipline can begin as soon as the baby is able to see that their actions can cause a reaction.

My name is Tricia from Mama Marchand’s Nest. I am the mom of N (her name on my blog) who will be three in March. This is how I discipline at an early age:

We started disciplining N just before her 2nd birthday. I posted all about it here and to be honest, not much has changed except that now, all I have to mention is a time out and she shapes up. If she’s not listening, saying no to me, or cops a ‘tude, I take her to a quiet spot in our house (or a quiet corner or a bathroom if we’re out somewhere) and we have a chat. We also start each day by talking about how we’re going to be “kind, thankful, and happy” and what all of that means. I’m no expert and there are days when N displays her “two-ness” more than others but so far, this is what’s working for us.

My name is Fotini! I blog over at Glamorous Affordable Life. I am the mom of (Isabella 19 months and Christian 6 years). This is how I discipline at an early age:

My son was a very laid back toddler, but when it was necessary to discipline I started around 2 years old. I began with time-outs (a minute for each year) and these were tricky at first, but persistence was my best friend!

To this day I do time outs with him and he takes it like a champ. Christian right now is at the stage?of beginning to talk back to us, no matter what it’s about. He calls it “debating”.. How my 6-year-old understands debating is beyond me, he will make a good lawyer one day 😉 We do the “3 strike rule”. I give him three warnings throughout the day and then it’s to his room to think about why he’s there. This gives him the opportunity to think about what he did and gives him the chance to not do it again. I also find that “taking away” his favorite things for a short time makes him realize that Mommy means business!

Isabella, on the other hand, is learning to test her boundaries. She’s much more daring, feisty and repetitive than my son was. I feel like I’m constantly telling her “NO” and directing her attention toward something else. Do you have any good tips on “disciplining” a 19 month-old?

My name is Kristen from The Mrs. & The Momma. I’m the momma of three girls (ages 7, 5, & 3) and a little boy (18 months). This is how I discipline at an early age:

Children at an early age know right from wrong…sort of. They know they’re not supposed to put their hands in the toilet…but they still do because they need to see the cause and effect. They need to know what happens when they do ______. It’s really an interesting method because they don’t always expect the same outcome as a result of their actions. Up until about two years of age, it’s best to just remove them from the situation after a firm but loving, “no.” Around 2 years old, we employ the use of time out. (I know spanking is a touchy issue, so all I’ll say is that we’ve chosen not to spank our children). Time out is effective especially when the child sees something they’re missing out on. Sometimes I’ll even make up something in which my child is unable to participate. Children hate being left out.

Thus, not only is the time out removing them from the situation, but they connect the consequence (not being able to participate) with the crime (whatever it may be). We also limit the time out for age in minutes (2-year-old time out for 2 minutes). Time out isn’t the only discipline we use, but it seems to be the most effective. Disciplining is tough because all children are different, and sometimes certain consequences don’t work….but it’s always best to be consistent whatever your method(s) may be. Black Dots page break divider

Your Turn:

At what age and how do you begin to discipline your children?

What works for you?

Leave us a comment; we love to read your tips and advice!

Need advice? Check out these previous Mom Connection topics:

Getting Your Child Dressed

Fun Holdiay Projects to do with your Children

Teaching Your Children to Be Thankful

Sibling Sharing

{ MC: Getting Your Preschooler Dressed}

December 15, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: blog love, blogging, mommy panel, The Mom Connection 3 Comments

I am part of an AWESOME mommy panel with Cassie from Two In Diapers and Julie from Naptime Review, and a fabulous group of moms! Each Saturday, we will bring you fresh new ideas and advice about motherhood.

Coming on December 22nd, we will discuss:
At what age and how did you begin disciplining your babies?

Now on to this week’s topic!

Getting your preschooler dressed: Drawing the battle lines

Here is what Mom Connection shared:

Welcome! I’m Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of 2 wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest turns 4 on Christmas Eve and my baby is 15 months old. This is how I fight the battle of getting my preschooler dressed:

Well, every morning after my 4 year old wakes around 8 a.m., she comes in andquietly wakes me with a kiss. We then go into her room and she asks,“Mom, you are so wise and know what the weather is like today. Could youplease advise me on what is appropriate to wear? I can’t wait to get out of mypajamas and start my day.” I then give her an adoring look and find her awell–matched, unworn, weather–appropriate outfit for the day. We quickly getdressed and brush our teeth without any arguing. All the while, the baby isquietly entertaining herself in her own room.

So do you buy any of that? It is all a BIG FAT LIE! Our mornings are hectic,stressful, and sadly some screaming and yelling takes place. Some things thathave helped elevate some stress (although not much) are: laying out our clothes the night before, giving her only 2 choices, andnot letting her leave her room until she is dressed… but the biggest thing thathas helped reduce stress is to not sweat it so much. I try my best to keepmy child well groomed and in matched clothes but sometimes, I just give up! Aslong as her teeth are brushed and she is prepared for whatever the weather is,I did my job. So what if she is wearing a Christmas dress to preschool? Sowhat if she is wearing the same thing she wore to school last week? So what ifher shoes or leggings don’t match her outfit? I just have to let it go…

Anyway, I can’t wait to read all the other tips and hopefully implement somegreat stress reducing strategies. As my daughter and I are fighting over wardrobe,I think, “Oh man! She is only 4. What is life going to be like in 10years??” I am in trouble! I better educate myself or start drinking.

Hi! I’m Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I’m a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 4, 3, and 18 months. This is how I fight the battle of getting my preschooler dressed:

Lucky for me, this isn’t much of a battle in our home! My littles are neither picky about the way their clothes feel nor the way they look.

Bentley (age 3) occasionally complains that something is itching or hurting, which I think is mainly because of his eczema. In that case, I try to fix whatever the issue is. If it can’t be fixed, I let him change. It happens so rarely, though, that it’s not really an issue.

Emily (age 4) only sometimes has strong opinions about her clothing. I’ve learned to try to give her choices whenever possible, but to only give her choices in which I would be ok with any of the options. For example, I will pick out two or three shirts and two or three pairs of pants, and then let her know that she gets to pick what she wears – out of the choices I’ve laid out. I feel like this helps build her confidence and decision-making skills while alteaching her that I trust her ability to choose for herself.

I also try to let her pick out her entire outfit all by herself on the days that we aren’t going anywhere. She loves those days!

My name is Tricia from Mama Marchand’s Nest. I am the mom of N (her name on my blog) who will be three inMarch.This is how I fight the battle of getting my preschooler dressed:

I don’t fight the battle. *waves the white flag of surrender*. I learned to “not engage the crazy” (a brilliant phrase I heard from Allison of OMyFamily) early on when it comes to N’s clothes, primarily her shoes, and it has paid off! For a few months, she was wearing all kinds of crazy mismatched clothes to the park or to playdates. Now, she picks out her own clothes (and they usually match!) and knows exactly what shoes are appropriate for the season. Now, this might change as she gets older but for now, I’m thankful.

My name is Fotini! I blogover at GlamorousAffordable Life. I am the mom of ( Isabella 19 months and Christian 6years). This is how I fight the battle of getting my preschooler dressed:

My son Christian is in first grade this year, and he’s in the stage of wanting to pick out his own outfits (which is a whole other battle!), but he takes so long to actually get dressed and ready that we end up leaving the house late almost every morning. Last week I attempted waking him up 10 minutes earlier and insisting he keep his eye on the time while eating breakfast. So far so good! He’s learning tell time, so it’s fun for him!

As for my toddler, Isabella, getting dressed is becoming a daily battle. She is a wiggle worm and the changing table she once fit so perfectly on, is becoming a thing of the past. I sternly tell her that she could get hurt and keep my cool. Keeping calm is key! Can you relate? What’s worked for you?

My nameis Kristen from The Mrs. & The Momma.I’m the momma of three girls (ages 7, 5, & 3) and a little boy (18 months). This is how I fight the battle of getting my preschooler dressed:

Thankfully, my children prefer to wear clothes, so actually getting them dressed isn’t much of a problem. It’s what to wear that creates havoc in our household. It depends on the child, but getting my preschooler dressed can either be simple or difficult. Really, it comes down to whether I perceive my children’s appearance (clothes-wise) as a reflection of me….which changes depending on the occasion. For everyday types of situations (when it doesn’t really matter what she looks like and if people judge me, let them judge), I allow my preschooler to dress herself (as long as it’s weather appropriate). For the most part, giving up this responsibility gives her freedom of expression while also avoiding any head-butting between us. If we are going some place where I DO care what my children look like, I give choices….both of which I’m okay with them wearing.

Having four children who are all so different, one of the biggest struggles in the past have been clothes. They don’t fit, they itch, it’s the wrong color, etc. But implementing the above strategies has significantly decreased the wardrobe-related meltdowns in our family. And really, there will be much larger fish to fry down the road…so I’d like to save my energy for the teenage years.

Your Turn:

How do you fight the battle of getting your preschooler dressed?

Leave us a comment or share the link!

Love to hear from you!

{ MC: Fun Holiday Projects to do with Kids }

December 8, 2012 by Fotini Filed Under: kids crafts, mommy panel, The Mom Connection, time with your kids 52 Comments

I am part of an AWESOME mommy panel organized by Two in Diapers and Naptime Review. Each Saturday, we will bring you fresh new ideas and advice about motherhood.

Coming on December 15th, we will discuss:
Getting your preschooler dressed: Drawing the battle lines

Now on to this week’s topic!

Fun holiday projects to do with your kids

Here is what Mom Connection shared:

Welcome! I’m Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of 2 wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest turns 4 on Christmas Eve and my baby is 15 months old. This is a fun holiday project I do with my kids:

Well, if I was Martha Stewart, I would be able to make an awesome Gingerbread house with my daughters. It would be picture perfect and mess free. It would be soundly constructed and be the centerpiece in our kitchen. However, in the spirit of traditions, I have attempted 2 years in a row and failed miserably at this task. So I am sticking to what I know best. Giving and Simplicity!

We are making Turtle Bite Cookies and placing them in decorative tins (purchased at the Dollar Store) and passing them out to our neighbors and friends. Every holiday, we try to bake something EASY to share with our neighbors. I like Turtle Bite Cookies, not only because they are super delicious and yummy, but they are so easy that my preschooler can help. Averie helped me place the pretzels on the tray, unwrap the Rolo candies, and even search for the perfect pecan while they were in the oven. She is a great helper in the kitchen.

Click here to view the entire recipe.

Trust me, you will be a hit with your family and neighbors.

Hi! I’m Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I’m a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 4, 3, and 18 months. This is a fun holiday project I do with my kids:

Well, we have two actually! While I’m not the craftiest momma around, I definitely love to bake and have a killer sweet tooth. Not surprisingly, my kiddos and I like to get into the holiday spirit by doing activities related to sweets.

We definitely always decorate a gingerbread house. I use the word “decorate” because until this point we have always bought the prebaked ones that you “glue” together with frosting and decorate. You can view our latest here. When I was a kid, my mom used to bake these elaborate gingerbread villages from scratch. I would love to do that someday, but for now my kids are little and these things don’t last long around here! We do have SO much fun putting them together and decorating them! Our only complaint is that there always seems to be a large shortage of frosting…

Our other holiday tradition is baking and decorating sugar cookie cutouts to give out as holiday treats to our friends! We actually do put quite a bit of effort into decorating them beautifully, and they are SO tasty! I’ll be posting photos and a recipe after we create this year’s batch this weekend! The kids really enjoy handing them out to their friends and teachers at school as well. The fun time spent in the kitchen baking and grooving to holiday tunes is priceless, and the end result is pretty special too.

My name is Tricia from Mama Marchand’s Nest. I am the mom of N (her name on my blog) who will be three in March. This is a fun hoilday project I do with my child.

Last year, we made salt dough ornaments with N’s handprint on them that turned out pretty cute and ended up being a very special Christmas present for the grandparents. This year, I wanted to do something a little bit different since she’s older and very much into arts & crafts now. Click over to my blog, here to see the pom pom ornament we made together!

My name is Fotini! I blog over at Glamorous Affordable Life. I am the mom of ( Isabella 19 months and Christian 6 years).

This is a fun holidayproject I do with my kids: Our latest Christmas project was the “Handy Reindeer”. Isabella didn’t participate in this craft, she was still feeling the -ick from the stomach virus we are getting over.. Anywho, this is a fun project and my son, Christian used his creativity creating one-of-a-kind snowflakes! Click here to check it out. Hope to see you there!

My name is Kristen from The Mrs. & The Momma. I’m the momma of three girls (ages 7, 5, & 3) and a little boy (18 months). This is a fun holiday project I do with my kids:

My oldest two girls are finally at an age where they can take part in service during the holiday season…and actually understand the significance of it. For the second year in a row, my girls helped bake lots of goodies for their bake sale (happening today, actually) to raise funds for my annual diaper drive. This project not only cultivates a spirit of giving in my children, but also is an opportunity to teach them lessons in money (I let them set the prices and take the donations) and working hard towards a goal (I let them do most of the cooking and packaging). My prayer is that my children can (and will) continue to enjoy this holiday project of ours and take pride in their service to others less fortunate. If they end up being talented bakers in the future…well, that will just be an added bonus!

Your Turn:

What fun holiday project do you do with your kids?

Leave us a comment or share the link!

Love to hear from you!