Archive for March, 2007
Picking out toys for young children is no simple task. There are so many choices that it can easily be overwhelming. It’s important to consider options that are appropriate for the child’s age. It’s also important to know the individual child’s likes and dislikes.
Toy Textures:
Children thrive on all sorts of stimulation. Colors, sounds and even textures can keep them occupied for hours, as well as keep them thinking and growing mentally. However, it’s important to choose soft-textured toys for young children. Always avoid any toy that has sharp pieces or any scratch parts that could irritate a child’s skin.
Noisy Toys:
Small children can easily become afraid of loud toys. Some sound is a good thing to help stimulate children. However, it’s important that the sounds be fun and friendly, not loud and scary. If the child that you are buying for is not your child, you should also keep in mind that there are other people in the child’s house. Parents may not be appreciative of loud, repetitive toys and pets may also be afraid of them. If you’re going to get a child a toy that makes noise, you should be sure that the noise is pleasant for children. You should also check to see that the toy has an on/off switch or some sort of volume control.
Little Pieces:
Many people are aware that small children like to chew on things, especially when they are teething. Therefore, it’s important not to buy them small toys that they could easily swallow. However, you should also be aware that larger toys can contain smaller pieces. Things like glass teddy bear eyes, for instance, do have the potential to possibly become loose. Be aware of that when choosing toys for little ones.
Easy Cleaning:
Parents of young children tend to be fairly aware of germs. Young children, after all, tend to be fairly quick to catch colds and whatever else is going around.
Let’s face it; both kids and their toys are going to get dirty. It’s a fact of life. A child may spit up on their favorite toy, get food on it, drop it in the mud, or do who knows what to it. Maybe the child decided to take their favorite toy to daycare only for parents to discover that half the daycare kids were out with the flu. In cases such as those, parents will want to keep a toy as clean and disinfected as possible.
Due to all of those reasons, it’s important to consider what materials a toy is made of before you but it for a small child.
Explore Your Options:
In short, good toys for young children should be fun and entertaining, not scary and obnoxious. They should also be safe and easy to clean.
Consider certain well-known manufacturers as a starting point. Fisher Price, Little Tikes, and Playskool toys, for instance, are great for young kids. However, there are many other choices out there, so be sure to explore all of your toy options.
About the Author
Search ToysStop.com for the most popular toys you´re interested in buying. You’ll find many toy deals from Fisher Price, Little Tikes, Playskool, and more at www.ToysStop.com.
March 27th, 2007
Avid travelers are full of wanderlust and refuse to give up their love for exploring the world, even when busy raising a family. And why should they? Traveling with children can be a joy and taking the family on holidays near and far can produce a lifetime of unforgettable memories.
It’s true, however, that enjoying a vacation with kids is a bit different than an all-adult excursion. That’s not necessarily a bad thing! Traveling with children requires a bit more thought and you may be slightly restricted as to your choice of destination. But all the other perks of introducing your children to different world cultures far outweigh the sacrifices you may need to make until they grow up and you can venture off on your own once again.
Finding the Best Fit for Your Family
Where you choose to take your family on holiday can depend on lots of factors including your preference of activities, like sightseeing, sporting/active pursuits, cultural opportunities, and so forth. Begin your search for a good holiday destination by considering the things you’d like to do while you’re away from home. These may be activities you enjoy on a regular basis or things you rarely get to do except when you’re on vacation. Are you:
* An adventurous family? If so, choose a destination where you can participate in fun and daring activities like trekking, climbing, diving, jet boating, and camping under the stars. (Provided the age of your children can support these activities.) You may be just the right family for an African safari or a trip to South America’s Andes Mountains. Closer to home, your family may be ideal for a camping trip through the National Parks or a whitewater rafting trip down the Colorado River.
* An artsy, cultural family? If so, select a vacation destination that can provide your fill of cultural activities. Big cities are always ideal, because you can usually find plenty of museums, theaters, concert venues, and such. Try one of the great cities of North America, like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, or Vancouver. Or, if you prefer, choose a wonderful, historic European city, like London, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Moscow, Barcelona, or Budapest. All have something a little different to offer.
* A fun-loving family? If so, you’ll want to travel to a destination where your family can play together from morning ’til night. Maybe you enjoy amusement and water parks, taking in a local major league sporting event, playing volleyball on the beach, tobogganing through the snow, or taking part in fun and unique local festivals. There are a number of wonderful places for fun-seeking families to visit including resorts like Walt Disney World or the other Disney properties, the wacky beaches of Southern California, or even a quaint ski village in the Alps. The beauty of being a fun-loving family is that you can probably turn just about any vacation into a rollicking good time for all!
Age-Appropriate Holidays
The ages of your kids will help determine where you head for your next holiday. Teenagers can do just about anything….but will they? Be sure you allow your fickle teenager to be a part of the planning so that when you arrive at your destination, they’ll be looking forward to participating in the activities they’ve read about during the planning process. Be ready to compromise. Your teen’s first choice may not be yours, but perhaps you can find a destination that has a little something for both of you.
Traveling with elementary school-aged children can be a treat! Unlike their teen counterparts, they’re excited about everything, eager to learn, and willing to try new things. Kids from about age 7 to 12 are the easiest with whom to travel as they’ll make the most of their new adventures.
Trips with babies and toddlers can be challenging. There’s so much to plan before you depart and it often seems as if you need to carry the entire house with you on your trip. Remember, unless you’re going to a third-world country, you can buy diapers and other essentials when you reach your destination. Pack lightly and choose a simple destination, like a beach, where you can enjoy fun in the sun. All-inclusive resorts, found in places like the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, often have special programs for toddlers and also offer certified in-room babysitting services so that parents can enjoy a dinner or evening alone.
Remember not to push your kids too far. Little ones have a limit. So do teenagers. When you’re tempted to do just one more museum or spend just a half-hour more in the sun, consult your kid. If they’ve already said they’re tired or hot or cold, call it a day. Your trip will run much more smoothly when your children are happy.
Food
While domestic travel rarely presents a problem when it comes to food – even for the pickiest of eaters – international destinations where the food is “foreign” can be a real challenge for parents traveling with children.
Even the well-traveled child has likes and dislikes and you can’t expect your child to go without a meal. That’s why it’s always best to bring along a few staples just in case. Peanut butter is always a good bet, as is cereal, especially the small boxes that fit easily in your suitcase. Crackers work well, too. Any of those foods can be eaten at any meal and their familiarity will provide comfort to a child who’s overwhelmed by the foreign-ness of the food on the table in front of them.
Also be sure that the food and water your child is consuming is safe. Kids are more prone than adults to intestinal disorders caused by impure water and other food-related concerns. There’s nothing worse than a sick kid in a foreign country!
Plan Well
Truly, good planning can be the difference between a good holiday and a disastrous one. When you’re traveling with adults, it’s okay to leave things to chance, like a hotel reservation or a train ticket. With a family, however, the more complete your plans, the better.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that you need to schedule every minute of every day. Kids are spontaneous and just when you think an activity or attraction might consume 15 minutes of your time, your children may love it and you may wind up spending an hour or two at that particular task. Go with the flow and let your children take the lead. Thanks to them, you may discover things you’d have never found on your own!
About the Author
David Beart is the owner of www.professorshouse.com. Our site covers such topics as {a href=” http://www.professorshouse.com/family/holidays/holidays-vacations.aspx”} Family Holidays, relationships, home care and other household issues.
March 20th, 2007
Children love to go on sleep-overs with their friends – or to camps and other special events for kids. But for some children their fear of sleeping away from home overshadows the daytime fun – perhaps even to the extent that they simply won’t go. If your child is struggling with such a fear, perhaps this will help you to help her.
First, and most obviously, getting into a fight with your child about the problem won’t help. Saying things like, “don’t be such a baby, of course you can do it” will just undermine her confidence rather than solve the problem. Recognize that it is a problem, and that your child probably wants to solve it as much as you do, step back from it all, and plan a strategic approach to help her.
You need to use the gradual process of desensitization to help your child overcome the fear. The problem may not be just sleeping away from home, but, perhaps, sleeping away from the mother. Children are sometimes scared to go to their own beds also.
Whatever the degree of the problem, the process is the same. Identify first what she IS able to do comfortably and confidently. Perhaps she is happy sleeping on the floor next to your bed. Or in her own bed, provided the door is open. Or she can manage a sleep-over with the grandparents, but not with a friend or cousin. Whatever it is, that is your starting point.
Next, get some cooperation. Agree on some tasty goal that you child would really like to be able to accomplish – like a sleep over for her friend’s birthday party, or going to camp in the summer. Write this down.
The point is to start with an overnight stay away from home in a place where your child is physically and emotionally comfortable. And then, gradually get him ready for a camp for five nights. May be you will have to start by getting your child to sleep in his room with the door shut. Be very sensitive to your child’s emotions and give him time to work on his fear. Don’t be in a rush; it is not going to help any one.
This is the general framework of the plan; you will need to adapt it to your own circumstances. After chalking out a rough plan, you can go to the present and look at the very first step. If it is facing opposition, you can break the first step into smaller parts. For instance, if your child refuses to move away from your room, you can coax him to sleep in the hallway on the floor just outside your bedroom door.
It helps to talk it out with your child and agree on a starting date. Then think of a way of celebrating success. Make sure you do not set difficult goals. One step at a time is the secret of success. Remember that. Let your child be willing to move from one step to the next. Of course, you may offer rewards to encourage him.
In the beginning you might have to face failure in the sense that after a few days your child may crawl back to your room in the middle of the night. This only means that you need to go back to the first step and spend some more time on it. Think of greater rewards and more encouragement, but don’t give up. Give lots of love and appreciation but remain firm. Try again, you will succeed one day.
Above all, remember to give sufficient time to your child. Trying to rush him will get you nowhere. However, if you go about your plan slowly and systematically, and wrap it up with plenty of encouragement and rewards, you should be able to get there.
About the Author
Dr. Noel Swanson offers free expert parenting tips on his website – you will also find a free chapter to his highly acclaimed book, the GOOD CHILD Guide. You can also meet with other parents on a parenting forum.
March 13th, 2007
