Get your toddler to share the load by turning chores into fun.

Divvying up chores in which little ones can participate not only teaches them to appreciate you, but empowers them to feel needed instead of needy. And if no one alerts them to the notion that houswork is drudgery, it won’t be.

For many young kids, cleaning isn’t a chore but an extension of play. You get to sneak it learning life skills too—independence, gross motor movement, precision, frustration tolerance, and the cognitive ability to count, sort, match and classify.

The earlier you get kids involved, the better,” says Tricia K. Neppl, PhD, a researcher at the Institute for Social and Behavioral Research at Iowa State University. “It’s easier at this age, because toddlers are very eager to help and they think chores are fun. Helping Mommy and Daddy makes them feel confident and useful.”

Here are ways to get your child to pitch in and take those first empowered steps towards independence:

Break up tasks into simple steps

Start by giving your little ones easy to follow instructions like:

• After coloring, count your crayons and put them away in this special box or can.
• After playing with your toys, please put them back on this shelf or in the toy box.
• Could you help by wiping your part of the table with this cloth after you eat? 

The simpler the instructions are to follow, the more achievable they’ll be, and the more important your child will feel as a member of the household.

Have the forbearance for lengthy processes

Taking over a task or asking someone else to redo your child’s chores to speed things up could undermine your child’s self-esteem.  “He’ll feel like he’s not good enough or that he’s letting you down,” explains Amy Needham, PhD, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina. Resist the temptation by giving your child plenty of time to work at his own pace.

Follow his lead

You’ll most likely get the cooperation you need if you go with your child’s natural inclinations. He likes the dirt of the garden? Get him a watering can and shovel. If he likes the wet of the sink, hand him some rags and a water spray bottle. Others like the soothing enjoyment of repetition (sweeping, slicing, dusting).

Turn the job into a game

Here are some ways to make tasks more exciting for your toddler:

• Sorting colors - Tell your child you’ll pick up all the green and blue toys if she puts away all the yellow and red ones.
• Fun on the Clock - Using a timer, see how many toys you can both put away in three minutes. The person who stashed the most when the timer goes off gets a big hug.
• Match ‘Em - Give children a pile of socks to pair while you fold clothes. You get willing company while you do your own chores.
• Water Play - Kids can give plants and pets water with a watering can and some direction. If they spill, use the chance to let them wipe it up.
• Sous Chef - Toddlers love cooking. They’re too young to do most meal preps, but they can use the salad spinner, put rolls in a basket, or place napkins on the table.

Chore time doesn’t have to be a bore.  If you get your kids started and involved at this age when they think everything is a potentially fun experience while keeping in mind that the path to independence is not especially straight (or tidy), you’ll have a regular Tom Sawyer or Laura Ingalls on your hands sooner or later.

Santa Clara County officials vote to ban toys and other promotions that come with high-calorie children’s meals.

After a contentious meeting between parents and restaurant owners, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of banning the Happy Meal in Silicon Valley restaurants.

The five-member board in Silicon Valley voted 3 to 2 in favor of prohibiting fast food restaurants from offering prizes and toys if they contained more than 485 calories, 600 mg of sodium or high amounts of sugar and fat.  The decision is meant to pressure small fast food restaurants to big chains like McDonald’s to offer more nutritious menu items for kids. Happy Meals are one of the longest-running and most successful marketing campaigns for McDonald’s.

“This ordinance prevents restaurants from preying on children’s’ love of toys” to sell high-calorie, unhealthful food, said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who sponsored the measure. “This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes.”  It is said that that one quarter of kids in the area are overweight.

In favor of the item were public health administrators, parents and doctors; opposed were fast-food franchisees, other parents, and fans of fast-food toys who argued that the promotions are often used to provide Christmas presents for less fortunate children.

Once the ordinance gets final approval at a meeting in May, the fast-food industry will have 90 days to come up with a voluntary program for improving the nutritional value of children’s meals.

It would be interesting to learn whether such a ban indeed affects sales or pushes fast-food chains to offer grilled chicken sandwiches (instead of a burger or chicken nuggets) Unless the toy ban catches, the vote affects only about a dozen fast food chains under the Board of Supervisors’ jurisdiction.

Children’s food allergies are unpredictable, and misinterpreting them could be deadly. Learn to separate fact from fiction.

MYTH:  Children are allergic to any kind of food that causes a negative reaction.

FACT: Many negative food reactions are unrelated to food allergies and are simply food sensitivities.  True food allergies are not as common as people think and only affect 2% of children. Lactose intolerance, for instance, is different from a milk allergy. Doctors say a milk allergy would have life threatening consequences and those that are allergic to milk would have to skip milk protein all together.  A real food allergy is a reaction of the body’s immune system to a certain component, usually a protein, in a food or ingredient.

Symptoms of food allergies can include watery eyes, wheezing and difficulty breathing, coughing, skin rashes, sneezing, vomiting, diarrhea and swelling around the mouth and throat.  The more severe reaction is anaphylaxis, which involves enlarging of the larynx and a choking sensation that can lead to death. 

The top 4 food allergens for children are peanuts (which are not true nuts but actually legumes from the bean and pea family), tree nuts (walnuts, peacans, cashews etc.), cow’s milk, and eggs (especially egg whites). Peanut allergies may be the most likely to cause life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), but a cow’s milk allergy is the most common food allergy in young children. 

MYTH: Children with allergies have them at the onset of birth.

FACT:  While most food allergies begin at the onset of birth or early childhood, they can develop anytime in a person’s life. Interestingly, experts suspect that our society has become “cleaner” and healthier, which may be causing the immune systems in some children to fail in differentiating real threats from harmless invaders, such as food. Some also believe that because immune systems are no longer fighting real threats, they overreact and shift to turn on the body’s own tissues.  

It’s good to note, however,  that many children actually outgrow their food allergies. Some children can outgrow their food allergies if they eliminate them from their diet for two to three years. Approximately 85% of children outgrow their allergy to milk, but fewer will outgrow their allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish.

MYTH:  Giving your child small amounts of food that he is allergic to helps him build up a resistance to the allergy.

FACT: On the contrary, if your child develops adverse reactions to certain foods, you must try to eliminate them from your child’s diet as soon as possible.  Many children outgrow their food allergies if they completely avoid them for two to three years. If your child has multiple food allergies, eliminate all food he is allergic to, and rotate all other foods every four to five days.  

MYTH:  You can prevent a food allergy.

FACT:  In pediatric allergy circles, this is a subject of much debate. Although women are often advised to avoid certain foods, such as peanuts, when they’re pregnant or breastfeeding, no one can say for sure that if this will lower a child’s risk of allergies. 

What is known is that children who have parents with food allergies are more predisposed to allergies.  There is also general agreement that strictly breastfeeding newborns and only introducing cow’s milk after your child’s first birthday has a protective effect. Breastfed children are less likely to develop eczema (a rash that’s often considered the first sign that a child is allergy-prone).

A hypoallergenic infant formula should be used if your baby needs a milk supplement.  If your child is more predisposed to food allergies, only introduce  solids after the sixth month of life – eggs after your child turns 2 and peanuts (only as smooth as peanut butter) and shellfish when your child is at least 3 years old. Introduce new foods slowly (i.e, every four to five days) so that you can easily identify which foods cause a reaction or allergy.

They may not say it, but they can sign it.  

It’s not too late to teach sign language to your toddler. Many toddlers can’t speak clearly until they are 3 or 4 years old. And those who can speak may not be able to get their tongue around certain words and letters. Signing can fill those language gaps.

Signing also appeals to a toddler’s predominantly visual and physical learning style. Children master hand control before they gain tongue control. Logically then, babies and toddlers will learn hand gestures and signs before they are able to speak the actual words clearly.

As sure as your toddler’s language development is her strong desire to communicate with you right now.  So regardless of whether your toddler is still not talking, babbling or can speak in phrases, sign language will offer many benefits:

Fewer frustrations

Signing offers a specificity that toddlers cannot always manage with the spoken word. The guessing and questioning part is reduced on your end, and tantrums are minimized. With sign language, it does not matter if she’s babbling incoherently, because you will understand the gesturing.

A stronger bond

The earlier communication is nurtured, the earlier a relationship is enriched. Since sign language requires attention, you and your child are forced to be in the moment with each other more often. 

Faster language development

Most people are concerned that signing will delay speech development in a baby. Fortunately, studies have proven the reverse: sign language facilitates speech development, expands vocabulary and improves literacy. This is because parents tend to label items more and repeat the words as they teach the signs.

An intellectual boost

Sign language develops fine and gross motor skills, which are critical for language and cognition. Studies have consistently shown that signing helps improve memory and facilitates creative thinking and meaningful learning in a child. 

So hurry, and give your toddler something to sign about.

Useful words

• Juice – with your pinky finger, draw a letter “J” in the air
• Milk – open and close fists as if you’re milking a cow
• Cracker – knock one elbow with the other fist
• Finished/All done – with both hands open and facing you, shake outwards twice
• Eat/Food – with fingers in one hand touching together, make a sign as if you’re putting food in your mouth
• More – put your fingertips together using both hands
• Share – hold one hand out and use the other to divide it out in sweeping motions
• Play – with both hands in a fist, stick out pinky and thumb and shake it
• Please – move your flat right hand on your chest in clockwise motion
• Sorry – move your closed fist on your chest in clockwise motion with a “sorry” face
• Nice/Clean – move one flat hand over the other, move faster or twice to indicate “clean”
• Want – with both hands open and facing up in front of you, bring your hands toward you
• Go – with your index fingers, point to the direction you want to go
• Thirsty – with your index finger, trace a line going down your throat
• Happy – brush a flat hand over your heart while smiling
• Hurt/Pain – rub the fingertips of your index fingers together with a sad face

Useful phrases

• Outside/outdoors/ to go out – start with your hand open at the side of your face then close it as you move it farther sideways, do twice to mean “outside”
• I love you – stick out your thumb, pinky and index fingers or just cross your arms over your chest then point to the one you ‘love’
• Brush teeth – use the index finger of your right hand to brush your teeth in a side to side horizontal motion
• Thank you – with a flat hand of your dominant hand, start with your fingers near your lips and move your hand forward and a bit down in the direction of the person you are thanking.  Smile. Very similar and sometimes also used as “good”

Get your your little ones on their feet and moving wherever you are.

Getting kids physically active is more important than most  parents realize. Even if your couch potato isn’t tipping the scales, getting him to use his muscles, pump his heart and flex his joints is essential for growth. Sports scientists say active kids become taller adults. They are also happier, more sociable and better-behaved. They even tend to do better in school.

There is also the issue of childhood obesity. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obese children are likely to become obese adults. This comes with a higher risk of future health problems including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer and osteoarthritis.

The US CDC advises just an hour or two a day of active movement is good enough for most children.

Starting them young is the best way to create a life-long habit of being active. Keeping an active toddler busy can be a challenge for any parent, especially since most toddlers have more energy than most adults. Have on hand or in mind a few games and activities for those active toddlers. You don’t have to look far:

• If you’re a yogi, show your little one how to do the downward dog or tree pose. If you’re a runner, take them to a track, and let them run alongside you for a warm-up.
• Playing with balls and balloons can help to improve your toddler’s muscle strength and her coordination.
• Hide-and-Seek or Tag are games that toddlers will love, as well. For the active toddler, seeking will probably be a lot more fun than hiding, as it can be difficult to sit still long enough to be found.
• Your toddler might also enjoy sweeping with the broom. While the floor won’t be entirely clean when he is done, he could enjoy the process. 
• If you have a playground in the neighborhood, use it. After dinner, hit the street instead of the remote control. Or make housework a habit for your kids throughout the day – cleaning their room, watering plants, feeding pets, setting the table, tidying up. Add this all up, and you’ll have a child that is routinely, habitually, physically active.
• Sneak in exercise into regular errands like grocery shopping. Let them push their own mini cart. Put them in charge of loading items and placing them on the counter. With all that heavy lifting and walking up and down aisles, they’ve clocked in enough exercise for a day without realizing it.

Encourage your little ones to make physical activities part of their day, and you’ll be creating a healthy pattern that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Don’t wing it when when flying with your toddler.

Here is a list of “Flying with Little Kids” necessities.  Remember that what works for one child may not have the same mileage for the other, so come armed with options.

1. A personal roll-away suitcase:  Children love it when you entrust them with their own luggage. Small roll-aways provide the most amusement in a check-in line or departure lounge and are great for releasing pent-up energy.
2. Bulkhead seats:  Booking the roomiest cabin seats not only gives you easier bathroom access, it also makes your toddler feel less confined.  It also means you don’t get dagger stares or a rude lecture from the passenger whose chair your child will innocently thrash with endless kicks.  The only minus is that bulkhead seats don’t have movable arm rests, which means your child won’t have the option of lying on your lap.
3. Ear pressure know-how:  Little children aren’t the happiest people with pressure changes, so don’t forget to teach them how to “pop” their ears.  Sucking on pacifiers, milk bottles, and lollipops are all good for popping ears.  If they are mature enough to understand, instruct them to yawn or laugh.  
4. A huge packet of wipes:  Use these for cleaning your child and wiping down germy surfaces in the cabin bathroom. A small bottle of rubbing alcohol is also helpful for nuking toilet seats and gucky sinks.
5. Snacks:  Getting kids to sample airplane cuisine is a long shot.  Bring your child’s favorite biscuits, fruit, cheese, and pretzels instead.  Avoid the sugar unless you want to be chasing your child up and down darkened aisles while the rest of the passengers sleep.  Also, buy water and juice boxes after you get through security (if permitted), to avoid over-dependence on the busy crew.
6. Games and activities:  Parents usually have their own weapons of choice. Some parents love Crayola wonder packs with invisible ink, while others swear by electronic devices. Ipods, your laptop, a compact DVD Player will be your new best friends when facing the hell of delayed flights or an 18-hour trip.  
7. An in-flight ally: Ask for help if you need it. The one beauty about flying with little kids is that flight attendants are usually more eager to help you than the fastidious old man who wants more peanuts.  If your child can only eat the bread, ask for another bread roll.  If your child still bottle-feeds, ask them to heat the bottle.

Children who engage in creative and active play may grow up to be healthier adults.

The finding comes from a British study that asked 505 young adults to describe their health and their childhood play experiences.

Playing is one of the cornerstones of a young child’s world. Play builds imagination, promotes social skills, advances physical development, and allows a child to work through emotions.

Four types of play were found to be associated in different ways with adult health, said the researchers from The University of Ulster .

Higher levels of creative play in childhood predicted good adult health habits, such as eating a nutritionally balanced diet and getting regular exercise. More active play in childhood was associated with better overall health and more activeness in adulthood.

Adults who had restrictions on play — such as less time to play — were more likely to be overweight and have less healthy lifestyles.

“Having the freedom and opportunity to play is important for all aspects of child development and is a right that is often overlooked,” study author Tony Cassidy said in a news release from the British Psychological Society. “It is something that most children want to do, and do naturally, but its importance is not always recognized by adults, particularly policymakers.”

“For all sorts of reasons, our society has restricted child play,” he added. “To remove restrictions and reverse a potentially damaging trend requires a change in attitudes across adult society.”

The study was to be presented April 14 at the society’s annual conference.

No one likes a tattletale.  Help your preschooler keep her constant need to tell on others from turning into a real problem,

Preschoolers often can’t resist tattling. They love to run to  parents or teachers, to tell them what wrong-doing their siblings, friends or classmates are engaged in.

It’s a normal part of childhood to want to be in the right and look better than your peers and siblings.  While there is justification to telling on others when someone’s safety is involved, tattling for every little thing can be a real problem —it’s annoying, can lead to peers alienating your child, and doesn’t help her problem solve.  

Dr. Lori Listug-Lunde, a licensed psychologist at A.I. du Pont Hospital for Children in Delaware explains, “Tattling is a typical behaviour for toddlers and preschoolers. They are learning social skills and often don’t know how to handle a problem on their own. They need help sorting out what is important to tell an adult versus what they should handle on their own.”

The good news is that your child can defferentiate right from wrong.  The problem lies in helping your child see why telling on her brother for crassly burping is unnecessary, while telling on her brother for playing with matches is.  

Nip it in the bud

Listen to your child. Although ignoring a reported misdemeanor is one way of discouraging tattling, take time to listen if she is tattling about a potentially dangerous situation or about something she can handle without having to get you involved?   Preschoolers still have trouble gauging the danger levels of different situations.  If your child properly warns you of a potentially dangerous situation, make sure to acknowledge her for looking out for her sibling or friend.

Don’t fall into the trap of scolding the child at fault or taking sides. When your tattletale nitpicks about something that is of no direct consequence to her, she probably wants: A. Your approval; and B. Your attention.  If sibling rivalry exists, then taking one child’s side over the other will only reinforce the tattling behavior.  For example, if Robbie brought mud tracks into the house, calmly tell him in front of your other child, “Robbie, please don’t do that again.” At the same time, tell your tattler that it isn’t nice to keep on telling on others.  Robbie gets the message and your little tattler’s quest for power is foiled.

Teach your children how to problem-solve.  These early bouts of tattling can be an opportunity to give your children the tools to solve minor problems among themselves.  Teach them that before they go to you, they should talk to each other first.  For instance, when your child reports that his playmate refuses to share, brainstorm for solutions together.  Tell your child he can politely suggest taking turns.  This empowers him to use his skills so he doesn’t have to run to you whenever a playmate or sibling doesn’t play nicely. 

Spend time with your kids.  Research has shown that many instances of tattling have to do with the need for attention. Spend positive quality time with your children, and compliment them every now and then for  good behavior.  If you have more than one child, let them know that they will all have their special time with you.

Help your child form healthy screen-time habits with 7 no-brainer rules you can start today

When children enter the social vortex of school life and no longer live in the parent-censored bubble of Sesame Street and Blues Clues 30-minute videos, they’ll demand to know what all the fuss is over the Power Puff girls and Pokemon. You’ll want to keep them in the know, just so they can keep up with the conversation at school.

As with everything in life, moderation is key.   Watching too much TV can lead to eye strain, a diminished attention span, laziness and obesity. While no parent really wants to be a member of the kill-joy brigade, sometimes you have to be a little tough for your children’s sake.  Here are some easy and realistic rules you can implement today:

1. Limit the hours your child watches television.  Pediatric studies recommend only 2 hours of TV per day, and absolutely no TV for children under 2. So if your child already watches 5 hours of TV a day, tell him to choose two shows that he’d really like to watch on a school night, or three that he can’t live without on a weekend. Don’t forget to explain why so he understands that you’re not just being a complete ogre.
2. Don’t reveal the maximum number of hours you will allow TV-viewing.  This counter-intuitive rule is surprisingly effective.  By giving kids a ceiing for the number of hours they can watch, you unwittingly work TV into their daily schedule, and they’ll no doubt do anything to squeeze that time in.  But if you keep this information to yourself, you may find that on some days, they will skip watching TV altogether.
3. Make TV access difficult. Never place TVs in your child’s bedroom, or let them eat in front of the TV.  Keep it instead in an out-of the way room or in an armoire that can be closed when the TV is off. Or, try and create a common area for the TV so your kids will know that you can track what they’re watching and for how long.  
4. Let them watch programs, not TV. Instead of running the TV in an endless loop and leaving the kids to flip aimlessly from channel to channel, allow them to tune into a regular program.  Turn off the tube when the show is over.
5. Choose calm, quiet programming. Cable channels like the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and the History Channel  often have PG-rated programs that appeal to all ages.   They’re presented well, and in a slower-paced, less “MTV-style” manner.  Shows like Shark Week and Meerkat Manor, for instance, encourage kids to think critically, ask questions and look up information online and in books afterwards.
6. Watch TV with your kids. It’s always an easy solution to plop the kids in front of the television when duty calls.  Next thing you know, three hours have flown by and your kids and their auto-pilot brains are still staring at the TV.  Watching TV with kids and commenting every now and then about what they see makes the experience less passive and more interactive.
7. Prohibit TV and videos during playdates. Television is an obstacle to your child’s need to play and interact with friends.  Make it clear that the TV will stay off during a playdate, and try to get other parents on board with this rule whenever they have playdates in their own houses. 

 

Bond where you are with what you have

Here are several simple ways you and your kids can step out of the norm, learn more about each other, and have fun in the process.

Wii Are Family

Whoever thought a game console would open new doors for family bonding? Gaming, a popular albeit isolating activity for kids, typically does little more than improve eye-hand coordination.  With the Wii, families are forced to get up on their feet and play among themselves. Studies have found that parents find the Wii has made parents feel closer to their children.  Tennis doubles, bowling matches, yoga, and racing together all make for great family interaction and scenes of absolute hilarity (imagine four people racing in place!).

Pillow Talk

In a busy family where you feel the children are simply passing you by, what better time is there than bedtime to regroup as a family?  A well-established nighttime ritual helps you make up for lost time with your kids.  At bedtime, every moment is about togetherness, focus and quality: reading a bedtime story, covering your children in prayer, and singing a lullaby (or anything, for that matter, sung in a soft, slow, soothing cadence). 

Preschool of Rock

Maybe a certain purple Jurassic creature’s repertoire of songs isn’t your idea of music fun. So, give ‘em an earful—expose kids to the sounds you love, not just children’s music.  Your kids may find rocking out to your personal top hits just as engaging.  Many adult songs encourage movement, which means you can skip the drudgery of going through the Hoky Poky. A guaranteed favorite: Rock You by Queen.  Watch your kids stamp and clap and forget all about If You’re Happy and You Know It.

The Scenic Route

When taking your kids to the park, stretch the time as long as possible by taking the long way ‘round.  If you have very young children, take time to point out birds, clouds, ants on the ground,  squirrels, and other things that spark their curiosity and enrich their world.  

Car-free Fun

A bucket and sponge, water guns and canons, and a garden hose, and you have all you need to help Dad wash the car. The added excitement of dressing kids up in swim gear is certain to turn the chore of car washing into unforgettable family fun.

Garden Growing

If you’re lucky enough to have a lawn or garden at this day and age, take advantage.  Tweak the family night ritual by pitching a tent and camping out.  Want to take the family to the movies?  Hang a white sheet and set up a projector in the garden, instead.  Add to the thrill by laying out a picnic mat and passing out generous bowls of popcorn.