My almost 3 year old (can he really be that old already?) has quite the imagination. It makes me laugh out loud quite often. Like it did today when he picked up a plastic Easter egg, opened it, held it up to his chest and said, "Look, Mommy! I got boobs!" Yes, he's my son. No, he didn't get that from me. :)
Imagination is something I think a lot of kids today are without because they sit in front of the TV or video games and are endlessly entertained, leaving imagination unneeded.
Reading is a great solution to that. My sis-in-law uses making up stories with her kids as an imagination development tool. I love both of those things.
What are some things you have done/do/plan to do to promote the use of imagination in your children?
Showing posts with label teach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teach. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Potty Training
This can be one of the most rewarding and exciting things you'll do with your child...at least up until this point in life. :) It can also be one of the most frustrating and disgusting jobs you'll ever do.
We've been potty training J for awhile now. We started in late September in the hopes that we'd have things mostly mastered by Christmas time which is when N will make his appearance. (There's just something about having only 1 child in diapers that is very appealing to me.)
Like every child that goes through this process, J has had his very good days and his very bad days. Today, for instance, he woke up dry. He said he didn't need to potty yet, and wanted to eat first. Lately he's been pretty in tune with those things, so I sat him down and let him eat his breakfast. He finished and got down to play. I had left him in his night time diaper just to make sure I wouldn't be cleaning up a morning woopsie.
As he was playing, he jumped right up and yelled, "Mommy! Potty toilet!!!" and then ran for all he was worth into the bathroom. My mommy heart swelled with pride. :) I was so happy that he's finally getting it!
He went back to playing and after a little while, he repeated the process, except this time his words were slightly different. Instead of a potty run, we were making a poop run. YAY again! But no matter how hard he'd try, he just couldn't (or wouldn't) make it come out.
Again, that was ok. At least he's trying to listen to his body now. We went through this at least 5 times in about 10 minutes, each time with no results. Then, his warning got a little more urgent and finally we had success. He told me he didn't want to wear a diaper, but he wanted to wear big boy underwear. Fine. (Keep in mind we're recovering from a GI virus.)
He went back to playing and then almost cried when he said, "Poop toilet!" as he had stuff running down his legs. I probably could have (and should have) been smarter about that, but I also wanted to encourage him to feel like he's doing something awesome and important. I want him to feel like he IS a big boy.
I know a family (and I'm not going to name any names) that went through the potty training of their 2nd boy as if it were boot camp. They'd make their little one sit on the toilet until he went...come crying or constipation...or both. Granted, he did have some major issues with constipation and it was hard to get him to go, but one parent would even resort to yelling to try to entice the poor little guy to go. It didn't help much as you might imagine.
Because of having seen that, and because my little guy has such a sensitive spirit, I knew I couldn't ever go about things that way for our family. What we've chosen to do instead is more like bribery. :) I'm not ashamed to admit it or even do it that way.
Every time J goes potty, he gets a piece of candy (Halloween candy worked wonders in this department as we would hardly give him any candy unless he went potty). Going poop was a totally different ball game. Candy didn't really work for him in that department. But giving him really cheap toy cars did/does. Every time he goes poop, he gets a new car. He LOVES his cars and lately has found a new way to get more of them.
We started out with setting the timer for 40 minutes or so and when the timer would go off, we'd go sit on the potty. It got to be kind of humorous for awhile because any time any dinger or buzzer would go off, J would jump up and yell, "Potty!" and run to the bathroom. Now he's starting to tell us when he has to go.
This is a way that has worked for us. It might not work for every parent or child and that's ok. There are several ways to go about potty training. It was suggested to us to let J wear the underwear underneath his diaper so he felt the wet a little more. That didn't work, but did make for a lot more laundry.
Though I'm no expert in this area by any means, my suggestion is to find a way that works best for your family (and especially for your child) and go with that. Be consistent and understanding. It is training after all and will take some time. :)
I'm looking forward to the time when we're only in diapers at night. And then to the time when we're completely out of diapers. That will be nice. :) And I'm sure those times are right around the corner.
We've been potty training J for awhile now. We started in late September in the hopes that we'd have things mostly mastered by Christmas time which is when N will make his appearance. (There's just something about having only 1 child in diapers that is very appealing to me.)
Like every child that goes through this process, J has had his very good days and his very bad days. Today, for instance, he woke up dry. He said he didn't need to potty yet, and wanted to eat first. Lately he's been pretty in tune with those things, so I sat him down and let him eat his breakfast. He finished and got down to play. I had left him in his night time diaper just to make sure I wouldn't be cleaning up a morning woopsie.
As he was playing, he jumped right up and yelled, "Mommy! Potty toilet!!!" and then ran for all he was worth into the bathroom. My mommy heart swelled with pride. :) I was so happy that he's finally getting it!
He went back to playing and after a little while, he repeated the process, except this time his words were slightly different. Instead of a potty run, we were making a poop run. YAY again! But no matter how hard he'd try, he just couldn't (or wouldn't) make it come out.
Again, that was ok. At least he's trying to listen to his body now. We went through this at least 5 times in about 10 minutes, each time with no results. Then, his warning got a little more urgent and finally we had success. He told me he didn't want to wear a diaper, but he wanted to wear big boy underwear. Fine. (Keep in mind we're recovering from a GI virus.)
He went back to playing and then almost cried when he said, "Poop toilet!" as he had stuff running down his legs. I probably could have (and should have) been smarter about that, but I also wanted to encourage him to feel like he's doing something awesome and important. I want him to feel like he IS a big boy.
I know a family (and I'm not going to name any names) that went through the potty training of their 2nd boy as if it were boot camp. They'd make their little one sit on the toilet until he went...come crying or constipation...or both. Granted, he did have some major issues with constipation and it was hard to get him to go, but one parent would even resort to yelling to try to entice the poor little guy to go. It didn't help much as you might imagine.
Because of having seen that, and because my little guy has such a sensitive spirit, I knew I couldn't ever go about things that way for our family. What we've chosen to do instead is more like bribery. :) I'm not ashamed to admit it or even do it that way.
Every time J goes potty, he gets a piece of candy (Halloween candy worked wonders in this department as we would hardly give him any candy unless he went potty). Going poop was a totally different ball game. Candy didn't really work for him in that department. But giving him really cheap toy cars did/does. Every time he goes poop, he gets a new car. He LOVES his cars and lately has found a new way to get more of them.
We started out with setting the timer for 40 minutes or so and when the timer would go off, we'd go sit on the potty. It got to be kind of humorous for awhile because any time any dinger or buzzer would go off, J would jump up and yell, "Potty!" and run to the bathroom. Now he's starting to tell us when he has to go.
This is a way that has worked for us. It might not work for every parent or child and that's ok. There are several ways to go about potty training. It was suggested to us to let J wear the underwear underneath his diaper so he felt the wet a little more. That didn't work, but did make for a lot more laundry.
Though I'm no expert in this area by any means, my suggestion is to find a way that works best for your family (and especially for your child) and go with that. Be consistent and understanding. It is training after all and will take some time. :)
I'm looking forward to the time when we're only in diapers at night. And then to the time when we're completely out of diapers. That will be nice. :) And I'm sure those times are right around the corner.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Candy, Candy, Candy
This time of year always comes with a double edge sword.....copious amount of candy. Good because well....its good! and bad because of stomach aches, cavities and the not so much fun part of telling children they can't eat five pounds of candy at once!
There are a few ways to deal with all this yumminess.
One: sneak into the kids buckets nightly and start eating some of it down. They probably won't notice its going down. But then we end up with the extra work outs and the tummy aches. ;)
Two: put the candy away. Out of sight out of mind. When they ask for some of that goodness, get it out and have a few pieces. Eventually something new and fabulous will come along that will let them forget....like Christmas.
Two: put the candy away. Out of sight out of mind. When they ask for some of that goodness, get it out and have a few pieces. Eventually something new and fabulous will come along that will let them forget....like Christmas.
Third: Let the children pick about a week to two weeks worth of candy out (how many pieces a day/week you think is a good amount) and then tell the children to put their candy buckets outside their door. That night he tooth fairy will come and exchange the candy for an awesome prize (prizes can range from toys, to color books... even money to buy their own fun prize). The kids get to keep some candy and they get a cool new toy. Best of both worlds and you my friends get to do with that candy as you please.
We do the last one and surprisingly the kids are excited about getting to have both the candy and a toy. Plus we explain to them they are keeping their bodies and teeth healthy! It might not work well for the older children but it will work for a bit for the younger ones. :)
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Master of Distractions
I'm sure you're all VERY aware that part of being a mom is coming up with distractions for your children. Creative moms can even make it seem like their kids came up with the alternate activity, therefore making it all the more appealing to them. I haven't quite reached that status yet, but I'm learning how to keep a stash of alternate activities (even just a mental list) because I work from home and have to care for my 2 year old at the same time.
My list of "distractions" includes:
My list of "distractions" includes:
- Starfall.com
- drawing/coloring
- reading his favorite books
- toys
- letter/number magnets
- eating a snack
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Choices
When we were growing up our parents always gave us choices. Rarely was it 'no' or 'do it' and that's it...there was always a choice. Such as: You can eat your dinner or you can go to bed; or you can choose to be nice to your sisters or you can choose to go stand in the corner.
I, for one, hate being told what to do! I just hate that someone thinks they have the right to tell me what to do and me follow, I feel it takes away my agency, my right at choices. You always have a choice and how frustrating is it when someone assumes they can make that choice for you by telling you exactly what to do. If I feel this way, imagine how a child who is growing and learning and desperately trying to figure out who they are must feel when every decision is made for them?
So I vowed that when I became a mother I would do the same thing. Give my children choices...sometimes I'm sure they don't like the choices (ex: you can stop throwing a fit and go clean your room now or you can stand in the corner and then go clean your room (either way the room is getting cleaned...but its still a choice)) or it could be one they like (pudding or Popsicle). Now as parents we do have to make choices for them (Planning dinner, where they live, ect) but the little things, especially when it comes to their ideas, attitudes and emotions can be put into choice form.
It allows them to express themselves, to realize they always have a choice and to help in the decision making as well as helps us teach them to recognise the good and true choices. So hopefully when they are growing up they can say to themselves - I have a choice and I'm going to make the right one.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
A Lesson in Kindness
I was on a walk with my girls yesterday when I noticed that my two year old daughter had something on her shoe. She was dragging her shoe along the sidewalk to try and scrape it off, smearing whatever it was behind her. I also noticed several snails (the big ones that look like Spongebob's pet Gary) out on the sidewalk. I squatted down to point out the snail to my daughter and ask her to say hello to it. Then the most disturbing thing happened.
My little girl raised her foot, smashed that little snail, and ground it into the concrete.
I was shocked. I was horrified. I was speechless for a minute. I knew that I had to do something, but I didn't know what. I couldn't bring the snail back to life, its shell was shattered and its slimy body was plastered across the sidewalk.
Finally, I decided that the only thing I could do was express to my daughter the importance of showing respect and kindness to animals. I told her that God created all the animals, even the snails and that he expects us to be kind to them and take care of them. I explained that it is our job to keep them safe, and not to step on them. It hurts them when we step on them.
I am not sure if my message got through to my daughter, but she did apologize to the snail before we continued on our way. Hopefully the next time we meet a snail, it will be greeted with a friendly hello, and left to meander on its way.
My little girl raised her foot, smashed that little snail, and ground it into the concrete.
I was shocked. I was horrified. I was speechless for a minute. I knew that I had to do something, but I didn't know what. I couldn't bring the snail back to life, its shell was shattered and its slimy body was plastered across the sidewalk.
Finally, I decided that the only thing I could do was express to my daughter the importance of showing respect and kindness to animals. I told her that God created all the animals, even the snails and that he expects us to be kind to them and take care of them. I explained that it is our job to keep them safe, and not to step on them. It hurts them when we step on them.
I am not sure if my message got through to my daughter, but she did apologize to the snail before we continued on our way. Hopefully the next time we meet a snail, it will be greeted with a friendly hello, and left to meander on its way.
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