Your little one is no longer the only one. No matter the age of your first born, your child will react in some way, whether it is good or bad. Most of the time, it is a difficult concept for the first born to understand. For however long your first born has been alive, they have been the one and only in mommy and daddy’s life. The best thing to do is to prepare the little one for the newest additions arrival.
When to tell-
The sooner the better. The more time that your child has to try to grasp this new reality is best. Once you have passed your first trimester and received confirmation from your doctor, tell your first born. That way he/she has plenty of time to react, respond and ask lots of questions.
How to tell-
Most parents have different ways of telling their child. Always keep it positive and light. Getting them a small gift is always good; think a big brother shirt or a big sister balloon. Depending on your child’s age most children do not understand the concept that there is another human growing in mom’s belly. Explain it to a child very simple.
What to say-
Explain to the child in simple words that mommy and daddy are having another baby, explain how exciting and great it will be that he/she will be a big brother/sister. Giving them a sense of importance will excite them. They want to help.
While pregnant-
During your pregnancy, keep gentle reminders to your child about the newborn coming. Get them involved as much as possible, like picking out names, making the babies room, picking out a present for the little brother or sister. It’s important to give them a heads up about what is going to change.
After pregnancy-
Once the baby is born, make sure you keep the first born active with the newborn. Be sure to schedule special one-on-one time for the first few months of the new babies’ arrival home. The biggest change is the amount attention on the child will now be spilt. Talk them through that before and after the pregnancy.
Remember to tread lightly on the subject. It is a fun and exciting for a mom and dad but can be hard for the first born to comprehend. Keep positive, remain patient and be understanding. Happy expanding!
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It’s amazing the variety of colors that food comes in. One of the tricks that everyone can use to eat a balanced diet is to eat a variety of colors on our plate at every meal. There are times when kids will get on a kick and they will eat nothing that is not green, or orange or red. Take heart, this too shall pass. We can offer a rainbow of colors to our kids. Studies say that kids have to be exposed to a food at least three times before they will start to develop a taste for that food. So hang in there and continue to spice up your food choices with color. Check out 10 different colors of foods kids love.
- Green: Now I can hear you thinking, are you kidding? My kids hate green veggies. Well, do they really hate all green veggies? Some kids will eat nothing, but green food. Heinz has even come out with a green ketchup to cater to those kids who love green. Salads are green and can be jazzed up with cran-raisins and pecans. Spinach can be added to a fruit smoothie and it will taste great, but it will turn green. Good thing for the kids is that they can’t taste the spinach and the great thing for you is that they are still getting all of the wonderful benefits of eating spinach and enjoying it. Broccoli with a little cheese over it should entice even the pickiest eater to try it.
- Orange: Of course oranges themselves are orange and filled with vitamin C. Carrots are among the sweetest vegetables there are and kids love to eat carrots dipped in a little ranch dressing. Just make sure they aren’t just using the carrot sticks as a vehicle to just eat the dressing. And probably one of the best orange vegetables is sweet potato. These are filled with beta-carotene and are great for our kids.
- Yellow: Bananas are yellow on the outside and white on the inside, but they still count under the yellow category. Kids love bananas and these can be blended up into a great smoothie for the busy mornings when you’re running a little late and don’t have time for a complete breakfast. Yellow squash is another yellow and while I don’t think there are a ton of kids begging their folks for yellow squash they will like the bright colors when put on a kabob on the grill mixed with some other fabulous colors.
- Red: Who can forget red! Strawberries are a front runner for kids. If you mix strawberries into a spinach salad with some nuts you will probably have a much better chance of getting your child to eat a spinach salad. Raspberries are red and another wonderful source of vitamin C. But not just fruits come in red, what about tomatoes. Wait, are those a fruit or a vegetable? Well, technically they are a fruit, but most people don’t associate them as such. But kids tend to love these red beauties. Red bell peppers are fun to throw into a stir fry or to put on kabobs with yellow squash to make a fun and festive summer dinner.
- Purple: Yep, there are purple potatoes on the market now and kids love seeing these fun vegetables make an appearance on their dinner plate. Just make sure to leave the skins on! Yep, kids will eat the skin and all and get all of those nutrients that they tend to miss when we peel the potatoes. Purple cabbage is another fun purple food. It’s fun because it adds a colorful touch to a salad and increases the nutritional value of the salad while not really adding a lot of weird flavor that will turn off a child.
- Brown: Brown food gets a bad rap. Regular potatoes are brown and kids love French fries and mashed potatoes. Chocolate is brown too and not many kids dislike chocolate. Dark chocolate has been proven to be a great antioxidant and actually is a healthy thing for kids and grown-ups to eat. And nuts are brown. Some people are allergic to them, but everyone else should appreciate the great protein gained from nuts.
- Light green: Pears are a lovely shade of green. When ripe pears are sweet and kids love them. You can even make canned pears into a lovely gelatin dessert. Green apples are tart and juicy and a favorite of kids the world around.
- Burgundy: Not only are beets a lovely burgundy color, but there are several varieties of heirloom tomatoes that are burgundy in color. Mixing up the colors on your kids’ plate will surprise them and if you can take them to a garden or Farmer’s market and let them pick out things they would like to try it will improve your chances of actually getting them to eat it.
- Black: I know, we don’t think about eating black things because black is bad, but actually there are black mushrooms on the market that are wonderful as well as black olives. Kids love the salty bite of the olive whether served plain or on a pizza.
- White: Last but not least, white is the color of milk, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and ice cream. What, I said colors of food kids love. I didn’t say they all had to be healthy!
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Kids are constantly kicking off their socks and shoes to run around barefoot. It doesn’t seem to matter where they are, what they’re doing or even how cold it is. Why this aversion to footwear? Is this an underground plot to undermine the children’s shoe industry? Should parents be concerned about this phenomenon affecting a large percentage of the youth? Let’s examine 10 reasons kids love running around barefoot.
- Comes naturally – First of all, going barefoot just come naturally to kids. They aren’t born with shoes on their feet, so going without them is just as natural as sunshine and blue skies.
- Shoes are confining – Wearing shoes is very confining to free spirited children. They love the freedom of going shoeless whenever they can. Nothing beats the feeling of kicking off those stifling shoes and letting their feet breath.
- Easier to walk – Toddlers learning to walk often find it easier to go barefoot. Children’s shoes can be stiff and inflexible which makes walking difficult. Without shoes kids can flex their feet with ease when they walk.
- Feel with their feet – Children gain an amazing amount of sensory perception through the soles of their feet. They love to feel the wide range of textures from carpet to tile and grass to sand. Kids can also feel subtle changes in their walking surface that they wouldn’t notice if they had shoes on. They don’t need to watch their feet as they run because they can feel where they’re going through their feet.
- Better balance – Youngsters who go barefoot find it easier to keep their balance. You don’t see tight-rope walkers wearing army boots. The sole of the foot can perceive slight changes in elevation that wouldn’t be nearly as noticeable with shoes on.
- Climbing – Kids love to climb, which is much easier to do barefoot. They can grab with their toes and scale rocks and trees with greater ease. Shoes are just a nuisance to children on the playground and inhibit their agility.
- Less tripping – Shoes are just plain clumsy and turn kids into klutzes. Footwear makes children feet proportionally larger than they are normally so they are more likely to catch on something and make them trip.
- Feet get hot – Let’s face it. Socks and shoes make your feet get hot and uncomfortable. Active kids have great circulation and their feet get overheated easily. Pretty soon they’re kicking of the footgear so their feet can cool down.
- Wiggle their toes – Kids love to wiggle their toes and confining shoes just don’t allow for sufficient toe movement. Going to the beach would be no fun at all if they couldn’t wiggle their toes in the sand.
- Waterproof – Finally, bare feet are waterproof. Kids can run through puddles, wet grass and any number of wet things without worries. They’re not going to get in trouble for wrecking their shoes while playing in the mud. Bare feet are much easier to clean than fancy footwear.
Unfortunately, kids can’t go barefoot all the time. They do have to worry about stepping on something sharp and cutting their foot. It’s probably not a good idea for children to go running around barefoot through a construction site or abandoned lot. However, the beach and back yard are perfect places for kids to run around footwear free. So let your children enjoy the carefree feeling of going shoeless whenever you can. One of the cherished joys of childhood is being able to ditch the shoes and run around barefoot.
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