So your husband or father has everything and you are on a budget. What do you get for a father who has it all? Here are a few ideas.

• Have Your Child Make Something. Nothing is more heartwarming than a child who crafts something for his dad. If he is younger art projects are great! If he is older he can make something that your husband is into: a birdhouse for nature lovers, design a tool box for a fit it man, or even a picture frame. Whatever it is, dad will love it!
• Plan an Outing! Most dads love to do something with their children! Do something fun! Plan a day at the park, a fishing trip, or a day at a baseball game. This is a great way for your child to bond! They will have a great time and father’s day will create memories!
• Food is Still the Way to Any Mans Heart. Have your child cook him a meal and go on a picnic (indoors if it’s raining). The effort will be appreciated and your child learns the importance of doing something special for daddy.
• A Picture Can Convey Your Love. Have a photo framed or placed on a mug for your happy daddy. Seeing his children on a mug or in a frame on his desk at work will make him smile every day.
• Sports Art Paintings - An unusual gift I just stumbled upon, and a great way to replace that painting of dogs playing poker thats hanging over the fireplace. I gaurentee he does not have one of these yet! Edgar Brown’s passionate paintings are magical, check out his latest on Eli Manning .
• Modern Skin-Care Products Made for Men - The "metro sexual " movement is not reaching some of our extremely masculine hold-outs. Check out BeyondBeautyBasics and Mens Health for more info.
  continue reading "Make Father’s Day Fantastic: Gift Ideas for Every Dad"

Photo from peasap

So you have the world’s pickiest eater and you are worried that he or she is super skinny! Well here are a few tips that will help your picky eater:

• Your child has managed to make it this far. Remember your idea of not eating anything and what they actually eat are completely different. So what if your child only eats 7 items. Feed them those 7 items. If your child likes macaroni and cheese, than that’s what you serve. By using those books such as “Deceptively Delicious” and the “Sneaky Chef” you can find ways to puree other ingredients into the foods they like without them knowing. You can also try mixing other veggies, meats, and fruits into items that they like. This might encourage them to try new things. Also no one says that their has to be certain foods that we eat for breakfast lunch and dinner. If your child likes Rice and Beans at every meal, than have it for breakfast! At least it’s something in their stomach!


continue reading "My Toddler Won’t Eat Anything! Coping with Picky Eaters & Fussy Kids"

Being a parent of a child with a low immune system or a child who frequently gets ill can be difficult. Here are a few tips from a mom whose child sometimes misses weeks of school at a time:
1. Be in contact with your child’s nursery school teacher. Let them know exactly whats going on so that they have an understanding of just how sick your child really is. This makes them more aware of your child and his contact with germs and also makes them more understanding.
2. Get your child’s work at home. This way they are caught up and not feeling left behind the other children. If your not sure what you should be doing or how to teach, then speak to the teacher. They will guide you and show you the basic steps on how to help your child at home.
continue reading "Coping & Caring For Chronically Ill Children & Sending Them To Nursery School"

So your boss tells you yo have to meet the next deadline and your pre-schooler has started coughing.. .what should you do? 9 times out of 10 a nursery school will have a sick policy in place (fever free four 24 hours or can not be at nursery school vomiting), but more often than not sick toddlers end up at preschool. Parents think that because the child just has a cough or a slight runny nose they are “well enough” to go to nursery school or day care.

Here are a few tips:

continue reading "Toddler Too Sick for Nursery School? Signs for the Working Mom"

Children often become ill after using the sandbox at the park! Squirrels and various other animals that may have disease often use these convenient dry places to release feces and urine. When your child touches this sand these germs are then transferred to your child resulting in a wide range of aliments from a simple cold to something more such as a bacterial infection. Sandboxes at the park can also carry illness from other children, and as the sand is often not changed your child can pick up common childhood illnesses leaving you to wonder where they would have picked it up…

continue reading "Stay Away from the Sandbox & Petting Zoo!"

So you are worried because the only vegetable our child will eat are French fries and you are convinced that he will soon turn into a French fry at the rate he wants to eat them. In this ever increasing world of obesity eating your vegetables is extremely important part of your child’s diet. Here are a few simple ideas that may help with your picky eaters!

Try a different vegetable every day and prepare it in different ways. Remember vegetables can be served, raw, baked, steamed, grilled, in salad, in juice form, stir-fried and broiled. Try a wide variety and in different ways until you find the vegetables that your child will like and in the style they will like to eat them in.

continue reading "How to Get Your Pre Schooler to Eat Their Vegetables!"

So your child has entered the wonderful world of preschool and has yet to see a day of school when his nose is not running. How can you try and avoid this perpetual runny nose ? Here are a few simple tips.

1. Find out the school’s hand washing policy. How often are the children required to wash hands and do they use soap. Do they wash hands before every meal or just at certain points in the day? After they use the bathroom? Also, teach your child how to wash their hands correctly. This will save you a few sneezy days.

continue reading "How to Prevent Your Pre-schooler from Coming Home Sick"

So your child never eats and you are worried that he will go the entire day with no nutrition right? Well have no fear! Children tend to eat when they see their peers eating because they want to be like their friends. Also a good nursery school will not allow your child to go all day without anything in their stomach. So the question then becomes what do I pack? Simply, pack what your child likes to eat. If your child does not eat sandwiches at home he won?t eat them at school. Do not worry about the mess factor. Nursery school children are messy by nature and no its not just they way your child eats.

What you need to remember is that it does not make it easier on the teacher when you pack ?clean foods? that your child does not like to eat because now they have even more work trying to get a child to eat foods they don?t like. So if your child likes pasta and sauce pack it! Something else to remember is that children between the ages of 2-5 are creatures of habit. They may want the same thing for lunch every day for months on end. This is okay. One day he won?t want peanut butter sandwiches anymore, and no one is judging you for giving him the same thing everyday. Remember, at least he is eating!

Something else to remember is the importance of choices. Children like to feel in control so having them help you pack their lunch will entice them to eat it at school. Also, pack a lot of different snack options so that if they day ends up being a day they don?t want their lunch, at least they have snack to choose from. Good options for snacks include fruits, yogurt, crackers and cheese, and dried cereals. A treat food also helps such as Jello, pudding, or cookies.

Teachers can often entice a child to eat by using the treat snack as a reward for finishing meals. I would also suggest that you precut and peel foods ahead of time, and encourage your child with the self help skills of eating. Good teachers will help feed your child, but it helps when a child is able to eat most foods by themselves. The most important thing to remember is that no matter what you pack in your child?s lunch their will be days that he doesn?t eat and their will be days the lunch box will come back empty. Either way he will still grow up to be a happy healthy loving child!