One of the BEST parts of the summer ending and the kids going back to school is the kids being gone finallygetting to go back to school shopping. There is nothing I love more than getting that list of everything my kid needs, heading to Target and buying only things that are on that list everything in the store.
Let’s face it, backpacks and lunch bags and new markers and pencils and pencil boxes are all thrilling, but don’t we deserve a little something too?
Yes, yes we do.
Unfortunately, school isn’t going to send you a list of everything you need. That’s what we’re for. Check out our list of Back to School items for YOU and then get yourself all geared up for the first day of school!
Before having kids, I was firmly on team “We are NEVER Going to Chuck E. Cheese.” Then we were invited by my #Momsquad and the kids feel deeply in love and I knew my Chuck-Free days were over.
We found ways to manage our trips, save some money while we went, and eventually Chuck E. Cheese made it’s way to become a regular activity in our rotation.
So when my husband started saying, “Wow, you go to Chuck E Cheese a LOT these days!,” I found myself trying to justify our outing. At first, I thought I was just trying to make it seem less pathetic that we went there so often, but then I realized that my son really was learning some valuable life skills. So now, I have zero guilt about living at the air-conditioned paradise that is Chuck E Cheese this summer.
And you can too! Just use these little life lessons next time you go with your kiddo and you can mark it down as a practically educational opportunity!
Did your child’s one year blood draw show anemia? You’re not alone- and you’re NOT a bad parent. It just happens. And, luckily, there are plenty of ways to increase your child’s iron intake and get those numbers back on track in no time.
At Lila’s routine one-year-old blood work, we got the news that she was anemic. She refused to eat any meat, baby cereal, eggs, or bread, so I can’t exactly say I was surprised with the results, but I was still very overwhelmed and unsure what to do next.
I took a beat to freak out (my baby! something is wrong with her blood! and now she’s ANEMIC!) and then I did my research. There are supplements your child can take, but you also need to address your baby’s nutrition. You’re going to have to find a way to add more iron-rich foods to your toddler’s diet.
Unfortunately, if your kid is anything like mine, they got themselves into this situation in the first place by being too dang picky to actually eat the iron-rich foods you’ve supplied. So how do you get a baby to get enough iron when they HATE all the iron-containing foods?
If you find yourself asking the same question, please don’t let your child’s blood test results scare you. There are lots of simple, easy ways to add more iron to your baby’s diet. Check out our tips below to get your child’s iron levels up to par in no time!
Okay, so we’re SUPER proud of our adventurous eaters. But honestly? It’s not all sunshine and roses over here- it’s far more “sushi and caviar,” and that stuff is EXPENSIVE. Read on to find out the not-so-bright side of having not-so-picky kids.
There are two kinds of toddlers: the kind that are super picky eaters and the kind that aren’t. And there’s a ton of helpful information out there to help your picky eater. Which is awesome!
But as much as having kids that won’t eat anything is a major PITA, I‘m here to tell you that having kids that eat EVERYTHING isn’t that great either.
So whether your kid is a human garbage disposal too, or you just want to feel better about your situation, here are five things that are major downsides to having kids that everyone considers to be “great” eaters.
Are you totally sick of toddler meal time battles? If you’ve got a picky eater, you know the struggle as well as we do. Luckily for you? We’ve been there. Read on to find out how to stop fighting with toddlers at dinner time- for good!
When Abram was a baby, he was an EATER. Whatever we threw at him- avocado, sweet potato, squash, carrots, cereal- you name it, he ate it. We were so proud of our adventurous eater, a baby who participated in baby-led weaning with gusto. As the months went on, that adventurous palate faded and we were left fighting toddler dinner time battles on the regular.
He still ate copious amounts- he had the chubby cheeks to prove it!- as long as it was chips, or something else he loved. When it came to his old favorites- avocado, sweet potato, squash, carrots, cereal- you name it, he took whatever we threw at him, and threw it back at us. Like, literally.
Abe’s pickiness really came to a head one night at dinner. Convinced that we had to get some food in him one way or another, we tried to force him to take some bites of his food. He stalled, we stalled. He cried, we cried. We tried to put the food in his mouth, he tried to take it out. It was a twenty minute battle of begging him to eat before we threw in the towel. The dinner went uneaten, and all we felt was defeated, and sad.
I wracked my brain to try to figure out where we’d gone wrong, and more importantly, how we could make dinner easier with our toddler. Lila was, and IS, picky, but we’d been pros at avoiding dinner time battles until now. Why was that? And how could we replicate those results?
I hit the internet, scouring for ways to make dinner easier with toddlers, and remembered all of the best practices we’d used to help our picky toddler the first round.
And now, four years later, I’m happy to say we have two not-so-picky kids (and FAR less dinner time fighting!). If you, too, find yoursoelf with a picky toddler on yours hands, here’s what research (and first hand experience!) says you can do when it comes to avoiding fighting with toddlers at dinner time.
