Half-pint peeps need car seats for safety. And the bad thing about that is what happens to kids’ car seats–in spite of your best intentions! Whether you encounter a diaper blow out, spilled milk, cracker crumbs or spit-up, it’s all pretty far down on the list of things parents enjoy cleaning up. Since cleaning car seats is hard enough, today I want to tell you about some hacks to make it as easy as possible. That way, you can get it done and move onto the more fun parts of parenthood.
Tips & Tricks
Indoor Gross Motor Skills Activities For Kids
Indoor gross motor skills activities for kids are the best way to help your toddler’s or preschooler’s physical development–even when you have to be inside the house. When you can’t spend time at the park or allow your child to play outdoors with friends, these indoor activities can help fill the void.
Indoor Gross Motor Skills Activities For Kids
Gross Motor Skills And Why They Matter
Gross motor skills are those that control big movements of the body’s largest muscles, like arms, legs and core. Kids need developed gross motor skills for everything they do at home or at school. Kids who have trouble with these skills have trouble doing things like running, jumping and climbing.
Simple Activities And Games To Improve Gross Motor Skills
The activities and games you play with your kids to improve their gross motor skills can be surprisingly simple! And simple means they don’t require a lot of planning or time. Just have fun with them, because your kids definitely will.
Gross Motor Skill Activities
- How many times did you pretend the floor was hot lava when you were growing up? This is a great game for indoor gross motor skills activities, and kids love it!
- An indoor scavenger hunt is another great activity. Here are some suggestions!
- Set up a large basket or plastic bin as a target, and have your child try to throw tennis balls into the target from varying distances.
- Grab some squares of colored paper and lay a track around the house for your child to follow. Try different ways of getting between squares, such as hopping on one foot or jumping like a frog.
- A simple jumping competition is fun for the whole family. See who jumps the farthest!
- Cut a cardboard box to make one big flat panel. Use a marker to draw a hopscotch game on the cardboard. After you play, save it for next time there’s a rainy day!
Additional Gross Motor Activities for Kids
- Have a little indoor basketball with crumpled paper {no balls in the house!}.
- Create a “balance beam” with a couple of 2x4s or whatever you’ve got. My kids love theirs.
- Try some yoga together. Kids love this, and it definitely improves gross motor skills.
Before you go, check out these suggested toddler games to help improve coordination.
Indoor Scavenger Hunts For Kids
Indoor scavenger hunts for kids are fun, interesting activities you can do when you have bored kids but need to stay inside. It really is not hard to set up an indoor scavenger hunt, and there are so many ways to do it. Take a look at the following ideas to get you started!
Indoor Scavenger Hunts For Kids
Sometimes circumstances such as bad weather or illness require that we keep the kids inside. And we all know that kids seem to get bored quickly, especially when they’re stuck inside! So having an arsenal of fun, educational and engaging things for the kids to do is important for everyone in the family. Here are some ideas for indoor scavenger hunts for the kids.
Fun Indoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas
Puzzle Scavenger Hunts
Do your kids enjoy puzzles? It’s easy to use a puzzle they already enjoy to build a scavenger hunt. Put the puzzle together yourself, write a clue on the backside, and take it apart again. The kids have to work together on the puzzle for their first clue. Or create your own puzzle clues by cutting written clues into pieces that the kids need to put together to solve.
Dinosaur Hunt
Do your kids own sets of small plastic dinosaurs, or even bugs or army guys? Gather a collection of these items and hide them around the house with a clue to find the next one. A fun idea is to write or print the clues very small so that the kids need a magnifying glass to read them.
Educational Indoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas
Task-Oriented Scavenger Hunt
One way to make the kids’ daily tasks more fun is to include them in a scavenger hunt. For example, if practicing the piano is a challenge, require your child to play a certain song or practice for 10 minutes to receive a clue.
Spelling Scavenger Hunt
Kids who love reading love spelling scavenger hunts! Use handwritten letters or small plastic letters for this idea. Decide on words for the kids to spell, and hide the letters for the words around the house for them to find.
Face-Timing Scavenger Hunt Ideas
When stuck inside, your child may feel sad about missing grandparents, teachers, or other loved ones. Get these loved ones in on the scavenger hunt fun! Prepare a hunt that requires the kids to video chat with a loved one or friend for each clue. They’ll love it!
Need more ideas for bored kids? Try making your own “I’m bored” jar full of fun activities!
The Best Tips For New Parents
New parents often feel overwhelmed and understaffed–and that’s a completely normal feeling! But you don’t have to feel that way for long. Arm yourself with the best tips for new parents, because that’s what will help you settle into your new roles as quickly as possible. Here are the tips new parents need.
Tips For New Parents
New Dads
New Dads often get the short end of the stick because Mom is the one who gives birth. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make Dad feel important! New Dads have hospital needs you may not think about, but taking note of them helps a new Dad feel less stressed.
Money Saving Tips
Let’s face it, it’s not cheap to have a baby. Fortunately, there are resources to help offset all those costs. One way is by knowing how and where to get free stuff for new Moms. Sign up for an Amazon baby registry and get free welcome gifts!
Newborn Tips
New parents learn pretty fast that their tiny newborn has round-the-clock needs only they can address–especially Mom. So becoming new parents is extremely demanding! I have great tips to help you survive that first month.
Pampering Tips
Finding time for yourself is perhaps one of the biggest challenges parents face–and not just in the beginning. It takes some planning but you can get some time for yourself in your day, and that only helps your mental and emotional health be the best it can be. Here are some tips to help you find that time!
More Tips For New Dads
New Dads are tired and stressed, just like new Moms. They too need help to survive those first weeks of parenthood! Have you thought about putting together a survival kit for the new Dad in your life? It will definitely come in handy!
Simple Childhood Development Activities For Years 1-5
As young children grow, it’s helpful for parents to understand childhood development activities. Specifically, what activities are most helpful at what age? Knowing this information is helpful to aid your child’s growth and development through the toddler and preschool years. But don’t worry, it isn’t hard! Today we have some simple childhood development activities that are easy to do at home.
Simple Childhood Development Activities
Child Development Activities For Age One
- Let your baby play with pots, pans and wooden spoons. The simple drumming action encourages good coordination and listening skills.
- Grab an empty paper towel or toilet paper tube. Show your one year old how to look through it like a telescope. This encourages shared play and taking turns.
- Practice counting fingers and toes with your baby. It’s great for early number skills!
- A jumbo floor puzzle helps your child develop problem solving skills and increase attention span.
Development Activities For Age Two
- As your two year old begins to enjoy more physical play, take him to a playground. This helps coordination and large motor skills, plus it’s fun!
- Children this age enjoy dress-up time. Dress-up encourages creative play, social skills and imagination.
- Play Simon Says with your two year old. It increases her language skills and ability to follow directions.
Three-Year-Old Childhood Development Activities
- A child at this age is interested in many different textures. It’s the perfect time for play with crayons. Experiment with clay and other craft mediums as well.
- Stacking is a great childhood development activity for three year olds. It will encourage counting skills and fine motor coordination.
- Teach development of organization skills by helping your child learn to pick up their own toys and clothes.
Simple Child Development Activities For Age 4
- Children at age 4 are ready for more fine-tuning of their motor skills. It’s a great time to start little league sports activities.
- Encourage fine-motor skills with art projects. Outdoor chalk art is also a fun learning activity!
- Practice the skills needed in kindergarten. This includes naming colors, letters and numbers.
Activities For Age 5
- At age 5, children love more cognitive activities that challenge them. Try simple board games that encourage learning.
- Plant a garden and let your child help. It encourages a lot of development skills, including reasoning and motor skills.
- Encourage reading by taking your child to weekly story time at the library. Help her check out books to read together at home.
Did you know that doing chores can aid development? Know the age-appropriate chores for your child.
Postpartum Care: Most Needed Items For A New Mama
There’s no more special time in the life of a new mama than seeing your baby for the very first time! But once that euphoria starts to pass and the reality of recovery sets in, you need to know the best tips for postpartum care to get you through those first weeks of recovery. Here are the most needed postpartum care items for a new mama.
Postpartum Care Needs For A New Mama
The items we’re talking about today are all available at Amazon, which is perfect for when you don’t feel like leaving the house. But if you prefer, look for them at your local stores as well. Here we go!
Perineal Care Items
Besides sleep, a new mama really needs help with perineal discomfort following a vaginal birth. Luckily, there are some wonderful items that you won’t want to be without!
- How do Frida Mom Instant Ice Maxi Pads sound? Pretty darn amazing, right?! You can’t help sighing with relief the instant it touches those tender tissues. These cooling pads also relieve swelling better than anything else.
- Hemorrhoids are a problem after birth, even though they are a TMI subject for many. All new mamas need to know that there is a product to help. A Sitz bath soak gently cleans and soothes hemorrhoidal tissues while they heal.
- Get a peri bottle designed for upside down, gentle cleansing of the perineal area.
Belly Support
As your abdominal and uterine muscles slowly return to pre-pregnancy size and location, extra belly support is extremely helpful. This is where a postpartum belly wrap comes in. It provides that extra support for your abdomen and back as everything goes back to normal. And believe it or not, it feels amazing!
Disposable Underwear
Once the hospital-provided mesh panties give out, a new mama needs disposable underwear for continuing postpartum care. Don’t risk ruining your good underwear when disposables are available!
Breastfeeding Moms
If you’re recovering and breastfeeding, it’s important to have postpartum care items on hand for those first few weeks of breast discomfort all new mamas experience.
- Organic Nipple Butter Breastfeeding Cream is a bestseller. No parabens, no petroleum jelly, and nothing harmful to baby.
- The Breast Therapy Pack from Lansinoh provides both hot packs to help your milk flow better plus cold packs to relieve engorgement pain.
Don’t forget that extra sleep and “me time” is also important for a new mama! Check out our best tips to help you find time to pamper yourself after baby comes.