There has been a lot in the news lately about whether all those educational videos are worth it for babies. Here are a few links to articles that explore the topic.
:: Babies and the Boob Tube (New York Times)
:: TV for Babies: Does It Help Or Hurt (Time)
:: TV Before Age Two Won't Boost Baby's Brain (WebMD)
:: TV Won't Improve Baby's IQ (San Francisco Chronicle)
> Related: the original study we posted on Monday.
While statistics show that nearly 75% of children under the age of 2 sleep in a crib, by the time that child is 3 years old, the percentage drops to around 35%.
It seems that most children are ready to move to a big-kid (or at least a toddler) bed by the age of 3. But how do you know your little one is ready?
Read more...
What do you think? When did you move your child? Was there a reason? Would you do anything differently if you were able to do it over again? Let your fellow baby blog addicts know in the comments here.
By Mike Morris
The Los Angeles Times
My boss handed me a fortune cookie on my last day of work. "Ideas that may seem absurd ultimately lead to success," read the tiny slip of paper.
It was an omen for what was to come. Just days after cleaning out my desk, I began an around-the-world trip with my wife, Amber, and our 16-month-old daughter -- something that sounds crazy but turned out to be quite the opposite. After our daughter, Ediza, was born, I started getting the itch to travel, and Amber agreed that's what we should do -- although many people told us our days of freedom to travel were over.
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We refused to accept that and began planning our cross-continent trek, which took us from hiking pristine mountains in New Zealand to running a marathon along the Great Wall of China to swimming in the turquoise waters of the Greek islands.
All with a baby.
Read more...
There's good news for parents who are tired of having their toddlers getting their grubby little paws on their BlackBerrys and other smartphones while they're not looking.
Leapfrog has announced a product called the Text & Learn or - as it's sure to be known in the blogsphere - the "baby BlackBerry."
Now kids can mimic their parents and send text messages and check their schedules at all hours of the day. The device, which is a bit bigger than your average BlackBerry, is geared toward preschoolers who are just learning to spell and includes games that focus on spelling and basic computer skills.
With the holidays approaching, many families will tackle the challenge of flying or driving to their destinations with a toddler. We have a lengthy drive ahead of us in a few weeks and once again we'll count on one of the Technology Gods' brilliant creations: the video iPod.
We used to lug around a portable DVD player, but the ultra-portability of the video iPod makes the whole process much easier. We load several of Jack's favorite shows (Ratatouille, Super Why, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, etc.) and he stays occupied for quite a while.
He also likes to play with our GPS unit, which would explain why our home address is now labeled a rest area.
Here are a few more tips to keep in mind when traveling with a todder.
Related: Toddler Travel Quiz, Five Toddler Travel Problems Solved
For starters, there’s iTeddy, a teddy bear with a built-in video player. It can also be used to view pictures and is, of course, huggable. Creepily, you have to pull up iTeddy’s shirt to see the video screen, which will teach kids that taking off their friends’ shirts can only result in fun times. The price? $79.99 at Target.
A Kentucky toddler has recovered completely after having a key lodged into his eye. Nicholas Holderman was just 17 months old on Sept. 2 when he fell onto a key to his parents' car. The key pierced his eyelid and went through his eye into his brain.
Holderman's story was featured this morning on the Today Show.
By Jennifer
BabyBlogAddict.com
Who Knew that the terrible threes could be worse than the terrible twos. Our son just turned three last month and something happened. We felt pretty lucky to never really experience the "terrible twos." He had melt downs, but no real tantrums where he would throw himself on the floor and kick and scream.
Well that all changed in the past month. No one warned us before hand about the upcoming "Terrible Threes" or as one friend put it, "The Shock and Awe Threes."
Who Knew that this was coming? Well, now you know, so you can be prepared...unlike us.
Previous Posts:
:: Who Knew? Guck in Bath Toys
:: Who Knew? Toddlers Can Tell Time
:: Who Knew? Vertically Challenged Moms
:: Who Knew? Different Size Nipples
Here's a follow up to our Who Knew: Toddlers Can Tell Time post a couple of months ago. Now, kids don't even have to know their numbers. Check out the Kid'Sleep Clock...only problem is that it's only available in Europe right now. I wonder if something like this exists in the U.S.?
There are some products that you come across and think, "Why didn't I think of that?" because they are so unique yet so practical. Stroller Suspenders would fall into that category for me.
Stroller Suspenders is a unique patent pending strap and clip which secures your own baby's blanket to a stroller. No more blankets getting caught on wheels or bending down to pick up dropped blankets! Another great use is to give your baby shade or privacy when the stroller suspenders are clipped near the handles. This would have been perfect when we took our son on walks, since he hated the sun in his eyes.
Stroller Suspenders come in six different patterns and are packaged perfectly to give as a gift at a baby shower or to new parents.
We're giving away the pink dots Stroller Suspenders here on BabyBlogAddict.com. You can enter the giveaway by scrolling up to the post above or clicking here.
By Jennifer
BabyBlogAddict.com
Who Knew that toddlers can tell time and adding a clock to their bedroom can actually make them sleep later?
Our almost three-year-old son would sleep until a decent hour every morning. That was until he gave up his pacifier a couple of months ago. It was then that he had to keep the lamp on every night, which made it more difficult for him to tell if it was light outside in the morning. (My rule was that it had to be light outside before he could get up.) So when he was waking up before 6:00 a.m. because of the lamp and no paci, I knew something had to be done.
A friend of mine asked if Jack recognized his numbers and when I said he did, she suggested that I get a digital clock for his room. She has one for her daughter who is almost four and swore that it worked. My husba
nd kind of laughed at the idea, thinking it would never work, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I had nothing to lose and only sleep to gain!
The first night, I told Jack that the first number had to be a "7" before he could get out of bed the next morning. He called me in at 6:30 and I had to explain the "7" rule again. He wasn't too happy, but settled down. At 6:37, he called me in again saying that there was a "7" on the clock. I reminded him that it had to be the first number. So at 7:00 on the dot, I hear in the most excited voice, "Mama, there's a 7! The first number is a 7!"
Scott was floored that it worked, and I have to admit that I was a bit surprised that it worked so quickly and consistently. Since we got the clock, I've heard him wake up before 7:00 a few times, but he'll just read in his bed and sing his ABC's or other tunes until it hits 7:00 on the dot.
Who knew that a clock could work that kind of magic? Now, you know.
Previous Posts:
:: Who Knew? Vertically Challenged Moms
:: Who Knew? Different Size Nipples
A giant 11-month-old baby who is already the size of an eight-year-old is baffling doctors in the U.K. He tips the scales at a whopping 61lbs 12oz.
Click here to see the toddler in action.
A mother is frustrated by her daughter's screaming fits when she mentions using the potty, even though the almost-three-year-old tells her when she needs to go to the bathroom and can take her own clothes off. The advice: get rid of the diapers.
Are these "backpack leashes" really effective? I think they make toddlers look too much like dogs, but some people swear by them. They cost about $10 and are available at Target, Walmart and other online retailers.
The Harness Buddy comes in a friendly monkey, bear or dog.
By Scott
BabyBlogAddict.com
I own an iPhone. It cost a lot. So why on earth would I let our toddler put his grimy little fingers all over it? First, he only plays with it in a "safe" area. That means one of us is watching him and he's sitting down on the sofa, carpet or some other harmless surface and can't walk around with it. Jack is almost three and, like me, he loves gadgets. On a recent two-hour flight we kept him entertained by ditching the portable DVD player and "upgrading" him to our video iPod. At his fingertips he had access to his favorites: Ratatouille, Super Why! and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
On the iPhone, it took no time at all for him to learn to scroll through the hundreds of pictures by sliding his finger across the screen and double-tapping them to zoom in. Pretty incredible to watch, actually. Outside of the pics, his favorite thing to do is play around with the bubble wrap application. A couple of other good ones include bubbles and iDoodle2Lite. There are sure to be a lot more in Apple's App Store soon.
Which gadgets work for you?
Check out this great article from the Staten Island Advance. The writer argues that most of the chaos in a household happens when children - not parents - rule the roost.
If you're a parent of a toddler, this situation will sound all too familiar: It's 5:30 p.m., you're just about finished preparing dinner and your toddler is screaming at the top of his lungs, refusing to wait for his dessert. He wants his ice cream right now and is intent on acting out until he gets his way.
Based on his past behavior, you know he won't eat his dinner if he fills up on dessert, therefore you repeatedly explain to him that he will have to wait.
Your words, as usual, fall on deaf ears, and despite your best efforts to reason with him in a gentle manner -- which requires every last bit of patience you can muster -- his tantrums escalate rather than dissipate.
Continued...
Whose toddler hasn't given them fits at dinner time? Take a look at this excerpt from a blog post on Kids Dish:
"The meals are totally a toddler control thing. He’ll eat what he wants when he wants and there’s really nothing I can do about it. He currently gravitates to the white foods (pasta, crackers, etc which drives me insane) and fruit. I make sure I always have something he’s likely to eat on his plate at meals along with whatever we’re eating. I give him a ton of options- small amounts of everything- so he’ll at least eat something and ask for more of whatever strikes his fancy. I figure as long as he eats protein, fruits, vegetables, and dairy over the course of a week it’s fine. If we get halfway through a week and I realize he hasn’t eaten any dairy I’ll start pushing ice cream or chocolate milk."
Continued...
This article is in today's Lexington (KY) Leader-Herald. It is one in an occasional series of articles about 19-month-old Zach Pickard, a toddler diagnosed with the rapid-aging disease progeria, and his family...
Zach Pickard dances to the front door like a tiny dervish.
"Mr. Sun," a song beloved by generations of toddlers and stuck in the minds of parents for decades afterwards, plays on the stereo.
For Zach, it is a bounceable tune, and bounceable tunes are something that toddlers love to a fault:
Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Won't you please shine down on meeeee ...
Zach has progeria, one of the rarest diseases on earth. There are only 13 cases of the disease in the United States, 46 worldwide. Progeria causes children's bodies to age far more rapidly than they should.
Here's how progeria is cruel: Babies with the disease come out looking like any other newborn, fluffy-headed and wrinkled. During the first year of a progeria baby's life, however, parents usually notice a failure to thrive. By the time the children hit 18 to 24 months old, the accelerated aging is unmistakable.
Continued...
Mr. Richard is a celebrity around Orlando, but he's also been featured nationally in Parenting magazine, Cookie magazine and even The New York Post. He may have played in rock bands through high school and college, but at one point turned to kid's music....award-winning kid's music.
He even has groupies, little girls and boys who bring their guitars to his free "concerts" at schools, libraries and book stores around town. They know all the words to his music. My two-year-old and I have been to a few of his "concerts," and I've seen these groupies. They are hilarious. One thing is for sure, everyone there is having a good time.
My favorite is his song "Cheese" where he talks about PAPARAZZI PARENTS. I'm sooo guilty of being a paparazzi parent, and I'm sure most of you baby blog addicts are too. I ALWAYS have my camera with me and say "cheese" to my son quite often. Can you relate? Mr. Richard even has a music video for "Cheese" on You Tube. It's quite comical. Check it out here. You can purchase his CDs in the right column on his About page.
I have been amazed with chalkboard paint ever since I first heard about it and tried it. But I recently came across more amazing options for kids' walls. There's a magnetic paint, dry erase paint and even glow in the dark paint!
These I found are made by RustOleum and can be found at most home stores or paint stores. One of their newest products is a Chalkboard Tint Base which allows you to choose from 12 colors including Fresco Red, Peapod and Grape Fizz to name a few.
Check out this creative wall mural using chalkboard paint (RealSimple.com). I recently saw another picture in a magazine that had large chalkboard rectangles painted around the room. Each had a whimsical, white frame painted around the chalkboard. It looked so real and gave a sophisticated touch to a "chalkboard" in a little girl's playroom.
