Every year, grocery and department stores stock up on pre-made Easter baskets. Most are filled with copious amounts of crinkly paper, cheap, mass-produced toys that break easily, and low-quality, waxy chocolate. Your child deserves better than this. With a little thought, you can make your own baskets of personalized Easter gifts kids will love. Pick a Theme Does your child enjoy crafts, or is she more of an outdoor adventurer? Let your child’s personality guide
Completing a puzzle gives a child a sense of accomplishment and a chance to develop hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and problem-solving skills. Knowing how to make puzzles helps parents keep little hands active and engaged—and even slips a little learning in under the guise of fun! Block Puzzles If your toybox includes Lego or Duplex blocks, you can make quick block puzzles for children. For very young children, draw the outline of individual blocks
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April 22nd is Earth Day, when volunteers across the world work towards a better, cleaner earth. It’s also an ideal date for teaching children about nature and the importance of caring for the planet. Below are some simple Earth Day activities and crafts to help teach your little one about the world they live on. Plant a butterfly Garden Planting a butterfly garden is a wonderful way to teach children about the relationship between pollinating
Rice Crispy squares are an American tradition and a sticky staple of childhood. Many of us first learned to cook mixing Rice Krispies into a gooey mix of butter and melted marshmallows, waiting impatiently for the squares to cool so parents could cut them into squares—and then, ah, heaven! We’ve assembled a collection of Rice Crispy treats recipes, all based on the Kellogg’s official Rice Krispies Square recipe. Here’s the original recipe, in all
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Children can react with very different emotions when they learn they’re about to be an older sibling. For every excited kid yelling “I’m a big sister!” to everyone she meets, there’s a quiet child who’s scared the new baby will replace him, or a jealous older sibling who’s acting out. Or you get all three emotions—excitement, jealousy, and fear—mixed up in one kid. This is perfectly normal. A new baby means change, and change
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Teach a child a second language and you give them a lifelong gift. Being bilingual offers a host of advantages over those of us who stumble along speaking only one language, including more opportunities when traveling, jobs that would otherwise be off-limits, and relationships that, without that second language, might never blossom. If you live in a home where two languages are spoken, your child will grow up speaking both—kids have an amazing facility
It’s very easy to assume we all face the same challenges as parents, but this isn’t the case. Consider, for the moment, that all-important question, how to increase your child’s self-esteem? Creating a positive sense of self is important to any child, but some parents face more of a challenge than others. This is especially true when it comes to how children see themselves in popular culture. The heroes and role models in modern
Saying no and setting limits is one of the most important things we do as parents. No parent wants to be accused of spoiling their child. For every rule, however, there is an exception. In this case, it’s books. Spoiling a child with books is the one of those situations when saying yes is better than no. The benefits of reading are simply too many not to give children access to as many books as
Your little girl deserves to be treated like royalty on her birthday, so why not make her dreams come true with a DIY princess party? With a little imagination and some sparkles, you can create a princess-themed party she’ll remember for a lifetime. Royal Invitations Before any coronation, royal proclamations must be sent throughout the kingdoms. Making your own scroll invitations is easy. Just type up the invitations using a fancy “olden times” font
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Reading out loud to kids doesn’t just improve their emerging literacy skills and fuel their imaginations. Reading together is also a great way to relieve stress and anxiety—for parents and children alike. Books: The Ultimate Stressbuster Just how effective is reading at relieving stress? According to a study from the University of Sussex, reading for as little as six minutes reduces stress levels 68 percent among adults, making a good book more of a stressbuster
