Entertain your kids without a screenThese days, it can be hard to entertain your kids without a screen. Yvonne Chavez-Lombardi, director of education at Kidspace Children's Museum, joins Easy Does It Host Ereka Vetrini with fun activities you can do with items found around the house.
Related: Don't touch that dial: Tips for limiting screen time
Chavez-Lombardi notes that screen time often undermines children's play. "It really affects their healthy development. It makes it harder for children to build relationships with people, with nature. And it really affects them academically in the long run," she says.
Related: 10 ways to add exercise to your kids' routine
First, Chavez-Lombardi offers an activity that is fun and that uses items easily found in your bathroom and your kitchen.
Supplies: Shaving cream, food coloring, plastic knife, paper, foil tray.
Put food coloring into the foil tray. Then place a layer of shaving cream in the tray over the food coloring. Use the plastic knife to swirl the two together. Next,
Easy Does it Host Ereka Vetrini Guesting on Chow Ciao
By Team Mom Staff | Team Mom – Fri, Mar 1, 2013 8:15 AM EST
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Check out Ereka Vetrini on Chow Ciao!Easy Does It's own Ereka Vetrini shares her culinary prowess with Fabio Viviani on Chow Ciao on Yahoo! Check them out as they take on an Italian version of that literary classic, Green Eggs and Ham.
On Twitter, you can follow Ereka at @ErekaV, Fabio at @FabioViviani, and Chow Ciao at @WatchChowCiao.
And don't forget to catch new episodes of Easy Does It every Thursday!
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Read More »from Never Lose Anything Again!
Learn how to store and find easy-to-misplace- things like keys, cell phones and morericca Elin SanSone
You're trying to get out the door in the morning. You do one last check for everything you need when you realize your keys are missing. Several coat-pocket pat-downs later, you're running late - and are incredibly frustrated. "Most of the time, we lose things because we don't put them back where we found them," says professional organizer Stacey Platt, owner of DwellWell in New York City and author of What's a Disorganized Person to do? "Everything needs a home. You can always find a fork because you always put them back in the same spot." Here are 10 commonly misplaced items and where to store each one. Photo by iStock.
1. Keys
Keep house and car keys together on a single ring. When you come home, hold your keys (don't tuck them in a pocket or set them down) until you place them on a hook by the door or in a bowl in the fridge. "It sounds crazy, but you'll remember to grab them in the morning when you get orange juice or cream for your coffee," says GeralinTwo Doesn't Have to Be Terrible! 5 Tips for Raising a Toddler
By Disney Baby | Team Mom – Tue, Feb 26, 2013 1:56 PM EST
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5 tips for raising a toddlerOur sweet little babies grow before our very eyes. Before we know it, we have a little toddler on our hands! It seems to happen in a blink of an eye. And although we've all heard stories about the "terrible twos" and infamous toddler tantrums, raising a toddler really doesn't have to be that bad!
A dear friend of mine (and fellow toddler-wrangler!) gave me some great little tips that work really great with the toddler age. Of course, when it comes to advice, you should take everything with a grain of salt -- the best thing is to figure out what works for you and your family and your little one! But in case the toddler years have you worried, here are 5 tried-and-true tips for easy sailing with your toddler!
1. One-on-one time
Try to give your toddler 5-10 minutes of just one on one time with you each day. This is so tough when you have lots of little ones but if you snag five minutes to read a book just you and one of them, it will mean so much.
Related: 14 ways to date your baby
2.On the Same Page: 8 Tips for Starting a Mommy-and-Me Book Club
By Disney Baby | Book Club – Wed, Feb 27, 2013 1:15 PM EST
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How to start a book club with your baby!I love my local library's storytime, but maybe you live far away from the library. Maybe the time of day doesn't fit you or your child's schedule. Maybe it's just too busy and loud and overwhelming for your child.
If so, you might enjoy starting your own baby book club.
Every few weeks, I'll share a new theme for a baby book club, complete with four to five books to read, a few wiggle songs/rhymes, a craft that little toddlers can complete with help, and a snack that goes along with the theme.
In the meantime, here are 10 tips for starting your own mommy-and-me book club:
1. PIck the right size for your group
Four to six babies (with their parents) is the ideal number in my mind. You have enough to make it feel like an event, but not so many that you can't sit around a table or that it's a madhouse.
Related: 6 award-winning books to share at your next baby book club
2. You're NOT providing free babysitting
Make sure parents understand that they need to stay and be involved
Read More »from 3 Ways to Beat Carb Cravings
Source: 3 Ways to Beat Carb Cravings
It's hard to stick to a healthy diet when all you can think about are high-carb foods to snack on all day. To help you out, here are three ways to cut carb cravings from your daily routine.
Have a better option handy: The downfall for many good diet intentions is often behind the cabinet door. When you're ravenous, the full bag of potato chips or the slice of cake in the fridge is often the easiest option to choose. To steer yourself clear of temptations, have a few healthy, low-carb options ready when hunger strikes; cut-up vegetables and dip ready in the fridge, or make a batch of tuna salad to serve atop sliced cucumbers or tomato. Get more high-protein, low-carb snack ideas here.
Identify the craving: The more you eat crackers and chips, the more you'll crave them. This can be for many reasons; your taste buds may crave sweetness or saltiness, you like a snack with a bit of crunch, or you do it out of habit. Knowing why you're craving7 Reasons Why Your Kids Should Play Video Games
By Babble.com | Team Mom – Tue, Feb 26, 2013 1:43 PM EST
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7 reasons why your kids SHOULD play video gamesConventional wisdom suggests that time spent playing video games is time wasted. The common perception is that few video games exercise the brain and, if there is any physical activity involved, it's usually the occasional wave of a controller rather than anything that will work up a sweat. And shouldn't kids be outside playing, rather than sitting in front of yet another screen?
Not so fast, say many parenting experts and researchers. Studies have consistently shown that the benefits of video gaming can far outweigh the perceived negatives. Although video gaming should certainly be supervised, there are good reasons why you should let your kids spend a few hours a week building cities or battling aliens. Here's why:
1. Video games teach problem solving
Video games get kids to think. There are dozens of video games that are specifically geared towards learning, but even the most basic shooter game teaches kids to think logically and quickly process large amounts of data. Rather thanCleaning Tips for Common Kid-Spills
By Yahoo! Contributor Network | Team Mom – Mon, Feb 25, 2013 11:58 AM ESTAs a former teacher, and the parent of three kids, I've had lots of experience cleaning up messy spills. It's not always as easy as it looks, and, done incorrectly, it's possible to turn a spill into an even bigger mess by using the wrong tools or technique.
Never fear. With a little bit of know-how, clean up's a snap. Here's how to handle some of the most common kid-related spills.
Milk and Ice Cream: If you don't clean dairy spills right away, you may end up smelling sour milk in your car or living room for days (and anyone with kids can tell you how much fun that isn't). Keep a supply of clean, disposable rags or paper towels handy, just in case.
Soak up any liquid by blotting gently and, by all means, do not rub it into your upholstery or rugs. Don't pour water on the spill, even if you're tempted, or you'll end up with a bigger mess and water stains. Avoid the use of hot water or a steam cleaner; instead, use a wet-vac to get up the remainder of the spill, and allow it
Read More »from Cleaning Tips for Common Kid-SpillsA Matter of Taste: How Your Food Choices Influence Your Kid's Palate
By Babble.com | Parenting – Mon, Feb 25, 2013 1:24 PM EST
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How much do parents influence their kids' taste?Over on the excellent food blog Stay at Stove Dad, John Donohue wonders about the ramifications of exposing his daughter to things like Gruyere cheese, or teaching her the difference between cuts of meats. He mentions a friend who's a music snob who's worried about his influence on his kid's listening habits.
Being that I'm a bit of both a food and a music snob, I can relate. It used to crack people up when Felix would say that the Spanish goat cheese Manchego was his favorite, and that he'd prefer hip-hop to kid music. Say "lodi dodi" to him, and he'll bust back with "who likes to party?" He's a regular lil' Slick Rick.
Related: Why having a "second personality" makes me a better parent
Living in an affluent section of Brooklyn, having strong opinions on food and music does not put him off the norm. It's not until we visit my parents, who live in the 'burbs, that I notice how different my son is from other kids. He doesn't watch commercial television. He doesn't often eatOn Your Mark, Get Set: How to Prep Your Body for a Run
By Babble.com | Team Mom – Thu, Feb 21, 2013 11:58 AM EST
Don't overdo it!We all know how important it is for women and mothers to get regular exercise. And while trying to keep a kid with a cup full of cranberry juice off your new Berber carpet SHOULD qualify as an Olympic sport, running is a real, heart-healthy way to get in shape.
I am always happy to write about my friend Summer Sanders, and she has some particularly useful advice when it comes to running and preparing for races. Summer is blogging over at espnW about her 12 week preparation for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. In her latest post, she talks about the challenges of the mental game, but how it's important to listen to your body too, especially when it's telling you that things don't feel right. Here are a few ways we can get over injuries specific to our sport.1. REST: It seems only logical, but there are a lot of people who will still try to get in a run even if they think they have pulled something or are in pain. The body at minimum needs time to recover. If time doesn't
Read More »from On Your Mark, Get Set: How to Prep Your Body for a Run
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