My sister, a super fabulous Fun Mum, gave each of my children a water pistol this school holidays.  I had forgotten how much fun they are!  A pack of four can be purchased for under $10 or you can buy them online here.  It is a cheap activity that will keep your children occupied for hours…. and maybe your spouse as well.

It is nice to keep cards.  However, sometimes after a few birthdays, they tend to accumulate in a draw.  This school holidays I grabbed a handful of cards for Flossie (8) and asked her to think of a craft she could do with them.  She came up with this FANTASTIC cartoon.  It made me laugh and laugh….. SO CLEVER!

Don’t throw away old cards…. put them in the craft box to stimulate your child’s imagination.

I like to teach my children independence.  When I was organising my kitchen earlier this year, I placed all the plastic bowls, plates and cups in the bottom shelf.  This provides them with the opportunity to help me care for them: setting the table, pouring a drink of water, biscuits in snack cups and toast for breakfast. 

My toddler loves choosing his own cup and is learning colours fast.  Do you have a bottom shelf idea?

Does your toddler pull the plug at bath-time?  Or does the plug often go missing like ours?  Did you know a milk bottle lid is a leak free fit for most plug holes?  The lid is much harder to pull out than a regular plug and if your family goes through as much milk as we do, you will have plenty of lids to spare! 

Two problems solved!

I love having girls!  If you are looking for a gift for a girl aged 3-15 you may like to purchase this fun present.

* Jager Silver Glitter Hairspray (from Stefan $9.95)

* Include a few hair accessories

NOTE: Best used outside unless you want very pretty and sparkly floors

Tip:  It is beautiful used as a body spray as well, giving your skin a shimering glow.

It’s a winner!  It’s a girl thing

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On the occasion of my son’s birth, a friend gave me a fun and unique present I absolutely LOVED.  As I unwrapped the paper, sitting on the top were personalised stickers with my new baby’s name on it. I thought it so special and fun!  The stickers can be used on bottles, containers, bags, books and lunch boxes.

So next time you need to buy a baby present consider adding some personalised stickers with your gift.  Stuck On You, Identity Direct and Bosco Bear provide cute designs. 

Personalised stickers for my new baby is a gift that sticks (no pun intended) in my mind.

Need to decorate the walls of your child’s bedroom?  I made this cute canvas that hangs in my daughter’s bedroom.

This is what you need:

Canvas

String (for long hair)

Wooden blocks (for skirt)

Textured paper (for bodice)

Glue on Jewels (for crown/tiara)

Pipe cleaners (for arms, legs and neck)

Mirror Shape (for face)

Paint (background)

I did this craft with a group of school aged children.  I had a huge range of collage materials available: bottle top caps, jewels, string, wool, cotton wool, corrigated cardboard, buttons, wood cut-outs, textured paper, pom poms and paddle pop sticks.

With these materials, I was astounded at the creativity.  There were cars and robots, sea side scenes and modern shapes, princesses and crazy collage pictures. Head down to your local craft or discount store and see where your (or your child’s) creativity takes you.

The different textured canvas’ look brilliant on the walls.  Here are my children’s creations.

                       4 year old                            6 year old                                 2 year old

Every Father’s Day, my children make a card for their Daddy.  As I was doing two Father’s Day crafts for children’s groups, I decided to couple this in with our normal card making.  The items I found are easily used for any occasion.

What you need:

Wooden Mini Scrapbook/Tag albums

Pack of wooden cut-outs (there are many different styles to choose from)

String or Ribbon

Paper or cardboard for the back

Craft Glue

I purchased all the items from Bargain City.  You will find similar items at Target, Big W, KMart, Spotlight, craft stores, scrapbooking shops and other discount shops. 

Just glue the wooden cut-out to one side of the wooden tag and paper to the back to write your message.  Attach with string.  The children love making their own cards  and they look really professional and cute too!  They cost me all of $1.50 each.  Cheaper than spending $6 on a store bought card.

Were you hesitant to click on this link?  To a Mother, body paint + child = TOO MUCH MESS!

BUT…… it is a very fun activity to do occasionally.  I plan to do body painting once every school holidays with my toddlers. 

1. Buy Non-Toxic Paint

2. Put the paint in plastic containers

3. Provide large paint brushes

4. Do the painting outside on the grass

5. Put some paper out as well and do some hand/foot prints

6. Let your children enjoy a colourful bath or shower afterwards

7. A hose works rather well too

The activity generally lasts for 20 minutes so it is not as stressful as you might think.

Give it a go and you might enjoy it…. not as much as your toddler I’ll bet!

If your reaction to toilet training is NOOOOOOO, then let me share some tips.  I am on my fourth round of toilet training. In my experience, there is no magical system or secret to toilet training. Every child is different and thus, toilet training needs to be catered for each particular child. However, there are some general guidelines you may wish to follow. The BEST advice I could give is BE RELAXED ABOUT IT! I know this is easier said than done, but if you are in the right frame of mind when you start off, it will be less stressful for everyone involved.

Firstly, let me run down my toilet training experiences.

No 1 child – Attempted toilet training at 2 years.  My child had an illness and was hospitalised at this time, so I held off until 2.5 years and started again.  Within a day she knew how to do wees and within a week she was doing poos on the toilet.  Fully toilet trained at night at 4 years.

No2 child – Attempted toilet training at 2 years.  It was quickly obvious my child had absolutely no idea so the exercise was short lived.  Attempted again at 2.5 years with slow progress.   Took 3 months to get wees and about 8 months to get poos.  Fully toilet trained at night at 5 years.

No 3 child – This child has a developmental disorder so was not remotely ready until 3 years.  She is now 3.5 years and we are still working on poos and she still has accidents with wees.  Very long and slow process.  I expect it will be a while yet.

No 4 child – It is early days yet, but this child is not yet 2 and is picking up the toilet concept very quickly.  I expect within a week or two he will be fully toilet trained in the day. I expect this child to be toilet trained fully at night at 3 years.

As you can see, I’ve had quick and long drawn out experiences with toilet training.  The point of sharing this is to reinforce that every child is different.

Mothers sometimes can be competitive when it comes to their children.  I want to say, don’t judge your child in relation to other children when it comes to toilet training.  Children are so unique and different.  Just because they don’t toilet train early doesn’t mean they are unintelligent or slow.  They all learn in their own time.

DON’T STRESS AND BE PATIENT!  I’m not pretending I never stress and am the picture of patience.  Trust me, with my 3.5 years old that has not even done one poo on the toilet and often gets constipated because she is so afraid, I certinaly feel stressed sometimes.  That is a fairly extreme case, but the key is to lower your expectations.  If you are relaxed about it, it is more likely your child will accept toilet training as a normal part of their routine.

What you can expect

* Wee on the floor, toys, beds, and clothes

* Going through 10 pairs (or more) of undies a day

* Washing, washing ….and did I mention washing?

* Relapses – just when you thought your child had it down pat

* Pooie undies soaking in napisan

* Leaving your grocery trolley in the middle of the shopping centre while you run your child to the toilet

What you can do

* Buy a potty – Start sitting your child on it from 15 months before they get in the bath.  Don’t worry about them doing anything on it at this point, it will just allow your child to be familiar with the potty.

* Look for signs of being ready – Telling you they need to be changed, pulling their nappy off and regular bowel motions are a few.  See here for more signs.

* Use rewards –  This can be anything from praise and sticker charts to small toys and lollies.  I know some parents are uncomfortable about giving food rewards and that’s fine, however, I found jelly beans or smarties a great incentive.

* Positive Praise – Make a really big deal of progress.   Something like jumping up and down, clapping your hands and yelling YAY would be a good start

* Dealing with acidents –  They will happen.  Try and be relaxed about it, for it is something you should expect.  I say….. “OH well, don’t worry, Mummy can clean it, next time try and do it on the toilet.  Wees go in the toilet”, and leave it at that.  I suggest after an accident you take your child to the toilet anyway because often there is more there.

* Making moments count – Poos often take more time to master.  You can make it a positve time by leaving some books next to the potty/toilet and reading together.

* Pull-ups – I don’t think pull-ups are helpful in allowing the child to feel when they are doing a wee.  However, they are fantastic when you are out and can’t afford to be dealing with accidents.

* Buy a Potty Book – Books, books, I love books.  Reading a book is a positive way to communicate to children.  I like these two DK titles as they have a sticker reward charts included.

* Undies – Buying underpants can be exciting for children.  Take them shopping and let them pick their own.

* Visit the Raising Children Network for more information.

Toilet training a toddler can be a daunting task.  Try not to stress; be relaxed and patient.  It will happen in good time.

Happy Days Ahead