Your day has been long and hectic. You’re tense and ready to go home. Unfortunately, you’re concerned that you might bring home the tension from work and that it will affect your family time. Here are some ideas of how to create a smooth transition between work and family time so that you can still give your best for child development.

What do you do when everyone arrives home at the same time and there’s no time to relax before you’re faced with everyone at once? Try asking everyone to go to their rooms and get comfortable. After they’ve had a chance to do that, you’ll have your few minutes of peace and quiet before they all appear again.

Do you have a routine that you generally follow each evening? You and your family can ease into your routine by taking time to sit down and talk for a few minutes. It’s important to reconnect after you’ve been away from each other all day. Taking this time may also help your entire family to relax so the transition from work and school to family time is less abrupt.

Have a small snack – fruit or vegetable slices – available for them so you can begin preparing dinner without people bugging you about when it will be done. A small snack before dinner, just enough to cut the hunger, can also help your children calm down while you’re busy with dinner.

You may want to ask your family to help prepare the meal. This will also give you an opportunity to talk about your day without anyone feeling like they’re being given the fifth degree. In fact, spending time together while cooking dinner can be a great way to reconnect for everyone in the family, so why not make dinner preparation a family affair?

Have someone set the table so you can eat and then enjoy the meal you’ve prepared together. Take time to keep the conversation going by asking open-ended questions about each other’s day. This is one of the best ways to create a smooth transition between work and family time.

Flaking can happen as early as infancy, in a condition which we have discussed earlier in The Parenting Magazine: cradle cap. Now this is not dandruff per se, as the cause may be genetic, but it still requires dedicated infant care in order to take care that this will not affect your child even worse.

The United States National Library of Medicine offered tips and guidelines in trying to work around or to prevent cradle cap. Here are a few advice:

- The brush you wouls use for your baby is very significant as it will be of direct contact to the scalp of the baby. Choose combs with soft bristles to boost circulation and help scaly patches of skin fall off.

- Maintain cleanliness at all costs. Make sure you wash the scalp thoroughly to remove all soap. Usually a good regimen is to wash the scalp with gentle soap and then follow it up with shampoo two times a week.

- If cradle cap doesn’t improve or baby continues to react to scalp itchiness, see your pediatrician about a topical lotion or cream.

As cuddly and adorable as your new bundle of joy may be, having a baby at home guarantees parents of endless nights of sleeplessness. Now you don’t have to be perpetually weary. Here are some tips you can use to steal some wink while in the midst of infant care:

Learn how to power nap. The thing with the sleeping habits of babies is that they are done in short yet frequent spurts so you must be able to steal some sleep while your baby is at it. Of course, you must always have a partner to rely to when you are asleep. Here is where the value of taking turns can be most appreciated.

Do not always respond to the crying of your baby. As harsh as it may sound, this is beneficial to your child because you will not pamper their every crying. If they find that you will attend to them everytime they cry, then they may see it as a routine. That’s bad enough for you as that would mean more sleepless nights.

Ask for help. You don’t have to go at it alone. Try to take advantage of offers of trusted friends and relatives who would like to babysit your child for you.

Remember, this is one of the responsibilties of parenthood. But you don’t have to punish yourself. Learn to set some time for you, even for sleeping.

If you have trouble falling asleep, make sure your environment is suited for sleep. Choose a comfortable mattress and pillow, turn off the TV, and keep the room cool and dark. Avoid nicotine, caffeine and alcohol late in the day or at night. Finally, don’t agonize over falling asleep. If you don’t nod off within 30 minutes, get up and do something else. When you begin to feel drowsy, try to fall asleep again.

If you’re still struggling to sleep after a week or two, consult your doctor. Identifying and treating any underlying conditions can help you get the rest you need.

Many little girls are enamored by fairy tales. Thus, dreams of being a princess and having a magical fairy garden is tops among little ladies as far as desires go. You may not be able to make all of their dreams come true, but you can create a fairy garden for your little princess.

There are many children activities you can develop while creating this fairy garden. Help your child learn about fairies by researching fairy lore. Determine which types of fairies she’d like to attract and then do what you can to make a fairy garden all her fairy friends will adore. If you have a large garden, perhaps you could allow her to plant her fairy garden in one corner. Maybe you need the entire garden for vegetables; why not create a fairy garden around the base of a tree or even use several large planters?

Creating a fairy garden doesn’t have to take up a lot of space. In fact, it could be something as simple as a window box, a row of flowers, or a planter set on the patio of your home. And although you’re not likely to draw fairies to the garden, you can allow your daughter to believe the little winged fairies actually exist.

Many people think that butterflies are fairies in disguise, so you may want to plant a garden that would interest butterflies. What would a garden for butterflies look like? It would have beautiful, brightly colored flowers that drip with nectar. Of course, fairies and butterflies both agree that variety is the spice of life, so you’ll want to plant many kinds of flowers for them to choose from.

Don’t stress out if your fairy garden isn’t pristine; in fact, they like finding flat rocks in the garden so they have some place to warm their wings in the bright sunshine. They also prefer a spot, in direct sunlight, that is sheltered from the wind where they hide and find sanctuary.

Fairies and butterflies also like to take a dip on occasion, so providing a shallow bowl or saucer near their sunning rock will be a big plus. Besides, if you have a water element in your fairy garden, their little birdie friends can come to visit them. Be careful, however, to keep everything as natural as possible. Pesticides and insecticides can hurt any visitors to the garden. You may also want to be aware if any pottery has lead in its glaze as it could be harmful.

Here are some good flowers choices for your fairy garden. Fairies and butterflies seem to be partial to them: Lily of the Valley, Pansies, Queen Ann’s Lace, Roses, Violets, Lilac, Nasturtium, Snapdragons, Baby’s Breath, Butterfly Bush, Columbine, Forget-met-not, Buttercup, Periwinkle, and Heather. Don’t forget to include natural materials such as twigs, shells, and small rocks to add interest to the fairy garden and for the fairies to use to build a home.

You can decorate the fairy garden with small wooden houses to create a fairy village complete with fences made of twigs stuck into the ground. Use small pebbles as a walking path for them to saunter through the village. Let the child in you dream with your daughter as you create a wonderful place for her to dream and use her imagination. This magical make-believe fairy garden can be a special place you’ll both want to visit as long as you both believe.

Hide and Seek is one of the more enduring children activities through the years. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t put a nice twist to this timeless game for your kids. Why not try building a bean tower that they can use to hide in and still provide the family with fresh green beans to enjoy.

Creating bean towers isn’t difficult, so it’s something your children can help you with. They may even decide to eat some of those green beans when they help you pick them, or while they’re hiding inside the tower. Your children will be able to help you plan where to place the bean towers and then help planting the beans. Making actual towers may difficult, so instead create a teepee to accomplish the same effect. Here’s what you’ll need:

- 3 to 6 poles or stakes that are at least 6 to 8 feet long per planting tower. If you’d like to have more than one tower or a larger diameter, you’ll want to have more than the 3 to 6 poles.

- Lay all of the poles next to one another on the ground.

- Using weatherproof cord or rope, tie it around all of the poles starting about six inches from one end. Try to keep the poles moveable, so you don’t want to tie them together too tightly.

- Create a circle on the ground that is about three feet in diameter. Mark the center of the circle to show where the center of the teepee will go.

- Carefully stand up the poles, spacing them evenly to create a teepee. Then you can push the poles into the ground a couple of inches one by one.

- Weave twine between the sides from the top of the teepee to the bottom. This will be the framework that the bean vines grow up. Leave one section open between the poles to act as your entrance.

- Plant several plants (choosing only one of these: pole beans, peas, cucumbers, or morning glory) or several seeds at the base of each pole. When the plants sprout, you can thin them out and keep only those that are hardiest.

You can also grow potatoes on towers or teepees except you can use a heavy-gauge wire cage that’s 2 to 3 feet in diameter and about 3 feet tall. Place the cages to allow the plants to get at least six hours of sun a day. Line the cage with hay to provide composting material; you’ll need at least 4 inches of compost in the bottom of the cylinder. Then place 4 to 5 seed potatoes (places at least 6 inches apart).

Cover the potatoes with 3 to 4 inches of dirt, then water them well. Cover the plants with more compost as they grow until the compost reaches 6 inches below the top of the cage, and then stop adding compost. Keep the cylinder well watered. When the plants begin to wither and turn yellow, it’s time to let your children take the cylinder apart and harvest the potatoes, normally around twenty new potatoes per plant.

When the vegetables have been harvested, no matter which ones you plant, be sure to save the dead plants. You can use them to add to a compost pile for other plants or spread them out in the garden to nourish the whole garden. After all of the work is done, don’t forget to tell your children to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Homeworks should not be done at the last minute and parents have a lot of responsibility to monitor the pacing of child education even during weekends so that the homework can be a truly learning experience for your toddler.

Always inquire about what homeworks were assigned to them after going home from school. Sometimes children have a tendency to forget their homeworks by writing the notes somewhere unlikely. Thus, always be there to offer guidance for his/her academic needs.

Designate a specific time for the taking care of homeworks. Help your child settle in a routine and be firm about it. This will also help train discipline in your little child.

If you can spare the time, do the homework with your child. Help with the researching and point to where your child must go to find answers. Do not spoonfeed the answers or they will learn not to have self-reliance.

Remember, your child may not remember what the homework is all about a few years from now - but he/she will certainly remember how you were there to help and guide his/her studying. Spray some tender loving care.

Gardening can be one of the best children activities to be done with the family with some careful planning and some fun loving. In fact, if you have a “plant your own vegetables” family day, not only can you spend quality time together, before long you’ll also have “fresh from your own garden” vegetables to enjoy and share with others. Maybe you’ve never gardened much; don’t let that stop you. With everyone in your family’s help, you can get a garden planned and planted.

If you’ve never gardened, there is quite a bit to learn before getting started. First, you’ll need to find out what planting zone you live in. This is easily done by asking at a nursery or by looking online. You’ll also want to know what type of soil you have in your yard. This will let you know what nutrients will need to be added before you can begin planting. You may want to visit someone who has been gardening for a while to learn from their experience in regard to how large a garden you need, what vegetables would be best to plant, and how many of each plant you’ll need to get the harvest you’d like.

Start with a plan. Vegetables won’t grow in the shade so you’ll need to seek out a place in the yard that gets full sunlight. When you have chosen the area, you get to pick out the vegetables you’ll plant. If this is your first garden, don’t go crazy. You may want to try spinach or lettuce, green beans, corn, and several varieties of tomatoes. For a family of four you would want to buy two packs of lettuce plants, two packs of green beans, a package of corn, and three to four tomato plants per variety.

There are two ways you can lay out a garden. You can plant everything in rows of a single vegetable per row. You can also create square foot gardens where you break the total size of the garden into squares of one foot or more. Find out more about this type of gardening by getting a book from the library or checking online.

For the number of vegetables you’ll be planting, an 8’ x 10’ or 8’ x 12’ garden would be perfect. You don’t want to make the garden so large that you’ll be frustrated caring for it, but you do want it to be large enough to accommodate the plants as they grow.

Spread the work out among each family member, keeping in mind each one’s abilities. One person can run the rototiller, another can pick up the rocks, and another can dig the holes for the plants, and another can water the plants in. The old saying “many hands makes light of work” can certainly pertain to a family working in a garden.

As parents, you know how important unstructured play is to child development, especially imagination. Give a child a large box and get out of their way, and before long they’ll be sailing in a boat, riding a stage coach, or defending a castle. Children who are read to, or who can read for themselves, can use the stories to fuel their imagination.

Since you know the importance of unstructured play, you’ll want to do everything you can to encourage it. Unlike watching television or playing console or computer games, unstructured play allows the child to use their imagination without rules or boundaries. They can imagine they can fly thus defying the laws of gravity, but in the same way learn that in reality they can’t.

The best place for children to play in an unstructured way is to send them outside. Since daily exercise will help combat childhood obesity and possibly help prevent diseases such as diabetes and heart disease later in life, encouraging time outside each day is important. Here are more reasons why unstructured play can be beneficial for your child:

- Playing incorporates every aspect of the child at least until they reach nine years of age.

- It allows the child to relax because they aren’t expected to follow the rules set forth by adults.

- Unstructured play can also help children express themselves emotionally or learn to handle conflict resolution.

- If allowed to play with other children, it can also teach them to empathize by learning to cooperate, solve problems, and understand things from another’s perspective.

- By allowing children to play in an unstructured way, particularly outdoors, it helps them become more independent and gain confidence that will serve them well as they grow.

Unstructured play can actually help your child’s brain development. It allows them, when play is child-driven, to take their time, discover their own abilities, and give play their all. On the contrary, when play is structured and controlled by adults, they may be more concerned with competing and winning rather than doing what they truly enjoy.

Of course, you’ll want to find a balance between structured and unstructured play. Let the children run and play outside so they can use their imagination but let them do so under your supervision. While you may not be able to let your children run around the neighborhood or to a nearby park like you were able to as a child, that doesn’t mean they have to be sequestered in the house until they’re an adult. To encourage unstructured play, you may want to limit your child’s television viewing. Not only will television thwart your child’s imagination because everything is already planned out for them, it may also cause your child to learn to expect everything to be done for them.

Book Review: Flora’s Flowers is a pun-tastic book which toddlers can enjoy reading with parents. Written by the experienced Debi Gliori, Flora’s Flowers tell us the story of a little rabbit who tries to build a house by only growing a brick. It doesn’t grow but a bird was able to take nest in that house attempt.

Flora’s Flowers is more than a tale about a speaking animal. Flora is the youngest in a large warren of rabbits and the toddlers will be able to see a family united at work while trying to grow things in the garden (for their consumption as well).

With colorful and vivid illustrations, toddlers will sure to enjoy the adventures of Flora as she try to build a house from a single brick. Time pass and nothing seems to happen with the brick until a surprise visitor arrives.

This is not the first time Debi Gliori wrote about the Rabbit-Bunn family with the earlier work Flora’s Blanket. The continuing success of the family is proof of the warm-loving storytelling of Gliori which have endeared many children all over the world.

Yearning to give that much-needed spunk for ordinary breakfast dishes such as spaghetti? Why not put in a touch of zucchini sauce and surprise your children with a distinct yet delicious flavor for their early morning breakfast or midday snack. Here is a guide for a remarkable recipe for kids.

Ingredients:
1 lb spaghetti
1 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 large zucchini, coarsely grated
1 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Method:
Boil pasta according to package instructions, drain and put into a big bowl

In a large pan, heat the olive oil and add the crushed garlic and zucchini. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the zucchini has softened. Stir through the pepper and the basil leaves.

In a small pan toast the pine nuts, making sure that they don’t burn.

Add the zucchini mixture to the hot pasta, combine and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and cheese.

This is a delicious and quick pasta dish. Enjoy with crusty French bread and a tossed green salad.

It’s not everyday that your children get to see red potatoes in their plates - and it’s rarer to see these red potatoes turn into pancakes for breakfast. Now here’s another edgy recipes for kids which will surely brighten up their morning: Red Potato Pancakes.

Ingredients:
8 medium red potatoes, peel left on and shredded
1 large sweet onion, minced
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions:
Combine the shredded potatoes, onion, eggs, flour, baking powder, rosemary, salt, pepper and lime juice in a large bowl and toss gently.

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat and add 2/3 cup at a time of the potato mixture. With a spatula, press the potato mixture into a pancake shape and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side until nice and crisp. Repeat with the rest of the potato mixture. Place the finished pancakes onto a paper towel to drain the fat.

Enjoy immediately with homemade applesauce. A quick and easy family lunch idea.

Memo to pregnant mothers all over the world: do not wallow in depression while carrying your child in your womb. An American Academy of Sleep Medicine news release is reporting that babies are more likely to have sleep issues when their mothers are battling depression.

Babies who are born to depressed mothers took longer to fall asleep at night even during the first six months of existence of the baby. This also applies for their sleeping habits during the day so that’s a big no-no for infant care. Moreover, these babies are more than likely to have an earlier on-set of depression as children.

Publishd in the May 1 issue of the Sleep magazine, the research findings are from the Sleep and Chronophysiology Laboratory at the University of Michigan Depression Center. However these data results do not mean that this cannot be reversed in child. In fact, it can be treated for babies.

“We do think that we could develop a behavioral and environmental intervention to improve entrainment of sleep and circadian rhythms in the high-risk infants,” says study lead author Roseanne Armitage, who is also the director of the Sleep and and Chronophysiology Laboratory at the University of Michigan Depression Center, “They may still be modifiable, since brain regulation is very plastic and responsive in childhood.”

Past studies suggest that cortisol, a stress hormone produced in greater amounts by depressed women during pregnancy and after delivery, may affect the infant’s ability to sleep.

Educational toys do not have to be restricted to cerebral games and action figures. It can also encourage children to break a sweat for more child development. An interesting example are the Wheelybugs, colorful mobile toys geared for babies and toddlers ranging up to five years of age from Hippychick.

Wheelybugs are pleasing to the eye with its dazzling color. They do not appear as clutter at home and parents are assured that these toys are easy to use for your toddlers. A stand-out point of interest for these educational toys is its handmade craftsmanship.

Wheelybugs are designed with user-friendliness in mind. Its wheels are created from plastic castors which makes movement smoother from vertical to sideways. It is efficient on level surfaces and should not be used on pavements, laminate flooring, and more importantly, grass.

It offers heightened levels of comfort with a padded sponge for its seat. For help against the elements, it has an extra coating of polyurethane.

Study habits are important in the progress of child education and the system in place at home determines how your child disciplines themselves. Set the tone early by instilling guidelines for study habits at home.

It is important to note that children have low attention spans thus it is important for obvious sources of distraction be removed. Foremost on the list are watching television and non-academic Internet web surfing.

Where your child is studying plays a key role in determining the focus levels of your toddler. It is best to designate a specific area because nothing beats consistency. Parts of the home without much distraction can be the dining room table or the living room.

A bulletin board in your child’s room or study area will be of great help in organizing his/her priorities for the day. He/she should have an alternative small pad for taking down notes. Also make sure that school supplies will be handy.

More importantly, always be around for possible questions from your child and also be there to guide his/her development. Be sure to know if the work being done by your child is appropriate to his/her knowledge level.

Sweets never get old as a tried and tested reward for exemplary behavior for children. Although you may have worries that children get too much of a good thing, sometimes it’s okay to indulge your children with these sweet recipe for kids.

Chocolate Drizzle Sauce is an example of such sweet recipes and it is not so difficult to do. Here are the ingredients you will need:

1 cup cocoa
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Combine cocoa and sugar in a saucepan and whisk in water and corn syrup. Let mixture come to a full boil over medium heat and boil for approximately 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Let the sauce cool down until it thickens, cover and store it in refrigerator until needed.

This sauce is absolutely delicious when spooned over ice-cream, used as a dipping sauce with strawberries or other fresh fruit.

Letting children take care of pets is an excellent way to instill responsibility even if they are still young. However, as a parent, you can’t help but have concerns with the safety of your child with staying close with animals. Well, you don’t have to be stuck in analysis paralysis regarding pets for kids. With a little planning and research, you can be assured that your child will maximize taking care of pets without the risks.

Foremost of all, it is important to make sure that the animal you’ll be choosing from your child is not from the wild. That’s always a bad idea because an animal from the wild has harsher instincts not fit for trusting people. Always make it a point that the animal was bred in captivity.

Moreover, double check thoroughly the desire of your child to take care of a pet. We all know how parents can become whimsical with their wants. If they can’t sustain taking care of a pet, the burden lies on parents to look after the animal. Seems unfair? Nope, children are just like that so always be sure.

Pets for kids can be an exciting time in the childhood of your toddler. But never take away parental guidance in the equation to maximize the experience.

Although high-rise units are fast becoming the norm in urban living, there are still advantages to having your own backyard garden. For one, it allows you to  engage in children activities which will entail spotting the various organisms in your garden. If you are concerned about child safety, you can watch from a distance through your window while using binoculars.

Butterflies are stand-out favorites by children. Flowers are a must-have if you intend to attract a good number of them. There are three varieties of flowers to choose from: annuals, perennials and wildflowers.

Examples of annuals are impatiens, marigold, phlox, zinnia, and sunflowers. As for perennials, you can choose from chrysanthemums, daisies, nasturtium, and yarrow. Finally, wildflowers include black-eyed Susan, butterfly flower, asters, or purple ageratum.

If you’d like to draw animals to your yard, it helps to know what type of wildlife is likely to live in your area. You might want to check with your local park ranger, county extension agency, or animal control. They should be able to tell you which animals to expect. You can also look at the library to find wildlife books for your general vicinity.

You’ll then have a better idea of what type of habitat you need to emulate in your yard to make it appealing to the animals. Be sure to incorporate the following elements: food, water, cover, and nesting areas. If you want to draw animals to your garden or back yard, these are an absolute must for any wildlife that visits.

It’s a good idea to plant native trees, shrubs, and plants that wildlife will recognize and most likely already use for food or shelter in their native habitat. Be sure to plant on multiple layers instead of planting just ground level plants or trees. You want to incorporate each level of plant to have something for different animals.

A water element such as a pond or water garden would provide all the water they need. Plant vegetation around the water so smaller animals will feel protected as they come to drink. Don’t stress out about cleaning up dead or dying trees as they will attract varying types of insects, which will in turn attract birds such as owls, wrens, and woodpeckers.

Spotting creatures can always attract the fancy of your child. When done in a careful manner, this can be a very enriching experience and one of the best children activities you can implement.

One of the best children activities which never gets old is gardening. When started early, this can develop  into an intense love for nature.

Encouraging your child to join you in gardening gives you the opportunity to talk about anything under the sun - literally and figuratively. It could be something as simple as valuing the Earth and protecting the environment, to more serious subjects such as life and love. Whatever you talk about, because you’re in a non-threatening atmosphere, you may find you’re talking about things that your children are concerned about most.

You’ll definitely want to encourage your children to give gardening a try if they show any interest in it at all. Don’t expect them to actually ask you if they can help; you may have to invite them to come join you while you’re in the midst of planting.

Let children use their imagination when planting or helping in the garden. In this way, gardening can be an effective medium for child education. They may imagine a tiny village behind the plants or in the rocks; maybe they’ll even try to create the village they imagine out of natural materials found in the garden. Since children often have vivid imaginations, let them run wild while you share time among the dirt and plants.

Children have short attention spans, so don’t become upset if they work a little while and then run away to do something else. You may want to find them work they can do in short periods of time. You may also want to buy them some child-sized gardening tools so they can accomplish more while they spend time with you in your work.

Teach them how to dig in the dirt so they can place plants into it. You may want to explain to them how the dirt provides the nutrients the plants need to grow and show them how to make the dirt healthier for the plants by using peat moss, sand, and compost. Explain the reason for adding these components and help them understand why they shouldn’t handle commercial fertilizers.

Perhaps after you’ve spent some time in the garden and are comfortable with your child’s knowledge, you might think about creating a small garden that is entirely the child’s. Remember that you want their experience to be a positive one and passing off too much responsibility too soon could squash their interest in the activity.

Your goal in inviting your child to join you in the garden is multi-faceted. You want to teach them about loving nature and natural things, to make light of the work needed in the garden, and to spend quality time with your child. Be sure to give your little helper a hug and hearty thank you for their help and let them know you enjoyed your time together.

Sunday morning is always one of the best times to spend bonding with your little kids. This is that time when you’ve had time to rest after a week’s worth of hard work. Moreover, your children will wake up beautifully knowing you’ve prepared something sumptuous for breakfast! This recipe for kids is one of the best for Sundays: Polenta Sunday Morning Surprise

Ingredients:

• 3 cups milk
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup stoneground yellow cornmeal
• ¼ cup golden raisins
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (plus extra)

In a heavy saucepan heat the milk, 1 tbsp of butter, sugar and salt and bring to a simmer.  While whisking, slowly pour the cornmeal into the milk mixture. Reduce the heat and keep on stirring with a wooden spoon for about 10 minutes. The mixture should thicken. Stir in the raisins and maple syrup.

Grease a loaf pan (8.5×4.5inch) and spoon in the finished polenta. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours, when it should be set. Take the loaf out fo the pan and cut into  1/2inch slices. Heat the remaining butter (use more if needed) in a skillet and fry the polenta slices on both sides until nice and golden. Serve immediately with lots of delicious maple syrup!

Children develop at different paces. Some are late bloomers while some excel very early on. Some learn how to count fairly easy while others can’t even write their own nickname. Now how are you to know if your child is ready to go to school as a kindergarten student?

The key, of course, is to not pressure your child but that doesn’t mean you can’t push him/her to test her abilities. Kindergarten is a good place to enrich your child’s knowledge. But before anything else, you need to know what skills are expected of your child. Specified by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, here is a checklist of abilities of your child to see if he/she is ready for kindergarten.

• Effectively communication of feelings and needs
• Sharing and taking turns
• Enthusiasm to learn
• Ability to listen
• Usage of a pencil and paint brushes
• Counting up to ten
• Familiarity with the letters of the alphabet

Teachers put a premium on the enthusiasm and ability to listen of children. Being able to count or write is a great advantage but they are not necessary requirements for kindergarten readiness. After all, children are here to learn further thus it is important that they are very interested participants.

Attention spans vary at this age but they are usually very low for children. They can be kept interested for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Thus, the challenge falls on the teachers to keep child education very tight, light and interesting for the kindergarten pupils.

Your young child will not stay as a quiet, sleeping infant for very long. One moment, your child will soon start to walk - the other moment, he/she is now in a dreaded phase called the Terrible Twos.

For the uninitiated, the Terrible Twos phase, is a child development stage which starts during the toddler years of a kid. This is a period wherin toddlers become negative most of the time and will always respond with a ‘no,’ whether spoken or not. Moreover, this is the period wherein your child will discover mood changes and tantrums.

This is normal and don’t entertain thoughts that your child is becoming rebellious very early on. However, this doesn’t mean you can let your child get everything he/she wants. If left unaddressed, this can lead to a precedent to being spoiled.

This phase usually involves more frustration for children as they get more grip of their independence and yet does not possess the right language skills to communicate his/her needs. Often times, to express these emotions, he/she resorts to biting and temper tantrums.

Here are some useful guidelines to follow to face the dreaded Terrible Twos phase:

* Stick with regular timetables for meals, naps, bedtime so that your child will have less reasons to throw a tantrum when you require them to sleep or eat. Setting limits will train discipline but don’t be surprised if your toddler tries to test those limits.

* Don’t give in to tantrums. Be reasonably firm.

* Provide your toddler with a safe environment for him/her to be able to explore his surroundings. It really isn’t fair that your toddler should get in trouble for something he/she isn’t supposed to have reach in the first place.

We may say trivial things to our children which we may forget after a few hours and yet leave a lasting impression on our kids. Times when we were tempted to tease or taunt our children for their shortcomings will always leave scars in their self-esteem. Of course, we don’t want this for our children. Thus, we should always be careful with our words and actions if we boost their morale or bring them down.

Children are always curious and even clumsy - it’s part of their nature as they grow up. However, the manner by which we respond to these awkward and bothersome situations always have an effect on child development. This is why we should always right behind our child to support them during messy situations. Never shout at them for failing to do something perfectly.

Also, never let your child hear you talk about him or her with other people - while pointing out his or her flaws. This goes a long way in setting early and unreasonable limitations to one’s young ability. Never say never for kids. They have all the time to be anyone they want.

Think before you speak and choose your words with care. Never say or promise anything when angry. Remember, words can never be returned once it has been said. Always be poised in control for testy situations with children such as spilled milk or a broken glass.

Children always need affirmation and encourgement to be the person they want to be. Never put your child down with hurtful and non-constructive comments. Guide your child well and be thrilled to see how much credit he or she will give to you about honing his/her skills and development once your child is already a grown-up.

Parents can also do their part to combat the climate change problems of the Earth. One such area where mothers and fathers can begin to act is through the use of real nappies for infant care. It may take a lot of commitment, but the benefits definitely outweighs the hardships.

Many civilizations and centuries walked our Earth without using plastic nappies for their young. While it is not reasoanble to compare our present time with the history books, it is amusing how much natural nappies were able to get the job done. Today the art of terry towelling, origami folding and the use of scary safety pins are now forgotten art forms.

Disposable nappies can really hurt the monthly bill with the use of around thirty to fifty units a week. Moreover, they are non-biodegradable and compose a huge chunk of wastes in land fill. Nappy companies are trying to do their part with the introduction of washable nappies with a flushable liner inside. This is the nappy variety where one can simply whip out the liner and then flush the waste; the nappy can be re-used again after washing.

However, parents should not become purists of real nappies. Although very economical, some situations call for the use of disposables such as long-driving outdoor trips. The key is to minimize the use of these non-biodegradable materials because every single real nappy you put on your baby is one less disposable nappy to clog up a landfill site.

Thanksgiving is stil far away. But that doesn’t mean you can’t entice your children to try their creativity on turkey recipes. In this very easy-to-do recipe for kids, you can let your children do most of the tasks. But before anything else, here are the ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 oz oats
1lb ground turkey
4 oz dried apricots, finely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1 egg, slightly beaten

Make sure to wash the hands of your children before starting out with any recipe procedures. Also prepare their chef garments so they can really feel their hands-on kitchen experience.

In a frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil, then sauté onions until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute, then add oats and fry for another few minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

When the mixture is cool, add all other ingredients. When mixed thoroughly (best by hand), season and form into 8 burgers. Fry the burgers in the remaining olive oil on each side until browned. When browned, put patties on a baking sheet and bake in oven for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve in yummy crusty rolls with all the trimmings. Your children will be sending out their thanks to you after a hearty meal.

Health is still the best areas to key on for child development. With the world experiencing global warming, now is a perfect opportunity to incorporate environmental concern with healthy living by suggesting this delicious recipe for kids: Bulgur Salad with Greens.

Ingredients:
¾ cup bulgur (cracked wheat)
2 cups green peas (frozen or fresh)
½ cup chopped green onions
3 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp sesame oil

Bring some water to boiling point. Place the bulgur wheat in a large bowl and add the boiling water over it (according to packet instructions) – the water should cover the bulgur wheat by at least 1 inch. Let stand for about 20 to 30 minutes until tender. It should have doubled in volume.

Drain through fine-meshed sieve and get rid of excess water by pressing it out. In a small saucepan, boil the peas for about 1 minute only to keep them crunchy. Use a salad bowl and combine all ingredients, including cooked bulgur and peas. Season with salt and pepper and toss with sesame oil.
This is a fantastic and healthy side dish to accompany beef, chicken or fish. Moreover, this is economical as it can yield up to eight servings.

Babies need a lot of attention and care the whole day around. But don’t think your parenting job is finished by 5pm. Child care is a full-time 24/7 job position you should fulfill with full passion.

Your baby has her own sleep pattern which varies from day to day and night to night. Babies are not born with the innate ability to sleep through the night. It has to go through a long process of habitual conditioning. But eventually, she’ll be able to settle through a sleep pattern.

But in the meantime, prepare for some hard day’s nights of interrupted sleep.

Babies need feeding during the night. While this may seem taxing, think of it as one of those special moments where you can feel your closeness with your child.Newborn babies normally sleep through noise but sudden movements and thumpings can wake your child. A baby who seems to be always sleepy and doesn’t wake to feed may be ill, so don’t assume a sound sleeping baby is always good. Contact a health professional if you’re worried.

Leave the lights off and talk in a soft voice in order to set up a suitable ambience for your baby to sleep in. Only change your baby’s nappies if necessary. This will help your baby realise that day and night feeding are different. After six months, new sleep problems may start and night waking happens in 50 per cent of the children who had previously slept through.

Newborns usually sleep about eight hours at night, but not in one long unbroken sleep - they may sleep for just one hour, or perhaps for three or five hours before waking. Don’t instill a sleep routine for your child at first. Be guided by your child’s own sleeping patterns. And expect a lot of sleeping schedule variations. Usually the intervals range from sleep of one to three hours.

There may be sleepless nights and insomnia bouts but trust well that all these parenting efforts will be worth it if you see your child sleeping soundly with not a care in the world.

Swimming is always an excellent way for the entire family to relax and unwind. However, it always contains water hazards for your children. This is why as a responsible parent, you should always be aware of child safety guidelines.

The greatest water hazards can be found in natural bodies of water such as lakes, rivers and oceans. With their unpredictability, these bodies of water can change depth, temperature and weather rapidly without further notice. Moreover, with no protective overhead coverings, outdoor swimming can be risky with the most abrupt of weather changes, as it increases the likelihood of murky waters. Here are some safety guidelines you can follow for natural bodies of water.

• Make your children wear a life jacket when in the water all the time. Children should wear personal flotation devices whenever riding in a boat or fishing. An air-filled swimming aid isn’t a substitute for a life jacket.
• Feet first. Before jumping into the water, check the depth of the water to avoid accidents. Also ensure that the feet are the first parts of the body to touch the water and not the head.
• Avoid thin ice. Winter can be more fatal because abrupt thin ice formations can cause immediate harm to your children.
• Don’t venture outside designated areas. This is especially true for public beaches as there are parts of the waters which are not fit for swimming.
• Most importantly, don’t let your children swim alone. There is no replacement for adult supervision.

Water safety should also be practiced even inside our homes. Toilets, bathtubs and buckets can pose as danger risks when left unsupervised with children. A baby can drown in just 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of water. A curious toddler can fall into a toilet, bucket or fish tank. Taking these child care precautions can help:

• Supervise bath time. Never leave a child alone in the bathtub or in the care of another child. Always drain water from the tub immediately after use.
• Shut toilet lids and store buckets safely. Install childproof locks on toilet lids to avoid untoward slipping accidents. Empty buckets, on the other hand, should be stored right after use. Don’t leave them outside, where they may accumulate stagnant water and be breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Your children have been itching to get outside and play since the colder weather arrived. Now that spring is here, it’s a perfect time for some nature discovery. One of the best children activities to organize is a spring scavenger hunt for your children and their friends to enjoy.

Basically, a scavenger hunt includes a specified area, hunters, and a list of items that need to be located. You can do this by asking the hunters to physically put the objects into a bag, ask them to take digital pictures of the objects, or by asking them to take a video of the object.

Go out to your backyard or the local park a day or so before the planned hunt to do an ocular inspection and to make your list of items. Find items that are already there like a particular tree leaf, a dandelion, or a blue jay feather. These items can easily be put into a small bag. Some items you may want to include will need to remain where they are, such as a bird nest, ant, or some other insect. For these items, digital images or videos will suffice as proof. The point is to create a list of items that can easily be found.

Decide if you will have each child find the items on their list alone or if you will have teams hunting together. Of course, if you’re in a wide open area like a local park, you should implement the buddy system for small children - or better yet avoid these places. It’s still best to perform the scavenger hunt in a controlled space. If your children’s friends are joining in the fun, you may want to ask their parents to help keep an eye on them.

Here’s a list of items you may want to include in your nature discovery scavenger hunt:

• Acorn
• Leaves (choose one or more, an evergreen and deciduous, simple and compound)
• Various insects
• Clover
• Seeds (any kind)
• Ladybug
• Feather from a particular bird

You can also include items that aren’t supposed to be in nature. Ask your children to pick up any trash they find and either put it into any garbage can they find, or have them carry a garbage bag with them.

Springtime is a great time to help your children discover nature by organizing a spring scavenger hunt. This will encourage your children to spend time in the beauty of nature, allow them to get much needed sunshine after being cooped up inside all winter, and help them learn about the habitat they live in. All in all, a springtime nature scavenger hunt is a win-win activity.

We want our children to learn the value of properly handling money - and it’s never too early to start teaching them. One way to make child education about money more fun is to play a shopkeeper’s game. Not only will they experience fun setting up shop, if you have play money on hand, it can be a real learning experience.

Basically, it is your goal to simulate the ambience of a grocery store. Create a setting wherein cashiers and baggers can be set up for role-playing. There are toys in the market that will simulate the sounds of a real cash register. You can also buy play money, or it may come with the toy register. This really is a perfect way to help your children learn about money before they are expected to use it in their daily life.

Instead of throwing away boxes, bottles, and empty food cans, hold onto them and clean them up. Your child can reuse these items for their imaginary grocery store. They can set these items up in your living room, dining room, or their bedroom similar to the way the grocery stores are set up.

If the items you got from the grocery store don’t have prices on them, you can get stickers and create your own price tags. Your child can pretend to be either a customer or the cashier. Both people have to know about money, so they will be able to learn math eventually.

When you’re just starting to teach your child about money, it’s a good idea to start with change only. Help them recognize each coin and how much each one is worth. As they get comfortable using coins, begin adding in the lower value paper money.

If your child is playing cashier, go through the “store” and pick out some items. Then take them to check out. Use the play money to pay for the items, and check to see that they give you the correct change.

Then let them play shopper so they can pay for the items they want. Help them add up the items as they “shop” and try to give you the closest amount to get the least change. Then help them learn to always count their change before they leave the cash register.

It’s never too early to teach your children about money, how to handle it, and how to spend it wisely. You can use the shopkeeper’s game as one of the more interesting children activities to help them learn about money. It may also increase their general math skills and make them more confident about using real money.

You may be looking for fun decorations to embellish Easter cards or to decorate your home. Why not challenge your child to create felt Easter decorations? These are good children activities to gauge their creativity.

Felt sheets can be purchased from a nearby discount and craft store. Felt decorations can be good embellishments for the interior design of your child’s room or for the facade of your home. Moreover, you can take pride in the fact that your kid created it.

Door sign

Create a felt door sign with a decidedly Easter design to it.  Allow your children to take several sheets of felt in various colors - pastels would work best. Put in popsicle sticks as a base and then cut some felt to fit over it.

Have your children glue the felt onto the craft sticks. Always practice their independence. See if they can do it on their own but always guide them. They can then decorate their door sign with additional felt pieces cut in the shape of bunnies, chicks, flowers, or the cross. They can write their name on the felt with permanent marker or fabric paint. Be sure they include ribbon or some way to hang their sign once it is completed.

Sleeping bunny

To maximize the felt paper sheets, create small bunnies from the leftover felt pieces? After filling the plastic eggs for the Easter egg hunt, you most likely have a few egg halves that you can’t match. This is a perfect way to recycle those unmatched halves.

Glue an egg shell half onto a piece of painted wood. Then put glue in the egg and place one large white pompom inside the egg shell. Glue another white pompom on top of that one. Glue two medium pompoms to the side of the upper pompom for the cheeks. Then cut two white felt ears and glue them onto the top of the head. Glue two mini pompoms between the cheeks.  Make two sleepy eyes out of black felt cut in the shape of crescents; it will look like you have a sleepy bunny coming out of an Easter egg.

Easter flag

Since you can buy felt in large pieces off the bolt, get a larger piece and create a “Welcome Easter” flag with your child so you can have something to hang in your door. Buy a piece of sunny yellow, pastel blue or pink. Cut the letters for the flag, as well as Easter type motifs from corresponding colors. Use craft glue to stick the words and pictures on. Hang it from your door and welcome this special holiday.

Felt is a great material to work with for Easter crafts. You can have fun with felt Easter decorations that you can use for years to come and train the creativity of your kids at the same time.