Parenting Sites 411

Ok, so I’m starting this out a little hacked if you just want to know the truth.  Why is that you ask?  Because I was looking around, hunting some good links to refer on to you and I found one that I just new was going to be great.  It was title St. Patrick’s Day Crafts.  So, I thought, woohooo, this is a great place to start even if I did miss the whole holiday.  But, when I clicked the link, it took me to a doggone Spongebob page.  Do I have to tell you how much I hate Spongebob?  Cartoons in general are not my thing….but ergh….I was hacked. 

So, I kept searching and low and behold, I did find a great site and it is way more appropriate anyway.  The site is entitled Games for the Whole Family.  And, they have a set of family games, outdoor games, parlor games, travel games (slug bug) and party games. You can also find a list of Card Games and Indoor Games as well.

Finally you can get a few links under News and Views that promotes the top ten board games, toys that think, kids that don’t and then expert advice section for safety first and rethinking children’s play.  And, finally, the page gives you a message board of resources….so yea, so much better than Spongebob.

Of course we (as in parents) are all into the parenting gig and it’s hard to find yourself doing much else.  Even parents with enormous careers that don’t involve children at all are constantly seeking parenting advice.  Just because you can run a huge company doesn’t mean you can do anything with a small child.

So, regardless of your child’s age, I have some links for you, nothing too fancy, or elaborate, just a few hot topics that might make your life easier.  For instance, if you are in that pre-baby stage and you want to read about getting pregnant, you should try places like Tips to Get Pregnant Faster, Boost Fertility:  10 Ways and then, once you get that little cherub here, you want to always be aware of car safety.  You can read about those ideas at 8 Car Seat Mistakes, 5 Facts You Need to Know, Be a Safe Driver and Car Seat Recalls.

And, as I’ve already mentioned, parenting isn’t easy, so when you are in need of support, try Teething Timeline, 7 Ways to Sooth Teething Woes, Little Pearly Whites, Cute Tooth Tools.

So, what more could you need to know?  Stay tuned til the next post….

Some of my children’s favorite toys are actually not toys at all.  As a matter of fact, it is quite frustrating when I find them with adult “toys” in their hands wondering what in the heck they are going to do.  Yes, I have watched as one son tried to completely remove a door.  He had earlier watched his father work on the door so that it would remain open, but thankfully he didn’t have the strength to then remove the door himself. 

But, something that my husband is plain naughty about is buying my children toys that work with gears.  I say that as if it is a bad thing and  know it’s not.  But, that’s my husbands big love and always has been, “How Does This Work?” and he has passed that right on down to our children.

So, I thought now would be a good time to share with you a set of gears that make awesome gifts for children once they are old enough to keep up with small parts and obviously old enough not to put them in their mouth.  It’s truly amazing to me that some of the most favored toys for boys is something like Learning Resources - Gears! Gears! Gears! Lights and Action Building Set

I have a few medical problems that sometimes cause me to need extra rest.  Extra rest in terms of the people who are similar in age and such.  So, when I ran upon an article entitled “Parenting and Fatigue – Tips to Overcome Parental Exhaustion” I was immediately drawn in.  You see, I look around and more often than not, I see people my age, with kids my age and they are doing so much more than I do.  They are constantly in and out of the house, running errands, cleaning, doing their own laundry, taking their kids to great places and simply enjoying themselves.  All of it seems to be a lot more than I ever mange in a week. 

Now, I know, I have some medical issues but they aren’t that severe, I certainly should be able to handle my life at this age.  And, once I read the article, lack of sleep, too many chores, unruly kids, and unsupportive spouses are listed as the main reasons for parental fatigue.  Well, let me just tell you, I get plenty of sleep, I do very few chores, my children are a bit on the wild side but husband is extremely supportive and handles a majority of the childcare duty once he arrives home at night. 

So, some of the suggestions come in ideas that I think we are all aware of, we just push to the side in the name of trying to get more accomplished.  Nutritionally balanced diets, regular exercise, ample sleep, relaxation and socializing are listed as some of the biggest culprits.  Well, I will say that I meet the standard in most cases other than relaxation and socialization and even lately I’ve been high on the socialization train. 

Go read the article, see what you think and come back and let me know.

As I spend time looking and researching areas in which I can find information for you all, I sometimes happen to find sites that I’m not real sure about.  However, as an attendee at Mom 2.0 Summit this weekend, I had the opportunity to meet some people who not only are responsible for the site Local Kidz Stuff.  When I am fortunate enough to meet people in person, I feel much better about recommending the sites.

What I found was a place to serve as a local resource for events, places and services.  It is free to use and list resource thus you can rest assured that the listings are honest.  The sites are locally owned and managed and the Chamber of Commerce in each area plays a big role in managing the events. 

You can find reviews and ratings that will help you make a decision on where to do business and you can then integrate with Google Maps to help find the resources closest to you.

You can go now and sign-up, it’s free and start checking out all the resources available to you.

I know I’ve mentioned Parent Hacks before, but I think it’s such a clever website.  I have it set up in my RSS reader so I can catch all these good ideas as they happen.  And more often than not, I see an idea that I might not have thought of before.  Even better, I might see a solution to a problem that has plagued me for ages.  That’s what happened when I checked the feed yesterday and saw this little tip.  The tip states that instead of worrying all winter about whether your baby or toddler is keeping their socks on all the time, just put them in tights instead.  There won’t be any gap in between the socks and the pants either and their legs will be kept nice and toasty warm.  At first, I blew it off.  After all, my youngest is a boy and boys don’t wear tights.  The article said boys can wear tights as easily as girls can, especially at that young of an age.   As long as you aren’t putting anything on that has a flowery design or isn’t pink, it could be completely gender appropriate.  Think whites, navy blues and blacks.  And little boys are just as deserving of warm legs as little girls are, aren’t they?

And think back to all those times that you’ve been out in the store with your little one, their shoes long since kicked off.  You’re in the checkout line, just about ready to check out when you look down and notice they’re missing a sock.  You don’t have any chance to go back and look through the store and it’s cold outside.  I’m sure this has happened to virtually every parent out there at one time or another.  I know it has happened to me.

Plus think of how easily all those tiny baby socks get lost in the wash.  It’s almost virtually impossible to keep all those wee socks together as they’re getting washed and dried and you almost always lose at least one.

The only issue is that the bottoms of the tights aren’t skid-proof so if you have hard floors in your home, you may want to put slippers on your child so they don’t slip and fall.  That or you could try putting some tape on the bottom or even some puffed paint, as the article suggests.  Still, I think slippers on a baby are just adorable so I would probably take that opportunity myself.

I saw this one on Parent Hacks the other day and (not for the first time) found myself saying out loud, “Of course!  Why didn’t I think of that??”  And as parents, we’ve all been down this particular sticky road before.  The baby has a particularly nasty and explosive “diaper incident” and you have to pull that be-fouled onesie off the baby, spreading the mess since everyone on the planet pretty much takes those off by pulling them back over the head.  Right?  Well this handy tipster suggested, oh I don’t know, taking the onesie off by pulling it down instead.  GENIUS.  It makes sense, given that the onesie has the extra-wide neck on purpose so that it could be pulled easily over large noggins and so it could easily accommodate going back down over the hips.  Voila.  Problem solved, no?