Back to School Tips for Newbie Parents

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Erica and Lorraine

Parents who have young children (aged 3 – 5 yrs) will have to start preparing their children, as well as preparing themselves, for the emotional and physical elements of entering the school system.  Since many are first time parents they will not be familiar with the “rules” associated with the school system (private or public).  They will also not be familiar with the emotional stresses associated with leaving their children for the first time.

As a mother of two young children and Published Co-Author of a parenting book and parenting blog I have put together some top tips for parents with kids entering school for the first time!

1)      Kids may have to have all of their vaccinations up to date before they enter school for the first time.  You should check with your child’s school before registering.

2)      Allergies are a big concern these days. Schools require snacks that are peanut free and many allow only water (instead of juice boxes). 

3)      Keep it organized. Remember to label everything with a sharpie pen or label maker.  There will most likely be 2-3 of the same snack bag in the class so you want your child to easily identify their own.

4)      Buy backpacks that are good quality (but not more than 10 – 15% of their total body weight) so that you aren’t replacing them every couple of months (quality over fashion) or both if you can get it.  Be sure to include a small bottle of hand sanitizer with the backpack so that your child can get into a habit of cleaning their hands before snack time.  Your little ones immune systems will be very challenged entering school and they will bring home lots of surprises, especially in the Fall.

5)      Footwear is either a parent and teacher’s dream or a nightmare. Buy Velcro runners so that the kids can easily put on and take off their own shoes and the teachers don’t have to help them. This doesn’t take the place of teaching them to lace up their own shoes, but it can make the transition a lot easier.

6)      Have a “count-down” calendar for the kids to see and to manually count down the days until school begins.  Communicate with your child about what will happen on the first day of school and articulate how exciting everything will be.  This will help kids to mentally prepare themselves for the big day and have an understanding of what will transpire on that day.

Take steps to ease you and your child’s emotional turmoil associated entering school for the first time. A stressed parent will  ultimately affect their child. Here are some top tips to make you and your children feel better. Crawl, walk, run!:

1)      Drive or walk to the school a couple of times before the first day so that the kids can visualize where they are going on the first day and it’s not scary for them.  Even play at the school park so that the kids feel comfortable with their surroundings

2)      If you know some of the kids that will be in their class try to set up a play date with them the week before so that they are familiar with some of their classmates on the first day.

3)      Get into the bedtime and wake up time routine a week before school starts so that your kids don’t feel “rushed” on the first day of school.  They will know what is expected of them.

4)      Take  your kids to buy their school supplies.  Having them pick out the school supplies and school clothes (or having a say in it) will get them excited about using them.

5)      To alleviate separation anxiety arrange for your child to go to a sitter (not their regular babysitter) only for 30 – 60 minutes.  This will help them practice saying “good-bye” and show them that mommy or daddy WILL be back to get them at the end of class.  This will make the first day of school easier for them.

These tips and tricks are a few of many out there for newbie parents.  Talk to your friends and neighbors for their suggestions on how to make that first day easier.  The more information you can arm yourself with, the better!

PS.  You also may want to stock up on Kleenex for the big day…..it’s a tear jerker!!!!!

To watch our segment on Breakfast Television regarding back to school tips and tricks click here

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Introducing Linda Bear – My Woody

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Erica and Lorraine

I’d been warned Toy Story 3 was a tear jerker. We saw it this weekend and sure enough 10 minutes before the end I was battling with a golfball-sized lump in my throat. It’s fine to have a silent weep in the movie theatre, but as I got more choked up I was a little worried that my pent up tears were about to explode in an all-too-audible sob. I looked over at Pickle and she was fine, and hubs wants to stress that of course he was fine too (man grunt), but my mom was doing some discreet dabbing at her eyes with a tissue and we had a little mom-to-mom giggle about it when the lights went up.

I’ve always been a weeper in films, in fact having a good cry watching a movie at home is part of the enjoyment (think the full box of tissues flicks: Beaches, ET, Steel Magnolias, Kramer vs Kramer, Forest Gump, Titanic, Schindler’s List, The Colour Purple, The Green Mile) but I think it’s worse now I’m a mom – my emotional dial seems to have been turned up a couple of notches. I snivelled through Carl & Ellie’s little silent love-story in Up and even had watery eyes at the death of the firefly in ‘The Princess and the Frog.

One thing that struck me as unrealistic in Toy Story 3 (what? aside from the main characters being walking, talking toys?) was that those playthings were in remarkably good condition considering their age and what Andy put them through in his highly imaginative games. Anyway, it got me to thinking about my childhood toys. I didn’t have a whole gang of play pals like Andy did, but I did have a Woody equivalent. Sitting here at the computer in my mum & dad’s house where we’re holidaying for a couple of weeks I can look over and see my Woody squashed a little unceremoniously under a couple of other less important bears. She needs rescuing and treating with a little more respect!

Meet Linda bear.

Linda the teddy bear

Linda bear age 40

Now here is what a well-loved toy looks like in real life – she’s stained, has threadbare paws and seems to have suffered some kind of multiple internal organ collapse. I have to admit Linda wasn’t my first love. That was a white bear called Snowy. But one day when I was about 18 months old, 3 of us went on a shopping trip and tragically only 2 returned. I was inconsolable until a kind auntie bought me Linda as a replacement. Linda was my bedtime pal, my plaything and my friend. She wasn’t a toy; she was real. I had a vanity case full of doll’s clothes, mostly knitted by relatives, to dress her in (I’m a little concerned that she’s now sitting on the shelf naked). When my mum was pregnant with my brother my parents let me choose the middle names. Had he been a girl he would have been named ‘Claire Linda’. Linda had to be left behind when we moved to Canada in 1999 because we were travelling light and she now lives in peaceful semi-retirement here at my parents’.

It’s wise to keep a couple of things in mind when offering up potential Woodys to a little one. Firstly try to disuade them from falling in love with a ‘surface wash only’ pal. Inevitably Baby’s lovvie will be barfed on, dropped down the toilet, dragged around the playground, and used as a tissue. After any such ordeal a washable pal can be wrestled from Baby’s clutches, given a quick joy-ride in the washing machine and be back on duty before morning. Secondly, it’s good to have an identical understudy buddy waiting in the wings. The back-up can step in while #1 takes that trip to the laundry and can take over permanently to save heartbreak if #1 suffers the same fate as my Snowy.

Bedtime Bunny

Bedtime Bunny age 6

Pickle’s Woody is Bedtime Bunny. (S)he must be the only toy to have had a sex change. He was most definitely a boy when Pickle first became attached to him, despite being pink. To me he looked like a guy bunny comfortable with his feminine side. But then about 2 years ago Pickle became gender conscious and everything in her inner circle had to be feminine and (luckily for BB) pink. BB was suddenly a ‘She’. BB is thankfully washable but sadly has no understudy. I wanted to buy a bunny backup and I knew the shop that stocked them, but by the time I realised the hold he she had on Pickle’s heart it was too late – pink bunnies were no longer in stock. BB is therefore only allowed to accompany us out of the house if we are staying away from home over night. If I had my way BB wouldn’t be allowed to stray out of Pickle’s bed. All too often there is a panic at bedtime when the ‘stupid rabbit’ (my words, not hers) can’t be located. After 20 minutes of frantic searching we’ll find him her stuffed in the wine rack, a backpack, a dressing gown pocket – all depending on the last game BB was involved in. Bedtime Bunny simply has to be found otherwise Pickle will ‘never sleep again’ (her words, not mine).

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Children’s Food Tasting Party Encourages Healthy Eating

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Erica and Lorraine

What do you do when you have a hard time getting your children to eat their veggies?  Here’s a fun idea that worked like a charm on my children, who range in age from three to six years old (but any solid food eating age would work :-) . We threw a “food tasting party”.

A food tasting party works like this:

1. Announce with great fanfare that you are throwing a super-cool party and you need the kids’ help planning it;

2. Tell them that it’s going to be a special “taste test party”, with some great new foods (insert veggie names here); make sure you are honest about the foods you will be serving, but make it sound like the fun adventure it is going to be;

3. If (or when!) the kids express suspicion or dismay, encourage them by telling them that you will be cleansing their palate in between tastings with… (pick your not-too-sweet treat and insert it here) and explain that a “tasting” means only one bite.

4. The keys are: the festive atmosphere, getting the kids involved with the planning, and the presentation of foods in a party style.

Gather four new foods you’d like your children to try. Think about how to present them in a fun way; can you use cookie cutters to make fun shapes? Or can you arrange them in a funny face on the plate?  Do your children love sauces? Ketchup?  Even if a vegetable (or fruit!) would not normally be served with a condiment, does it really matter? The point is to get the kids to try it… if that means lettuce dipped in a bit of ketchup do we really care?  All we really want from the tasting party is for the kids to have fun and to learn to be open to trying new food.

Getting the children to buy into the process early is important. Ask the kids to help prepare the foods and set out the palate-cleansing treats (tip: don’t pick a treat that is too sweet – it just makes vegetables seem more sour. Instead, try something neutral, like a favorite cracker, animal cookies or another plain food).

Make sure you participate in the tasting, too.  Tell them that after they each have a taste, they can put a blindfold on you and feed you a surprise bite.  If your children decide to dip your lettuce in ketchup, make a big deal of what a unique flavor it is – and how wonderful it is to try new things, even if we decide after that we don’t like them.

We’ve thrown tasting parties several times. Do my kids now absolutley love all vegetables?  Not at all, but they are remarkably willing to try new foods – both at home and out.  And that’s a great step!

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