A Habit that Warms Children

Deliberately catching your child's eye and sending a kind, focused smile specifically to them.  

I remember reading once that children's evaluation of how physically attractive a person is centers largely around how much that person smiles.  Smiling at your children not only makes you prettier in their eyes, but it creates a special bond between you.  

Sometimes in the midst of dirty diapers and laundry and busyness smiling does not come naturally, but you can practice it as a discipline.  Be intentional about smiling at each of your children often, and it will change your outlook as well as delight your child.

Animal Print Sticker Backs

Don't these sticker backgrounds looks surprisingly like giraffe animal print? M thought so (and thankfully, with no hair on her arms and legs yet, it didn't hurt coming off!)

The Little House

Toddler Activity Disaster

I don't usually write posts about the activities that don't turn out so well, but this morning's activity was so awful that I just had to share.

It was supposed to work like this (I read about the idea in a book):

1. Using masking tape, mark several familiar shapes on the carpet.
2. Using different actions, tell the child to go to each shape. (run to the square, hop to the triangle, etc)
3. Child runs, frolicks and plays while learning her shapes!

M did not think this sounded like fun. (I think partly as a reflection of the terrible twos- following directions is something one has to put up with all day to stay out of trouble- it is NOT a fun game). I didn't want the time and effort to be a total waste; so I told her that she could give ME directions for moving from shape to shape.

That was mildly more interesting to her- but only mildly. I should have just given up on the whole idea, but I was stubbornly determined to make it fun. Knowing how much she enjoys it when we turn somersaults together, I told her that she could tell me to somersault to the different shapes.

Apparently my tumbling ability needs a little work. Instead of saulting to the diamond, I catapulted crookedly into M, kicking her in the head with my feet and sending her flying backward into the wall. Poor little girl...I'm afraid this incident has ruined our somersaulting fun for a long while!

Baby's First Laugh Party

I read recently that the Navajo traditionally throw a party to celebrate a baby's first laugh. Doesn't that sound like a fun idea?

The Most Extraordinary Thing

"The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children." -- G.K Chesterton

Young Folks at Play

If you are in any doubt as to whether or not children were more creative in their play before the advent of television take a look at this picture that my dad found me. The painting is from 1560 by the Flemish artist Pieter Brueghel. In it are depicted over 80 children's activities. Go here if you would like to learn more about some of the games in the painting. (You may also click on the picture to get a magnified view) Very fun!

Scientific link between family fun and safer teen lifestyles

I ran across an interesting article recently highlighting a study by Boston College that linked family fun and safer teens. The study found that families that ate together and enjoyed fun family activities were less likely to have teens who engaged in risky sexual behaviors.

Click here to read a news article and here to read the actual study published in The Journal of Adolescent Health.

Nothing here that most of us wouldn't have guessed, but it's still encouraging and motivating, isn't it?