You Did It!

End of an era and start of something new! To deep for a preschool graduation? I am just so proud of Chase and the amazing kid he is becoming. It may only be preschool but to a five year old with his amount of life experience this far, it is BIG! I think he learned how to finish strong, say good bye and move forward knowing he had closure. What a good feeling to move onto Kindergarden with! Be proud of yourself son, you did it!

My Picky Eater

I am a total foodie, so of course my children would be. They wouldn't know any better, I would present them with gourmet baby food and they will grow up eating sprouted peas for snack and think prunes were candy..... right?

Yeah, wishful thinking! In reality my children have a mind of their own. I had my first child, a sensitive yet stubborn son named Chase. He nursed easily enough and at 6 months we introduced rice cereal with no problems. I had been told to introduce hardy vegetables first to lessen my child potential sweet tooth so I made him a butternut squash puree and it has been veggie war at my house ever since!

I moved on to the sweeter veggies, totally abandoning my original plan, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots. Pursed lip my son refused. I literally tried everything I could think of plus took the advice from anyone else who had an idea. I force fed, reintroduced over a hundred times, "Here comes the air plane, open the hanger," switched to store bought food, all to no avail. When I moved on to fruits we had better luck so I thought, 'maybe I can hide veggies in here,' NOPE! I swear Chase may have the most sensitive sense of smell, he would turn his head before I even made it all the way to his high chair. I was beyond frustrated, but mostly I was concerned about his nutrition, so I did the only thing that made sense to me at the time, I force fed. This went on for three years! He learned to like frozen peas but that was about it. I became sneaky, I would hide vegetable puree in almost all his food, spinach in a fruit smoothie zucchini in meat loaf. I had some success but most of the time he could detect a difference in flavor or texture, he could even separate the veggies out with his tongue!

It wasn't until a nutritionist came and spoke at my sons preschool that I realized that I had been creating an unhealthy relationship around food for my son. She also taught us that children's nutritional needs are different from an adults, while we need to eat fruits and vegetables every day children can get their needs filled over the course of a week. That took so much pressure off! The instructor of the preschool also challenged the parents to serve food at home they way they do at school; a platter of assorted fresh fruits and veggies first then a carb and protein after. I rose to the challenge and started making fruit and veggie platters for my son every day. Finally peace at meal time! Dinner time used to be so stressful, he would cry and say his stomach hurt before he even knew what we were having. When I let go of trying to control what Chase ate, he began to try new foods on his own, I couldn't believe it!

Now Chase is in control of of his eating habits. When he his hungry he can go to the fridge and grab a fruit or veggie from the tray, if he doesn't like what I have made for dinner he can make himself a bowl of plain Cherrios, a PB&J or any fruits and veggies he wants. I saw a huge change in Chase's whole personality he seems happier and more willing to try new things not to mention he had a huge growth spurt!

Testimonial

Friday was my last day with a little girl I have watched since she was a newborn . . . snif, snif. This is always a bitter sweet moment in the life of a childcare provider. I love her and have watched her grow and now it's time for her to move on to preschool. Her mother wrote me this thank you letter . . .

"I can't tell you how much I have appreciated you these past few years. You have become a part of our family. 'My daughter' has really adapted to you and the other kids. Without your guidance, support and dedication we both would not be where we are today emotionally, mentally, physically and socially. You have worked wonders with 'her' in her academics, social skills and in helping in the mess of co-parenting with her father. For this I can't thank you enough."

Don't say "OK"

Sorry friends, I know it has been awhile since my last blog, life happens! But there is one little word that has shocked me out of my brief retirement. The word by itself may seem innocent enough but it can be the start of a big mess. I hear parents adding it to the end of almost all of there sentences when talking to their child, it sneaks its way in as a question and allows a child to believe they have a choice when a subject my be non-negotiable ....... ok.

"Mommy has to go to work now,ok?"

"Daddy will play with you after I finish feeding the baby, ok?"

"You have to hold my hand when we cross the street, ok?"

The immediate response from a three year old to all of these questions is normally "NO!" And I don't know about you but holding my spirited three year old daughters hand across the street is non-negotiable, so why ask, "ok" as if she has a choice in the matter. I am all for giving age appropriate choices when the options are something you can live with but some things shouldn't have wiggle room. You are just setting yourself up for an argument with a child.

A lot of the time I think parents mean to say, "Did you hear/understand me?" but why not just say that? Or even have them repeat back to you what they heard you say. My kids also know the meaning of, "non-negotiable." On the flip side sometimes there is wiggle room and you can ask them to "convince me."

All I am suggesting to my fellow parents it that you become aware of how often you add "ok" to the end of your sentence. Do they have a choice in the matter or not? Mean what you say, thats all and trust me, many of the little squables you have had with your child will go away just by leaving out that one little word......ok?

Ventilate Your Home

I am a member of a fantastic organization called Green Care for Children that encourages everyone from childcare facilities to grandparents to practice green standards. They recently asked me to submit a poster for their booth at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival illustrating one of the Green Care pledge promises. We chose to illustrate how our daycare provides the best air quality possible by properly ventilating our home everyday.

This really is one of the easiest steps you can make towards greener living. Everyday we simply wake up and open all the windows in the house allowing the fresh air in and the harmful built up VOC's out. Even on a cold day we leave the windows open for at least an hour, but on a nice day we just leave them open all day long. I encourage all of you to start this routine today!

5 Tips for Growing "Green" Kids

1) Switch plastic baggies for reusable containers when packing your kids lunches. If you find it hard to pack a lunch without plastic then start teaching your kids about recycling and proper disposal. All plastic bags can be recycled in the bins in front of most grocery stores.

2) Save money and reduce your families exposure to harmful chemicals by cleaning with vinegar. At about $2.00 a gallon, vinegar really is a money saving option. The acidic Ph kills almost all viruses and bacteria, just switch up the concentration of vinegar to water depending on what you are cleaning. The all purpose cleaner we use at my daycare is 2 cups water, 2 table spoons vinegar and 2 drops tea tree oil mixed in a squirt bottle.

3) Compost! My garden has never looked so beautiful! You can buy a compost bin, make one from an old trash can or even just dig a hole in the back yard. Save all your organic kitchen scraps and yard waste, water occasionally and wah-lah, Soil!

4) Buy non toxic art supplies or make your own. Many store bought products contain preservatives that can be bad for our kids and our environment. Refer to my blog called "Recipe For Play" for instructions on making your own play dough and more.

5) Ventilate your home everyday to release toxic VOC's (volatile organic compounds) that build up. Let the fresh air and sunshine in for at least an hour everyday!

My Cleaning Priority

For those of you who know me you know that I don't like cleaning, I LOVE cleaning! I like to know where everything is, a place for everything and everything in its place. I like to know that my home has been deep down cleaned. I like knowing the tub has been scrubbed before I soak, I want the 5 second rule to last a whole minute on my floors, I dream about polished faucets and have nightmares about dust bunnies, I want my house to sparkle but most of all I want to do the cleaning, I think it is fun!

Before you start thinking I am some sort of neat freak, let me explain that my above statements are true but mostly fantasy. I run a daycare people! I don't have that kind of time on my hands! With my business, my two kids, two dogs and carpenter/musician husband, I feel like my house is always dirty. Sure I pick up everyday and because I am an organizer my home may appear to be tidy but I know that it isn't eat off the floors clean and it is the cause of much of my stress. I used make time everyday for cleaning one room in my house, but then I had kids and realized quality time with them was more important. So while I think having a clean home and setting good cleaning habits for my kids is important, the dishes will always be there when you get back. Silly time with my family and making memories is my priority.