What is your more unusual parenting advice for others? - Page 2

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by Linda KS

1. Make playdough. I believe that playdough is the answer to many problems.

What's your favorite recipe? How long does it last and how hard is it to clean up?

Most of my unique parenting advice is stuff I don't think of as strange, but apparently other people have never thought of it.

1. Put your baby in pajamas every night when you want to go to bed, even though they're often already wearing something suitable. They eventually learn to associate changing their clothes in the evening with going to bed, which makes the transition easier without coercing them into a schedule.

2. Choose your battles. Is it really worth your time and energy to fight over whether or not he blows bubbles in his milk? Is anyone really going to care if he wears mismatched socks? Will the sky fall if he wears the striped shirt with the plaid pants?

3. Don't drink/eat stuff while your kid is awake if you're not willing to share it. :LOL Put it away for later and call it a vacation.

[Linda KS]

Originally Posted by eilonwy

What's your favorite recipe? How long does it last and how hard is it to clean up?

Stove-Top Playdough from the Feed Me I'm Yours recipe book

1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
food color

Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a medium pot. Add water, oil, and food coloring. Cook and stir over medium heat 3-5 minutes. Mixture will look like a globby mess. When it forms a ball in the center of the pot, turn and knead on a lightly floured surface or on wax paper. Store in an air-tight container or zip lock bag.

This last for a long time. Being open to the air makes it dry out, so after kids have played with it a lot it gets sort of icky, but sealed up in a bag it will last for months and month.

It is a little sticky when it first comes out of the pan, before it is all the way cool. That is the reason for the wax paper. Even if you don't use wax paper it will wash up pretty easily.

My kids have to use it at the table, so the mess is very contained. Little pieces of playdough end up on the floor, but they sweep up easily. I keep the playdough in a ziplock bag and store it in a rubbermaind container along with rolling pins, cookie cutter, little plastic dishes, a fun factory, strange things for pressing into playdough like sea shells and pony bead, etc. It only takes a few minutes to get everything back in the box and wipe off the table. (A storage container with playdough toys and homemade playdough is a great gift for a little kid).

This is a great cooking project to do along side your child. Even a really little toddler can enjoy dumping the ingredients in the pot and stiring them together. The recipe doesn't have to be exact -- if they spill a little of the flour or whatever on the table, the recipe will still come out fine.

2.Choose your battles. Is it really worth your time and energy to fight over whether or not he blows bubbles in his milk? Is anyone really going to care if he wears mismatched socks? Will the sky fall if he wears the striped shirt with the plaid pants?

yes!

[Zach'smom]

Playdough is the answer!

I have to agree with the playdough thing. Playdough is the only thing that will keep my 3 y/o son entertained for longer then 10 seconds. He got tons of fancy plastic toys that light up and make noise for his birthday, but what did he go for. Playdough. We can sit and play for hours!

[jlspalding]

oooh, I have some!

Place a paper butterfly (or airplane, whatever) over baby's changing table. It should be light, so that while your hands are busy, you can blow on it and make it move!

chopsticks. My child will eat just about anything off them, because they are different and fun.

Puddling. This isn't too wildly creative, but we love it. Now I have big rubber boots so that I can join in.

I second the washcloth idea. I have a huge stack that I bought for our homebirth, and they are great for everything and less wasteful.

I agree with the bath with children. It's fun, relaxing, and it seems easier to clean them. I have a plastic "geriatric" chair that I bought during pregnancy, and I can put that up on the edge and dangle my feet if I don't want to get in.

I LOVE drawing on the linoleum idea! That sounds like great fun.

I also go the the thrift store and buy tons of big T-shirts for DD to sleep in. They are way cheaper and easier than pajamas, and lots of fun. (she has a batman one that is awesome). Originally I bought them for her to paint in, and they are still great for that, too.

Sidewalk chalk: equal parts water and cornstarch, plus food coloring.

Once or twice, my husband and I made a hammock out of the Rebozo sling and swung DD to sleep. You need two people, though, and if they squirm, they can fall out easily.

We also drew on our faces with bathtub soap crayons and had a mirror so we could see what we looked like.

Jessica

[jlspalding]

One more:

Make an inside Winter playhouse out of a refridgerator box, or more than one if you can get 'em. My plan was that it would be an ongoing project, and we would paint it, collage it, add windows, stickers, etc. through the entire winter. You could duck tape curtains, make it into a nap nook, or a pooping nook. It could be big enough for the play kitchens, too.

That said, you'd have to have the space to build it!

Jessica

[siddie]

Use a warm, damp baby washcloth for runny noses instead of kleenex - it feels better and your child won't get the sore, red nose from wiping.