Another year down, and another set of parenting lessons came our way. Sure there were WAY MORE things learned but here are a few fun tidbits to amuse or inform you today. (And in case you need more chuckles, here are the things I learned year one and year two!)
- Plastic holiday buckets from the dollar store make great sick buckets. Brielle always seemed to pick up the latest bout of stomach virus at daycare every 6 months or so. It wasn’t until she was over 2 that she learned when sickness was coming and “spit” in a bucket. We had some of those plastic buckets left over from Easter or Halloween that worked out great for this concept! Grab extras and dispose of them once used for a long night!
- Stuff kids with a big breakfast before a party. Even if you don’t feed your child a lot of sweets and treats when attending a party they will always find it (or grandma will give it to them)! To limit the amount of things they may want to eat, try to cram a healthy, filling breakfast or lunch in their bellies before attending so they aren’t grazing for sugar or snacks.
- Kids are never too old start a bad habit. When Brielle transitioned to a new room at daycare, she met a 3 year old thumb sucker. At 2.5 she too began sucking her thumb during daytime hours even though she never did that as a baby! We’re currently working on breaking that habit since it was showing to start shifting her teeth!
- Wear sneakers to the playground. They can stub their toe in sandals or get too much sand or mulch in shoes with lots of holes. Sneakers are best. In fact, packing sneakers in the car in summer is a great idea for any impromptu outdoor play sessions.
- When doing your child’s laundry, always check the fitted/crib sheets for missing socks before putting in drawer. Whenever I go to change the sheets on the bed and put on a new fitted sheet, small baby socks always fly out of those hidden folds!
- Don’t go to field trip destinations in June! In NJ school ends around the 3rd week of June. We mistakenly visited a local children’s museum this June which was completely filled with field trips which left Brielle and my niece very overwhelmed by the environment. We’ll save future visits for other months of the year, thanks!
- Rompers make the best outfits to wear for doctor’s visits for babies, but not for potty training toddlers. How cute is the romper trend for toddlers? I was so into it and even bought a set for Brielle but before taking off the tag, I had an epiphany that it would be an AWFUL idea for potty training! Long dresses are already a struggle to remind her to hold them high when on the potty. Meanwhile that same week of the epiphany, I took Hailey to a doctor’s visit where she got shots in her legs. So much easier to have her in a romper and no need to take off pants for those shots!
- Kids have a great memory. For Christmas, the elf on the shelf brought up a snowman making kit to make a snowman on our white basement door. It was a fun activity that she enjoyed… and I completely forgot about. But every morning she’d talk about it when she first woke up, even though we never even walked by that door. The memory they have is amusing!
- Kids take phrases literally. Because why wouldn’t they? It always makes me laugh when I use a common phrase and hear it through her ears. When I say I’m going to “hop in the shower” I didn’t realize it would confuse her as to why I was standing still! “Hold on” meaning give me a minute usually includes her grabbing onto me to literally hold on. Also saying “that’s right” was confusing when we began learning left from right this summer, so Derek and I have now adjusted our speech to say “that’s correct” when confirming something to be true.
- Napkins cannot be plates. I often grab a napkin to use a makeshift “plate” (aka crumb catcher) when eating something like a brownie or cupcake but in a child’s eyes that paper materials is only for wiping your hands and face.
- Don’t glance over the little things. The littlest thing can be a big thing to a kid. Their innocence and amazement, even for the little things in life is still so charming at this young age. Example: EVERY time Brielle tries something on, she seems amazed there are pockets. “Look mom, pockets!” So now I try to buy her pants with pockets.
- ¾ sleeves are confusing to toddlers. I love them as they are great transition shirts to wear between seasons. But to a toddler, they are annoying and Brielle was always complaining the sleeves were too short to cover her arms.
- Leave their diaper on until you are absolutely ready to drop them in the tub for bathtime. This was a lesson Derek learned the hard way as he undressed Hailey in the bathroom but continued to fill the tub. Let’s just say there was a flood outside the tub as well as inside.
Share some of your nuggets of wisdom you’re learned in this adventure we call parenting!
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