My daughter is at that age around 18 months where she knows what she wants but she can’t always communicate it to me. She used to point to the refridgerator and whine when she wanted a drink or cry at the bottom of the stairs when she was tired and wanted to go up to bed. Since I have little patience for whining and screaming, I decided that an intervention needed to happen! I knew that she wasn’t just whining to annoy me– she was frustrated because she thought she wasn’t able to communicate effectively to me. All I needed to do was make her feel confident that I knew what she needed or wanted. That’s step one!

When she went to the refridgerator whining for a drink, I repeated to her what she wanted using words she knew. “Do you want your baba?” She would immediately stop whining and smile that I knew she wanted her sippy cup! When she cried at the bottom of the stairs, I would say, “Are you ready to go night night?”

Now that she was confident that she could communicate to me, she started using her words more and more. But now she was crying next to the fridge screaming “BABA! BABA!” Uh-oh… Did I make it worse?

Many times, if a toddler wants something and doesn’t get it RIGHT THEN, he/she become emotional… and since they don’t know how to regulate their emotions, it spirals into a FIT. Now she knew that I knew what she wanted… she was even using words to tell me what she wanted. But she wasn’t doing it in an appropriate way. When she would do this, I would kneel down beside her and say, “Look at Mommy. I don’t understand when you fuss— whisper. Baba.” She would whisper, “Baba.” An amazing thing happens to a toddler when he/she whispers… I have never seen a toddler that can simultaneously whisper and pitch a fit! It is a way that you can teach them to regulate their emotions, even if you can’t explain to them that that is what they are doing.

So then, anytime my daughter started whining for something, I would say, “Mommy doesn’t understand fussing!” And she would whisper and naturally calm herself down. A LOT of the whining disappeared as a result. She now knows how to regulate herself. I will notice her whine, stop, then say what she wants calmly. The whispering has turned into a calm, confident voice. When we’re at the supper table and she wants “more,” she doesn’t whine or shout. She simply says, “More?”

1. Take advantage of your public library! Most libraries have storytime or something similar for children.
2. Go to the park! It’s a great way to entertain your little ones and let them interact with other children.
3. Go on a walk or a bike ride! Most kids love being outside. It doesn’t matter how fussy my baby is– when I put her in a stroller and walk her down the street, she is happy! She also loves to take the lead and walk around with her mommy and daddy following her.
4. Put on some music and dance! It’s okay to act silly sometimes. Besides, it’s good exercise for everyone.
5. Go swimming! Don’t have a pool around you? Break out the water hose, and let them play around a sprinkler.
6. Arts & crafts! There are a million arts and crafts activities you can do with your little ones. Check out this article called “Crafts by Age” at http://familycrafts.about.com/od/craftprojectsbyage/Crafts_by_Age.htm
7. Movie night! Watch a movie you already have, or head to the library and check one out.
8. Put on a play, puppet show, fashion show, or concert to show the family! Kids love to be creative. If your kids are too young to write their own script, have them sing songs and prepare dances. (Reader’s Theater Scripts @ http://www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm)

1. Do a traditional Easter egg hunt in your yard but put nuts or Easter stickers inside the eggs instead of chocolate and candy.
2. Get out your fingerpaints! You can make little baby chicks using your thumbprints as their body. Try making an Easter bunny with your fingerprints as his ears.
3. Read an Easter story together.
4. Make Easter bunny ears using a headband and construction paper.
5. Draw Easter cards for family and friends. Inside, write an Easter poem or write a cute saying like ”Somebunny wanted to say, ‘Happy Easter!’”
6. Print out some Easter coloring pages from a website such as this one: http://www.coloring-page.net/easter.html
7. Cut out 10 Easter eggs out of thick white paper. Divide the eggs into 5 pairs. Each pair should be decorated the same way. Then, mix them up and place them in 2 rows of 5 face down. Play the memory game.
8. Have a bunny hop race with the whole family.

Be active!
- Create a treasure hunt with a “pot of gold” at the end
- Cut shamrocks out of green construction paper and play hopscotch

Eat healthy!
- Cook a healthy Irish stew with lots of veggies
- Make some sugar free green jello for dessert

Be creative!
- Print some St. Patrick’s Day coloring sheets and make them your dinner placemats
- Draw a picture of a rainbow or some shamrocks

Learn!
- Find as many green things around the house as you can
- Read a story about the history of St. Patrick’s Day such as this one: http://www.alphabet-soup.net/hol/sphist.html

Deciding to stay at home to raise your children can be one of the most difficult decisions you will ever make as a mother. On the one hand, you want to be the one with them all day—raising them, watching them grow, comforting them when they need someone. But on the other hand, you want to be able to provide for them financially so that they have everything they need and deserve. If you are thinking about staying at home with your children, you have to be willing to make some changes in your lifestyle.

Women and men share the same rights so they are expected to play the same role. As women were struggling for the same rights as men, they somehow equated it to being the same as men—wearing pants, being dominant, or working outside of the home. All of these things are wonderful IF you still can still celebrate the differences between the two genders. Men and women can be equals without being the same. Women that wish to stay at home to raise their children should be empowered rather than ridiculed.

And on that note, fathers should be able to be stay-at-home dads, too!

They may not know it, but children thrive with structure. They need to know what comes next. Have you ever taken your child on a trip that has disrupted their schedule? What do you hear from them all the way there? “Are we there yet?” “When will we be there?” Children need to know! Babies that are not on a routine can feel insecure when they do not know what to expect. A schedule creates security and comfort and limits the amount of stress that children feel.

Another reason to place your kids on a consistent schedule is so that they can learn how to manage their time effectively. Older children need to know what time, for example, their bus will be there to pick them up for school in order to get ready for the day. There needs to be an established time to complete homework or chores if you expect these things to be finished. Imagine, as an adult, going to work and not being told what you need to have accomplished and when it should be completed. Would you be expected to be productive in that kind of an environment.

If you have small children that cannot tell time, make sure you have cues that let them know to prepare for certain activities. This can be as simple as placing your baby in a highchair and putting on his/her bib before it is time to eat. Many parents like to start picking up toys before bath and bedtime. It is always a great idea to wind-down with a good story before it is time for bed.

Although having a consistent schedule is important, you need to make some room for flexibility. However, if your children eat everyday at 6:30pm, make sure that around that time you are near some food or you might have a problem on your hands!