Karissa Tunis

Easy Steps for Pacifier Weaning without Frustration

Over the weekend I realized that younger son has been weaned from his pacifier for a few weeks now! He will turn two in a month so I am happy that we don’t have to worry about it anymore. And I am even happier that the pacifier weaning process was pretty painless (for everyone involved). My older son also gave up his pacifier around this age, and it was also a smooth process. So I figured I would explain how we were able to go through the pacifier weaning without tears for both boys….

Strawberry Lemonade Refresher Recipe

Fresh strawberries flavor this healthy, homemade lemonade. By sweetening with honey instead of sugar, this option offers a healthy alternative to other beverages. So try this strawberry lemonade recipe today for a refreshing, kid-friendly drink!

This article is written by Lindsey Cover
For more on this topic, check out the full Potty Training & Pacifiers and Recipes collection

Lindsey Cover

Strawberry Lemonade Refresher

Fresh strawberries flavor this healthy, homemade lemonade—sweetened with honey rather than sugar—for a refreshing, kid-friendly drink!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings: 6

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 lb Strawberries
2 Meyer Lemons juice of
1/3 cup Honey or to taste
4 cups Cold Water divided

Method

Combine strawberries, lemon juice, honey, and 2 cups water into a powerful blender. Blend on high until smooth, approximately 1-2 minutes.
Pour into a large pitcher and stir in remaining 2 cups water. If necessary, add more sweetener to taste.
Serve over ice.

Strawberry Lemonade Refresher Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb strawberries
juice of 2 Meyer lemons
1/3 cup honey (or to taste)
4 cups cold water, divided

Directions:

Combine strawberries, lemon juice, honey, and 2 cups water into a powerful blender. Blend on high until smooth, approximately 1-2 minutes.
Pour into a large pitcher and stir in remaining 2 cups water. If necessary, add more sweetener to taste.
Serve over ice.

Serves 6

PRINT THE RECIPE

POTTY TRAINING & PACIFIERS

In this collection, we cover a variety of tips and strategies to help get you through the toddler years a bit more smoothly! Learn how fellow, experienced parents potty trained their children and weaned them from their pacifiers. Then take those ideas and implement them in a way that will work best for your family!

For more on this topic, check out the full Potty Training & Pacifiers and Recipes collection

Featured Contributor: Lindsey Cover

Lindsey Cover is a work-at-home wife and mom of two young boys, Jadon and Owen. She blogs about affordable healthy living, money-saving methods, simple recipes, and more at SimpleSaverWife.com

Facebook: @SimpleSaverWife
Instagram: @SimpleSaverWife
Pinterest: @SimpleSaverWife

Pacifier Alternatives for Babies

While pacifiers are a great tool for many parents, my experience with my son was very different. Despite my plans for using pacifiers, we ended up using pacifier alternatives for babies. Here’s my story of why……

The Pacifier Fairy – A Fun Way to Get Rid of the Pacifier

Recently I have had the pacifier talk with several friends. Deciding when to get rid of the pacifier is a big decision! For some children it may be a minor event. But for others like my kids, it was a huge adjustment! So, I decided to call on the Pacifier Fairy (otherwise known as the Paci Fairy) for a little extra help!

If you haven’t heard of the Paci Fairy, then allow me to let you in on a little secret – She Is Amazing! And she is exactly what my kids needed!

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Potty Training Advice – How I potty trained all 3 of my kids in a few days

As a mom of three kids who each potty trained in a matter of only a few days, I wanted to share my potty training advice step by step with all of you! Keep in mind that every child is different. But in this parenting article, I’m sharing strategies that have worked well for each of my children – despite their differences.

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How Many Days Have You Been a Parent?

How many days have I been a parent? This simple question resulted in a whirlwind that has reached 2 million people on Facebook (and counting)! To find out for yourself, Google this: “How many days since [ your first child’s birthdate ].”

– Check out the viral Facebook post HERE –

How many days have I been a parent personally? 3,500 days right on the nose! And that number was amazing to see.

Those numbers are validating because we know just how much goes into each and every day as a parent! Being a parent is not a 9-5 job. There is no paid time off (in fact you don’t get paid at all). And you work nights and weekends. Picturing thousands of days of parenting makes you understand why you feel permanently tired!

It also puts the various stages of parenting into perspective. My heart goes out to the parents who haven’t even hit triple digit numbers yet. Those early days of parenthood are so challenging in so many different ways! Making it through baby’s first year is an accomplishment all on its own because each and every day is so intense.

There are the parents like me that are currently in that sweet spot of parenting. Our kids still need us, but their problems are still relatively small. Sure, we spend hours in the minivan trekking to and from youth sports and other activities; but the kids can at least buckle themselves into said minivan unlike the toddler stage that is in your rearview mirror.

I was able to look up to the parents just a few thousand days ahead of me and respectfully understand that they are trying to navigate the teenage years. Those parents have bigger concerns with real world ramifications for their children, and I can only imagine how many sleepless nights they are still enduring. The waiting, the worrying, and the wondering that goes along with raising a teenager can’t be easy.

Parenting also doesn’t stop once your child becomes an adult! There were many people commenting who were well past the 10,000 days mark, and yet they still have an incredibly important role in their children’s lives. Parenting is a beautiful commitment to a lifetime of love and helping your family through the ups and downs.

So whether you have been a parent for 8 days or 8,000… you are amazing! And you deserve credit for the many, many long hours you have dedicated to raising your family.

How many days have YOU been a parent? Share with us on Facebook!

And for parenting tips and resources, check out our full website: AdoreThemParenting.com

Five Ways To Help Your Toddler Cooperate

As infants grow into toddlerhood, they develop in amazing ways. One day, your little one isn’t even able to sit up on their own. A little while later, they are running and playing every chance they get. Beyond physical development, toddlers also grow intellectually at a rapid pace. Every day they learn a little bit more about the world, and also test new behavioral boundaries. Over time they can become more independent and strong willed. Naturally, this leads to conflict on occasion. Whether it’s a battle over bedtime, or a debate over what to have for dinner, most parents have experienced more than a few tantrums and meltdowns. Below are 5 ways to help your toddler cooperate and tips for dealing with these challenges as they arise.

This article is written by Ryan Howard
For more on this topic, check out the full All About Toddlers collection

5 Ways to Help Your Toddler Cooperate

Stay Calm

One of the biggest keys is to remember to stay calm. Toddlers are known to fly off the handle when they don’t get their way. As a parent this can be quite frustrating, particularly if you’ve had a long day. However, things will go more smoothly if one of you keeps a cool head (and this generally is not a strong suit for toddlers).

Don’t Cave

When you serve up chicken and broccoli for dinner, and your little one insists on eating ice cream instead, it can be really tempting to just give in. After all, one ice cream isn’t the end of the world. Plus, anything to make the crying stop is a good thing, right?

Not exactly. When you give in to a toddler tantrum, you are effectively teaching your young one that acting out is a good way to get what he or she wants. The more often you give in, the more often your little one will fight you on all things large and small.

Discuss Things Ahead Of Time So There Are No Surprises

Toddlers can get upset in the heat of the moment. One minute, they are blissfully playing in the living room, and then all of a sudden mommy or daddy comes out to tell them it’s time for bed. This lack of control can be frustrating for them. One way to mitigate this is to give them a heads up. You might walk over and say “in a few minutes, we have to go upstairs to brush our teeth”. Then, let them play a little while longer before telling them it’s time to go up.

To take things a step further, you might even talk to them a bit earlier in the day. Maybe while you’re having dinner you can say “I’m a little tired today, so I would appreciate it if you would cooperate when it’s time to get ready for bed. That would really help me.” Often times, communicating in this way can go a really long way.

Explain Your Point Of View

It might not always seems like it, but a lot of toddlers are quite capable of understanding your perspective. If you’re little one is in the middle of a melt down, it can be very hard to have a rational conversation. However, a few hours after the fact, or even the next day, it can be a good idea to discuss things. Simply explaining why it’s important to brush your teeth or eat a nutritious dinner can go a long way toward reinforcing good behavior.

Patience Is Key

Like a lot of things in parenthood, patience is a virtue. At the end of the day, when you’re trying to get your little one to brush his or her teeth, and you’re met with outright refusal, it can be really frustrating. All you want to do is brush those little teeth, so that both of you can get to bed. In these moments, it can be really easy to lose your temper. But, while this might get the desired result sometimes, it’s just as likely to blow up in your face. It can also lead to a more combative relationship over time. So take a deep breath and know you got this!

For more on this topic, check out the full All About Toddlers collection

Featured Contributor: Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard runs SmartParentAdvice, a site that provides parenting advice for moms and dads. Ryan writes about all of the different ups and downs of parenting, provides solutions to common challenges, and reviews products that parents need to purchase for babies and toddlers.

- Website: smartparentadvice.com

Family Conversation Starters – All About Toddlers

We hear all the time how important it is to open up the lines of communication. Communication improves relationships with partners, friends, and coworkers; but we can’t forget that it also improves our relationships with our children.

Taking the time to have a genuine conversation with your child can be so much fun and so insightful! It also helps to build up a great family bond, which is why we are offering a few family conversation starters to go a long with each curated collection of content….

A Look at Toddler Development

It is amazing how quickly children grow up and change throughout the toddler years! I remember when I had my first baby. It seemed like it took so long for her to smile, hold her head up, roll over, grab a toy, and so on. These were big accomplishments for her, but changes happened more slowly as it would take several weeks (or months) between hitting the different milestones. A baby’s first year is very special! But it definitely can feel like it moves a bit more slowly. However, eventually they achieve everything that a baby learns to do, and eventually they become a toddler. That is when everything begins to change more quickly! Below is a fun look into Toddler Development….

A Simple DIY Behavior Chart that You Can Create and Use On-The-Go

One Sunday morning while sitting on our church chairs, my one son was having a particular tough time. I am not one to expect perfect behavior all of the time, especially during church. Kids are kids. And I understand that church can be boring for them. But this particular Sunday, he was extra wiggly, extra whiney, and extra loud. Luckily, a spark of creativity hit me, and I put together a super simple DIY behavior chart for him on the fly!

Scroll down to see the example, and learn more about my strategy!

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