Welcome to Parent Tips

Indoor Snowball Fight

If the weather is not cooperating, but your kids would love to play in the snow, you can have a snowball fight indoors. Take some recycled paper, and crumple it up into "snowballs". The kids will have a blast throwing the snowballs at each other, and no one gets cold or wet. Be sure to play this in a safe area of the house where nothing will get broken. Safe the snowballs for future use, or recycle the paper.

Playroom Fun

A fun and inexpensive way to decorate a playroom or child´s bedroom is to use chalkboard paint on the walls. You can paint and entire wall, or several walls at your child´s level. It is as simple as painting the wall, and the kids get hours of fun, and can finally really write on the walls!

Less-Stress Play Dates

If your child is having trouble sharing his toys during play dates, allow him to choose some special toys to put aside before the date arrives. Asking him to share everything he owns is unreasonable, and this way he still feels in control. After all, do you share all your favorite things with your company?

Strangers on the Internet

Teach your children that strangers on the Internet are no different from strangers on the street, on the phone, or at the mall. Emphasize to your children never to release private information, such as credit card numbers, home address, computer passwords, or other private family information ot strangers.

Fun on File

To prevent boredom in small children, decorate a special box to hold index cards. On each card, name a different activity that is quick and doesn´t require a lot of setup. Eg) play ring-around-rosy, read a book, put on a puppet show, etc. When boredom strikes, let your little ones take turns picking a card and leading the activity. It´s fun for the kids, and prevents playtime from becoming a chore for you.

Mini Car Wash

Here's a fun activity for those hot days when the kids want to play outside in the water—host a car wash. If the kids are too little to wash your car, let them have a mini car wash and wash their own cars. Give them a bucket or plastic dishpan of soapy water and let them wash their riding toys, or other toys they may have that are washable (balls, plastic squeeze toys, play cars and trucks, etc.). They will have fun doing it and it will save you the job of cleaning them yourself. Make sure they wear some clothes you don't mind them getting wet in. Who said cleaning can't be fun?

Keeping in Touch Over the Summer

Before school ends for the year, get your kids to make a list of their friends and their phone numbers. Over the summer, your kids can phone their friends for an impromptu game of baseball or a trip to the park. This will help everyone keep in touch, and make the transistion back to school in the fall much easier.

Lunchtime Bath

Weather not cooperating? Want to fill in some indoor time? Try running a bubble bath and serving lunch in the tub. After lunch, provide some wooden spoons and spatulas and let them splash away.

Matching-Memory Game

Wash and save lids from frozen juice concentrate. Using photos or magazine pictures of your choice, find matching sets. You may use photo doubles, or photocopy pictures. Cut each photo to size, cover with clear Con-Tact paper, and glue it to a lid. If you use photos of far-away family or friends, it is an ideal activity to keep memories fresh. Kids will love sorting through the photos to find matches.

Internet Filters

Some Internet filters deny access to sites using certain keywords, but some products allow parents to review and change keywords to create their own customized list. The drawback to keyword blocking is that the technology can´t discriminate between genuinely unsuitable sites and innocent ones. Software programmed to avoid the keyword "smoking" for example, could also filter out educational anti-smoking sites, and even sites devoted to geology ("smoking volcanoes") or magic ("smoke and mirrors").

Sandy Solutions

After a day at the beach, sprinkling baby powder all over kids (and adults) causes the sand to brush off like magic. No more messy, uncomfortable rides home.

Toddler Tunnel

For hours of fun and imaginative play, tear the flaps off four large cardboard boxes and duct tape the boxes together to form a tunnel. Let the children decorate the outside with paints and/or markers, and let them use their imagination playing games in their tunnel.

Model Anyone?

Looking for something different to do? Have the kids put on some nice picture-taking clothes and hit the local sites. Pretend like you are tourists from out of town checking out the local attractions. Take pictures of the kids in all sorts of interesting poses, such as those seen in magazines. They will have fun being models and you will have some priceless moments captured on film. You don't have to take a trip to some exotic place to take pictures. Look around in your own backyard for some good background shots. Grab your camera and go! Years later you will be glad you did.

Fun in the Sun

In warm weather, take the fingerpaints outside. Kids can use both their hands and feet to make pictures on paper or cement. Simply use a garden hose for clean-up and wash the paint away.

Leaf Maze

When raking your lawn in the fall, pile leaves into a maze on the lawn, and the kids will have hours of fun running through it. When they lose interest, simply rake the leaves into piles and remove them.

Cold Weather Warm Up

To make dressing up for the cold and going out to play in the snow a more enjoyable experience, try tossing the kids snowsuits and mitts, etc. into the dryer for a few minutes before having them put them on. The clothing will feel snuggly and warm, and the kids will enjoy putting them on. They may even stay outside a little longer without getting cold.

Developing Balance

To improve your child´s balance and motor skills, play a simple game called "resist me". Have your child sit cross-legged on the floor. Gently press on your child and say "I´m going to push you over, resist me". Try pressing in various directions. Also try doing this with your child on all fours, on his/her back, on tummy, on one knee, standing and squatting.

An Inexpensive Puppet Theatre

For a great way to encourage your little ones into hours of imaginative play, here is an easy way to make a homemade puppet theatre. Just place a spring rod with a simple curtain in a doorway and you´ve got a stage. The height is adjustable for kids of varying height, and it is easily removable and packs up great for storage.