A Mom's Unsolicited Advice

You're welcome.

[momsunsolicitedadvice]

100+ activities and events to enjoy with kids in and around Orlando, Florida. Appropriate for babies, toddlers, teens, or even the whole family. All of the great things to do with kids near Central Florida.

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My kid

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Activities for Toddlers Around Orlando, FL

Master List: 

Volunteering at the animal shelter to "read" to the animals (aka, spending time with the rescues). 

Overnight "camping" in backyards with tents (or indoors). 

Visit a Fire Station. 

City of Orlando Swim Lessons. 

Getting together and all washing our cars (with kid help). 

Badminton. 

The Art Room. 

Bowling. 

Pool noodle or hula hoop obstacle course or olympic games. 

Harry P. Leu Gardens Story Times. 

Kids Safari bingo sheets. 

Kelly Park Rock Springs. 

Bubble snake makers. 

Splash pads. 

Art Explorations at Art and History Museum of Maitland. 

Mini-golf. 

Orlando Science Center programs. 

Trampoline park. 

UCF Arboretum Kids Tour. 

Disney Campfire followed by Movies Under the Stars. 

Wekiwa Springs State Park Nature Adventures.

[twisteddoodles]

Fail better

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[momsunsolicitedadvice]

Cleaning is for fools

No matter how hard you try to contain the filth, your toddler will follow just behind you, emptying cabinets, slinging a yogurt pouch onto the baseboards (FYI that one took straight bleach to remove), spilling juice from a spill proof cup, and spitting half-chewed Strawberry Frosted Mini Wheats onto your white sheets (another FYI, the pink strawberry stains).

via ScaryMommy

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Another great idea from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar - Homemade Gripper Socks, aka, adding hot glue, puffy paint, fabric paint, to the bottom of shoes and socks to make them no-slip 

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Homemade activity board (calculator and wall mount telephone are missing)

[momsunsolicitedadvice]

Daycare II

My son loves daycare. 

He loves the other children.

He learns 10x as much from those kids as he does the daycare providers. 

Plus, he gets the added stimulation of different toys, germs, spaces, dialogues, ways to handle different situations, books, songs, etc.

He is being exposed to so much more then he would be/did having a nanny - even if they did lots of activities and playgroups.

[momsunsolicitedadvice]

Daycare

This is an anecdotal story from the woman who manages my daycare. They offer video cameras of all the rooms and spaces that parents can login to and watch anytime (even overnight).

One mother called and emailed upset because she believed her son was spending way too much time in timeout. He was sitting with a toy and looking at a poster on the wall for what she believed was at least 10-15 minutes past what would make sense.

The daycare director went to speak to the classroom teachers. They stated that whenever they told him timeout was over, he would say "okay, I'll just finish playing by myself first." He would sit in timeout even after they told him it was over because he was playing by himself and not done yet.

The daycare director called back the mother and told her what she'd learned. The mom became very quiet before saying "Oh my goodness, I'm so ridiculous. He does the same thing at home!"

But the daycare director was really glad that the mother had voiced her concerns (however crazy), because if she hadn't she would have seethed and internalized and would never have known that her kid was actually being pretty awesome.

[momsunsolicitedadvice]

What are some parenting tricks you wish you had learned earlier that has made life as a parent easier?

Love these.

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I bottle-fed, and I breastfed, and before I knew it, they were all eating stale french fries off the floor of the minivan, and I was like, whatever, thanks for cleaning.

Joslyn Gray

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[momsunsolicitedadvice]

Blowout

If your baby has a major blowout - just throw the outfit away. “Doesn’t matter how cute it is. It won’t come out. And even if it does, by the time you get done fighting the stain, they will have grown out of it anyway.”

[tastefullyoffensive]

(via nabced)

[momsunsolicitedadvice]

If you recognize this is paranoia, the way to deal with it is not to stop the behavior but to address your anxieties. This guy will be your child's uncle and your brother-in-law eventually, and it can be the beginning of a lifelong positive relationship for both of you!

+all the upvotes