Nanny Life

Fourth year University student with a passion for childcare. I strive to help raise happy, healthy, and well adjusted children. This blog is a place to inspire me on my journey, and to share some of my own experiences.

[elderflower-cottage-deactivated]

I love this image created by L.R Knost. Conscious gentle parenting is HARD WORK. It's constantly challenging your motivations, intentions and reactions when making decisions. I am the adult and they are learning everything from me. If I withdraw my affection when they make mistakes then what lesson am I teaching them? If I speak harshly to them, then what will their inner voice sound like? As an adult it is my responsibility to remain calm when they cannot, to be their anchor in the storm and to love them fiercely and unconditionally always. Some days are a challenge and I think how easy it would be to control them with fear. But then I see my son growing up to be a kind, compassionate, curious and intrinsically motivated human and I pull my socks up and get on with the hard work. Because it's so worth it 💛💛

[elderflower-cottage-deactivated]

little toddler lunch ~ steamed fruit and veggies (apples, pears, brocoli and corn) with cheese and mushroom scrambled eggs! this is such a great quick lunch to make, so simple but so yummy arthur loves it!

i learned recently that cut fresh apple is a choking hazard for little ones under 3, so I have been steaming them in my thermomix so arthur can take them to daycare! they are now his favorite snack!!!

[lbmarelli-deactivated20180305]

Learning hunger cues from your baby. When he/she wants food … before it gets too late and he/she turns into an upset and hungry little one. 

[cult-hopper]

People who don’t understand the difference between punishment and discipline should, like, never have kids

[clown-butch-deactivated20240919]

hey op i dont understand the difference could you please explain?

[cult-hopper]

Yeah ofc!! Sorry for being vague I was just venting and didnt expect reblogs haha

I’m gonna try to explain my point through examples.

Ex 1: toddler screaming and crying in the walmart

Punishment: I’m going to spank you or embarrass you or yell at you! Shut up! I’ll give you something to cry about!

Discipline: stop doing what you’re doing because it isn’t productive and it disturbs others as well as increasing your own upsetnes. I’m going to take you out of the environment that’s upsetting you until you’re calm and we can identify what upset you together so I can explain to you why it’s like that/help you find ways to productively express upsetness as you grow.

Ex 2: your teen is failing, like, all their classes

Punishment: you’re grounded! You’re not allowed to go out with your friends or play games or do anything fun or enjoyable until your work is satisfactory!

Discipline: it’s important to do well in school. You need to communicate with me when you are struggling so I can help you. You also need to learn to manage fun stuff and work as that’s an important life skill in adulthood. I’m going to monitor your work more closely so I can help you find that balance. And if this is a deeper mental or emotional issue, we can seek help for you together.

So basically, discipline is something you teach that requires time, communication, and sternness. Punishment is a single action meant to deliberately cause discomfort in an attempt to implement negative reinforcement. Not good.

[inner-sunshine]

🌱

[annthomp]

Things I hope I don’t forget when I become a parent

• The fact that I am the mother doesn’t mean I will be right all the time

• As a parent I should have it as a goal to make my children more intelligent than me

• A child’s problems may be nothing to an adult but for them it’s as if the sky was falling down, a parent should be empathetic to their child’s struggles at the same time that they should teach how to solve them

• The fact that there are people starving in some parts of the world doesn’t mean my child will suddenly be hungrier

• If my child yells at me I shouldn’t yell back, someone needs to be the adult in every interaction and you shouldn’t expect a child to fill that role

• Children make mistakes, it’s a learning process, you can’t let yourself be exasperated by it

• There is more than one way to do things right, just because I like to do things a certain way it doesn’t mean that the way my children do it is wrong

• A child owes nothing to their parents but a parent owes everything to their children

• Mental health is as important as physical health, just like you have to watch your child closely to make sure they don’t have any flu symptoms you should make sure they don’t have any mental problem

• At some point all children rebel, it’s natural, they are just trying to find their place in the world

• A child shouldn’t have to earn your love, but you do have to earn your child’s

• A child should never fear their parent

[itsthebittersweetsymphony]

C’mere baby.

[creativeplaytherapist]

DIY Paints

Finger Paints (Corn starch/sugar)

Chalk Paint (Crushed chalk/water)

Microwave Puff Paint (Self-rising flour/salt)

Puffy Paint (Flour/salt)

Water Colors 1 (Old Markers/water)

Water Colors 2 (Baking soda/vinegar)

Sidewalk Paint (Cornstarch)

Marbled Paper (Spray paint/water)

Soap Paint (Dishwashing liquid/flour)

[paintboxmum]

Loads of different paint types to try out here! 

[totallythebomb]

I’m a busy working mom. My daughter is a busy pre-teen kid, and as she grows older, there’s less time snuggling and more time talking. I thought I would be heartbroken when that time came about, but the talking is so much fun that I hardly miss it. Every single day, I make it a point to start a conversation with her that leaves a door open for her to tell me anything she wants. Let me be real here, this doesn’t always end in some poignant mother daughter moment, and I get one word answers more often than not, but that’s okay, because sometimes I get the good stories and the important questions.

[sheepishcarer]

☀️Sensory bottles🌈

Sensory bottles are a great indoor activitiy for if it is rainy or too hot to play outside. They’re super easy to make and you can put whatever you want in them!

Here are some ideas:

This one has colored rice that looks like grass, and uncooked rice makes a really nice noise when you shake it in the bottle. To color it, simply put the rice in a bowl and squirt some acrylic paint in it. Mix it all up until all the rice is covered, and then lay it on a tin foil covered cookie sheet and spread it out so it can dry.

If you don’t like the sound of rice, you can use water or baby oil instead! Baby oil will make whatever you put in the bottle fall slowly, but with water it will fall fast. If you put both you can see bubbles of baby oil seperate from the water.

Glitter is the most common thing in baby oil sensory bottles because it falls super slow and is really pretty. But! You can put whatever you want in it!

Here are some more ideas:

Have fun making your sensory bottles!!

[rechords-moved]

no offense but i want every little kid to be safe and have a good childhood

[daisyfreshsapphic]

hot take: we should stop invalidating kid’s emotions simply because they are younger. even if they get upset about seemingly trivial things, it’s probably important to them. it doesn’t feel nice to get told your feelings don’t matter, so don’t do it to them.

[yesterdaysprint]

The Ithaca Journal, New York, September 10, 1955

[ineffectualdemon]

“Babies only cry if they are hungry, need changing, or need to be picked up”

Lies

Babies (and small children) also cry for reasons such as:

1. “I am tired and that makes me angry”

2. “I scared myself with a fart”

3. “You are the wrong parent”

4. “I ran into something with my face”

5. “I’m facing the opposite direction then the one I want to”

6. “I fell asleep in one place and woke up somewhere completely different”

7. “I am a very small person in a very big world”

8. “I got scared because YOU farted”

Babies have more then 3 states of being and sometimes you just have to hold them and bounce them gently while saying solemnly “yes it is very hard to be a baby” because frankly it is

[zengardenamaozn]

positive things to say to your child.

[nciwch]

Why adults have to stop trying so darn hard to control how children play

Kids need room to play -- and do it by themselves.

[childcareresourcesbhm-blog]

Toddlers can “cook” too! Making a snack counts as cooking. Young children can “read” a recipe by following picture instructions. They also learn how to follow directions and be independent through cooking activities.