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Support cool new children’s book Roger Nix President at Six written by Nick Daze illustrated by Bill Robinson www.FlimFlammery.com and his incredible Kickstarter campaign which has already raised nearly $22,000 and only has $8,000 more to go in order to put the book into production. . Each $30 pledge towards the Roger Nix campaign comes with a first edition hardcover copy of the book, delivered in time for the new school year this fall.
Problem: Baby refuses to transition from breastfeeding to bottle.
Solution: After trying different people, positions, bottles and every other trick in “the book,” we finally tried a tip my husband found on Babycenter.com. (Yes, we were desperate enough at that point as I was heading back to work that my husband was searching baby forums for answers.) What worked? Feeding our four month old a bottle in the tub. Eventually we had to wean from the tub since that became the only place she would drink a bottle, and the babysitter stubbornly refused to take a bath with her at every feeding. But it worked. No, that is not our tub pictured. Photo credit idbest.com.
Problem: Baby is waking up multiple times a night and parents are exhausted.
Solution: Our first baby was 5-6 months old and getting up more than ever. Desperate one Saturday I called my sister-in-law, a mother of three, school psychologist, and parent I admire. She said, “You need to let her cry.” But I countered, “We do! Last night she cried for a full two minutes before I picked her up!” When she finished laughing her advice was to read Dr. Ferber’s book. “Read it,” she said, “don’t just let her cry. It gives you the rationale and strategies you’ll need.” I drove to Barnes & Noble (2006- pre-Kindle and iPad) and bought the book. It was the best parenting decision ever. Two babies sleeping through the night later, monsters aside, I’d highly recommend it to anyone.
Problem: After taking forever to train our first child, we knew what to do with child number two.
Solution: Forever may be an exageration, but it didn’t feel like it at the time. I though potty training was the biggest parenting challenge and accidents became a regular part of our routine at one point. With the second toddler ready to train we had a few tricks up our sleeve. First, we waited for signs of potty training readiness. Next, we used the Little Looster to make it logistically easier for our tiny tot. Since #2 is a boy we used the Cheerio trick and also made sure not to ask “Do you need to use the potty?” but rather stated every hour, eventually extending the time, “It’s time to try the potty.” We also used a potty training app and rewarded success with M&Ms. The result…weeks instead of months and our little guy was trained.
Problem: Children who don’t always listen or share and need to find better solutions to hitting and “freaking out.”
Solution: I’ll start by clarifying that we haven’t licked this particular problem 100%. With two preschoolers 17 months apart, teaching sharing and creative solutions to anger is a daily lesson. One component to teaching appropriate behavior that has worked for us are Super Nanny’s reward charts. The kids do know our house rules and before “moving up” are very aware of the number rule they followed. Every day after a good report at school they move one space. We also love to catch them being good to ensure success.
Problem: Preschool aged daughter is terrified to sleep in her bedroom due to monsters.
Solution: It started with Santa. For nearly two months after Christmas our daughter was afraid to sleep in her room terrified “Santa was there.” At one point there was a certifiable monster party: Ursula, crocodile from Peter Pan, Santa…they were all in there. After trying a myriad of solutions including (but not limited to) monster spray, a moster light and drawing the monsters and talking it out during the day, we finally purchased a fish tank last week after reading about this gem online. “Get a fish for something to focus on and calm them a bit.” After finding this Ariel Fish Tank, the family made a trip to Petsmart and Nemo has done the trick! I did appreciate a colleague of mine pointing out that an Ariel tank was a fabulous idea given the Ursula monster issue.
Shop for products featured in this post along with other solutions for parent below. And tell us, which parenting solutions worked for you?
While you may have heard of Cricket magazine for kids, other Carus Publishing titles for all ages are just as read0worthy. Check out some of Cool Baby Kid’s favorite magazines for kids:
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Reviewing hundreds of products and websites since 2007, some stand out to make our Top Picks list. Others receive an Editor’s Pick designation because one of the Cool Baby Kid reviewers love it. A select few are listed in our annual Best of the Year post. Peter Pauper Press makes all three lists. As soon as I began perusing the site, I knew it was tailor made for me. With inspirational gifts, organizers for mom, a Little Black Disney book and other cool picks, I immediately bookmarked it knowing the site was a keeper.
I had the opportunity to check out The Little Black Book of Walt Disney World and The Little Sweet Book of Cupcakes. These are adorable and packed with information. As new Disney Vacation Club member, we recently visited Magic Kingdom for the day and used the pull-out map in Rona Gindin’s Little Black Book. We plan to use it to plan future WDW vacations as well. The most compact guide I’ve seen, it’s amazing how many ideas and tidbits are offered in just under 250 pages. And speaking of tidbits, The Sweet Little Books of Cupcakes by Nicholas Peruzzi with Courtney Forrester is filled with cupcake recipes and pictures to inspire even non-bakers like myself. It’s compact size and $10.95 price tag make the book a perfect pairing with other cupcake-themed items for a gift basket.
Filled with other unique gift ideas, Peter Pauper Press is a treasure-trove of unique finds. Some of my favorite include:
The last selection includes multiple book themes–Dream, Happiness, Believe and more–filled with quotes and a gift card holder (card not included) for $5.95. Stock up and give the best gift card on the block. LOVE these and love Peter Pauper Press.
Disclosure: A sample product was provided for review purposes; all opinions are 100% ours. Read our full disclaimer and frequently asked questions.
Cool Giveaway: Enter to win two of my favorite Peter Pauper Press products–a little black (or pink) book of your choice plus an Artisan Petites™ Mini-Book.
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Check out even more entry possibilities if you’re really determined to win. Read the contest rules and prize claim information as we announce winners on Prizey.net. Expires 5/19/11. To enter, just comment on this post after subscribing to CBK via RSSor email.
My new book, This Child Every Child grew out of hundreds of school visits I made after the publication of If The World Were A Village and If America Were A Village. Students frequently asked me about the other children in the world — what did they have for breakfast, what were their schools and lives like.
Then I read the U.N. “Convention on the Rights of the Child”, and it was so beautiful, and so right, and so clear, that I asked the director of Child Protection at the U.N. if I could use it as the backbone for a children’s picture book, and she said “oh yes, we’d be delighted to have somebody do that”.
The book uses a number of the articles from the convention as a structure for looking at — and comparing — the lives of children around the world, everything from games and school and family life to work, including children who are forced to work.
I think it’s important for children to understand the amazing disparity between children around the world — the fortunate ones and those who are not so fortunate. Yes, the material is difficult, and I encourage parents and teachers to read the book WITH their children, and even to skip pages that they feel their children are not yet ready for. Only one or two pages have really difficult content — especially “Children and War” — but with students up to Grade 3 or 4, I do think it is a good idea to read the book together, not simply to say “here’s a good book”. Reading it together also leads to a good conversation about “what can we do to help children like those in the book”.
The context is really critical. I think some teachers might use it as a first step in a Service Learning program — “let’s think about WHY we need to be of service to others in our community”; some teachers might use it as part of a global geography curriculum — “where do these children come from, what’s it like there, what languages do they speak there, what’s the weather like”, and so on, are just a few of the many questions that might be asked. The last 2-page spread in the book is an essay I wrote concerning how to talk with children about these difficult topics, and what children and adults can do to help. I encourage teachers and parents to read this first.
Guest Post by David J. Smith
Cool Tip: Purchase This Child, Every Child: A Book about the World’s Children from our Amazon affiliate link, and check out Baby Kid Bookshelf for other cool book ideas and posts.
With a wide ranges of titles for our bookshelf this week, picks include ones to read at home with your children as well as great resources for teachers as well. Enjoy!
Cool Tip: Purchase these Baby Kid Bookshelf picks directly from our affiliate Amazon links below.
What better day than Read Across America Day than to share some current cool picks for the Baby kid Bookshelf! Happy Birthday Dr. Seus. Our top pick this month, Cinnamon Baby by Nicola Winstanley (Author) and Janice Nadeau (Illustrator).
Cool Tip: Purchase these Baby Kid Bookshelf picks directly from our affiliate Amazon links below.
I am always asked how I could possibly have written 300 books (or 200 or 100 or even 50, back in the day.) My answer has not wavered in all these years.
First and foremost, I love to write. It doesn’t matter to me if the writing I am engaged with is a poem or a novel or something in-between. The word engagement here has two meanings for me. There’s the meaning that goes along with love and marriage of course, but also the meaning that deals with total face-to-face involvement with a project. I don’t dog-paddle. I throw myself in the deep end of the pool.
Second, I love to learn new things, and writing/researching for a book allows me to do all that and call it work. But it’s play, really. So if I am writing a novel like THE DEVIL’S ARITHMETIC, I am immersed in the history of the Holocaust. When I write a picture book
like my 300th book–ELSIE’S BIRD that starts in Boston a century ago and ends up in Nebraska where a girl and her grieving widowed father go to homestead–I get to read books and magazine articles about both Boston at that time and the movement West. And when I write my HOW DO DINOSAURS. . .books, well, I remember how it was when my children–a girl and two boys–were that age and balking at night time, or being picky eaters, or refusing to clean their rooms and all the rest. Third, I get paid to do what I love and I hear from children and adults about how my books have moved them, or made them laugh, or changed their lives. How could I NOT love what I do for the first to the 300th time!
So you will be hearing more and more and more from me over the coming years. I already have at least 30 more books in the works, and yes–I am always writing more.
Jane Yolen, janeyolen.com
Editor’s Note: My personal Jane Yolen favorites include Lost Boy, the story of Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, as well as a quote from her website for writers: “Most woman writers do not have the luxury of a wife. We muddle through our chores and our writing, doing a balancing act that would put the Flying Wallendas to shame.” Substitute “blogger,” and it’s my new mantra.
Cool Pick: You can purchase any of the Jane Yolen books from our affiliate Amazon bookshelf below or directly from Amazon.
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