If you see a parent (of either gender) struggling, please do not note how “they have their hands full” or “how good it is for them to babysit” or even “they grow up so fast” (although I understand the sentiment)
but offer to buy them a cup of coffee/tea. I promise, it will go SO much further!
When a child falls down in my house and begins to cry (which some do more than others 🙂
I tend to offer to
a. kiss it better (which is a wonderful cure)
b. a glass of water<–Why you may ask? Because it is impossible to cry when drinking!
Therfore, love and water tend to cure most ouchie….colorful band-aids are awesome too!
except broken arms…those we have to go to the hospital for 😉
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Westley loves electronics, they are easy, they are visual, they don’t demand conversation.
In addition to building on his narrative play, we’ve been trying to encourage Westley with the stories and shows he enjoys!
I have also noticed that he likes characters like himself….those who talk minimally.
Here’s the List (off the top of my head)
Books
1. Dinosaur’s Binkit by Sandra Boynton Review: Oh No! The Binkit is missing, its hard to look for things, esp. when you can’t tell anyone where you had it last2. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems Full Review Here: Lost Bunny, again frustrating (wonder how often this situation happens for my child that he wishes he can talk and he can’t)
3. Pete the Cat and His Brand New Shoes by James Dean and Eric Litwin Review: Going with the flow (which West does) the Cat keeps singing his groovy Song
4. Songs as Books/Nursery Rhymes: probably because the sound is still enjoyable even if you don’t get the words
5. Jack and the Beanstalk: Probably partially because big brother likes it, but also because you get to Stomp around yelling FEE! FIE! FO! FUM!
6. Beauty and the Beast (Disney) the Comic Book because a. we are familiar with the story b. lots and lots of pictures
Shows
1. Pingo: Penguins speaking another language? No problem, Westley gets it
2. Curious George: Curious and PHYSICAL little monkey gets into trouble, esp. when he misunderstands/has to guess at the grownups rules
3. Live 101 Dalmatians (I know, I like the original better, although Glen Close is AWESOME) a. there’s cute live dogs b. the dogs SHOW what they do instead of talking about it
4. The Nutcracker Ballet conceptualized by Maurice Sendek : Dancing, very little words (only a bit of narration), plus you can dance along! (I still can’t believe he’ll watch the close to two hrs)
5. The Cat in the Hat THEATER PLAY (note: not the movie). Rhyming words (which I think helps) and LOTS of PHYSICALITY, that is both easy and fun to copy
6. Most musicals, again because we can enjoy the music even when we don’t follow the plot, BUT there has to be enough music to stay interesting….
Westley loves electronics, they are easy, they are visual, they don’t demand conversation.
In addition to building on his narrative play, we’ve been trying to encourage Westley with the stories and shows he enjoys!
I have also noticed that he likes characters like himself….those who talk minimally.
Here’s the List (off the top of my head)
Books
1. Dinosaur’s Binkit by Sandra Boynton Review: Oh No! The Binkit is missing, its hard to look for things, esp. when you can’t tell anyone where you had it last
2. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems Full Review Here: Lost Bunny, again frustrating (wonder how often this situation happens for my child that he wishes he can talk and he can’t)
3. Pete the Cat and His Brand New Shoes by James Dean and Eric Litwin Review: Going with the flow (which West does) the Cat keeps singing his groovy Song
4…
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I have a rule. Every baby I see is the cutest baby in the world.
Because its true.
Every baby is amazing and wonderful.
However, something they don’t tell you is that babies are boring. They are sweet, adorable and wear cute little outfits. They are wearying and have strange sleep schedules. They have stats–how old they are, how much they wear, how tall they are, how much they eat, how much they sleep and their names…because we don’t know much about them.
As a parent I was often tired, I KNOW I loved my children, but also I know that newborns don’t do a lot yet, and at times they are boring.
But they are still the best thing ever. Don’t worry if your bored, just love your kid, sleep as much as you can and remember, I’m cheering you on!
I believe in playgrounds... 