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How Often Should You Replace Bottle and Sippy Cup Nipples or Spouts?

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How to Wash Your Kids Football Gear

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How to Help Your Kids Wind Down After School: Tips for a Relaxed After-School Routine

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What to Look for When Choosing a Daycare

lunch ideas for picky eaters
In Food

8 Easy School Lunch Ideas for Your Picky Eating Kindergartener

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Brace yourselves parents, we’re all back at school! While most of us parents are (understandably) ecstatic to have some time for ourselves, the nightmare of what to pack for their school lunch keeps buzzing around our head like the yellow jackets this season. If you have a picky eater like mine, it gets harder and harder thinking of new and healthy snacks to pack five days a week. Here are 8 easy school lunch ideas for your picky eating Kindergartener. These worked for us, so hopefully you can take some inspiration from them! Sweet Potato Fries Kids love French fries, so I thought I would develop a healthier version. You can cut up the potatoes a night prior, and just air fry them with a drizzle of olive oil, and they are ready to go. Letting them completely cool off before packing them in their lunch box will prevent them…

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In Parenting

Walking to School – How to Overcome the Roadblocks

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Back-to-school season is a great time to start new routines or tweak existing ones. Maybe you’ve always liked the idea of your kids walking to school, but haven’t been able to do it consistently. To help you hit your stride, here are some common issues and tips to overcome them. “There isn’t enough time in the morning.” In households across the land, the morning rush is a daily struggle. As the new school year begins, some honest reflection might reveal areas for improvement. Could you be more organized? Could you wake up earlier, or pack lunches the night before? Can you minimize or eliminate distractions? You’re likely to have better results (and lower blood pressure at breakfast) if you adopt a structured plan. If your kids are old enough, make it into a mini science experiment. Use technology to record the actual time and distance, then calculate the necessary departure…

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tips to get kids to open up about their day
In Parenting

Tips to Help Your Kids Open Up about Their School Day

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One of the most exciting things about our kids starting a new school year is hearing all about it. But, in fact, that rarely happens. Kids are notorious for giving one-word answers or clamming up when we ask about their days. It can be heartbreaking to parents who want open lines of communication and are eager to hear the details of their kids’ day. Kids’ minds work differently than adults; developmentally, they’re just not ready to recall all the details of their day after school. Unfortunately, this is often the time that we see meltdowns happening or our chatty kiddos shutting down. But don’t worry, this is normal. While we may think we need to embrace what happens at school, stays at school but not all hope is lost. Here are a few tips to help your kids open up about their school day. 1) Don’t bombard them with questions.  …

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daycare drop-off
In Daycare

Tips for a Smooth Daycare Drop-Off: Short & Sweet

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Daycare drop-off can be a teary-eyed ordeal for parents and kids. The tears, tantrums, clingy to mom or dad, and screaming can be painful for parents to watch. The guilt is heart-wrenching, but there are ways that you can make it easier for everyone. We asked several daycare providers their top tips for a smoother drop-off. The consensus, keep it short and sweet. Here are five tips to keep the dreaded drop-off as smooth as possible  Prepare the night before.  Don’t rush! Do as much as you can the night before; rushing kids overstimulates them and increases their stress hormones, which leads to tantrums. Be prepared the night before, so you’re not rushing your kids and creating a stressful morning for everyone. Stick to a routine.  Babies and toddlers do better when they know what to expect. Keeping a routine means knowing what steps are coming and feeling less anxious about what’s coming.…

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gifts for new parents
In Mom Moments

Sanity-Saving Gifts for New Parents

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Receiving baby gear as a new parent can be fun and exciting, but once the baby comes, new parents aren’t clambering for a new swing or swaddling. They want sleep and relaxation. Having a newborn in your life changes everything. So, if you want to help the new parents in your life, consider spoiling them with some of these gifts for new parents that will save their sanity instead. Consider offering to babysit or bring them a meal or two. But if those options aren’t realistic for you, Mabel’s Labels presents a few others that might be a better fit for you while also helping the new parents take a moment for themselves. Creature Comforts Being a new parent is stressful. These gift ideas can help them decompress and relax. A Netflix Gift Subscription for When Sleep Isn’t an Option Gift At-Home Massage Products for Parents with No Time…

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lunch box review
In School

Bento Lunch Box Review

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With so many different brands and styles of lunchboxes available, selecting the right one for your child can be easily overwhelming. Will it break? Can my child open it? Are the more expensive brands worth it? Here is a review of six of the most popular bento style lunchbox brands on the market to help with your decision making process. Bentgo Cost: approx. $30 How is it to open: The two clasp style can take a little practise, but overall this is one of the easier lunchboxes for younger children to open. The lid is tough to lift up with the first use, but overtime it loosens up, making it easier for little grasps.  Benefits: Fits standard lunch bag. Removable, dishwasher safe tray. Easy to clean. Microwave and freezer safe. Leak proof seal around each compartment. Very durable.  Dislikes: A bit on the heavier side Smaller compartments, not ideal…

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Horoscope
In Seasonal

How to Raise a Virgo

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As someone who has been raising a Virgo for almost 14 years, you might think I have all the answers. Spoiler alert: I don’t. I have some insight and some experience for sure, but I wouldn’t say I have all the answers. In my experience, raising a Virgo has been quite pleasant overall. As a baby, he was always very happy and relaxed. As a toddler, he was super helpful with his younger brother. In school, he’s always done very well and not just because it comes easy to him, but because he WANTS to do well in school. He’s always had a very calm and patient personality too. Now, that’s not to say he doesn’t lose his temper and get angry. He does. But that might be more of a redhead thing than a Virgo thing… While diving deeper into all the typical Virgo traits, I nodded along with…

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extracurriculars overscheduled
In Parenting

Overscheduled Kids- 7 Tips to Prevent Burnout

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It’s that time of year again: activity registration. We all want our kids to be well-rounded individuals, and there is a long list of worthwhile programs available in art, science, sports, technology, music, leadership, aquatics, theatre, fitness and more. While we can agree that’s important to expose our kids to a variety of experiences, we certainly don’t want to overload them to the point where they’re tired, grumpy, unmotivated, or burnt out. It’s a fine line that can be tricky to navigate, but you’re more than qualified to steer this ship. Here are 7 tips to prevent burnout and keep a firm grip on your family’s schedule and prevent things from getting out of hand. Choose carefully. There’s no question that your child will benefit from participating in organized activities, sports teams or community groups. Even so, it’s important to remember that you don’t have unlimited resources when it comes…

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Horoscope
In Parenting

How to Raise a Leo

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The centre of attention. Ridiculously creative. Fearless. A born leader. Sound familiar? If so, you likely have a little Leo in your life. While I don’t have any first-hand experience raising a Leo, I do know quite a few. Three nephews, a niece, and my mother-in-law were all born under the Leo sign. So, it’s safe to say I have spent quite a bit of time around Leos. After doing some research about the stereotypical characteristics of Leos, I think it’s pretty accurate to say that Leos know what they want. They appear to have strong personalities and high expectations. They’re are Lions though, so they’re also warmhearted and super loyal. There’s a lot to cover when it comes to Leos, so let’s dive in and see what the experts say! First, we’ll start with the basics of the Leo sign. Birthdate – July 23 – August 22 Element –…

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Mothers with ADHD
In Mom Moments

Mothers with ADHD; Strategies, Struggles and Support

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For a long time, we’ve been talking about the “hot mess mom” we’ve created memes about her disorganization and laughed collectively about the struggles. Unfortunately, for many Mothers, the hot mess mom is far more than a joke; the prevalence of women being diagnosed with ADHD is growing, and we’re learning that some of the “hot mess moms” are struggling to fit into an ablest, neurotypical parenting world. The largest group of people currently diagnosed with ADHD/Autism is women, primarily Mothers.     Parenting isn’t easy at the best of times. ADHD is added to the regular Motherhood struggles, becoming completely overwhelming. It can bring up feelings of self-doubt, anxiety, and anger. Anything from forgetfulness, difficulty planning and following through, focusing, and decision-making becomes a massive burden as you try to cope with your struggles and manage your enormous role as a parent.  Parenting with ADHD can leave you feeling like a…

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