Toms River Mom

Teaching your children table manners, by Amanda Rock at About.com

You know your preschooler wasn’t raised in a barn but how do you convey that to anyone that eats with her? Chewing with his mouth open, eating with her hands, burping, the list goes on and on. It’s no wonder that dinner time in many houses where an under-5 year-old lives becomes a cringe-worthy event for most parents. The good news is, teaching your preschooler manners is not a difficult proposition.

Click here for the article.

How to Stop an Interrupting Child
Teaching Your Child to Be Patient So You Can Get a Word in Edgewise
By Amanda Rock, About.com Guide

The house is quiet. Your preschooler just had lunch and went to the bathroom, and is now happily coloring away. It’s the perfect time to pick up the phone and make a few phone calls. Right? Ha. Any parent can tell you that the scenario described above almost always leads to one thing — the second you get absorbed in your call, you will soon find your child at your feet, tugging at your shirt, interrupting what you are doing.

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Survive Shopping with Small Kids
Get Your Shopping Done and Save Your Sanity
By Michelle Kouzmine, About.com Guide

I know just how you feel, embarrassed, desperate, ready to jump into the closest, deepest hole. You look around and see other people happily shopping with their well behaved kid while yours loses it after the first 15 minutes in any store.

Click here for an article to help you figure out the best ways to shop with your kids for back to school stuff!

Learning to Get Dressed
This need-to-know skill encourages independence (and sometimes, creativity!)
By Amanda Rock, About.com Guide

Like to wrestle? Because if you spend any time getting a little kid dressed, that’s probably what you are doing. Trying to get a small child to stand or sit still long enough so you can pull up pants or throw a shirt over their head can be, well, trying. The good news is, learning to get dressed is a sequence of lessons that most preschoolers master by the time they turn five. And like everything else, learning to get dressed is definitely make for teachable moments. Not only do kids have to develop certain gross and fine motor skills to do things like put legs into pant holes or pull up a zipper, they also need to start matching colors and recognizing how to choose clothing that will keep them warm or cool enough, all contributing to a growing sense of independence.
 
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Kaboose.com has a some ideas to help you keep the kids busy on the days that you just can’t think of what to do…nothing too crazy, but fun!

I am very focused on keeping kids active and my kids love it. But, of course there are kids out there who don’t like sports…so what do we do?  I found this article - I hope it helps!

Click here to find an article from about.com for good ideas for indoor play…for those HOT days…when going outside is not an option!

Most children are developmentally ready for swim lessons when they are about four years old. Prior to that, their brains and bodies are less able to coordinate the motions of swimming strokes.

Click here for the rest of the article from About.com