Uncomplicated parenting in a complex world.
“Ideas won’t keep: something must be done about them.” – Alfred North Whitehead
The following is by Simple Kids editor Kara Fleck and originally appeared July 2010.
Our oldest child, Jillian, is eight, which means that we’ve had a little experience with the Tooth Fairy lately. The loss of a baby tooth and the arrival of the Tooth Fairy is a much celebrated thing at our house – and a tradition that I’m glad to see holds as much magic on this side of childhood, too.
In fact, my daughter loves visits from the Tooth Fairy so much that she recently did the “door trick” all by herself when a wiggly tooth just wasn’t falling out fast enough. Determined that the Fairy was coming that night, and undeterred by my protests that it might hurt or be a little bloody, Jillian carried on tying her tooth to the door knob and then slamming the door (she’s much braver than her mother). Success!
Now, the magic hasn’t been without its close calls. A time or two the Tooth Fairy has been caught empty-handed when a tooth erupted too close to bedtime (luckily, the Easter Bunny and Santa are generous with their gift stash).
Once the (obviously over-worked and very tired) Fairy completely spaced out and forgot to come! She made it up with a sweet note and an extra token the next night. We certainly hope that she has learned her lesson. [Read more...]
The following was written by Simple Kids editor Kara Fleck and originally appeared August 2010.
We’ve talked before about my belief that kids need routines they can count on. Bedtime is one of the routines we hold sacred at our house. The order is always the same and, with rare exception, we don’t deviate from this routine.
Sometimes mommy is in charge of bedtime and sometimes daddy is, but the line-up is the same, no matter who is telling the story and tucking them in. The kids rely on it and I think they find comfort in knowing that the routine will be consistent, whether we are at home, traveling and staying in hotels, or at Grandma’s house.
This routine helps us to provide an anchor for the kids when life changes happen. During times when the rest of our life is in flux, Chris and I make a greater effort to make sure that some things stay the the same for the children.
Bedtime is one of those routines that helps us hold steady as a family.
Our bedtime routine is:
A nightly bath is for cleaning off the dirt of the day’s play, of course, but it is also for splashing and laughing and relaxing at the end of the day. Bath time marks the start of the transition toward bedtime in our house. [Read more...]
Hello dear readers! I’m enjoying a break from blogging as my family prepares to welcome our new baby. I’ve got some wonderful guest posts lined up to share with you. Today, Simple Kids is pleased to welcome Elise Adams of Adam’s Organizing. I think you’ll really enjoy her article on frugal, but fun, birthdays. – Kara
There are 6 kids in my happily-blended family—including a couple teenagers, two toddlers and a few in-between too! If you start counting aunts, uncles and cousins…the number of birthdays we need to celebrate every year is nearly incalculable!
One of the primary principles we live by in our nuclear family is that the best gift we can give each other is time together. We aren’t focused on accumulating the latest gadget or picking up the newest toy. This defined principle (we openly talk with our kids about this) really helps me focus on what is truly important—even during Birthday Season!
We focus on attentively hearing each other, extravagantly playing together and deeply connecting to one another. Movies or amusement parks aren’t really our cup of tea—we’d prefer an outing to the river for a walk/run/bike ride or a drive to the mountains to pick wildflowers. These adventures allow us time to talk (the car is such a great place to get recalcitrant teenagers communicating again) and also work well when combining different age groups.
This is where having a big family is a BIG plus! Whether we’re getting together for an aunts/uncles/cousins birthday potluck or gathering for my babies 1st birthday, in our family we all contribute something. My husband is a great dish washer and my Mom (the kids Grandma) usually brings salad, bread and drinks. Even if it’s a last minute-thrown-together plan where we all pitch in I don’t end up feeling exhausted and worn out at the end of the day when we follow this principle!
“We are ourselves creations … and we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity, by being creative ourselves.” – Julia Cameron
