Ages and stages: babies, toddlers, and overstimulation

by on February 21, 2013
in parenting · 4 Comments

Ameliasnooze6moDear readers, I’m taking a few days to tinker with some things behind-the-scenes here at Simple Kids. In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy this post, originally published on my Rockin’ Granola blog in January of 2012.

She starts to get restless.  I recognize the whimper and I pick her up and whisper in her ear as we walk around the bedroom. We walk and rock and it doesn’t take long before she is asleep, worn out from play and observing the world around her.

There are fussy moments that mean the baby is tired.  Or hungry.  Or overstimulated.  Amelia lets me know.

As I learn more and more about my child, I learn what her cries mean, what facial expressions indicate she’s overwhelmed, and I can anticipate her responses. 

This is something that an older sibling (and sometimes other adults) can’t as easily do.  At times there are hurt feelings.  “She doesn’t like me anymore.”

Sometimes, we can’t always decipher what our babies are trying to tell us.  One moment baby is happy and giggling, enjoying the game, and the next she is overwhelmed and frantic.

[Read more...]

Childhood, uncomplicated

by on February 18, 2013
in parenting · 16 Comments

bubbleMax

As the calendar turned to the new year, I realized that there were some things about simple living I needed to recommit myself to, including living for the “small” moments and being dedicated to giving my children as uncomplicated of a childhood as I can (there will always be complications in life, of course, and bad things happen but I will strive to focus on the joys of childhood).

Some recent events and the results of the reader survey confirmed to me that I was on the right track in thinking smaller and simpler – in my offline life and here at the SK blog.

If you haven’t been to the blog for a little while (I know many of you read the SK posts in a reader) then your visit today might reveal a few changes.  Most of the changes I suspect won’t make much of a difference except to me, but those of you who have been reading Simple Kids for a while might notice a few things are missing and there are a few things that are new.  I’ll be making some more changes here and there as I refine my vision for the online home I have here.

Change can be a very good thing.

Getting back to the basics and the simple joys of childhood.

[Read more...]

The Friday Five: my Valentines

by on February 15, 2013
in parenting · 12 Comments

familydrawing

One of the things I took away from our Simple Living Media reader survey last month (and there were many take-aways, thank you for your honest comments and constructive criticism) is that I could be more open and share more about my family and my personal mothering journey here on the blog than I have been. 

That’s not always easy for me, discussing the more personal things in public, as I tend not to talk about myself much and am kind of reserved except to my closest friends.  It is part of my INFP make-up, I suppose.

Still, I realized, a bit to my embarrassment, that while I talk about them often here on the blog, I have never actually introduced my family to Simple Kids readers.

So, for today’s Friday Five I hope you’ll indulge me as I want to do something a bit different and share with you my five Valentines – giving them a public declaration of love and letting you get to know me and my family a little bit better.

[Read more...]

Gifts of Love to Give All Year

by on February 13, 2013
in holidays & celebrations, parenting · 6 Comments

Title

Written by contributor Amanda Morgan of Not Just Cute.

Valentine’s Day is upon us, and the web is abuzz with all kinds of brilliant ideas for making the day special for your kids.  You can write them secret love letters requiring spy-grade decoder wheels to translate.  You can send them on a sweet and simple scavanger hunt for a fun surprise.  And you can make a special V-Day breakfast that’s as simple or complex as you like.   All of these are spectacular ideas, and I plan on putting a few of them to work in my own house this week.

But while these celebrations are fun and important, they aren’t nearly as important as the gifts of love we can give our children all year long.  Here are just a few of the most important gifts we can give every day. [Read more...]

The Friday Five: 5 reasons for unstructured play

by on February 8, 2013
in parenting · 9 Comments

Maxbubble

Written by Kara Fleck, Simple Kids editor and Rockin’ Granola mama.

While I am certainly a parent who uses planned activities and crafts as part of our regular weekly and daily rhythm, believing that they have value in a parent’s toolbox, I also value unstructured play.

I think it is good for our children, and for us, to walk on the wild side and throw out the rules and the organized crafts and curriculum on a regular basis and just play.  Kids need a healthy amount of unstructured play, even boredom.  From that time and space, creativity and imagination have room to bloom.

For this week’s Friday Five I’m sharing five quotes from some of my favorite authors on the subject of childhood and play.
[Read more...]

«Older Posts
Newer Posts»