Posted on 03. Oct, 2010 by Marcie Paige.
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It’s not surprising that one of the first words you often hear out of your toddler’s mouth is NO. We use it all the time… ‘No, don’t touch that’, ‘No, that’s hot’, ‘No, you can’t play with that’…
Previously we talked about the importance of saying No; but No is used soooo often that it can be very frustrating to an independent toddler.
It’s like a punch to the gut every time, which causes them to be angry, frustrated, cry or throw a tantrum!
Toddlers have a strong need to make their own decisions.
In many cases you can use an alternative to the word No while still providing the same answer.
Here are a few examples:
Question: ‘Can I have a cookie?’
Answer: ‘Yes, after lunch’
Question: ‘Can I go outside to play?’
Answer: ‘After it stops raining’
Question: ‘Can I watch TV?’
Answer: ‘As soon as your room is clean’
In most cases this difuses the situation because they WILL get what they’ve asked for, and these answers make it very clear what is expected of them before they get what they want. If they continue to ask you just remind them of your previous answer.
Find an alternative to the word No so that when you do say no they know you mean it.
Remebmer – it is a lot harder to fight a ‘Yes, later’.
Take action now, give this technique a try and come back and tell us about your success!
Don’t for get to share this post with your friends on Facebook and Twitter too.
Posted on 26. Sep, 2010 by Marcie Paige.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Leduc, Alberta. (September 4, 2010) Today’s generation of moms can be characterized by one word: busy. They’re ferrying their children to and from daycare, school, and extracurricular activities. Arranging play dates and making stops at the grandparents’ house. In their spare time, online shopping is a big part of a mom’s life, especially when it comes to sourcing out products that will help make their busy life that much easier.
Marcie Paige of online baby boutique BabyGrins.ca is pleased to announce that the BabbaMat, a parenting product designed to make travelling with tots safer and more enjoyable, is now available to Canadian moms through her website.
“Moms are looking for products that make running errands and visiting with friends and family with children in tow easier, so on-the-go products are the best-sellers on BabyGrins.ca,” says Paige. “When I saw the BabbaMat, I knew I had to stock it, and I’m excited to be the first Canadian retailer to do so.”
The BabbaMat is a self-inflatable, multi-functional mat designed for use for babies playing or sleeping needs at home or on the road. The BabbaMat can be used indoors or outdoors. Compact when folded, it inflates to three feet by four feet, and two inches thick. The mat has a unique foam and air design that makes it both comfortable and safe, unlike other types of air mattresses, which are not recommended for use by children.
“There are so many times when you’re out and about where you need a safe, clean spot to lay your new baby or toddler for a quick diaper change, playtime, or even a nap, and nothing safe is available,” explains Paige. “If you’re at grandma’s house, the BabbaMat can be used as a spot for a baby not yet sitting upright reliably to sit safely without risk of hurting their head on laminate or tile flooring. It can be used as a nap spot for a baby or toddler instead of unsafe piles of blankets on the floor or an adult bed. Toddlers will use it as a nap spot, or bed in mom and dad’s room after a nightmare. My older children love stretching out on it to watch cartoons.”
The BabbaMat retails for $110.00 and is only available in Canada at BabyGrins.ca.
BabyGrins.ca is one of the leading online baby boutiques in Alberta. Based in Leduc, Alberta, owner Marcie Paige created the website in 2007 after fruitless efforts to find great baby gear locally or online. The site offers more than 65 products designed to help simplify a parent’s life and engage children in everyday activities.
Contact:
Marcie Paige
Savvy Parenting Specialist
Email: marcie@babygrins.ca
Toll Free: 866-970-2229
Posted on 31. Jul, 2010 by Marcie Paige.
Saying NO to your children can be VERY difficult but, children need to hear NO!
Otherwise how will they learn to deal with disappointment later in life or to be thankful for what they do receive?
As parents we want to give our children everything! If using the word NO makes you cringe, this is probably what you are telling yourself…
“I want them to have the things I didn’t have growing up!”
“They don’t understand the reason for saying NO and I feel bad, I’ll push the issue when they’re older!”
“I can’t stand the screaming and whining, might as well give in now instead of later.”
“He/She is sooooo cute, I mean really… who can say NO to that face!”
Whatever you’re telling yourself, I’m sure it’s just as good as the reasons listed above!
It’s very important to set boundaries early on. You’d be surprised at how many solutions a little word like NO can accomplish once your children understand the meaning! You’ll avoid grocery store meltdowns, toy store tantrums, Dr’s office pestering, and more.
Now, just to be VERY clear, we’re not talking about saying NO, we’re talking about meaning NO! These are 2 totally different situations. If you say NO and change your mind then you’ve lost the battle and you shouldn’t have said NO in the first place.
How do you teach your child that NO means NO?
The most important thing you need to remember is that when you say NO… DON’T CHANGE YOUR MIND! Trust me, if your child thinks you have a crack in your armor, they will break it open! This is VERY important!
Don’t be quick to say NO if you’re not totally sure. Your better off to think about your answer first and determine if NO really is the best answer, rather then have NO quickly roll off the tongue, regret it, and change your mind.
Children don’t understand that you’ve re-evaluated the situation and decided that NO wasn’t the best answer. They see it as you ‘GAVE IN’. That means that next time you say NO they will be expecting you to ‘GIVE IN’ AGAIN!
It doesn’t matter whether you change your mind 5 seconds after you say NO or if it’s been 5 hours since you’ve said NO, this teaches your child that if they are persistent enough, they will eventually get what they want.
Having a persistent child means… temper tantrums, whining, pestering, etc. All the behaviors we dread as parents!
And don’t be fooled, just because your child is not talking yet doesn’t mean they don’t understand what you are saying or asking of them.
When my oldest daughter was about 18 months, she was playing soccer in the house with my brother. Now, at 18 month her vocabulary was VERY limited. I asked if she wanted me to hold her granola bar, until she was done playing, and she ran it over to me. My brother looked at me with a shocking look on his face and said “she understood what you just said?!”
So do you think there is any doubt in my mind that she wouldn’t be able to understand the word NO??
When do you start saying NO to your children?
At about 6-8 months! As soon as they are crawling and starting to explore and getting into things. Teaching your child the meaning of NO as a baby can also help to avoid behavioral problems parents sometimes run into with their toddlers.
And YES, you will probably have to tell your baby 1000 times or more ‘not to pull on the TV chord’ before they finally get it! Consistency is VITAL!
Once a child learns that NO means NO, they also stop getting upset when you say NO, they stop whining and pestering you after you say NO, and best of all… when you are out in public, you don’t have meltdowns and temper tantrums when you say NO!
Because lets face it, you’re gonna have to say NO almost every day (probably multiple times a day!), use it properly and find alternatives to the word NO. You’ll never regret it!
Your children will thank you for it! (well… probably not until they have kids of their own) but eventually they will 
Remember – NO is a very small word that can make a HUGE difference in your daily activities.
Posted on 12. Jun, 2010 by Marcie Paige.
by Strider International founder Ryan McFarland
I spend a good bit of time each day answering questions about the Strider™ running bike as it compares to other models or about certain features that it has. I thought I’d try to hit some key points here that I seem to discuss regularly.
Better seat height adjustment… Strider PREbikes offer 11″ to 16″ in any increment you want… you can even buy longer seatposts to raise the seat even higher since it is a standard BMX spec tubing. Wooden bikes that I’ve seen don’t allow the seat to go as low, adjust in only a few set increments, and don’t go as high. This limits the useable life of the bike.
Better saddle ergonomics… Strider PREbike balance bikes offer a regular bicycle saddle with a molded plastic shell with a traditional saddle design of narrow nose with wider rear seating wings plus padding and vinyl cover all scaled to fit a small rider. Wooden bikes that I’ve seen have basically a piece of curved plywood that is not very ergonomically engineered. I don’t know of any adult that would want to ride on a similar plywood design on their bike. The bicycle industry has spent millions of dollars on saddle design and development. Our saddle design most closely resembles what has become the norm for a bicycle saddle.
Better handlebar fit… Strider PREbike running bikes offer 3″ of height adjustment in any increment you want. Wooden bikes that I’ve seen have a fixed height with no adjustment. The Strider PREbike’s handlebars also have rearward ‘sweep’ built into the bars for a better ergonomic fit… as do nearly ALL bicycle and motorcycle handlebars. Again, these industries have invested millions of dollars on handlebar design and ergonomics. Our design most closely resembles what has become the norm for mountain bikes, BMX bikes, and dirtbikes/motorcycles. The wooden bikes that I’ve seen are simply straight across, no sweep.
FOOTRESTS! This is huge. Only the U.S. Patent Pending Strider PRBike design has footrests positioned directly under the saddle, the natural location that allows for rider weight to be shifted to the rider’s legs and even allows the rider to ride standing up, to wheelie, and to bunny-hop. The wooden bikes are missing the footrest feature entirely, and therefore cannot even offer children the ability to learn these advanced riding skills. Why buy a bike that has only a fraction of the educational and performance possibilities for your child! Footrests also dramatically reduce the weight/pressure on the groin area when compared to trying to hold your legs up in the air while gliding. As a parent, try this experiment on your bike… coast along for a few minutes with your legs dangling off the pedals… I guarantee your tender parts will be screaming for you to put your feet back on the pedals and relieve the pressure felt from the saddle. When your feet rest on pedals or footrests, half the weight of your legs transfers from the saddle to the pedals or footrests relieving pressure in the groin area. Now take it to the next extreme… ride off a curb with your feet dangling… I didn’t think so! We wouldn’t want to do this so why make our kids. With the Strider running bike, my son can be coasting down the sidewalk, relaxed, feet up on the footrests… if he comes to a bump or a curb, he stands up on the footrests and rolls right over it and absorbs the bump with his knees, just like I do when I stand up on the pedals on my bike.
I hope this is helpful. I really believe we offer the most feature-rich bike on the market and offer the best value running bike on the market.
-by Strider International founder Ryan McFarland
Posted on 04. May, 2010 by Marcie Paige.
I don’t know about you but my kids wanted to switch to a ‘big kid cup’ pretty early on. I own a lot of no-spill sippy cups and adult looking toddler cups with covers. But none of them seemed to satisfy my independent toddler, who knows right off that they are getting a ‘special’ cup and it’s not like mom & dad’s cup
And honestly… the only way for a child to learn to use a regular cup is to let them practice so I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cleaned up water, milk, juice, etc, etc, etc. off my kitchen table and floors!!
A few months ago I had a customer ask that I place a special order for two Steadycups, (at the time I was not carrying them in stock) and when the Steadycups arrived the customer changed their mind and didn’t want them. So I decided to test them out on my girls. Really… from the pictures I didn’t see what was so special about them… it’s not like they had funky colors or magical features from what I could tell…
Boy was I wrong! My girls are 5 years and 2 years. My 5 year old is great with cups already but my 2 year old is TERRIBLE!! She is such a huge mess maker and sooooo independent. Needless to say she always wants to use a ‘big girl cup’. The Steadycups are by far the best toddler cups we’ve ever tested out!! We have been using these cups for 2 months now and even my rambunctious 2 year old has not been able to tip over this cup
Posted on 12. Feb, 2010 by Marcie Paige.
by Ingrid Carney, BellaBand designer
“People often ask how I came up with the BellaBand and I’ll never forget the day. I was newly pregnant and dressing for work when there it was: my belly popped!
I wasn’t big enough to fill maternity wear, yet there was no possibility of buttoning my pants. Safety pins were bulky, rubber bands were uncomfortable, larger sizes looked sloppy, and when my blouse rose it exposed my poor attempts to hold up my pants.
I panicked, thinking, “How can I keep my pants up and hide the fact that they don’t fit?” Finally, I tried a tube-top over my waistband. It was thick and not sized properly for a growing belly, but it worked! I un-tucked my blouse, left for the office and no one knew my pants were undone.
In the coming weeks I found myself wearing my new accessory almost daily. I wore it over unbuttoned jeans that still fit around my hips, cute maternity I had yet to fill, and later with low maternity waistbands that constantly fell down around my hips. That’s when I wondered if other women might want something like this.
Eventually, I introduced the BellaBand. And my inspiration, you might say, was my sweet daughter Isabel, now age six-that once pesky bump in my belly. I want women to enjoy getting dressed every day during pregnancy. Let’s celebrate our changing bodies and dress with confidence because we deserve to look and feel beautiful.”
by Ingrid Carney, BellaBand designer
