Positive Parenting: How To Raise A Child Who Enjoys Chores

Five tips for getting toddlers interested in Family Contributions.

tip one:

Create a checklist. I honestly had no idea this was going to be such a game changer in our house. I always assumed that since Sofie can’t really read or write, she’d never take to a checklist, not least of all a list of “chores”. But after creating a physical list and attaching it to a clipboard with a pen, Sofia took to checking off items like they were going out of style. She got so much gratification out of checking them off that it was super simple to encourage her to do the next thing on the list. I designed this Routines Checklist one just for two year olds and you can find it in my Etsy shop!

For more great tips on how to create the best morning routine check out this Genius Mom Hacks article about Creating Effective Morning Routines.

tip two:

take time for training. This may sound super obvious, but I will admit I totally missed this step. I never really took the time to explain to Sofie how to do the steps of each task let alone why we do them, what outcome we’re expecting, and how it benefits our family. So no wonder the weekends always felt like me following Sofie around Playing while trying to get as many chores done as I could. This too is all about breaking what we know down into super easy step by step instructions.

Tip three:

visualize the outcome. It’s hard for toddlers to know what you mean when you say things like “go clean your room” if they haven’t already grasped the concept of clean. To you their room looks like a giant mess but to them it just looks like all of their toys are out and ready to play. So practicing in advance with visual cues can really help. This was big for us when it came to bed time and morning routines as well. Once we started using the Routine Cards, Sofie had a visual reference for what we were asking her to do and it made it much easier to move through the flow.

Tip four:

make them toddler sized.
I learned pretty early on that if Sofia couldn’t be involved in what we were doing, tantrums would abound. This was especially true in the kitchen — we would be cooking at the countertop and she would climb on draw handles, hang on the counter ledges, whatever she could do to see what was going on any be in the action. So this tip is all about making things accessible to tiny humans who will do whatever they can to feel big.

• Buy a kitchen helper stool: This was a game changer for us in the kitchen. Suddenly not only was Sofie able to see what we were doing but she could participate in it. She could help take the stickers off of fruit as we put away the groceries. She could pull grapes off the stems and put them in a bowl.

• Cleaning toys: Sofie was naturally drawn to the vacuum early on and would always want to help but it was so hard and awkward to try and walk around with her clinging to it. But the moment she got her own child sized cleaning set for her birthday, she was able to do all of her own cleaning tasks. From dusting shelves to sweeping up little messes and pretending to mop the kitchen, having her own set that she can easily manipulate made it much more fun for her to get involved.

• child-sized Sink: Knowing what I knew about Sofie, I had a feeling the Lovevery Playkit sink was going to be a hit. But I had no idea how much she would love it! It instantly become her favorite activity and she requests it all of the time. We used to have to distract Sofie after dinner with a dance party or coloring so that we could clean up the dishes and kitchen. But since getting her own sink, she stands right next to me washing her dishes while I was the rest. She looks forward to “doing the dishes” every night after dinner. So much so that throughout the day she’ll ask me if she can wash dishes and I’m usually the one that doesn’t want to!

5 Tips for Consistent Baby Milestone Photos (with your iPhone)

Ahh yes, baby milestone photos! If you’re here it’s because like me you aspired to have the most coveted Pinterest-worthy baby milestone photos for your new little one. But you’re just a super exhausted mom to a newborn (and maybe older kiddos too) and you don’t have time to lug out your expensive DSLR to snag those monthly milestone photos. I knew before I even had my first baby that there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with the milestone photos with my real camera and that I was going to have to find a way to get great photos with just my iPhone. Of course, they’re not perfect, but I think they turned out well considering they took me less than 5 min per session!

5 Tips for Consistent Milestone Photos

Tip 1: photograph at the same time & place each day

This is tip number one for a reason. Consistent lighting and placement of the baby or so critical to ensuring it looks like the only thing changing in the photo is your babe. For my photos, I laid Sofie at the bottom of my bed on a blanket because my bedroom got the best morning light in front of the window. Light changes quite a lot season to season and throughout the day. And while you can’t change a gloomy day outside, you can at least limit the other factors. I recommend natural light (no inside lights turned on) and taking photos in a brightly lit room in front of a window. Morning light is great, you want is void any harsh shadows that might look strange or inconsistent day to day. And if the lighting doesn’t look great that day or you’re too tired to set up the scene, see tip 5!

tip 2: use a consistent background or object

once you’ve chosen a color palette, you’ll want to choose a consistent object, setting, or look that you know you can replicate over and over again. It’s easy to solve for baby laying flat but as baby grows and can sit up on her own, she might not be so cooperative with the laying down pose. So if you want to accommodate sitting up, think about what you’ll need to make that set up work.
for example, if you want to use baby milestone cards in your photos, you’ll need something to prop them against (or ask a teddy bear friend to hold them up for you). If you want to go for laying down photos, then a consistent blanket works great. Pro tip on the blanket front — make sure the blanket is big enough for when baby gets bigger so that they still fit on the blanket and you can stand over them and fit the blanket in the photo. Or using a. Layered effect works great too — swoop a blanket over top the bed spread and lay the baby overlapping both for a nice layered look.

Here are some of my favorite props ideas:

• A blanket or swaddle: there’s nothing sweeter or simpler than seeing how baby grows with her special blanket. I used a super fluffy pink fur blanket that I found on Amazon. With the lighting and presets that I used it' really looks like a very soft almost off-white peach color. So I definitely recommend practicing ahead of time to make sure you get the look that you want.

• Baby milestone cards: these are so great for tagging photos so that you don’t lose track month over month. You can also find milestone stickers, pennant flags, or wooden milestone cards. I don’t love the milestone blankets just because I find them too busy and distracting and they look funny as baby’s size changes over the months.

• Teddy bear: how cute is it to watch baby grow up next to her super special lovey! I did Sofia’s half birthday theme all around her Slumberkin’s Honey Bear / Bumblebee Theme and we took our newborn photos with him as well. But bear bear didn’t make it into our milestones photos because it was too distracting for Sofie and she kept covering her face.

• Letter board: If you can find a cute sign board that matches your aesthetic, it can be the perfect way to capture more details about each milestone. You can add baby’s favorite things, likes and dislikes, height and weight, month and year. The possibilities with the letter board are endless!

• Unique clothes or simple white onesies: My biggest tip here is just to plan in advance the outfits you want for each photo. I chose a simply white onesie because I knew I could quickly and easily find it in her size as she grew. And it wouldn’t be too expensive to have the same one in every size. But remember babies age don’t always align to size so even if you buy in advance, you don’t know which ones will fit at which months. So just plan ahead and make sure you have outfits you love in each size range.

• High chair or laundry basket: You’ll see in some of the photos below that momma used a cute little basket & high chair. Once baby is standing or walking and no longer wants to participate in a lay-down style photo, using something to hold baby propped up can be great! We had this Stokke TrippTrapp High Chair which would have been perfect because it’s got a clean white design that would fit with pretty much any aesthetic. I also love photos of baby’s in water tubs, and we did a couple of shoots in these awesome white drink tubs. Or a soft woven laundry basket like this one can be perfect for getting that super cute and dreamy photo of your little babe as he/she goes from lying to sitting to standing!

• Favorite object / theme: I’ve seen some really great photo inspiration over the years with rainbow colored toys, slices of pizza, you name it! As long as you know you can consistently execute and the object will look similar each month, go for it! But also know that if you go with something super unique, you might run the risk of it being too trendy and you not loving the look later on. So when in doubt, keep it classy, simple works best in my opinion!

tip 3: choose a color palette up front

So I definitely recommend doing some research up front to find a look that you love before diving in. It will be easy to want to change midway through because maybe you’ve gotten better at taking photos or your taste or style has changed, or now you hate the blanket that grandma gave you. So find a look you love that you know you can stick to. It helps to draw inspiration from your nursery since hopefully you chose a look that you adore that baby is in all of the time.

If you’re stuck, a neutral black and white or grey and white can be a great way to go. You know you’ll always have a white onesie on hand in baby’s size so you won’t be scrambling each month to choose the perfect outfit. If you have a bouncer or high chair that you plan to use on a regular basis, consider finding a color scheme to match. Don’t you just love boho milestone color scheme in these photos?

tip 4: use a Lightroom filter

I resisted this for the longest time because I thought it would be extra work, it wouldn’t look the same in all my photos and I figured if I had natural lighting that would be good enough. But after trying Lightroom filters for my iPhone photos, I can safely say that I won’t be going back. You still have to consider lighting and time of day, but the boost you get with a filter is pretty awesome. My favorite is called “Add to Cart” by Six Little Babes Presets but you can find a ton of others out there depending on your style and mood. You can find light and airy photography filters, moody and boho, etc. And they’re usually between $2-$8 and the Lightroom app is free!

tip 5: be flexible with the dates

when you have a newborn life is exhausting. And there two month milestone might fall in the middle of a work week or while you’re baby is sick and you’re super stressed out. It can be easy to just say forget it and snap a quick photo or not even take on at all. Give yourself a break and some flexibility — if you have time a week or so before or after the actual milestone take the photo then, don’t worry about it being on the exact date. Trust me you won’t look back and go “Hmm that wasn’t exactly 3 months was it?” Plus if baby is fussy one day, there’s nothing you’ll hate more than looking back at a sad pouty little face.

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So there you have it! 5 Tips for amazing and consistent baby milestone photos. And one little bonus tip in case you missed it — Practice Practice Practice! If you practice your set up before baby arrives at different times of day, you’ll know exactly what you’re going to get and how your filter will look so you won’t be caught off guard when you go to take your first photo.

Check out Black & White and Grey & White Baby Milestone cards at Goodnightfoxstudio.etsy.com

5 Steps to a Beautiful Rainbow Toddler Closet

Today I finally got around to organizing Sofie’s closet. I’m a total sucker for a good rainbow theme these days so organizing her closet by color was so much fun. The main colors are bright pastel primaries which really bring the rainbow look to life. Sofie loves to shop from small mom owned brands and some of our absolute favorites are featured here:

• Eighth Day Creations

• Little Nugget Knits

• Kyte Baby

• Little Sleepies

• Tilli Rose Designs

Getting rid of old baby clothes and things she’s outgrown is so incredibly hard for me. Every little outfit is so full of memories. But when it is time to purge I love sending gently used items to ThredUP ( P.S. You can use this code to get $10 free /www.thredup.com/r/QYRWFV) because I hope they get a second lifetime.

step 1: Choose a color palette

it sounds so simple when you think about it — if you want a Pinterest perfect closet you need to plan a color scheme in advance. But most people accumulate items they love as they go and so the whole closet is a hodge pudge of various tones. Rainbow is a great theme for a kids closet because you really get the breadth of all of the fun kids colors. When Sofie was an infant though I did a completely monochromatic closet with some baby pink accents.
Okay so you’re probably thinking there’s no way you could stick to a strict pallet. There’s no way you could give up your son’s favorite red shirt or your daughters crazy purple birthday dress. Well the good news is you don’t have to! For those must have items that don’t fit into the closet color scheme, simply tuck them away in some stylish bins. This keeps the overall look uniform.

step 2: design your seasons

Another great way out of narrowing down the color palette is to pick two schemes. One for fall and winter and one for spring and summer. For fall I simply can’t resist natural muted earth tones and all of the brown, maroons, and dark mustard colors. But for spring and summer in all about the pastel bright rainbows. The key is just don’t mix and match. If you have two sides of the closet use one for each season. Or if not tuck away the past season in boxes — and if your kiddo is a toddler they’ve l likely outgrown last season anyway.

step 3: arrange your shelves

Sofie had a lot of Toddler Jammie’s and tops so I chose to hang those and use the shelves in between for leggings and shorts. But now that she’s old enough to pick out her own outfits, I recommend hanging matching bottoms and tops together so that they can easily choose something semi coordinated.

step 4: arrange by color

This is wear the rainbow magic begins! Start with red and darks moving to lighter shades and into the next color. You’ll have so much fun seeing the rainbow come to life. If you do a squint test and something sticks out, it’s probably the wrong color family or tone.

Okay so you’re probably thinking that’s great for solids but what about patterns and multi colors? We’ll as you can see in my photo Sofie def has some floral prints that I just love. I tend to tuck them strategically in between other items do they don’t stand out too much. But you can also gather then all at one end or the other or fuck them away in boxes. To get the overall effect you just have to make sure you don’t have too many outliers.

step 5: purchase items to fill in the gaps

It probably sounds crazy to shop for new items based on your closet color palette instead of what your kid really needs right now. But here’s the thing — adding this constraint into the equation made me a much better shopper. Instead of just buying the first thing you see that meets that cold morning need, it’ll force you to think about what color or pattern you need, what bottoms will match, and what place does it serve in the overall wardrobe. Doing this really helped me ensure I wasn’t just buying more to have more but actually making a thoughtful choice.

Oh and it works the other way too! The best excuse I had not to buy one more coral shirt, or that bright red valentines print was knowing that either that color spot was already taken or that bright red would mess up my whole aesthetic.

So it’s a brand new year and spring cleaning will be just around the corner. So don’t forget these five tips for a more organized and Pinterest-worthy closet as you start your annual organization efforts!

Rainbow Waffles Toddler Activity

Ready for some more rainbow fun?! This week, Sofie and I made these fun rainbow waffles. It does take a little bit of time to mix all of the colors, but Sofie loves blueberries, so I kept her entertained with those while I made the waffle mix. To keep it simple, I just use a bag of waffle mix and then make each color in a separate bowl. I used these lovely pastel food coloring sets because I’m all about that modern pastel rainbow. Here’s what you need to get started:

• Blueberries

• Waffle mix

• Water or milk

• Pastel food colors

• Waffle iron

Now for the hard part — pour each color into a piping bag and cut the tips. You have to work pretty quickly. I started on the outside with the pink and then did a circle around. Then move onto the orange and so on until you get the perfect rainbow effect. You can tell I didn’t quite fill it up enough which is why my waffle had holes. So hopefully you use enough to fill it and work fast enough not to let the colors bleed together. Then just use your waffle iron as directed and when you’re done pop it out. Mine pretty much fell apart in half, but if not, break or cut it down the middle and sprinkle some blueberries for clouds.

And there you have it, the perfect toddler breakfast — rainbow waffles. Sofie loved these and the blueberries added sweetness with out needing to get her hands sticky with syrup. I’m all about the ease of clean up over here. ;)

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Looking for an awesome rainbow activity?

Check out these adorable rainbow colored flashcards from Goodnightfoxstudio.etsy.com

Rainbow Pancakes

So some good friends of mine recommended I branch out from the usual eggs for breakfast. So on a whim I decided to make some rainbow pancakes this morning. I literally decided to do it and whipped them ago all within a matter of 30 minutes. And the outcome was so fun! Look at these adorable rainbows and clouds! I will definitely be doing more pancakes in the future.

• Pancake Mix

• Water or Milk

• Canola Oil

• Food Coloring

• Piping bags

OuTdoor animal safari

Today we decided to take our Safari Animal Flashcards outside for a little outdoor animal adventure. We took them around the yard and matched the colors of nature to the animals on each of the cards. We also laid them out on our IKEA Flisat table and pointed out each one! Sofie can already say “tiger” and “hippo” but the other animals are taking her a little while longer to get. We enjoyed a little fun in the sun in our adorable sunflower peplum from Eighth Day Creations.

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Check out these Safari Animal Flashcards at Goodnight Fox!

These flash cards are the perfect way to get your toddler’s education started off on the right foot. They’re durable and you can take them on the go!

Desert Animals Practice

Today we spent our morning with our Desert Animals Flashcard set from GoodnightFox. It was so much fun teaching Sofie about some animals that she doesn’t see regularly in her books or outside. She’s great at starting to mimic the sounds I make for each animal name. And she’s getting close to being able to recognize some of them as well. These flashcards are such a great little educational activity to pass the time, especially while I’m cooking or cleaning up around the house.

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Check out these Desert Animal Flashcards!

Head on over to the shop to snag a set of these Desert Animal Flashcards for yourself!

Learning Fruits for Breakfast

For breakfast today we practiced our fruits! So far Sofie can say “nana” for banana, “opple” for apple, and “oshg” for orange. She’s learning so many new words everyday is just fascinating. This morning I was trying to hold her off until she was a little hungrier for breakfast and this was the perfect entertainment. I could quiz her on each fruit and she would practice saying each word. I love our little bonding activities — it’s so fun to watch her learn basic words.

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Want to play the fruit for breakfast game too?

Snag these Fruit Flashcards by Goodnightfoxstudio.etsy.com and use code FRIENDS15 to save.

Safari animals for breakfast

Today we decided to practice our Safari animals for breakfast! I find that Sofie really appreciates the distraction while she eats — she’s a super slow eater. It’s so hard to deal with kids who are picky eaters. So using this time to practice our animals and foods has been amazing. It keeps her entertained and since she’s sitting in her high chair she’s not distracted by other toys.

Sofie has this very strange habit of wanting to grab absolutely everything off of our kitchen table while we’re trying to eat a meal. She grabs the placemats, reaches and whines for the glasses, water bottles, plants — anything that’s on the kitchen table, she wants to grab it. And she’s constantly fussing for whatever she can’t have. We’ve tried giving her other objects and toys, but she really just wants to eat what we’re eating or explore the objects she’s not allowed to have. Distracting her with flash cards, quizzing her on her animals, and making a game of learning has been the only way to avoid the constant whining during meals.

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Ready to try entertaining your picky eater?

Snag these adorable, slobber resistant, wipeable flashcards from GoodnightFox and use code FRIENDS15 for 15% off your order. Safari Animal Flashcards

Fruit, Veggies, & color practice

Today for dinner we decided to use what we were cooking as an opportunity to learn our colors and fruits & veggies. Fruit is so colorful and beautiful and a great way to help match the concept of color. Sofie loves holding the different textures of each food we tried. She doesn’t quite know her colors yet, but she’s always learning!

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Looking for great color learning activities?

Check out these at Goodnightfoxstudio.etsy.com and use code FRIENDS15 to save!