How do I love thee? Let me craft the ways. Here are some easy kid-led activities for Valentine's day for your little ones to "show" their Valentine love.
Heart in hot chocolate
Have the kids drizzle chocolate in the shape of a heart or have them "draw" a heart shape, with a straw, in the foamy bubble-goodness of their hot chocolate. It's kinda like a hug in a cup.
Baby footprints
A special Valentine's present from baby to parent (or grandparent)—paint their foot with non-toxic paint (I like Crayola paints) and press down on a piece of paper. It's a great souvenir of their childhood and image of what love can make.
Write a love letter
Know how you write a #FF on twitter you should add a sentence as to why it's great to follow that person? Same should be done for a special valentine. Don't just send a valentine to the teacher—have your child draw a picture or write a sentence as to WHY that teacher is special (You smile at us. You help me with my reading. You make school nicer.) Same goes for a parent, sibling, aunt, karate teacher or whomever. Make a valentine that much more special by showing why the specific valentine is so special to your child.
Homemade Valentine's Day Cards
Yes, I have been guilty of last minute run to the drug store to buy cartoonish factory-made valentines (nothing wrong with it). But in this age of "every kid in class has to have a valentine" buying store-bought cards can get pricey.
Homemade Valentine's Day cards are simple to make and can be the project-of-the-week—doing a few a night leading up to Feb. 14th (if you are doing for the whole class). All you need is some red or white paper, scissors and some markers to decorate.
Check out our Wall Candy blogger's Free Valentine's Day Printables post for more Valentine's Day ideas.
Do you give your kids an allowance? What is the going weekly rate of allowance for kids these days? What are age-appropriate chores? Or are we just bribing the kids?
Disclosure: For the 1st time in my parenting life, I gave my kids an allowance last week…and I feel guilty.
Do you give your kids an allowance? Up to last week, I didn’t. I have always felt that my kids should participate in around-the-house-chores because it’s a HAVE TO. Like I HAVE TO make dinner—they HAVE TO clear the dishes. It’s part of being a member of our family. Like it or not there are HAVE TOs in life. Brushing your teeth, hanging your jacket, clearing the table are simply HAVE TOs—it’s part of the responsibility of living in our house.
But, alas, I failed my own philosophy last week on a snowy, blowy day. And I feel like it was more bribery than allowance. More manipulation that teaching. I had bronchitis…and the baby had an ear infection (again)…and I admit…I didn’t want to shovel the snow. So I am ashamed to say…I asked…
“Who wants to earn $5 for shoveling the snow?”
Sad isn’t it. Apparently, snow shoveling doesn’t fall into my philosophy of family HAVE TOs…it’s a seasonal exception to the rule. And the kids were all over it.
“I do! I do!”
What is the going weekly rate of allowance for kids these days?
Ontario student minimum wage is $7.25/hour.
B.C. general minimum wage is $8.75/hour.
On-line allowance calculators advise $1 for every year of your child’s life (10 years old = $10 in allowance per week)
Me? I offered $5 per kid with no negotiation (I’m an equal pay for equal work kind of Mom).
What is an age appropriate chore? Apparently, in my house, its snow shoveling. I knew they were old enough to not run out on the street and mature enough to see the job through (and it was light snow – so they were strong enough).
And yet, I feel like I bribed them to get a chore done that I didn’t want to do myself. Not that I let them know…I was all “Good Job!” when their red cheeks, big smiles, and snowy boots walked in the door.
They had such pride in being allowed to shovel the snow all by themselves for the first time ever…I think they might have done it for free…
Google “ear infections and babies” and you get 15,600,000 results. Well, make that 15,600,001 because this post is about ear infections, babies and a parent’s challenge in finding the fix. The right fix for your baby.
DS (12 mos) is on his 5th ear infection in 4 months. That is five rounds of antibiotics. FIVE. And after I researched, read and wrote THIS connecting autism and antibiotics…I think 5 is way too many.
If you have been following my tweets—I have been tweeting about this (a lot).
Ear infections suck. Waiting 4 months to see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist in a mega-city sucks more. Surely, he will get more infections between now and then. And I will have to decide whether to give him more antibiotics or manage it with pain reliever (which I guess doesn’t take care of the infection—but is it fluid build up or a virus? I’m confused about this).
Tubes sound like a silver lining. But putting a baby under general anesthetic is a scary thing. I hear it’s a 10-minute procedure and pretty easy on the kids (actually, I’ve heard it will be tougher on me than him).
And then, there are those good souls who recommend seeing a naturopath. Again, something I know nothing about—but isn’t fluid not draining a structural issue rather than environmental? Like plumbing pipes not quite at the right angle to drain.
And what do I do if I go the tube route? Will he have to wear ear plugs in the bath? Is all this fluid back-up going to affect his speech or hearing? Will all these antibiotics build up a super immunity?
Gah—I wish there was a manual for parents. Here’s your baby and here’s your user guide—check out the chapter on ear infections!
So, dear friends, an activity for your ear-tugging, grumpy, non-eating baby with an ear infection....lots of cuddles and follow-up calls for cancellations at the specialist's office.
Printer-friendly version