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It’s that time of year.  The lights, the parties, the festivities, the shopping, the trees, the STRESS of the holidays.  Most of us have more to get done than we think we can possibly handle, especially if you add kids into the mix.  But are there ways to at least reduce some of the stress this wonderful season brings? 

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department offers some valuable tips on simple things you can do to make this season a little easier:  

1. Save decorating until a week before the holiday.  Save irreplaceable decorations for later years when children are older.  My son is two, so I won’t be buying any Swarovski Crystal or Tiffany ornaments this year.   

2. Shop ahead, throughout the year, while children are at school or home.  Good advice, unless you’re like me and just HAVE to close the mall down on Christmas Eve, just for the fun of it. 

3. Limit the number of times children stay with babysitters while you attend events.  Not a problem in my house - my babysitter is terminally unavailable.  

4. Avoid forcing a frightened child to sit on Santa’s lap.  Young children often enjoy stories and pictures but the real thing can be overwhelming. I tried to force my son to sit for a Santa picture last year.  All I got was a photo of a distraught toddler with red puffy eyes. 

5. Avoid forcing children to welcome unknown relatives with a kiss or by handing them over to be held by a stranger.  Allow the child time to warm up. Also good advice, unless you’re my mother ‘Gwennie’ and in that case, there will be no warm up time. Because she said so.

 6. If weather permits, encourage outdoor play to release extra energy.  OK, we live in Oklahoma. This is not hard. It won’t be cold until at least Febraury.  

7. Keep routines as normal as possible.  Be sure to expect behavioral changes anytime routines change. I find that this is pretty much a given with a toddler, at any time, in any season, for any reason. 

8. When traveling with a young child, allow extra time on the road.  Take some familiar objects from home.  Establish a routine as close as possible to your regular routine and be assertive with relatives about how you enforce limits with your child. Unless, of course you’re ‘Gwennie’ and under her roof. Then it’s her rules … or else.

9. Limit holiday candy; give healthy treats along with the seasonal goodies.  So pumpkin pie counts as a vegetable, right?

Any more tips you’d like to share? Leave your comments here or email me at the address below.

~Erica Smith

esmith@opubco.com

Cade, my 3-year-old son, is so cute and loving. But, like most 3-year-olds, he can be trying at times.

We have a ritual at our house. It involves picking up his toys several times throughout the day. Why? He loves to throw his toys and books across the room.

He’s actually better than he used to be. His tendency to throw is common among some Down Syndrome children. Physical therapists have said he did this because he liked the sensation of throwing and that we should direct his impulse toward acceptable items - bean bags, socks, soft objects - and have him aim them toward a basket.

His aim is really good, too. A pink paper fish with a colorful tail of streamers had hung  in a doorway for several years - until this past month when Cade zeroed in on the floating fish and successfully knocked it from its place after several times of pummeling it with balls, cars, pillows and other toys.

We should stop him, and we do, but sometimes we just give out. And it’s these times when we say cade, Cade, CADE! … and then duck when a remote or favorite book comes hurling toward our heads. Unfortunately, sometimes we’re not so quick or we’re oblivious to the incoming plastic missiles.

But we love him. And, our living room will continue to look like a whirlwind just plowed through. (I wonder what my daughters’ friends’ mothers must think about my little pit. – If only they had stopped by three minutes earlier)

We continue to try to correct him and encourage him to restrain from chunking the DVDs, newspapers and toys across the room.

It’s encouraging that he’s better. His throwing habit has evolved into mostly tossing across the floor or carrying toys from one location to another.

And, also promising is his willingness to clean up while he sings the “Clean Up” song.

But don’t be surprised by the socks and toys thrown in our entertainment center, behind the furniture and pushed beneath the couch if you drop by. Oh, and, Duck! — Linda Lynn

Those of us celebrating this fun holiday with a toddler, may be thinking “My child is too young for trick-or-treating, but I can’t let the day go by without some festivities to create that picture perfect moment of my little one in full costume.”

Here are some ideas that might be a bit more toddler-friendly than trick-or-treating.

Have a get together at your house.  This works especially if you have other friends with toddlers.  They can have food and games just for them.

Go to the zoo.  The Oklahoma City Zoo sponsors “Haunt the Zoo” every year, and we go … every year.  You won’t see the exhibits, but you’ll meet alot of friendly zoo employees who will be giving out all kinds of goodies.  They also provide plenty of picture opportunities.  Go to www.okczoo.com for more information.

Festivals.  There are plenty around the metro. It seems that every church, YMCA and other community center is hosting a fall festival or carnival.  Take advantage of these, as many are free and they’re a fun, safe alternative to trick-or-treating.

Hand out candy. Dress your toddler up in their costume and let them pass out candy to visiting trick-or-treaters.  Chances are, they’ll just love the opportunity to show off their costume to neighbors.  And you’ll get to watch Halloween specials on TV.

And if you do decide to brave the neighborhood for goodies, just be sure to follow the basic rules of trick-or-treating:

-Wear light-colored clothing and/or reflective tape on costumes.  Don’t cross streets between parked cars.

-Go in a group, and while it is still light out.  Use flashlights if it’s dark. Don’t go to any house that has the lights turned off.

-Inspect all candy carefully and discard anything that has a torn or missing wrapper or could have been tampered with in any way. 

If you have any more good safety tips or suggestions for Halloween, post them here or email esmith@opubco.com and I’ll post them for you.

~Erica Smith

If you’ve read my blogs, you already know I’m a big fan of the Oklahoma City Zoo. 

Last night, my son and I attended the ConZOOvation event at the zoo, and it was a blast.  For $6 (the price for each adult, kids went free), we had an evening of dinner , crafts and a puppet show. They had the characters from OETA’s show Between the Lions and Chick-fil-A supplied dinner to the kids and adults.  Kids also got to make their own lion puppets and had a goody bag complete with animal book to take home with them.   

Also, once a month, we attend a class with other 2-year-olds and they do all kinds of fun things.  There’s story time, craft-making, and the zoo staff bring in a “friend” … usually something alive that the kids can touch and come face to face with.  It runs about an hour on a Saturday morning, once a month and they have a different theme each class.  For Zoo Friends, each class is $10.00 and for others it is $12.00 per child.  Well worth it!

Visit the zoo’s Web site, okczoo.com, click on education, then events, then toddler programs to see the programs offered for kids 5 and younger and special events.  There’s some fun things coming up like Family Fun Night for Zoo Friends members and Cupcakes with Santa in a few months.  For a monthly schedule of events, look under “Zoo News” on the homepage or go to http://www.okczoo.com/wimgo/.

Have fun planning your next trip to one of Oklahoma City’s best attractions!

~Erica Smith

esmith@oklahoman.com

Well, we made it.  My 2-year-old boy, Hunter and I came from an OU game relatively unscathed.   Rain delay and all.

I learned alot Saturday, so I would like to share my newfound knowledge with other parents.

Here are my tips when bringing a toddler to a major sporting event:

1.  Bring your own snacks.  OU will let you bring in food for babies and small children, so load up and skip the $4 hot dogs.  We brought pretzels, Cheerios mix and Rice Krispies treats.

2.  Freeze a big bottle of water and pack it in your bag.  My son got to stay cool all through a hot game and I didn’t have to spend money on the super-expensive water at the stadium.

3. Keep your child engaged in the game.  By the end of the first quarter, Hunter knew to say “Touchdown!” and “Ooooooooo U!” It made the game a blast for me and him.

4.  At the first sight of lightning, LEAVE.  We made the mistake of waiting until it was too late, and I was stuck underneath a stadium with about 50,000 other people braving the rotating thunderstorm directly above us.  Not to mention the very long trek through mud afterward to catch a shuttle.  My arms are still sore from carrying my little 30-pound Sooner fan all that way.

5. Bring your camera.  Yes, they’re allowed and you won’t want to miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this one …

~ERICA SMITH

esmith@oklahoman.com

Is this something that is possible?  Without me losing my hair or sanity?

I have tickets to OU’s season-opener this Saturday.  First, I am a bit suprised that you have to buy a full-price ticket for a 2-year-old but according to the athletic office “any human being going into the stadium needs a ticket.  Even infants.” 

Yeah, I guess infants would fall into the “human being” category, although I couldn’t imagine bringing one to a game.  But a toddler, well, that may or may not be worse.

I hope I’m not crazy to try this, but maybe he’ll have a blast and we’ll have an extra activity to add to our fall calendar.  Has anyone tried it?  If so, give me the lowdown and some good tips if you have them. 

~Erica Smith

esmith@oklahoman.com

I really need some help with a very awkward and embarrassing situation I experienced over the weekend.

My son is in a class at the zoo.  It meets once a month, and it is specific to his age.  All the children in the class are 2 years old.  The class is terrific and I highly recommend it to anyone.  They have different age groups so any child can sign up.  The cost is $10-$12 per class.  In his class, they do learning activities, look at exhibits, do crafts and read stories. 

On Saturday, we were in the craft portion of the class.  All the kids sit at tables and the parents are right there with them.  My son takes a spot next to a little blond girl.  I didn’t notice at first, but she apparently suffers from a skin disorder, maybe psoriasis or something along those lines.  Her skin was red and blotchy and looked to be peeling. But I didn’t think twice about it and so we started working on the craft. 

About 5 minutes into it, my son looks over at her, points to her arm and lets out a huge “EWWWWW!!!” complete with scrunched-up nose and big grin.  I think my heart stopped.  I could feel her parents’ eyes on me and I immediately turned red. I was mortified. I didn’t know what to do.  I went on instinct and tried to cover as best as I could by saying “yes, Hunter, ewww,  you got glue on your hands!”

What do we do in a situation like that?  I couldn’t punish him - after all, he is only two.  If I tried to talk to him about it afterward, he would have long forgotten about what I was even referring to. 

Please, fellow parents, tell me how you would handle that and if you have had a similar situation happen to you.  I really need some advice on this because I have a sneaky suspicion this won’t be the last time!

~Erica Smith

esmith@oklahoman.com

 I was reading a story today about how some states (not Oklahoma) are passing legislation to cut down on the number of unsolicited phone books that pile on residents’ door steps, clog landfills and generally just waste a lot of trees.

I get two or three such books each year. They go straight into the trash bin because like most folks, I generally look up information online. Plus I don’t have space near my phone to store the bulky books.

That got me thinking that maybe I should “repurpose” the paper in the books into craft supplies. Papier-mache, decoupage, even gift-wrapping came to mind.

It’d be cute to give an active golfer, for example, a box of golf balls wrapped in the phone book pages advertising sporting supply stores or golf vacations. Or to decoupage a frame for Grandma with the pages listing relatives’ phone numbers. (Could be handy too!) The paper also could be torn in strips, dunked in glue and wrapped around an inflated balloon. Once dry, it could be painted and filled with candy to make a pinata.

What ideas do you have? I’m always looking for ways to keep the kids occupied while saving money.

Comment here or e-mail me at ssimpson@oklahoman.com.

Susan Simpson, Education Writer

My family has been camping for the past week.

Not outside of course. It’s hot there! But in a tent in the middle of the living room.

My 5-year-old has been learning about camping at preschool, and so we thought it’d be fun to actually break out the tent stored in an unopened box in our attic.

Putting the thing together was fun for my husband because there were no directions. Bravely, he managed and we soon had a bigger-than-I-expected igloo-shaped domicile. My daughter collected an array of snacks for our “camping” trip and I turned on the Discovery Channel (the TV was right there) to find some scenery.

Despite the whirl of the ceiling fan, it was fun to imagine we were actually on a great adventure. Our dogs became “bears” prowling for snacks. We made fire-free S’mores with chocolate marshmallows and Ritz crackers.

But did we sleep there? Of course not, the floor is hard after all.

Next my daughter wants to go fishing. Maybe we’ll turn the bathtub into a “pond.” Do goldfish crackers float?

Susan”Scared of Mosquitoes” Simpson

We experienced a big first in my household.  My 2-year-old son’s first movie in a movie theater.  

At first, I was a bit hesitant … I mean it’s a lot of money to spend and if he starts getting fussy, we’re out $18 plus popcorn.  But I have to admit, I really wanted to see WALL-E and I got my son excited enough to want to see it, too.

We wheeled his stroller in, so he could still feast on his food court fare while watching.  Not the best idea, however, as the only place to sit him was in wheelchair-access seats, which are five rows from the screen. 

As we started watching the “big TV” my son stuck out his bottom lip as far as it would go and said (while in a moment of movie silence) “Scared! Big TV scared!” Luckily we picked a showtime where only six other people were in the theater, so it worked out well.  The initial loud noises (there’s a spacecraft that lands on Earth) did get him a bit nervous, but all in all, he loved it.  And I loved seeing him watch his first movie.

WALL-E was indeed a great film, another genius work by PIXAR.  I highly recommend it and it was worth every penny.  It’s filled with love, humor, friendship and even a bit of reality. You can’t help but tear up and laugh out loud at the same time. This is truly a film that all ages can enjoy and want to see again and again.

And as soon as we got home, my little boy wanted to watch it again on our not-as-big-TV and of course he didn’t understand why that wasn’t possible. So he had to settle for some OETA and fell asleep with his new best friend in hand.

~Erica Smith

esmith@oklahoman.com