Have mealtime hassles?
If the answer is yes, then a free workshop by the Oklahoma City-County Health Department may have all your answers.
The free parenting seminar will be at the Edmond library on Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. It’s perfect for parents and caregivers of children from birth to age 5. The experts from Child Guidance Services will answer questions and address concerns, and give out great information about issues related to eating. Techniques and resources will be provided.
To register, call Child Guidance at 425-4412 to register. For more information about this program and others, call 427-8651 or go to www.cchdoc.com.
-Erica Smith
esmith@opubco.com
2009: Year of the toddler
I’m always saying I’ll do things different but there is no better time to set goals than the first day of the year.
Here are my Top 5 parenting resolutions for 2009:
1. Make my toddler eat vegetables. My friend bought me the cookbook “Deceptively Delicious” by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry’s wife). I resolve to get broccoli or squash into every dish my child eats, even dessert.
2. Try to overlook the grosser things my boy does … such as drinking the bathwater. Or sticking his dirty fingers in his mouth. Or dropping food on the floor then eating it before I can pry it from his hand. (This is going to be that resolution that I end up NOT keeping.)
3. Try to limit how many times he watches Cars or WALL-E. We’ve both become addicted to those movies.
4. Try the “not-using-the-word-no-all-the-time” method. For example: Instead of saying “No, you can’t have another cookie,” say “Yes, you can have another cookie … tomorrow.” We’ll see how good that one works.
5. Get him potty trained. I would literally pay someone to do this for me. Or my son can use the “not-say-no” method just this once … “Yes, Mommy, I’ll sit on the potty … next year.”
What are your parenting resolutions? Did you make any last year? Let me know by commenting below or emailing me at esmith@opubco.com.
Have a happy, safe and healthy New Year!
~Erica Smith
Morning goodness
If you have a toddler who is as picky as mine, I have a good morning solution for you.
For months, my 2-year-old son would eat a banana and drink a glass of milk every morning. Very nutritious and easy. But as time went by, my son stopped wanting bananas and if he did eat one, it was only because I asked him about 20 times to do it. It was becoming too much of a struggle.
So I found the perfect solution. A smoothie! One that is super-nutritious and packs him full of the good stuff like fruit, dairy, antioxidants and vitamins. It’s so easy to make, I thought I’d share it with you. Here’s all you need:
1 Banana
1/2 cup frozen berries or strawberries (just buy a big bag and keep it on hand)
1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup cranberry-pomegranate juice (the 100% juice kind – not the cocktail kind)
1/2 cup ice (I just buy a huge cup of Sonic ice and keep it in my freezer. So easy to blend and it’s only about 40 cents for a large).
Blend and there you go! It’s all you need for a serving for a hungry toddler. If you’d like to enjoy one too, just double everything except the banana.
Guaranteed, they’ll love it and they are getting all the nutrion one breakfast can give.
Do you have any toddler-tested recipes? If so, I’d love to hear about them and I bet other moms would, too!
~Erica Smith
esmith@oklahoman.com
