Want to give your child a room they will love, but also a room they can grow up in and not feel like they’ve grown out of it? Learn from Gabrielle Blair how to turn your kids baby space into a big kid room.  This article, Room to Grow, will teach you all the basics of creating an easy to adapt to room - by starting simple.  Painting the room a neutral color instead of a bright pink or blue will all for easy changes later.  Another way to create new versions of the room is to use “salon-style” wall art, so you can start with a few framed things, and grow the collection as your child grows - even framing baby blankets!

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ROOM TO GROW

Looking for a quick family getaway?  Well, look no further than Portland, Maine.  With it’s small town feel and big city attractions, this majestic seaport is a great place to go for a day.  Start your morning off right with a quick breakfast from Standard Baking, Co., where you can find scones, freshly baked breads, and sticky buns.  There’s plenty of stuff to do throughout the day - take a stroll on the Easter Promenade, visit the Children’s Museum and Theater of Maine, and of course, stop for an ice cream treat at Beals Old Fashioned Ice Cream before heading home.  For more information, check out this Family Getaway article and Spend a Day in Portland, Maine.

Look Inside >> September 2009

As a new mom, how are you supposed to keep everyone up to date with your new baby’s every new word, step and smile? Blogging, of course.  You can add photos, captions and thoughts, so you can save all the memories about your pregnancy and your newborn that you never want to forget.  Used like a digital scrapbook, you can upload photos on the go, so you can always keep your blog (and your family and friends!) up to date.  So what’s the best site to use? It’s a bouncing baby blog can help you find the right one for what you want.  Flickr is great for photo blogs, Kontain is perfect for video sharing, and there are plenty of apps to use with your mobile device, so you can upload photos from your iPhone or Blackberry while you are on the go!

Look Inside >> September 2009

One of my favorite features from FamilyFun (try saying that 5 times fast!) is their Family Tradition section. Each issue a different family and their particular family tradition is profiled. I really liked this month’s family tradition from a New Hampshire family that’s worked exercise into their regular fun family outings. KJ Dell’Antonia and Rob Seelig make it a practice to participate in several runs and bike-a-thons with their whole family every year. This has the benefits of both showing children how to healthy fun outside and to be charitable and help worthy organizations. Bravo!

Look Inside >> August 2009

Each month FamilyFun features fun and easy crafty projects to do with the kids, and this month’s Garden of Weaving caught my eye as an espcially creative (and easy!) one to tackle. The idea is to make colorful sunflowers out of paper plates and yarn, and they look great. There’s also an article on making beads out of seeds for slightly older children.

Look Inside >>  June/July 2009

The latest issue of Pregnancy has an interesting article about broadening your baby’s taste for different foods at a very early age. Give Your Baby a Taste of the World suggests that by varying the ingredients in the smooshed-up baby food you feed your infant, you can successfully expand their taste and food options. For anyone with a picky little eater like my 6-year-old, you’ll know how important this can be.

This article will show you what moms around the world feed their babies, and how you can help shape their palate at an early age. The latest research suggest that children develop many of their life-long eating habits before the age of two!

Look Inside >>  July/August 2009

The latest issue of Pregnancy has an article about the new roles fathers are more and more playing in traditional U.S. families. As a stay-at-home dad I could really relate to a lot of the points in this article and I very much agree that dads can and should play significantly different roles than what our own fathers did. Its certainly become commonplace for both parents to work outside of the home, and that requires changes in the traditional role of the wife handling the majority of household responsibilities.

While I can’t pretend to cook or clean as well as my wife, I think we’re eating just fine during this period in our lives when her job leaves no time for cooking. And the house isn’t that messy. But perhaps not surprisingly, There’s a New Mom in Town points out that in today’s two-worker households it’s not uncommon for the husband to feel like he’s doing twice as much as his father, but half as much as his wife expects! I can definitely relate to that…

Pregnancy is one of the titles that is available completely for free on Coverleaf to all readers. Check it out!

Look Inside >>  June 2009

This month’s issue of FamilyFun has some good suggestions for fun and inexpensive family night activities. Three Fun Family Nights highlights three ways you can have fun around the house with the entire family and without busting your budget. For clear nights, a star-gazing evening can be educational and fascinating. You can also easily make a camping night in your backyard with some roasted marshmallows to add to the flavor of the evening. And for those nights you’d all rather stay inside, try a family movie night with popcorn and all the fixings.

Look Inside >>  June/July 2009

It’s not just your kid - nearly two thirds of young children are described as “problem eaters” according to pediatricians. If you’re struggling with a picky eater, this article from Wonder Time on How Picky Eaters are Born and Made has some sound advice.

Our youngest son definitely qualifies as a “picky eater,” so I was eager to see what this article suggested. Most of the advice were common-sense things like avoiding constant snacking, varying your family’s food choices, and providing good modeling as parents. There were also some less-obvious ideas like always allowing babies to initiate putting new foods in their mouths themselves.

Look Inside >>  March 2009

This month’s issue of FamilyFun has an inspiring article on Making Your Own Toys and Games that is sure to be a hit with active parents. As the DIY (Do It Yourself) mindset is becoming more popular, you can show your children how to have fun and create their next toys and games.

This article has some great ideas for all the makers out there. I especially liked the plans for building a funky golf/croquet club out of a dowel and an old sneaker - I think my boys would have a blast playing with that in our backyard. It’s very refreshing to find ways to make toys and games out of things you probably have lying around the house. So if you’ve been looking for some new ways to keep your kids entertained without breaking the bank or buying more stuff, definitely give this one a read!

Look Inside >>  May 2009