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Car seat: By law, all children under age five must be strapped into a car seat when riding in a car. This is so important that most hospitals will not release a baby until they are assured she will sit in a car seat on the ride home. This is one time that you have to start thinking like a responsible parent even before the baby is born. You should buy the car seat this month before you deliver the baby....

15 to 20 minutes Materials Plastic tarp, old shower curtain, or heavy-duty plastic garbage bagWarm water Directions Extensions Show your baby how to pat and splash with the hands.Trickle or pat a little of the water on your baby’s face.Provide a wash cloth for your baby to sop up the water and suck on.Add a few rubber toys to splash with.

15 to 20 minutes Materials Large piece of paper taped to the floorCrayons, or felt pensMasking tape Directions This activity allows your toddler to experience an entirely new dimension in scribbling by using the whole body, instead of just the arm, to move around the paper. Tape the large piece of paper to the floor and begin to draw together, moving about as needed. Extensions Cut several pieces of butcher paper into basic shapes (circle, triangle, square, etc....

Materials needed: Old phone book Collection of colorful leaves, grasses, flowers, herbs Craft glue Plain note cards/postcards/watercolor paper Place the phone book in a cool, dry place for a week to ten days. Your leaves will then be totally dry and ready for use. Carefully apply craft glue, just a dab, to the back of your dried leaf or flower. Center it on a note card for a single design or place several as a collage on a sheet of watercolor paper, which can later be framed....

More: Can You Drink Coffee While Pregnant? We all know life goes on during pregnancy and that includes air travel. Whether you’re looking to catch a flight for business or pleasure, here are the things to consider if you’re wondering if flying while pregnant is safe during the first trimester or up to your due date. Do Airlines Allow Pregnant Women to Fly? According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), most airlines allow pregnant women to fly from their first trimester through the third trimester until they are in their 36th week of pregnancy....

Folate Folate is a B vitamin, such as thiamine, niacin, and vitamin B12—all of which have important roles in a child’s normal growth and development. Children who don’t get enough folate (folate deficiency) can develop anemia (low red blood cell counts), diarrhea, weight loss, weakness, and irritability. Although many children don’t eat foods with naturally high sources of folate, such as leafy green vegetables and dried beans, they often do meet their recommended dietary allowances by eating foods fortified with folic acid—the synthetic form of folate....

Materials Fabric paint Paintbrush White T-shirt Directions

Here are my favorite Fourth of July decorations that are kid-friendly and perfect for parties. 1. Festive Florals My Poppy had the most beautiful gardens, and my favorite was his rose garden. He would let me pick my very own rose from his garden and he’d place it next to my bed in a sweet little vase. So in his honor, our family continues the tradition and we’ve enjoyed creating festive arrangements....

Another idea is to give the parents a photograph album with pictures of the baby and space for other pictures they can add to through the years. A gift that will be appreciated by the parents, and later on by the child, is a savings bond or a savings account with an opening balance, giving the family a suitable foundation upon which to build. Other useful gifts are rattles, crib mobiles, a car seat, clothing, a baby blanket, or a music box....

Perhaps your phone was used on a previous carrier. Many mobile carriers now offer Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, for their customers. More: Not Ready to Give Your Kid a Smartphone? Try a Flip Phone Instead What is BYOD? It just means that if your old phone works on the same mobile frequencies as your new carrier and it is unlocked (not programmed only for your old carrier), you can bring it to your new mobile carrier without additional cost....

According to folklore, the following foods are good for you. Now scientists agree. Cranberry juice is good for urinary tract infections. Why? Because the juice inhibits a type of bacteria that clings to the wall of the bladder and causes infection.Carrots are good for your eyes. Carrots and some other fruits and vegetables contain beta carotene, which can reduce the chance of eye disease. One carrot a day can help prevent macular degeneration, which eventually leads to blindness....

Green onions, or scallions, are easy to grow indoors from seed and are a nice addition to salads and other dishes. Leakproof container, such as a large yogurt or cottage cheese tub or a small coffee can Potting soil Green onion seeds Spray bottle full of water Directions

Kitchen timer Directions

More: Creating Christmas Traditions Holidays are no different. I recall leisurely unpacking my very breakable Christmas ornaments with a glass of wine in hand and Christmas music playing in the background, while my well-rested husband stoked the fire. Now, most of my ornaments are unbreakable, I can’t hear any music over the din of bickering and screams from my four kids, and forget about a fire in the fireplace! Are you kidding?...

One of the biggest positives was the chance to spend more time outside, whether that meant hanging out in the backyard, walking to a nearby playground or trail, or taking a road trip to a national park. You can keep the love affair with nature going—even as “normal” life resumes. If your family fell into more sedentary patterns during the pandemic, don’t feel bad—you’re in good company, as the stresses common during this time pushed exercise to the back burner for many people....

In case you’re not familiar with blogging, it’s pretty much like a public journal. Journaling has long been suggested as a way to cope with difficult life situations. Writing your feelings, instead of bottling them up inside, can provide a good deal of relief. The cool thing about blogging is that you can share your feelings with others, and they can provide support through comments and email. It’s like a journal that talks back to you....

Here’s a guide to help you get an idea of how many minutes newborns and older babies spend breastfeeding, what changes breastfeeding times, what short and long feedings can mean. You will also find advice on when to call the doctor. Factors That Affect Breastfeeding Time Some breastfed babies can take a full feeding in 8 minutes. Others need 30 minutes or more to get the same amount of breast milk....

Has your child asked that question to you? The middle school years are exciting ones, as your child grows and develops into a teenager. But middle school is also a time of significant change, and kids don’t always know what to expect. How Middle School Is Different Here’s how to help your future middle schooler understand what the experience might be like, and how middle school will be different from elementary school....