Baby Thoughts Blog

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

2012-01-30T11:49:00.004-05:00

Get up to 40% off on the toys for the week of Jan 30, 2012.

Jumbo ABC Chunky Puzzle from Melissa & Doug

reg $24.95 now $14.97

Bear Ahoy from Haba

reg $31.95 now $22.37

Activity Farm from Vilac
reg $49.95 now $34.97

Toy Spotlight - Bajo Large Wooden Cars

2012-01-27T12:20:00.019-05:00

This week in the Toy Spotlight, I wanted to talk about the large wooden cars from Bajo. I have talked about the Bajo cars here before, but today I wanted to focus on the large wooden vehicles in the collection.

The Bajo line of toys was started in 1993 by Wojciech Bajor, an architect and set designer who believes that playing with a good wooden toy enables the real world to sink into a child's consciousness. What I love about all the Bajo cars is that they have such clean and organic lines that they can become whatever car or vehicle the child wants it to be. They are not limited in what they can be and this allows the child to make believe that it is anything. It can be a race car one day and a tractor another.

It is also not limited to where and how the child plays with it, due to the fact that it is wood and has almost no metal parts, they can be played in the bath, outside in the mud or the sand, they can be decorated with stickers or painted.

All the large Bajo cars are recommended for 2 years and up, perfect for little hands and for toddlers that are starting to develop their imaginative and creative play.

One of my favourite of the large vehicles is the Large Tow Truck, I find it so much fun to play with because you can really tow things. Not just other Bajo cars (which you can) but anything that you can wrap the little rope around works too. As I said all the Large Bajo Cars can be towed by the Large Tow Truck, and if you have the little cars, they can also be towed, you just have to wrap the rope around the hole.

I am very excited to be carrying the Bajo Wooden Car collection and I invite you to stop by and check them out!

Dolls are for Boys and Girls!

2012-01-23T13:17:00.012-05:00

Last week, I was having a conversation with an acquaintance who has a son that is a couple of months younger than my sixteen month old. We were talking about the kids and what they where doing. Somehow we started talking about what they were playing and what their favourite toys were, when she tells me that she doesn't let her son play with dolls or with play food. I asked her why, given that all children love to play with both these things and the benefits that they get from playing with them is quite significant.

Her answer just floored me, she told me that she did not want her son to be girly, she said something about not wanting him to turn out...(I cannot repeat what she said). I was in shock. Speechless. I could not believe that I was talking to an educated woman in 2012.

Being a mother of two daughters, I certainly don't know what it is like to raise a son, but I do know what it is like to have to deal with people's/society's/family's belief of what little girls should play with. We have always exposed our girls to all kinds of toys and have allowed them to choose what they like to play with, no toy is girly or boyish. It is just a toy.

This is the same belief we have when choosing toys at BabyThoughts.ca, when I bring in a new toy, my number one criteria is the play value to the child. It is the reason why we do not have a search by gender option, because toys are not gender specific. I do recognize that children will gravitate towards certain toys, but this does not mean that parents should not expose their children to all kinds of toys, from trucks to dollhouses and let them see what they enjoy playing with.

Get your little girl a big Tonka truck and see how she just loves transporting her toys from one place to another in it. As well, if you have a little boy, get them a doll or a stuffed animal and some play food and see how they take care of them, making them special food, taking them for a walk, 'reading' to them and putting them to sleep.

The developmental benefit of imaginative play toys such as cars, play food, and dolls is that it enables children to develop their social and emotional skills. They are able to re-enact real life experiences through play, allowing them a safe place for them to make sense of their world and their day to day life. Click here for a great article on Doll Play and how it teaches valuable life lessons.

What are your thoughts on 'girly/boyish' toys? Does your son love to play with dolls? Does your little girl love her car collection?

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

2012-01-16T09:47:00.007-05:00

Up to 40% off on toys in the Toy Box the week of January 16, 2012:

Haba Splish Splash Playmat
reg $145.95 now $102.17

Melissa & Doug Magnetic Numb er Maze
reg $19.95 now $12.97

Plan Toys Stacking Clown
reg $24.95 now $14.97

Toy Spotlight - Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson Collection

2012-01-13T10:05:00.022-05:00

If you have a newborn in your life and you are wondering what to get them, you don't have to look further then any of the amazing toys from the Wimmer Ferguson collection.

This award winning collection of toys, are specifically designed with newborns in mind, they have black and white, simple pictures of faces and things, as well as different textured fabrics and sounds. All these promote the development of a newborn's sense of sight, touch and hearing.

The BabyThoughts.ca Collection includes:

Wimmer Ferguson Car Seat Gallery

This great Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson toy has ten reversible cards with both black-and-white and coulor research-correct graphics help babies discover light/dark contrast and begin recognizing patterns.

Hook-and-loop strap easily attaches to either front-or rear-facing car seats.

Wimm er Ferguson Mind Shapes

These vibrant shapes from Manhattan Toy encourage babies to look, touch, and listen. Each easy-to-carry shape has a noisemaker and a medley of research-correct graphics & textures.

Wimmer Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile

This award-winning mobile from Manhattan Toy features vivid color and bold black-and-white images. Simple-to-complex images stimulate early visual activity and pre-reaching movement.

Wimmer Ferguson Crawl & Discover Mat

Many features for baby to discover, including flaps with reverse prin t graphics, fun textures and crinkle paper, plus a removable mirror, teethers and a pocket with a star shaped ring attached.

Wimmer Ferguson 3-in-1 Triangle

This toy transforms from a tummy time playmat to a triangle with the use of magnets...fun in so many ways!

Can even be stuck to a magnetic surface for playtime.

Includes a mirror, peek-a-boo flaps, crinkle paper, attachment ribbons, teether and squeaker.

Makes a great item that baby will enjoy at home or traveling!

BabyThoughts.ca Weekly Toy Box

2012-01-09T09:30:00.007-05:00

Toy Box for week of January 9, 2012, toys are up to 40% off:

Tiny Love Musical Nature Stroll
reg $49.95 now $34.97

Manhattan Toy Buzzing Through Book
reg $19.95 now $11.97

Melissa & Doug Take-Along Tool Kit
reg $19.95 now $10.47

Toy Spotlight - Walking Toys

2012-01-06T09:31:00.015-05:00

We are currently on a mission to get our 16 month old to walk. Our first born walked at 13 months, so like typical parents we think it is time that she got moving. She has no problem standing up on her own and even walking while holding our hands but she just wont let go and take steps all on her own.

This got me thinking about toys that promote or help little ones to walk, we have the Playschool Walk and Ride toy, but I find that as soon as she hits a wall or runs into an obstacle she looses interest and leaves it discarded. I also have a Tiny Love pull toy, whose name I don't remember and bought with such high hopes for my first born, but was a complete fail. It was incredibly loud as it moved and part of it was made up of fabric that would pick up every little bit of dirt and was a pain to wash. I am a big fan of Tiny Love but this toy was not their best.

After evaluating our current personal selection of walking toys, I started to take a look at what was available at BabyThoughts.ca. At the walking stage that Scarlett is at, I believe that the best option is one of the Selecta push toys, the main reason being that it will encourage her to stay standing and walk in order to enjoy the toy. It's also light enough that she can manipulate it around corners, furniture and other toys, and most importantly it is made of wood which can be easily cleaned, given that she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.

If your little one has mastered the art of walking, then they will enjoy the pull toys. My favourites are the Selecta Nico and the Plan Toys Dancing Alligator, and Sorting Bus. All three are made of wood and painted with child safe paints which make them very easy to clean after they have been played with. They each are the right size for little ones to pull them and to also enjoy them while on the floor or with other toys. The Plan Toys Sorting Bus is also a shape sorter which makes it a multi-purpose toy because it can be enjoyed by babies who are not walking yet or toddlers who are starting to learn their shapes and colours.

What was or is your child's favourite walking toy? Let us know, perhaps it was not a toy at all.

This weekend only (Jan 6-8), get 15% off our entire collection of Push & Pull Toys!

Use code PUSHPULL15 at checkout.

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

2012-01-02T09:41:00.008-05:00

Toy Box for week of Jan 2, 2012:

Haba Curtains Rise Mobile
reg $54.95 now $32.97

Selecta Nico Pull Toy
reg $24.95 now $18.71

Manhattan Toy NooBoo See & Sound Mirror
reg $29.95 now $14.98

Toy Spotlight - Plan Toys Dollhouses and Accessories

2011-12-30T11:21:00.026-05:00

A Dollhouse is one of those classic toys that has been loved by children throughout the ages. I remember playing with my dollhouse for hours and would shut myself up in my room after school and enter an imaginary world that I created. In the past, dollhouses have been thought of as a 'girl' toy when it really should not be. Dollhouses are toys for all children as it is an amazing toy that really promotes a child's creativity and imagination. Promoting creativity in children is very important as it gets them using their problem solving skills and think of new things and ways to do things.

Imaginative play is also very important, it gives children the opportunity to make up their own stories, scenarios and games, it's a great way for them to make sense of their world. Dollhouses, as well as kitchen play allows them to take real world items and gives them the power to do with them as they want. If they want to have a bed in the washroom they can do that, or perhaps they want to have a toilet in the bedroom to make it easier to go, who knows, only they do.

Dollhouses have certainly come a long way from the very fancy and delicate ones of Victorian times to the flimsy, plastic ones of recent years. I would recommend that whatever dollhouse you get your child, it should be a strong one, as you don't want to be worried about them breaking them and they should be allowed to play with it in the way that they want to without fear of it being damaged.

I also feel really strongly that dollhouses are not just a girl toy, boys love to play with dollhouses and they should not be deprived of the great play experience, if it is a toy that they would enjoy. For this reason I love the Plan Toys doll houses, I love that they are not gender specific, they are not girly in any way. They are also extremely strong and sturdy and will certainly withstand a good play.

Though we have had the dollhouses for some time now, I saw a Plan Toys Chalet house built a couple of months ago at a friend's house. She has three children, two boys and a girl and they all love the house and given the state of the playroom it was very much played with. When I saw the house on a table, my mouth just dropped, I had not realized just how beautiful it was. I was taken aback by how big it was and how solid all the furniture pieces were. Plan Toys really cares about the quality of the craftsmanship and the attention to detail of all their toys.

At BabyThoughts.ca we carry three Plan Toys Dollhouses and many accessories that will complement any house that you may have.

Chalet Dollhouse

The Chalet Dollhouse from Plan Toy consists of 2 units that can be arranged in a multitude of ways. This furnished version comes with 19 pieces of miniature doll house furniture so all you need to add is a family and the fun begins.

Hours of imaginative play await. This is a modern open concept dollhouse built to last.

Features of the Furnished Chalet Dollhouse by Plan Toy include:

- Large Doll House Unit with 3 levels for play

- Small Doll House Unit with 2 levels for play

- Skylight roofing

- 2 movable staircases

- Accessibility from all sides

Green Eco Dollhouse:

This award winning doll house's energy efficient design includes a wind turbine, a solar cell panel and electric inverter for generating electricity, a rain barrel for collecting rain, a biofacade, which uses the natural cycle of plant growth to provide shading, and a blind that can adjust the amount of sunlight and air circulation. Also, recycling bins are included in the set.

Playtime Ideas

The Green Eco Dollhouse is designed to help children learn how to live in harmony with nature. Children will learn how appliances in the Green Doll house assist their daily life without damaging the environment. They will also learn how electricity can be generated from alternative natural sources such as the sun and wind.

The dollhouse is divided into several rooms which children can customize with furniture and accessories.

Accessories for Kitchen and Tableware:

Accessories include a selection of different kitchen utensils to decorate the Plan Dollhouse.

The set contains 28 assorted play pieces, such as a microwave, a coffee maker, pot, pans, glasses, bowls, and more.

Modern Wooden Doll Family:

This Doll Family is constructed with solid wooden heads and soft wire bodies that can bend and flex into any position. With moveable arms and legs, these dolls are sure to provide hours of fun for your little one.

This is just a small selection of what we carry for dollhouses and accessories, we also have a complete furniture set, accessories for the Living room and bedroom which include little tiny lamps, plants, books and more, as well as other doll family sets. To see our complete collection just visit our Dollhouses category.

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

2011-12-28T12:00:00.015-05:00

I am adding a new weekly section for the blog, it will go up every Monday and it will feature the three toys in our Toy Box.

A new set of toys will be added every week at discounts of up to 60% off!

Week of December 26, 2011:

Plan Toys Happy Engine

now $14.92

Haba Cheese Carriage
now $12.78

Melissa and Doug Maggie Leigh Magnetic Dress-up
now $9.72

2011-12-22T11:46:00.001-05:00

The Game's On - Introducing Board Games

2011-12-20T21:48:00.013-05:00

I love family game night, I loved it as a kid and now I love that it is something we have incorporated in our family. We introduced board games to my daughter when she was four years old. We went all out and got Monopoly, Sorry, Mouse Trap, and Scrabble Junior.

Though I love board games, I feel strongly that not all games are created equal. When looking for a game to add to your collection there are some important things to keep in mind. This is specially true when the age range of the players is significant, say parents and their preschoolers. You want to make sure you choose a game that you will both enjoy playing after the 100th time, because unless there are other children who will be available to play the game, it will most likely be the parents who will be the other player. I made the mistake of getting Cherry Orchard for my daughter as a first board game and now I am quite over it to put it mildly.

A good board game will be one that will challenge your child, if it is too easy they will be bored of it quickly. It's fine if you have to modify it so that they are able to play it and enjoy it, this will mean that as their skill level increases the game is still interesting and challenging. A game should promote things like critical thinking, problem solving, basic language or math skills, creativity and imagination.

Games are also great tools to introduce the concept of winning and loosing to your child. At first, expect that they will be upset when they loose and though you don't want to get into an intense competition with your preschooler, it is important that they start understanding that in games there are those who win and those who loose.

As well, games teach young children about following rules, cheating, taking turns, cooperation. All very important life skills that they will certainly need as they go into school. As parents, this is a great time to start introducing certain vocabulary to our children around following rules, cheating and taking turns and its important to help them communicate and understand their feelings about each of them.

The most important thing about a game night is that you spend it together as a family and you can use it as an opportunity to be together and have great conversations with your children.

What are yours and your child(ren)'s favourite board games?

Gift Guide - Newborns

2011-12-19T10:12:00.036-05:00

I thought I would put together a very simple and easy list of great toy ideas to get the new baby in your life. Though you may think that your newborn does not really play at such a young age, they are in fact absorbing their surroundings and getting to know the new world they live in. This is why it is very important that you stimulate all their senses and promote exploration.

Newborns are only able to see up to 12 inches away and what they see is blurry, they are drawn to faces, as well as high contrast images and colours. They do not have control of their motor skills but at around two months they will begin to discover their hands and begin to grasp objects. Newborns have a great sense of smell, sound and touch.

Given what we know about the world of a newborn, there are great toys that will encourage their development and allow them to learn about their surroundings.

A Mobile is a wonderful first toy, as it is just the right distance for baby to see. It promotes the development of baby's eyes, their ears if they have music, and brain, as baby is makes connections between what they see and hear. A great mobile is the Wimmer Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile, because it has high contrast colour images which newborns find attractive and parents can switch images around to keep their little ones entertained and engaged.

A Play Mat is another great toy for newborns, as it can be used for tummy time which strengthens baby's neck and back muscles. You don't need to get fancy with their play mat and I would not recommend ones that have a build in pillow that is supposed to make tummy time more enjoyable. The best you can do is introduce tummy time as early as possible, for short periods of time, more importantly you want to do it when your baby is alert and engaged. A great play mat is the Wimmer Ferguson Crawl and Discover Mat, as it comes in the all important high contrast colours of black, white and red. It has a mirror which is another of the great toys to get babies and you can attach grasping toys to it for baby to play with.

Music, babies have great hearing and they have been listening to your voice and the noises that make part of your world during their stay in the womb. Whether you play lullabies, nursery rhymes, classical or hip hop, having music around and moving with your baby to the music promotes brain development and bonding. It's also a great stress reliever for parents.

Soft Toys, specially ones with faces on them like stuffed animals are very important. These are great for sensory and emotional development. Two great soft toys are the Whoozit and Ti zoo from Manhattan Toy. They each have a face with high contrast colours which are easy for babies to see and they also have great soft grasping toys on the side that baby can practice holding onto.

Grasping Toys, whether they are made out of wood, cloth or safe plastics, grasping toys are essential in promoting both fine and gross motor development. At around two months of age babies will begin to reach out to objects that are held a close distance from them. They will begin to discover their hands and it is important for parents to spend time helping them mastering this new found skill. I would recommend soft grasping at the beginning, as babies are not in complete control of their movements and can hurt themselves with wooden ones. Great options are the Haba Wrist Rattles, they can be attached to baby's wrist if need be or not at all and are very soft and the right size for little hands.

All the toy suggestions I have given are tools that parents and caregivers can use to promote their baby's development, but the most important toy is YOU. Playing, dancing, singing, cuddling, kissing, feeding are the most important things your little one needs.

Let me know if their is a toy your newborn loved. Or perhaps one they did not.

Gift Giving Made Easy

2011-12-14T10:05:00.013-05:00

I came across this article in The Globe and Mail this morning and it got me thinking about gift giving and toy gift giving in particular. Certainly at this time of year what toy or toys to buy your little one is one that comes up quite often and all parents want to make sure they get their child that special toy that will make this Christmas special for them.

But I am a big believer that not all toys are created equal and that there is such a thing as too many toys. I have a friend whose children get so many toys at Christmas that she hides some so they can open some in July because if she does not do this they will not be appreciated or played with. I look at the toys that my 6 year old daughter has gotten and I can tell you that only a few have been truly played with and enjoyed over and over again. And of those few not one of them was the 'It' toy of the year.

I would really encourage parents to first take a moment and look at what your child has, what are the toys that they always gravitate towards, is it their dollhouse, their train set, their Legos, their arts and craft. This will give you a great idea of what really interests them and get them something that supports that interest.

Certainly their interests will change from year to year as they grow and discover new things. With my daughter, this year she is all about arts and crafts, she told me the other day that she is an Artist. So this year, her big gift will be art lessons and we will buy her some art supplies for her to use at her lessons. Last year she loved dinosaurs and would get books and watch shows on dinosaurs, the only thing on her Christmas List was a T-Rex and so we got her a soft plastic T-Rex and Playmobil set of dinosaurs. She loved both things, in fact that T-Rex went everywhere with her, it even slept with her and was the guest of honor during playtime.

If your little ones are under three years, and you are not sure what they like yet, the best toys you can get them are the classic toys. You really can't go wrong with getting a nice set of wooden blocks, dolls, wooden cars, a ball, good quality wooden puzzles, play food and books. They will love these kinds of toys and will find many different ways to play with them and discover new things with them. If you are not sure how to choose a toy for your toddler, Zero to Three has a great article on this which is worth a read.

I hope that this will give you some ideas of what to get your little one(s) this Christmas and any other gift giving occasion.

Share with us your child's or yours most beloved gift over the years?

Toy Spotlight - Melissa & Doug Wooden Play Food

2011-12-09T09:57:00.026-05:00

I am a huge fan of play food and Kitchen Play, as it is an amazing toy that allows children to express themselves, feel included in the world around them and promotes imagination, as well as social and language development.

Play food is also a great toy that can be played in groups or alone. I have not met one child who does not love having their own kitchen where they can make their own culinary 'creations'. To do this they need their special food and so that is why I am so excited to spotlight today the awesome wooden play food from Melissa and Doug.

Bake & Decorate Cupcake Set: This special set has three dry-erase markers shaped like icing tubes to decorate the smooth, removable, wipe-off cupcake tops.

With colorful baking cupcake sleeves and decorative wooden candles, these low-cal cupcakes will be the hit of birthday and tea parties!

Sandwich Mak ing Set: This solid and smooth-sanded sandwich set with sliceable wooden bread, rolls, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, meats, and more makes an instant picnic for hours of imaginative entertainment!

Pizza Party: Served up in a brightly coloured wooden pizza pan, the six thick slices can be topped with playfully tasty choices of vegetables and meat, all held in place with an innovative fastening technique.

Includes a cutter, spatula, and over 50 toppings stored neatly in a wooden pizza box with see through lid.

Cutting Food Box: This solid wood set from Melissa and Doug includes more than 25 pieces including 1 child-safe knife and 1 cutting board, along with eight healthy choice selections for kids to prepare their own meals! Knives glide easily through each item, making a realistic “crunching” sound that kids love.

Cutting Fruit Crate: The wooden Cutting Fruit Crate play food set includes 7 smoothly sanded wooden fruits: a banana, kiwi, slice of melon, pear, orange, lemon and strawberry.

The wooden fruit are all sliceable with the wooden knife (included in the set) and they make a great crunching sound when sliced.

Sushi Slicing Play Set: This elegant 24-piece wooden sushi play-food set is packed in a beautiful storage box and includes sliceable sushi rolls, shrimp, tuna, easy-use chopsticks, a cleaver and more. Sushi rolls make realistic chopping sounds when sliced!

To see our entire collection visit our Kitchen Play section under Preschoolers at BabyThoughts.ca.

You will find not only food but pots and pans, beverages, tableware and the most important thing kitchens!

Using Blocks to Teach

2011-12-07T12:58:00.008-05:00

I came across this great article from ChildUp.com about how blocks make great tools to teach children about social studies.

I am a huge fan of blocks and we have two sets of different blocks that my 6 year old daughter got when she was about 2 years which she still plays with and is now being used by my 1 year old. I also wrote a post back in October about why I believe that blocks are a must have toy for any child.

The author Angela De Vincenzo a first grade teacher gives tips on how to incorporate blocks into the classroom. These tips can also be used by parents and caregivers.

A great place to start is by visiting places, or buildings that the child or children are studying or are interested in. It could be an important building in your city, like city hall or a sports arena, a fire station, or even a bridge. They can then take pictures or do drawings which they will use to help them when building with the blocks.

As the author writes "These visual images keep the building work focused, realistic and grounded as the children aim to represent what they have seen."

Block building will also encourage social interactions. It will get them to talk about what they are building, to communicate with others what they would like done, as well as to problem solve and to negotiate.

As well, it promotes imaginative play, specially if they have been to the real life building and know more about it. The children will be able to image themselves there and what kinds of things they would do there.

With my 6 year old daughter, she likes to use the blocks to build race tracks, especially after we took her to see the Honda Indy in Toronto last year. She has also used blocks to build houses and buildings that her stuffed animals can live in.

It's also great to provide other materials such as cardboard, plasticine, stickers or fabric that the child can use to add to the block building experience and encourage some creativity on what it could be. They can make furniture out of plasticine or decorate their buildings and make them more to their style. My daughter has added stickers to her blocks because to her stickers make things special.

There is no doubt that the play and teaching possibilities with blocks is quite extensive and so much fun for all. If you are wondering what toy to add to your child's toy collection take a look at all the great blocks available.

Toy Spotlight - Melissa & Doug's Classic Wooden Toys

2011-12-02T11:15:00.015-05:00

The Melissa and Doug collection of classic toys are designed to help toddlers and preschoolers learn important skills, from shape, colour, number, and letter recognition to sorting, stacking and fine motor development.

They are all fun, bright and colourful, with an attention to detail that is sure to keep your little one entertained while they learn to master the important skills.

Some of the favourites with the little testers include:

The Rainbow Stacker : With the colourfully painted rings, it's a great toy to teach about order, size, and colours. Great for ages 18 months+

The First Bead Maze: Helps promote fine-motor skill development, as well as colour and shape recognition. Ages 1 year+

The Take-Along Tool Kit: With twenty-four wooden pieces such as screws, bolts, nails, bolts, hammers, and screwdrivers, hours of constructive and creative fun will be had by preschoolers. Ages 3 years+

It's Puzzle-ing - Melissa & Doug Puzzles are 15% off

2011-11-30T11:31:00.013-05:00

With their hand-crafted, high quality, brightly coloured images, and fun themes the Melissa and Doug puzzles are unmistakable.

Whether it's their Jumbo Knob puzzles which are just right for beginners with little hands to their jigsaw puzzles for the more advanced puzzle builder, you are sure to find a one that your child will love.

At BabyThoughts.ca we have a large selection of wooden puzzles which are currently on sale for 15% off!

Some of my favourites are:

The Barnyard Animals Jumbo Know Puzzle - A fun way for baby to learn about their favourite farm friend.

The Construction Chunky Puzzle - For the little builder in your life.

The Jumbo ABC Chunky Puzzle - Learning the ABC's has never been more fun.

The Early Lear ning Peg Puzzle Bundle - You get 3 Peg Puzzles for hours of learning fun!

Stop by and check out our entire Collection of Melissa & Doug Puzzles and SAVE!

BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

2011-11-24T11:23:00.003-05:00

Follow BabyThoughts.ca on Twitter for additional deals all weekend long!

Today's Deal : Selecta Toys are 15% off!

2011-11-21T16:05:00.009-05:00

I wanted to give a little information about our Selecta toys as they are today's deal in our 12 Days of Christmas Sale.

Selecta was founded in 1938 and to this day it remains a family operated company, their sole aim is to provide educational and high value toys which promote the development of children. Selecta toys are designed and manufactured in Edling, Germany from sustainable maple forests using environmentally-friendly and child safe paints.

The look of a Selecta toy is almost instantly recognizable; toys are done in bold primary colors, with the grain of the wood often visible underneath. Basic, identifiable shapes dominate the form of the toys, while faces are always sweet, simple and smiling.

We carry a selection of Selecta toys for newborns up to preschoolers and in between.

For the littlest one, we have the two beautiful grasping toys Arco and Tulpino, they are the perfect size for those little hands. To promote gross and fine motor skills we have the Filino pull toy which is a stacker and pull toy in one. We also have the fun and whimsical push toys, Trotto and Spedino. For the preschoolers we have Picco Duetto a fun game that will be enjoyed by all.

To see our entire collection of Selecta toys and to take advantage of today's discount of 15% off. Stop by BabyThoughts.ca

Activities to Promote Emotional Development - Babies 6-12 months

2011-11-15T09:20:00.012-05:00

A baby's social interaction with the world begins from minute one. Every moment they are engaging with the world around them, they familiarize themselves with the people who are in their lives and begin to express their emotions and interact socially.

Some great activities to do with your baby to promote Self Control and the concept of Self are:

1 -I can feed myself: As soon as your baby has started eating solid food allow them the opportunity to learn to feed themselves. While in their high chair you can give them pieces of food that are safe for them to eat, this is also a great way to promote fine-motor development.

2- Let's get dressed: At around six months, infants will begin to show an interest in what they wear. At this time you can start introducing them to the different articles of clothing that you put on them on a regular basics. They can spend time feeling each garment and you can talk to them and describe what they have in their hands. As well, when you dress them, talk through what you are doing with them, this way they learn that socks go on their feet, the shirt goes over their head and so on.

3- So emotional: Babies use emotions from day one to communicate, mostly it is crying to let us know when they are hungry, tired or wet. As the baby grows they also start to show happiness and excitement when they see something that they find interesting or they like. Parents can teach their babies about the emotions that they are feeling by verbalizing it. Saying something like, "Do you see that dog? I can see that you are excited, let's get closer to see the dog. Do you hear how it barks?".

4-What's my name: By this age a child will begin to recognize their name. It is important for parents to use the baby's name frequently and consistently. Make eye contact when you say their name and see if they respond when you call them.

The keys to promoting emotional development are observation an communication. It is important that parents observe how a child feels in order to be able to use that as an opportunity to teach them about the world around them. Talking to your child is also key, verbalizing what they see, how they feel, and what is happening. This will give them knowledge and understanding about the world around them and of themselves.

Toy Spotlight - Stroller Toys from Tiny Love and Manhattan Toy

2011-11-11T21:38:00.009-05:00

As a mom of two, I am always on the go and trying to entertain a one year old while I run my errands is not fun. There are just so many Cheerios I can give her before she starts throwing them at people.

That is why a stroller toy is a life and sanity saver. Though not just any stroller toy will do, it has to be one they can't remove and use for target practice or to play the 'pick-up' game with.

This where the stroller toys from Tiny Love and Manhattan Toy come in, they will attach to your stroller and your little one will be entertained while you go about your errands or coffee break.

Whoozit Activity Spiral

This wacky spiral from Manhattan Toy wraps around almost anything and features toy attachments that squeak, crinkle and rattle dangling from satin ribbons.

With vibrant colors, stimulating textures and black and white patterns, all perfect for keeping your little one mesmerized.

Musical Nature Stroll

The Tiny Love Musical Nature Stroll is a colourful flexible stroller/infant carrier arch, with a variety of engaging activities for baby on-the-go, for two stages of baby's development: batting (0-3m) and pulling/manipulating (3m+).

Special angle adjustments and new easy attachment clips make Musical Nature Stroll truly unique.

Island Stroller Set

This intriguing Tiny Love stroller toy has a set of three one-of-a-kind activity toys for baby's stroller bar will keep baby busy and smiling, while fostering learning and enjoyment over several developmental stages.

The detachable toys may be rearranged to hold baby's interest -- like having a new set of toys each time.

Three great stroller toys that will keep baby entertained while on the go.

Plan Toys | Green Toys - Green Company

2011-11-07T15:42:00.011-05:00

This week our Deal of the Week features toys from our Plan Toys collection, given this, I thought I would give some information about the amazing brand that is Plan Toys.

Plan Toys' vision is to create toys that inspire children's imagination, as well as promote their physical and intellectual development. Doing all this while ensuring environmental and social responsibility.

Their toys are made from non-chemically treated rubber wood and use safe non-toxic water based dyes, as well, all their packaging and promotional materials are made from recycled and recyclable materials.

This award winning brand of toys is also very dedicated to giving back and has many corporate social programs such as the Children's Museum, as well as the Plan Loves Forest Project which has seen the company plant 43,000 trees in the last five years. They also started this amazing initiative called Plans Brings Smiles, where they design and manufacture toys for children with special needs. These and many others are just ways that Plan Toys is giving back not only to the community but to the environment.

As you can imagine we are just so happy to have such a large collection of Plan Toys toys, from their fun and multi-tasking Sorting Bus and Stacking Clown, to their big world toys such as the Bulldozer and Fire Engine.

To see the complete collection visit BabyThoughts.ca and see all the toys that are on sale this week at 20% off!

The Evolution of Drawing in Children

2011-11-03T13:04:00.011-05:00

I came across this very interesting article on the developmental stages of drawing. I never realized that we as children go through very defined stages in what we draw.

First, there is the Scribbling we all know starting at 18 months which helps with fine-motor skill, cognitive, social and emotional development. Then there is Representational Drawing at around 3 years, where children begin to draw symbols for common items of things that they know of and are part of their lives.

At around age 6, children progess to Realistic Representation and begin to focus on drawing things in a realistic way, as they get older, if a child believes that they are not able to draw things realistically, they will loose interest in drawing all together.

Here is the article found in Earlychildhood News.

When Children Draw
By Sandra Crosser, Ph.D.
Jordan stands before a large sketch pad, takes a marker in hand and carefully uncaps it. She begins scrubbing...first slowly, down and up, down and up. Her motions settle into a rhythm and soon her entire body dances, mirroring the tempo of her strokes. Jordan is drawing. Her whole being is drawing. To the casual observer, this two-year-old is just scribbling. Her marks seem to be random, meaningless. Sometimes she does not even look at the paper as she marks. But there is more going on. Jordan is using her mind and her emotions as she engages in the physical act of drawing. Examining children's drawing may give us important insights into how drawing fits into the overall physical, emotional, and cognitive development of the young child. From toddlerhood through primary school, children choose to draw. What role does drawing play in the young child's development? Scribbling Around 18 months, toddlers become interested in scribbling. It seems to provide sensory enjoyment, but the child is also interested in the marks that are made. (If the drawing implement does not work, the child quickly loses interest.) The act of scribbling can serve several useful purposes for the young child. Small muscle coordination and control improve with practice, cognitive abilities are exercised, opportunities for social interaction arise, and the physical movements provide emotional release. Because a toddler's small muscle control is not fully developed, he or she may approach the drawing task by grasping the marker with his or her fist, creating a bit of difficulty placing the marks exactly where he or she wants them. Movements are typically large, involving the entire arm with little finger or wrist control. This is because the pattern of physical development proceeds from the center of the trunk outward. With practice, the toddler will naturally improve his or her control of wrist and finger movements. Full control, however, will not be achieved until much later. A few toddlers rest the forearm on the drawing surface to give them additional control. A rhythmic, repetitive, scrubbing motion is common among two-year-olds, providing sensory enjoyment and making drawing a very physical act. By providing children with the materials and opportunities to scribble we can promote physical skills. Just as babbling is a natural way to gain language, scribbling is a natural gateway to muscle control and coordination. In fact, Cratty (1986) termed scribbling "motor babbling." Intellectually toddlers are concerned with both the process and results of their art. They do not intend to represent objects at first. Instead, they are concerned with color and line. However, they may look at the marks and scribbles they have made and, in surprise, recognize a shape and name it. While they may not have intended to draw a dog or tree, the scribbles suggest the shapes. Children interpret, rather than intend. This is called fortuitous realism and becomes common as a child approaches three years. According to Piaget and Inhelder (1963), a child is mentally able to use symbols to represent reality by 18 months. Therefore a child can engage in pretend play. This ability to pretend can be seen as a toddler uses the movement of the crayon or marker to depict an action in his or her drawings. Dots, for example, may be rain falling or animals moving about the page (Berk, 1994). Gestures are used to represent the action (Cox, 1992). Kellogg (1970) described 20 basic scribbles children tend to use during their first, exploratory stage. Most children do not use all of these scribbles (Cox, 1992). Instead, children favor certain ones as they develop individual styles (Gardner, 1980). It also appears that scribbles are not placed randomly. After examining thousands of drawings, Kellogg (1970) catalogued 17 page placements toddlers use as they scribble. Scribblers, then, are decision makers. The opportunity to make decisions contributes to the emerging sense of autonomy which is so important for a two-year-old's emotional development. Not only do children make decisions about line, color, and placement, they also exercise their sense of autonomy by using and gaining control over tools of the culture-crayons, markers, pencils, paper-to engage in an activity valued by the culture. Twos like adults to "watch me." Watch me because I am proud of what I am doing; I am feeling competent; I am doing this wonderful thing by myself. Autonomy! Children can engage in social interaction as they draw with or show their creations to others. As young children sit together, each drawing, they talk, share stories, and trade materials. This is a basis for prosocial interaction that is practiced in an authentic situation. Similarly, the child who saves his or her scribble picture to show daddy is demonstrating his or her use of drawing for social interaction as well as emotional support. Extending the Scribble Between the ages of two and three the child begins to form what Kellogg (1970) has termed shapes. The scribble forms a cross, an X, and enclosures resembling primitive circles, squares, triangles, and oblongs. Soon after, two of those shapes are used in combination. By age three the child puts together several shapes to form what Kellogg termed aggregates. An important point is reached when the child converts the linear scribble into an enclosed shape. The enclosed shape seems to be the focus of the child's first attempt to make a realistic drawing. That first realistic drawing is frequently a primitive person. When lines are used as boundaries of objects we see a typical tadpole person, so named because it resembles a tadpole. One large circular shape with two lines extending as legs float on a page represents every man. Tadpole guy becomes shorthand for every guy or gal. What economy!Tadpole guy may be embellished with facial features...or maybe not. He may have arms extending from the head but they are added last and may be forgotten unless arms are needed for holding or acting. The circle part may represent just a head, but it may also represent the head and torso combined into a sort of person lump. Children will often place a belly button onto the lump, indicating that it includes the torso. However, if the leg lines are longer than the lump, the belly button may be placed between the leg lines. It could just be that the person lump needs to be big to allow enough room to place the eyes, nose, and mouth. After all, it takes a lot of space to draw all of that. The configuration of tadpole guy does not seem to indicate that children are unaware of body parts or how they fit together. They tend to add parts when reminded that something is missing. They can complete a partially drawn person correctly, and can "build" a person with both head and trunk when given blocks or tiles (Cox, 1992). Tadpole guy simply seems to be a symbolic, rather easy, and convenient way to convey the idea of a person. It isn't until the child is six that outlines replace single lines used to depict legs and arms. Shoulders don't usually appear until age nine, and body proportions begin to take some importance around age eight or nine (Cox, 1992). Representational Drawing Three- and four-year-olds develop other generic symbols for the repeated drawings of common objects like sun, dog, and house. As children begin to draw in a more realistic manner, they may oscillate back and forth between realism and earlier scribbling patterns but the general movement remains toward realistic representation of what they know of the world. According to Piaget and Inhelder (1963) preschoolers draw what they know about the world, rather than attempting to capture a photographic mirror of reality. That is why we see drawings depicting both the outside and inside of an object at the same time (transparencies or x-rays). While approaching realism, drawings remain fanciful throughout the preschool years with imagination leading color, composition, and content. It is often just pretend, wonderful pretend where ground and sky never meet at the horizon and all of the action takes place in the air gap between. It is a place where we can see the front, profile, and bird's-eye view all at the same time. It is a place where trees and people can be the same size, where grass looks lovely when it is purple, where sun rays reach out to embrace us, and rainbows form without a drop of rain. There is a lot to keep in mind when drawing. All at the same time we must think about the parts of what we are intending to draw, the overall plan of where to draw and how to leave room for the other parts, how to use lines to show things that in reality have no boundary lines around them, and how to control the physical elements to make what happens be what we really want to happen. It has been proposed that the number of things one can keep in mind to work with at one time is a measure of neurological maturity and intellectual functioning (Pascual-Leone, 1984). If so, the complicated, multifaceted nature of the task of drawing would appear to challenge the mind. Realistic Representations As the child moves into concrete operational thought after age six or seven we see a strong focus on drawing in a more realistic fashion. The concrete operational thinker sees the world in terms of what is, rather than what could be. Therefore, we see drawings reflecting the world in factual, realistic representations, leaving behind the wonderfully fanciful drawings of a year before. The school-age child is focused emotionally on demonstrating skill at the tasks valued in the culture (Erikson, 1950). Artistic realism seems to be valued in North American culture, so realism is reflected in children's drawings. If children judge themselves to be good at drawing, they will likely continue drawing to see themselves as competent. However, there are some factors that seem to interfere with a child's ability to draw realistically. While younger children are not concerned with proportion and perspective, the older school-age child wants his or her drawings to look realistic (Winner, 1986). If he or she is able to solve the problems of proportion and perspective to his or her satisfaction, he or she is more likely to continue to draw (Gardner, 1980). Sadly, many children stop drawing when they are nine or ten because they do not feel that their efforts are satisfactory (Gardner, 1980). We know of no inborn ability that develops into the capacity to draw in three dimensions. (After all, perspective drawing was not part of the Western artistic repertoire until it was developed during the Renaissance.) It would seem, then, that the middle school years would be an ideal time for direct instruction in technical drawing techniques for those children who need that support in order to keep them confident enough to continue drawing.

When Children Draw

By Sandra Crosser, Ph.D.

Jordan stands before a large sketch pad, takes a marker in hand and carefully uncaps it. She begins scrubbing...first slowly, down and up, down and up. Her motions settle into a rhythm and soon her entire body dances, mirroring the tempo of her strokes. Jordan is drawing. Her whole being is drawing.

To the casual observer, this two-year-old is just scribbling. Her marks seem to be random, meaningless. Sometimes she does not even look at the paper as she marks. But there is more going on. Jordan is using her mind and her emotions as she engages in the physical act of drawing.

Examining children's drawing may give us important insights into how drawing fits into the overall physical, emotional, and cognitive development of the young child. From toddlerhood through primary school, children choose to draw. What role does drawing play in the young child's development?

Scribbling
Around 18 months, toddlers become interested in scribbling. It seems to provide sensory enjoyment, but the child is also interested in the marks that are made. (If the drawing implement does not work, the child quickly loses interest.) The act of scribbling can serve several useful purposes for the young child. Small muscle coordination and control improve with practice, cognitive abilities are exercised, opportunities for social interaction arise, and the physical movements provide emotional release.

Because a toddler's small muscle control is not fully developed, he or she may approach the drawing task by grasping the marker with his or her fist, creating a bit of difficulty placing the marks exactly where he or she wants them. Movements are typically large, involving the entire arm with little finger or wrist control. This is because the pattern of physical development proceeds from the center of the trunk outward.

With practice, the toddler will naturally improve his or her control of wrist and finger movements. Full control, however, will not be achieved until much later. A few toddlers rest the forearm on the drawing surface to give them additional control. A rhythmic, repetitive, scrubbing motion is common among two-year-olds, providing sensory enjoyment and making drawing a very physical act.

By providing children with the materials and opportunities to scribble we can promote physical skills. Just as babbling is a natural way to gain language, scribbling is a natural gateway to muscle control and coordination. In fact, Cratty (1986) termed scribbling "motor babbling."

Intellectually toddlers are concerned with both the process and results of their art. They do not intend to represent objects at first. Instead, they are concerned with color and line. However, they may look at the marks and scribbles they have made and, in surprise, recognize a shape and name it. While they may not have intended to draw a dog or tree, the scribbles suggest the shapes. Children interpret, rather than intend. This is called fortuitous realism and becomes common as a child approaches three years.

According to Piaget and Inhelder (1963), a child is mentally able to use symbols to represent reality by 18 months. Therefore a child can engage in pretend play. This ability to pretend can be seen as a toddler uses the movement of the crayon or marker to depict an action in his or her drawings. Dots, for example, may be rain falling or animals moving about the page (Berk, 1994). Gestures are used to represent the action (Cox, 1992).

Kellogg (1970) described 20 basic scribbles children tend to use during their first, exploratory stage. Most children do not use all of these scribbles (Cox, 1992). Instead, children favor certain ones as they develop individual styles (Gardner, 1980). It also appears that scribbles are not placed randomly. After examining thousands of drawings, Kellogg (1970) catalogued 17 page placements toddlers use as they scribble. Scribblers, then, are decision makers.

The opportunity to make decisions contributes to the emerging sense of autonomy which is so important for a two-year-old's emotional development. Not only do children make decisions about line, color, and placement, they also exercise their sense of autonomy by using and gaining control over tools of the culture-crayons, markers, pencils, paper-to engage in an activity valued by the culture.

Twos like adults to "watch me." Watch me because I am proud of what I am doing; I am feeling competent; I am doing this wonderful thing by myself. Autonomy!

Children can engage in social interaction as they draw with or show their creations to others. As young children sit together, each drawing, they talk, share stories, and trade materials. This is a basis for prosocial interaction that is practiced in an authentic situation. Similarly, the child who saves his or her scribble picture to show daddy is demonstrating his or her use of drawing for social interaction as well as emotional support.

Extending the Scribble
Between the ages of two and three the child begins to form what Kellogg (1970) has termed shapes. The scribble forms a cross, an X, and enclosures resembling primitive circles, squares, triangles, and oblongs. Soon after, two of those shapes are used in combination. By age three the child puts together several shapes to form what Kellogg termed aggregates.

An important point is reached when the child converts the linear scribble into an enclosed shape. The enclosed shape seems to be the focus of the child's first attempt to make a realistic drawing. That first realistic drawing is frequently a primitive person. When lines are used as boundaries of objects we see a typical tadpole person, so named because it resembles a tadpole. One large circular shape with two lines extending as legs float on a page represents every man.

Tadpole guy becomes shorthand for every guy or gal. What economy!Tadpole guy may be embellished with facial features...or maybe not. He may have arms extending from the head but they are added last and may be forgotten unless arms are needed for holding or acting. The circle part may represent just a head, but it may also represent the head and torso combined into a sort of person lump. Children will often place a belly button onto the lump, indicating that it includes the torso. However, if the leg lines are longer than the lump, the belly button may be placed between the leg lines. It could just be that the person lump needs to be big to allow enough room to place the eyes, nose, and mouth. After all, it takes a lot of space to draw all of that.

The configuration of tadpole guy does not seem to indicate that children are unaware of body parts or how they fit together. They tend to add parts when reminded that something is missing. They can complete a partially drawn person correctly, and can "build" a person with both head and trunk when given blocks or tiles (Cox, 1992). Tadpole guy simply seems to be a symbolic, rather easy, and convenient way to convey the idea of a person. It isn't until the child is six that outlines replace single lines used to depict legs and arms. Shoulders don't usually appear until age nine, and body proportions begin to take some importance around age eight or nine (Cox, 1992).

Representational Drawing
Three- and four-year-olds develop other generic symbols for the repeated drawings of common objects like sun, dog, and house. As children begin to draw in a more realistic manner, they may oscillate back and forth between realism and earlier scribbling patterns but the general movement remains toward realistic representation of what they know of the world.

According to Piaget and Inhelder (1963) preschoolers draw what they know about the world, rather than attempting to capture a photographic mirror of reality. That is why we see drawings depicting both the outside and inside of an object at the same time (transparencies or x-rays). While approaching realism, drawings remain fanciful throughout the preschool years with imagination leading color, composition, and content. It is often just pretend, wonderful pretend where ground and sky never meet at the horizon and all of the action takes place in the air gap between. It is a place where we can see the front, profile, and bird's-eye view all at the same time. It is a place where trees and people can be the same size, where grass looks lovely when it is purple, where sun rays reach out to embrace us, and rainbows form without a drop of rain.

There is a lot to keep in mind when drawing. All at the same time we must think about the parts of what we are intending to draw, the overall plan of where to draw and how to leave room for the other parts, how to use lines to show things that in reality have no boundary lines around them, and how to control the physical elements to make what happens be what we really want to happen. It has been proposed that the number of things one can keep in mind to work with at one time is a measure of neurological maturity and intellectual functioning (Pascual-Leone, 1984). If so, the complicated, multifaceted nature of the task of drawing would appear to challenge the mind.

Realistic Representations
As the child moves into concrete operational thought after age six or seven we see a strong focus on drawing in a more realistic fashion. The concrete operational thinker sees the world in terms of what is, rather than what could be. Therefore, we see drawings reflecting the world in factual, realistic representations, leaving behind the wonderfully fanciful drawings of a year before.

The school-age child is focused emotionally on demonstrating skill at the tasks valued in the culture (Erikson, 1950). Artistic realism seems to be valued in North American culture, so realism is reflected in children's drawings. If children judge themselves to be good at drawing, they will likely continue drawing to see themselves as competent. However, there are some factors that seem to interfere with a child's ability to draw realistically. While younger children are not concerned with proportion and perspective, the older school-age child wants his or her drawings to look realistic (Winner, 1986). If he or she is able to solve the problems of proportion and perspective to his or her satisfaction, he or she is more likely to continue to draw (Gardner, 1980). Sadly, many children stop drawing when they are nine or ten because they do not feel that their efforts are satisfactory (Gardner, 1980). We know of no inborn ability that develops into the capacity to draw in three dimensions. (After all, perspective drawing was not part of the Western artistic repertoire until it was developed during the Renaissance.) It would seem, then, that the middle school years would be an ideal time for direct instruction in technical drawing techniques for those children who need that support in order to keep them confident enough to continue drawing.

Click here to read the entire article

Ways to promote drawing:

1- Provide child with materials starting at 2 years old.

2- Show your child that you too enjoy to draw, it is important though that you don't influence what they should draw.

3- Praise what your child has drawn, talk about the colours, lines, shapes.

4- Ask your child to tell you about their drawing, try not to ask "What it is".

5- It is best to provide children with a variety of drawing and colouring materials as opposed to colouring books where all they have to do is colour in the picture.

6- Talk about the many concepts in drawing, such as: thick, thin, wide, narrow, shade, light, shape, contour, straight, curved, etc.

7- Show your child high quality art, take them to the art gallery or the museum.

8- Always the child the freedom to choose the theme, colours, subject of their drawings.

2011-10-31T14:51:00.007-05:00

I thought I would share some Halloween stuff I found while looking around the Internet.

Last minute costume needed: check out these fun and easy costume ideas.

Turn your pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern: great stencils and carving tips.

Safety First: Keep your little trick or treaters safe.

Candy Fun: use candy to teach little ones sorting, counting and word play.

Halloween FYI: some Halloween trivia.

First Timers: Baby's 1st Halloween.

HAPPY & SAFE HALLOWEEN

Toy Spotlight - Manhattan Toy's NooBoo Collection

2011-10-28T10:18:00.014-05:00

I remember the first time I saw the Manhattan Toy NooBoo Symphonic Stacker, my eldest daughter was about 6 months and we were at the local Chapters. I fell in love with it. I loved the lush textures, and colourful whimsical patters of each ring.

When I was looking at which toys I would carry at BabyThoughts.ca, I knew that the Symphonic Stacker would be one of them, and was very excited to discover that Manhattan Toy had a large NooBoo collection. We currently carry four toys from the collection, all four are fantastic at promoting the development of your child's fine motor skills, like their hand-eye coordination and pincer grasp. They also provide visual, touch and sound stimulation which helps keep babies interested thereby promoting hearing and sight development.

Our Manhattan Toy NooBoo Collection includes:

NooBoo Ball: bold, bright and rewarding to baby's developing motor skills, this multi-activity ball is made with high-quality fabrics - stretch nylon, corduroy, fleece, terry cloth and satin ribbons - to invite tactile exploration. Stimulating young ears are crinkle paper, rattles and a squeaker.

NooBoo Pound-A-Sound: With each thump of the soft hammer, baby hears a variety of sounds or gets a pop-up surprise.

NooBoo See & Sound Mirror: Babies will see flashing lights and hear sounds when they touch this self-standing mirror. Mirror can also be attached to crib.

NooBoo Symphonic Stacker: A sensory extravaganza, this premium-quality fabric stacker develops motor and problem-solving skills. As each soft ring goes over the post, baby hears a different sound - a total of four sounds - to reinforce cause-and-effect learning.

Stop by BabyThoughts.ca to see the NooBoo collection as well as our great selection of toys from Manhattan Toy.

Deal of the Week - Haba Wrist Rattles

2011-10-26T11:36:00.005-05:00

Our Collection of Wrist Rattles from Haba are now 30% Off!

With four different wrist rattles to choose from, you are sure to find one your little will love. A toy that is sure to keep your little one entertained whether they are sitting down, lying down or on the go.

Visit BabyThoughts.ca to see and shop our Haba Toy Collection

Toy Spotlight - Educo Bead Mazes

2011-10-21T09:11:00.008-05:00

I don't think you can go to any doctor's office and not see an Educo Bead Maze and if your child is anything like mine, they will run towards them to play.

The Educo bead mazes have won numerous international awards for quality, educational value, safety and innovative design. Bead Mazes are fantastic toys to help with your child's fine-motor skill development, hand-eye coordination, recognition of colour, size, shape, counting, visual tracking, and spacial concepts.

Little hands will love playing with the coloured beads as they slide them up, down, and around the wires. Young children will be entertained just moving the beads along the wires from one end to the next. As they get older, parents can use the beads as teaching tools for learning colours, shapes, counting, and even beginner mathematical concepts such as addition and subtraction.

A great toy to be enjoyed by one or many, and one that will surely be passed down from child to child.

Stop by BabyThoughts.ca to see our collection of Educo Bead Mazes, including the Bear Hug which is 40% off!

Building A Foundation - Your Child's Development from 0 to 2 Months

2011-10-20T08:21:00.005-05:00

From their first hour alive, babies begin to learn about the world around them. Our support, attention, awareness, and response, will have a very strong influence on their social, emotional, intellectual, motor, and language development.

One of the most important things you can do for your newborn is to help them feel comfortable in their surroundings. They are just starting to regulate their eating, sleeping, and emotions, that is why finding out what soothes and distresses them is very valuable. Always respond to their cries as this is important for their social and emotional development. It also nurtures trust, confidence, and self-soothing.

Even though we may not realize it, newborns use their body movements, facial expressions and sounds to communicate their feelings. Things like looking away, arching their backs, or frowning when they need to take a break. They will have different cries for when they want to eat, sleep or get a change of diaper. Acknowledging and responding to them will help build a positive sense of self and will encourage them to continue to communicate. (source)

To further develop a newborn's communication skills talk and sing to them. Tell them what you are doing and what they are doing. See if there are sights and sounds they like. Find toys or everyday items with different colours and textures and let them explore. In fact your face and those of loved ones will be what baby will find most fascinating. You can play with them by putting your face close to theirs and letting them look at you and touch you. Play a game of naming the parts of your face they are touching and do the same to them.

The most important thing you can do the first two months is to always respond to your baby, pay attention to what they need and provide them with what that may be. All this will contribute to the foundation for their social, emotional, and language development.

Deal of the Week - Melissa & Doug Circular Floor Puzzles

2011-10-19T13:20:00.003-05:00

Fantasy Building

2011-10-18T08:16:00.015-05:00

One of the best toys you can give a child is a set of blocks. Blocks are great at promoting the development of fine motor skills, imaginative play and creativity. They can also be used as educational tools for counting, sorting, pattern making, and learning shapes and colours.

The Haba building blocks certainly achieve all of the above and are sure to capture your child's imagination with their attention to detail and the unique and whimsical designs.

From the Cordoba Building Block s with its 'Arabian Nights' inspired designs, containing 16 pieces total, in bright saturated colours, some with swirls, squares, arches, domes, dots--even one block with pearl beads rattling around inside.

To the Fantasy Land Ji gsaw Blocks with its dazzling design and shapes, contains one piece with a mirror, one with a cat, and more with stars, swirls, and polka dots.

Designed and made in Germany from beech wood and painted with acrylic non-toxic paints. The Haba Block sets are a great addition to your child's toy box, whether on their own, together or incorporated with their existing block collection.

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2011-10-15T09:33:00.002-05:00

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2011-10-15T09:17:00.002-05:00

Toy Spotlight - Bajo Vehicles

2011-10-14T09:08:00.011-05:00

I knew when I got the Bajo wooden vehicle collection that little ones would love it. After all, they are specially designed to be held in little hands and the imaginative way that they can play with them is just endless.

When I gave my second child at 3 months one of the small Bajo vehicles, I discovered what a great grasping toy and teething toy it is. The little vehicles are small enough that babies can hold them comfortably in their little hands, and big enough for them to put in their mouths with no worries of chocking, they are also very safe as they are painted with non-toxic paints and are easy to clean and disinfect.

When she was able to sit up, she would love to play with her little cars. By this time she had three of them and she would pass them from hand to hand to mouth.

Now at a year, she pushes them away from her and crawls to them. They are still a fun teething toy for her and after all the 'love' they have gotten from her, they still look like new.

The Bajo wooden vehicles are great for sensory development for babies, fine-motor skill development for toddlers and imaginative play for preschoolers.

Stop by BabyThoughts.ca to see our entire Bajo Vehicle collection. Take advantage of our toy sale of up to 50% off on until October 16, 2011.

How to Raise a Glass Half-Full Child

2011-10-12T12:42:00.002-05:00

I wanted to share with you a newsletter article I received titled 5 Steps to Raising Optimistic Children sent to me by Daniel Dwase from Child-Development-Guide.com. There is no doubt that as parents we want our children to be more optimistic, be able work through difficult situations and find solutions to problems that they will run into. Hopefully these simple steps will not only help them but perhaps help us make some important changes.

5 Steps to Raising Optimistic Children

Why should you want your child to be an optimist? Because, as Dr. Martin Seligman explains: “Pessimism (the opposite of optimism) is an entrenched habit of mind that has sweeping and disastrous consequences: depressed mood, resignation, underachievement and even unexpectedly poor physical health.”

Children with optimistic thinking skills are better able to interpret failure, have a stronger sense of personal mastery and are better able to bounce back when things go wrong in their lives. Because you are a major contributor to the thinking styles of your children’s developing minds, it is important to adhere to the following five steps to ensure healthy mental habits in your children.

Step 1: Learn to think optimistically yourself. What children see and hear indirectly from you as you lead your life and interact with others influences them much more than what you try to ‘teach’ them. You can model optimism for your child by incorporating optimistic mental skills into your own way of thinking. This is not easy and does not occur over night. But with practice, almost everyone can learn to think differently about life’s events.

Step 2: Teach your child that there is a connection between how they think and how they feel. You can do this most easily by saying aloud how your own thoughts about adversity create negative feelings in you.

For example, if you are driving your child to school and a driver cuts you off, verbalize the link between your thoughts and feelings by saying something like “I wonder why I’m feeling so angry; I guess I was saying to myself: ‘Now I’m going to be late because the guy in front of me is going so darn slow. If he is going to drive like that he shouldn’t drive during rush hour. How rude.’”

Step 3: Create a game called ‘thought catching.’ This helps your child learn to identify the thoughts that flit across his or her mind at the times they feel worst. These thoughts, although barely noticeable, greatly affect mood and behavior. For instance, if your child received a poor grade, ask: “When you got your grade, what did you say to yourself?”

Step 4: Teach your child how to evaluate automatic thoughts. This means acknowledging that the things you say to yourself are not necessarily accurate.

For instance, after receiving the poor grade your child may be telling himself he is a failure, he is not as smart as other kids; he will never be able to succeed in school, etc. Many of these self-statements may not be accurate, but they are ‘automatic’ in that situation.

Step 5: Instruct your child on how to generate more accurate explanations (to themselves) when bad things happen and use them to challenge your child’s automatic but inaccurate thoughts. Part of this process involves looking for evidence to the contrary (good grades in the past, success in other life areas, etc).

Another skill to teach your child to help him or her think optimistically is to ‘decatastrophize’ the situation – that is – help your child see that the bad event may not be as bad or will not have the adverse consequences imagined. Few things in life are as devastating as we fear, yet we blow them up in our minds.

You can influence the thinking styles of your children by modeling the principals of optimistic thinking.

Happy 1st Birthday!

2011-01-25T13:00:00.010-05:00

Looking for a great gift to give a special little person who is turning 1 years old? Look no further, I will share with you my top 3 toys that are sure to be loved and more importantly played with over and over.

A big favourite of mine and one of our top sellers at BabyThoughts.ca is the Melissa & Doug Large Farm Jumbo Knob Puzzle. This makes a great first puzzle for little ones because it has large wooden pieces of their favourite farm animals. You can sing along to old Mac Donald while you teach them the names of each of the animals. As well, it is great for their fine motor and cognitive development. It is truly a fantastic first puzzle.

Another big favourite, are the Haba Fantasy Blocks, made in Germany these beautiful and vibrant blocks are sure to inspire little ones to build their own fantasy cities. These blocks will help young children develop their creativity, as well as their cognitive and fine motor skills.

My third choice for a great gift is the Haba Walker Wagon. Hands down this German made, award winner walker is just incredible. It is both beautiful, and so incredibly functional. With its sturdy construction, rubber tires and an adjustable brake, this walker is not only fun but safe. Your little one will love learning how to walk with this wagon.

To see more great toys just right for little ones turning 1, stop by BabyThoughts.ca and choose from our great selection. If you have any questions or need a suggestion send me an email at kzamora@babythoughts.ca

Toy Spotlight - Vilac Vehicles

2011-01-14T10:30:00.010-05:00

This week in the spotlight are the beautiful and timeless vehicles from Vilac. Vilac has been making high quality wooden toys for a 100 years. Vilac toys are known for their classic look and feel, specially for their smoothly rounded and high gloss lacquered wooden vehicles. All their lacquered toys are still manufactured in the Jura region of France.

At BabyThoughts we carry a large selection of Vilac vehicles that are sure to be part of your child's toy box for years and are meant to be passed down from child to child as they are incredibly durable and timeless in design. Choose from the vibrant Fire Truck to the mini red and yellow ralley cars.

I absolutely fell in love with these vehicles when I saw them, they are just so elegant, modern and chic . They are not cheap plastic cars that you know you can't wait for your child to outgrow so that you can put them away. You will never want to hide these cars and I have no doubt that your little one will always go back to playing with them.

If you know a child that just loves cars, than I highly recommend the Vilac vehicles, you really can't go wrong. After all, Vilac has been in the toy making industry for a 100 years, you can be sure that not only are you getting top craftsmanship but that they will be loved by children.

Visit BabyThoughts.ca to see our Vilac Vehicle collection!

Toy Spotlight - Melissa & Doug Magnetic Mazes

2011-01-07T09:04:00.009-05:00

I have to say that these mazes have become one of my new favourite toys, mostly because it keeps my 5 year old daughter entertained for hours, but also because they are great teaching tools and just as important they aid in the development of her fine motor skills.

The two available at BabyThoughts.ca are the Magnetic Colour Maze and the Magnetic Number Maze. The object of the game is that the child must use the magnetic wand to move the balls to the correct location.

In the Magnetic Colour Maze, the child must fill the bellies of the animals with the correct coloured balls. It is a fun way for young ones to learn their colours, learn about sorting, problem solving and even counting.

With the Magnetic Number Maze, the child fills the baskets of each animal with the correct number of fruits. It is a great toy for children to learn number recognition, counting and sorting. As well it helps them develop and improve their fine motor skills. You can also use this game to introduce addition and subtraction by having them add or remove fruits from a particular basket and asking them to count how many are left.

Another great feature about these toys is that they make fantastic travel toys, as they are small, lightweight and everything is contained behind an acrylic cover.

Overall a great toy given that not only will it keep your child entertained but it is also a great teaching tool.

Top Baby Gifts

2011-01-04T09:52:00.019-05:00

I often get asked what toy I would recommend as a gift for a baby, I can tell you that over these past years a few have really stood out to me as fantastic gifts that are loved by both babies and parents.

My most favourite toy that is adored by little ones and makes the lives of parents so much easier is the Manhattan Toy Whoozit. This toy has won numerous awards, for very good reasons. It has many features that babies love; from the bright and high contrast colours and patterns, the different sounds it makes, to the perfect shape just right for little fingers to grab on to. Whether you get the big Whoozit or the Baby Whoozit this toy is sure to go everywhere baby goes.

Another great toy from Manhattan Toy that makes a fantastic gift which parents will thank you for, is the Wimmer Ferguson Infant Stim-Mobile. This mobile is our best seller and for very good reasons, babies are mesmerized by the pictures in the cards. Each card has an image on both sides, one side is in black and white which is perfect for young babies who can only see high contrast images. While the other side of the card is more colourful to keep older babies entertained. Given its small size and lightweight materials, it travels well and can be used in multiple places such as a bassinet, a playpen and even some strollers.

A third toy that makes a fantastic gift, are the Wimmer Ferguson Mind Shapes, these vibrant shapes encourage babies to look, touch, and listen. Each easy-to-carry shape has a noisemaker and a medley of research-correct graphics & textures. This toy also grows with baby as they can be used to teach them about shapes, colours, textures and sounds.

If you are looking for a great gift for a newborn take a look at the three listed above, all three toys will certainly be loved and played with.

Huge Melissa & Doug Sale on Now!

2010-11-04T09:44:00.001-05:00

Save 10% on all Plan City & Plan Activity Toys!

2010-05-31T22:08:00.003-05:00

All Plan Toys toys are made from non-chemically treated rubber wood,they use only non-toxic water based dyes and use recycled and recyclable materials.

With real world functionality, these beautiful toys encourage creative play and promote physical and intellectual development.

Spring Is Here Sale!

2010-04-21T19:19:00.001-05:00

Everyone's a Critic

2010-03-18T11:01:00.005-05:00

I came across the article in the Toronto Star that I wanted to share. I can tell you that I am always worried about being critical with my four year old. I am always praising her and making sure she feels confident in all that she does. She can be easily discouraged and will give up something to never do it again if she feels she does not do it well. For this reason I am always giving her positive feedback, which is certainly good but there will be times when she will need some constructive criticism.

The article discusses 10 ways to give children effective criticism, I find that their first point, about the importance of being brief is one I need to always keep in mind, as I tend to just ramble on and you can just see her completely loose interest and forget what the whole point of the conversation was.

Here is the link: http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/newsfeatures/momstuff/article/781240--10-ways-to-give-children-effective-criticism

Feel free to share your own tips on giving kids constructive criticism.

Vroom Vroom !! Vilac Car Sale

2009-08-23T21:07:00.005-05:00

This week only buy 2 Vilac cars and get the 3rd car FREE!!

Choose any two cars and receive the third car of equal or lesser value for free. Sale available on email orders only while quantities last.

You can place your order by emailing me at kzamora@babythoughts.ca.

Sale ends August 28, 2009.

Happy Friday. Great Sale!

2009-06-19T10:43:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday! I have decided to have some fun giveaways posted on Twitter every so often and today is the first one.

Today June 19th I am offering 10% off all regular in stock toys at BabyThougths.

If you would like to take part in this, just email me with your order at kzamora [at] babythoughts [dot] ca.

I will be tweeting about special deals, so if you don't want to miss them you can follow us.

Cheers!

Play Essentials

2009-02-26T14:51:00.007-05:00

With all the choices parents face as they stroll down the toy aisle, choosing a toy that will not only entertain your child but also stimulate them, and encourage them to explore and learn can be challenging.

This is why I have put together a list of types of toys that will not only be fun to play with, but will also give them the opportunity to develop important life skills. These play essentials include puzzles, stackers, sorters and pretend play toys.

To help start or add to your toy collection, we are having a SALE* on many of our essential toys.

SAVE UP TO 25% OFF ON SELECTED TOYS!

Puzzles

When it comes to toys, puzzles are certainly one of the best for children of all ages. For babies and toddles, puzzles aid in the development of hand-eye coordination and problem solving skills. As a child grows and puzzles become more complex, they help children recognize patterns which are very important for critical thinking. When played with others they are great at teaching all about teamwork, cooperation and communication. No matter the size and difficulty of a puzzle, once completed it will give a child confidence and encourage them to investigate and participate in trial and error activities.

Stackers & Sorters

Stackers and Sorters are great toys to teach children about size, shape and colour. They will also help with their fine motor and cognitive development. You can introduce both sorters and stackers as soon as a child is able to sit by themselves, at this time it is best to introduce them to the different pieces and showing them how it works, and as they get older you can start encouraging them to stack the rings in the right order or to fit the shapes in the right slot. You can also create different games that will teach them about pattern recognition, counting, and promote logical thinking.

Pretend Play

Kitchen play, dolls, doll houses, trains and cars are all great toys for role playing and make believe. Pretend play encourages children to inquire and discover about the world they live in. It supports the development of social & language skills, creativity, and imagination. It is a wonderful way for them to develop emotional skills and learn how to react to a variety of situations that they may encounter in their early childhood years. When played in a group, pretend play will encourage teamwork and communication.

* Sale ends March 1, 2009, while quantities last.

Happy Travels

2008-12-11T10:37:00.013-05:00

'Tis the season for family vacations, whether you are able to escape somewhere sunny and warm or just heading a couple of hours out of town to visit family and friends, good travel toys are essential to keep the little ones entertained and in their seats.

We just got some great toys that are perfect for playing in both the seat of a car or an airplane.

The first ones are our newest addition from Melissa & Doug, their new magnetic bead mazes. Both the Magnetic Number Maze and Magnetic Colour Maze will keep your little one occupied for quite some time as they work to slide the beads in the correct hole. Both toys are great for the development of number and colour recognition, as well as matching and fine motor skills.

Another great travel toy is the Mini Bingo from HABA, the classic bingo game for up to four players that comes in a charming tin container. A great assigning game that all will enjoy playing.

A great travel toy for younger children are both books from HABA. Both Alex at the Zoo and Dino and the Dinos are a 3-in-1 toy: they are a book, a puzzle and a game. Younger children will enjoy reading about their favourite dinosaur or zoo animal, while older children will have fun putting together the five jigsaw puzzles and playing the game.

No matter how far you travel this season, these toys are sure to keep everyone happy.

Made In Canada!

2008-11-25T15:19:00.008-05:00

We are so excited to offer our first Canadian made toy...Ukoonto!

We discovered the beautiful building blocks at the Healthy Kids Expo this fall and could not wait to show them off. In fact, we introduced them at both the Children's Trunk Show and the BabyTime Show. We had one complete set out for kids to play with and they enjoyed creating different building structures out of the pieces.

The Ukoonto blocks are made from hard maple wood, they are not treated with any kind of lacquer, paint or finish, which makes the very safe for little ones to put in their mouths.

The set comes with 50 pieces in classic shapes such as rectangles, triangles, and arches. The blocks have been tested to be safe for children 9 months+. At this age, children will love stacking them up, and as they get older they will get more creative in what they create with them. This is certainly a toy that will grow with your child and will be enjoyed in many different ways.

Building blocks are a wonderful toy to stimulate a child's creativity, spatial thinking, and fine motor skills. They offer children infinite possibilities in what they can build and create. They are truly a must have toy!

Media Watch

2008-10-30T13:05:00.006-05:00

BabyThoughts.ca has two products featured in the What's New section of the November/December 2008 issue of Calgary's Child Magazine.

The two products featured are the Tiny Love Andy Apple and the new Manhattan Toy Winkel-Citrus Burst.

Both toys are so fun and vibrant and are great grasping and teething toys for young children.

Safety First

2008-10-10T18:23:00.021-05:00

With the recent concerns over the safety of baby toys, I thought it would be a great idea to have links to the Safety Standards of our brands.

I would like to stress that I do quite a great deal of research on all the brands and products that I bring in at BabyThoughts.ca. Safety is of the utmost importance to me and I make a point of only offering brands that have a high level of quality.

Please contact me should you have any questions or concerns regarding the safety of the toys found at BabyThoughts.ca. I can be reached at kzamora@babythoughts.ca

Piecing It Together

2008-09-26T14:04:00.011-05:00

We have a very special family tradition of always getting a puzzle that the family has to put together during the Holidays. We have so much fun trying to out do each other by finding the most pieces or that one piece that can not be found. There is something very satisfying and just a little sad when you place the last piece.

Puzzles are certainly a fun activity to do, alone or with a group of people at any age. When it comes to the benefits that it offers young children, puzzles really help with their problem solving skills, language skills, pattern recognition, logic and hand-eye coordination.

Puzzles are great toys that parents can also use as early learning tools to teach children their numbers, shapes and the alphabet. The Melissa and Doug ABC, Numbers, and Shapes Peg Puzzles are certainly a fun way for children to be exposed to their numbers and letters.

Puzzles are also amazing at helping children develop problem solving skills which they will use for all their lives. Jigsaw puzzles are great for this because children need to identify patterns and must place the pieces in the correct way for it to fit. It is best to introduce jigsaw puzzles to children who are two and older, starting with the easier ones and working up to more complex ones with more pieces.

When I first introduced jigsaw puzzles to my daughter, it was incredibly interesting to see her select the correct piece and then try to fit it to the puzzle. In the beginning she would always try to position it wrong, it was interesting to see that she would be guided by colour and trying to match the colour in the piece with the other one. When it did not work she would turn it around and try again. I have found that good jigsaw puzzles will be cut in such a way as to help the child work through it in a logical way. For example, the Playful Pets Jigsaw puzzle is cut so that it is easy for the child to identify the face of the animals and then the other parts of their bodies. This makes it easy for children to start the puzzle selecting one of the animals and working their way to to all the others. It also helps that all the animals are a distinct colour which helps them recognize the puzzle pieces and know that the yellow ones belong to the bird and so on.

For younger children, the best puzzles are ones that have few pieces, have large knobs for them to hold and even have a picture underneath the puzzle piece to help them in the beginning. These puzzles are great for children one year and up and it will help them with their hand-eye coordination because they will have to put the piece in the slot. Like all puzzles it also helps them with their judgment and reasoning . Parents can also take an opportunity to teach them the names of the objects that are found on the puzzle. With the Melissa & Doug Large Farm Jumbo Knob puzzle, parents can teach their children the names of the farm animals. As the child gets older, they can use it to sing to Old MacDonald and get the child to point to a farm animal and make their corresponding sounds. A fun game that helps children learn so much.

Along with blocks, puzzles are toys that are a must have in any play room. There is a puzzle for children of all ages and skill level. There is always something exciting about opening up that puzzle box, taking stock of all the pieces scattered and getting started.

Introducing Vilac Wooden Cars

2008-09-22T14:33:00.006-05:00

Haba Toy Recall

2008-09-15T14:35:00.008-05:00

We have been informed that Haba has issued a voluntary recall on certain baby toys.

They have identified that certain grasping toys, pacifier chains and other toys contain glued on mirrors and/or prisms that may detach posing a choking hazard.

The two toys which Baby Thoughts carries that are affected by the recall are, Clutching Toy Bonita and Pixie's World.

Please remove all affected toys from children and return items to the following location:

For Canadian consumers -

Attn: Recall Returns
Filosofia Distributions Inc.
3250, F.X. Tessier
Vaudreuil-Dorion QC J7V 5V5

For USA consumers, please visit www.haba.de to fill out a recall form.

Please be sure to include your name and address with the returned products. Consumers will receive a free replacement that equals or exceeds the value of the recalled product or a full refund, as well as a refund on cost of shipping.

To view complete list of all products being recalled click here.

To read information for consumers released by Filosofia (Canadian distributor of Haba) click here.

Your child's safety is of the utmost importance to us, should you have any questions or concerns please contact us at inquiries@babythoughts.ca.

Safety is Number One

2008-07-28T16:04:00.006-05:00

The safety of our children is our number one concern right from conception. As soon as we find out we are pregnant we ensure that we are providing our child with the right nutrition, vitamins and minerals. Later when that child is old enough to crawl and move about we spend time and resources ensuring that they do not harm themselves while exploring the world around them. As children get older, and their world gets bigger, safety is no longer just about covering the electrical outlets and locking the cupboard. This is why I wanted to share with you a very important organization, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

They are a non-profit organization dedicated to the personal safety of all children, they have tools, information, resources, and programs to help parents and caregivers teach children about personal safety. They also have programs that provide help to children and their family, who have been victims of abuse.

One of their great education programs is Kids in the Know, here parents can access information on how to teach children about personal safety. What makes it really great is that they provide you with age appropriate messages and tools.

They also created Cybertip.ca, a national tipline for reporting online sexual exploitation of children. With children using the internet more and more, it is important that we teach them how to be safe online. I highly recommend taking a look at their Public Education campaigns, such as 'Let's keep this our little secret', which provides parents with information on the techniques that offenders use to keep abuse a secret. You can also take a look at their age specific tips on ensuring that your child is safe online.

I don't think I can stress enough the importance of becoming informed on this issue and ensuring that we teach our children about personal safety. Not just our own children, but all children, like a good friend always tells me "it takes a village to raise a child".

Toy Spotlight - Haba Magnetic Puzzles

2008-07-18T18:36:00.011-05:00

MAGNETIC FUN

Challenge your little one's fine motor and cognitive skills with the brightly coloured magnetic puzzles from HABA.

Whether it is the Princess Magnetic Puzzle or the Knight Magnetic Puzzle, your little one will love the bright colours, whimsical pictures and you will love that it is travel friendly, ensuring that no pieces are lost or forgotten.

Both the board and all nine pieces are magnetic, making it a fantastic toy to have up on the refrigerator to help keep them entertained while you go about getting things done in the kitchen.

Haba Magnetic puzzles are not only beautiful but also multipurpose.

In the News - The Importance of Make-Believe

2008-07-07T18:18:00.006-05:00

Recently Susan Linn, a psychologist at Harvard’s Judge Baker Children’s Center was interviewed by USA TODAY about the importance of make-believe play.

The article talked about the benefits playtime at home and the importance of playing as a family. It also gave a number of helpful tips for parents to encourage pretend play at any age.

Article link : Is make-believe vital to kids? You better believe it

Friday Toy Spotlight - Manhattan Toy's Activity Barn

2008-07-04T16:46:00.011-05:00

This week in honour of our resent trip to a farm, where we got to chase chickens as well as ride and feed horses. I would like to shine the spotlight on one of my favourite toys from Manhattan Toy, the E I On The Go Activity Barn.

With more than ten interactive features, including a corncob with a zipper, a squeaky pig, a jingly horse in its pocket stall, a kitty hiding under a flap and a hen in her nest. As well as rings, crinkle paper, mirrors and more. This toy is designed to help baby develop their cognitive and fine motor skills.

Best of all it zips up neatly in its carrying case, complete with stroller strap and handle, for learning fun on the run.

A fantastic toy to take along with you wherever you go as it is sure to keep your little one entertained for some time. In addition it can easily be thrown into the washing machine should it get dirty, because we all know that sooner or later it will end up in baby's mouth.

Recommended for children 9 months and up, this is one toy that will certainly be enjoyed for a long time as the child discovers new features to keep them entertained. It can also be used to teach your little one how to identify their favourite barnyard animals and have a fun time singing Old MacDonald had a farm.

Fun With Colour

2008-05-23T10:41:00.009-05:00

Springtime surrounds us with beautiful colours, for this reason it is great time to start or expand on your child's knowledge of colour. One great way to do this is to teach them the colours found in their different toys as you play together.

Some great toys that can be used to teach your child all about colours are:

1. The Melissa and Doug Rainbow Stacker with its seven coloured rings for stacking fun.

2. The Large Shapes Jumbo Knob also from Melissa and Doug will not only teach them their colours but their basic shapes as well.

3. The Plan Toys' Lacing Beads is a great toy for older children, they be creative and make a necklace using only red beads or blue beads. This toy really encourages children to use their imagination and creativity.

4. A fun game to play together is the Picco Klecksolino from Selecta. The first person to find all the colours and shout our "klecksolino" is the winner!

If you look around at your child's toys, you will find that many of them can help them learn their colours. Have fun and make a game of it!

Selecta Toys....Find Them at BabyThoughts.ca

2008-04-29T14:27:00.004-05:00

The beautifully crafted toys from Selecta Spielzeug have arrived at BabyThoughts.ca!

Selecta was founded in 1938 and to this day it remains a family operated company, their sole aim is to provide educational and high value toys which promote the development of children. Selecta toys are designed and manufactured in Edling, Germany from sustainable maple forests using environmentally-friendly and child safe paints.

The look of a Selecta toy is almost instantly recognizable; toys are done in bold primary colors, with the grain of the wood often visible underneath. Basic, identifiable shapes dominate the form of the toys, while faces are always sweet, simple and smiling.

Stack'em Up!

2008-04-11T14:34:00.013-05:00

I remember when my daughter started stacking everything and anything. I found it just fascinating given that just a couple of months prior she would knock down the "towers" that I would build.

Stacking aids in the development of motor and cognitive skills. In fact you can say that stackers are babies' first puzzle since it must be stacked in a certain order.

At BabyThoughts.ca we carry a stacking toy for all ages and stages. For Infants we have the NooBoo Symphonic Stacker, a great toy for young babies. Its soft thick rings and stand, different textured fabrics and fun sounds offer young children lots of sensory stimulation. One great feature of the Symphonic Stacker is that every time a ring is placed over the post a different sound is heard. When all rings are stacked in the correct order a fun song is played, this reinforces cause-and-effect learning.

The vibrant Rainbow Stacker from Melissa & Doug is made of smooth wooden rings to be stacked on a solid-wood rocking base. Your little one will love this beautiful and classic toy.

Two other fabulous stackers for Toddlers are the Plan Toys' Stacking Clown and Cone Sorting. These two stacking toys will certainly challenge your little one. The Cone Sorting will teach them about depth, height, size and sequence as they assemble this colourful cone.

With the Stacking Clown, children will learn about arranging in order of width, form and colour. Each shape consists of two sides for colour-and-shape matching. Thus, a child can build up the clown step by step. A great challenge for your toddler.

Enjoy watching them stack'em up.

A is for Alligator

2008-04-04T12:39:00.009-05:00

Featured Toy: Melissa & Doug ABC Puzzles

Teaching your little ones their ABC's just got easier with the added help of Melissa & Doug's ABC Puzzles.

The Jumbo ABC Chunky Puzzle has colourful pictures of animals painted on the back of the board that correspond to each letter of the alphabet. You can also use the thick wooden pieces to spell simple words such as CAT or DOG.

Another great puzzle to help your child learn their alphabet is the ABC Peg Puzzle, with pictures under each piece and small pegs to make it easier for little ones to hold this puzzle is a big hit

Have fun teaching your toddler and preschooler their ABC's with the beautiful and colourful puzzles from Melissa and Doug.

Throw a Pizza Party

2008-04-02T12:02:00.008-05:00

Invite all your friends for some fun make-believing with Melissa and Doug's Pizz a Party play food set. With many yummy toppings to choose from, children will have a blast creating their own signature pizza.

If sandwiches are more to your liking, than the Melissa & Doug Sandwich Making Set is for you. You can't go wrong with the delicious meats, tomatoes, cheeses, lettuce and bread. A great addition to any imaginative picnic.

For more healthy play food choices visit BabyThoughts.ca's Kitchen Play!

Bon Appetit

Winter Games

2008-03-07T11:19:00.010-05:00

There are many many fun things to do this winter, bellow you will find a list of some fun indoor and outdoor activities to enjoy with your children.

INDOOR FUN

- Museums

On those days when the weather is just too cold, head over to your local museum. Children of any age will have a wonderful time at the museum, the classic exhibitions that are always a favourite are the dinosaur and the natural world. Many museums have a special children's area where they can have a more hands on experience. To find all the museums in your area visit the Canadian Museum Association and search their directory.

- Public Library

A fun place to spend time all year around. The libraries provide parents with numerous resources from story time, videos, DVDs, play groups, reading clubs and an extensive selection of books in a number of different languages. Visit your local library today and discover all that they have to offer.

- Art Gallery

Introduce your child to the wonderful world of art by visiting a provincial art museum or even your local art gallery. Many galleries will have special exhibits featuring many of the great artists as well as new artists and art forms from around the world. Always a great place to give your child an art history lesson. You can also see if the art gallery has special classes or areas for children. Be inspired and see if you can encourage your child to draw like Picasso or Seurat, the great pointillist painter.

OUTDOOR FUN

- Maple Syrup Farm

I don't think you will have to twist any arms to get your child to go to a maple syrup farm. There are many fun things to see and do at any of the great farms across most of Canada, there are also great festivals happening in the month of March. Enjoy and remember to bring back some fresh maple syrup.

- Snow Fun

As the saying goes, "if you can't beat them, join them". With all the snow that has fallen, don't think of it as a nuisance instead go outside and have fun with it. The one thing that every child should do is build the best snowman/snowwoman with all the trimmings. Look around for an old shirt, hat, mittens, scarf and anything else your child would like to put on it and have fun. The possibilities are endless, let them be creative with how they would like their snowman to look.

Another great activity is snow painting, get some empty spray bottles and fill them up with water and food coloring and let your budding artist go wild. You might want to avoid red and yellow colours for obvious reasons.

- Winter Picnic

Why not? Pack some yummy warm food like soup and hot chocolate and head out for a picnic at your local park or backyard. Dress warmly and bring a blanket.

- A hayride

Go on a hayride and take in all the sounds and smells of winter. Without a doubt you will come back feeling refreshed.

- The Classics

There will always be something special about going skiing, skating and tobogganing. It is never too early to introduce these classic winter sports to your little ones. Pick one or all three and have a great time.

This winter have fun both infoors and out!

Maximum Security: Pacifiers, Security Blankets and Favourite Toy

2008-01-07T11:16:00.001-05:00

Many parents struggle with determining when the correct time is to take away their child's pacifier or security object. Certainly we encountered this issue with our daughter and by what the article bellow says, it is not necessary for parents to worry too much.

Pacifiers and Security Blankets
Pediatrics for Parents, March, 2005 by Michael K. Meyerhoff

Many years ago, while my sister was recovering from surgery, I moved in with her family for a couple of weeks so I could look after her young children. One day, after dropping off the two boys at their preschool, I took the 18-month-old girl for a ride around town.

Once we finished errands we drove over to the local library where they had a "Moms and Tots Drop-In Center." I placed little Anna on the floor and watched as she quickly became engrossed in the many toys they had available. I then sat down in a comfortable chair and began perusing the parenting books and magazines displayed on a nearby table.

A few minutes later, the woman supervising the program, whose picture could have been placed next to the definition of "grandmother" in the dictionary, walked over to Anna, yanked the pacifier out of her mouth, and said, "You tell your Daddy that you don't need this anymore!" She turned to me, shoved the pacifier into my hand, and gave me a look that was filled with as much disgust and disdain as her soft, round face could muster.

I resisted the urge to tell her that if she ever again laid a hand on the child without permission, she would be pulling back a bloody stump. Instead, I calmly placed the pacifier back in Anna's mouth and explained, "She might not need it any more, but her mother does."

This story illustrates the two key concerns parents have about their child's use of a pacifier, security blanket, or other such item. At what age does the child's attachment to the object become inappropriate? And why does the child become attached to the object in the first place?

Let's start with the second question. The answer is simple. Pacifiers, security blankets, and other such items are stress reducers. It feels good to suck on the rubber nipple, to rub the soft material across one's cheek, etc., and that good feeling has a wonderfully calming effect. Of course, that spawns a side question. Why does a young child need a stress reducer?

The fact of the matter is that we all need stress reducers in our lives. We tend to think of stress in terms of major problems, such as being under a tight deadline at work, going through a messy divorce, being diagnosed with a serious illness, etc. But life is filled with all sorts of small stress-inducing events and requirements that add up over the course of the day.

Consequently, we all find ways to soothe ourselves. We may find a quiet place to meditate, go for a workout at the gym, imbibe a martini, sneak outside for a cigarette, or pay a visit to our therapist. And at the end of the day, when we need to relax so we can fall asleep, we may watch an entertaining television show, read an interesting book, or spend quality time with our significant other.

Although we tend to envy young children for their "worry-free" lives, that envy may be misplaced. When you are small, the world can be rather intimidating. And when your physical and mental abilities are not fully developed, it is hard to deal with all the easy-for-adults challenges that you are faced with on a daily basis. As a result, while young children don't have to worry about appeasing the boss or paying the mortgage, they do suffer their fair share of stress.

However, their options for reducing stress are not particularly numerous. Since the aforementioned outlets are not available to them, they are relegated to sucking on a pacifier, rubbing a blanket across their cheeks, hugging a stuffed animal, or perhaps engaging in masturbation.

Which brings us to the issue of appropriateness. Not all outlets are considered appropriate, and some can even be unhealthy in the long run. For example, there is no doubt that alcohol and tobacco do the stress-reducing trick, but they also can cause a lot of collateral damage. And public sexual activity, whether masturbatory or participatory, tends to be frowned upon.

While pediatric dentists may have concerns about excessive thumb or pacifier sucking, most of the outlets chosen by young children tend to be reasonably harmless. But are they appropriate? I think most parents and bystanders are alarmed and/or embarrassed by a little one rubbing private parts in public. However, when it comes to pacifiers and security blankets, I don't think there are any universal standards, and the tolerance levels of individuals can vary widely.

Most mothers and fathers tend to be pretty tolerant. particularly if they are busy and stressed themselves. It is much easier to put up with the pacifier or security blanket than to deal with a stressed-out kid. Usually, parents become inclined to do something only when the disgusted gazes and disdainful comments of relatives, friends, and perfect strangers become impossible to avoid and start to make them doubt their performance as parents.

Regrettably, this often results in quick and drastic action involving criticism of the child and/or forced removal of the pacifier or security blanket. The child's attachment to the item then becomes a major "issue" and the source of continuous power struggles. This is not simply unpleasant, it is also unproductive as it generates considerably more stress for everyone.

Therefore, while it may be difficult to put up with the withering stares and searing statements, it is wise for parents to relax and be patient. Of course, they should consider taking steps to help reduce their child's stress levels themselves. Instead of working overtime to ensure that college tuition money will be in the bank, perhaps a little more time with their little one at this time might be a better investment. And instead of spending hours on the Internet planning a future family vacation, perhaps giving the little one a little more immediate attention might be more beneficial.

But parents can not and should not expect that they will be able to eliminate their child's stress entirely. What they can and should do is wait for the child to reach developmental levels where other stress-reducing alternatives become possible, and then encourage the child to pursue those. Keep in mind that things as simple as acknowledging your feelings and talking about them, getting some exercise by riding your bike around the block, reading a fascinating story, or even creating a delightful daydream, is largely beyond the capacity of a two or three-year-old.

Now once these outlets do become developmentally available, there is no guarantee a child will take advantage of them. And some kids remain steadfastly addicted to "infantile" activities throughout the preschool years. Again, this may be difficult to endure, but being too forceful typically does nothing more than make matters worse. So again, parents need to be a bit more patient and wait for another round of developmental progress.

Preschoolers are extremely egocentric. They are largely oblivious to and unconcerned about the attitudes and opinions of their peers. As they emerge from this period, things change, and they become aware of and sensitive to what other kids are thinking and saying about them. Therefore, at this point, attachment to their pacifier or security blanket may no longer be quite so attractive as it now generates more stress than it reduces. Consequently, they become considerably more inspired and inclined to seek out mid accept other more socially acceptable alternatives.

Listening to the tongue-clucking of your mother-in-law may be annoying at best and possibly despair and self-doubt-inducing at worst. On the other hand, noticing that there are no kids sucking pacifiers on the elementary school bus and that security blankets are rarely seen at sleep overs or summer camp should give you the courage and confidence to go easy on your child and yourself and let your child's development solve the problem in proper fashion and in due time.

Michael K. Meyerhoff, Ed.D., is executive director of The Epicenter Inc., "The Education for Parenthood Information Center," a family advisory and advocacy agency located in Lindenhurst, Illinois. His e-mail address is epicntrinc@aol.com.

The Best Forms of Praise

2007-11-23T15:06:00.000-05:00

This short article written by parenting educator and coach Michael Grose is about the three types of praise that have the most positive impact on children's behaviour and self-esteem.

Child Praising: Praise With Impact
By Michael Grose

Praising and encouraging kids can be difficult for many people. It just doesn't come naturally. They are hard-wired for criticism rather than praise.

Some children, particularly boys, feel awkward receiving praise unless it is done carefully. It can be misconstrued as being manipulative and not genuine, particularly when it is simply a throw-away line. Praise can become meaningless for some kids unless it is done with a little thought and care.

There are three types of praise that have positive impact on children's (as well as adults') behavior and self-esteem.

1. Descriptive praise

Throw a spotlight on the behaviors that kids do well. Rather than a trite 'well done' draw a word picture of what they did well and let them know its impact. Tell them what you see and how you feel. "Wow. You have tidied the room really well and put everything back where it should be. It's a pleasure to come into the living room." Such comments genuinely made become stored in their bank of skills and builds up their confidence.

Private praise is more effective than public praise for boys as they can become embarrassed being praised in front of their friends or relatives.

Use for: keeping house rules, changing poor behavior (when combined with ignoring some of their poor behavior)

2. Summary praise

Give your child a positive label to live up to by summing up their positive behaviors with one word. "You really worked hard to finish your project. That's what I call persistence." "You cleaned up the kitchen without being told. You are a self-starter." Persistence and self-starter become part of your children's ICRS (Internal Character Reference System).

Use for: kids who lack confidence, kids of all ages but particularly those under 10 as they really use parents as reference points

3. Self-praise

Praise is always bit more powerful when it comes from yourself so allow children to brag a little. "I did that well.", "I am really pleased with the way I did that.", "I did the best I could.", "I love the art I did at school today." Teaching kids to self-praise can be a little tricky but you can start by asking them how they feel about their efforts. When you use descriptive feedback you actually show kids how to self-praise.

Some kids need to be cued regarding self-praise -"Are you pleased with yourself because you tried your best in the game?" Encourage them to say they are pleased with themselves rather than just agree with you. This gets them in the habit of self-praise.

Use for: kids who always want your reassurance, use for children's efforts rather than behavior

There are plenty of people in your child's life who are critical of them – including their peers and maybe siblings. It is a parent's job to tell kids what is right about them, so spend a little time telling kids what you see and feel when they do something well. Make up positive labels that they can add to their Internal Character Reference Systems and encourage them to brag a little when they have done something well.

Michael Grose is a popular parenting educator and parent coach. He is the director of Parentingideas, the author of seven books for parents and a popular presenter who speaks to audiences in Australia, Singapore and the USA. For free courses and resources to help you raise happy kids and resilient teenagers visit http://www.parentingideas.com.au

Show and Tell

2007-11-20T09:18:00.000-05:00

Now with our two shows over and finally having gotten things back into order I wanted to share with you some of the things that went on as well as show some pictures of the two shows.

We certainly had a great time and learned quite a great deal form each show both before and during. We were very happy to have many friends stop by and say hi, as well have available all our great toys for people to touch and play with, the children who came by had a fun time. We also received great feedback from many of our customers and had the time to meet the other great vendors at each of the shows.

Take a look at a couple of pictures of the BabyThoughts.ca booth from each show:

At the Mom2Mom Green Holiday Show

The Children's Trunk Show

One of the most popular vendors at the Children's Trunk Show and my next door neighbour was January Baby. The founder and creator Anne whose great product 'Smittens' or the 'no escape mittens' was a certainly a big hit . Her warm and very functional outerwear accessories are available for children 6 months and up and can be found at Macklem's.

Another new friend and vendor at both the Mom2Mom show and The Children's Trunk Show was founder Flora Cheung of FlowerPot Designs whose hand-made hair accessories for little girls as well as her one-of-a-kind knitted toys and kids wear were simply stunning and so unique.

I also had the opportunity to meet Sara Bingham from Wee Hands and Canadian Babies as well as the lovely Kim Silk, founder of Davisville Moms.

All in all a great experience and one I am looking forward to next year.

Article Posted: "Newborn Babies and Sleep"

2007-11-09T09:41:00.001-05:00

I recently posted an interesting sleep-related article by Elizabeth Pantley called "Newborn Babies and Sleep". The article talks about some common misconceptions about newborn sleep and also provides some helpful hints on helping baby develop healthy sleep habits. Having been through this developmental stage with my daughter, I ask the reader to note the following about newborn sleep:

Newborns sleep often, and mostly for short periods of time. I jokingly refer to it as the 2-hour eat-sleep-poop cycle.
Breast milk does not stay in baby's belly very long, so they will wake up when they are hungry. Our daughter started sleeping through the night (I mean, really through the night) at about 6 months, when we introduced solids.
The preemptive nap is key. Learn your child's cycle and put them to sleep before they show signs of tiredness. We found that our child slept more soundly when we prevented her from getting too tired.

If you find this article useful, or if you need extra help with newborn sleep, I strongly recommend a book that was a life saver for me and Karla: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth.

-Frank

Round and Round In Circles We Go

2007-10-27T12:41:00.002-05:00

The newest addition to the fabulous line of puzzles from Melissa & Doug have arrived at BabyThoughts.ca. Brand new for 2007 are the Fresh Start Circular Floor Puzzles, there is Vehicle Fun, Farm Friends and Zoo Friends.

The puzzles have 12 large, bright and colourful pieces that are the right size for little hands to play with along with a fun and interactive story that children will love.

Though the puzzles are for children ages 2 years +, younger children will love the colourful pictures of all their favourite animals, and parents can sing along to the Old MacDonald song, or introduce them to their favourite jungle friends. For older children these are a great introduction to the more challenging jigsaw puzzles.

Puzzles are not only entertaining, but are also great for children's cognitive development. They assist in strengthening their problem solving skills, their vocabulary as well as encouraging independent play.

Stop by BabyThoughts.ca to see all three!

News & Events at Baby Thoughts

2007-10-16T06:53:00.001-05:00

NEWS
We are very happy to have up on the site a new section titled 'Articles'. It will be a place where you can read up on the latest research in early childhood development. Recent articles posted have covered topics on Social-Emotional development, Child Literacy, Speech Development and more.

EVENTS
BabyThoughts.ca will be showing off its stuff at two popular events in Toronto this November.

Our first show will be the annual Mom2Mom Holiday show, this year the show will promote local, ethical and ecologically-responsible products and vendors. There will also be talks and demonstrations by local experts such as Leslie Garret, an award winning journalist, author and editor. She has written many children's books and has a syndicated column called The Virtuous Consumer which is featured monthly in many publications. Another well known speaker will be Erica Ehm founder of the YummyMummy Club.

Highlights of the show include:

-Interactive and kid-friendly activity booths given by not-for-profit agencies and organizations which provide services to families

- Live programs and demonstration performed by local children groups, performances include martial arts, dancing and signing

- Children activities and colouring contests

- Photos with Santa and much much more!

Our second show will be the Children's Trunk Show, taking place at the Distillery District over two days! This year the show will have over 80 vendors showcasing unique products and services by moms for moms.

For both our shows we will be showcasing our best toys, as well as cool new toys that we are bringing in for the holiday season. There will also be a special BabyThoughts.ca giveaway at both shows.

We hope to see you at either of the shows...stop by our table and say hi!

From Crawling, To Walking, To Running in 60 seconds

2007-10-03T10:43:00.001-05:00

Looking back on my daughter's gross motor development it felt like it progressed that quickly but when she was going through it, it felt more like 60 months. Without a doubt all parents anxiously await the day when their little one will start crawling, it is a very important event because the move from being "stationary" little ones to non-stop moving machines is very exciting.

My daughter was a great crawler and took her time walking, for her the need to walk was not pressing. In fact she did not walk until about 15 months, before this she was happy crawling in order to get from point A to point B. I believe that what helped her get off the ground and onto her two little feet was her exposure to walking toys. It had taken me some time to actually get her some walking toys, I believed that she would not really need them, but short of always taking her by the hands and walking with her she and I needed the assistance. My back could only take so much.

That is why I would greatly recommend getting your little one a walking toy, whether it is something that helps them get off the ground and push like the fantastic HABA Walker Wagon which not only helps baby walk but also promotes pretend play.

Or for those who have already mastered the skill something more fun like the array of Push & Pull Toys available. All children love these toys especially the ones that allow them to also play and enjoy while sitting down and taking a breather.

Before you know it they will be running and there will be times when you wish you could go back to the days when all they could do was sit up.

Arts & Crafts for Little Hands

2007-09-27T10:57:00.000-05:00

My daughter's favourite time at her day care is sensory time, she absolutely loves getting her hands full of paint, glitter, goop, and playdough. In fact she likes everything about arts and crafts. We went through a period when every time I would pick her up she would be wearing her change of clothes and still be full of paint. Her teacher told me that she liked to become one with the paint and they just could not stop her. Now she has to be changed into her arts and craft 'outfit' so that she does not dirty all her clothes.

Arts and craft is very important for young children, it is such a great way for them to learn, to explore, to imagine, to be creative and even more importantly it gives them a sense of accomplishment and confidence. I personally like to draw with my daughter and teach her about animals, shapes, colours, and all the things around her. I draw pictures for her and then I tell her the names in Spanish, this is just another tool, along with the signing and reading that I use to reinforce the language.

Here are a few arts and craft ideas:

- You can never go wrong with a box of crayons and a big pad of paper. You can draw along with your child and print the words of the object that you draw.

- You can get some construction paper of different colours and make masks. The eyes, nose, mouth, and ears can be made out of different shapes, for instance, the eyes are circles, the nose a triangle, the mouth a semi-circle and so on. This will help children learn their shapes.

- You can make just about anything you can think off out of corrugated boxes. You can make a sail boat, a car, a stove, a robot, or anything your imagination or their imagination can think off.

- Using paint is the most fun of all. You can collect leaves, twigs, use cookie cutters, rubber stamps and dip them in paint and make great works of art.

- You also can't go wrong with playing with playdough. Having different colours and letting the kids mold it, roll it out, pat it and use their imaginations to create all kinds of things is so much fun and a great learning experience.

For more great ideas take a look at an article written by Ann Douglas, she has some other suggestions that will certainly keep everyone entertained.

Allowing children to be creative is very important for their development, it will help with both their cognitive and social-emotional development. It is a fun way for them to learn valuable skills that they will use throughout their academic career.

The Importance of Self-Esteem

2007-09-26T12:52:00.000-05:00

A child's self-esteem is like a flower, and just like a flower it must be nurtured, given nutrients and kept safe in order for it to blossom. It is so important that we as parents ensure that we help our children have a high self-esteem in order to help our children succeed in this very competitive world.

I am very conscious of ensuring that my young daughter has a strong positive self-esteem because I want her to always know that she is someone who is special, loved, and capable of achieving anything she sets her mind to.

The following article written by Cassie Simons, author of 'How to Help You Child Succeed' touches on this issue and I believe provides important information on how we can help our children.

Give Your Child the Gift of Self-Esteem
By Cassie Simons

Much has been said about the "gifted child" but in truth every child is born with unlimited potential. As expressed so well by Orison Marden:

"Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers; powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action."

This statement can be true for your child. Not just if he's a "gifted child" but any child. Indeed, perhaps we should consider a "gifted child" to be a child whose parents have gifted him with a high self-esteem.

Children with high self-esteem are happier and more successful. Low self-esteem is common in children who are performing badly at school, have behavioural problems and suffer from depression.

The Newborn

The "helpless" newborn baby actually comes into the world well equipped with the power to get what she wants. Not only do her cries bring her parents running to tend to her; she also uses her body and facial language to get what she wants. It's no coincidence that babies learn to smile while they are still very small - it is an essential tool in their armoury of communication. A baby with a disarming smile can frequently wrap mommy or daddy round her little finger!

At this early stage, it's important to respond to all your baby attempts at communication. Attend to her when she cries (this does not preclude training her gently into a stable routine), mirror her attempts at facial communication and reward the infant sounds she makes by praising her and talking back to her.

The "Can-Do" Toddler

Toddlers are into everything! They are learning so fast about the world around them and want to explore everything, touch everything and even try to eat many things.

It is such a crucial stage and one that is stifled by many parents. Yes, you need to control your child's behavior so that he doesn't hurt himself or damage valuable property. But you also need to give him opportunities to express this exploratory behavior without constant criticism and telling-offs.

Put valuables out of reach and supply your child with toys or household items that he can play with safely. Try to find time to get down on the floor and play with your toddler. Let him watch you and imitate you. He could play on the kitchen floor with some pots and wooden spoons while you are cooking.

Discipline

I want to emphasize up front that I believe discipline is very important, because I don't want you to think in any of what follows that I'm advocating spoiling your child. Some parents call this "allowing the child to enjoy the freedom of youth." These parents are entitled, of course, to raise their children however they wish.

But if you want your child to grow into a successful adult, you would do better by teaching her firmly what is and isn't acceptable in present day society. And, just as importantly, helping her to learn self-discipline and that you will support her in achieving anything she wants, as long as she does so ethically.

Discipline should be sensitive, thoughtful and appropriate. You should strive to never lose your temper but to discipline your child calmly and firmly. When is discipline appropriate? When your child's actions (or lack of them) may harm herself or others. When is discipline not appropriate? When it is purely for the parent's own selfish preferences.

Talk to Your Child

Positive talk with your child and generally within the household cannot be over-emphasized. Avoid criticism wherever possible; it is praise that produces good, successful behavior. Be sure to find at least one thing to praise in your child every day. Even better, give praise as often as possible.

Are you having problems finding good behaviors to praise? If so, give your child a task to do that you know he is capable of. Children love earning their parents' approval. Also remember to praise your child for trying, on those occasions that he is not successful.

Set a good example; talk about your goals and successes, and teach your child by example to accept compliments gracefully. Resist the temptation to put yourself down when you are complimented - instead, say a simple Thank You. That's an important sign of a healthy self-esteem.

The other side of the coin to talking is, of course, listening. It is very important to listen to your child. When there is something he is upset about, don't sweep it under the carpet by saying "Don't be silly!" Whatever it is might seem totally trivial to you but often all your child needs is for you to empathise. "I'm sorry you feel sad about that." He may then come up with a solution, or put the incident behind him without further help. Or, you can suggest a solution.

The Power of Desire

You can give your child the best possible schooling, teach all the important techniques of success, encourage goal setting and set a fantastic example. But that is not enough! All these good things have one vitally important pre-requisite. Before you can achieve anything, you must know what you really, really want.

A burning desire is the first, most important and essential step towards any major achievement. As a parent, you are in a unique position to influence another person's desires - your child's. By the time they reach their teens, you will have lost this influence to a significant degree, as young adults are swayed much more by their peers' opinions than their parents'.

So make the most of the early years by instilling positive, beneficial desires in your children. The desire to do well academically could shape your child's further education and career much more than her innate ability.

How can you instill desire? Telling stories is a great way. Children love stories! Be creative and tell stories where the hero or heroine has a burning desire for something, overcomes challenges and set backs, and achieves the desired outcome. Try telling stories where a child achieves academic success, which in turn results in something even more desirable. For instance, one story could tell of a child who has a burning desire to travel to the North Pole. She succeeds academically and thus wins an award, which makes her dream come true. Tailor the stories to your own child's life and experiences as much as you can.

The famous author Napoleon Hill used story-telling to instill in his almost-deaf son both a burning desire to hear, and a firm belief that his disability would actually bestow upon him a great advantage (although at the time even his father had no idea what that advantage could be). By the time this boy left college, he had against the odds acquired a hearing aid that enabled him to hear clearly for the first time in his life. More remarkably, he had justified his father's belief by securing a marketing position with the hearing aid manufacturer to bring the same benefit to millions of other deafened people.

"Gifted child"? Give your child the gift of self-esteem, and you will give him the gift of happiness.

Cassie Simons (cassie@kidsgoals.com) is the author of "How to Help Your Child Succeed", a revolutionary approach to guilt-free parenting. Positive Parenting, Gifted Child - Visit www.KidsGoals.com today for the secrets of raising successful children.

It is just incredible how important a child's early years are for their development. Parents have a great deal of responsibility, it is very important for us to ensure that we watch how we communicate, discipline and act with our young children. This responsibility is something that we must not take lightly as it can have such far-reaching effects.

Consistency, Consistency, Consistency

2007-09-23T12:09:00.000-05:00

I have found it extremely important to be as consistent as possible with my daughter. It all began when we were learning to breastfeed those first days, weeks, and months together. Being consistent was also what got us through the difficult time of sleep training, and now as she is entering her toddler years, it is our saving grace.

That is why I wanted to share this article by parenting expert Michael Grose.

Why consistency is important but makes parents feel bad
By Michael Grose

Being consistent when children are less than perfect can make you feel dreadful. However consistency is one of the most important elements in the relationship with your children, but it is the one most frequently overlooked.

Consistency means dealing with the little misbehaviours and not letting them grow into bigger behaviours. It means saying no to children's constant requests for five more minutes of television at night or a third serve of ice cream. It means following through and allowing children to experience a consequence when they misbehave every time. It doesn't mean if children arrive home after dark from a friend's place you ground them sometimes but at other times you just voice your disapproval. That type of inconsistency makes you responsible for children's misbehaviour and teaches children nothing about accountability.

Consistency also means that both parents have a similar approach to behaviours. If mum is too strict and dad is too lenient children will know who to go to if they wish to take advantage. They will soon play one parent off against each other. If a child wants to get away without doing a job or stay an extra hour at a friend's place just ask dad because he is easy-going. Even if you are separated, talk about your approaches to discipline and find some common ground. Agree on such issues as family rules, pocket money, and guidelines for going out and suitable consequences for misbehaviour.

If you disagree with a partner's approach do so behind closed doors. When unplanned situations occur don't be afraid to tell your children that you need to consult with your partner before making a decision. Children will realise that you are working as a team and that you are making a considered approach to their behaviour or request.

Consistency, like routines, are often sacrificed by busy working parents and put in the "too hard basket". When we are tired, stretched and overworked the last thing we want to do is engage in a battle with children over what are sometimes petty issues. You may have spent the whole day dealing with difficult customers or colleagues only to come home and find that you have another battle on your hands with equally belligerent children. So to avoid an argument, a tantrum or tears you give in to your child's unruly behaviour or unreasonable request.

But being consistent and holding your ground is a smart long-term strategy. Kids learn quickly how far they can push a parent before they give in. If you give in occasionally they will learn that if they push you hard enough and long enough you will cave in. So consistency is about being strong and holding your ground. That is hard work because the average child will push parental boundaries about 30per cent of the time and more difficult kids push your boundaries twice that much. It is hard work being consistent but good parenting demands it.

This article was written by popular parenting expert Michael Grose. For great ideas on how to raise kids visit www.parentingideas.com.au

Ensuring that I only speak Spanish to my daughter is one area that I need to be more consistent in. It is a challenge for me and it is something that I am always working hard on, and something that will always be ongoing for me and her.

The Toddler Years

2007-09-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

I came across this very useful excerpt from a booklet that gives some tips on how to approach the discipline of your toddler. My daughter just turned two years and we have had a taste of her toddler ways for some time now. Without a doubt these tips are very very useful.

Top Ten Tips For Disciplining Your Toddler
by Claire Albright

How can I support my toddler's spontaneity while supporting his need to learn to behave in ways that will help him to get along well in relationships and at school? How can I discipline my toddler without causing him to feel shame?

1. Learn to say "no" in a firm, peaceful way that carries authority but not anger. This parenting skill will help you to cut short years of power struggles with your child and will help your child to feel secure in knowing that there are limits. Strong-willed behavior and temper tantrums can be encouraged by a "no" from a parent who doesn't sound convincing.

2. Stay with your child when they are in "time out" so that they don't feel abandoned. Many parents leave the area, which can make a child feel rejected.

3. Follow through, no matter what, if you say that there will be a consequence for misbehaving so that your child does not learn to manipulate you. If you change your mind after a child protests, you are encouraging your child to protest even more in the future.

4. Pick one or two target behaviors to focus your discipline on at a time, such as not playing with their food. It is usually more effective to completely train your child in one or two areas than to try to train them a little bit in many different areas.

5. Be the boss and don't be ashamed of being the boss in your relationship with your child. If you are not the boss, they will step into the power vacuum and this may have long term negative consequences. You could even say to your child occasionally, "I am the boss."

6. Discipline your child in your loving, caring environment. Otherwise, they may learn discipline from frustrated teachers in the less caring and loving environment of school.

7. Present you child with small choices if you are in a lot of power struggles with your child. "Do you want to wear the white shirt or the blue shirt? Do you want the carrots or the peas?"

8. Remember that consistent discipline is a safety issue. There will be times that your child's obedience to your input can save them from danger. The best time to prepare for a dangerous situation is before you are in a dangerous situation.

9. Do not feel obligated to explain your rationale for the things that you ask of your child every time that you ask something of them. Many parents fall into the trap of explaining the rationale behind all of their requests, usually because they want their child to feel respected. Unfortunately, this often leads to the child learning how to manipulate their parent by acting like the rationale is not compelling enough to justify cooperating with the parent's request.

10. Focus on "first time" obedience. Your child is old enough to learn this concept. It is not helpful to your child to have you repeat yourself over and over when it is time for them to come to dinner, have their diaper changed, etc.

Written by Dr. Clare Albright, Psychologist and Parenting Coach who can be reached at drclarealb@hotmail.com. Excerpted from her booklet, "100 Tips for Parents Of Two Year Olds".

All the tips that Dr. Albright has outlined are certainly ones that I have put to work. I found that the hardest one to stick to was #10, it is really hard to stop from repeating yourself. What I like to do is think of myself as a "broken down vending machine", I tell her things once and then if she keeps asking I try to distract her with something else or change the topic.

Another thing that I have found to be really important and would highly recommend, is that you should really make the effort to get down to their eye level. This can make a great deal of difference, when my daughter is acting up and is whining, I get down to her level and tell her that I can not understand her because she is whining and that she must speak in her calm voice and use her words. She hates it when I do this, but I stick to my guns and in the end she will calm down and "calmly" tell me what she wants.

Without a doubt there are good days and bad days but what helps is to stick to the game plan. Just like the sleeping problems, the potty training and the picky eating, this too shall pass. It is all part of the exciting adventure of being a parent.

Tiny Love Has Arrived At BabyThoughts.ca

2007-09-14T09:21:00.003-05:00

The wonderful toys from Tiny Love have just arrived at BabyThoughts.ca. Tiny Love is well known for their innovative and original soft developmental toys, they are also the creators of the 7 Elements System™ which is a benchmark for the developmental milestones that are typical of the natural phases that babies go through simultaneously during their first year of life.

We are excited to be carrying a variety of their award winning toys which are very popular with babies and toddlers. From mobiles to grasping toys to activity mats to books, we have something that will captivate your child's imagination and helped in their development.

If you are in search of a mobile for your little one, look no further than Tiny Love's Symphony-In-Motion-Farmyard Animals mobile. Great features of this mobile include captivating music from Bach, Mozart and Beethoven which will help develop baby's sense of hearing. It also has 4 different types of movement and motion that will capture baby's attention and encourage them to follow along. As the child grows they will learn about cause and effect each time they press the buttons on the base of the mobile and music plays. This mobile is a beautiful addition to any nursery.

The Developlay Activity Center is another exiting toy that will be played with over and over again. The activity center has two sides with each side having age appropriate activities that are designed for different aspects of baby's development. This toy will have baby pulling, pushing, grasping, spinning, looking, listening and laughing at all the interesting things offered by the Developlay Activity Center. A great toy that will stimulate baby's senses, encourage the development of their fine motor skills and cognitive development.

For fun play on the go, the Fruity Pals are a great choice. There is Andy Apple and Anna Banana, with both having hidden surprises that will help baby develop their sensory and fine motor skills. The Fruity Pals offer a full sensory experience with their bold colours and lovable faces. Along with their fruit-like figures and human characteristics such as mouth, feet and arms they will encourage baby to be creative, imaginative and play.

Tiny Love toys are not only beautiful, extremely fun but also ecourage baby to learn and grow. To see the full line of toys that we carry, you can stop by the Tiny Love page at BabyThoughts.ca.

BabyThoughts.ca Safety Policy

2007-09-04T17:30:00.002-05:00

To our valued Customers,

As a result of the recent toy recalls we have received inquiries regarding the safety of the toys that we carry. Please be assured that the safety of all the children (including ours) who enjoy our toys is of the utmost importance to us.

At BabyThoughts.ca we take pride in providing toys that are of the highest quality, bring delight and enjoyment to children and help in their development and growth. All our toys are purchased from respected companies in the toy industry. In addition all the manufactures have passed and in many cases exceed the safety standards set out by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the European Union (EN71). As a result we are confident in the safety of the toys that we carry.

In order to provide our valued customers as much information as possible about our products we have provided manufacturing location for all our toys. We have also created a new method of searching called 'Made In', this will give you a list of all toys manufactured in a particular country. With all these changes we hope to provide you with as much information as possible to be able to make an informed decision when purchasing toys at BabyThoughts.ca.

Please contact us should you have any other inquiries or comments.

Sincerely,

Karla Zamora
Co-Founder
BabyThoughts.ca

Mattel Toy Recall

2007-08-16T11:12:00.001-05:00

Another major toy retailer has sent out a recall for nearly 9 million toys. For more information on the recall please visit the Mattel corporate website. There is also a useful page on the Toronto Star website with a complete list of the toys affected.

We at BabyThoughts.ca take the safety of your children (and ours) very seriously, and have researched all the toys we carry with safety as a priority. Please note that all the brands that we carry have met Canadian Safety Standards, but should you have any questions or concerns we ask that you please contact us and we will respond within 24 hours.

Sincerely,

The BabyThoughts.ca Team

Breast-Feeding Challenges

2007-08-10T08:34:00.000-05:00

I received an article from a friend entitled 'Five breast-feeding mistakes new moms make, and how to fix them', needless to say I was very interested to see what these mistakes were and what solutions they proposed. The article is from CNN and you can view it here.

Here are the five mistakes:

1. Moms go at it alone

The article suggests that new mothers should seek out support groups where they can get advice on technique and emotional support. I have to say that I agree with what they suggest, I know from experience that breast-feeding does not come 'naturally' no matter how much people may tell you. I went to the classes and read the books and got the manuals but until I had someone (my doula) actually put my breast into the baby's mouth and show me how to do it I was completely lost. There is no doubt that we can always use more support as new mothers and you never know what great tip someone will give you.

2. Moms forget about their successful breast-feeding friends

In other words they suggest that you invite a friend who was successful in breast-feeding and have them help you out. I say why not, it will certainly NOT hurt and you will get a great deal of insider information.

3. Moms assume that they don't have enough milk

The article proposes that you rethink your baby's nursing behaviour. I think that as a new mom you never really realize that a baby will eat pretty much every two hours for the first few months. And that depending on how fast they eat it can feel like you are feeding every hour. I really think that you should not be focusing on ounces at the beginning. You really must take your cues from the weight the baby is putting on. The important thing is to speak with your health care provider and explain the baby's feeding habits and get their input. And believe me, there will be days every once in a while when you will feel like the only thing you did that day was breast-feed. These are the wonderful growth spurts.

4. Moms get intimidated breast-feeding in public

The article recommends that you have a snappy comment or reply for anyone who should actually say something to you. I have to admit that it took me a couple of months to feel comfortable breast-feeding in pubic. I was not uncomfortable about the idea of it, I just felt very clumsy doing it. It took me a while to really get the positioning right for breast-feeding, but once I did, I could feed anywhere. And by that time, I could not care what people thought, said or felt about the it. I was always respectful of where I breast-fed and was certainly not in anyone's face.

One thing to note is that breast-feeding in public is not for everyone, but it should not deter you from going out with your baby in the early days. It is always good to know the places that offer a private place where you can breast-feed. For instance I knew what stores in the mall had big stalls where I could go into and take 10 minutes to feed. No one will say anything and if they do, ignore them.

5. Moms panic when milk doesn't gush out

I don't really understand why this is a 'mistake' mostly because I knew after reading the books and going to my pre-natal classes that you did not get your milk right away. For this reason I was not exactly worried, I also did not try to measure my milk output. In many ways you don't want your milk to gush out as it will be very annoying. Certainly the baby does not like since it throws them off and they can choke on too much milk all at once. All I can say is don't worry, your milk will come in two to four days after birth and when it does you will know it. Also you don't really want it to gush out ever because when it does it will be when you are in public wearing a nice shirt.

Those are the top 5 mistakes new moms make about breast-feeding. I really would not call any of them mistakes, because for something to be a mistake you have to already know what is the right thing to do and for many new mothers this is certainly not always the case.

If you would like to share your breast-feeding tips, please leave a comment. There is no doubt that new mothers would really appreciate it.

Fisher-Price Toy Recall

2007-08-03T10:40:00.000-05:00

Fisher-Price has sent out a recall for certain toys that were sold in Canada after May 1, 2007. For a list of the toys that have been recalled and instructions of what should be done please visit the Fisher Price website or call them at (800) 916-4498.

It is very important that the toys be removed immediately as lead is extremely toxic to young children.

Exciting New Arrivals at BabyThoughts.ca

2007-07-29T08:46:00.001-05:00

Over the past 3 months we have received great feedback from customers, friends, and colleagues on the BabyThoughts.ca website. Based on this feedback we have been working hard to make the website easier to navigate and more informative, and to give our visitors a satisfying online experience. We have also added some great new products that have been lacking in our product selection:

HABA

If I could carry the whole HABA toy line I would, they are just fantastic toys. However, we have been able to add some key items, namely activity mats, mobiles, and a push wagon. One of these is Dwarf's Land Playmat, a colourful soft cloth play mat with playing elements that baby can clutch, push, and remove. It has vibrant trees, houses, and castles that can be popped up or folded down. Dwarf's Land Playmat is for babies starting at 0 months and up.

Another great new item is HABA's Splish Splash Playmat, which has a water filled center with little toy fish that swim around as baby presses down on the mat. Around the "pond" there are fold up houses and a lighthouse that invite baby to play. The Splish Splash Playmat is for babies 6 months and up.

We have also added 2 new colourful mobiles, Sunshine and Curtains Rise. The Sunshine mobile is decorative, while the Curtains Rise mobile has interactive elements such as a foil mirror and detachable mouse and bear plush toys.

Last but not least, we have added a wooden push wagon. This beautiful wagon has sturdy wooden construction, with rubber wheels, and has a small seat up front for baby's "travelers" as well as a cargo area at the back for baby's "luggage".

Manhattan Toy

With their "Imagination at Play" approach to product design, Manhattan Toy always has new items to peak baby's interest. From Manhattan Toy we have decided to complement our existing products in the Whoozit, Cirque du Soleil, and Nooboo lines of toys.

If you are a fan of the Whoozit toys, you will love our Whoozit additions. The most notable is Tizoo, Whoozit's female, heart-shaped companion. We have also added a Whoozit activity center with lots of interactive items such as a bead spiral, squeakers, spinning balls, and crinkle paper. This product is great for teaching baby about cause and effect and is geared for babies 6 months and up. To top it off we have added an interactive spiral toy that can be attached to baby's crib or stroller.

Another great new addition is the Big Top Sounds toy. This amazing toy is a circus tent with plush animals that make animal sounds when inserted or removed from the tent. Baby will hear "Monkey" or "Ooh Ooh, Ah Ah!" when taking monkey out of the tent. It's absolutely fabulous.

For the full selection of toys, including all new arrivals, please visit our store front.

- Frank

Mr. Sandmand, where are you?

2007-07-10T18:29:00.000-05:00

This article is for all the moms and dads who are experiencing difficulty with sleep and their little ones.

Sleep Solutions
By Ann Douglas

Sleep is the stuff of which dreams are made—especially if you’re a sleep-deprived mom. Here are some tips on troubleshooting some common mom, baby, and toddler sleep problems.

MOM

“My newborn is sleeping, but I’m not. It takes me forever to get back to sleep after each middle-of-the-night feeding—and then it’s time to start all over again!”

What to try:

· Try to lull yourself back to sleep by breathing in and out slowly and deeply; imagining a peaceful and relaxing scene; and repeating the same relaxing word (“relax” or “calm”) over and over again until you fall asleep.

· Get out of bed. If you aren’t asleep within 15 minutes (don’t look at the clock!), move to another room and read until you feel sleepy. Then go back to bed.

· If you continue to have trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor. Caring for a new baby is tough enough without being chronically sleep deprived.

BABY

“My newborn hates to sleep on her back. I know this is the safest sleeping position for her, but neither of us is getting any sleep!”

What to try:

· Swaddle your baby. A study in the September 2002 issue of Pediatrics concluded that newborns protest less about sleeping on their backs if they’re swaddled.

· Watch for symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)—colic, feeding problems, choking, and gagging. Babies with GERD find it very uncomfortable to be placed to sleep on their backs. Your baby’s doctor will be able to suggest ways of easing your baby’s discomfort if your baby has GERD.

“My ten-month-old was sleeping through the night. Now he’s up almost every night.”

What to try:

· Sometimes when babies are trying to learn a new skill, they’ll work on that skill day and night: you’ll find your baby “stuck” standing up in his crib because he doesn’t know how to get down.

· If there has been a big change in baby’s life, he may react by waking in the night. Encouraging an attachment to a small stuffed animal and providing tons of TLC during the day may help to reduce the number of night-time calls for mom.

TODDLER

“My toddler wakes up really early. I’m talking 4:30 a.m.”

What to try:

· Move your toddler’s bedtime back by an hour. Sleep deprived toddlers wake up earlier than toddlers who are getting adequate sleep (which is 14 hours of total daytime and nighttime sleep for most toddlers). Note: You’ll need to shift your toddler’s bedtime back in stages—by 15 minutes at a time over a period of a week or two.

· Learn your toddler’s signs of sleepiness (e.g., talking less, starting to yawn, becoming distracted) and try to get your toddler to bed before she becomes overtired (whining, crying, acting all wound up, becoming frustrated with her toys).

· Encourage your toddler to stick with her daytime naps as long as she needs them. This will help with the quality of her nighttime sleep and, because she will be better rested, this will help with the early-waking problem, too.

Sleep Facts and Stats

· Breastfed newborns may need to be fed a little more often than formula-fed babies, but their moms end up getting roughly the same amount of sleep in each 24 hour period.

· New parents can each expect to miss out on about 400 hours of sleep by the end of baby’s first year.

· A study by the U.S.-based National Sleep Foundation found that majority of toddlers are down to one nap a day by age 18 months (87%), and that only 19% of two year olds are members of the “no nap” club.

Ann Douglas is the author of The Mother of All Baby Books and the newly-published Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler and Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler. Read her articles at www.having-a-baby.com.

I went through hard times with my daughter and did quite a great deal of reading on how to help your child sleep and sleep well through the night. Another place where I looked for help was my mom group and they were able to provide me with ideas and suggestions that I could try. They also suggested a great book for me to read which I have since recommended to many friends, it is called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth.

I have yet to read Ann's book Sleep Solutions as it was just recently published and thankfully I have not had any new sleep problems (knock on wood). I am sure that like all her books it is filled with great information.

If there is one thing that I can say is that it does not come easily and that it is very important to be consistent and for both parents to be involved in the sleep training.

Adoption: Same Destination, Different Trip

2007-06-24T09:42:00.000-05:00

I have two friends who have gone through the adoption process, one is a single mother, the other a working couple. Having followed their stories to happy conclusions I am compelled to write a few words.

First of all, for anyone that thinks parenting through natural birth and parenting through adoption are similar, you are mistaken. They are two worlds far apart. I am not an expert in the process, but I can say this: When my wife and I decided to have our daughter, all we had to do was agree, and try. No one asked us to fill out an application, fly half way around the world, or prove that we had the means or qualifications to be parents. This is the great absurdity of parenting where a man and a woman, qualified or not, can produce offspring. Fall outside this mold, be it same sex couples, single moms, and adopting parents, and you now have to prove to experts or the community that you are up to the task. Unfortunately for adoption, I'm not sure there is a better process.

The stress, uncertainty, and emotional roller coaster I witnessed these parents go through was inspiring to say the least. The process took many months and both parents had to fly overseas twice for interviews and to meet the child they might adopt.

Think about this for a moment.

How would our own parenting experience be if we got to see our 'potential' children as they would be at 9 or 12 months of age and then make a choice based on some logical criteria like looks, health, history, etcetera? It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?. Parenting is a leap of faith, and our love for our children is instinctive and complete from the moment we meet them. So too it was with these parents, for once they met the child they were emotionally invested. That is, from an emotional standpoint the child they just met was "their child".

Come to think of it, maybe parenting by birth or adoption are not worlds apart: The trip is different, but the destination is the same.

So I commend them for staying the course, and I have no doubt that both they and their children will know all the happiness, frustrations, uncertainty, and fulfillment that being a family brings.

Frank

The Appearance of the Pearly Whites

2007-06-19T10:55:00.001-05:00

The daughter of a good friend is starting to show signs of teething and her mother asked me if I could recommend some teething toys that would offer her some relief.

This request got me remembering our own adventure with teething and how it felt like months before the pearly whites made their appearance. My daughter started with the teething signs quite early. She would drool all the time, and put anything and everything into her mouth. I was thankful that a family member gave her as a gift what later became our favourite teething toy, the Winkel from Manhattan Toy.

When I first received the toy, I could not understand why it was so popular, it looked unusual to me and I wondered how she would find it interesting. But my daughter loved it. She would bite it, suck on it, turn it around, throw it ( many times out of her stroller), stare at it and play with it. I loved it because it was very easy to keep clean, and I could fasten it to her stroller, her car seat or just about anything and she could have easy access to it.

Other teething toys that I found very useful were the ones that you could put in the freezer or fridge. These toys were great during the summer months when it was really hot, the only problem I found with them was that they would loose their coolness quickly. It was necessary to have at least two and to use them while at home where you could put the used one back in the fridge and give them the other cooled one.

Another surprising toy that she loved to sink her mouth into was her Whoozit, she loved to suck or bite its many arms. Though it is too big to take along with you, two great alternatives would be the Baby Whoozit and for more fun the Whoozit Starz Lights & Sounds.

There are many great teething toys for little ones on the market. Something to consider though is that they will not be teething all the time, so if you are going to purchase one, see if they will also find a way to enjoy it before and/or after they have gotten their pearly whites. Though maybe like my daughter they may not be done with putting things into their months for quite some time.

Goodbye Ella

2007-06-14T11:18:00.000-05:00

I was doing some research on the Maternity and Parenting Centres in Toronto such as the Ella Centre and Becoming Maternity when I came across the announcement that the Ella Centre will be closing its doors on June 30, 2007.

To say the least I was surprised and sadden by this announcement, the centre is one of the great places in Toronto were parents and parents-to-be can get information and servicest as the Ella Centre from conception and beyond. Founder Amy Harpenny hopes to have the centre re-opened early 2008 and will provide parents with e-newsletters filled with expert advice and support. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the closure you can visit their website.

Becoming Maternity & Parenting Centre also offers a wide selection of classes, workshops, support groups, and counseling programs for parents and expecting parents. They offer classes from Preconception and early pregnancy, Breastfeeding, Fitness and wellness, parenting workshops, Parenting Multiples and Adoption preparation and adjustment workshops.

They also offer many support groups and counseling services for parents, from lactation support, sleep consultants, birth planning, post-partum support, as well as many support programs for parents of adoptive children or those going through the adoption process.

Both these centres were a source for support, information, and socialization. Certainly the Becoming Maternity & Parenting Centre will still provide parents with all the great services, classes, counseling and support that they may need. We also hope to see the Ella Centre return in 2008.

Everything I Needed to Know About Raising Babies I Learned From My Mom-Friends

2007-05-31T10:41:00.000-05:00

The tittle is one from a great article written by award-winning journalist and author Ann Douglas. If you are new to the parenting world you may not have come across her yet, but believe me, you will. She has written the best selling 'The Mother of All' books, with her newest book being 'Meal Time Solutions for your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler'.

This article caught my attention because I recently met up with a new friend who is expecting her first baby in a month. At our meeting we started talking about things that you are not really told but should be. As Ann Douglas says...

You can wear out your mouse-pad surfing all the top ranked baby websites, fill your shopping cart to overflowing with the must-read baby magazines, manuals, and momoirs, but, in the end, it’s your mom-friends who tell you what you really need to know. Here are six all-important lessons about motherhood that I learned from other moms.

1. Only supermodels shed their baby weight by the six-week checkup. (Okay supermodel mommies and their biological equivalents. You’ll meet the odd non-supermodel who manages to get skinny fast, but she’s the exception rather than the rule. The rest of us take months (or longer) to lose our baby bellies.) So don’t measure yourself against the super-crazy supermodel mommy weight loss standards unless you want to start speed-dialing the therapists of the rich and famous.

2. Your partner is not “the enemy”. It just feels that way at 3 am. It’s easy to start staring daggers at your sleeping partner, particularly if you’re convinced he’s ignoring your baby’s middle-of-the-night cries, just so he can snatch a few more minutes of uninterrupted sleep. Before you pack your bags and hop the next train to Splitsville, take it from other moms who’ve been there: He’s not a selfish swine: he’s just a sound sleeper. Scientists have discovered that dads simply don’t hear babies’ cries as well as moms do in the night. Of course, you can help him to hear better by giving him a gentle poke or prod if you need some middle-of-the-night support. There’s no scientific research to show that Dads can’t be roused to provide hands-on help to moms.)

3. Germs have been getting a bad rap. Studies have shown that taking things to extremes on the housecleaning front can increase children’s likelihood of developing allergies. In other words, a few germs can be a good things as far as kids are concerned. So relax a little and consider giving your inner Martha Stewart the day off every now and again.

4. Every mom needs time off for good behavior. Whether you take your time off across town, around the corner, or in your bathtub with the door locked is up to you. (Not every new mom wants to venture too far away from her baby, after all.) But taking some sort of break from baby will give you the chance to recharge your maternal batteries and get reacquainted with your pre-baby self. (Remember her?)

5. Time doesn’t move at a predictable speed once you’ve become a mother. Some days—the not-so-great days—tick by painfully slowly. Then entire months flip by in roughly the same amount of time in takes to flip a page on your calendar. S-l-o-w d-o-w-n, speedup, s-l-o-w d-o-w-n, speedup: it reminds you of the way your Slinky used to flip-flop down the stairs when you were a child, gathering up speed and taking on a life of its own.

Ann Douglas is the author of numerous books about pregnancy and parenting, including—most recently—Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler and Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler. Visit her on the web at www.motherofallblogs.com.

All five things that Ann Douglas mentions I learned through the mom group which I joined when my daughter was a few months old. The group was one of my support structures, we would share our troubles, our struggles but most importantly our accomplishments and joys. To this day we are still there for each other to offer support and advice and to share in our children's milestones.

If you are interested in joining a mom group, take a look at the many already created at Baby Thoughts.ca. If you don't find one that fits your needs, create one, because you never know who else is also looking to join a group with the same preferences.

Fitness Does a Body Good

2007-05-14T09:23:00.001-05:00

When I was pregnant with my daughter Isabel, the only real regular exercise that I did was walking. I believe that I probably walked more during those nine months than I did my entire life.

Research and experts encourage pregnant women to exercise in order to help them have a better labour and to recover faster and with less complications after delivery. Certainly besides walking there are many other activities that are safe for pregnant woment to do such as aqua fitness, yoga, and even pilates. The key is to make sure you go to a fitness club that has certified pre-natal instructors and more importantly that you speak with your healthcare provider before signing up to make sure that the activity that you are interested in is safe for you.

If your doctor gives you the green light, then there are a number of places where you can sign up for a class. Places like Fitmom have locations all over Southern Ontario, as well as Halifax and Calgary. They have three great classes for expecting women; their Fitmom 2 Be, Yoga 4 birth and a Yoga + couples intimacy class. Another great centre that offers many programs besides fitness classes is the Ella Centre, not only do they offer yoga and fitness classes, but also massage therapy, childbirth education and support services like doulas and lactation support.

Without a doubt whatever form of exercise that you do, be it just walking like I did, yoga or aqua fitness you will be doing yourself and the baby a great deal of good. I believe that the key is to find something that you enjoy doing it, because if you don't you will not keep going. Another great thing about joining a class is that you get to meet other pregnant women with whom you can connect with, share information and support.

For a list of other places to sign up for pre-natal exercise classes take a look at the Baby Thoughts' resources section under Fitness and Nutrition.

What's in a Gift

2007-05-07T08:16:00.001-05:00

I have had a number of friends ask me lately what toy I would recommend to give as a gift to a newborn. Now, though receiving blankets, bottles, clothing and other newborn gifts are very useful, a beautiful toy that can stimulate baby and help her develop but it can also go a long way. Personally I find that any of the Whoozit Baby toys make great gifts, though they are not the newest toy on the block they are timeless and baby-approved.

Whether you give the classic Whoozit , the Baby Whoozit, or the the Starz Lights and Sounds Whoozit there is no doubt that the child will play with it for a very long time. My daughter Isabel received a Whoozit as a gift and has played with it since she was just a few weeks old. It is very interesting how she is always discovering new ways to play with it.

Other toys that are beautifully crafted and make great gifts, are the grasping toys made by both Haba and Melissa and Doug. Both these brands make such quality toys that they will be enjoyed by future generations. The Clutching Toy Bonita by Haba is a stunning toy, it has four flowers and each flower has something interesting and special, from a mirror, to a bell, to a shiny jewel.

All the grasping toys by Melissa and Doug are fun and vibrant, be it the Monkey Face, Froggie Face, Wiggling Worm or the Friendly Fish. The primary colours found in each of these toys will certainly attract any little one's interest.

Another great tip that I give my friends is that newborns will not be newborns for long, for this reason it is also a good idea to look at the toys that are for older babies, such as the stacking toys, or the pull and push toys. Parents will really appreciate this because they now have something to take out when their little one is 6 months or older.

Whatever toy you choose, there is no doubt that the child will love it.

Playing, Singing, Toys and More

2007-05-03T10:21:00.001-05:00

I want to share with you one of the great places that I was introduced to after I had my daughter. In the province of Ontario there is a government service called the Ontario Early Years Centres. Each centre offers parents and their children up to age 6 a place were they can take part in some fun activities, obtain information on child development, and meet other parents and children from the neighborhood.

All centres offer different programs but they are all developmental and a great deal of fun. Some programs include, Get Fit with Baby, Sensory Exploration, Mother Goose and the Connecting with Families Drop-in. They even have a toy library were you can take out a toy and bring it back when your little one no longer wants to play with it.

All programs are free but many of them require registration, if you are interested in taking part in one it is best to register as soon as possible.

Links to the Ontario Early Years Centres and other places where parents can look for programs to take part in with their children can be found in the Resources section of BabyThoughts.ca.

Enjoy.
Karla

Dinos, Bugs, and Kittens Oh My!

2007-04-30T20:49:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the first product review at the Baby Thoughts Blog. For this first review, I will be discussing the beautiful puzzles from Melissa & Doug available at BabyThoughts.ca.

Those who know Melissa and Doug know about their stunning hand painted, hand-crafted wooden puzzles. All puzzles are made from quality woods and extraordinary attention to detail.

For younger babies, starting at one year, Melissa & Doug offers colorful puzzles with large shapes and "Jumbo Knobs". These knobs are rounded wooden pieces attached to each puzzle piece that make it easier for babies to grasp. Another great feature is that there is a picture of familiar animals or shapes both on the surface and under each piece to help young children match the right puzzle pieces.

My favourite Jumbo Knob puzzles to introduce to young children are the smaller Jumbo Knob puzzles like Fish Bowl, House Pets, or Jungle Friends. These are simple, colourful, 3-piece puzzles. For those who are a bit more adventurous I recommend the Large Farm or Large Shapes puzzles, each with 8 pieces.

For older children we offer 2 different lines of puzzles: Chunky, and Peg Mix 'n Match. Chunky puzzles share some characteristics of the Jumbo Knob, in that they have colourful animals painted on the puzzle piece and the board underneath. A great feature of the chunky puzzles is that the thick shapes can be used to play with without the puzzle board. Check out the Dinosaurs, and Insects puzzles. The Mix 'n Match puzzles, such as Farm Friends and Zoo Animals are fantastic to play silly games making up your own animals. The puzzle shapes are interchangeable so that you can put the cow piece on the pig, the turtle on the fish, etcetera.

All the Melissa and Doug puzzles are works of art, they are puzzles that can passed down from generation to generation. Stop by and take a look for yourself.

Choosing a toy for your baby

2007-04-23T10:49:00.001-05:00

For new parents, choosing a toy for your baby can be a bit confusing at first. There is a lot of choice out there and not a lot of data points on which to make your decision. I have a 19 month old daughter, and I think I have learned a couple of interesting things about choosing toys, from the time she was a newborn, until now.

First - and I think this is the most important message to other parents on this subject - the most interesting, entertaining, and positively awe inspiring toy for your baby is you! Yes, that's right, you. Think of it like this: A baby is born with limited vision and only a handful of instincts to help her get started in life. Everything else is up to you. Baby will probably start breastfeeding almost immediately after birth and will have frequent visual, auditory, and tactile stimulation from mom and dad. Baby will learn mom and dad's faces and sounds and will draw a familiar comfort from it. From then on you will find that as baby develops she will appreciate you at different levels. I remember with my little one, coming home after work when she was about 2-3 months old, and just upon seeing me and hearing me calling out she would break out in hysterical laughter, every time. Now that she's older, it's about more sophisticated games, such as dancing, reading, or playing "where's daddy's nose?" (you get the idea). But the fun she derives from me and my wife is still beyond any toy we have purchased.

But then, there are some awesome toys too.

Let me start from the 0-6 months stage. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, multi-sensory toys are staples for babies under 6 months. Toys and mobiles with high contrast shapes (such as Wimmer-Ferguson toys from Manhattan Toy) and textures, such as the Whoozit will give baby interesting stimulation. I also found that toys that can be wound up to play a soothing song for 30 seconds or so can also bring comfort and stimulation to your baby. Toys that come to mind here are Whoozit Starz Lights and Sounds from Manhattan Toy and Fisher Price's Ocean Wonders Aquarium. There are always plush toys (such as teddy bears), but I find that baby will not really really appreciate those until later on. Also, don't forget grasping toys in many different shapes and sizes that your baby will use as a toy and teether at the same time. Brands like Haba and Manhattan Toy have some great grasping toys.

As they get a bit older and they can sit and play, I have found that blocks, Legos, balls, and other toys that can be stacked, squished and thrown and have interesting colours and themes are also big winners. As they start to stand up or get more aware of their surroundings you might find that activity tables with buttons, clickers, spinners, and music are also popular.

Last but not least, for babies over 12 months, there has been a strong resurgence of wooden toys and puzzles. Toys ranging from shape sorters to alphabet blocks, and puzzles are great learning toys and visually very appealing. Brands like Melissa & Doug, Plan Toys, and Hape Toys come to mind here.

Some of these products, of course, can be seen at www.babythoughts.ca .

Happy toy hunting!
Frank

Should dads get up too?

2007-04-21T06:40:00.000-05:00

I'm going to switch gears a bit today and talk about an infamous struggle for new parents; sleepless nights. (If you are about to be a new parent, get ready and read on)

My daughter, who is now 19 months, spent the first 5-6 months of her life sleeping no more than 4 hours at any given time. Don't get me wrong, we were very lucky in that she was an absolutely healthy, happy baby. It's just that she had a constant cycle of sleep, eat, poop, and sleep again. This, of course, meant that my wife spent those first 6 months like a zombie, never being able to get a decent, restful night. I would occasionally chip in on the weekends and help where I could, but since my daughter was breast fed, there were some areas were I was, well, unqualified.

This leads me to a common topic of discussion, which I have had with a couple of other dads-to-be, on the type of involvement that a dad should expect to have during those sleepless nights.

The most obvious conclusion, which is what my wife and I thought before our daughter was born is that there are two main obstacles that will limit how much a dad can help. One is work. The other is breasts.

From a work perspective, we thought that there was no point in me being a zombie too, since I would not be able to perform my "9-to-5" duties. Therefore, I seldom, if ever got up in the middle of a week night to help out. From an anatomical perspective, my daughter was 100% breast fed until she was 6 months old, so there was not much I could do on that front. There was breast milk in a bottle of course, but there is only so much milk a mom can pump.

My perspective on this has changed dramatically after 19 months. If and when baby number 2 comes along I think I would like to do a couple of things differently. First, my job doesn't call for operating heavy machinery or doing dangerous tasks, so next time around I will get up with my wife at least once a night (yes, even during weekdays). Even if you do not feed the baby, as a dad there is a lot you can do, including burping, walking, rocking, and changing diapers (yes your wife is doing all of that too, while you are asleep). Secondly, I would introduce some portion of formula feeding after a couple of months. I would encourage parents to seriously discuss the breast milk versus formula topic before their child is born. For all of the advantages of breast milk (there are many) formula fed babies typically sleep longer and formula feeding gives dad a chance to give mom a break.

If nothing else, getting up will show much needed moral support during this zombie phase (yes, it is a phase and it does end). After you get the hang of it and your baby reaches 4-5 months, I would encourage parents to read a book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". My wife an I are raving fans, since the sleep training discussed in the book helped us get our child to sleep continuously for about 10-12 hours every night!

Hope this helps.
Frank

So, what is a Whoozit anyway?

2007-04-18T07:39:00.001-05:00

I encountered a Whoozit - a soft, multi-sensory toy from Manhattan Toy - for the first time almost 2 years ago through a friend who had a young toddler. Her son had one and it was quite the curiosity the first time I saw it. At the beginning of 2006, the young boy's Whoozit would eventually be passed on to my own daughter, who was born on September 2005. This particular Whoozit has to be over 2 years old, it has lint, has been washed many many times, has absorbed copious quantities of drool, and received many hugs. I have to say though, after all that mileage, she still loves her Whoozit.

But what is it? Well, it's a Whoozit, there isn't much else to compare it too, kind of like Mr. Potato Head. It's just Mr. Potato Head! However, it can be described. At first glance, it's like a soft round cloth cushion, about 10 inches across. One side has a black and white swirl, which I assume is a nice visual for newborns. The other side has a round fleece nose, like a clown nose, and a cushioned cloth handle that doubles as a smile. A couple of eyes are sewn on to complete the awkward, happy face.

But so far, we are talking about a glorified pin cushion. The magic of the Whoozit is about what's hidden inside. Once baby inspects the sides of the Whoozit she will find 7 hidden legs that can be pulled out and tucked back into the toy, each with a textured shape such as a star, square, triangle, and circle. The legs themselves are black and white in different checkered or striped patterns, which adds to the Whoozit's silly visual appeal. The shapes at the end can be squeezed to feel a new texture or hear a sound.

All of this adds up to one thing, a tried, tested, and true multi-sensory toy that is still a fixture in my daughter's crib.

You can see the Whoozit at BabyThoughts.ca (of course I have to plug the site :) ).

Bye for now,

Frank