Category: Parenting

What to Do if Your Child Hates Bath Time

What to Do When Your Child Hates the Bath

Bath time in my house has been an up and down roller coaster ride from Day 1.  In the beginning, my newborn son screamed like a banshee when I tried bathing him.  I had to resort to wearing him in a water sling while I showered!

The water sling did, however, gave me a chance to get him used to the water and the next couple of years were total bliss. He fell in love with bath time and it become a fun, bonding, and dare I say, even educational part of the day.

Fast forward to age 3 ½. I have no idea why it happened or what triggered it, but my son decided that he HATED baths.  The banshee screams returned, only this time with the strength of a 3 year old, and bath time became a nightmare.

Obviously, this was a problem.  Our kids need to bathe!

At first, I fought him and forced him because…well…like I said, kids need to bathe.

Finally, I got savvy. I researched, I tried different things, I became obsessed with making bath time fun again.

And finally, it worked!  

So if you’ve got a child that hates to take a bath, give some of these strategies a try to see if you can turn the situation around and make bath time fun again.

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The Virginia Living Museum: Williamsburg’s Other Best Attraction

The Virginia Living Museum was one of the best things to do with toddlers in Williamsburg! I'm so glad we found it.

Last month I had planned a trip down to Williamsburg for my family, but for some reason didn’t think about the weather.  So as a heat wave rolled through with 110 degree days, I had to scramble quickly to find something with air conditioning, or at least more shade….bonus points if you could entertain my 3-year old and let me roll through with a double stroller.

What a blessing in disguise that heat was!  We happened upon the Virginia Living Museum and it ended up being one of the best children’s museums we’d ever been to.

Not only did it have my prerequisite air conditioning and ample stroller space, but the interaction it provided for my 3-year old was out of this world!  With both indoor and outdoor exhibits, we were occupied for the whole morning.

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The Best DIY Baby Gift: A Fully-Loaded Diaper Caddy

How to Create the Perfect Diaper Caddy

When I had my first baby I quickly grew attached to parenting devices that I just couldn’t live without (our water sling, the Ergo, and the Rock ‘N Play to name a few).  So when baby #2 was on her way, I had all of those items ready and waiting.

But of course, as you’d expect, I didn’t end up needing them because she had her own ideas and her own needs.

So I started the discovery process all over again and for her, one of the greatest creations I came across was the diaper caddy.  

It’s basically a diaper bag that doesn’t need to be unzipped, is more easily accessible, and can be anywhere in your home that you need it. It was an alternative to having a dedicated diaper changing table and ended up making travel a breeze.

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15 Best Gifts for the Tech Loving Man in Your Life

The 15 Best Tech Gifts for Men

I’ve got some definite tech lovers in my family, so this list comes from my own experience! Some are past successes that I wish I could just give again, others will be making their appearance at the next holiday season.

Thankfully, my husband and Dad have both agreed not to read this post (it will be really hard for them, I’m sure), so I can be totally honest with you. 🙂 They also both weighed in on these ideas, so I can tell you exactly what they were thinking.

Here we go! The best gifts for the tech loving man in your life:

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The 10 Best Books about Trains for Preschoolers

Ten Best Books about Trains for Your Toddler or Preschooler

My son LOOOOVES trains. Train everything. Train shoes, train clothes, train tracks, train stuffed animals, train utensils, train movies. So of course, books about trains are very high on our list of train activities and I can assure you, we not only own all these books, we read them everyday.

So if you are on the hunt for the best books about trains for preschoolers, this list is for you!

Related post: 20 Unbelievable Thomas the Train Gifts for Your Thomas-Obsessed Little Boy

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10 Reasons to Have a Second Child

10 Reasons to Have a Second Child

When I married my husband, my plan was to have 10 children.  His plan was to get married.  Lucky for me, we found ourselves with a son pretty quickly and as they say, that was the best birth control.  

In the back of my mind I still knew I wanted more, but for a long time I wondered if there was actually a secret joy only known by those raising only children.  It was a blessing.

Until I had my second.  Then I realized that was the blessing.

For me, without a shadow of a doubt, 2 is better than 1.

So if you’re on the fence about your second child, consider these reasons for rounding out your brood:  

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