Last month the World Health Organization came out with screen time guidelines for our children. How much screen time is the right amount for our kids? 

The World Health Organization says too much screen time is hurting our kids and their development. They came out with their first-ever recommendations last April of 2019. The screen time recommendations are no screen time under two years of age, one hour of screen time under five years, and three hours of active play for two to five-year-olds.

Do you think that's realistic?

At first, I thought no, but then I did some research, and I've realized that we've kind of fallen into some bad habits as a family. Have you, too?

I think we are tired.

I think we are bored with the slow pace of watching a little one all day.

I think we don't have other tools at our disposal that work as well as screens do.

I think we want our children to be comfortable with technology.

We think we're doing great, because the kids are doing something...

 Do you know what invitations to play are?

If you're looking for ways to keep your kids happily playing on their own while you work near them, you need to know about invitations to play. They're used in a lot of preschools and early childhood classrooms to get the kids interested in activities. Why wouldn't we use them at home, too?

An invitation to play setup is arranging the environment so kids want to explore, discover, investigate, and play. It's designed to spark kids' curiosity to play. It's a way to get the play started.

By taking a few toys or materials and arranging them together in beautiful ways at home, I call these invitations Play Presents. We set them up because they help the long days pass more quickly, they ease transition time, and they allow us to keep the kids off the screens. They'll naturally play with their toys for a while, but by adding play presents, it allows them to play even longer, and more independently.

Here's how to get started using Play...

“Mom, my tummy doesn’t feel right!”

“I don’t want to go to school! I’m scared!”

Yesterday, the kids went back to school after having two weeks off for winter break. Our first and second graders were filled with feelings of apprehension, uncertainty and nervousness.

I knew this would be a transition day, so I planned to have a slower morning and made sure to cuddle and talk with the kids about their feelings. We talked about what to do when we feel this way. My daughter likes to gently rub the fingers of her one hand against the palm of her other hand when she’s feeling nervous. We talked about how it will help when she gets to see her best friend in class and reminded our son how much fun he has running around at recess. We also use the technique from the popular book, The Kissing Hand, at drop off.

Days like these are perfect days to make sure to spend some one-on-one time with the kids when they get home from school. Since we are a...

When the kids were two years old, three years old and just a few weeks old, we moved into a brand new house. I was stressed and overwhelmed because getting the house together fell on my shoulders since my husband was traveling a ton. There was so much to do: unpacking, organizing, designing, hanging pictures and shelves, meeting with vendors, choosing window coverings, appliances, garage storage, landscaping and overseeing all the deliveries and installations.

The kid's toy boxes were all in our loft playroom upstairs but where I needed to be was downstairs near the front door and near the kitchen. I was often answering the door, making food or doing dishes.

We had an old table my husband had used as a desk and my in-laws were so kind, they sawed off the legs and turned it into a play table just the right size for the toddlers. I set it up in the kitchen as an art area. 

As soon as I put some paper and crayons out - boom - they were there for hours! It was amazing! It was an...