Designer Duds for the Smaller Set

A recent visit to the Cole Valley Festival brought me into contact with a slew of local designers and artisans-many of them selling cute, one a kind pieces for children. A stand out was local designer Heather Williams line, Lali Clothing. Inspired by vintage patterns of her youth and taught to sew by her mother and grandmother, Heather's passion for her work shines through in these lovingly detailed pieces. Bright, a-line sundresses, whimsical hoodies with embroidered snails and colorful onesies are perfect for either your little one or as a gift for someone else.

For The Mom-to-Be & New Moms Too!!

Local product alert!! If you are currently pregnant ( as I am) or have just given birth-you may find yourself struggling with:

Being in between sizes (ie. not quite big enough for your maternity clothes or almost still able to squeeze into your favorite pieces from your pre-pregnancy days.

OR

You have given birth, maybe lost ten pounds or so but still rely on maternity wear to get you through most days.

Enter Bella Band, the stretchy comfortable band that holds your old pants up sans buttons or zippers and keeps still too big maternity clothes snug against you. Designed by local Mom Ingrid Carney, this local label Ingrid & Isabel has also designed comfortable key pieces to wear throughout your pregnancy and after.




photo credit: Flickr, Daquello Manera

Train Town Sonoma: Choo Choo Heaven

We have brought our two year old to Traintown in Sonoma exactly once. And yet, whenever we drive down Broadway towards the Plaza or some other destination the wail begins.."Traintooowwnnn"!!!! New parents be warned-Traintown, with it's small scale steam engines and picturesque rides round a park-like setting, will have the kiddies begging for more and more and...well you know the drill. On the brighter side, Traintown isn't that expensive by today's' standards-$4.25 gets you a leisurely ride through the wooded glen, over bridges, past tiny towns and the train even stops at a small junction where goats and llamas happily wait to be fed pellets from the pellet "gumball" machines. While you wait for the train, kids can ride on the carousel, bobbing airplanes or scrambler (provided they are tall enough for the latter). Weekends get busy so consider going on a weekday when the bay is cloaked in fog and you want to break through to the sun on the other side of the Golden Gate.



photo credit: Flickr jessicafm

Nutrition Neurosis

At my son's two year exam, his doctor once again proclaimed him to simply be off the charts in his weight (petite I like to think) while his height is just fine. Further tests have shown that his iron levels are low and now I'm struck with a true case of Mom-anxiety. How to get the picky eater to eat enough to meet his daily iron requirements let alone gain weight? I've been trolling the web looking for good recipes and tips. Here's what I've come across so far for all of us who struggle with keeping tummys full and worries at bay...

Kids Health has kid friendly recipes and loads of information.

The Veggie Table is great for ideas for my fairly vegetarian son who still only eats chicken & fish at this point in the game (or maybe he's not the red meat lover his Papa is).

I'm a big believer in the idea that if you cook with your kid they will eat the food they make. Keeping the kids out of the kitchen during meal prep time is a big mistake most of us make-but studies have shown including kids in the kitchen is a surefire way to get them interested in their food. I've linked to my favorite childhood show PBS's ZOOM which has a list of kid-friendly recipes that they can make alone or for the younger set, with some supervision.


photo credit: Flickr, Eyeliam

Family Night Out: Japantown SF

A recent kid free visit to the little mall in Japantown reminded me what a family friendly place this is for a night out with the family. Family Date Nights often consist of eating out at places you would rather not eat at but they are kid friendly, disaster proof and serve food your kids will eat. Consider a change: a night eating sushi at one of the fabulous, intimate spots throughout the mall like Isubune which has the lovely distraction of sushi boats floating by with sparkling little rolls and plates of edamame-or try a noodle house like Sapporo-ya that feature every kind of noodle imaginable for kid friendly slurping. The ultimate (albeit pricey) night out is Benihana where chefs put on a great show for the kiddies and cook fresh meats and vegetables right before your eyes.
If you go early enough make sure to check out some of the specialty toy shops and book stores where you can find cool comics, kewpie dolls and Hello Kitty decor and just about anything else kids would love. Dessert can be found at one the crepe stalls that reside in between shops and end the evening resting in front of the fountain or better yet, the indoor waterfall.

photo credit: Flickr, Eyeliam

Dealing With Bullies: Yours or Someone Else's

If you are leaving the relative comfort of Babyland and entering the unforgiving Toddler Tundra, you may be experiencing the first signs of aggression or negativity in either your own darling child, or seeing the behavior in someone else. The first instances of pushing, biting or hitting can be truly shocking and may leave you feeling unprepared on the finer points of Toddler Negotiations 101.
A few thoughts:
First, do not feel bad. It is not your fault! Toddlers are truly socially underdeveloped albeit, amazingly cute members of society. This is sometimes how they work things out. They have low impulse control and poor judgment-that's where we step in. Most kids have triggers that set them off, a need feel control in a situation, a lack of personal space or something as simple as hunger can all be an underlying cause for a kid acting out.
The important thing for parents is to recognize a pattern when we see it and to anticipate the triggers ( crowded sandboxes, long overdue naptimes) if necessary, shadow your little one so that you can act as his/her impulse control-encourage toddlers to use their words and redirect whenever possible. For full on meltdowns sometimes just leaving the scene is the best method.
If the bite or slap happens before you get there, focus not on the biter but on the one who was bitten, shoved or slapped. This method, say experts, models a sense of compassion for the victim ( not yet a strong toddler trait) and teaches the aggressor that their behavior will not win them any attention, either positive or negative.

Dr. Sears is a usual go- to for me but often his approach to Toddler Negotiations seems over complicated for a situation requiring immediate action-but he makes several good points on triggers and ways to anticipate them.

Another well written article underscores how parents should not overreact to an aggressive act but model empathy instead.