My sister, though, is a different story. She is younger than me and doesn’t have children. Not that this means Peanut doesn’t need to listen to her, but again, not when I’m right there and trying to discipline her. I’ll be telling her not to do something - throw a ball inside, for instance - and my sister will jump in as if I’m not saying anything. The part that really bothers me is that she doesn’t know anything about kids or raising them. She took Peanut to the store and asked if she rode in her carseat backwards. She’s almost three! That’s not to say anything against her, but don’t tell me how to raise my kid when you clearly don’t know the basics. Do you know what I mean? The reason why I’m so quick to bristle when my sister tells Peanut what to do is that she is implicitly criticizing my parenting. My parents, while irritating at times, do not. I know this is true because she has questioned my actions and those of Peanut’s father in the past. When Peanut was a baby, she was in her crib crying. I let her cry a bit. This teaches the baby to soothe herself and maybe put herself back to sleep. My sister looked at me and said, “Aren’t you going to comfort her?” Like I was engaging in child abuse. “No.” That’s all I said. Did I have to explain to her that that’s how you teach your baby to sleep through the night? You let them cry a little now and then. That’s why Peanut slept through the night at three months. Anyway, she does this constantly. “Isn’t she cold? Shouldn’t you put a sweater on her? Or a hat?” She thinks I let Peanut watch too much tv, that I let her stay up too late, that I’m a terrible parent. I just can’t stand how someone with no experience with children feels the need to question my parenting. Someone who can’t even change a diaper. And yes, she’s tried. I had to jump in halfway through.

I love my sister, but I just can’t stand this attitude. I’m glad, though, that it’s not my parents or my partner’s parents. That’d be too much. With my sister, I can just chalk it up to not knowing a thing about the real world.

There - I got that off my chest. Does anyone else have this happen to them? Annoying, isn’t it??

She was playing with an older girl at the campground. She was around five or six, and they were running around, playing Peanut’s favorite game, Chase. Basically, she just runs like crazy and expects you to keep up. I’m about nine thousand months pregnant, so I can’t play! Anyway, it’s good to have another energetic kid. So, they’re running around, and at one point, they got a bit too close to the road. Before her grandparents could say anything, Peanut said, “We’re too close to the road. We have to go back.” They continue their game, and again, Peanut noticed that they were too far from Grandma and Grandpa. “We’re too far away. We have to go back.” She told her grandparents that she had to stay where they could see her.

They were super impressed that she did this on her own. The self-discipling child! I tell her that constantly. Where I live, people just let their kids go outside and do whatever. If I can’t see Peanut for even a second, I freak out. So I always tell her that she needs to play where I can see her. If she strays from the playground and a little too close to the parking lot, she gets another little reminder. This is the first time I’d been given some evidence that she listens when I’m not there. It’s a good feeling! It can seem like you’re talking to a brick wall sometimes, but don’t worry. Your toddlers are picking up so much, and they really do listen to you and take what you have to say seriously. So that was good confirmation that I’m doing one thing right. Her new habit of saying, “Go away, Mom. I hate you,” however, is a whole other story.

I wanted to talk about cloth diapers for my own selfish reasons. I’m expecting a baby in September, and I really want to try doing cloth diapers. I used (ok, use, present tense) disposable diapers with Peanut, and I want to cut down on the amount of landfill space I personally use! Plus, I’ve heard it’s cheaper, so that’s always great. Does anyone out there use these for your toddlers? I’m concerned about leaking, and I’m also concerned that I won’t fold the diapers up right so everything will just come out anyway! I’m also a little clueless as to cloth diapers - there is actually quite the variety out there. I got some prefolded Chinese diapers with some covers, but there are also all-in-one diapers and more. It’s hard to know where to start. I’m sure there are other toddler parents out there who may have younger children and want to start doing this. I think it’s great - though more work. If you have any thoughts or advice about cloth diapers, let us know! I would definately appreciate it, and I’m sure a lot of other parents would as well.

PS - The book What My Toddler Ate Today is still up for grabs. If you’d like it, just email me and tell me a bit about your toddler’s eating habits. This book can be a great tool for you and your child.

Toddlers are notoriously picky, fussy, strange eaters. I know Peanut isn’t “fussy” per se. She eats a variety of foods - she eats raw Kale leaves straight from the garden. On the other hand, the kid likes TicTacs (provided by her grandfather!). She doesn’t always eat a balanced diet, though. She loves veggies, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to eat them when I serve them. It is impossible to know what she’ll eat at any given time, which makes meal times hard. Anyway, my point is that it is hard to know what your toddler is actually consuming as far as nutrients. Our pediatrician told us not to look at it day by day, but rather week by week. Is she getting enough vitamins and nutrients overall? Some days she may eat nothing but noodles (which are bleached out and usually covered in a weird orange cheese sauce. Yes, I do make her mac and cheese from a box!). Anyway, a tool that can really help you see what your child is eating is What My Toddler Ate Today by Jacqui Herrmann. This book is particularly important for parents who are concerned with their child’s weight - either that they gain too much or too little.

This book isn’t about telling us what to feed our children. You can find that information in a host of other places, like the FDA food pyramid or your doctor. Portion sizes are obviously different for toddlers also. Instead, this book functions has a log or food diary, a portion tracker, and/or a meal planner. You can track everything your child eats so you know if they are getting a balanced diet. You can take a look at the log sheets here. (Sorry, I was going to take pictures of the book but my camera wouldn’t cooperate.)

This is a great book for anyone who has a fussy eater, a light eater, an overeater, a grazer, a snacker, or any other type of eating behavior. I was able to see that, yes, my child is eating enough, and no, she is not in danger of malnutrition! It costs only $10.49 from Amazon, but I have a copy I’d like to give one of Parenting Toddlers readers. If you’d like a copy, email me a short entry about the type of eating behaviors your child has by next Friday. (You can email me by going to the contact me section on the right side of the page.) I’ll choose a winner and send you this book. Hopefully, you’ll then want to share your own review with us!

Too much fun. Can I use him for my baths too?

A reader left a comment on an old post about Ozzie the Octopus spout covers, which look like awesome additions to bathtime. Anyway, the reader wanted to know where to find them. I looked online and can’t find where to buy. I’ve seen a few blog posts, which again, say they are awesome bathtime additions! But as to where to buy them, I found nothing. They’re supposedly put out by Crayola but I couldn’t find them on the website. Does anyone have one? Where did you get it? This would be a cool product for a lot of our toddlers, so if you have any ideas where we can get them, please share. Thanks! Here’s what Ozzie looks like - he attaches to the spout in the bath and water comes out of his tentacles. Very cool.

If your toddler is testing her swearing limits, there are some things you can do to curb the language.

First, don’t laugh! It’s really, really, really hard. But don’t do it.
Second, watch your own language. Again, really hard.
Third, have her substitute foul language for other words, like “Sugar” or “Rats.” I actually have a thirty year old friend who still says “Rats.”
Fourth, you can try time outs if the language doesn’t improve. Again, you really should watch your own language so you don’t look like a hipocrit. Kids are very sensitive to that.
Fifth, just explain why you don’t want to hear that language. Even toddlers can understand certain words are not to be said, espeically in a Chinese restaurant.

I have a hard time taking this bad language seriously. It’s about testing her limits, and I don’t choose to make a huge deal of it. She’ll grow out of it with a little guidance. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t seem like a major problem. I know many people will disagree, but I feel confident that I can teach her acceptable social behavior! I’d much rather put up with a few swears than diapers…can

I was flipping through the whole ten channels I get the other night and stumbled on something on NBC. The Baby Borrowers. I had heard of it but hadn’t paid any attention whatsoever, so when I watched it, I was very surprised that real people - real, actual, live people - lent their babies to teenage couples. I have a hard time sharing the blankets with my fiance or the last bit of ice cream with, well, anyone. I can’t imagine sharing Peanut. So I had to continue to watch to see what would possess these normal-looking people to do this. And a teenager. My little sister is 15, and good luck getting her to change a diaper.

Anyway, the idea is that five teenage couples who think it would be really awesome and exciting to have a baby get to actually take care of one for a few days. They live in houses in this weird made-up suburbia or something, and there are cameras on them all the time so parents can go (the parents are in houses down the street) whenever they feel the need to. I got over the part about giving inexperienced teenagers real live children and moved on to making fun of the teenagers. Parents know that having a cute little bundle of joy is HARD!! It’s not like a celebrity baby accessory that you can give to a nanny. They cry, they spit up (one kid was AMAZING at spitting up!!), they poop, they cry some more.

I will give the teenagers a little slack. It is hard to get a six month old baby and have to take care of it. You don’t know the special tricks to getting him to sleep or soothing him. He hasn’t bonded with you. That being said, keep them away from my babies!! Most of them did ok, actually. One girl though about killed me. The baby she and her boyfriend were given was teething. Poor guy. She was trying to feed him and he’s crying and so sad. I have never seen a baby so sad in my life. He was in pain. She just keeps trying to jam the spoon in his mouth. They never once thought to pick him up, soothe him, rub his gums, or even talk to him. She finally said, “Whatever, starve then.” The mama was MAD at that and went over to talk to the girl. She told her that when you have a child, you don’t get to behave that way. You feed the child. No matter if it takes an hour - you feed the child. Understandable, and there was no hitting or yelling involved. The teenager took offense and refused to have anything else to do with the baby for the rest of the time. Her point was that her own baby wouldn’t be so hard. Ok, you’re own baby definately won’t teeth….what???? That made me mad! It also again reminded me that some people think having a baby will help make a relationship better. It is stressful - if I had to save my marriage, having a kid would not even be a consideration. Anyway, hopefully, these teenagers realize all this and don’t reproduce too young! (Not that there aren’t some very responsible, excellent teenage parents. But I’m sure they’d be the first to say how hard it is.)

Anyway, as the show progresses, the teenagers will have to care for toddlers, kids, teenagers, and elderly people. It is kind of interesting, and if you like to watch shows that make you talk back to the tv, this one is for you.

Happy Fourth of July everyone! (Everyone in the US anyway.) Is anyone planning on seeing some fireworks? The town I live in seems to celebrate July 4 two weeks later - on the 19th, there is going to be a parade, fairs, a dance, bands, and all that. Maybe we’ll see fireworks then. Who knows why they do this? Ah well. If you are, make sure you comfort your little toddlers. Big noises are scary to pretty much everyone, and especially so for little kids. Hold them while you watch and explain before hand that they’re going to be loud.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday. What are your plans? Is anyone traveling?