Brad's Quick Parenting Tip #75: Keeping Toddler Awake In Car

I cherish my son's nap time. It's a few hours a day I can have to myself. It also means he won't be cranky in the evening before bed.

But his naps are a delicate thing. It doesn't take much to throw him off schedule, to the point where he won't take a nap at all.

For instance, when we go out and do something in the morning, where he's getting a lot of exercise, he sometimes falls asleep in the car on the way home. And if it's close to lunchtime (noon-ish) I can count on him not taking a nap that afternoon. He just won't be tired enough to fall asleep.

So I've figured out a surefire way to keep him awake in the car: His snack cup, sippy cup, and a toy or two. These three things will keep him occupied and awake. Never fails.

I've talked about the snack cup before in an earlier post. They can be lifesavers.

I try my best to keep his schedule consistant, which is why I can count on his nap times to be my break every day.

How do you keep your little one awake?

The "Sharing vs. Not Taking" Toy Dilemma

One of the fun things about letting my DS play with other kids is watching how they interact. Toddlers don't really play with each other, they play next to each other.

There's something I've noticed with parents too. It's the "sharing vs. not taking" toys dilemma. It goes something like this:

My son is playing with a toy. Another toddler comes up wanting to play with the toy and starts to grab at it. I tell my son to share, while the parent of the other child says to not grab and wait his/her turn. It's a no-win situation for the kids.

Every parent wants their child to learn good manners and to play well with others. Yet you have these opposing forces - to learn to share, and to learn not to take things.

Usually these situations end in a toss-up. The kid with the toy relents (usually at the urging of their parent) and the other kid gets the toy.

I still find it awkward. How do you handle this dilemma? I'd love to hear your answers.

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There's No Business Like Monkey Bizness

Today I took my son to Monkey Bizness, a place for little kids to run and play around. They have different types of indoor playground equipment, including a huge jumping castle with slides and other fun things inside.

My DS isn't even two yet but he holds his own among the bigger kids (3-5). I still followed him around, just in case, but I didn't stick on him like glue like I used too. He's becoming very independent.

Monkey Bizness is a good place to go if the weather is bad, or you just want to let your kids blow off some steam for a while. They also have an arts and crafts room and a room you can rent out for parties.

For parents, there is an area with tables and chairs. You can buy some little snacks and drinks at the front desk, but if you want a full meal, you're on your own.

Overall it's a good spot if you want to kill some time without dragging your kid/s through the mall or visit your local Target store for the 10th time that day.

Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with Monkey Bizness in any way and I'm not being compensated for this post. It is my personal, unbiased opinion.

The Number Of Stay-At-Home Dads Is Increasing

Sometimes it's hard to remember that this a stay-at-home dad oriented blog. A lot of my posts are about other things, like temper tantrums, or talking about the sleeping habits of my son.

However, those are the things stay-at-home parents (mom or dad) deal with daily. So I think I'm still in the loop. I just don't emphasize that I'm a dad.

Yesterday there was an article on Yahoo! News that caught my eye. It's called Is Dad The New Mom? The Rise of Stay-At-Home Fathers.

I don't want to rehash the entire article, I'll let you read it for yourself. But there are a few things worth highlighting. Like:

According to the most recent Census, the number of stay-at-home fathers in the United States has tripled in the past 10 years up to 154,000. Yet, these at-home dads are still the exception to the traditional household and many treading in unchartered parenting waters.

I've known about the incredibly low number of stay-at-home dads there are out there because of the research I'm doing for a secret project I'm working on. As a percentage of the US population, us dads are a rare breed. That means sticking together.

Which brings me to my next point:

Many at-home dads across the country have turned to the Internet for guidance and support from each other, and now there is a growing online community. Some at-home dads set up get-togethers.

 "They talk about sports and politics, but if you go in there right now they will be talking about diaper changes, sleeping challenges, so we're really talking about a lot of the stuff that moms are talking about," said Matt Schneider of "NYC Dads Group."

I've mentioned in a previous post that I joined a dad's group when my DS was about 2 months. The other dads were great. The only problem was that their kids were toddlers. So why they were playing with their kids on the playground, I was stuck sitting on the bench giving my son a bottle.

If you're a dad reading this, which I hope you are, you should embrace your job and wear it as a badge of pride.

Review: Gymboree Play & Learn Revisited

I've been taking my son to Gymboree Play & Learn since early February. I thought I'd write an update to my previous Gymboree post to tell you how it's working out.

First, my son is getting used to it. For the longest time he was very hesitant to participate in any of the activities. Now, he's pretty enthusiastic about it. I still have to coax him along. Overall though, I think he gets the idea.

His favorite activity is the parachute. At first, all the kids sit in the middle and we drag them in a circle. Then, the kids go under the parachute while the parents stand on the edges and bring the parachute up and down. He loves it! I can always count on him playing with the parachute without any coaxing from me.




Second, there is a social component to Gymboree. While the kids don't actually play together, they still interact. My son is learning to share and wait his turn. He also watches other kids and sees what they're doing. Since my wife and I will not have any more children, it's important he gets a lot of social interaction.

Third, from a parent's point of view, it can be exhausting. It's not one of those things where you take your kid there, drop them off, then fall asleep and drool all over yourself. No, the parents also participate. Further, parents are responsible for keeping their kids safe.

Don't get me wrong, Gymboree is set up to be a very toddler-friendly environment. But I still need to be by my little DS in case he loses his balance on some of the activities, falls down, etc. Don't expect the employees there to be babysitters.

One of the best parts about Gymboree is that it gets us out of the house. And it wears my son out enough that he takes a really good nap on Gymboree day.

The only downside is that Gymboree is a bit pricey. I think we pay something like $70 +/- a month.

Yes, I'd recommend Gymboree to anyone looking for something to do with their toddler besides sit at home and watch TV. If there's one close to you and you can afford the price, go for it!

Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with Gymboree in any way (other than being paying customer), nor am I being compensated for writing this post. This is my personal, unbiased opinion.

The Best Father's Day Gift My Son Gave Me

I just want to wish all the dad's out there a Happy Father's Day. I know the day is pretty much over, but I figured better late than never.

My son decided to make me a present to celebrate today. It means so much more when they do something themselves, even at 22-months. I know he doesn't understand the concept of Father's Day. Yet this little drawing, complete with stickers, really made my day.

I watched him and mommy working on the table as I sat on the couch. I could see he was really enjoying this craft project. That also makes me feel good - to see him doing something that makes him happy.

I'm planning on keeping all his drawings and craft projects in a box so he can see them when he's older. My parents did that with me and it's fun to see all the things I did when I was so young.

How did you celebrate Father's Day?

My Son Discovered Street Running

My son's new bad habit is running into the street when we're outside playing. Luckily, our street is very quiet with only residential traffic, and, we have a lot of kids on our street so cars generally go slow. But it's still something we're very strict about.

Before I get into that though, I should say it is kind of cute. He has a little toy lawnmower he likes to pull around and takes it with him into the street. He usually runs towards our neighbors house. He looks like he's proud of himself. I guess he probably is. He's escaping from mommy and daddy.

Cute or not, it is dangerous. Since he can run fast for having such little legs, I have to run to catch up to him. Once I have him in my grip, I lead him back to our yard.

"Olympics, here I come!"

I go by the strike system. Three strikes, your out. Each time he goes into the street is one strike. After we hit three we go inside.

It seems to be working. Now he'll run to the edge of the driveway and stop. I still panic when he does that, but at least he's not actually in the street.

I told my wife we should get one of those 'invisible fences' that people use for their dogs. The dog wears a collar and if they go outside the fence, they get a little shock. I'm kidding of course. If you really did that, you can expect a visit from your county's child protective services.

This is just one more hazard of nice weather. When toddlers play outside more and more, they will get into more mischief.

Does your toddler run into the street? If so, how do you handle it?

Photo Credit: Nina Matthews Photography via Creative Commons

What Books Do I Read To My Son?

Reading is probably one of the best things you can do for your child (besides feeding, of course). I read to my DS every day when I'm putting him down for his nap.

Sometimes I read long stories, sometimes I read shorter stories. I'm not sure if he even pays attention while he's laying in my arms, drinking his bottle. I don't think it matters, though.



With some books, especially the tactile ones that have stuff for kids to touch, he reaches his hand out to play with the book. This can complicate things a little. It's hard to read while I'm holding him in one arm, holding the book in the other and keeping him from grabbing it. There have been a few times I've just given up and put the book down.

What do I read? Good question. There's no shortage of children's books. I like to relive my own toddler years and read stuff I remember my parents read to me.

Here's a short list of my favorite children's books:

• Miss Nelson is Missing By Harry Allard, James Marshall (illustrator)
• Best Nest By P.D. Eastmon
• Goodnight Moon By Margaret Wise Brown
• Guess How Much I Love You By Sam McBratney
• Everybody Poops By Taro Gomi, Amanda Mayer Stinchecum

Okay, I'll confess that I don't read Everybody Poops to my son, at least not yet. When it comes time to potty train him though, it will be all poop all the time!

"This book is a pretentious piece of crap."

When we go to the library to check out more books, I'm often overwhelmed by the large selection. I usually look for board books that are short, but still have some substance to them (i.e. don't have just one word per page).

I try to avoid books from the library that have pop-ups because my son will rip them right off the page. I also avoid the tactile books because I don't his hands where other germy toddler hands have been. Like I said above though, tactile books are fine when we buy them from the bookstore.

I'm hoping to instill good reading habits. My parents taught me a lot by example by reading every night before bed. I still do this, and often have a hard time sleeping if I don't read before bed. If my own DS does this when he's older, I'll be more than happy.

What books do you read your child before bed?

Photo Credits: smoorenburg Used under the Creative Commons License


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