Airplane Trip
Allowance
Baby Shower Host Idea
Backpack Safety
Beautiful Tip
Birthday Card Idea
C-Shaped Nursing Pillow Uses
Car Trip Special Bag
Diaper Bag (Backpack)
Gift Child Does Not Like (Preparing)
Gift Wrapping
Handling Neighborhood Kids at the door
Finger Paint with Shaing Cream
Holiday Travel Accessories for Toddlers
Itches
Morning Dressing Rush
Photo Memories for Holidays
Pinched Fingers (Avoiding with Car Door)
Play Dough (Edible)
Self-Worth & Holding your Child's Hand
Splinters
Taking Turns
Teething
Time Concept Idea
Time-Saving Tips
Toy Pick-Up
Travel Tips
TV/Bookcase Can Crush Child
Valentine's Day
Waiting in Line and Toddlers
Whining

Splinters--Removing splinters is no problem if you apply Baby Ora-Gel to the affected area first.

When your child gets a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, then pull it off.  Scotch tape removes most splinters splinters painlessly and easily.

Handling Neighborhood Kids at the Door--Handling Neighborhood KidsAre your children's friends always at your door? To cut down on interruptions during dinner, homework or family time, hang your own friendly version of a "Do Not Disturb" sign from your doorknob. Explain to the neighbor kids that when they see the sign, they shouldn't ring the bell.

C-Shaped Nursing Pillow Uses--Another use for those C-shaped nursing pillows: When your baby is first learning to sit up, put her in the center of the C-shape with some of her toys. If she loses her balance and falls over, the pillow will cushion her fall and reduce the chance that she'll bump her head.

Gift Wrapping--Save the wrapping paper from your baby shower gifts to line the drawers in your baby's dresser. It will bring back happy memories every time you open a drawer. Wrapping paper from birthday presents makes a nice liner for children's dressers, too. (Of course, you have to convince your child to peel off the tape rather than rip off the paper !) F

Finger Paint with Shaving Cream--I spray shaving cream on their plastic picnic table and let my children finger paint. Shaving cream can be colored with a drop of food dye. When they're done, just hose them off!  (This idea also works for bath time.)

Itches--Mosquito bites, poison ivy, heat rash ... To relieve the summer itches, pour some Calomine lotion into a bowl and give your child a paint brush. She'll enjoy painting over those scratchy spots.

Teething--If your little one is teething and is old enough to nibble solid foods, give him a frozen waffle to chew on.  The cold waffle soothes tender gums and the indentations catch most of the drool.

Taking Turns--Are your kids always shouting, "My turn!!!"? Stop the whining and arguing by designating days for "who goes first." If you have two kids, Kid One gets Monday/Wednesday/Friday and Kid Two gets Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday. If you have three kids, Kid One gets Monday/Thursday, Kid Two gets Tuesday/Friday and Kid Three gets Wednesday/Saturday. Sundays are for Mom or Dad. If you have four, five or six kids, Mom and Dad get more days!

Travel Tips--Late summer is the time when many families pack up and hit the road. Here are some tips from our community: 
Bainewolf says, "Tired of hearing are we there yet? At the beginning of the trip, help your child estimate how long the trip will take and what time the car clock will say when you arrive at your destination."
Catzy5 says, "Planning a long car trip? Carry your sleeping child to the car in the early morning, then plan to stop for an hour of run-around time at lunch."
Allicat says, "When traveling, I give my kids $5 to $15 worth of computer-drawn dollars. When they see something they really want, they can trade their mom bucks" for the real thing."

Baby Shower Host Idea--"Are you hosting a baby shower? Ask everyone to bring a package of diapers. It's a small expense for each guest but a big savings for new parents."

Airplane Trip--A traveling tip: For airplane trips, make sure your child has something to drink during take-offs and landings because swallowing relieves the pressure in the ears.

Backpack Safety--Are your children staggering off with backpacks that weigh almost as much as they do? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids risk back injury if they carry backpacks that weigh more than 10 to 20 percent of their body weight. If your kid insists that she "needs" everything in her backpack, make sure the straps are tightened so she carries the load higher on her back. Tell her to use both straps, so the weight is distributed evenly.

Diaper Bag (Backpack)--If your kids are still too little for backpacks, you're the one who's probably carrying a ton of stuff every time you leave the house. Are your shoulders aching? Maybe you should swap that diaper bag for a well-fitting backpack!

Holiday Travel Accessories for Toddlers--If you're traveling during the holidays, take your safety proofing materials with you.  Many preventable accidents happen in someone else's home, so pack along outlet covers, cabinet latches and baby gates.

Waiting in Line and Toddlers--'Tis also the season to wait in line. If you're shopping with young children, bring along some special toys that they can play with while they wait with you, such as a sewing card, crayons and notepad or a wind-up toy.
Don't try to do too much during a shopping expedition -- limit your list and don't test their limits.

Photo Memories for Holidays--A friend of mine created a lovely holiday tradition. Starting with her son's first Christmas, she took a photo of him on Santa's lap. Alex is in college now -- way too big for laps but not too old to have his photo taken with Santa!  The photo collection now spans 20 years and a lot of memories. If your family doesn't "do" Santa, you could choose a holiday symbol that is meaningful to you.

Gift Child Does Not Like (Preparing)--We all know that kids can be embarrassingly honest about presents. Before you go to grandma's house or a family get-together, practice a few responses with your child ahead of time. Ask her what she will say if she gets a gift she already has. What will she say if she gets a gift she doesn't like? Then help her rehearse some tactful alternatives!

Time Concept Idea--Is your young child anxiously awaiting a special day -- such as a birthday, a visit with Grandma and Grandpa or the birth of a new baby? Here's a tip from Souper Sierra Song that will help children understand the concept of weeks or months. Make a paper chain, using one link for each day until the Big Day. Every evening, have your child remove a link from the chain. As the chain gets shorter and shorter, the special day gets closer and closer.

Whining--Is whining a problem in your home?  Get your kids to give you whining lessons and see what happens.  Kids generally take these requests very seriously, and it's usually only a few minutes before the whining ends and the laughing begins.

Toy Pick-Up--Here's a tip from a member of our community: "A clean-up rule in our house is that at bedtime, we pick up our toys. If my kids don't help clean up, everything goes into garbage bags which are stored in the basement for one week. You can adjust this amount of time to your child's age and temperament. This works really well with my five-year-old son, especially if he's forced to give up one of his favorite toys.

Allowance--Are you struggling with the allowance issue? Neale Godfrey suggests this rule of thumb: Give your child $1 per week for every year of age. One-third is for spending right now, one-third is for saving for big items (like a new bike) and one-third is for college savings. She also says that kids should earn their money, just like adults do. For some practical advice about chores and allowance, read Neale's book, A Penny Saved.

Car Trip Special Bag--Parent Soup member Jackie Larson writes: "Having twin girls and being a working mom, I pack a special bag for when we go out or on car trips. I have done this since the girls were very little. When they were toddlers, I would put McDonald toys in a large plastic freezer bag, chunky little books and coloring books. Now that they are 7, I stock the bag with a cassette player with tapes, a small Etch-O-Sketch, markers, crayons and anything I find on sale. They look forward to all these special things or surprises. I found this to be a lifesaver many times."

Morning Dressing Rush--To avoid the mad morning scramble, have your child choose ALL her clothes for the next day and put them on a chair in her room. Check to make sure she's put out everything from underpants to hair ties. Older kids should finish their homework and put it in their backpacks. Making lunches the night before can make life easier, too. Try setting the timer to give everyone a five-minute warning before it's time to go.

Play Dough (Edible)--This idea is from our Snow Day Survival Guide Message Board. Kerry's parent posted this recipe for Play Dough you can eat: "Mix:
1 (18 ounce) jar of peanut butter
6 tablespoons of honey
Nonfat dry milk or milk plus flour to the right consistency
Play and eat! Kids will get a kick out of being able to actually eat their art!"

Valentine's Day--To celebrate Valentine's Day, buy a bouquet of white daisies or carnations. Trim the stems and add red food color to the water in the vase. As the flowers drink the water, they'll get pinker and pinker. Sure, this is an old trick -- but it may be new to your kids!

Beautiful Tip--Here's a tip from Mimi Doe, the author of "10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting."  "Ask your kids what is beautiful to them. Then, include more of it in your life."

Self-Worth & Holding your Child's Hand-- This tip is from Tom McMahon's book "Kid Tips." Occasionally, as I walk my young daughters to school or preschool, I ask them, "Can I hold your hand so everyone will know that you are my daughter?" It makes them (and me) feel like a million bucks. Little messages like this one contribute to a child's sense of self-worth."

Pinched Fingers (Avoiding with Car Door)--Shutting a car door on a child’s finger is intensely painful for BOTH child and parent. One member of our community says, “After my three-year-old is strapped in his carseat, I say "Hands Up!" and he puts his hands in the air. Playing this game protects his little fingers when I close the car door.”

Time-Saving Tips--Do you always leave things until the last minute? Are you always late? These suggestions are from the iVillage Time Management Tips board. Carla offers some of what works for her:
-- Prepare for tomorrow before going to bed. This includes setting the table for breakfast, packing the diaper bag and, of course, choosing clothes.
-- Know what time I need to leave, not just what time I should get there. And, along the same lines, allow time for the unexpected  traffic and diaper changes.
-- Make realistic expectations: I will schedule only one play date each week; can I really complete these tasks in this amount of time?

TV/Bookcase Can Crush Child-- Sue Weber, a community leader who hosts the Parent Soup Weight Loss message board, wants to make sure that Soupers are aware of the dangers posed by heavy TV sets. A a two-year-old Pittsburgh boy was killed when a TV set fell on him as he was trying to hug it or climb on it. Sue says this news story really hit home -- last year her daughter pulled their TV over, but fortunately she escaped injury. Sue wants to remind our community to make sure that heavy pieces of furniture llike bookcases are anchored to the wall. Check your TV stand -- could it tip over easily? Could your child pull the TV off the stand? If the answer is yes, get a new stand or make sure that your young child doesn't watch TV unless you are in the room.

Birthday Card Idea--Need a clever idea for a birthday card? Souper Mindy Christensen writes: “For years I have been making this card for kid’s birthdays. You take a one dollar bill and twist it and attach it to the bottom of the card (so it will look like grass). Then you draw a trunk and some branches up from the ‘grass’. Tape coins on the tree branches.  And put a caption on the inside of the card saying: Wow, I guess money does grow on trees!" She adds, “Just make sure the child is beyond the ‘Oh look, money, I think I'll swallow it’ stage.”