Here are some things that you need to focus on if you are planning to have child in the near future or current had one to take care of yourself:

1. Pay Attention to Your Body: Try to stay in excellent condition.  Try to avoid getting sick.  Eat well and get lots of sleep.  Keep your stress level down.  Try to keep your stamina high and your endurance high as well.
2. You should pamper yourself occasionally.  Consider going to the spa a few times before it is time to deliver your child.
3. Take Time Out for yourself:  Having a child or preparing to have a child can take up a lot of your time.  It is important to take some time out for yourself to take a break from your busy schedule.  So take the time out to do some yoga, for example, to relax and unwind.

Our blog has mentioned before that slender writing instruments aren’t always accessible or easily manageable for the small-sized hands of a toddler.  That’s why we’ve suggested items like bingo daubers, jumbo markers, stamps and finger paints that are much easier for little fingers to hold and create.  Same goes for our latest suggestion: dishwasher sponges.  Simply cut a dish sponge into squares, and demonstrate to your toddler how to dip one side of the sponge into washable paint, then use the sponge to paint a paper surface.  If you are doing this project with young children, make sure you choose washable paints.

Your child’s eyes will widen when you announce that they can color on the windows! Window crayons by Crayola can be wiped away with a damp paper towel in seconds.  Sold in packages of five colors, you can encourage your child’s imagination to run away with them.  They can draw their family, nature, the sky, aliens, flowers, cars, their favorite cartoons.  You can use the window as your chalkboard and pretend to play school, or just let your child practice writing their name on the clear glass pane.

Cotton balls are a common household item; one that really comes in handy for toddlar arts and craft activities with your little one.  All you need is glue, cotton balls and some paper (even paper plates will do!) to make cotton ball art.  For example, you can use the cotton balls to make a rain cloud, and maybe tape or glue ribbon to the cloud to make a rainbow or a rain shower.  You can paste cotton balls on three round circles to create a snow man, or use the cotton has a character’s hair or beard like a Santa head during the holiday season.

‘Tis the season for winter fun across most of the country.  If you’re lucky enough to get a decent amount of snowfall during the winter months, get your kids and toddlers out there to play!   Parents can partner with their kids to build snowmen that kids usually only read about in books or folklore.  Sledding is an exciting activity however if your child is very young and very small, it would be wise to choose bunny hills, or sled with your child in your lap.  Try to avoid sledding too close to trees, fences or walls. We’ve all seen multiple sledding accidents on America’s Funniest Videos to know the hazards involved.  Nonetheless, playing in the snow is a special time of year.  Start new traditions by treating your child to a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows after an hour or two of playtime in the snow!

Young children naturally identify with animals.   As we read stories to them, and show programs to them with animal characters, they learn how to empathize for animals.   Households with family pets often support teaching children how to be compassionate toward animals.  PETA encourages parents to teach their children how to be compassionate toward animals.  There is nothing more exciting or more educational than a trip to your local zoo where young children can learn about animals.   Seeing a variety up close ignites children’s imaginations and expands the possibilities to the world they are learning about around them.  The Association of Zoos & Aquariums has a national directory on its website so that you can locate a zoo in your city.

Around age 2, you can introduce tooth care to your toddler.  You need a small children’s tooth brush with soft bristles and a children’s toothpaste.  Childrens’ toothpastes are sold in many flavors and colorful packages.   When you start, you might want to demonstrate how you brush your teeth first.

Then, show your toddler now to show their teeth. Use a pea-size speck of toothpaste on your toddler’s brush and begin to brush your toddler’s front teeth yourself.

It is best to keep your toddler’s tooth brush and toothpaste out of reach unless in supervised situations.  At first, your toddler will assume toothpaste is food and immediately try to eat it.  Swallowing a trace amount of fluoride is fine, however too much at once or over time is not a good thing.  If your toddler swallows a large amount at one time, you will need to contact Poison Control immediately.  If your toddler is nibbling away at toothpaste over time it can lead to a minor condition called fluorosis.

Around age 2 or 3 toddlers’ coordination is still evolving.  Easy-grip stamps and non-toxic ink pads make an excellent, creative and, more importantly, an accessible tool for toddlers.   While many tots will struggle to control a crayon or pencil, toddlers can easily manage their grip on a stamp.

Your toddler simply presses the stamp on the ink pad, then presses the stamp on paper.

The activity requires less coordination than coloring between the lines or even writing alphabet letters with a pencil.  Ink is sold in numerous, non-toxic, washable colors.  Ink pads are also sold in jumbo-size cases making them even more accessible for toddlers to find with a stamp.

The jumbo-sized ink pads and easy-grip stamps support your toddler’s capability to complete the activity independently.