Tag: childcare

The Great Snack War!

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The great Snack War has been waging in American kitchens for years!  Kids and adults need snacks throughout the day.  But while we all know we need the healthy snacks, the bad snacks are just……so good!  How do we help not only ourselves to be better eaters, but our kids too?  I have several strategies below to help you win your next Snack Battle!

Don’t Buy It

There is a reason why people are very disappointed when they raid my pantry for snacks.  I have not bought cookies or chips in years.  Why?  Because they last about five minutes once they enter my house.  Self-control is difficult for most adults.  It is next to impossible for kids!  If you don’t want your child to eat the unhealthy snacks, do not buy them. 

Look Out For “Healthy”

The food industry is really good at making bright colorful packaging, slapping some buzz words like “real fruit juice”, and convincing you it is healthy.  But we all know the truth.  Veggies Straw are just skinny potato chips.  Fruit Snacks are just gummy bears shaped like fruit.  It can be hard to market healthy food, because actual healthy food is boring to advertise.  A banana is just a banana.  I suppose they could put some more fun stickers on bananas!  Brand bananas for boys called “The Ultimate Banana” and for girls like “Princess Banana”.  But at the end of the day, there is only so many ways to make healthy food look “cool”.

Snacks For Home

Snacks at home are a lot easier to plan.  You have good storage and are able to prep snacks for the week!  Fruits and vegetables should always be your number one choice for snacks.  Always have a fruit bowl filled with easily accessible apples, bananas, etc.  If your kids don’t like certain fruits, don’t give up!  There are a lot of fruits out there to try.  Great vegetables to have on hand are pickles, carrots or celery.  Dips like hummus or guacamole are filling and perfect to have with your vegetables.  Great items to have stocked in the refrigerator are things like yogurt and string cheese.  Healthy pantry snacks for kids, who need something to crunch, are items like nuts, trail mix, or plantain chips.

Snacks For School

Snacks for school can be a little bit trickier.  It can be tough to plan ahead and schools often restrict certain snacks kids are allowed.  Here in Texas the heat can also play a big factor in what snacks are best for kids to take to school.  While yogurt and cheese are great snacks, school lunch-box ice packs only do so well for a long school day.  Fruits and vegetables should once again be your top choice.  Dried fruits and vegetables are a great option if your kids don’t keep their lunch boxes indoors during a school day.  If nuts are allowed in your school, trail mix is your new best friend!  If not try some popcorn for your kids who need that crunch! 

Controlling The Snacking

While in a perfect world, you’d have a house full of healthy snacks and your child would skip merrily home from school and say “dear mother, might I please have an apple before supper?”  But life happens and we all just do the best we can to keep our household happy and running.  There are other ways to keep the unhealthy snacking at bay.  Having snacks be a part of your normal routine is a good way to start.  If children have expectations of one morning snack and one afternoon snack, the angry demands for more snacks goes down.  Also keep in mind, kids get ravenous when they go through growth spurts.  This is when begging for snacks is at an all-time high!  Best way to see if your kid is going through a growth spurt, offer your kids a healthy snack, if they take it, vacuum it down and immediately ask for more, then it’s a growth spurt.

Another good trick to control snacking is a snack box.  Make a nice box for each one of your children.  Every day fill the box with the number of snacks your children are allowed to eat.  Tell them they can eat these snacks whenever they want.  But once the box is empty, that is all the snacks they get for day.  It helps give some control to the kids.  They pick what snacks are in the box and when they can eat them.  Also take the blame off of you when they eat everything in their box! 

The Snack War is one we all battle.  Best we can do is try and give our kids the tools to fight that battle as well.     

Volunteering with Your Kids

Published on by clairebooherLeave a comment

Volunteering may seem like an activity for older children and adults.  Many volunteer projects involve large scale clean ups, or manual labor that are next to impossible for the younger crowd.  But while it is easier to get your middle school and high school kids into volunteering, it is not impossible to get your elementary and even preschool kids into the practice of helping their community.

Knowing where to start can be one of the hardest parts.  If you are members of a church or any other religious organization, you are already ahead of the game.  Even if there aren’t programs specifically for younger kids to be a part of, plenty of people within your community can do with some help.  Helping an individual can be just as rewarding as helping a large group.  Your neighbors are also a great source of volunteer opportunities.  Reaching out to elderly neighbors or people who need a helping hand are great ways kids can help people around them.  Below are some other ideas that even your toddlers can do!  It can be a struggle to teach toddlers independence let alone helping out other people.  But simple things can imprint those lessons early. 

Donating Items

You know that thought you have every year?  The thought that your kids have way too many things they never play with?  Here is your solution.  Before every Christmas or birthday give your child a box and ask them to fill it with toys they don’t play with anymore.  Even little kids have items they don’t really like.  It can get kids in the habit of giving away things they don’t need, as well as clear out space for new toys! Send your gently used toys to your local daycare, hospital, or children’s center.  It is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about children who are less fortunate.  It also teaches children to treat their toys with better care and respect.

Helping the Homeless

Here is Austin we have a large homeless population that is very visible.  It naturally brings up questions from kids.  There are great ways kids can help the homeless community.  One of those ways is making small kits to pass out to homeless neighbors.  Head to your local store and get several large Ziploc bags.  Then go pick up some travel sized items for the homeless.  Some of the best items for the homeless are chap stick, deodorant, sunscreen, socks, tooth paste, tooth brush or any other small toiletries.  Have your children fill up the bags and then pass them out!

Cleaning up Your Local Park

When taking kids to the park, I’ve gotten in the habit of picking up random trash I see on the playground.  It has always been a pet peeve of mine when people throw trash on the ground when there are trash cans close by.  After doing this for a while, my little one came up behind me with an empty juice box she’d found on the playground.  People think of park clean-ups as a big weekend project.  And while those projects are great things to do, park clean ups can be made way simpler for little kids.  Simply acknowledging that we should pick up trash will encourage kids to keep an eye out for litter in the park. 

Fun Run

We live in a great city for runners.  There are so many great races to enter with your kids.  Look for races that specifically host fun runs.  Also look for races that allow strollers.  Your little ones can dress up and relax in the stroller while enjoying the spectacle of a race!  If there are charity runs that are too long for kids in a stroller, make your own water or snack station.  Kids get a big kick out of passing out water and treats to runners zooming by. 

These are just a few ideas for getting your littlest family members in the habit of volunteering.  It is such a rewarding thing to do as a family.  There is no shortage of volunteer opportunities especially around the Austin area.  Our kids are a part of our community and it’s important to teach them to make it better too!

Pinballz Arcade Lake Creek

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If you are looking for an activity to escape the heat this Labor Day weekend, try a trip down memory lane to Pinballz Arcade!  Pinballz’s Lake Creek location has expanded from their namesake pinball machines, to an epic play zone with go-kart racing, ax throwing, bowling and other awesome activities.  You will probably enjoy this place as much as your kids do!

Getting to Pinballz Lake Creek is pretty simple.  It is tucked back from the highway, but very easy to get to and find parking.  Once you get inside, you are pretty much left to your own devices.  Kiosk machines line the front where you can get your gaming card for the day.  If you want to do the go-karts or any of the other larger games, you do have to sign up with someone.  Otherwise, you are on your own! 

All of your standard arcade games and pinball machines are to the left of the entrance in a bright colorful line!  It may be hard for you or your kids to keep your focus with all the bright lights beckoning you to each game.  A lot of the games you can play with your kids, which everyone gets a kick out of.  If you’re a competitive parent, you might need to continuously tell yourself, “It’s only a game.  It’s only a game.”

Past the first round of arcade games is the eating area.  It is nice and spread out.  It is easy to move tables for the size of your group.  The food is standard concession stand food.  It is not good or bad, and it keeps you full.  One nice accessory I have always appreciated about Pinballz, is the cup holders at every single game! 

If you really want to be nostalgic, past the eating area is a large cluster of classic arcade games like Asteroids or Galaga.  It is pretty cool to see what old school games they have collected.

Tips:

Cost  The nostalgia of playing arcade games comes with the cost of playing arcade games.  Remember as a kid your parents would give you some money and tell you not to spend it too fast?  Then the money was gone in about 15 minutes!  Pinballz is unfortunately not immune from the arcade money vacuum.  Every so often they have deals with two hours of unlimited playtime or half off games.  But every game play cost money, and they don’t have an unlimited gaming card like Dave & Busters or Chuck E Cheese.

Meeting Spot  Pinballz at Lake Creek has gotten huge over the past year.  Even before they added their go-kart racing, it was hard to keep track of little ones running by arcade games.  The large eating area is where most parents set up camp.  It is a good idea to stake out your meeting place before you wind up the kids and let them go!

Food and Drink  No outside food or drink is allowed at all!  I walked in with a Gatorade bottle and they made me throw it away.  There is pretty good food and drink to buy.  But don’t expect to bring water bottles or snacks for the day.

So should you make the trip to Pinballz Lake Creek?

0-3 (Proceed with Caution)

Pinballz Lake Creek does have a really nice play area for the smaller kiddos.  The games are their size and easy to navigate.  It is only one little section in a giant area.  While they can definitely accompany their older siblings and have a good time, outside of this little area there isn’t a lot for this age group to do. 

3-6 (go now)

While this age group may also be too small for a lot of the activities, there is still plenty for them to do.  Lots of games for them to try or lots of claw machines for them to get frustrated with.  This age group will have a blast!

6-10 (go now)

Head to the bank, pull out that pesky retirement fund and go!  These kids will be in heaven!  They can do so much throughout this whole area.  They can do almost every single activity available.  They might have to wait a while before they can do ax throwing, but most parents are okay with that.

Museum of Ice Cream

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The Museum of Ice Cream just opened up in the Domain.  The title suggests a fun history of ice cream!  The website suggests the museum “transforms concepts and dreams into spaces that provoke imagination and creativity.”   Their Instagram suggests great opportunities for fabulous pictures.  The reality of the Museum of Ice Cream is actually underwhelming.  At $40 per ticket, the museum doesn’t quite deliver on any of its promises. 

Getting there is pretty painless, considering the Domain can be very congested.  There is valet parking right next to the museum.  The Pink Parking Garage is also super close.  The wait outside is short, and the very enthusiastic staff provides popsicles while you wait.  I appreciated having a specific ticket time.  It allows you to plan ahead and keeps the crowds smaller. 

Once you enter, you are sent into a small waiting room.  You fill out name tags with your own personal ice cream favor.  Don’t stress to much about thinking of a flavor name, it is never brought up again for the rest of the time.  After that, you enter the first real room of the museum.  It is a small soda shop where you can grab your first ice cream.  Besides the ice cream, the only thing this first room has to offer are some restaurant-style activity sheets for the kids, and a jukebox. 

Then you move into the Instagram heaven of the exhibit.  Hanging bananas, light up hallways, and Circus Animal Cookies are strategically set up to make that perfect Instagram photo.  Your kids will most likely blow through all of these section as they serve no use and aren’t edible.  Along the way there is a stop to fill up on all the red-colored candy you can find.  This is followed by a stop for cotton candy.

Once the kids are full of sugar, you enter the climax of the exhibit, the Ice Cream Playground.  Inside this playground is the pool of sprinkles.  This is the most interactive part of the museum for kids.  It is definitely fun, and will make the kids work off some sugar, but how long it will keep the kids entertained, is uncertain.

That’s about all there is.  And while it is a perfectly pleasant experience, for the high price of $40 a ticket, you would hope to get more out of it than some fun Instagram pictures.  Really this trip is the most fun for the teenagers and lovers of social media.  For the little kids looking for sugar and playtime, it is okay.  They would probably have just as much fun going to an actually playground and then going to get some ice cream.

Tips:

It’s warm:  Ironically, the inside of the Museum of Ice Cream was very warm.  Between the Texas heat seeping in through the open doors, the amount of people, and the close quarters, the heat is noticeable. 

Waiting time:  Getting into the museum is very efficient.  They have specific times for you to show up.  Your wait outside will only be a few minutes, and once inside you can move about at your own leisure.  However, if you are coming to get your Instagram picks, you will be waiting a while.  Everyone wants to get their perfect picture and you will have to wait your turn. 

Beware the spinner:  In one of the last rooms of the museum, there is a large playground with slides, basketball hoops, and the pool of sprinkles.  There is also a pink spinner.  Every-single-person we saw get on that spinner had a hard fall!!  If you plan to try this obstacle out, just make sure someone has the camera ready!

So should you make the trip to the Museum of Ice Cream?

0-3 (Stop!)

I will commend Museum of Ice Cream for having fabulous family bathrooms.  And what little kid doesn’t love having free ice cream, candy, cotton candy, and popsicles?  The playground is really too big for this crowd.   It is not a stroller friendly experience.  There are a few great photo ops for your little ones.  But at the end of the day, it is an expensive photo op.

3-6 (proceed with caution)

This age group will definitely have a good time with the visuals, the games, and the ice cream of course!  The playground is a good size for these kids.  The playground does offer only a few option, but depending how much your kids loves repetition, you could kill a lot of time here.  In my experience kids this age aren’t big fans of getting their picture taken.  This museum is all about the photo ops.  If your child ducks for cover whenever you pull out a camera, this might not be the place for you.

6-10 (proceed with caution)

While this age group is best suited for the playground area, that is really all there is to offer these kids.  It’s a fun idea.  But at the end of the day, the museum is only interactive enough for about an hour and half of activity.  They aren’t going to learn anything fun about ice cream.  They aren’t going to come away with an appreciation for art.  At most they will have a good sugar rush for the car ride home.

A Trip to Q2 Stadium

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The new Q2 stadium, home of Austin FC, has been an entertaining force to be reckoned with this summer!  While the team itself has had some bad luck in its first year, the experience of watching them play is something truly amazing!  Being in that stadium, listening to chants of “Alright, Alright, Alright, Austin FC” just feels so amazingly Austin!  Taking kids to sporting events comes with its own set of challenges.  Q2 Stadium is not immune to any of these, but with some planning, the whole family can enjoy the experience.

Getting There

There are multiple ways to get to the Q2 Stadium.  If money is no object, park at the stadium.  The parking lot is stupidly expensive, but easy to get your kids from point A to point B.  If you don’t want to spend an arm, but maybe just a leg, several businesses around the stadium offer parking.  The walk to the stadium is a bit longer, but you still have the luxury of bringing your own car.  The bus and the MetroRail are the cheapest of the options.  Both drop off and pick up only a few blocks from the stadium.  I didn’t mind taking the bus and it was nice not to worry about traffic.  However, it is a long ride at the end of the night to your station.  Once you get to your car, you still have to drive home.  This would be about the time kids start to have their emotional breakdowns.

Finding Food

The food might be my favorite part of visiting the stadium.  A lot of your local favorites like Taco Deli are there.  There is also a fabulous convenience store if you just want your standard chips and drinks.  When you get there, do a lap with the family and look at all the food options. And let’s not forget the Queso bar.  Let me repeat that.  The QUESO BAR!  It doesn’t get more Texas than being able plate your own nachos with your choice of queso! 

The Game

Y’all, it is just so much fun!  The fans make the experience.  Even if you have never played soccer a day in your life, you will get up and cheer with the fans.  Between the drums, the lights and the singing, you can’t help but get into the spirit of everything! 

Tips:

Guest Services

Q2 Stadium has a Guest Services station in the main concourse.  They offer stroller parking and also provide emergency wrist bands for children.  The wristbands contain contact information on them in case you get separated.  It should be the first place you stop once you get into the stadium.

Have a meeting spot

It’s easy to lose track of your kids in the massive amounts of people and action.  Make sure your kids know where your seats are.  Make sure they know who the stadium workers are and what they are wearing so they can ask for help.  You should also have a meeting place if you get separated.  Guest Services would be a good spot to take your kids to see.  The stadium itself is very easy to find your way around.  It is one big circle, so even if you get turned around, you will easily end up back where you started.

Headphones

For your littles, a pair of noise cancelling headphones will be a big help.  The stadium isn’t as loud as a rock concert, but loud enough for kids to feel overwhelmed.

Beat the Heat

Summer is winding down, and the soccer season goes well into the fall when temperatures are nicer.  But the Texas heat, mixed with Texans’ body heat, is very tough.  Make sure your kids are in their summer clothes.  Bring portable fans or cold towels to help cool you off.

So should to take the family out to visit Q2 Stadium?

0-3 years (proceed with caution)

Almost all the games start around 8 pm.  There are two afternoon games in October, but besides that, it is probably too late for the littles.  With a pair of noise cancelling headphones, they would definitely get a kick out of watching all the activity around them.  But the heat and the noise could very easily lead to a meltdown.  Some of the amazing things Q2 Stadium offers are nursing rooms, cooling off rooms, and changing tables in the women’s and men’s room!

3-6 years (proceed with caution)

Similar issues with this age group as with the babies.  The games start a bit too late for this crowd.  And once the game is over, there is the walk back to the car.  And unless you are parked in the stadium, it is a long trip home.  They will absolutely love the games and the food.  The afternoon games this October would definitely be better for this age group.

6 and up (Go now!)

Get your kids and their soccer teammates and go have some fun!  Still a late hour for these kids, but they won’t care enough to have a meltdown.  The fans are amazing, and they will love getting into the spirit of everything! 

Always Be Prepared

Published on by clairebooherLeave a comment

School is back and with a new year, comes new injuries.  While I’ve always had my Mary Poppin’s bag filled with extra clothes, baby wipes, and snacks, I decided to tap into my inner boy scout and learn “what are the best things to have in your own first aid kit.” 

Kids are very determined to hurt themselves.  Having the right items stocked in your house, helps you prepare for even the craziest of accidents.  Once I looked at the recommendations for first aid kits, I immediately became overwhelmed and turned off my computer.  Warning!  It doesn’t take much to go from buying bandages on the Red Cross website, to building a bomb shelter.

We all know what our medicine cabinets really look like.  A scattering of random Band-Aids litters the bottom of the drawer, random medicines loosely stacked on top, and a perfectly put together travel kit someone gave you as a gift (but you’ve never used).  A good habit to get into is regularly going down the pharmacy aisle in the grocery store to check what needs to be restocked in your own home.

A dedicated first aid kit for your sitters and nannies is good to have on hand .  As much fun as it sounds, digging through someone else’s medicine cabinet looking for Band-Aids is always uncomfortable.  Below are some good items to have readily available for anyone in your home.

Butterfly Band-Aids:  Everyone has a story about busting open some part of their body that should remain closed.  These little dudes can take care of most cuts. 

Dermoplast Spray:  This antiseptic spray is also a pain reliever! A double whammy for keeping wounds clean!

Benadryl:  No one found out they were allergic to something in an easy way.  While it would be nice to be able to keep EpiPens in your first aid kit, they require a prescription. 

The Red Cross has an amazing website where you can shop for first aids items and premade kits.  Items like a breathing barrier or an aluminum finger splint aren’t things you will probably need, but they can’t hurt to have on hand (pun not intended).

The Red Cross recommends keeping a first aid kit in your car as well as your home.  I decided to head on over to Target to make myself a small, travel first aid kit.  It was a bit overwhelming walking through the pharmacy trying to decide what I would need, and if I was missing anything vital.  I decided to look back at my years of taking care of kids, and try and remember all the things I wish I had.

Tweezers:  “I’VE GOT A SPLINTER!!!”  Dear Lord have mercy on me when a kid gets a splinter.  We all know getting a splinter in the kid world is basically the equivalent to getting your arm chopped off.  Having a pair of tweezers on hand would have saved a couple of afternoons at the playground.

Gauze:  I have seen quite a few knocks to the head in my day.  If you’ve ever seen any wound to the face you know, it bleeds a LOT.  A small cut on the lip or a nose bleed, and suddenly you’re in the hallway of The Shining.  Wipes and Kleenex just don’t do the trick when it comes to stopping blood.  Gauze are the best solution to stop the blood and get back to fun.

Tylenol, Benadryl, Dramamine:  Seeing your kid sick is the worst.  Seeing your kid sick and being unable to help because you’re not home is miserable!  Keeping a few of these medications on hand for an emergency can help you make it home. I bought kids’ chewable of each medicine.  Putting liquid medicines in a car is not an experiment I’d like to try in the oppressive Texas heat.

There is a lot of information out there on how to be best prepare for an emergency.  It can get overwhelming very quickly. I found it very helpful to think about what I experienced as a child, and as a childcare worker.  It is always better to have these items and not need them, than need them and not have them.  I certainly never needed a snow shovel in Texas, but ask me about this past February.

Having a first aid kit and updating it regularly is a good habit for everyone to get into.  Go check out the Red Cross website and see what they have to offer!