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Friday, November 20, 2015

Strong willed children are amazing

Strong willed children are hard work. They're constantly pleading, arguing and throwing huge tantrums in order to get their own way {at least the toddler variety do}. They flat out refuse to do what you say, develop selective hearing at the drop of a hat and everything {I mean everything} has to be on their terms. It can be downright exhausting and takes an enormous amount of patience. Trust me I know, I do it every day. If I'm honest there are some days where I wonder what I did to deserve such a stubborn child {perhaps my mother would say its payback, but I honestly don't think I was ever as zealous as my daughter}.

Of course I love her to pieces and wouldn't want it any other way, but there are days where I'm worn down to my breaking point and I just have no more to give. In those moments her independent streak can be overwhelming, but I have to remind myself there are also many benefits to having such a sassy, headstrong child, even though we're smack bang in the middle of the terrible 2's and the tantrums are sometimes outweighing the awww moments. Those who witness her at her worst might not be able to see all the qualities that make her amazing, but there are so many. Although they may be a bit harder to handle on occasions, strong willed children have a number of characteristics that will serve them well later in life.


STRONG WILLED CHILDREN ARE AMAZING BECAUSE:


They're determined - they will stop at nothing to get what they want. During a tantrum {especially in public} this can be frustrating to say the least, but when this determination is focused on tasks or learning new skills it can have impressive results. She will practice new skills over and over and over until she masters them. She's just as determined to succeed as she is to be right and she doesn't give up. The trick is to harness this determination and use it for good not evil.

They know their mind - there is no indecisiveness. Strong willed kids know exactly where they stand on any given topic. They will not be coerced, bribed or tricked into anything. They are the decision makers and they let everyone know. Although this means the words "nope" and "mine" get thrown around on a daily basis, I can't help but feel like I'm raising a leader of the future.

They don't take things on face value - they never stop questioning. Instead of just doing something because they're told to, strong willed kids need to understand why they're doing it. They won't just follow the crowd. They only do things because they see merit in them. I can already see the next few years are going to include the phrase but why mum on repeat thousands of times a day. As frustrating as that is, challenging the norm and constantly asking why isn't necessarily a bad thing, without this there would never be any change. These children are the innovators of tomorrow.

They stand up for themselves - they're definitely not wallflowers. If they have an opinion on something they won't be afraid to voice it. Instead of standing back when they think they're right, they'll argue their point until they're blue in the face. They certainly don't lack self confidence. I'm secretly proud of her self belief and the fact that she's willing to express her feelings.

They have plenty of personality - all that sass. Yes they are stubborn, sassy, defiant and often frustrating, but they're also cheeky, intuitive and highly entertaining. There's never a dull moment around here. Life would be pretty boring without her putting her two cents into every conversation.

They love as hard as they fight - they will make your heart melt as much as they make it break. Although the tantrums can sometimes feel soul destroying, the awww moments will restore your faith in humanity and fill your cup til it overflows. The same passion that's exerted during daily struggles over what to wear, what to eat and how everything should be done is also poured into how they show affection. They will love you with all their might and remind you of it at the perfect moment.

*****

My strong willed child is not a curse or a punishment, she's amazing {and so is yours}, I wish more people could see that. She's a highly motivated, curious and determined little girl. She will not be held back by anyone, she will speak her mind and one day she will accomplish great things. But, I'm a realist, I know there'll still be plenty more moments like this before that happens.


Monday, November 9, 2015

Love to Dream Nuzzlin Sleep Bag Review

It's no secret I'm a fan of sleeping bags for babies. We've been using sleeping bags ever since bub transitioned from swaddles at a few months old. Mainly because I'm super paranoid about SIDS so I took every step possible to reduce the risk of it happening. Plus once she started rolling there was no way she'd keep a blanket on anyway {or stay at the right end of the cot}. Not much has changed over the last 18 months, she still hates blankets, she still zooms around the cot all night never staying at the "right" end and we still love sleeping bags. I don't see any of it changing any time soon to be honest.

We've recently added to our collection of sleeping bags again. Every few months I get another one because the weather changes and we inevitably need a different tog. She's been wearing a 2.5 tog for winter, but with the weather warming up it was becoming far too hot for her overnight even with short sleeve pyjamas on underneath, so we've now switched to a 1.0 tog Nuzzlin Sleep Bag™.


The 1.0 tog Nuzzlin Sleep Bag™ is the latest offering from Love to Dream. It's a trans-seasonal "all rounder bag" meaning its suitable for the whole year {just adjust the layers of clothing underneath to suit the temperature}. The bag is made from the same new generation muslin as the 0.2 tog Nuzzlin Sleep Bag™, but with an added 100% cotton lining. It's super soft inside and out and is still nice and light. It also has some stretch allowing her to move her legs around freely within the bag {and zoom up and down the cot throughout the night}. 

The 1.0 tog comes in aqua with a cute pear motif, pink with an elephant motif or yellow with a watermelon motif. We have the the pink one and as soon as I opened it bub said "look mum elephant". We clearly got the right one {although I dare say she would've been just as impressed with a watermelon or pear}. The bags are also available in three sizes, 4-12 months, 12-18 months and 18-36 months. Bub is in the 18-36 months size and can I just say thank god they make them to 36 months because I have no intention of giving them up any time soon.


The bag has an extra long zips that does up across the bottom and side of the bag, making nappy changes during the night really easy {no need to take off the entire bag for a quick change}. Bub hardly ever needs a nappy change during the night, but there are the odd occasions when they're needed and easy access comes in handy. It means I can change her quickly and while she's pretty much half asleep still so it doesn't disrupt her sleep too much. There is also a zip guard at the top to stop it rubbing against her skin while she sleeps. Plus the zip closing under her arm means she can't undo the bag herself during the night or when she wakes in the morning {which she's started trying to do with another bag we have}.

Since we've switched to the 1.0 tog Nuzzlin bag she's been having much better sleep. She was waking up every night for a couple of weeks before we switched bags, which I put down to her being overheated. She's only woken two or three nights over the last two weeks and that's been due to night terrors. Having the right tog bag definitely helps everyone get a better night's sleep.

With the bag being trans-seasonal and her bag size being designed to last for another 9 months until she's 3 we'll no doubt get a fair bit of use out of it. There's really no need for us to get another sleeping bag unless she grows out of this one before she's meant to. Its a snug fit width wise {although with the stretch she can still move around freely} but she still has a fair bit of room length wise so hopefully she won't be growing out of it any time soon. I'm really hoping she lasts until she's 3 because sleeping bags have the added bonus of stopping her from trying to climb out of her cot {and I'm so not ready for her to go into a toddler bed yet}. I know she probably won't still be in a cot when she's 3, but I'm going to hold off on moving her for as long as possible, for the sake of our sanity.

Disclosure - I was sent a 1.0 tog Nuzzlin Sleep Bag™ for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own based on our experience with the bag, as per my disclosure policy. I did not receive payment for this review.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Plan Toys Wooden Pretend Play Food Review

Ever since bub got her Ikea kitchen for her birthday back in July she's been all about food. Play food at least, not real food {don't even ask about the dramas we're having with her not eating real food at the moment}. She's constantly cooking us dinner and bringing it over to us to eat. "Mummy eat dinner, daddy eat dinner too". Mmm I love wooden bananas, beans and carrots for dinner, they really hit the spot. Pretend play is definitely all the rage at our house at the moment. If only I could teach her to cook me real food then I'd be set

She's also taken to watching YouTube videos of kids cutting up play fruit and veggies, she'll sit and watch them for ages {as long as I let her anyway}. I don't mind too much as the videos are pretty educational because they teach kids colours and food names {much better than the random unboxing ones}. After a while I thought why not get her some velcro fruit and veggies so she can cut them herself instead of just watching it on a screen, so I decided on the fruit and vegetable sets from Plan Toys.

PLAN TOYS WOODEN FRUIT & VEGETABLE SETS

plan toys wooden play food review

Plan toys specialise in wooden toys and sustainable play. They use sustainable rubberwood plantations for their toys plus they also use non toxic glue, water based dyes and organic colours. The toys are super safe for little people as well as being environmentally friendly.

Each set comes with 5 pieces of food, a cutting board and a knife. The fruit set includes a strawberry, orange, kiwi fruit, apple and lemon. The vegetable set comes with a tomato, onion, mushroom, cucumber and capsicum. The wood grain has a cork like speckle which creates a realistic appearance when mixed with the organic food colours. The inside is also realistic with seed holes and rind markings moulded into the wood. Are they not the cutest wooden food sets ever?

plan toys wooden fruit cutting set
plan toys wooden vegetables cutting set

When I first set them all up all she wanted to do was pick them up and open them all. She was fascinated by the velcro. She didn't really have a clue how to use the knife, which didn't surprise me because the only time she's used a knife before is to poke play dough or kinetic sand. So we initially played with her pots and pans cooking the different fruit and veggies. 

toddler playing with velcro food toy set
plan toys wooden toy food with pots and pans

She was soon curious of the knife and started trying to cut them all open. I'm not going to lie, while she was learning to use the knife properly was one of the most frustrating times in my parenting life so far. She kept saying "mummy help, daddy help", but when we tried to help she'd lose it at us. Over and over and over again. But, we got there in the end.



After about 40 minutes of us trying to show her the right way to hold the knife and enthusiastically clapping each time she cut a piece open, she had it down pat. I actually thought it would take her a lot longer to master, but it seems positive reinforcement does wonders. Now she won't stop playing with them. Each night after her bath she sits at her table and chairs and cuts up fruit and veggies for almost an hour {she'll make a great sous chef one day}.
toddler cutting wooden cucumber

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES 

  • Colour recognition
  • Hand/eye co-ordination
  • Improves concentration
  • Language development {fruit and vegetable names}
  • Fine motor skills {holding and cutting with the knife}
  • Imaginary play

The fruit and vegetable sets are great for developing her fine motor skills as she cuts them open and puts them back together. Grasping and pushing on the knife and even pulling the pieces apart with her hands are definitely building her hand strength. Its actually quite impressive the amount of time and concentration she puts into cutting them up and sticking them back together. 

We also use them to practice her colours and the names of all the fruits and veggies. She knows all the colours although she gets a little perplexed by the beige mushroom stalk {apparently its orange, that's her default colour when she doesn't know what something is}. She's also doing really well learning all the names, especially the vegetables {begables} which she didn't really know before. There's mato, mushwoom, stawbwee, orange, apple, lemon, wiwi fwuit, pear. Yep you're right there's no pear, but according to her the cucumber was originally a pear, now its a bubumber. How cute are kids when they're learning to talk?! I could listen to her mispronounce words all day and not get sick of it.


She really loves making me and daddy come and sit at the table with her while she plays {but we're not allowed to play, just watch}. She loves cooking her veggies in her pots and pans and serving us dinner, or bringing us random pieces of fruit throughout the day. If only she loved real fruit and vegetables as much as she loves the pretend ones.

WHERE TO BUY PLAN TOYS PRETEND PLAY FOOD

Lots of online toy stores stock Plan Toys - here in Australia you can purchase these sets from Growing Kind, Catch and Amazon AU. They can also be purchased from Amazon US via the links below.

Toni x



Disclosure - This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience, which means I earn a small commission at no cost to you, should you make a purchase.