Toddler

  • Motherhood, Sponsored, Toddler

    How I’m Encouraging My Toddler’s Imaginative Play with her Madame Alexander Baby Doll

    How I’m Encouraging My Toddler’s Imaginative Play with her Madame Alexander Baby Doll

    My toddler is at a fascinating stage in her development; she’s starting to do more role-playing and imaginative play. A few weeks ago, she got her very first doll, a Madame Alexander Baby Doll Amazon exclusive doll, who she affectionately named Bebe and takes everywhere. It’s so fascinating to watch her pretend to be Bebe’s caregiver. I know at two years old, she learns through play, so here are a few ways I encourage my toddler’s imaginative play with her Madame Alexander Baby Doll.My toddler is at a fascinating stage in her development; she’s starting to do more role-playing and imaginative play. A few weeks ago, she got her very first doll, a Madame Alexander Baby Doll Amazon exclusive doll, who she affectionately named Bebe and takes everywhere. It’s so fascinating to watch her pretend to be Bebe’s caregiver. I know at two years old, she learns through play, so here are a few ways I encourage my toddler’s imaginative play with her Madame Alexander Baby Doll.

    Pretend Play with my toddler.

    After months of extra screen time as the big kids switched to remote learning, screen-free hours felt necessary for my sanity. I don’t have a schedule for them, I just let them know it’s time to take off devices when it feels like they’ve had enough. Without devices, the kids have no option but to explore imaginative play, whether it’s through the use of toys and games or just their creativity. Sometimes they play together and other times they naturally go off to do their own thing. My toddler is often playing at the kitchen set with Bebe or blowing bubbles for Bebe during quiet time. 

    Fostering curiosity.

    Fostering curiosity is essential for toddlers to learn through play. I enjoy asking my toddler questions about Bebe to encourage her curiosity about her toy. “Does Bebe cry? Is Bebe tired? Is Bebe hungry?”I believe her Madame Alexander Baby Doll realistic newborn features, soft skin, and expression inspire her to nurture Bebe. Plus, this is a great way to help her with her conversational and critical thinking skills.

    Modeling healthy relationships.

    My toddler treats her Madame Alexander Baby Doll, Bebe, exactly how we treat her, I use playtime with Bebe as bonding time for us. Showing her love, kindness, and compassion, knowing she will mimic that behavior not just with Bebe but with her friends as she grows older. This is my chance to model healthy relationships and behaviors for her, so although it’s play, I’m always thoughtful.

    I hope this post is helpful to you, if you’re thinking about getting your toddler their first baby doll, I would recommend the Madame Alexander Baby Doll, it’s a great quality doll I know my daughter will grow with and have for years to come. 

    How do you encourage your toddler’s imaginative play?

  • Kids, Motherhood, Sponsored, Toddler

    5 Ways to Encourage Your Toddler’s Independence

    5 Ways to Encourage Your Toddler’s Independence

    This post is sponsored by Kabrita USA. As always, all opinions shared are my own.

    Over the last few months, my toddler started to express interest in doing more things by herself. I would see the frustration when I did something for her that she wanted to do, so I started making small changes to make her happy and help her development. I’ve watched how proud she is of the things she can do or the little decisions I let her make for herself, and I wanted to share them with you. So here are five ways to encourage your toddler’s independence at home.

    Make your home toddler friendly.

    I purchased a few stools for my little one so she can do things like help me in the kitchen, climb on my bed, wash her hands, and brush her teeth. Now, although she’s only two and a half, she goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She can turn on the faucet and put the toothpaste on her toothbrush herself. I was surprised the first day she did this, and I always supervise, but I take a step back so she can be independent.

    Let your toddler clean up.

    Encourage Your Toddler's Independence

    My toddler started with cleaning up after herself when she saw her older siblings doing the same. When we finished reading books, she would race to put them back on the bookshelf or put crayons back in the box. She likes helping to pick up toys and putting them in bins. This gives her a massive boost of confidence.

    Let your toddler pick snacks.

    As a picky eater, my toddler exercises her power and decision making by deciding what food and snacks she wants. I usually give her two options at snack time like fruits and Kabrita Snack Puffs. If you’re not familiar with Kabrita’s high-quality baby and toddler food, their natural products are made with nutrient-rich goat milk in The Netherlands.

    Encourage Your Toddler's Independence

    Kabrita Snack Puffs are one of the few snacks I feel comfortable feeding her because I know it’s all-natural, contains no GMO ingredients, gluten-free, easy for toddlers to digest, and doesn’t contain any added sugar. Most importantly, it’s yummy, and my baby girl loves it.

    Encourage Your Toddler's Independence

    She also likes Kabrita’s Goat Milk Porridge to start her day. If you’re weaning your child, Kabrita Toddler Goat Milk Formula is perfect. You can order Kabrita products on their website, Amazon, and I’ve bought them at Whole Foods Market and Fairway in my area. You can find a location close to you here. 

    Go ahead and order the Kabrita Free Trial Kit here! It includes the Goat Milk Toddler Formula, Organic Goat Milk Porridge, and Snack Puffs. A $30 value, and you’ll pay $4.99 for shipping! 

    Give your toddler creative freedom.

    Encourage Your Toddler's Independence

    My toddler loves art, and it seems like she has different ideas everyday. Sometimes I plan a fun activity that I found on Pinterest for her, but most days, I allow her to express herself. All her art supplies are within reach, and although we sometimes have a beautiful mess, she creates what she wants without my interference. I usually supervise or join in when she gives me a crayon.

    Encourage Your Toddler's Independence

    Give your toddler small chores.

    Giving a toddler chores is new for me, I have two older kids, and I don’t remember giving them chores this young, but I think having two older siblings motivates her to do more. Her little chores include helping me pack laundry away, clearing her dishes from the table (none are breakable), and helping make her bed. She can’t do any of these independently yet, but she loves helping, and she beams with pride when we recognize her for it.

    I hope these tips help encourage your toddler’s independence; if you have any suggestions you’d like to add, leave them in the comments below.

    Try Kabrita’s Gentle Goat Milk Foods + Bonus Value Coupons!

  • Motherhood, Toddler

    Our Toddler Morning Routine + Tips to Establish one for Your Toddler

    This Toddler Morning Routine Schedule + Tips post includes affiliate links.

    One thing I’ve learned raising three kids is that toddlers love structure. They enjoy doing everything in moderation, and it’s fascinating to see their emotional development when they get used to a routine. Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error to find a routine that works for your toddler and your family, so I wanted to share our current toddler morning routine and a few tips for developing your own.

    Our toddler morning routine.

    Start with Hygiene.

    My toddler is two years old and still in diapers, so the first thing we do when she wakes up after hugs is changing her diaper.

    With a fresh diaper, the next step is to wash her face, hands, and brush her teeth. She loves brushing her teeth, so she tries to linger some morning, but I try to keep her on task.

    Fuel up with Breakfast.

    My toddler runs straight to the kitchen after cleaning up because she knows the next step is to eat breakfast. She can be a bit of a picky eater, but these days she loves yogurt, avocados, eggs, whole grain waffles, bananas, and/or oatmeal for breakfast. She loves to have a few options.

    Clear the table.

    After breakfast, we clear the table together. She loves to help, and she feels responsible and proud whenever she can assist me.

    Art.

    Next, I set up an activity for my toddler; she loves to paint, so she paints almost every morning using her tabletop easel. When she doesn’t paint, she colors her in coloring books, or doodles on her art pad. She’s not really into crafts yet, but on a rare occasion, we do an easy craft together. She’s been really developing her fine motor skills by doing some art daily.

    Free Play.

    Our toddler morning routine wouldn’t be complete without some free playtime. My two year old usually empties one of the baskets of toys on the living room floor to find her favorite toys of the day to play. She loves racing cars, playing with dinosaurs, styling dolls, hair, and stacking blocks. She also loves to play with her sibling toys, and I don’t fuss about it. It’s truly free playtime.

    Learning.

    We clean up the toys to move on to some learning. Since she’s only two learning is through structured play. We do puzzles, work through her words books together, play with her alphabet magnets, learn shapes and colors, or listen and dance along to preschool songs.

    Toddler choice.

    Toddler Morning Routine Schedule + Tips

    I give her a little free time once I see her losing interest in our learning activity. Sometimes we clean up together, and other days she goes off to play with another toy. Some days she gets screen time on her Amazon Kids Fire Edition. Since she’s only two so I set the tablet’s time limit for 20 minutes.

    Read.

    By this time, she’s all worn out and ready for a nap. She likes eating her lunch after she naps, so I read her a book. She usually falls asleep at this time for her nap, and I get busy working.


    Once she wakes up, we move on to lunch and our afternoon routine. Since she’s starting preschool in September, my goal is to get her used to routines and structure in the classroom setting. Having a set morning routine also helps me as a WAHM to schedule my day.

    Tips for establishing a toddler morning routine.

    As I mentioned above, a toddler morning routine will start with trial and error. I had to determine what would work best for our family, and this stuck. So here are a few tips for establishing your toddler morning routine:

    • Keep your child’s personality in mind. Does your child like to move through different tasks quickly or at a slower pace? How is your child usually when he/she wakes up?
    • Build based on your child’s interests. We paint because my daughter loves it and it seems to calm her and make her happy. If she’s didn’t enjoy it, it wouldn’t be a part of our daily routine. Take note of what your child loves and do that.
    • Based on your lifestyle. I am a WAHM, so my schedule is flexible but I still have to work to pay the bills. If you work out of the home or you’re a SAHM, your mornings may look a bit different than mine. 
    • Keep tweaking your toddler morning routine until you discover what works best for your family. 

    I hope this post is helpful! Remember having a morning routine is essential to your toddler’s development.

    What’s your toddler’s morning routine? Do you do the same or similar things?

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