Today's Fresh Blogs...

• Coffee stirrers make good juice box straws

  Published: July 25, 2007, 9:18 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing, Travel Going Out

  Why do the juice box straws always end up at the bottom of the bag? Winnie's solution: I had a ton of coffee stirrers left over from a party and figured I'd just use them for craft projects. However, I've found that hollow coffee stirrers make a great straw for kids. From toting juice boxes in my bag, I often lose the straw. Coffee stirrers

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• Frozen yogurt tubes stand in for ice cream treats

  Published: July 24, 2007, 12:53 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing

  From Sara: I wouldn't normally buy yogurt in tubes, but I picked some up the other day and noticed a suggestion to freeze them.  Sold!  I now keep "frozen yogurt" tubes in the freezer for a healthier treat than ice cream. Popping a frozen yogurt tube into a lunchbox keeps things cool till the lunch bell rings, and the

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• Socks stop cold water bottles from dripping

  Published: July 23, 2007, 9:59 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing, Travel Going Out

  Try Ana's smart hack on your next summer outing: At the zoo, it was extremely hot and humid so I pulled out the water bottles we brought to keep hydrated.  Within seconds, the cold bottles, of course, started dripping condensation and it was hard for our three-year-old to keep a grip on his.  Having a pre-schooler, I always pack an

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• Easy cooking project: Homemade tortillas

  Published: July 27, 2007, 9:58 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing, Fun Toys, Habitat, Learning

  My kids both have an attraction to anything squishy. They love all of those stretchy, gel-like trinkets flooding the market, and all manner of playdough. When I can muster the patience, I pull out the flour, water, salt, baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring -- my son's favorite ingredients for "experiments," and let the kids have at it. They

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• Tricks for keeping toddlers hydrated

  Published: July 31, 2007, 12:51 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, Feeding Nursing, Health Development, Travel Going Out

  Beat the heat with some kid hydration hacks, from Sara: We're traveling in the very hot and dry country of Turkey this summer with a two year old, and have found the following to be helpful in keeping her hydrated: 1) "Juicify" your water -- Miss J doesn't get much juice, so a little bit poured into a glass of water at mealtimes encourages

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• Martha Stewart (and staff): Parenthackers?

  Published: August 4, 2007, 11:24 am

  Tags: 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, 18yrs Grownup, Fashion General Cuteness, Feeding Nursing, Fun Toys, Getting Organized, Habitat, Learning

  There's a fine line between the hacker-ish DIYers and the stylish crafters. Case in point: the Martha Stewart Omnimedia folks got in touch to tell me about Good Things For Kids, a new special issue of on newsstands now. It's full of pictures of unnaturally well-groomed children, and I can't help but wonder what life would feel like if it actually

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• Coffee sleeve makes frozen drinks easier to handle

  Published: August 7, 2007, 10:00 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, 18yrs Grownup, Feeding Nursing, Travel Going Out

  Art's hack should be posted at all quick-mart checkout counters: With warm weather upon us the requests by my children for the insert brand name ee frozen drink of choice at the local convenience store has risen with the temperature.  Along with that goes the complaints by the kids of "it's too cold" and the occasional dropped

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• Pureed vegetables disappear into more easily-accepted foods

  Published: August 12, 2007, 1:40 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, Feeding Nursing, Health Development

  Liz is doing what she must to get the vegies in: My one-year-old is going through some sort of regression that only permits him to eat macaroni & cheese (with homemade cheese sauce I learned from Parent Hacks, thanks!), yogurt, applesauce and crackers. I was having a nervous breakdown because of the lack of veggies in his diet, but every

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• Kid-friendly kitchens help even the youngest pitch in

  Published: August 19, 2007, 12:31 pm

  Tags: 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, 18yrs Grownup, Attitude Mindset, Behavior, Feeding Nursing, Getting Organized, Habitat, Learning

  Heather wrote up a fantastic post on her blog, Oh My Stinkin Heck, about encouraging kids to help in the kitchen by making it more accessible to them. Really, the topic is much bigger than that -- it's about honoring your children by teaching them to pitch in...that they naturally want to help and you do them a disservice by not showing them how.

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• Ice cubes help keep a sick kid hydrated

  Published: August 20, 2007, 6:31 pm

  Tags: 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing, Health Development

  Here's Kip's novel method for keeping the liquids going into his ailing daughter: Sarah (now 5) was having a sore throat. Quick strep test came back negative, so a virus was suspected, and the doctor said to keep liquids going in. Sarah was perfectly willing to eat popsicles all day long, but somehow I wasn't convinced that an all-popsicle diet

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• Serve food to new self-feeders in a measuring cup

  Published: August 25, 2007, 12:12 pm

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, Feeding Nursing, Habitat

  Liz said, "I am not sure if this is a hack or just a lightbulb moment..." Isn't it funny how some Parent Hacks come on like a flash, and others are just the unconventional way we've always done things? My 19 month old son really wants to feed himself. I usually give in, except for yogurt, because I only give him part of the container

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• DIY Learning Tower to encourage pint-sized kitchen help? Talk amongst yourselves.

  Published: August 26, 2007, 1:00 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Feeding Nursing, Fun Toys, Gear, Habitat, Learning, Saving Money

  In the comments of the kid-friendly kitchens post, Marta asked: Anyone have a hack for improvising one of those Learning Tower things? They cost a lot. I agree -- a lovely product, but the price is prohibitive. When I was a kid, we just used one of those stepstool/chair thingies. In my grandma's house, the stool looked like the yellow one

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• Real Simple Family: full of good hacks

  Published: September 5, 2007, 1:27 am

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, 18yrs Grownup, Attitude Mindset, Fashion General Cuteness, Feeding Nursing, Fun Toys, Getting Organized, Habitat

  I couldn't resist -- Real Simple Family -- a special issue of the lifestyle mag Real Simple -- found its way into my shopping cart this afternoon. It's full of good hacks, including taping a few unused board games together to form a smooth, stable building surface for blocks (we're always cursing the carpet in our finished basement for that very

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• Meal orders reduce the morning madness

  Published: September 11, 2007, 3:01 pm

  Tags: 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, Attitude Mindset, Feeding Nursing, Getting Organized

  described in "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" -- I decide what, where and when, they decide how much (if at all) -- seems to work well, or, at least, as well as can be expected from two finicky children. Another great title I'm rereading: "How to Get Your Kid to Eat: But Not Too Much" (Ellyn Satter) Related: More great ideas in

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• Simplify toddler's food choices with magnetized pictures

  Published: September 12, 2007, 9:03 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, Feeding Nursing, Habitat, Learning

  I so admire Fautina's willingness to adjust her communication with her son (a post in and of itself!): My two year old son is a little behind in his speech. Someone suggested I take photos of his favorite foods and put them on the fridge so that he could point out what he wanted to eat. I got some photo holder magnets and put in a few foods to

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