Tantrums. We’re so there. Oh, how I wish we could skip this stage of parenting! Can anyone make that happen?

Tantrums are nothing new to us, of course. Being that this is our second child, we know all too well what it’s like to deal with a toddler and tantrums. Even so, it’s hard to actually get through them!

When baby girl was almost 18 months old, the terrible twos hit. And they hit hard. She actually started acting up even before that, but 18 months was probably when it got really bad. Similarly, baby boy has started his tantrums before the 18-month mark. Luckily, though, they’re not as bad as his big sister’s. Let’s hope that doesn’t change.

Back when we dealt with baby girl’s toddler tantrums, most people would provide us with some form of the following advice:

• Ignore it.
• Let her cry.
• Some kids will hit themselves.
• So what if she makes herself throw up, what’s the worst that can happen?

When you’re in the moment, though, it’s very hard to ignore your child banging her head against the wall or crying so hard she vomits. Though baby boy is not doing either of those things – he really just cries and runs around in a circle for a bit – it’s still hard to ignore the crying fit.

The good thing is that we are more prepared this time around and know that if we don’t pay it much mind, he’ll calm down. We also know that he’s truly just frustrated or upset about a situation and cannot communicate that to us. Reminding ourselves of this makes it easier to distract him from the offense or help him calm down faster.

It’s still tough.

One thing we were told back when baby girl’s tantrums got to a very difficult stage, was that we should start formal time-outs. We had already been doing time-outs, but not formally. We weren’t telling her it was a time-out and we also weren’t using a specific chair. Perhaps it’s time to initiate the time-out ritual with baby boy before his tantrums worsen.

Baby girl’s tantrums did eventually get better. We stuck with time-outs and soon enough, we didn’t even need them. I just can’t remember how long it took us to get to that point. I know that baby boy’s tantrum stage will also pass just as hers did. But, I’m already ready for them to be over.

How long did the tantrum stage last for your kids?

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Disney Baby. I’ll be joining the Disney Baby blogging team next month, and look forward to sharing these kinds of stories with you over there! Stay tuned for more details!

Photo: Chirag Rathod/Flickr

More and more my 4 year old is taking an interest in art and enjoys coloring, drawing, and painting more than she used to when she was younger. Something she often asks to do, but that I hesitate to let her, is finger painting. It is about the messiest activity you can give a preschooler and though I know I shouldn’t let that get to me, I’d much rather she use another medium for creating art.

Another common issue with art supplies is using them on the road. Crayons and colored pencils might work out fine, but markers are not allowed in our cars. I can’t supervise while she’s using them in the backseat and it’s almost guaranteed that marker will end up all over her hands and clothes.

With us taking a trip later this week to New York City, as well as frequent lengthy car rides, I was excited when I had the opportunity to try out the Crayola Color Wonder “Summer Travel Imagination” pack. The pack is full of items you can take on the road and not have to worry about any messes. All of the items are part of the Color Wonder product family, which means the markers, paints, and stamps only work on the special Color Wonder paper.

Here are the items included in the Crayola Color Wonder “Summer Travel Imagination” pack with descriptions from the manufacturer:

• Crayola Color Wonder Lap Desk provides a large, hard-top surface for kids to create on the go. The sturdy desk has a built-in handle and a soft detachable pillow that can be used as a storage unit for Color Wonder markers and paper. The Lap Desk is equipped with 12 re-stickable pieces of Color Wonder paper to keep kids’ drawings in place and 5 Color Wonder mess-free mini markers in red, orange, yellow, green and blue.
• Crayola Color Wonder Fingerpaints & Paper make the once impossible possible – fingerpainting in the car! The set includes clear, fast-drying gels that feel just like traditional fingerpaint. The set comes with 5 mess-free colors (red, yellow, green, blue and orange) in a hand-shaped storage container, a built-in finger cleaning sponge and 12 extra-wide sheets of Color Wonder paper. When kids are finished painting, they simply snap the fingerprint lids closed and paint stays fresh and ready to use again!
• Crayola Color Wonder Markers and Paper – The set includes 5 Color Wonder markers and a 24-page Color Wonder drawing pad where your kids can create anything they want while you’re on the road!
• Crayola Color Wonder Stow & Go Studio provides a solid, compact drawing surface with stay-put clips that can secure a single piece of paper or an entire Color Wonder activity book. Kids will enjoy creating with mess-free Color Wonder markers that make colors magically appear on special paper and reveal special hidden surprises.
• Crayola Color Wonder Story Stampers includes 5 Color Wonder markers in red, blue, green, purple and orange, a Color Wonder stamp pad, 6 sea creature stamps, and an 18-page coloring pad with undersea background settings. Each setting is unique, so every page will inspire a different fish tale just waiting to be told! Kids’ imaginations will take them beneath the sea as they stamp color sea creatures using the colorless Color Wonder stamp pad to create innovative stories and scenarios then can then color in. It’s like high tide for your imagination!

Crayola is also offering some fun travel-themed activities on their Facebook page. If you share a photo of your children’s Color Wonder artwork on their page, your photo and any links to a blog post may be featured on the “Crayola Color Wonder Wonders Across America” splash page on Crayola.com.

If you wish to try out the Color Wonder products, you can enter to win the “Summer Travel Imagination” pack below or you can print out a coupon for $1.00 off a Crayola Color Wonder product.

The Giveaway

One of you will win a “Summer Travel Imagination” pack like the one pictured and with the items described above.

How to Enter

Required entry: If you’d like to enter this contest, simply leave a comment below and tell us either a) what you like best about Color Wonder products or b) a favorite story about traveling with your children.

Extra entries (optional):

Each of the following will count as 1 extra entry. You’ll need to leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Follow @modernmami on twitter.
2. Tweet the following: Enter to win a Crayola Color Wonder pack from @modernmami. Ends 8/9. http://bit.ly/crayolamodernmami #giveaway #contest #mbsspark
3. Subscribe to this blog via email and leave a comment with the email you used to subscribe. (You can use the email field to do this instead of putting your email in the comment if you prefer.)
4. Subscribe on friendfeed and leave a comment with your friendfeed ID.
5. Write a blog post on your own blog sharing this contest with your readers; make sure to link back to this contest page in your post. Leave a comment with your post link.

All entries must be in by Monday, August 9 at 11:59 pm EST. Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.)

Disclosure: Crayola Color Wonder products received, information, and giveaway were all provided by Crayola through MyBlogSpark.

There are many forms of discipline and punishment that parents use with their children. In our house, we’ve used the time out method, the just talking method, the redirecting method, and we’ve even yelled at times out of losing our patience. Hey, it happens, right?

But, lately, we’ve come up with a new system for helping our nearly-four year old daughter behave better. Ok, “we” as in the husband came up with the idea and I take half the credit since I use the method. What’s his is mine, isn’t it?

We recently turned our guest room into a play room since we don’t often have guests. (Because she needed just one more space in the house to clutter up.) The reality is that we all wanted a family fun room and wanted her room to be more of a tranquil space for relaxation and rest. So, we now have a play room and because she helped remodel the space, she has taken full ownership of that room. It is – quite frankly – her play room.

Because of that, it has also become the one true thing that she hates to not have. Therefore, we have the following hanging up on the door to that room.

What you see is a dry-erase board with sad faces on it. Normally, there are 3 happy faces on there. It’s sort of like a behavior chart.

How it works:

1. If baby girl does something naughty or doesn’t listen, we give a warning. If she still doesn’t listen, she gets a sad face.
2. After 3 sad faces, we close the door to her playroom.
3. She must earn back her 3 happy faces with good behavior. We try to make the acts equal; that is, if she lost a happy face because of whining, we’re not expecting she clean up her room to earn it back. A smaller act that is comparable will do. On the other hand, if she lost a happy face because she threw a tantrum or disrespected us, then the act to earn it back must be equally as big.
4. Once she earns her 3 happy faces back, she gains access to the playroom again.
5. And the cycle continues.

Why this works:

• She is seeing a visual of her mistakes as well as her achievements.
• My girl needs more than just stickers as an incentive.
• The playroom is a place of her own that she enjoys so it’s a true punishment for it to be taken away versus just being scolded or sitting in time out.

Of course, explanations, warnings, and the “after-talk” is all a part of this to help her understand what happened, why it happened, and how she should act next time.

We’ve really seen it work over the last few months. She even goes through periods of weeks at a time without losing a happy face.

What methods do you use for disciplining your preschooler or toddler?

Today I found myself home with my baby girl but also needing to clean. She didn’t go to preschool today, but I knew that I couldn’t let her being home get in the way of cleaning. This is a busy and short week for me due to the upcoming trip to Blissdom, so it is important that I stay on track.

So, I asked her to help me clean. This way we’d be doing it together and she’d feel involved. Plus, it helps her learn there are things to take care of around the house and that it’s good for all to pitch in as a family.

Obviously, young children have limitations when it comes to cleaning and helping around the house. What chores are preschool friendly, then?

1. Fold clothes: You can ask your preschooler to fold his/her clothes or even some towels. Since their clothes are so tiny anyway, they’re perfect for little hands to fold. My girl is also able to fold small towels, like kitchen towels. And, it doesn’t matter how they’re folded. I mean, really, if her shirts aren’t perfectly folded and lined up, life will go on.
2. Sweep: She may not be able to sweep the entire kitchen, but if she can sweep up a smaller area while I do something else, it helps. This works especially well if you use a swiffer, since all they have to do is push the stick up and down.
3. Clean bathroom sink: The first time I saw my daughter cleaning the sink in her classroom, I was amazed. “What are you doing?” I asked her. “Cleaning the sink! It helps my teacher.” I had no idea she knew how to do that! Now, she can run a sponge or rag around her bathroom sink while I clean the toilet.
4. Wash dishes: This started at my mom’s house. My daughter decided to ask her abuela if she could help her wash the dishes. So, my mom brought a stool by the sink, gave her a sponge and a bowl of soapy water, and said have at it. Since then, she’s done it a couple of times at our house too. Of course, we don’t give her the extra greasy or messy dishes, but she can safely wash a few cups and small plates.
5. Clean tables: My daughter’s been doing this since she was about two years old (maybe even earlier). It’s the easiest thing for her to do; she just has to swipe a paper towel over the table after I’ve sprayed it with some child-safe cleaner.

I’m sure there are many more household tasks and chores you can find that your preschooler can help with. If they’re anything like my daughter, they’ll love being able to help out. Just this morning she said that helping me clean was her “favorite thing to do in the house.” Now, mind you, her “favorite thing” to do changes from hour to hour, but still, for her to say it means she really does enjoy helping.

What chores have you found your kids can help with around the house?

Most of you already know that we are a bi-cultural family and I myself am bilingual. As such, my husband and I decided that we would make an effort to raise our children bilingually so they could learn both English and Spanish. So far, our daughter is doing a great job of acquiring both languages and most important of all, actually showing an interest in Spanish, which is the minority language.

It helps that my parents are a big part of her life, since they both speak Spanish more often than I do. Because I speak English to my husband, spoke English in the workplace, and speak English for 95% of each day, it gets a little difficult sometimes for me to “switch” my brain and speak Spanish to my daughter. I have to remind myself. So, any little help I can get is useful in not just exposing her to Spanish, but also reminding me to do so. Which is why I love bilingual books, TV programs, and other toys.

When I was contacted by Smart Play about their new bilingual toy line, Ingenio, I was highly interested in reviewing their products. As the email I received said, “there are very few affordable toys/games available for parents who want their children to be bilingual.” In my experience when shopping for baby girl, this has been true. Their products fill this need since 8 out of the 10 products they have so far cost less than $12.99. All ten products are designed for children 3-8 years old, which is perfect for my baby girl.

We received the Animal Learning Puzzle and the Spellable Puzzle Card Game. I was looking forward to playing the Spellable game with baby girl because it allows you to spell 3 letter words in English and Spanish. I thought this would be a great way to step up her learning and go beyond just the alphabet and on to forming words and promoting word recognition. Like any preschooler, she was super excited at the beginning, but after about 10 words or so, her focus began to fade. Since I don’t want to be a drill sergeant and “force” learning on her, but rather have it be a natural part of her playing and surroundings, I followed her cue and put away the game for another time.

But, just in that short period of time, I saw a few things that I liked about this product:

• Each letter is color coded; consonants are green & vowels are purple. I like this because you can add variety to the game by sorting the letters. Now she’s not just working on phonics, but also classifying items.
• Every letter card has a picture on the back that doubles for a word in English AND Spanish. So, you have pictures of juice/jugo for J and lamp/lampara for L, etc. Even the hard letters like Q work; Q has a quesadilla on the back.
• The spelling cards are also color coded; blue for English and red for Spanish. This helped my daughter know which language to use when trying to spell the word.

The animal puzzle was also fun to play with and has the name of each animal printed in both English and Spanish. It also displays the words for the surroundings in both languages. For example, tree/árbol and mountain/montaña. It’s a very cute puzzle and my daughter enjoyed teaching her dad the names of the animals in Spanish when they later put it together without me.

Giveaway

You too have a chance at trying out some Ingenio products! One of you can win a set of the Alphabet cards along with the Spellable Puzzle Card Game. The winner will receive both products.

How to Enter

1. If you’d like to enter this contest, simply leave a comment below and let me know if you already promote a bilingual home or why you would like to expose your child to another language.
2. For an extra entry, you can tweet about this contest with a link back to this post and include @modernmami in your tweet. You must leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet for your entry to count.

All entries must be in by Sunday, November 22nd at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.)