by Mary Roadings

Most babies have baby colic during their first year. It is something common to many toddlers, however doctors still can't pinpoint what is the actual cause. They do agree though that many times an upset stomach can often lead to colic, which makes the baby feel bloated as gas is gathered in the intestines. This gas needs to be let out and the best way to do it is by baby massage.

When the child has colic, he or she tends to cry a lot due to the strong pain felt. Many times parents experience a strong sense of panic because of this constant crying as they have no idea what to do, how to help their kid. And often times the cure is really a proper baby massage that stops the crying right away, it's that simple really.

One of the best ways to help your child get relief from stomach pains and colic is by learning how to do baby massage. This will relax the stomach muscles and will stop those nasty spasms that tend to come and go. The baby will be able to pass wind which is accumulated in the intestines.

For massage, use natural oils for best results. Avoid doing the massage right after feeding as this will upset the stomach and cause more pain. Lay your palm flat on the stomach and go clockwise in circling motions a few times over the abdomen. Then use your hand to make a circle around the belly button after which use your fingertips to do the same thing. Finally use again your flat palm to go around the stomach in a clockwise direction as a last exercise.

Next take the legs and do a bit of bicycle exercise with them, one after another one. This will push the wind from the intestines and stomach. After that stretch the legs with an easy pressure applied and then wobble the legs a bit. This will finally eliminate the last wind from the stomach for best results

by Adriana Noton

As children grow, they need a lot of positive stimulus to help them develop properly. Creating a playroom in your home is a great way to set up a fun play environment for your children that will allow you to include educational items as part of their playtime. As well, a playroom will allow parents to keep all of the toys and other items in one area instead of having them scattered all over the house, A well designed play room will provide the kids with hours of entertaining activities in a safe environment. As well, while the children are busy, a busy parent can take some time to relax. A playroom should be fun and imaginative and provide the kids with a lot of activities to keep them engaged. Below are a number of tips to creating a children's playroom in your home:

Imagination:

A play area that invokes a child's imagination should be a key part of a playroom. It gives a child the chance to be creative while having fun. There are many options available when creating an imaginative area. You can set up a theater puppet stage, a small stage for the children to put on shows complete with a trunk of old clothes and accessories for costumes. You can also set up a kitchen area complete with the essential toy dining wear, pots, pans, and children's stove, refrigerator, sink, and microwave. You can also add creative toys and games that will encourage children to use their imagination.

Let's Pretend:

Children love to play make believe or pretend. An area set aside for pretending is an important part of a playroom. For instance, you could set up different occupation zones such as a construction zone, fireman zone, policeman zone, nursing zone, veterinarian zone, etc. You can add a number of different items such as building blocks, wooden blocks, leggo blocks, job relevant toys such as children's tool kit, medical kit, etc. It is important that the area you set up is big enough to hold all of the items.

Motion:

It is important for children to be able to interact and move when they play. It is important to have items that children can ride, rock, and can be pulled. This can include rocking horses or another rocking animal, rocking boats, sleds, ride on trains, ride on fire trucks, ride on dragons, ride vehicles that children can pedal, and much more.

Rhythm:

Children should be able to experiment with things that produce sound. Set aside an area where children can develop rhythm skills. Items that you can add include: children's piano or keyboard, children's drum kit, children's banjo and guitar, a child's CD player, and much more.

Toys and Games:

It is essential to have a wide variety of toys. You can even include educational toys and games. Toys can include a wide variety of animal plush toys, balls, blocks, remote controlled cars, rag dolls, quirky stuffed toys, and more. It is important to have toys and games where children can learn such as puzzles, science games, memory games, and more. You can also set up table games and board games that are appropriate for the child. Include some thinking games such as checkers.

Setting up a children's play room is a great way to give your children a place to have fun without causing damage to the rest of the home. Children can get creative and sometimes messy. It is important to educational and child developing items that will help a child develop important skills. There are many unique items available to provide a child with many hours of fun. ? - 35303

Offering the highest quality of educational toys for over 15 years, delivering joy and excitement into your children's upbringings. A wide range of safe and durable products is available, including baby toys and wooden toys.

Toddlers love to eat. In fact they have a habit of putting everything they come across into their mouths. When it comes to food, they will try to eat everything especially what they see us eating - unfortunately what we eat is not always suitable for them. Here are a couple of quick and simple toddler finger food recipes that you can try.

Sweet Potato Sticks

This is quick and simple and kids love them simply because of the color.

Peel a bright orange sweet potato and cut into two inch sticks about half an inch thick. Microwave on high for about five minutes then allow to cool thoroughly. They can be stored for up to five days in an airtight container although serving fresh is best. You will need to experiment with your microwave to get the best consistency. You should be able to hold a stick without it collapsing in a heap of mush.

Apple Rings With Cinnamon

Peel and core a couple of red apples - the harder the apple the better. Cut into rings and dust with cinnamon (no sugar). Microwave for two minutes until a little soft but not mushy. Allow to cool then watch them disappear. Store for three days.

Pear Rings With Nutmeg

Similar to the apple rings - peel and core a couple of hard pears. Cut into rings and microwave for about a minute - sprinkle a little nutmeg (not too much) and let cool. If you get the nutmeg sprinkle just right then kids love these because of the color.

If you are looking for toddler finger food recipes then keep coming back. I will publish more over the next couple of days. Happy finger food chomping for your toddler.

I am often amazed when I read stories of toddlers surviving accidents that we as adults could find fatal, or at least in hospital in a serious condition.

The latest incident involved an 18 month toddler who had climbed a balcony rail and fallen two meters (about seven feet), landed on the roof of a shed where she rolled and fell another two meters to the ground. For some reason there was an old mattress on the roof of the shed which helped to break the first fall, but there was only solid ground awaiting the next fall.

As I move closer to this blogs first birthday I am putting together a series of 'best of' posts. The previous 'best of' post was the "baby' series. Today's post is the best of 'toddlers'.

It is difficult finding the best of posts particularly when I have done so many. This is part one and contains a real mixed bunch.

You don't have to have a speech or hearing impairment to use sign language. Many parents find they can communicate with their toddlers from much earlier age and my reprint of an article by Jackie Durnin on Using Sign Language With Toddlers was very popular.

Sign language may help in teaching your toddler to use the potty, if not, my post on Is Painless Potty Training Possible For A Toddler may help ease the trauma.

Toddlers and potty training often leads to temper tantrums, particularly the two year old tantrums. My post on How To Deal With Toddler Temper Tantrums will be of great benefit to those experiencing tantrums - toddler tantrums that is.

There are times when some of the simplest things really bring a smile to your face. I was in the kitchen the other night preparing dinner. With me were my one and two year old daughters. There antics where such a delight to watch - I wish I had some photos.

They were playing happily when a moth landed on the floor in front of them. It was obviously on its last legs, but the girls didn't know.

Being only little they kept a safe distance whilst at the same time being totally fascinated by it. Their squeals of delight every time it moved, or tried to fly was so cute. Every time it got to close they would back away, however they followed it for a good half hour, squealing and giggling and egging each other on to get a little closer.

Finally, the moth moved no more. It had gone to moth heaven. No more entertainment, no more fun. The youngest of two turned around as demanded I get the broom and remove it. You can imagine a one year old's language. She was quite demanding though.

It was cute, it was sweet, it was fun to listen to and watch. I wonder, at what age to they change and start pulling wings or legs off. Are boys a little different to girls. I hope they don't lose that innocence, at least, not for many years. I also hope they never resort to pulling wings or legs. Even in the last of stage of its life, a simple moth has provided so much.

When should parents be concerned that their toddler has dyslexia? When should you be worried about speech or letter identification?

Dyslexia can be extremely hard to diagnose in toddlers as many of its symptoms are developmentally common for all toddlers. However, the more traits that are present, the more likely it is that your toddler may need some help. Dyslexia may be diagnosed where there is a combination of traits and a lack of progress over time.

As your baby moves from crawler to toddler they start to experience the joy of independence. This is independence can be harnessed in many learning experiences including potty training.

Being a Toddler is so tough. You have just learned how to walk and now your trying to learn how to talk. As you start to pick up the language, your mom and dad start trying to introduce their version of manners.

It's a fact of life, toddlers will misbehave. It goes with the territory. The question is, are they being mischievous or are they being willful? As a parent of the hardest things to cope with is not the behavior so much as the unpredictability.

Some days it seems like they are perfect angels and then snap, they go off the deep end. Other days they start and finish in the same state, either non stop mischief or a perfect angels.

Young children have one major problem when it comes to punishment and that is connecting their actions with the ramifications, particularly if those ramifications come some time after the event. If there is this disconnection, how do you as a parent deal with bad behavior in a toddler?