I remember my baby shower for my first daughter.  I got the cute “safety” kit.  It had a nail trimmers, a nasal aspirator and a medicine dropper.  I felt like I could conquer the world with that kit.  Then my child arrived.  I was afraid to trim her nails lest I hurt her.  That nasal aspirator thing was just gross and the medicine dropper…well…that didn’t even work.

Fifteen years have gone by.  None of my children have lost fingers due to nail trimmers.  Their nostrils are not permanently enlarged due to that nasal aspirator.  I’ve finally learned how to give medication to my children and you know, I don’t even use the medicine dropper.

Some of my children didn’t really mind taking medication.  That was wonderful.  Then I had my son, who HATES medicine.  If I squirt the medicine too far back in his mouth or if I give him too much at a time, he’s been known to throw up just from gagging.  What have I learned?  A whole bunch of things.

There are many different products out there actually designed to help medicate your child.  I’ve seen specially designed bottles and also pacifiers designed to cleverly sneak medicine into your child.  I’d suggest trying these things because they may work for your child.

I found that my son, even at a young age, wasn’t fooled when medicine came out of the pacifier.  He also wasn’t fooled by mixing the medicine with juice in his bottle.  The thing that I didn’t like about these methods: how long can you let the medicine out before it is just not good to ingest anymore?  For example, suppose it takes an hour for your child to drink the medicine/formula mix?  Suppose it takes longer? Suppose your baby goes on a formula strike and refuses to drink the mix? Then what?

I’ve found that it’s best to actually just get through the whole thing as quickly as possible.  I’ve also found that it helps to have someone assist you if you have a child or an infant who really doesn’t like taking medication.

The plastic medicine plungers available at the drug store work great!  Usually pharmacists will give you extras if you ask politely.  I like them better than a medicine dropper.

In order to give medicine to your baby or young child, it’s best to lie them on their back.  Have a spouse or friend gently hold their hands down and talk to the child or try to distract him or her. Gently hold your child’s head (it’s hard to give medicine to a child who is twisting their head back and forth) and put the plunger diagonal into your child’s mouth.

The plunger should be aimed towards the back of the child’s mouth towards their cheek.  Don’t aim too far back or your child will gag and possibly throw the medicine up.  If you aim to far front, it’s easy for the child to just spit out the medicine.  Don’t push all of the medicine into your child at one time.  Gradually squirt in the medicine a little at a time.  This way, if some of the medicine gets spit out, at least your child will have some sort of medicine in their stomach.  If your child gags easily, this will keep him from gagging too.

Another tip: I have found that my son actually takes medicine better now that I have begun to flavor his medicines.  It really does work!

With some practice,  the help of your spouse, and some flavored medicine, you should be able to give medicine to even the most “difficult” of children.  Good luck!

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that it plans to study the effects of BPA in depth in the future.  Currently, the FDA says that BPA’s are safe.  According to experts, the FDA bases this on the results of two studies done by other groups.  These studies, which were funded by chemical industries, claim that BPA’s are safe.

The National Toxicology Program has determined from it’s research that BPA’s, even in small amounts, can cause changes in brain development and behavior in infants and small children.  BPA’s are most easily ingested when chemicals from plastic containers seep into food and drink.

I became concerned about this when I saw an article that the bottles that I’d used for my son had a high concentration of BPA’s.  I began to try to find products without the chemical and was shocked at the lack of choices I found.  Many companies that made infant bottles weren’t even forthcoming with information it seemed.

Several months have passed and while strolling down the baby aisle last week, I noticed several products that actually announced that their product was BPA free.  I bought several BPA free products that day for my son.

Call me cynical, but I don’t buy the FDA’s position that this chemical is safe.  I’m grateful that I now have choices for safer products to purchase for my son.

Do you seek out products that advertise that they are BPA free? Do you agree with the FDA that this chemical is safe?

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States, and for many people, this means traveling long distances to be with family and/or friends. It is possible to travel with children and to still remain sane enough to participate in holiday festivities; it just requires a little more effort.

When I became a parent, I quickly gave up driving through the night. Before kids, I could leave at midnight and drive through the night to avoid the traffic. After a few hours of sleep, I could expect to function reasonably well enough to participate in the festivities. After kids, I discovered that driving through the night just didn’t work for me anymore. When I was ready to go to bed in the morning after driving all night, the kids were ready to get up! Not only that, but a few hours of sleep didn’t give me the energy or the attitude I needed to run after lively children.

Now, if we need to make a long trip, we drive during the day and we allow plenty of time to get to the destination. I usually add 2-3 hours onto our driving time estimation. This allows us time for rest stops, eating, and bathroom breaks.

I’ve found that it’s helpful to view the drive as part of the adventure, not just something to get through. Towards that goal, we try to stop at several roadside attractions along the way just to do something different. The children really look forward to these stops! When I was nursing my son, it also allowed me time to feed him in the car while everyone was out.

It’s also helpful to pack fun activities for the children to do during the car ride. If your children are older, you might consider buying some small trinkets at the Dollar Store to reward them after so many miles (or hours) of good behavior. There are travel games that you can buy at the store too which can help. If your budget won’t allow that expenditure, you can play license plate bingo or “I Spy” during the journey for free!

Another good idea is to stop by the local library and check out the great selection of music and books on tape for children. My children love to listen to stories when we drive and it helps to keep them amused!

Remember-and remind yourself of this during the journey-getting there IS half the fun!

As my nephew is about to celebrate his first birthday, I?ve started to think about all of the parties we?ve held for our boys over the years.

While it can be fun to celebrate your kids? birthdays in a variety of places (trust me, I?ve been to ?em all), my favorite parties are always those spent at home. I value the time and effort that parents put into hosting their parties.

When it comes to party planning, I have learned that some things are worth splurging a bit on and others are usually a waste of money. Party hats are cute and may reflect your party?s theme, if you have one, but they are almost always worn for five minutes and then quickly forgotten. The same is true of theme- or character- oriented plates and napkins. I learned pretty quickly that basic colorful plates and napkins work just fine; kids are usually much more interested in the yummy cake on top of their plates than the design beneath it.

Party favors, on the other hand, usually get reluctant kids to say ?goodbye? when the party?s over. They are souvenirs from your child?s special occasion. I really like the theme-oriented party-favor boxes sold by BirthdayExpress.com.

It takes more effort to make up your own goody bags but can actually be fun, especially if the birthday child is involved.

Sometimes the biggest party-favor hits are one larger prize to take home. We had a sports-themed party in our backyard for our son?s third birthday. We sent each child home with an inflated ball. They were similar to beach balls but were instead footballs, soccer balls and basketballs. They seemed like something the kids would enjoy playing with for a few days. They were definitely a hit.

Inflatable toys such as this can be purchased from Oriental Trading Company. The website and catalog are full of fun party and craft supplies at reasonable rates?which brings me to another activity at that third birthday: The kids made sports door hangers for their rooms (although I think I may have given the girls pink and purple hangers with flowers to decorate).

We lined up several long tables for the kids to eat and make crafts on, and covered them with paper (from a big roll). We put several small buckets of crayons on the tables and the kids had fun doodling.

At later parties (when our sons were at least five), I wrote something like ?Ben is 5!? on a large piece of poster-board, in colorful letters. Each guest was asked to sign the poster as a memento of our boys? special day.

I?d love to hear all of your ideas for babies? and preschoolers? birthday parties!

Earlier this week, a family of seven (two parents, five children) were leaving Israel for a European vacation on one of the busiest travel days of the year in that country. Unfortunately, while the parents remembered their duty free purchases and all 18 pieces of luggage, they forgot their three year old daughter.

The girl was found by police while wandering the duty free shop, asking “Where are my parents?” The officer tried to catch the family at the gate, but arrived to learn that the plane had taken off. The child was flown in a later flight with an airline staff member.

The parents are being investigated for negligence.

More frightening is the fact that it wasn’t until their flight had been in the air for 40 minutes and they were notified by airline staff that the parents knew they were missing a child. To reiterate: 40 minutes into an international flight, and the parents still had not done a head count!

Regardless of how busy the airport is, or how many suitcases I have, or even how many children I am bringing with me, where my kids are is always my highest priority. I don’t even let my child get out of my sight when we’re in a small retail store, let alone an international airport. I really don’t know what else to say about this.