Or should we say anything from our friends at Boon! It all started with the amazing Frog Pod and now designer Rebecca Finell and her crew have blossomed into a wildly successful company who focuses on awesomely designed solutions for parents.

It seems like Rebecca’s always got something new and sassy up her sleeve! But we love our Frog Pod. It keeps all those crazy bath toys in their place and makes them easy to rinse. Simply scoop, rinse and store. Love it!

Like many families, we’ve had five strollers and two baby joggers. Wow! When I was pregnant with my first child, I never imagined we’d buy so many strollers. What’s really exciting is that we’ve found our *last* stroller – the Mclaren umbrella stroller. It’s amazing! I wish I had invested in one of these a couple years ago. With our kids nearly 3 and 5 years of age, we don’t need one everyday, but we do still need one now and then… especially when we have big outings to fun places like Disneyland. That’s where we “broke” our Mclaren stroller in. Both my husband and I fell in love with it. We rave about it to all of our friends and plan to buy one for our neighbors when they begin a family. Look for great deals on last year’s models at Baby Style.

• Start signing to your child as a baby. You can start as early as six months. Once they sign and understand some basic words such as “more,” “eat,” and “all done,” then introduce “please,” “thank you” and “share.” You can start teaching first word signs as early as six months of age.

• Use every opportunity to teach the importance of being well-mannered. With most young kids eating three meals and two snacks by 12-months of age, there will be plenty of practice.

• Say and sign “please” and “thank you” when talking to others in your world – your husband, relatives, friends, etc. – so your children will witness and value what you’re teaching them. Ask caregivers to join in as well.

• Praise, practice and patience.

By Lindy Bartell, president of Smarty Parents, Inc., the maker of the award-winning Piggy Platter placemat & craftmat and the creator of Perry & Penny’s manners-minded books and music. Sign language information brought to you by Sign Babies. This article may only be used with the expressed written permission of the author.

It’s never too early for a “smarty parent” to teach little ones good manners. For example, even kids who cannot yet speak can learn to communicate by signing words with their hands. Learning to share is a life-long lesson for all of us, but especially during the tender ages between two and four. Greeting others warmly is a trait that many youngsters can manage when encouraged on a regular basis. Like all aspects in parenting, teaching manners is never easy. But here are a few of our tried and true tips for sticking with it and being successful.

• Begin with two or three niceties such as “please,” “thank you” and “excuse me” and then introduce more as your child begins to grasp their understanding. Children who cannot speak yet are still able to these niceties by learning a little sign language. For example, when you say “please,” make the sign for it at the same time. This reinforces the sign and the verbal word while giving your preverbal child a way to communicate back. As you repeat this often, your child will pick up the sign and begin to sign “please” when she asks for something.

Note: the benefits of teaching your children sign language are immense (click here for more informaton). You can start as early as 6-12 months to teach your child simple words like “milk,” “eat,” “more,” and “all done.” Another advantage of teaching sign language is being able to non-verbally remind your child to say “please” and “thank you” from across the room once they’re able to talk.

• Be persistent and consistent. This means once you introduce manners, stick with it and rehearse the trait several times a day. Make it a new part of everyone’s behavior. It may take time, but young ones are so smart and will get it. The rewards of teaching manners early in life will give dividends long after they’re out of the house (Yikes! We don’t want to think about that yet!)

• Model the behavior and language you desire in your child. Children make us better people because they mirror the way we act. Before we had kids, my husband and I rarely said “yes, please” or “no, thank you” to one another, but we do now because we want our children to model this behavior.

• Provide plenty of positive feedback when they’re signing their words or demonstrating self-control such as waiting in line patiently or helping a friend put away toys to let them know how polite and thoughtful their actions are to others.

Have fun with it and remember that teaching manners is often the first step in getting young ones to think beyond themselves. Some families have “anti-manners” dinners where all rules are thrown out the door, have sticker charts to reinforce positive behavior or a “manners” month for those who may need a refresher. It won’t happen overnight, but when you see them in action, you’ll be so proud. It’s not uncommon to first see the fruits of your labor when you’re out of the house, around others, or visiting Grandma and Grandpa.

By Lindy Bartell, president of Smarty Parents, Inc., the maker of the award-winning Piggy Platter placemat & craftmat and the creator of Perry & Penny’s manners-minded books and music. Sign language information brought to you by Sign Babies. This article may only be used with the expressed written permission of the author.

Please share your thoughts and ideas and what’s worked for you at the dinner table, with your Piggy Platter, etc! Or, if you have a great resource, we’d like to showcase that too.

Send your tips, recipe ideas or reviews to clever@smartyparents.com or click below to post your comments.

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While none of us busy parents want to add another exhausting shopping excursion to our plate, we’ve found that buying at our neighborhood Farmer’s Market is a really fun excursion with our young boys.  And with all of the food recalls lately, we feel it’s hugely important to shop locally.  You’ll be eating healthier food, supporting a local farmer and saving the planet!  (Less fuel for shipping :o)

The Local Harvest web site is an amazing resource for finding a local Farmer’s Market or Community Food Resource. Simply type in your Zip code and get a variety of local resources.

Yes, you’ll be spending a few pennies more per apple than going to a huge chain, but the benefits are just too huge to pass up.  And the flavors will amaze you and you’ll just feel great about your purchases.

According to a recent Oregonian newspaper study, kids today are more at-risk for gaining weight during summer than during the school year!  Why?  Too much TV, video games and unhealthy snacking and not enough activity. The study found that 25% of 8th- and 11th-graders are overweight or at risk becoming so!

Doctors and dietitians are seeing huge amounts of weight gain in kids, especially during summer when kids are less involved in extracurricular activity.  Parents are citing safety as the means to keeping their children indoors, especially in high-risk or inner-city neighborhoods.

We totally understand.  It’s difficult to get the kids moving.  It takes huge amounts of energy and effort on a parents behalf.  But what we’ve realized as parents is that we can very easily make two simple changes to improve our kids’ health…and ours:

1. A life-change to a healthier lifestyle.  It means we as parents have to set the example.  It can be as simple as going for a walk after dinner as a family.  This can be great quality time no matter where you live.
2. Healthier snacks.  There’s so much junk and additives in snack food.  Try and supply some more natural choices.  And we’re not talking gritty, tasteless heath food here. There are so many wonderful options today.  Just take a trip through the “whole foods” section of the store.  Grab your goodies there.

The peach trees are billowing juicy goodness here in the Pacific Northwest (and across the U.S. we’re told ;o). We’ve been test-driving some cobbler recipes to find you and your young ones something simple. And this one from Cooks.com is about as easy as it gets. (You can even substitute the flour and baking soda with some biscuit mix for a fluffier, easier treat!)

QUICK AND EASY PEACH COBBLER
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 stick butter
3/4 to 1 c. milk
1 lg. can sliced peaches
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
3 tbsp. sugar (optional)
Melt butter in a 2 quart casserole dish in 375 degrees oven while combining flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk to the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Pour the batter into the melted butter; dribble peach juice into the mixture and let the kids dump in the pile of peaches. Have the kids sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

While I usually enjoy making something cool and refreshing for the kids during summer, or cook on the BBQ, time just wouldn’t allow for it last night. And I forgot how easy it took to make this meal. (It litterally took 10 minutes!) It’s filling and pretty darn healthy too.
Here’s what you need:

1. Frozen Chicken Breast Stir Fry (Just the pre-cooked chicken and sauce. Costco and Trader Joes both have great options here.)
2. Frozen Broccoli (We prefer organic :o)
3. Frozen Microwave Brown Rice (Again, Trader Joes has a great box of three Brown Rice “bags”)

First, begin frying up the Chicken in a splash of oil or veggie oil. (This will cook for 8-10 minutes total. Toss it occasionally.)

Next, toss the Broccoli in a glass dish with some water. (1/2 cup water to each cup of broccoli). Cover and zap in the microwave for 3 minutes.

Get the kids milk ready.

Once the Broccoli’s done, toss the bag of Brown Rice in the microwave. Zap for 3 minutes.

Give the chicken a stir/toss and get the table set.

Toss your desired amount of the sauce in w/ the Chicken. (Ours came with a mandarin sauce. Very tasty.) Drain and toss in the Broccoli. Stir it all up.

Dish it all up and you’re ready to go! Enjoy!