Early Motherhood

Rice is easily digested and has low allergen aspects, so it is commonly recommended as the first food you introduce to your baby. Many of the recipes for making baby cereals are time consuming, but with the use of the freezer and a blender, homemade rice cereal is simple and convenient.

This recipe is perfect for infants, but by adding a few “extras” it will tempt the taste buds of kids and adults.

Baby Cereal Ingredients:

• 3 cups of brown rice, cooked according to package directions
• 12 ounces breast milk, water, or infant formula

Baby Cereal Directions:

All children have fears at some point in their life and it is usually considered to be a normal part of development. These fears are only abnormal if they are persistent or keep the child overly preoccupied with the subject that is feared, so that it interferes with normal activities, if the child can not be reassured or distracted away from the fear (becoming a phobia), or if it is an irrational fear. Whether or not a fear is irrational depends on a child’s age and developmental level.

Why it happens
You put your toddler to bed at 8:30 at night. You hug him, kiss him, and wish him sweet dreams. It’s been a long day. The dinner dishes await you, your spouse has to pay the bills, the dog needs to be walked, the cat needs to be fed, and you haven’t had a moment to sit down and put your feet up. But nope — instead of spending the rest of the night catching up on your chores and spending some precious time with your partner, you’re in and out of your child’s room, cajoling him to go to sleep. He finally does — three hours later. Sound familiar? You’d be surprised at just how many of your fellow parents face this scenario night after night.

Why it happens
Shocking as it may be to you (and onlookers), aggressive behavior is a normal part of your toddler’s development. Still-emerging language skills, a fierce desire to become independent, and undeveloped impulse control make children this age prime candidates for getting physical. “Some degree of hitting and biting is completely normal for a toddler,” says Nadine Block, executive director of the Center for Effective Discipline in Columbus, Ohio. That doesn’t mean you should ignore it, of course. Let your toddler know that aggressive behavior is unacceptable and show him other ways to express his feelings.

For the visual learner
Go on a number safari. When you’re driving around town, have your child look for numbers in street and store signs, and on license plates. Call out the numbers as you find them. Your child should be able to recognize numbers up to ten before kindergarten.

Connect the dots. This old standby will help your child understand number sequencing; that is, that one is followed by two, two by three, etc. Bookstores are full of coloring books with connect the dot themes (and don’t worry if your child only wants a Teletubby or Pokémon theme — it’s all about the numbers right now).