All right, mamas, this one’s for you! We’ve got to get ready to celebrate the dads in our lives. Finding another unique and sentimental gift to show our appreciation for all their hard work can feel overwhelming. Let’s be honest. Parenting is a lot of work. How can we find Father’s Day gifts that will convey how much we appreciate all the things a dad does. Here are some suggestions. 

Picture Perfect

Let’s start with a simple craft: A decorated picture frame. This could be completely homemade by cutting a frame out of cardboard and setting your kiddo up with a smock, some paint and paintbrushes. You could even add glitter, stickers, puffy paint or even glue-puff balls as well. The options are limitless. Just let the kids go to town!

Or you could go for a more professional looking direction and have an excuse to hit the thrifts! Take your little one on a thrift store adventure to pick out the perfect frame to paint or decorate.

The second part of this activity is the photo itself. Maybe you’ve been saving a photo print to use as a gift. Or this could be a really fun opportunity to do a whole photoshoot with your kiddo! There are so many directions you could take this. Pick a theme that aligns with an interest of Dad’s. Does he love old western movies? Maybe he’s into WWE or the Great British Baking show! Find the interest and recreate the vibe with your kiddo. Not only is it a really good gift, but it’s a lot of fun to put together. 

Car Cleanout

Another gift idea that also doubles as a fun activity for the day itself is a car clean out and wash! Kiddos definitely know how to mess up a clean and organized car. So why not flip that around for Father’s Day? You and the kids can grab some trash bags, tote bags (for all the abandoned toys that have fallen into the depths of the vehicle), and cleaning products.

Depending on your living situation, it might be you and kiddo cleaning out the inside and taking the car through a car wash. But if you have the resources to wash the car yourselves, that can be really fun too! Especially for the little ones. Getting to assist with the scrubbing and really the spraying of the water, can be not only a thoughtful gift. But, also a really fun and memorable activity! 

Camera Ready

My next idea can be super simple or as complex or creative as you want to make it. Creating an “I love dad” or “why I love dad” video is a great way to provide a super sentimental gift that can be kept forever. Depending on your skill and technical ability, you could really do it up with this one. Or it can be as simple as sitting your kiddo down in a quiet location and simply asking them “what do you love about dad?”

Kids are naturally so funny and creative, you’ll have no idea what random memory or attribute about their dad that they’ll think to tell you. Depending on how much prep time you’ve given yourself for this idea, you can make it pretty long. You can include your kiddo’s grandparents and simply ask, “What do you love about seeing **insert dad’s name here** as a dad?”

Involve dad’s siblings or longtime friends. This is a great project if you’ve got some media skill. But even if all you have is a Macbook and iMovie, it can be the best possible way to pull at those heartstrings and remind the dad how his loved ones see him as a great father.

We all get a bit of that imposter syndrome. So, this can be a good idea for a first Father’s Day. Even though a newborn can’t talk. There are so many life changes that come along with becoming a parent. It can be extremely validating to show dad how much growth and life changes everyone around has seen in him. 

I hope you find that one of these suggestions could make a really great personalized gift for the dad in your life! Good luck, and you’ve got this!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

Summer is approaching, and parents of little ones look for ways to not just keep kids active but also find ways for them to learn. Try these educational ideas for spring and summer fun to keep kiddos engaged and outdoors.

For the Birds

The pinecone bird feeder is one of my favorite ways to do that. First, you need one or a few open pinecones. These can be purchased, but it also can be fun to explore with your kiddo first to find the pinecones. 

If the pinecones you find are not open, you can bake them at 200 degrees for around an hour to open them.

Now, help your little one create a bird feeder: 

1. Tie twine around the top to act as a hanger. 
2. Add peanut butter as binding. If your little one has a peanut allergy, you can instead use shortening. Make sure all the crevices are filled with the binding. 
3. Add the bird seed. You can roll the pinecone firmly in the seed to make sure it’s fully coated. 

You did it! Your bird feeder is complete. Hang it outside and spend some time in the sun watching to see what birds come to have a snack. 

Bug Hotel

Another fun suggestion is to build a bug hotel. Together, you and your little one can gather such supplies as twigs, leaves, dirt or bark from a tree. Your kiddo can decide how big or small they want their hotel to be. 

Create your “hotel rooms” in an outside area that is a bit secluded. 

Once the hotel is complete, you can watch and identify what bugs are coming to stay! What do they look like? What colors are they? How many legs do they have? We love activities that get our kiddos thinking and speaking! 

Treasure Hunt            

A sensory texture hunt is a great way to prompt your child to identify textures found in nature. This can be done very simply or with a bit of preparation, depending on what you’re feeling that day. 

Depending on the age of your kiddo, it might be helpful to print out pictures ahead of time to help them see what they are supposed to find. Once identified, discuss the texture of what they’ve found. 

For children who are a bit older or more advanced, you can just prompt them verbally. “Can you find something scratchy or rough?” Ideas for things to identify could be smooth rocks or stones, soft leaves, fuzzy weeds or crunchy twigs. Use that idea with colors, too. “Can you find me something yellow?” 

Nature Faces

An idea that I’m super excited to try out with my little one this spring is creating nature faces. 

Simply sketch a circle on the concrete with chalk. From there, instruct your kiddo to search around outside for materials to create a face. It can be a self portrait or maybe a portrait of mom or dad. 

This activity encourages creativity and helps to prompt them to search for different shapes and colors to create the face on the ground. You can make the circle really big and have them look for larger items. Or, make a small circle and small items like blades of grass and small rocks. 

Just Have Fun!

There are so many options for fun outdoor play with our kiddos! 

Keeping our little ones out in the sun and away from screens as much as we can, sometimes feels like a big task and a lot of pressure. I hope these ideas help you get your child excited about being out in the fresh air!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

My son just turned 3, and we celebrated with two of the things he loves most: Music and monster trucks!

Although we did have a wonderful time at both events, I realized I wasn’t as prepared as I could have been. So, I made a list of things I’ll do differently next time.

If you’re taking your child to a big event, try out these tips and tricks for what to take and how to stay safe. 

First things first, check the event’s website. Some banned items actually might be allowed for parents. 

For example, lots of venues require clear bags or no bags at all. This did not apply to our diaper bag. Reusable water bottles are great, but they do need to be emptied before going through security.

I made a mistake assuming that couldn’t  bring in food or drinks. However, we actually could have. That would have saved us a lot of time and money spent standing in line for expensive festival food truck cuisine. 

 A lot of festivals also have events, activities, and areas specifically for children. Check out the activities on the event’s website.

Layers and Ear Protection

What about extra clothing? With a little one, we get the perk of being able to bring a stroller/ wagon to haul everything. Where I live, it gets so warm during the day, but, as soon as the sun goes down, the temperature drops quickly. It’s important to have some layers for when it gets colder, comfortable shoes for walking, and even a rain jacket just in case. 

We always bring some ear protection for our little one as well. It can get loud and we want to protect our baby’s ears. Headphones also can help when little ones just need a break from the noise.

Changing Spaces

Don’t forget the diapers and wipes if your kiddo needs them and a mat to lay down for changing them. 

Another obstacle I ran into was the porta-potty situation. How does one change a diaper/pull up in a porta-potty that many concert goers before us ‘missed’ in? I opted to find the first aid tent. The EMT’s allowed us to change our son in their tent on a gurney.

Event volunteers also might be able to direct you to the closest changing area.

Stay Safe

It’s exciting to take your kiddo to their first big event, but you might feel nervous about keeping your child safe. As parents, we tend to worry (in my case, probably a bit too much). Here are some safety suggestions that may help calm your nerves. 

The idea of being separated from your kiddo at a big event like a festival or a concert, is nerve racking. You can put a wrist band or sticker on your kiddo that has your phone number listed, in case you are separated. Do not put your child’s name on the wristband or sticker. Just list a parent or caretaker’s phone number. 

I’m sure you were already planning to take pictures. Make sure to take a photo of your little one before leaving. That way you know exactly what colors and clothing they were wearing to describe them to security, if needed. 

I opted to bring a stroller to our outdoor music festival. We used the stroller when my son was tired of walking or if he was trying to stray too far away. The stroller also was great for holding all the stuff so we didn’t have to carry it.

Worth It! 

Events like these can be a huge undertaking when attending with small children. But I promise, it is totally worth it to see them with those huge headphones on dancing and jumping around having the time of their life. 

Plus, they will be so tired by the time you get back home, they’ll definitely be sleeping through the night! 

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

As the weather gets warmer, it’s great fun to combine outdoor activities with creativity! Use these fun nature-based activities to encourage your little artist while having fun in the sun.

These ideas also can be used when time is short. Use your outdoor time to gather supplies from nature. Back at home, get your kiddo engaged in an art project, leaving you free to stay on schedule with your grown-up responsibilities

Nature Collage

My first suggestion is to make a nature collage. You and your little one can go on a walk with your handy dandy grocery sack. Walk through a local park or nature reserve and gather all types of flowers, leaves, twigs, blades of grass, pieces of bark, anything that would be easy to glue down. 

This is a great chance to also name the items your child is gravitating toward. Discuss the texture or the color. If your schedule is tight, just take those items home to create the collage.

Or, with more time, find a nice bench or picnic table to work at. Just bring along some construction paper and glue to the park.

You might need to help your little one glue down the items. You can also try putting glueon the paperfirst and having your little one add the items. 

Nature Bracelets

A similar idea also happens to be my favorite outdoor activity: Nature bracelets. I find that this activity is one kiddos really gravitate towards because it creates wearable art. Little ones LOVE to show off their latest project. 

For this activity, you can use masking tape or clear packing tape. We love cheap and simple activities! 

Before setting off on a walk, just wrap the masking tape, sticky side out, around your little one’s  wrist. Then, as you walk together, pick flowers, leaves, weeds, even dirt if that’s what they want, and stick it to the tape. Eventually when all of the tape is covered, your kiddo has a brand new fancy bracelet to show off the whole way home.

 If they don’t want to be done yet, do another! You can wrap tape around their other wrist or even go for making an anklet. Or you can put tape on your own wrist so they can make one for you! 

Mud Painting

This is a fun but messy activity best completed outside. If your kiddo has an easel for painting, it would come in handy here! Together the two of you can dig up some dirt. Your little one can practice getting the dirt into their little hand shovel and depositing it into abowl or bucket. From there, just add water!

 Kiddo can mix the dirt and water to create “paint.” From there, it’s all them! Sit back and enjoy watching your little artist come to life. 

Another fun addition would be to have a few flowers or blades of grass that they can stick into the mud on the paper for an extra cool effect. Warning, Kiddo will probably need a bath after this activity. 

A Mixed-Up Classic

A classic suggestion for outdoor artistic activities is, of course, sidewalk chalk. No matter the age, chalk can keep a little one engaged. However, you can mix it up a little bit and keep things interesting: Try making paint with the chalk!

Crush up the chalk in a bowl or bucket and add water to create chalk paint. Your kiddo can use a brush or fingers to apply the paint to the sidewalk. 

Don’t Stress!

Getting outside and keeping our babies entertained can feel like a lot of pressure. I hope these suggestions take a little bit of weight off and that you and your kiddo are able to enjoy some sunshine together. 

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

We’re looking ahead to Mother’s Day and how we can help our little ones show their love to their Mom or caretakers . Here are a few quick and simple ideas to get your little ones involved in the fun of planning Mother’s Day. 

Keepsake Gifts

Finger painting crafts can be fun and sentimental, using red paint on your kiddo’s thumb to create little hearts all over a piece of construction paper folded in half. You also can paint the outline of your little one’s hand and use it as the top part of a flower. Adding on the stem and little leaves and even a flower pot at the bottom.

I loveeeee receiving a plant as a gift. As a kindergartener, I gave my own mom a spider plant as a gift, and she still has it in her living room 25 years later!

 Your kiddo can paint a flower pot using their fingers, paint brushes, or paint markers. Even if the plant eventually grows too big for the pot, it can be reused with other plants in the future.

 Another suggestion that I would love to receive is a painted picture frame with a photo of mom and kiddo or the whole family. These simple keepsakes are something to cherish for years and years to come. 

How to Fill the Day

Mom works hard, and we all know it! A great way to decide what activities to do on Mother’s Day is to look at the mom in your life and what she does for fun or to relax. How about getting the kiddos involved in cooking up some breakfast and letting mom sleep in. Really little ones can do things like wash fruit in a colander. If you go for smoothies, they can help with throwing everything into the blender and pressing the buttons. What color straw would mom want?? They know the answer! 

What other activities could be fun for mom and the kiddos on Mother’s Day? You could gather the supplies to make an herb garden. This can work whether or not you have a yard at your home. You can use larger terracotta pots. Then mom and kiddo can tend to the plants together and eventually use some of the herbs as ingredients for dinner. 

Lessons from Plants

Helping kiddos learn how to plant and take care of flowers, herbs and other plants is a great life skill. It allows for children to practice patience, waiting for the flowers to bloom and getting more comfortable with delayed gratification.

 It teaches kiddos the important task of caring for another living thing. It is also just another fun way to get the kiddos excited about getting outside and into the sun. 

Get Ready to Dance

My last Mother’s Day activity suggestion is for personal  motivation. A Mother’s Day dance! Ok hear me out, this could be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. But  a dance party is never a BAD idea. 

Grab a bluetooth speaker and put on the mom in your life’s favorite playlist. 

If you want to go all out, you can get streamers and balloons to make it a real party. 

Have a great Mother’s Day! You’ve got this!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

When our little ones behave aggressively or in ways we don’t find appropriate, it can be tempting to put them in time out. However, time outs could have more negative consequences for our babies. Time outs can be damaging for young children with long-term impacts on their emotional health. 

So, what’s so bad about time out?

More Stressed and Isolated

 First, time outs don’t do what they are  intended to do. The goal of the time out is to address a specific action by the child that was not acceptable.  But time out instead can lead to children feeling more stressed out or anxious because they are alone trying to manage their big emotions in isolation. 

Young children can perceive Isolation as having lost their parents’ love. That can fracture that attachment relationship that has been built.

 Time out also can exacerbate the original action that caused the time out. While sitting alone,  they might feel resentful and continue to behave the same way because of this.

 Time out can instill a belief in our little ones that they are “bad” and lowers their self worth.

Calming Corners

So, what is a better option? You might have heard of a calming corner. 

It might sound like a watered-down version of time out, but I promise there is a lot more to it. 

The purpose of the calming corner is to support a child while they are trying to manage their big emotions. Children are not automatically going to understand how to regulate their emotions. As their caregivers, we can set them up for success in life by starting early and providing the tools, environment and support to start self regulating early.

 A calming corner consists of a dedicated space with a comfy place to sit, such as pillows or a beanbag, sensory toys like fidgets or weighted stuffies, and soft or dim lighting. You can include some age-appropriate books about feelings or informational posters showing different types of emotions or breathing techniques. 

The calming corner offers your kiddo a specific safe space to turn to when they are feeling overstimulated and encourages them to be independent in their choice of which tool or toy to use for emotional regulation each time. 

Processing Emotions

Over time, the calming corner can become a great help in handling negative emotions in our little ones. It will encourage children to process their emotions while not feeling shame around them.

 You might even see a reduction in the number of tantrums you’re dealing with each week. 

If you want to introduce a calming corner in your home, here are some tips:

• Introduce the calming corner when your kiddo already calm and can become acquainted with the area. If you try to introduce the corner when they are already dysregulated, it may be perceived as a punishment. 
• Guide your child through the different sensory items, such as books, posters, fidget toys and stuffies.
• Explain that the child gets to choose which item to use. Maybe even go over breathing techniques like five-finger breathing so that you can implement it later. 

Long-term Success

Tantrums can be extremely frustrating for us parents, but for children who haven’t had much practice at emotional regulation, those big feelings can be scary.  A calming corner might seem like a little thing, but it can make a big difference for your little one. 

And that change now also can help later when your child is older and having to handle emotional regulation out in the world. 

The consequences of having disproportionate reactions to certain situations or individuals can create long-term issues for adults. So let’s start early and set our babies up for success by working on emotional regulation as soon as we can. You’ve got this!  

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works as a crisis responder. Her son is three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

Does your child bite? My almost 3-year-old son has gone through that stage, and it’s frustrating – and painful! When biting by young children becomes an ongoing problem, it needs to be addressed, no matter the reason. 

What’s the best way to do this? As always, remain calm and consistent! 

Biting by young children can be a form of communication, especially for little ones who might not have the right words to express their frustration or excitement. 

Biting also might be related to a power struggle. For example, one child bites another to secure the toy they wanted to play with. Or biting could be due to overstimulation, a child is exhausted, overwhelmed, or hungry. 

Keep It Simple

As with most things with our kiddos, it’s best to be as consistent as possible. We don’t want them thinking if they continue that they could get a different outcome. 

You could respond with, “No biting. Biting hurts.” Then focus your attention on making sure the victim of the biting is OK. 

This helps enforce to your child that biting is not rewarded with positive attention. 

Once you are able to return your attention to your child, it is okay to validate how they are feeling. Acknowledge that they could be feeling upset or frustrated. 

But always maintain that biting is never OK.

Learn From the Moment

Next, attempt to turn the situation into a learning moment. Offer an alternative to biting. 

For example, if your child bit another child who stole the toy your child was playing with, you could suggest finding a safe adult to help address the other child. 

Or, if your child is comfortable, he could tell the other child that he was still playing with the toy and he’ll share when he’s ready to play with something else.

 It’s great to find any opportunity to show our kiddos how to communicate using our words.

Take a Break

 If it seems like maybe the biting was sourced from overstimulation, address that. Maybe your kiddo is exhausted and needs a break to lay down. Maybe it’s too loud, and your child was just feeling really uncomfy.

 After addressing the cause of the overstimulation, you can remind your little one to find a parent or teacher who can help them move to quiet space or take a break from the current activity.

Never Use Physical Punishment

Don’t bite your kiddo back! That will just enforce the idea that biting is acceptable in some circumstances. 

Remember to never address behavioral problems with physical punishments. 

Also, always supervise your kiddo during play time with other children, especially during high stress times like when there are a lot of children present. 

More Guidance

At what point should we as parents reach out for professional guidance?

 If it seems like your child is not growing out of this phase or it’s escalating, there could be another reason or stressor causing the misbehavior. If the biting is accompanied by other aggressive behavior, it could be time to ask your pediatrician for suggestions. 

You also can try opening up to your parent-friends. A lot of parents deal with a lot of the same things. It’s OK to talk about things that are challenging us as parents. 

Keeping those parts of our thoughts bottled up can create even more pressure, and other parents might have great advice for you! 

And utilize your village. Ask your own parents, aunts, uncles, cousins how they handled the challenges of parenting. It can be hard to ask, but try to accept the support when you can. We can all use it!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works in advocacy for victims of interpersonal violence. Her son is almost three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

Young kiddos are still finding their words and understanding their emotions. It can be hard to find the correct reaction when they lash out physically through hitting or kicking. 

Obviously, we want to express to them that aggressive behavior like hitting and kicking is not to be tolerated. But it’s important for us to look at more than just the bad behavior itself. 

As parents, we have to learn how we can help our children avoid lashing out with hits and kicks. I hope these tips that I use might be helpful to you, too.

Immediate Actions

To start, what immediate actions can we take when our child becomes aggressive? 

This could be one child hitting or kicking another. It can also look like a kiddo getting really worked up and hitting or kicking a caregiver or items around the home

 Sometimes the hitting or kicking could be a burst of energy that the child just doesn’t know what to do with. 

Stay Calm

 As parents, we have to stay calm and regulate ourselves. The more regulated we are, the more likely our little ones are to reciprocate when their nervous system is overwhelmed. Our calm transfers to them. It was once framed to me this way by another mom: “They aren’t giving us a hard time. They are having a hard time.” 

Here’s how I try to handle it.

 Once I’ve taken a deep breath and prepared myself to stay calm, I move closer to my little guy. This is just to keep him contained, make sure there is nothing that could hurt him if hit or kicked. I get down to his level so we can look at each other.

 What I really want to avoid is yelling from across the room or meeting his energy or aggression level. 

Depending on what exactly is going on, I try a couple different things. If my kiddo hit the dog, for example., I might get in close and calmly communicate that we don’t hit. I also model a gentle or soft touch to give him another opportunity to practice the correct response.

Tantrums

 If my kiddo is overwhelmed or possibly having a “tantrum,” I want to be sure he’s safe. If it appears he might hurt himself, I can gently but firmly hold him without any yelling or punishing to stop the action. 

Once my child is regulated and feeling a bit better, I remind him of my expectations. It is important to be straightforward and concise. I avoid lecturing or over explaining. When our kiddos are overstimulated, they aren’t in a place to be able to take in or process a lot of information. So, I’m direct and concise: “We don’t hit. Hitting hurts.” 

Redirect

From there, I try to redirect my little one. This could be as simple as giving him another outlet for his aggression or pent-up energy.

 When my kiddo starts swinging his arms, my first instinct is to direct him to the couch or bed, whichever is closer, to give him something soft to hit. 

I believe a lot of my kiddo’s aggression stems from having too much energy and no idea what to do with it. After he finishes punching the couch cushions, I know it’s probably time for some sort of active game like an obstacle course in the backyard! 

Naming Emotions

And as for working to prevent this behavior in the future, I’m trying to help my little guy name his emotions.

 “Are you feeling angry because daddy had to leave to go to work and can’t keep playing?” This can help him gravitate towards expressing hisfeelings verbally because he has the words to identify them.

 If I feel my kiddo starting to get a bit more escalated, I try to think back to what the source could be. Does he need his nap? A snack? Time in a less stimulating environment? I try to address the need to help avoid the behavior later. 

We aren’t mind readers, and we are all just doin’ the best we can! That’s a fact. I hope my experiences might help provide some insight that will help you keep your kiddo and household just a little bit calmer. 

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works in advocacy for victims of interpersonal violence. Her son is almost three years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACSvouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

Does your little one love trying new foods? Yeah, mine doesn’t either.

When he he was first starting out with solids, though, he surprised us with his openness to new foods. Since moving fully into toddlerhood, he has developed some preferences, that’s for sure. 

There are nights I end up making multiple dinners in an attempt to just get food in his belly. That isn’t exactly a good financial move.

I decided to dive into finding a way to curate the best dinner experience possible to get my little guy to take those bites – hopefully from the first dinner I’ve prepared!

Safe Foods

When attempting to introduce a new food to your little one, it’s helpful to pair it with two other ‘safe foods’ that you know your kiddo will be excited about or at least comfortable with. 

You also can give your little one some control by offering options for what one of the safe foods will be. That way, your child definitely will get a portion of something that is well liked. This can make getting them seated at the table a little less chaotic.

 That first time they try a new food that is completely unknown and strange, it can help to keep the portion size small so that it will seem less overwhelming at first glance. And by pairing it with those safe foods, it doesn’t feel totally unknown.

Model Behavior

Another way to get your child interested in a new food is to model the behavior for them. It can be encouraging to our little ones when we show that we are open to trying new things and we talk positively about the new food. 

Getting your kiddo involved in the meal preparation helps, too. When my son helps with chopping the veggies, stirring them around the pan or adding seasoning, he is much more apt to at least try the new food. These phrases might help build confidence:

• “You did such a great job cooking dinner.”
•  “Do you want to see how good it tastes?”
• “ I couldn’t have done it without you!” 

Make It Fun

Try using cookie cutters to create fun shapes, encouraging or modeling playing with the food, making funny faces and sounds. Make it as fun as possible.

Another tactic is to offer a “no, thank you” bite. This is when the little one has to try a little taste before they can say no to the food.  

Try, Try Again

I’m not going to sugar coat it. This is a process. Even if you incorporate all of these ideas, your kiddo may still refuse the food or say “no more” after one small taste. Don’t get discouraged! It’s all about repeated exposure.

 According to the Centers for Disease Control, it can take upwards of 10 times of trying a new food before a child begins to like it.

Ten times?  You got this!

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works in advocacy for victims of interpersonal violence. Her son is two-and-a-half years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.

Little ones love playing pretend and, especially, playing kitchen because they want to emulate their adults. I’m a big fan of getting my kiddo involved in what I’m doing around the house, including preparing food. Children learn and have fun while helping out.

When you feel your child is ready, getting your little one to help out around the kitchen can be a great way to give them more responsibility – with supervision – and spend more time together. If you have older kiddos, even better. It can be a group activity!

(Childproof) Knives Out!

Once our son got more comfortable around the kitchen, we introduced a set of childproof knives. The set came with a couple plastic knives that look like regular kitchen knives. It also included one wooden chopper and one metal crinkle vegetable chopper. These tools were easy for him to hold, and he got busy!

 Now that he is a bit older and has handled those childproof tools, we’ve moved on to more conventional looking – but still safe – tools. I started out just giving him vegetable scraps to practice with. I realized he was a lot more likely to eat his fruit if he had cut it up himself. Once we caught on to that, we encouraged him to help with dinner every night!

All we had to say:  “You made it yourself! You know it’s going to taste good!”

Go Easy

Finding ways  to keep those kiddos active, involved and learning is always a plus. But we all have a lot on our plate just surviving in 2026 as parents of little ones. It’s okay to admit feeling exhausted.

Combining a required task with your kiddo isn’t always conducive to the amount of available time. Maybe your day was really stressful and long, and you just want to get dinner out of the way. That’s ok, too! Work up to involving your little ones.

There is a lot of pressure on parents. So I just want to say: You’re doing a great job. 

Sophie Hamel is a freelance writer and works in advocacy for victims of interpersonal violence. Her son is two-and-a-half years old.

Luminous removes the hassle of arranging for tuition vouchers and helps make childcare affordable. Vouchers can help ease your financial stress. Learn more about qualifying for HRA and ACS vouchers at our Bronx and Brooklyn centers. Payment can also be made by SEIU/1199 Child Care, check, credit card, and through the Luminous reimbursement program. Contact Luminous Early Childhood Learning Center at enrollment@luminouschildcare.org or call us at 929.228.1180.