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http://www.squidoo.com/baby-parenting

Newborn Baby Parenting Guide
You have a new baby, and you are a proud parent.

Do you sometimes feel excited but also a little nervous about taking care of your new baby? Then you are like most parents. Even in the first days of life, your baby is starting to find out who you are.

http://www.squidoo.com/positive-parenting-article

5 Ways to Raise Joyful Kids

Raising joyous children is easier than you might think. An "all is right with the world" kind of happiness is deeper and more penetrating than a new toy or a bag of gummy worms. Genuine joy nurtures your children's spirits now and gives them the ability to access that joy for the rest of their lives.

http://www.squidoo.com/toddlerpottytraining

Helpful Toddler Potty Training Tips

Potty Training:
The time has come to get your toddler out of nappies; one of the next decisions is deciding whether to use a potty or the toilet. It's not really that important which one is chosen as long as the method of their use gets the results.

http://www.squidoo.com/toddler-parenting
Developing Good Manners In Kids
It is never too early to teach children good manners. Studies show that even at a very young age, kids are already capable of learning and experiencing empathy and concern for others. Teaching manners becomes easier when it is a common practice in the household.

http://www.squidoo.com/Children-learning

A great early learning activity
Rhyming Charades

Teaching your child early using rhyming charades is a great start to preparing your child for pre-school. Listening to words that rhyme is very important pre-reading and reading skills.

http://www.squidoo.com/parenting-family

Baby Sleep Tips - Some Tricks For The Transition
As a new parent, one of your priorities will be to establish
good sleeping habits with your newborn.

Your baby needs to learn to sleep on his own; the transition from sleeping with
his mother to sleeping by himself takes some time. Of course,

http://www.squidoo.com/Toddlers-Games

Bean bag balancing : Fun Family Game

This fun bean bag balancing game is a wonderful way to help your child's body and mind co-ordination, balance and control. Mom and Dad will also enjoy the fun and laughter of the bean bag balance challenge; it's a great family game.

http://www.squidoo.com/Kid-Crafts

Treasure Box - For All Sorts Of Treaures!

This easy, inexpensive treasure box will be a treasure in it self to your children, giving it their own personal touch. All children love to collect all sorts of amazing treasures.

http://www.squidoo.com/travelingwithtoddlers

Travelling with your toddler

Family vacations and daytrips are exciting and fun to look forward to, but getting to
your destination may not be so pleasant.

Playing with blocks can be so much fun for your kids that they'll never realize they're learning.

The best blocks, in my opinion, are the 12 inch long, different colored, corrugated cardboard blocks.

I find the small wood blocks to be extremely frustrating for young children because they fall over and don't lend themselves to easy stacking.

Here are some things you and your children can do with the bigger cardboard blocks:

Counting

* How many red?

* How many blocks does it take to make a wall?

* Stack up colors - which stack has the most colors? How many more red than blue?

* Arrange a pyramid with each row a different color. Count how many are in each row.

* Make a standing row of blocks (against the wall) as tall as each of you. The kids can count how many blocks high they are, and how many more blocks it takes to reach your height.

* Build a wide wall of yellow blocks propped up against your wall for support. Then using the same number of blocks in green, build a tall, narrow block wall right next to the yellow one. Ask the kids to guess which wall has more blocks (trick question because they have the same number.)

Colors

* Separate out the blocks by color and have your kids tell you their favorite color. Discuss what other items in the room are that color.

* Arrange a colored pattern. For example; yellow, blue, blue, yellow, blue, blue, ________, and ask your child which color should come next to continue the pattern.

Shapes
Take several blocks to create these giant shapes:

* Letter shapes.

* Number shapes.

* Triangle, rectangle, and square shapes.

Dominoes

* Arrange the blocks standing up on end like dominoes and tip the first one over. Watch them all fall! This helps children work on small muscle coordination, physics/spacing, and most of all - patience.

Wall building

* Build free-standing walls, first in a straight line and then curved. You can discuss why a curved wall stays up better, and why it works to alternate the next level of blocks so the block is not directly on the one below.

* Build walls for a home for Beanie Babies or Barbies. By setting them on their sides, the blocks can be used to make a complete floor plan with bedrooms, living room, and kitchen. The blocks even make good beds.

Lines
Place the blocks side by side in a long, flat line.

* The kids can practice their balancing skills by walking on them from one end to the other.

* Make the line a board game using them as tokens. Add dice and make up some simple rules.

Target Practice

* Last but not least, when it's time for the blocks to go back in the toy box, have a shooting contest. They'll be so busy throwing them into the toy box from 4 feet away, they won't even realize they're cleaning up!