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Imaginative play is crucial to your child’s social and intellectual development. Creativity, empathy , problem solving and social constructions all begin here. By promoting and encouraging your child’s imagination, you are providing the building blocks of healthy, normal behavior.

Though imaginative play is often unstructured play, that doesn’t mean there aren’t particular toys or props that can encourage and spark your child’s imagination.

One crucial distinction is that between “open ended” toys and “licensed” toys. A “licensed” toy is pre-defined, one based on a television character or a popular movie. Your child is told how to play with it and in what manner the toy should be used. Essentially, the toy’s use and your child’s imagination are immediately constricted and undermined.

On the other hand, “open ended” toys allow your child to construct their own play parameters. Examples of “open ended” toys might be clay, wooden blocks, nondescript dolls or simple props not tied to television or books. By offering up simple toys not tied down to someone else’s idea of play, you will be encouraging your child’s creativity, resourcefulness and competence.

Props are a good way to bolster imaginative play and they provide a good starting point. A play kitchen could lead to months of pretend cooking. A firetruck can provide hours of entertainment playing “fireman.” A tea set can become a full house party. But, whether it’s an expensive high-tech go-kart or a simple, wooden push-car, props not only contribute to imaginative play, but can also help get things started. Sometimes, the simpler the toy, the better.

The use of props also extends to costumes. Playing “dress-up” can mean anything from a paper hat to a purchased costume, but it all contributes to healthy social development. Role playing allows your child to work their imagination, practice social scenarios, solve creative problems, and work co-operatively with their play partners.

The key to finding the right props or toys is to choose items at the right level. A 6 year-olds’ complex imaginative play scenarios could be way beyond the ability or interest of a toddler, just as a basic game of peek-a-boo holds little interest for that same toddler.

If you’re having trouble encouraging imaginative play in your child, then try starting it yourself and beginning by engaging your child with you. But, remember, it’s your child’s development, not yours so let them take the lead when they’re ready.

Get children’s toys from Kids toys.

Young children love to learn. The preschool and elementary school years are a great time to build an interest in science that will last through their educational career and perhaps beyond.

Don’t be intimidated by whatever knowledge you may have of science. You don’t have to know it all. You don’t have to be advanced in your understanding. At this level, you’re promoting interest in the topic and teaching the early foundations, not doing the math. It’s something you can do even if you didn’t enjoy science classes yourself.

There are many simple experiments you can do from home, and most don’t require anything special. You will often have the supplies you need in the kitchen, and if you don’t, they are often available at your local grocery store.

Cooking can be used to help teach basic concepts. When you cook with your kids, they can help you measure things out, learning about what makes a half cup half of a cup. Simple things like that which you understand, you can teach.

There’s more than that which you can do with cooking, however. You can make rock candy to show your kids how much sugar can be dissolved in water, and what happens as it collects on a string, forming crystals. You can make ice cream to talk about the freezing point and how liquids become solids.

Boiling water can be a lesson on liquids becoming gasses. Mixing baking soda with vinegar demonstrates a chemical reaction. Cream can be made into butter. Yeast makes bread rise.

These lessons do not have to stop after elementary school. You can discuss the different kinds of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and how they relate to cooking.

When you’re using yeast or making crystals, don’t forget the magnifying glass or microscope to take a look at the details. You can view the yeast out of the bread, then take a sample of the bread dough after it rises and see how the yeast made the bread look. You can compare crystals grown under different circumstances. Doing this and noting the details is a way to demonstrate the basics of the scientific method.

The best part about many kitchen experiments is that they can be eaten after. This is not true for every experiment, but it’s not uncommon. You can also explain the various scientific aspects at different levels for different ages of children. Boiling water turns to gas for younger children, but as they get older, a discussion of what is happening, what the boiling point is and so forth becomes more appropriate.

Don’t forget the great times you can have in the kitchen. It’s time you get to spend having fun with your kids, exploring things you take otherwise for granted.

Stephanie Foster blogs at Home with the Kids about being a stay at home mom. Get more ideas on science with your child at http://www.homewiththekids.com/funwiththekids/educational/science.php.

You do not have to go through the trouble of walking from one baby gift shop to another just to find that perfect baby gift. A wide variety of baby gifts is within your reach from the comfort of your own home. A great way to get a baby gift is to have a child to choose the gift.

Baby gifts are a lot of fun to not only give but to receive when you are expecting. Personalized baby gifts are unique keepsakes to commemorate your baby’s birth. All he or she really needs at that point are food, love, warmth, and shelter. Remember, cool baby gifts are not just for the baby.

Friends, family and colleagues usually throw baby showers; this is to honor the couple that is expecting a new born baby into the world. The purpose of the shower is to bestow gifts upon the parents-to-be so that is generally items that are necessary for babies. It doesn’t matter if your baby shower is in an elegant restaurant, or a banquet hall or a warm cozy home.

When having a new baby come into the world the parents will need the obvious supplies, diapers, soap, lotions, powder and many other products will be a necessity for the baby. There are so many different gifts to purchase that most gifts will fit any type of budget. You can purchase inexpensive items and have them personalized and this will make an exceptionally great gift.

Of course the greatest gift you could give is the baby furniture, this will help the parents out with a tight budget. Personalizing these items can be arranged. Clothing and related items are always welcome gifts, and if these are personalized, are valued that much more.

Think outside the box quite literally. Pretty baskets are great to hold an assortment of gifts and many craft stores put them on clearance quite often. The gift that you give is for the mother and the baby, but the baby does not know what it wants or needs so you must make the gift suitable for both. Upscale baby gift baskets are a great choice for the uncertain shower attendee.

No matter what theme you choose baby gift baskets will make a lasting impression. Everyone loves chocolate so including chocolates in the basket is a great gift. Baskets are usually divided into girl themes, and boy themes. Gift baskets can be used for many different occasions, births, baptisms, baby showers and first birthdays and even many different holidays.

New parents can never have enough. Choose one of these baby shower gifts and you will have given a gift that will become a favorite. These baby shower gifts are choices that parents will love. When getting gifts for parents make sure you get something they can use now and not have to store away, they will have enough to stock up on.

You can include many different items in a gift basket; you could include chocolate, cookies, baby food and candies to name a few. As everyone knows new parents love to take pictures so adding picture frames and photo albums is a great idea and is something that can be used.

David Marc Fishman creates personalized party favors. Find out how to get child party favors for your birthday party.

There are Five Safety Secrets that truly make kids safe. These Secrets set the foundation of true safety for a lifetime in children, and can do the same for your child.

These Secrets will also surprise you. They work quietly and effectively beneath the surface of your child’s brain. If you use these Five Secrets, they will make any safety technique that much more effective. Without these Five Safety Secrets, your child will never be able to keep themselves safe. Ever.

Secret #1: Confidence.
Confidence and a positive self image are crucial in good child safety. Confident kids are less of a target for sexual predators. Not only do they stand taller and keep their heads up higher, they represent a problem, a less than easy victim for sexual predators.

Confident kids project “struggle” for any predator trolling for kids and more often than not, predators will pass them by. More often, predators will choose kids that appear weak and sad, a child in need of a friend. These are the kids that hang their heads, shuffle down the street and have a hard time looking anyone in the eye when they talk to them.

Confidence is a powerful deterrent.

And yet, there is something more, something deeper when your child is confident. Confident kids display certain structural changes, physical changes in their bodies that serve them better than kids that have poor self-images. Confident kids can control their physical movements a little bit better. At the same time, they can move more quickly and with finer control of those movements. We find confident kids can actually focus better mentally and for longer periods of time.

In other words, these kids are better equipped physically, mentally and emotionally to learn the actual safety techniques that could save them from sexual predators than kids that feel bad about themselves. Kids that hang their head, shuffle around, are tired or ill, cannot move with as much control or quickness or think as clearly as kids that are healthy and confident. A high degree of self confidence and a positive self image matter in good child safety.

Secret #2: Empowerment.
Empowering your child to take care of themselves is one of the most powerful Safety Secret you can learn.

When you empower your child, you truly teach them to make choices for themselves. When you mentor them as a parent you actually guide them into learning to make good, positive choices for themselves on their own. When they can do this, they will truly be safe for a lifetime.

In its simplest form, empowerment means your child feels like they have a measure of control over their life. They feel they can make their own decisions. Most kids don’t feel this ability. Most kids do not have it, either. Parents and adults are constantly making decisions for children:

-When to eat
-What to eat
-When to get up
-When to go to sleep
-Where to go
-Who to go with
-What to do

The list can go on endlessly. Life for a child can feel completely out of their control. Kids will engage in a struggle with their parents to get some control of their lives. In doing so it usually comes across as conflict.

-No! I don’t want to go!
-I don’t like that!
-I’m not eating that!
-Stop it!
-I don’t want to!
-Leave me alone!

The Secret to empowering your child, even at the youngest of ages, is in giving them their own choices to make. Give them alternatives to situations in their lives, let them make some of their own choices.

This too, can be pretty simple. For example, instead of serving them broccoli, ask them to choose between carrots, peas or broccoli or another vegetable. Give them a choice to make instead of just putting one on their plate. Instead of the green dress, ask your daughter which one she would like to wear. Instead of forcing your child into the brown shoes, ask them which ones they would like to put on today.

These are pretty simple examples, but this about as easy as it gets in empowering your child. Giving your child choices is crucial in their development. It is crucial in their ability to keep themselves safe, too.

Making choices matters to kids. When you do this simple, easy thing, miracles will happen within them. An empowered child starts to feel good about themselves. And what would consistent, good feelings about themselves lead to? Confidence!

Will your child always make good choices for themselves? No. That is where you, Mom and Dad, come into the picture. You, as a mentor to your child, can guide them through the array of choices they will face. You can guide them and teach them about good choices and the benefits of making good choices for themselves. It is what safe kids are all about.

Secret #3: Catch Them Being Good.
When your child makes a bad choice, it’s important for you to stay calm about it. Yes, this is easier said then done. However, it is critical in your child’s ability to keep themselves safe, that you learn to take their mistakes in stride.

You have to spend more time and energy catching your child being good.

A subtle prodding towards better choices is more effective than highlighting, in a big emotional way, any bad choice they make for themselves. If you have to highlight negative behavior, be very careful in saying, “That was a bad choice,” rather than “You are bad.” Take care to say, “You can make better choices,” instead of saying, “How stupid!” Things like, “You’re a great kid but that choice could have been better,” keeps your child’s image of themselves solid and highlights the choice only, not them, as being bad. Your child is good, the choice is bad.

Building confidence, building a solid self image in your child, builds safety. Capitalize on this and highlight the good things they do more often than the bad things. As a matter of fact, focus on highlighting as many good things as you can rather than making a big deal about the bad things they may do.

Catch Them Being Good.

Positive reinforcement is a much stronger teaching tool and technique for child safety than negative reinforcement. Praise your child when you see them doing good behaviors. Lavish the praise and adulation onto them when they do really great things. This is also positive mentoring. This is channeling your child into learning how to make good, solid and positive choices for themselves. It builds and fosters that ever-so-critical confidence in themselves.

It is easier to notice the bad behavior. We are tuned by society to notice the negative and bad things people do. It is very easy to notice the bad things your child does. It is a focus of many parents, naturally. Reverse the trend and make your focal point the things your child does well. Positive reinforcement will teach your child to repeat those behaviors you want and make it easier for you to guide them into those good choices.

Secret #4: Listening.
Another crucial Secret in teaching kids to be safe is to let them know you are listening to them.

Listening to your child goes beyond the standard, “Yep. Un huh. Sure.” These kinds of responses they get daily. True listening, the kind that allows your child to feel like they are really being heard and understood, is a special parenting skill.

Listening to your child happens in two ways: one, you allow them to say what they need to say, in their words, in their way, however they want to say it. It may be challenging to follow this advice, especially when your child speaks in disjointed sentences or jumbled words. They may take 5 or 10 minutes out of your busy day, but just let them talk without interrupting them. You can tell when it is important versus when they are just mumbling or making noise. Sit and listen to them. Take the time, make the time.

Two, listen to what they say without judgment. Even if you do not like what you hear, even if you feel upset by what you hear, listen to it. Be quiet, look them in the eyes with your full attention and simply listen to them.

Your child is coming to you. They need your attention. They believe at that moment you will listen to them. Do it. Reserve judgment and negative feelings about what they are saying for another time.

When you do this you are building on the future, on your child’s safety. They need to feel, deep inside, they can tell you about anything. They need the security of knowing you will listen to them and what they have to say. If your child is threatened in any way, they will need to come to you, Mom or Dad, and tell you. That rapport and comfort for them needs to be established at a young age. You start by simply listening to them.

Secret #5: Repetition.
This last Secret is probably the most important of all. You must use it and apply it, day in and day out at home.

True learning for your child comes with repetition. That is your job. You need to do it at home.

Repetition does not need to be boring, either. Make games out of things you want to teach. Use fun words and phrases your child uses when talking about safety. Fold in your child’s favorite toys, cartoon characters or things they like into activities you do several times a week. These are simple yet exciting skills for reinforcement activities. It’s repetition with excitement. What a great way to learn for any child!

Working with our techniques is also something to do a few times a week. Stay away from daily practice routines as if this was a sport as this is the surest way to bore your child and lose their attention.

Make learning safety fun. Make it exciting. Fold in the whole family and enjoy learning about true safety for a lifetime together.

Joyce Jackson is a child safety expert in northern California. For her extensive website and information see Keeping Kids Safe and a free special report at STOP Predators COLD!

Make sure you hire the right baby sitter for your kids if you want to have a great time when you go out without them. Just knowing they are in safe, capable hands means you can enjoy yourself without having to worry about what’s happening at home. Here are a few tips for choosing the right baby sitter for your kids.

Ask around

Hiring a baby sitter who is known to you or even known to a friend of a friend is certainly better than hiring a total stranger. So ask your friends, colleagues and neighbors. Somebody is sure to have a teenage kid or at least know somebody else who does. Teenagers can always do with the extra money and would be happy to baby sit for you. Don’t forget to ask your nephews and nieces first. They may just relish the opportunity of spending time with their little cousins.

Get to know your baby sitter

It is vital to have the baby sitter come on over prior to D-Day. Besides conducting a kind of casual interview with him or her, it’s even more important to gauge the chemistry between the babysitter and the kids as they spend some time together. You need to check out how the baby sitter deals with the kids as well as how the kids react to this new person into their lives.

Organize a trial run

If you don’t mind paying a little bit extra you could even have a trial-run to make 100% sure your choice is the right one. Look for the little things- the tone of voice, facial expressions, how the kids’ respond. One of the biggest advantages of having a trial run is that the kids will get the opportunity to know their baby-sitter while you are around. That way they will see the baby-sitter as a friend of the family and will not associate the baby-sitter with you going away.

Boys v/s boys

Teenage boys make perfect baby sitters for younger boys. Everybody knows younger boys look up to the bigger ones and hero-worship them. As for the bigger boys, they secretly love being looked-up to. It’s the perfect combination and everybody’s a winner.

Trust Your Instincts

Regardless of how well you may know the baby-sitter or how highly recommended he or she comes, if you feel this is not the right person for your kids, look for someone else. Sometimes the chemistry is just wrong and your kids and the baby sitter may not hit it off for no apparent reason. Also make sure your baby sitter is mature and capable enough to make a phone call in case of any emergency.

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When your kids are growing up, it is often very fun and rewarding to buy furniture and decorations in order to create a comfortable room for them. This is part of the parent’s desire to create the best living environment possible for the children. When you start to furnish a room for your child, you’ll be faced with all kinds of choices that you have to consider. You’ll want a room that looks nice, but is also a safe and useful place for your child to be and play. So read on for some of the main things that you need to think about when buying furniture.

First you should consider how appropriate the furniture is for the child’s age range. Will you need a crib, a small bed, or a bunk bed for multiple kids? Stemming from this choice, your selection of sheets will be entirely different, and so on. Try to think towards the future, about what your child will like as he or she grows older. Instead of spending tons of money on decorations from his favorite cartoon, get posters of animals and far-away places. These kinds of things can hold a small child’s imagination captive just as well as an older child or even an adult.

Safety is another issue, though it is not something you should worry compulsively about. Many people go overboard with childproof things, when it would be better for the child to simply be cautious. However, there are certain things that are almost never a good idea. For example, do you need a tall bookshelf for the child’s chapter-books? Think about other options. You could use a small cabinet, or even just set the books on the window-sill. A large bookshelf is a hazard, since a reckless kid could easily pull it over and get trapped.

You can find children’s furniture at many different stores and outlets. As long as you consider the age factor as well as the safety of the child, you should end up with a large selection. From there, you can choose according entirely to your own taste and fashion sense. Just don’t go too overboard - keep in mind that most kids actually don’t mind (or even know how to tell) if their furniture matches, as long as they’ve got some cool stuff to keep them busy. Either way, shopping for children’s furniture is a very fun activity, and satisfies a very primal nurturing instinct.

Get children’s furniture from our kids furniture shop.

Now days so many kids are playing games on the computer, and others are entranced by television, and you may be wondering as a parent if board games are still a good option for kids. Yes, they definitely are, and playing educational board games with your kids is a great idea. In today’s world, many families are growing further and further apart; everyone doing their own thing. Board games can help to bring your family all together again for some fun, and not only that, but they are also very educational as well. If you are ready to get your family interacting with each other, then board games are a great idea.

You can use board games to teach your kids a variety of things in life. One example is the game called Settlers of Canaan, which is a Bible based board game. This type of a game is great for teaching your kids more about the Bible and helping them to see that the Bible is more than just a book they hear about in church. Also, for younger children you can use board games to teach them language skills or simple math skills as well.

Another game that you may have never considered, is the game of Chess. This can be a great game to play with your kids. Your kids will learn about how to come up with strategies and it also will teach them how to think logically and creatively as well. If you child seems curious about the game, then why not go ahead and teach them how to play and have some fun.

Believe it or not, computer games can be educational for your children as well, as long as the parents are involved. Be sure that you do not just give your child an educational computer game and then send them on their way, which is easy to do. Often you will find that using board games instead of computer games is a much better way to provide your kids with educational fun while interacting together as well. When you play board games together as a family, isolation will no longer be the problem it used to be, and no doubt you will all have a great time.

While you may think that board games are outdated and boring, they have actually come quite a ways in the past few years. There are many great board games out there that are fun and educational as well. These games help to make learning fun, and will provide entertainment for the entire family as well. If you pick the right board games, you can actually teach your kids various fundamentals like math, language, and even values without them knowing it.

Making memories together is important, and one way that you can do this is to start playing board games together as a family. No doubt they will memories that you all will cherish in the future.

Picking up skills can be fun, and games can be educational. Give your kids the best of both worlds, come visit 123KidsGames.com - Educational Kids Games and discover the best, most fun way to grow and learn. For educational Board games Visit Educational Board Games