“Closing out Play” is, hands down, the best tip from the Dr.Sears series of books. For parents, it’s a matter of remembering to use this easy and simple technique. For toddlers, it provides a smooth transition from play to another activity. “Closing out Play” in my experience, eliminates distress for parents and toddler when “it’s time to go”.

Plenty, according to a psychologist Rochel Gelman, “Adults take it for granted because counting is so easy for us. Learning how to count things requires a lot more than just memorizing a series of words.” Try putting yourself in your child’s shoes by imagining the following: You decide to open a bank account, but instead of the normal warm reception from the manager, you receive this letter:

Dear Customer:
We have recently instituted a complex security system. In order to access your accounts, you will need to commit to memory the following rules. Good luck!

Children love this vivid purple smoothie! It’s a terrific way to get a juice fix, and because it’s made with yogurt and tofu, it’s rich in calcium and protein, which is essential for strong bones, teeth, and muscles. We added flax seed oil because it contains fatty acids that are essential for brain development. A spoon of honey not only adds some sweetness to the smoothie, it also is a powerful immune system booster. Enjoy!

I was flipping through a maternity magazine at my doctor’s office when I came across an advertisement for an innovative baby bottle by Adiri, designed with the help of doctors, moms and lactation consultants. The shape of the bottle captured my attention immediately; it looks nothing like your standard bottle, and well, it looks a lot like a breast. It turns out this “feature” not only differentiates this bottle in terms of form but mostly in function. This 100% BPA-free bottle “encourages the same type of open-mouthed latching that is required for breastfeeding, making bottle feeding and breastfeeding more easily interchangeable.”

Today, very little research is put into the creation of a baby registry. This is mainly due to the convenient ready-made lists your store of choice hands you along with the zapper. Those generic baby registry lists are categorized, itemized and tell you how many of each item to get. While it’s a great guide, I’m going to tell you how to make it even better.

These three essential tips will ensure you are registering for the best, most useful and safest products to meet your individual needs:

1. Take a new mom with you
2. Three must-have books on baby gear
3. Online ratings and reviews

Inevitably, children will get sunburned at some point in their young lives, so here is a hydrating herbal spray recipe to help relieve the pain. This formula is exceptionally mild yet effective and can be used even on infants.

If you can’t get your toddler to eat veggies - have them drink veggies! This beet smoothie is a unique, refreshingly healthy, and easy recipe to make. It works as a great afternoon pick-me-up, especially during hot summer days. Although strange at first, beets, combined with the right fruits and vegetables, create a wonderful earthiness that is not overpowering. With plenty of natural sugars and powerful disease-fighting antioxidants, they make a vivid smoothie that’s gorgeous.

When my cousin told me she’s struggling to get her 3 year old to eat veggies, I set out to find creative and easy snack options for them. As vegetarianism becomes more popular, partially for health concerns, there is more competition on the market for tasty options - great for us moms of toddlers. You will need to experiment to see which types of foods and brands your toddler likes and you’ll definitely land some winners that will become staples in your kitchen.

Here are 8 ways to include veggies in your toddler’s meal plan…

A quick, easy, and healthy vegetable recipe for your toddler. Sweet potatoes are some of the most nutritious vegetables, boasting high levels of Vitamin A, C, and manganese.

In the U.S., the common first food that is gentle on the stomach is baby cereal made of rice. I started my baby on organic cereal made of oatmeal by Earth’s Best. It’s a fantastic cereal that comes in a good size box for a good price. In general, I recommend oatmeal and brown rice cereal over the standard white rice cereal due to a stronger nutritional profile.

After a few months of baby eating solids, I came across a new cereal product, HappyBellies, which is the only organic immunity boosting probiotic dry cereal with DHA on the market.