baby-patch.com

Now this painting may not look like much, but it was fun to make. If you are feeling a little adventurous when painting with your toddler and you have mastered the handprints and finger painting, why not try this. Use a sheet of plastic (like a table cloth) or a large sheet of paper and fasten it to the table. Let your toddler have fun covering a large area of the plastic with paint and their fingers.

Then, using the wrong end of a paint brush or a blunt pencil let your toddler draw a design on the painted surface. Get a second piece of paper and lay it on top of the design, carefully press down and then lift off and you have a screen print! It takes a bit of practise to work out the best amount of paint to have on the paper / plastic - to much and the screen print smudges all over the design, to little and the paint does not transfer. As long as you all enjoy yourself in the process it dosent really matter what the end product looks like!

For more fun ideas to do with toddlers check out jelly painting!

Jen
www.baby-patch.com

As a mom, you might be thinking ‘what spare time????’ but if you want to earn a little extra cash completing paid surveys online is a great way to do it.

All you have to do is become a member of a free survey site, and then when you have a quiet moment have a look at the survey list and fill in what ever interest you. You can also review products and actually keep the products you review for free!
There are hundreds of companies willing to pay you for market research - what better way to earn a bit of spare cash to buy your next baby gift!

Check out www.surveyadvisor.net for more information.

Jen

I thought that I would share this cute photo of Ben on the day we bought him his first underpants. He enjoyed dressing up and putting the undies on his head rather than his bottom….

Toilet training has been a lot less daunting than I thought it would be. It has been a couple of weeks since we made the switch to undies and now Ben is pretty much toilet trainned.

We followed ‘Secret Blueprint to Potty Training Your Toddler in 1 - 3 Days’ and it worked really well, except we didnt need to use reward charts as Ben was happy with us reading books to him on the toilet so that was all the incentive he needed!

If you are at the same stage I hope your experience is as smooth as ours was.

Jen
www.baby-patch.com

I came home the other day and found Chris and Ben (our 2 year old) performing a puppet show with their newly made puppets.
Chris had drawn a couple of dinasours and cut them out. Ben coloured them in and then Chris stuck them on a paddle pop stick and stuck a couple of googily eyes on. They both had a great time making them.

These dinasour puppets are a easy, quick and fun creative activity to do with Toddlers. For more creative inspirations visit baby-patch.com

Jen
www.baby-patch.com

If you are looking for a unique and ethical gift for a baby or toddler, check out the website for Eternal Creation. Eternal Creation runs its own design and production workshop, the Himalaya Tailoring Centre, located in Dharamsala in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. They provide jobs for the local community and ensure high quality products are produced and ethical principles are maintained. They have a beautiful range of clothing for babies, toddlers and women.

See the beautiful clothing for yourself at http://www.eternalcreation.com

For more ethical gift ideas visit http://www.baby-patch.com/alternativegifts.html

Jen

If you are looking for a musical, fun and uplifting gift for a 2 or 3 year old, ‘I like to Sing!’ with Justine Clarke is a real delight. The songs are catchy, fun and have much variety. The DVD is bright and colourful with some animation and some dancing with children of all ages. As a host of PlaySchool, Justine Clarke knows how to appeal to young children and educate them in a musical, creative and fun way.

For more great baby and toddler gift ideas visit http://www.baby-patch.com/toys.html

Jen

If your child is as obsessed with The Wiggles as Ben is and demands that it is playing on every car trip, then their album ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’ is a good one for adults. It includes some old time songs that I remember from my childhood such as Dr Knickerbocker, The Shimmie Shake and You Make me Feel Like Dancing. So it is easier to listen to (for adults) and has a good dancing beat. And of course the kids love it as it has red, yellow, blue and purple on the cover and Jeoff, Anthony, Murray and Sam talk throughout the songs.

As a gift for a 2 - 4 year old, you cant really go wrong with giving a Wiggles CD, this band seems to have the formula right and children of this age seem to love them!

For More gift ideas for babies and toddlers visit http://www.baby-patch.com/toy.html

Jen

Ben enjoys sitting on the toilet and since we have started the tranisition from nappies he tends to take his time. I am sure he likes the attention, loves having books read to him and sometimes it just takes time! I was getting stressed as while I was in the bathroom with Ben, Emily (5 months old) would be happy for a few minutes on her playmat in the lounge, but would then start crying, I would bring her in but have no where to put her down once Ben needed help.

So I started using our second diaper change table mat on the floor of the bathroom. Emily is happy lying on this while I read to Ben and get him organised, I have my hands free and she is part of the action! The mat is waterproof and soft. So everyone wins!

For more parenting ideas visit http://www.baby-patch.com/sleeptips.html

Jen

Somewhere between 2 and 3 years most children transfer from sleeping in a cot to sleeping in a bed. This is an exciting time for the toddler and parents. Purchasing sheets, blankets, pillows, quilts and mattress protectors are all extra expenses. If you are looking for a practical gift for a 2 year old a nice set of bed set would be most welcomed. A 2 year old is still young enough to not worry if his / her birthday present is looked at and then stored away for a few months. And the parents will have one less thing to worry about when transitoning to a bed!

For more 2 year old gift ideas visit http://www.baby-patch.com/toy.html

Jen