Fruit Loops Cereal Straws - what were they thinking?

Judy at GoodyBlog has brought a new product to my attention that makes no sense at all. A straw made out of cereal. Do you drink your milk with it and then eat the straw - won’t it be disgustingly soggy?

Judy also links to a post at Consumerist.com that is equally incredulous.

Alas, one more thing to say “No” to when our kids ask.

Robert’s American Gourmet has recalled all of their Veggie Booty snacks due to possible salmonella contamination.

This is one of my kids favorites (mine, too!).

Kudos to Robert’s for acting quickly on this serious health issue.

To read about other (and at this point better) choices of snacks for kids - read Cheerios Snack Mix and Fizzix Fizzy Yogurt.

Here’s a shocker - my three year old doesn’t always listen to me. Usually she chooses to do her own thing when I need her to listen the most. You know, like when we are in a hurry, or in a place that requires more “grown-up” behavior.

Take for instance a week ago, at my fifth grader’s end of year celebration. To commemorate their reading accomplishments each student had their 5 minutes in the spotlight and read a book report that they had written.

I always try to arrive right on time to these events, so my daughter does not get restless waiting for the event to begin. Unfortunately, my timing was off and we showed up a few minutes late.

Aha! - one seat left in the middle of the back row. Perfect, or so I thought. As the teacher was giving the intro we stepped over a few knees and, plop, my daughter firmly settled herself into that one seat.

I gently nudged her over, and whispered to her that I should sit down first and she could sit in my lap. You see where this is going….

“No, this is MY seat!”, was the firm reply. Uh-oh.

Dealing with a stubborn 3 year old in that type of environment is tricky. If I had asserted my parental authority her resulting tantrum would have made us the stars of the show. So, I gave in and said ok, I would sit on the floor behind her. But this solution did not please her either.

“Sit next to me!”, was the demand. Where? In the lap of the parent next to us?

“Look, at all the space back here,” I said, indicating the floor behind me, “look how comfortable we will be. It is the best place to sit. Remember how much you like to stretch out and relax.”

Happily, I was able to avoid any big spectacle. We certainly disturbed a few parents in the back row, but the rest of the room was blissfully unaware of our drama.

So, what works with a three year old?

My only answer is …. DISTRACTION.

Over the years, I have tried every technique in the book. From time outs and consequences to bribery and rewards. And distraction was somewhere in that spectrum but I never perfected it.

I used to try to distract my boys when they were that age by turning their attention to something else. “Why don’t we do this instead?” or “Hey, look at that bird over there?” But this never worked.

For my daughter, I have learned that distraction works if I turn attention to herself or a prior experience that she enjoyed. “Remember when we did this, let’s do it again!” or “You are really good at doing something (dancing, jumping jacks, singing, running, whatever….) Can you show me (or teach me) how to you do it?”

She loves to show off her talents and compliments work magic. So, even when I am at the end of my rope and I just want to yell, I try to think of something nice to say, the results are amazing.

Give this technique a try - and comment back on how it works for you.

I am back, for now.

My site has been experiencing difficulty and has been down on and off for a few days now.

Of course, Murphy’s Law would have it that when John Chow linked to me - the site was down! AAARGH! Oh well, I won’t dwell on that.

Unlike my son who is change averse, I look at change as new opportunity. So, I hope that you will bear with me as I make the transfer from blogger to WordPress.

I am taking a crash course in domains, hosting, themes, and everything else that goes with a move.

My posting frequency will be way down for the rest of the week as I attempt the transition.

My new address will be www.neenmachine.com, but right now that site is down as well.

See you soon!