With the school year in full swing it is hard to make time for playtime between extracurricular activities, dinner and homework. A routine is important but so is free-play. Active and balanced play is important because is lays the foundation for a resilient, healthy, skilled and successful society.
Did you know that 70% of Moms played outside when they were kids? Now only 31% of kids play outside today. As you can see, play is disappearing at home, in school and in communities. As a Mom myself those statistics break my heart. That is why I am grateful that CLIF Kid is dedicated to reclaiming play all year long. They are encouraging boys and girls everywhere to get back outside and create adventures.
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My sister and I are four years apart and I can remember playing outside for hours with her. We would play with the neighbor kids until our parents called us inside for dinner. The activities we played were ghost in the graveyard, flashlight tag, capture the flag and sometimes we were even allowed to walk down the road to play at the neighborhood park.
Make-Time-for-Play-2 The memories my sister and I made are so special to me and I want my kids to make wonderful memories as well. That is why as soon as they get home from school I allow them to play for at least an hour. My kids love playing outside at many places of play around our house and on rainy days they enjoy playing board games or playing with our dog. As a family we love to take family walks and go to museums and art galleries in Washington, DC. I absolutely adore watching my kids use their imaginations and make memories. Make-Time-for-Play-3
I make sure to provide my kids with CLIF Kid® Zbars while they are playing. CLIF Kid® makes nutritious snacks from organic ingredients that are specially-crafted for kids’ developing taste buds and active lives. As a Mom I appreciate that I am providing my kids with snacks that are Non-GMO and contain no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or synthetic preservatives. Check out the CLIF Kid video here.
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Make sure that you help your kids make time for play everyday. Not only are you encouraging them to use their imagination but you are helping them improve their physical, emotional and cognitive strength for years to come.
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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Kidloland App & Giveaway! – kiddcare.com
My kids are in love with technology. All Kinds. The iPad, the television, and my phone… always my phone. I don’t like to always give in to their need for the screen, but I definitely don’t always say no. I actually think it’s important for them to become familiar with technology because it is so much a part of our world now. Practitcally everything we do these days is through some type of technology. Heck, even my job as a blogger that I love so much is all because of technology.
They are all pretty tech savvy now, even my little two year old knows her way around my iPhone. I don’t want them just wasting away their little brains though. I have rules and restrictions and I prefer that they are doing something that will ignite their imagination and help them to learn.
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I have been over the moon with the Kidloland App these days. It’s amazing! It is absolutely full of amazing content; nursery rhymes, stories, alphabet games and songs, and practically everything that you would want your littles learning. It’s aimed for kids age 5 and under, but even my 6 year old has had a ball exploring the app. The one year subscription is well worth the $39. I can’t say enough that the content is really astounding. There is so much to see and learn that it would probably take the full year to get to all of it!
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I love when I find something that my kids love and I know will benefit other families and the Kidloland app is totally that. I’m not a huge fan of sharing my iPhone (that’s what the password is for, right?!), but the Kidloland App is so much fun that I can absolutely see my littles’ need for the screen. We’ve had a ball will the app and I know you will too!
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You can download the app for iOS HERE, Google Play HERE, and Amazon Appstore HERE.
We’ve teamed up with Kidloland to give you a subscription to the app! Don’t forget to enter the giveaway below 🙂
Zooby: Car & Home Baby Monitor – kiddcare.com
I spent the evening talking to my grandmother about how her kids were never seat belted in to the car. She just told me a story about running over my aunt with her car. That’s right. Running her over. My aunt was 18 months old at the time and because they didn’t really wear seat belts, she climbed right out the window while my grandmother was driving. Luckily she flipped under the car so my grandma only ran over her legs and believe it or not, my aunt didn’t have a single broken bone. Holy cow, right?! The craziest part is, I could totally see this happening to me- back then. I had four babies in five years; that’s a lot of crazy for one mommy. Thankfully for me, we wear seat belts now. There will be no climbing out of the car while strapped into a five-point harness. Whew.zoobyAs parents, we know how important it is to keep our little ones in rear facing car seats as long as possible. When I had my first baby six years ago, the baby had to be one year old and at least 20 lbs. before we could turn them around. By the time I had my third baby three years later, we were told to keep our littles rear facing until they’re at least two years old. I recently heard now that it would be safer to keep them rear facing until they’re three! I don’t know how to do that with their little legs? I guess they’d have to sit criss-cross-applesauce? It’s also hard to not be able to see their sweet face from the driver seat and anticipate their needs.
Also, when you have three big sisters, you inherit a pink car seat 🙂
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Zooby has solved this problem for me. The Zooby: Car & Home Monitor is made to be able to see those rear facing babies while you’re driving. The camera is strategically placed into the nose of an adorable plush animal. We chose Zackary the Zebra. I love his grey and white stripes and orange hair and tummy! He is darling and super fun to look at for my Little Man while we drive. The camera hooks onto the headrest of the car with a buckle strap so you know that it’s not going anywhere. I’ve heard those horror stories about car accidents and kids getting seriously injured by flying objects in the car. This will not happen with the Zooby camera. As far as I can tell, it’s strapped very securely around the headrest and stays in place. It’s also 100% wireless so you don’t have to worry about baby getting tangled in any cords!
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Now I can see my Little Man while he’s in his rear facing car seat. I know he is safe by following the car seat safety guidelines, and I can see his sweet face while I’m driving. The Zooby monitor can be paired to two cameras so if you’re like me and you’ve got lots ‘o’ babies, you probably have two rear facing car seats. Now you can see them both! The Zooby camera is super easy to move around so you can have a video monitor on the go, no matter where you’re headed. Hooray!
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