In this week’s episode we chat all things Halloween in 2020! And in the episode you hear us talk about the You’ve Been Booed activity for the neighborhood. Go listen to Ep. 82 of The Mom Voice for full details of how to “Boo” someone and feel free to use this free You’ve Been Booed printable.
Enjoy! And have a safe and Happy Halloween! xo
In Episode 40, you hear us talk all about our Elf on the Shelf experiences and how we are finding ourselves feeling like we’d like we need to revamp the purpose behind the Elf’s mission. Hoping to move away from the “naughty or nice” purpose – we chat about ways to incorporate positive reinforcement into your Elf’s presence in your home. And how to encourage kindness and acts of service with your children throughout the Christmas season!
News Alert! In order to bring about the magic of Christmas, the Elves needs help showing Santa all of the kind and loving examples that are out there in the world… because without love and kindness the magic of Christmas just doesn’t exist! That’s where the kiddos come in – the Elves are recruiting their help to report back to Santa ways that they are being kind and loving to others. And with this, the Elves can help fuel the Christmas magic that we all know and love! Listen to the full episode to hear our game plan on how we plan to shift the focus of “acting good for Santa” to “spreading kindness and love”… it’s a fun idea that can be adapted for age and situation – all while keeping the focus on kindness.
In the episode, you’ll also hear the idea of starting a “Christmas Kindness Journal”!
Hopefully you’ll join us in this fun re-vamp of Elf of the Shelf and share your experiences on social with hashtag #KindChristmasActs. And follow us @themomvoicepodcast so we can reshape them. We hope to make this a meaningful experience for our children, and one that encourages them to look for selfless, kind ways to give back to others!
Need ideas for acts of kindness? This is a challenge that we will both be doing with our families throughout the Christmas season! Light The World is an easy way to generate service opportunities for your family… it’s been so great in years past and we’re excited to do it again!
And if you need some ideas for the younger ones – here’s a free printable to spur some ideas! HAVE FUN with it and get creative!! Your kiddos will have a blast with this! xo
As part of Episode 5, we discussed an article by Valerie of babywisemom.com where she talks about 6 reasons to love your strong-willed child. If you are like us, you probably have a child who’s a little bit on the stubborn side… who struggles to listen and follow direction very well. And trust me, we get it! We know that those children are the ones who can drive you the craziest and ones you can love on the most!
So if you ever find yourself in need of a little pep talk in regards to these kiddos, check out this article. Valerie gives a wonderful perspective on the topic and shares why we should try to see the positive in some of those traits that we often deem to be negatives. Read the full article here:
In Episode 2 you hear us talk about sleep training a bit and the ‘cry it out’ method. We know there is so much debate about this online and among various groups but after sleep training 7 kids between the two of us, we both strongly recommend this process. It has worked well for both of us in training our children to put themselves to sleep at night and for nap-times. So, here’s a few tips for how we do it.
1.) Pick the right time. Make sure baby isn’t sick, or going through a growth spurt. Or that you haven’t recently moved or will be traveling soon. You want to make sure there is as much consistency as possible around baby to support the sleep training.
2.) Make sure baby is ready! I never recommend cry it out before 3 months old or before baby reaches 16 pounds. I was once told by our pediatrician that at 16 pounds a baby weighs enough to sleep through the night (now – I’m no doctor so take that for what it’s worth!)
3.) Use your intuition. As mom, you know your baby the very best. You know whether they are waking up in the middle of the night due to hunger or if they are just looking for a little social time or just to see your pretty face. If you feel confident that baby isn’t hungry through the night (and if baby’s doctor is OK with it) go for cry it out!
4.) Get ready! Before starting cry it out, make sure everyone in the house is on board and ready for a little noise. In all honesty, I have had some children who have only cried for 20 minutes and some who have cried over an hour. Either way, get ready for hard night.
5.) Just do it. Make sure to shower baby with lots of love all day. Fill up their love tank and make sure that they are well excerised and tired for that evening. Implement a bedtime routine if you don’t have one already (we do bath, pjs & prayer). After the bedtime routine, take baby to bed and give a hug and a kiss. Say to baby in a loving, soothing voice “Mommy loves you. Have a good night’s sleep… I’ll see you in the morning”. Then with lights off, walk out and close the door.
6.) Monitor the Situation. I have used video monitors for most of my sleep training. I like to be able to see how baby is doing and gauge the crying. It’s comforting to me to know that they aren’t crying because their arm is stuck in the crib or something has happened. So, if you have a video monitor handy, use it! Also, keep track of the time. I don’t advise letting your child cry for more than 50-60 minutes. At that point, I would go in and check on them and make sure everything is OK (no poopy diaper, no throw up, etc.). But I would do this WITHOUT SAYING A WORD and WITH NO EYE CONTACT. Baby needs to know that social hour is over and there won’t be any interaction during sleep time.
7.) Stick with it. It may take 1 night, 2 nights or a week – but it will work! I personally have never had cry it out last longer than 1 night. Our children are much smarter than we give them credit for. Once they realize the new norm they will jump on board.
8.) Enjoy your Evening! Once sleep training is accomplished, sit back, relax and relish in the quiet! Be proud of yourself for teaching your child how to be an independent sleeper and use the time to reconnect with your spouse!
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