Breezy Tips

Simple tips to make your life a little breezier!

Click on the age(s) you are interested in:
*Note: Follow the advice at your own discretion and always contact your pediatrician if you have any concerns. We Breezy Mamas are not liable for anything that may result from the following… unless it’s totally favorable of course.

Tips for all ages | tips for 0-2 year olds | tips for 2-4 years olds | tips for 6-10 year olds | Sites Worth Taking a Dip In | Submit Your Breezy Does It Tip

All Ages

• Full squirt bottles and free reign in the backyard, gets me a solid 20 minutes of busy time for my two boys. –Alysha, Carlsbad, California
• Label all sand toys. They all look the same and when it’s time to leave, it’s easier to take them away from other children when it has your name on it. –Jamie, Temecula, California
• With the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) website, you will (almost) never have to buy a parenting book again. The NAEYC is dedicated to improving the well-being of children, with a focus on education, from birth through age eight. Chock full of information, including free online issues of their magazines, the site is worth checking out. –Breezy Mama
• Need a website where you can find factual information on your child? Look no further than the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott’s Children’s Hospital site. An easy to read index, covering a plethora of topics, that you know will be based in fact, so you won’t get unnerved, thinking your kid has every condition in the book. –Pediatrician, Dr. Jon Conti
• In a unfamiliar place and need to find a playground so the kids can run like crazy (instead of running you crazy?)–look no further than kaboom.org. Type in the region or zip code into the search box and voila! Out pops the play spaces in your current area. –Parents Magazine
• Did you know that your baby can get a letter from the President of the United States? Just send a copy of their birth certificate to the address below and receive a congratulatory note from Obama himself. And you thought you had some letters to catch up on! White House Greetings Office, Room 39, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500. –StrongMoms
• “So a Mom in my MOPS group told us about this and I have been using these guys now for a month and LOVE them. Shout Color Catcher sheets — throw one in with a mixed color load and any color that runs will magically go to the sheet and not your whites (no more pinks or tie dye anything in the Holmes household!).” — Linnea, San Clemente
  
• Bee sting put a buzz kill in your day? Get back your zing by scraping the sting with a credit card. Tweezers or any other method can lodge the stinger in further and release more venom, so just use your card and scrape. When you get home, mix a little baking soda with water and apply this paste to the infected area. If you notice any signs of an allergic reaction such as wheezing, shortness of breath, etc. call 911. -Breezy Mama
• Going to Disneyland and expecting some rain? Bring along some beach towels to cover your stroller. That way, when your child sits back down, his seat will be nice and dry. -Breezy Mama
• Time to leave the beach and your child is covered with sand? Cover her in a dusting of baby powder–the sand will brush right off. -Breezy Mama
• If you need to go grocery shopping, take an insulated bag/cooler in your car… go shopping before the park and keep your perishables cool.  This way, kids have something to look forward to and aren’t too tired if you shop afterward. -Malia, San Clemente, California
• Looking for family fun for free? Click here for ideas!
• Need travel advice and the essential travel toys for ALL ages? Click here!
• Oh, the afternoon. Not always easy to get through after a long day! Check out these easy and fun projects, click here!

0-2 years

• For children, like mine, who get scared of the automatic flushing toilets-Put a Post-It-Note over the sensor and that will keep it from automatically flushing. –April, Coto de Caza, California
• Have a house full of hardwood floors and a toddler just learning to walk? Draw on the bottom of their socks with fabric “puffy paint”–it’ll help them from slipping. –Breezy Mama
• Got a toddler who’s taking their diaper off at bed/nap time? Avoid this potentially messy mishap by duct taping their diaper (no tape on skin of course)! This simple step will not only save you from a major clean up during an inconvenient time (read: need to get out the door), it will also likely encourage your hubby to change more diapers. Most men I know are suckers for duct tape (wink, wink). - Breezy Mama
• Need some easy and inexpensive entertainment? Put a handful of uncooked rice in a water bottle (preferably a 8 ounce size). Screw the cap on tight and you have a new toy! –Breezy Mama
• Want the best approach for getting your baby to sleep? Click here!
• Feel bad about throwing away all those plastic baby food containers?  Rinse them out and fill them up with snacks–perfect to offer your little eater snacks while on the go. –Jennifer, San Clemente
• If you have a Hooter Hider, you can use it as a sunshade if your baby falls asleep in the Bjorn (or whichever carrier you use) while you’re outside. Just put it around your neck, and the material covers her up. –Breezy Mama
• One thing we have found to sooth our baby or help put him to sleep if he is too fussy is to just rock and when you are too tired to hold him and do lunges… get out your fit ball and start bouncing. How many bounces will it take??? You will find yourself counting. It is more comfortable for you and you can finally put that ball to use! -Jenny, Carlsbad
• Is your child learning to crawl and your worried about her banging up her knees? Take a pair of your husband’s old tube socks, cut off the feet, and then slip them up your child’s legs. Now her knees will be protected from hard floors. -Breezy Mama
• Is it a hot summer day and you just polished off a watermelon? Give the rinds to your one year old to chew on–it feels good on their incoming teeth and gums. -Breezy Mama
• Your newborn has the world’s worst case of baby acne? Invest in some Mustela shampoo/body wash; after a couple of days use the acne magically disappears. –April, Coto de Caza, California
• Is your baby Bjorn all wet from your three-month-old gumming it up? Tuck a burp cloth into the top so they gum it instead of the Bjorn. Result? The Bjorn stays nice and dry. –Jenny, Carlsbad, California

2-4 years

• Want some food to go with your child’s play kitchen? Just save your empty food boxes or coffee cans (with lids and no sharp edges!) and stock their kitchen’s cupboard. –Breezy Mama
• Do you have some empty baby food jars? Grab them and take the kids on a bug hunt outdoors. They can put their findings in the jar to look at. If you’re going to keep your new pet, make sure to poke holes in the lid! –Breezy Mama
• Getting ready to potty train? Get the secrets for success from Nonie Levi, M.A., MFT. Click here!
• Have a picky eater? Get some great tips on getting them to chow down. Click here.
• Place a colander upside down, take a handful of raw spaghetti. Get your toddler to place the spaghetti in the holes. Good for eye to hand co-ordination and practice using thumbs and index finger. It can be a little messy so use a tray. -Breezy Mama Leigh-Anne
• If your toddler has treated your laptop as a piggy bank and inserted coins into the cd drive, turn it off, hold it sideways and shake. Watch your money fall right out. Do so with complete caution, at your own risk and only if you are feeling brave that it won’t do any damage to your hard drive, but it saved my day.” -Breezy Mama
• When at Costco and you need a box to cary your things out in, be sure to request one that your child can sit in after you have unloaded your groceries. My 2 and 5 year old have been playing with their boxes nonstop for three weeks now. –Breezy Reader Deanna
• Does your child want to play cars and you’re tired of it? Grab the cars and some chalk and take him out to the driveway. You draw a “city” with the chalk while your child pushes the cars along the “streets”. -Breezy Mama
  
• My kids loved playing with pots/pans/spoons in the backyard dirt just as much as “toys” — probably developed some immunity, too! -Judyth, Santa Cruz, California

6-10 years

• This is a good age to start the chores/allowance trade.  Keep a chart with stars to track what they do and have the payout on Friday–this way, they can either save their money or spend their earnings during the weekend. -Jasmine, Dana Point, California

Sites Worth Taking a Dip In

• Celebrity Baby Blog: Get the scoop and see the fun pics of Hollywood’s hippest parents. Start the fun by clicking here.
• WomenCo: Are you a professional looking to connect with others? Check out WomenCo — a forum where members can forge connections with other working women to keep informed, empower and entertain themselves, and advance their careers.
• The Cradle: Knocked up for the first time, second, third, or (gasp! you brave woman you…) fourth? Sign up for TheCradle.com. Get day-to-day tips on what’s going on with that love bug in your belly and set up your very own Web page that can include where you’re registered. I loved that my third baby had a place all of her own. Makes up for all the hand me downs. – Breezy Mama
• Jen’s List: Here’s the deal: don’t leave home without checking it! Sign up to receive Jen’s List in your in-box and get the fabulous scoop from events for moms to great sales. Sign up here.
• San Diego Parent Connection: New to the parenting world in San Diego? Join a playgroup and get valuable information by signing up for The Parent Connection through SanDiegoParent.com. -Breezy Mama
• TruuConfessions: Have a confession to make? Check out:
• Glamour Cow: Want to feel fashionably fabulous? Check out the ultra-chic Glamour Cow. I’m obsessed with their ad of the week that takes you back in time! Check it out — GlamourCow.com.
• Stroller Strides: Hello a total work-out for you with your baby along! Save on a sitter and get in your exercise? Win-win! Click here!

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