Printables

20 Must-Ask Questions for Your Kid’s First Day of School

Inside: Use this free printable first day of school questionnaire to interview your kids every year. Later, you’ll have a collection of amazing snapshots.

My oldest daughter Abby started kindergarten this week.

I thought since she was already going to preschool every day, kindergarten wouldn’t be a big deal.

At her preschool, the kids are free to play pretty much what they want all day. Every feeling is validated by the teachers. The kids are empowered and encouraged to resolve conflicts on their own. Not a whole lot of structure and arbitrary rules.

But kindergarten?

It’s ALL structure and arbitrary rules.

How else could one adult possibly keep a roomful of 20 five-year-olds from going rogue and kicking off their very own Occupy Monkey Bars movement?

How the First Day Went

When we got home after the first day of kindergarten, Abby and I settled into the couch next to each other. I looked over at her – my thoughtful, logical, helpful, whipsmart 5-year-old girl. She looked so TIRED.

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How to Deal With Your Bored Kid – With Zero Effort

Inside: This magical invention will transform your bored kid into a happy kid. And the best part? After the first time, it requires zero effort on your part.

We’ve hit a new phase in the last few weeks: “Mom, I’m bored.”

Previous phases included “I know that” and “I don’t care,” which we dealt with by redirecting our 5-year-old to say “I know” (in a non-know-it-all tone) and “That’s okay,” respectively.

At first, I thought we could handle the “bored kid” phenomenon the same way. I asked her to try this instead: “Mom, can you help me find something to do?”

But it turns out when you’re in the middle of loading the dishwasher or paying bills or binge-watching New Girl, it’s hard to switch gears and come up with something fun for your kid to do.

How to Deal With Your Bored Kid

Bored Kid? Meet the Bored Jar

I came across this magical invention and knew I had to make one.

Here’s the basic idea:

  1. Get a jar and some jumbo popsicle sticks.
  2. (Optional) Decorate one side of the popsicle sticks with washi tape.*
  3. Write ideas for fun stuff to do on the popsicle sticks, and put them in the jar (hereafter referred to as the Bored Jar).
  4. When your kid says she’s bored, point to the Bored Jar.
  5. Your kid picks a stick and does what it says. PROBLEM SOLVED.

* I am not a crafty person, but I figured even I could handle sticking washi tape on popsicle sticks. It’s not necessary for your Bored Jar – some people even use slips of paper instead of popsicle sticks. So I’m pretty much an overachiever.

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9 Ways to Get Your Dog Ready to Meet Your New Baby

Inside: Dogs know you’re pregnant in the first trimester. They just don’t know how many puppies you’re having. Here’s how to succeed at introducing dog to baby.

Many moons ago, before I racked up three cats to my name, I had another furry addiction. No, not like THAT. I mean I had a house full of dogs.

I owned a handful of my own and fostered many more for a local rescue group. I could never quite get the stink of dog off my hands no matter how often I washed them, and I sometimes fantasized about inventing a full-body lint-rolling device that would surely make me millions.

As a foster, you come across all different types of dogs – shy or outgoing, dogs who lick your toes or dogs who go for your crotch, sweet lap dogs or dogs like that one named Tigger who had a 5-foot vertical leap and REALLY liked to show it off. So I took training and obedience classes from several different dog trainers to learn how best to manage my ever-changing pack.

One of the most valuable situations I learned to handle was how you properly introduce your dog to a new baby – so your beloved Cosmo doesn’t think Baby is his new chew toy.

Dogs Can Tell You're Pregnant

You get yourself ready for baby by building a registry for the baby must haves and the just plain awesome and by making a pre-baby checklist – so don’t forget that your pup needs to get ready too.

If you think your dog doesn’t need any help to get ready to meet your new baby, remember this: Dogs can tell you’re pregnant even in the first trimester. They just don’t know how many puppies you’re having.

And as you’ll learn below, their fear of that unknown could lead to serious problems. Children are the most common victims of dog bites, with half of bite victims being under the age of thirteen.

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7 Surefire Ways to Get Your Kid to Stop Whining

Inside: If your whining kids are driving you crazy, check out these practical tricks for how to stop whining while still keeping your patience intact.

My daughter is a good kid and awfully mature for being just four years old. But when she wants something or feels wronged in some way, her voice veers into nasal territory.

She wants to watch another movie, she wants to wear her tutu to bed, she wants to open the garage herself, she doesn’t need to go to the bathroom (although you have evidence to the contrary), you didn’t give her the right password to get out the door in the morning when you’re already running late – and she didn’t actually tell you what the right password is.

We’ve been working on it for a couple months now, and she’s getting better at catching herself.

When the whining starts, I say: “I’m sorry, I can’t understand what you’re saying. Try saying it in a different way.”

Usually, she can right her tone on the first try, but on a tough day it takes two or three times to get her to stop whining. Then sometimes to contrast with her whiny tone, I’ll follow up with something like this in a casual tone: “You don’t have to freak out about it. Next time just say, ‘Hey mom, can I wear your $500 pearl necklace to school?’”

Bonus: Download a free cheat sheet of how to get your kid to stop whining.

A Fresh Start

When we moved from an apartment into a house this past summer, my fiance and I added another anti-whining technique to our repertoire – we told our daughter that whining isn’t allowed at the new house.

But instead of being nags about it, we enlisted her help: “We’ll have to let people know when they come to visit that there’s no whining in our house! Can you help with that?”

Like most people, she digs the idea of telling people off for doing something that she does herself.

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