Challenge yourself or your kids to break a world record. Guinness World Records is looking to support families staying home by expanding their digital portfolio and taking record-breaking indoors. With all this extra time on our hands, why not become a world record holder?
Become a record holder at home with #GWRChallenge. This weekly record challenge will be hosted across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Every Monday, a new challenge will be announced. All you have to do is follow a simple set of rules for each record.mAlso on Monday, the #GWRChallenge from the week before will conclude and the record holder will be named at the end of the week.
There are a few things you can do to ensure your attempt gets recognized.
Be sure to follow ALL rules
Tag Guinness World Records and use #GWRChallenge
Call out the number or score you’ve achieved in your caption
All attempts utilize household materials, making this an exciting and accessible record-breaking experience for anyone who wants to try. Challenge #1 involved toilet paper!
This was written by an anonymous parent and shared on Facebook and we wanted to share it with you.
Hey Teachers,
I just wanted to let you know that however these next weeks go down—it’s all good. We’re on your team. This wasn’t what you signed up for, and I sort of can’t believe you’re actually going to attempt to do this. Your life is about to become one giant conference call with two dozen nine-year-olds who have no set bedtime, and are hopped up on Captain Crunch, Pop-Tarts and whatever their parents have been stress-baking for the past 12 days. What could possibly go wrong?
In light of this, our family is giving you blanket permission to do this however the hell you want for the next two months.
Does your kid want to sit on your lap while you teach long division? That’s great. Need to stress eat half a bag of chips or box of cookies while you’re trying to explain how to calculate Experimental Error? Go for it.
Feel like having morning meetings in your pajamas—all month long? It’s a judgment-free zone here. Lord knows that’s what I’ll be wearing until at least noon.
Having a panic attack because you need to check in on your parents and wanna point that Zoom camera at three straight episodes of Myth Busters for a Science assignment? Excellent plan.
Want to just sit there and ask them how their days were for 40 minutes without mentioning a single thing about MLA formatting? Please, God, do that.
See, I don’t care if you teach my kids one more thing this semester, and this is why: Just by showing up, by checking in, by caring enough to do this freaking impossible job—you’ve already taught them the only things I really wanted them to get out of school.
You’ve taught them that people are flexible—they adapt to new things.
You’ve taught them that people will show up for them even when it’s hard.
You’ve taught them that communities work together for the greater good.
You’ve taught them the world is a good place. That even when circumstances are scary, people are good.
You’ve loved them enough to be there—and that’s all any of us can do, is love each other through this.
I’ve got six at home right now—the littles both 10, the middle schooler and three high schoolers. I don’t care which kid of mine you’re working with, all three need those lessons reinforced right now.
Our kids will be ok. Take care of yourself too. We love you. You’ve got this—and if you don’t, I’m not telling.
A lifestyle writer whose work can be seen in Red Tricycle, Money.com, Livestrong.com and Redbook. When she’s not checking out new events, museums, and restaurants to keep her and her kids entertained, she can be found wandering around flea markets and thrift stores looking for cool vintage finds.
This Valentine’s Day you could settle in for a romantic film with your partner, or you could round up the entire fam for a Netflix sesh because A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon hits homes on Feb. 14!
Mossy Bottom Farm has a new visitor when an alien named LU-LA crash lands from outer space. Shaun the Sheep and his buds soon learn all about this adorable, yet magical visitor in the whimsical trailer below.
In an attempt to get LU-LA back to her spaceship, Shaun and his flock embark on an out of this world journey, only to discover that an alien-hunting agency is in their wake. Can the gang prevent Farmageddon?
To get the entire family excited for the newest installment of Shaun, Netflix is sharing a few fun ways to get into the Farmageddon spirit. If your kiddos love drawing, you’ll want to check out tutorials on how to draw LU-LA and Shaun. Stay tuned for three activity sheets to download to get your kiddos even more excited about the film!
A Shaun of the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is only available on Netflix and drops this Friday, Feb. 14.
How does one match expectations for grandparents with their adult children about frequency and duration of visits with their grandchildren?
Like all relationships, the dynamic between generations is complicated and only becomes more so as new members are added, i.e., sons-in-law, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. However, complicated doesn’t have to mean negative, but communication and healthy boundaries are a must.
How much is the right amount will vary tremendously from family to family, but again communication is the key. Since couples rarely discuss how they intend to divide their time with extended families before the arrival of children they may find themselves in uncharted territory when this conflict arises. But when the time comes, parents need to have honest conversations with each other about extended family visits and what works best for them. Then, even more challenging at times, they must have frank discussions with in-laws about the conclusions reached after those conversations.
Next, and here comes the really hard part, they need to be willing to compromise so that everyone’s voice is heard and some attempt is made to share experiences throughout the year. Figuring out a happy medium will be the goal in all of these situations.
Knowing grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins is a great gift to children. Parents have a responsibility to their parents as well as an obligation to their children to work to foster healthy relationships with their extended family – if time, money and distance allow.
Finally, I would encourage grandparents to put their emphasis on the quality of time that is spent with their grandchildren rather than the quantity. With my own granddaughter, who lives for part of the year in Italy, I try to appreciate the times when we are together and be grateful for modern technology which allows us to connect regularly on Facetime when there is a great geographic distance between us. I also try not to get stuck on a vision of spending certain days of the year (holidays) together, but instead look forward to and enjoy the times we can be together.
As my mother used to say to me, “We are always together in spirit.”
I am a parent and grandparent with over four decades of experience in early childhood education. I share my passion, wisdom and experience, with parents and the people who care for and about children at Little Folks Big Questions, where we're out to answer the questions parents face in today's world.
Looking to celebrate the season with some of your kids favorite characters? Amazon has the answer with two new Valentine’s Day specials from Pete the Cat and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
In A Very Groovy Valentine’s Day, Pete the Cat has planned a musical Valentine for his friends, but he realizes he doesn’t know very much about a new friend, Boo Burrow. He also faces the challenge of finding Sally’s Valentine’s cards when they all go missing.
Mouse is all ready for the holiday in the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Valentine’s Day Special. That is, until he realizes that he doesn’t have a Valentine for Oliver. In an attempt to score one at the cookie factory, Mouse gets a little too close to the machinery and finds himself (and Dog) packed into a box and put on a truck. Now they have to find their way back home in time to celebrate Valentine’s Day with their friends.
Amazon Prime is also debuting new episodes of the new original series Clifford. All three shows are available for streaming starting Feb. 7 on Amazon Prime Video.
Netflix recently announced a debut date for its new Seuss-tastic series—Green Eggs and Ham!
The streaming service teased the all-star series last spring, only saying it had a fall start. Now that fall is in full force, Netflix has a launch date: Nov. 8.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the series based on the Dr. Seuss classic stars Adam Devine, Michael Douglas, Ilana Glazer, Diane Keaton, Keegan-Michael Key, Eddie Izzard, Jeffrey Wright, Jillian Bell, John Turturro, Tracy Morgan and Daveed Diggs.
If you’re wondering if the series will follow the beloved book, Netflix describes the animated adventure as, “The story of Green Eggs and Ham is like a postmodern Planes, Trains and Automobiles through the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss.” The series centers around Sam and his attempt to rescue the rare Chickeraffe from the Glurfsburg Zoo. What follows is a chance meetup with Guy, a not-so-successful inventor, and plenty of adventure-filled awesomeness.
Green Eggs and Ham is only available to stream on Netflix, starting Nov. 8.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced a recall for the Stokke Steps Bouncer. The infant product can detach from the Stokke Steps Chair, posing a fall hazard. Representatives from Stokkes did not immediately return Red Tricycle’s request for comment.
If you have this product, read on for important recall information.
photo: Courtesy of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
The recall includes 5,400 Stokkes Steps Bouncers that are part of an all-in-one modular system and are used in combination with the Stokke Steps Chair. The products have a plastic arm, fabric seat and the name “Stokke” printed on the care label tag.
Why the Bouncers Were Recalled
It’s possible for the bouncer to detach from the chair. This poses a fall hazard to the child. As of now there is one report of difficulty attaching the bouncer’s straps to the chair. There are currently no reported accidents or injuries. When used without the chair, the bouncer does not currently pose a risk.
How To Tell If Your Baby’s Bouncer Was Recalled
The recalled products were sold in stores across the country, on Amazon and on Stokke’s website from February 2014 through December 2018 for $200. Visit the CPSC’s website here for a full list of recalled item numbers. You can also visit the Stokke website here to check your bouncer’s serial number.
What Parents Can Do
If you have the recalled bouncer do not attempt to attach it or use it with the Steps Chair. Visit Stokke’s website here for a free repair kit or call the company at 877-978-6553 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
When a three-year-old accidentally locked out his dad’s iPad, the Twitter-verse jumped to save the device. New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos recently shared a screenshot of his iPad—and all 25,536,442 minutes try-again time!
We’ve all been there. Your kiddo gets a hold of some sort of pricey piece of tech and disables or otherwise locks it. Osnos’ story is the same, but to the extreme. With well over 25 million minutes until he could even attempt to unlock the tablet the dad took to Twitter, pleading for help.
Uh, this looks fake but, alas, it’s our iPad today after 3-year-old tried (repeatedly) to unlock. Ideas? pic.twitter.com/5i7ZBxx9rW
So what advice did the internet have for Osnos? While plenty of people got technical with their responses, others had a more playful approach. One Twitter user suggested time travel:
Another commenter tweeted to give the tot the passcode. Of course, Osnos went more for the actual tech ideas and not the more imaginative options.
Following the initial tweet Osnos told his followers, noting he was still locked out: “It’s down a few hundred minutes from yesterday, but it looks like we’ve still got 25 million minutes to go. On Twitter, people have suggested various fixes but the consensus seems to be that we’re using an old operating system that won’t let us restart fresh from iTunes. When I get home from work tonight, I’ll give it a try and see what happens.”
According to an update tweet, Osnos was able to get the iPad into DFU (device firmware update) mode and start the restoration process.
When you’re a working parent it can be hard to juggle your kids and work responsibilities, but when you’re living in the spotlight those challenges can sometimes be put on display for the whole world to see. Just like the hard lesson the BBC dad learned last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’ son Dutch, taught his dad that toddlers and politics don’t always play nice.
In California, millions watched as Newsom took the stage to give his inaugural address as the state’s newest governor. Unfortunately, the ceremony was adorably interrupted when Newsom’s two-year-old son Dutch stole the show by climbing onto the stage with his dad—not once, but twice!
Armed with a blankie and a pacifier, Dutch approached his dad mid-rhetoric and there was nothing the dad could do but scoop up his son and give him a kiss, adding and improvised line to his speech, “Now more than ever we Californians know how much a house matters and children matter.”
Newsom carried on speaking with his son in his arms for a few minutes before finally setting him down, only to have Dutch comically run to the front of the stage and then dart back behind the podium for a mom fake out. The seasoned toddler move sent the crowd into a fit of laughter.
California’s First Lady and mom Jennifer Siebel Newsom managed to finally pull him away only, to have him appear on stage again minutes later. His final attempt at attention from his dad was finally foiled, however, as his mom nabbed him and carried him away one last time.
While Newsom handled the moment with a bit more grace than the BBC dad, we can’t help but think he could use a few tips on the secret to well-behaved kids from another famous family (paging: the Royals!) to avoid being upstaged by his kids for the rest of his term.
Few things can send parents into a tizzy the way potty training can. From missing the bowl (ahh, boys) to stripping off wet clothes after a long car ride, potty training is not for the weak. But it IS possible to make this painful process a bit less, well, painful (and messy). And, in order to help, we found some no-fail hacks real parents swear by. Keep scrolling to find the ones that work for you—and good luck!
1. Put a potty everywhere. A toilet can be somewhat intimidating to a two- or three-year-old, and during stressful times (like when they have to use the bathroom), kids might forget where they need to go. Scatter small around the house so she isn’t worried about making it to the bathroom. Once she’s used to recognizing when she has to pee, you can remove each one room by room and encourage your little one to make it to the bathroom.
2. Go cold turkey. As Nike says: Just do it. Take off that diaper, throw it away, and don’t look back. This approach doesn’t work for all children, but some kids feel empowered this way. Some children work better with the weaning method—going from diapers to pull-ups to underwear—but others learn that no diapers in the house = you just have to use the potty.
3. Sit Junior on the toilet backward.
This simple move keeps clean-ups to a controlled vicinity (instead of All. Over. The. Place.), and if you give your little one a dry erase marker to doodle on the toilet seat, you’ll clock in a good 10 minutes of potty time if needed.
4. And, turn the toilet paper roll around, too, while you’re at it.
T.P. is just too tempting for little ones. Prevent them from unraveling entire rolls by flipping the tube around so that it unrolls backwards—no matter how spin happy your tot gets, it will be almost impossible for him to be super wasteful.
5. Buy the Potty Watch. So much of potty training is about timing. Will they make it on time? Did they forget to go? Instead of nagging your kid to see if they have to go, outfit them in these adorable potty time watches! When it’s time to hit the bathroom, the watch lights up and plays music, ensuring that they won’t miss the next bathroom trip or be too distracted to hit the head. Genius.
6. Use a timer.
In the same vein as the potty time watches, why not make sure you have a timer set? Bringing your child to the bathroom or potty every 15-20 minutes will help them get more comfortable on the toilet but also helps to avoid accidents.
photo: Mommy Erica
7. Offer up treats.
Keep a bowl filled with small and medium-sized treats (stickers, stamps, M&Ms, etc) that kids can choose from after each successful potty attempt. That’s right, attempt. If they made it on time, but maybe missed the bowl? Success! Did they make it in the bowl but forget to wipe? Success! Making it fun for toddlers keeps them tuned in and learning the right way things work.
8. Let them accompany you (if they don’t already) to the bathroom. Yup, parenthood sometimes means giving up your rights to bathroom privacy. You see, a lot of kids learn best by example. So instead of explaining the process over and over again, just let ’em watch. Sure, it’s not fun, but it doesn’t last long, and if it means no more diapers or wiping tushies—we’re all for it.
9.Keep a potty in the back of your car. Because, when a toddler has to go, he has to go. Right. Now. Smaller travel potties, like this one from Summer Infant, are perfect to throw in your trunk or back seat on even the shortest drives. Kids won’t worry about not making it to the bathroom on time and you can buy disposable liners, which make cleaning up a cinch.
10. Use puppy pads for nighttime training.
Follow along: First, put down one fitted sheet on your kid’s mattress, cover that with a layer of puppy pads, and then top it all with another fitted sheet. If kiddo has an accident in the middle of the night all you have to do is peel off the top fitted sheet and the layer of puppy pads. Voila!
11. Use a coffee filter for easy #2 clean ups.
We get so excited when our littles finally go poo in the potty that we almost forget that we have to clean it all up. Make things quick and efficient by putting a coffee filter into their pot.
12. Make it social. During playdates or lunch outings, why not encourage the kids to hit the bathroom together. Make it fun, make it social. Because that’s what kids are all about. Kids are impressionable, if they see their friends doing it, they may want to do it too.
13. Put the potty in a special place.
While you dart to the loo whenever you can (hey, it might be the only five minutes of alone time you get all day), bathrooms can be boring for the under three set. Make it special by placing the portable potty in a “fort” or “palace” or “magical rainforest in outer space.” Get creative mom and dad!
14. Use Cheerios as a bullseye.
Toss a few Cheerios into the toilet so that your boy trainee can have a little target practice. Note: Dad might have to demonstrate this one the first time!
15. Let your little one go commando.
Take a couple of days to let your trainee get in some good practice. The key to progress is no diaper (so he or she can see what’s happening) and lots of juice and/or water (so there’s plenty of opportunities to learn). Also, stock up on carpet cleaner for obvious reasons.
17. Put food coloring in the toilet bowl.
Sometimes potty training takes a little bit of magic. So here it is: put blue food coloring in the potty and watch as your tyke notices the water turn green when he tinkles. So cool!
18. Give your little one their own potty training bag.
Some kids just need a little bit of responsibility for a task to click with them. Before your next outing pack a mini backpack with all of your kid’s potty training supplies—pull-ups, undies, wipes, etc.—and let her tote it around. The confidence boost your little one will get from being responsible for her own gear might just be enough to get her going like a big kid.
19. Just relax. Remember—no one goes to college still in diapers. There’s hope for even the most frustrated parent. Don’t compare yourself to other parents or your child to other children. Keep calm and potty train on!
What worked for you and your potty trainee? Tell us in the comments section.
