“Lick it, stick it, and eat it,” it’s that simple! Your fave edible stickers just got a whole new collection your kids will love.
StickyLickits has launched its first collection of edible Sesame Street stickers featuring Elmo, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Abby, Bert and Oscar the Grouch. The eat-able stickers are perfect for busy family lifestyles and helps parents encourage little kids to eat more produce by making it fun.
Each pack comes with 30 eat-able stickers and is sugar, peanut, tree nut, gluten, dairy and soy free, as well as vegan, kosher, non GMO, no animal products or synthetic colors and is all natural.
StickyLickits Founder & CEO, Linda York, “I am so thrilled to announce the launch of our Sesame Street stickers. They are so much fun! Once parents wash the fruit or veggie, the kids are going to love putting on the stickers of their favorite Sesame Street characters and having a healthy snack! Our goal at StickyLickits is to help those picky eaters out there be more adventurous eaters, so they will be willing to try a broader variety of fresh produce.”
You can find StickLickits at stickylickits.com, Amazon and select Ralphs and Kroger Grocery Stores. Packs start at $4.99.
Let us face it no-one wants to talk about poop, poo, number two’s, or whatever you call it.
But it seems from the moment your baby is born, and for years to come, you find yourself talking about poop.
When They Are Babies:
What is normal?
How often should they poop?
What should it look like, smell like, etc.?
When They Start Potty Training:
Why won’t they poop in the potty?
When do they stop pooping at night?
Why did my child poop on the floor?
And heads up— the poop discussions do not come to an end even when they eventually start using the toilet and wiping their own bums.
Did you poop today?
Did you wipe your bum properly?
Did you wash your hands?
It never seems to end, okay it must end at some point, but we have not reached that stage yet.
On the plus side, at least you are not physically pooped on anymore. If you have not been pooped on as a parent, you have not yet fully experienced all the joys associated with parenthood. Like the time my son pooped all over my husband whilst we were enjoying a beautiful day out. And to make matters worse, my husband did not have a change of clothes (that was pleasant). The time my son slept with his own poop all up his back because his nappy had come loose (of course we did not know he was asleep in his own poop). And the famous “it just fell out” poop on the floor story—okay maybe not famous but it is well renowned in our house.
But enough about poop.
Parents of babies and young children all around the world look forward to the day that their child is entirely toilet trained.
However, to attain this higher goal, you must go through the dreaded potty-training stage.
Now I am going to put something out there that may be controversial. Potty training your child in three days or less is a myth.
It sounds impressive; it sounds simply fantastic. The idea that you can take a potty and a two-year-old child and in three short days you can magically fully potty train them, well I say it cannot be done.
I said this might be controversial so let me explain.
I admit some children are easier to potty train than others. We have all been given potty training tips, heard the potty-training stories of boys vs girls and the complexities and challenges of potty training each gender. But I tell you what I have never heard—not from a single friend, colleague, family member, friend of a friend, friend of a colleague—okay you get the picture, but I have never heard any tales of these mythical children that are fully potty trained in three days.
In preparation for potty training my son, I dutifully did all the online research, and in doing so, I came across “How to potty train your child in three days.”
The method was
Choose a weekend or time during the week where you could do commit to doing three consecutive days—check,
Choose warmer summer days—check,
Buy the potty——check,
AND
This is where it all unravelled—leave his nappy off during the day (no nappy, no underwear – just a bare bottom) for the full three days.
The theory being that if they pee or poop on themselves (which makes a change from the pee and poop being on you) and they can see and feel it happening then they will be more inclined to use the potty.
The theory sounds good right—which is why I decided to give it a shot. But this did not work for my son. Peeping all over himself just got him completely upset, and I could see I was doing more harm than good.
It was not that he would not sit on the potty. Before I started with the official potty-training, I had got him involved in the process. We decorated his potty together in his favorite Thomas, the Tank Engine stickers. I would sit him on the potty in the bathroom and read a book, to get him comfortable about being on the potty. So, he was completely comfortable sitting on the potty he just did not like the pee running all down his leg, and who can blame him?
Time for Plan B.
This time I tried recommended method number two. This method involved taking my son to the potty at regular intervals (requires a lot of commitment), and based on the law of averages; he would eventually do something in the potty. Once he successfully pooped or did a pee in the potty, then we gave encouragement and praise. We also had a little rewards chart where we placed a sticker for every successful potty incident. After 10 stickers he got to choose a new train (one learning we made was this extravagant reward system quickly became expensive).
This method worked a lot better for my son, he found this less stressful, and he was potty trained at around 18 months.
But was it in three days—not a chance?
Even after he was ‘potty trained’ we still had accidents remember the poop that ‘just fell out’ well this was after he was already ‘potty trained’. We still had wet underwear sent home from daycare occasionally and the odd pee to clean up off the floor at home, but we got there.
So, my message is: Do not put pressure on yourself! If you find yourself amid potty training and feel as though you are doing something wrong because you have not successfully managed to potty train your child in three days or even three weeks, do not worry. Your child will get there, but there will still be accidents, there will be pee and poop to wipe up.
But one glorious day, the poop discussions in your house will disappear, and another milestone in your child’s life will have been reached.
I am married to Brandon and am the proud Mum of a beautiful son. My mission is to help busy parents navigate the critical milestones of their child’s life. Children are truly phenomenal and can achieve amazing things when given the opportunity to Play, Learn and Grow.
Get ready to master your martial arts skills with Ryan! With the Ryan’s World Shadow Warrior Ninja Mystery Box, kids can reveal six exclusive mystery figures, a ninja star spinner, stickers, and role-play items, such as a headband, a belt, and a foam ninja sword. There may be a lot of unboxing toys out there, but this one really gives kids a “wow” reveal with the case alone, in addition to all of the blind bags that they get to open. The variety — and amount — of items that kids get inside help to boost its play value and make it worth the price point. So tie on the headband and grab the foam sword — with the Ryan’s World Shadow Warrior Ninja Mystery Box, kids will be martial arts masters in no time!
The Toy Insider is the go-to source for product information and the latest news about children's toys, tech, and entertainment. Its team of toy experts publishes two annual gift guides—one for summer and one for holiday—and reviews toys 365 days a year on thetoyinsider.com, a trusted resource for parents.
Election Day is looking a bit sweeter this year. Krispy Kreme announced that anyone who visits a U.S. shop on Nov. 3 will receive a free Original Glazed Doughnut. Even if you voted early, you can still snag a delicious treat.
To celebrate and share the pride that comes with voting, Krispy Kreme will also give out “I Voted” stickers. These stickers, a badge of pride for any voter are more difficult to attain due to the increase in people voting by mail and pandemic-related health precautions being taken at polling places throughout the country.
“If you’re out and about on Election Day, we want to thank you by giving you a free Original Glazed doughnut,” said Dave Skena, Chief Marketing Officer of Krispy Kreme. “And if you didn’t get your ‘I Voted’ sticker because you voted before election day, we’ve got you covered there too.”
Share how you’re enjoying a free Original Glazed Doughnut on Election Day and your civic pride by using #KrispyKreme and tagging @krispykreme. “I Voted” stickers are available while supplies last.
Something clicked for my struggling writer this week, and now all she wants to do is make books.
“All I want to do is write,” my 6-year-old sighed as she Velcroed her sneakers this morning. “I wish I could staple one more book. I really wish I could get started on the next one.”
“Well, hurry up and get ready for school so you can,” I said, amazed that I could suddenly use writing time as a motivator on a busy school morning.
You see, up until a few days ago I had a reluctant writer on my hands. She loved to draw and would happily flaunt her knowledge of basic sight words, but when it came time to sit down and sound out words to spell them phonetically, she would freeze. During remote learning last spring, half an hour of me painfully pulling three sentences out of her and onto the page would leave us both grumpy and drained. And when she did have a story idea, she would forget it half-way through writing down the sentence—probably because the act of building the words took so long.
But something happened in the last few days that boosted her confidence and set her on the road to authorship. Maybe it was a new strategy her teachers taught this week. Maybe it was a summer of reading Dog Man that’s now flowing onto the page. Maybe it’s the rhythm of the hybrid learning model we’re in with time to write both in school and at home. Maybe it was wanting to be like her big sister who just taught her to draw a unicorn with speech bubbles. Maybe it’s that fresh pack of colorful markers and a stapler that finally works.
For whatever reason, the literacy stars are momentarily aligned, and we are rolling with it.
Most days I wake up to find my four kids already stuck to their screens playing some computer game or watching cartoons. (Yes, I admit this whole COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning situation has totally relaxed screen time norms around our household.) Yet that was not the case today.
I walked into the living room to find my 8-year-old daughter making a picture book series on the coffee table, complete with a spotlight color for each volume. Because she is an avid writer, this part didn’t floor me, but it did make me smile. It was a nice break from waking up to Peppa Pig or Roblox marathons.
Next, I glanced over to the windowsill and noticed my preschooler gathering a stack of computer paper and attempting to fold it in half.
“I’m making a sticker book,” she proudly announced. “It doesn’t have any words, though.”
“That’s ok,” I said. “You could use stickers to tell a story.”
“I do have ABC stickers!” she realized with glee, running off to continue her project in her “workshop.”
Finally, I peeked around the corner into the kids’ room to see if my 6-year-old had also caught the writing bug. Sure enough, there she was coloring and writing down letters with gusto.
“I’m almost done with my book. But don’t look!” she insisted, covering up the surprise ending with her hands.
“I won’t peek,” I promised as I took her temperature—part of our NYC school’s daily health screening for in-person days. “I love that you’re making your own book. What inspired you?”
“‘Cause Bethany.” Of course. She wants to be like her big sister. “I want to be a good writer, so I’m writing lots of books.”
Chalk it up to sibling competition or just having a positive role model around, I love seeing the trickle-down effect of good habits. Now when my oldest daughter hunkers down to doodle and write, my first grader follows suit with her own creative spelling and sketches, and even my preschooler can’t resist the pull into writing mode—folding paper, placing stickers and forming letters.
They even watch each other cope with mistakes, such as turning a misspelling into part of the drawing, taping on extra paper, or strategically placing a sticker. And the best part of all: celebrating the finished product by sharing stories.
Ready for school a few minutes early, we all gathered around my 6-year-old’s writing table to read her story. We ooo’d and ahhh’d over the whimsical drawings and did our best to decipher her words. We gave advice on how to place speech bubbles from top to bottom and left to right and laughed together at the funny ending.
“I wonder what new writing ideas you’ll think of at school today?” I asked my daughter as I dropped her off with the first graders.
“Maybe I could write about my books!” she exclaimed, jumping onto her spot in line.
Kristin Van de Water is a former journalist and teacher who relies on humor, faith, and her mom crew to get her through the day. Raising four kids in a two-bedroom NYC apartment, Kristin is always on the lookout for life hacks to save time, space, money, and her sanity.
Ah, Valentine’s Day: is there any other holiday besides Halloween more closely linked with candy, dessert, flowers and jewelry? Read on for some tips to make this holiday a safe one for those you love the most, both at home and at school.
How to Have a Valentine’s Day at School
Exchanging Valentines has been a fun tradition in schools for many years. Because Valentine’s Day is also associated with chocolate and sweets, it is important to have a plan to ensure that children with food allergies can safely take part in the holiday festivities. If your child’s school celebrates Valentine’s Day, here are some tips for ensuring that it is safe and fun for everyone.
Parents, talk with the teacher in advance about having a safe and inclusive celebration. Start this conversation early and with a written plan. Talk with your child and remind them of what they cannot eat. Helpful rules include having your child check with you or her teacher before eating any food and not sharing foods.
Teachers, please do not allow children with food allergies to share food. Foods from others may be a source of unintended allergen exposure. The CDC recommends the use of non-food rewards when possible. The easiest way to ensure all children are safely included at school is to keep Valentine celebrations food-free. This promotes inclusiveness in the classroom while also descreasing the risk that a student could be exposed to an allergen.
Celebrating without sugary, high-fat food and sweets is also healthier and consistent with the wellness policies in place in many schools.
Other Valentine rewards, crafts and activities:
Exchange Valentine-themed pencils, stickers, pencil sharpeners and other trinkets.
Allow children to design and create handmade Valentines for classmates, teachers and family using construction paper, glitter, glue, stickers, lace and other craft materials.
Make paper flowers from tissue paper and pipe cleaners.
Cut out paper hearts and attach to string to make garland for the classroom.
Allow children to decorate a mailbox or paper bag to use to collect their Valentines.
Have the class work together to decorate a bulletin board or the room door for Valentine’s Day.
Make friendship bracelets for classmates to share.
Create thumb or hand print Valentines.
How to Have a Safe Valentine’s Day at Home
Valentine’s Day is the perfect reason to make time to be together and to show your loved ones how much you care for them.
Yum! But wait. Most people know that those with peanut allergies can have severe allergic reactions to anything that nuts touch. But the most common food allergens also include eggs, milk, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy. If you’re baking or cooking for February 14th, make sure your sweetheart is okay with the ingredients. Remember to check all labels to ensure foods are safe for your child. Be aware that holiday candy may be manufactured in a different facility than their regular-sized versions or may use different ingredients.
If you’ll be dining out at a special restaurant—especially one you’ve never been to before—call ahead to make sure food allergies can be accommodated by the kitchen. You’ll be a romantic hero for the night.
Pass on the perfume. Some people have a response to strong fragrances—think grandma’s perfume and your old uncle’s cologne. It is generally a reaction to odors created by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which can cause headaches, sneezing, watery eyes and runny noses. If your loved one doesn’t wear perfume, it’s probably for a reason, and maybe that’s a gift you should avoid this year.
A Red Rose. How romantic! Nothing says Valentine’s Day like red roses. And for those allergic to plant pollen, it turns out that roses and some other plants produce very little or no pollen. Other “allergy-friendly” plants include begonia, cactus, clematis, columbine, crocus, daffodil and geraniums.
You shouldn’t have! Really. Make sure your sweetheart isn’t allergic to the metals contained in some jewelry, particularly nickel. Nickel is found in many metal products, such as jewelry, zippers and buttons. Even chrome-plated objects and 14K and 18K gold contain nickel that can irritate the skin if the gold gets moist.
Pucker up with care. Believe it or not, there’s something called a “kissing allergy,” most commonly found in people who have food or medication allergies. Symptoms include swelling of the lips or throat, rash, hives, itching and wheezing. So what’s a lovebird to do? Allergists recommend that the non-allergic partner brush his or her teeth, rinse his or her mouth and avoid the offending food for 16 to 24 hours before smooching.
Whatever your choices for wooing your loved one or celebrating your little one this Valentine’s Day, make sure it’s a gift that’s safe and allergy-free.
Dr. Patel is an allergist in Pasadena California. She is board-certified in Allergy-Clinical Immunology and Pediatrics. She is the co-author of The Mommy MD guides to Twins Triplets and More! She understands that parenting is the hardest and most fulfilling job you can have. You can find her @TMommyMD.
Imagine you could hire an assistant to teach your kids to tell time, play learning games with them, help them with time management and encourage them to be active. Welcome to the future! Screens are fun, but a smartwatch? Now that’s just cool. Combine the intelligence and interactive features of a smartwatch with a personality-packed robot character, Tobi, and now you’ve got the hot new toy for kids ages 4-8! Read to learn why your kids will be begging for this smartwatch soon (and why it’s so worth it!).
Tobi Robot Smartwatch is a full-function smartwatch designed just for kids. It has everything you’d expect in a watch (clock, stopwatch, alarm clock) along with tons of cool surprises like two cameras and built-in games! Everything about the watch screams “kid friendly”, from the easy-to-use touchscreen to its durability to a super-simple micro-USB cable charger.
Wow. Tobi sounds cool. Why is Tobi Robot Smartwatch so cool?
Glad you asked! Here are four things that really makes this technology a must have:
1. Exciting Games
Banish “I’m bored” from your kiddo’s vocabulary with the help of fun games that come preloaded on each Tobi Robot Smartwatch. There’s an augmented reality Search & Seek game, learning games and dancing activity game, to name a few! While they play, they’ll also unlock interactive rewards that add to the fun and encourage them to play longer.
2. Camera Fun
Get your phone back by giving your kids their own way to safely take photos! Tobi Robot Smartwatch has two built-in cameras that let kids take selfies, record video and take photos, and even lets them add silly stickers to their photos—all on their smartwatch! You can download the photos and videos using the micro-USB cable charger, but Tobi Robot Smartwatch has room for 3,000 photos or 30 minutes of video all on its own.
3. Active Play
Tobi Robot Smartwatch has a motion sensor and built-in pedometer so your active kid can see just how much they move each day. For a little motivation, Tobi Robot Smartwatch also has a dance activity game and a fun, interactive robot that’ll encourage your kids to move more!
4. Customization and Creativity
Now that they've seen you swap the background on your electronic device, your child wants to do the same. Luckily, Tobi Robot Smartwatch lets your child personalize their smartwatch with over 50 watch faces to choose from! Along with customizing their photos with fun stickers, they can also decorate Tobi’s virtual room with creative decorations and can discover more ways to make their smartwatch one of a kind.
Oh, did we mention that it’s also splashproof and durable enough for kid’s tough play, indoors and out?
’80s kids can tell you how valuable their Garbage Pail Kids trading card collection was. Now fans can expect things to get even slimier. Goosebumps creator, R.L. Stine has teamed up with The Garbage Pail Kids to create the first-ever GPK illustrated middle-grade series.
The Garbage Pail Kids live in the town of Smellville in a big tumbledown house. People may think they are gross, but they are just Garbage Pail Kids living their best lives. This hilarious new series features all of your favorite kids, from Adam Bomb to Brainy Janie to Junkfood John to Nervous Rex. These middle schoolers get into mischief all while battling bullies and their archenemies, Penny and Parker Perfect. As an added bonus, the book comes with four exclusive GPK stickers.
“The Garbage Pail Kids are ghastly, loud, messy, out of control . . . out of their minds. In other words, MY kind of kids!” says Stine. “I’m hoping to create a book series that captures all the loopy slapstick fun of these uniquely awful characters, to get all middle-grade kids reading—and laughing.”
It’s time to get the kids prepped for Halloween. While the holiday may look different this year, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM,Inc. is helping families to stay connected to make the most of the day. From socially distanced trick-or-treating to no-contact gifting there are endless ways to celebrate.
Harry & David Halloween Pear Decorating Kit ($34.99): A fun and creative new way to enjoy a fruit alternative as a Halloween treat, this unique and sweet Halloween Pear Decorating Kit comes complete with a sheet of food-safe stickers. Once completed these pears are perfect to use as Halloween décor.
The Popcorn Factory Halloween Popcorn Ball Decorating Kit ($39.99): Play with your food! This kit includes everything you’ll need to fashion ghosts, goblins, witches, bats, pumpkins, monsters, spiders, bats or anything else your imagination can create using eight popcorn balls.
Cheryl’s Cookies Halloween Cut-Out Cookie Decorating Kit ($49.99-$79.99): A delicious and fun gift idea! The cut-out cookie kit arrives with everything you need to create yummy buttercream frosted Cheryl’s treats at home – no baking necessary. The kit includes 24 unfrosted, cut-out cookies, a 1 lb. tub each of vanilla and orange icing and Halloween sprinkles. If you choose, you can add aprons and a spatula.
This year, Halloween activities for kids are definitely not cancelled!
Have you ever solved a Rubix Cube or did you cheat by moving the stickers around? This iconic toy celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. This year, Spin Master Games released a new twist on your favorite classic, a 2-in-1 challenging puzzle that combines the Rubik’s Cube with the challenging Perplexus puzzle.
To play, roll the steel ball to the “Start” space on the Rubik’s Perplexus Hybrid 2×2 and twist it to align the tracks and maneuver the ball through the inner maze.
Put your skills to the test by rolling past increasing numbers along the track on your way to the finish line, making sure not to fall off. Once you finish one of the squares, twist and turn the cube to align with the next cube like in the original. Rubik’s Perplexus Hybrid 2×2 helps build problem-solving skills through challenging and engaging gameplay and is the perfect size for on-the-go fun. If you complete the maze, you complete the cube.
Rubik’s Perplexus Hybrid 2×2 is available for $14.99 at Target and Amazon.