Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

I had the opportunity to visit Pretend City in Irvine a few weeks back and learn more about their Good to Go From Head to Toe program.   My daughter was in preschool, so I couldn’t bring her along.  All I kept thinking the entire time was how she would go absolutely, positively, undeniably crazy for Pretend City.

For those of you who have not visited yet, it is a hands-on children’s museum built solely around an entire “pretend city.”  There’s a Ralph’s Fresh Fare, art studio, beach, bank, doctor’s office, gas station and the list goes on and on.  Children can explore and play and pretend to the extent of their wildest imaginations. It is simply a child’s wonderland! And, great for all ages, from the newest of walkers up to grade school.  For admission & hours click HERE.

Good to Go from Head to Toe!

Pretend City has recently launched The Good To Go from Head To Toe initiative which aims to increase awareness about healthy child development through play and empower parents with knowledge about their child’s development from birth to age 5.

Play with a purpose!

Way to Play days take place the second Friday of every month at Pretend City.   On Way to Play days, community partners will be on-site at the museum to offer parents and caretakers free resources and services that promote the healthy development of children.

Yippee!  I have a Pretend City coupon to offer you!  Click HERE to print a Pretend City coupon for 2-for-1 admission on Way to Play days!  Such a deal and a great day to visit so you can take advantage of this amazing program.

Family Fun & Wellness Fair
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
10am – 4pm

Pretend City is hosting  an event for the entire family next month and it is totally FREE! There will be tons of activities like free language, dental, vision and speech screenings, arts and crafts, an appearance by the Anaheim Ducks mascot and much, much more…

Plus, each child who participates in the activities and screenings will receive one free admission to Pretend City on the day of the fair. Click HERE to download a flyer on this fun event!

Pretend City
29 Hubble
Irvine, CA
949.428.3900
www.begood2go.org

I am thrilled to pieces to introduce fabulous local pediatrician, Dr. Jennifer Stahl of Mia Bella Pediatrics, who has been so kind as to offer to write Expert Advice blogs for Tiny Oranges readers!  This topic hits close to home at our house, I am sure there are lots of you out there dealing with your own picky eaters.  She offers some fantastic tips and ideas…  

Tips for Your Picky Eater

By Jennifer Stahl, MD, FAAP, co-owner of Mia Bella Pediatrics in Mission Viejo

As a pediatrician, a major goal of mine is to start my little patients on the road to healthy eating habits. This is often harder said than done since children naturally tend to mistrust anything new or green. Parents need to remember to be calm and patient during mealtimes and to remember the following tips:

Respect your child’s hunger cues. A child should be allowed to eat when hungry and stop when full. Battle’s at the table will only start a power struggle and parents rarely win when that occurs.

Minimize snacking, especially with juice and starchy/sugary snacks like crackers, cookies and “fruit snacks”. If your child is hungry between meals, be sure to offer them healthy snacks like the ones I have listed below.

Don’t give up on trying new foods. Children take over a dozen exposures sometimes to accept a new food. The worst thing a parent can do is allow a child to fill up on their beloved chicken nuggets or cheese pizza on a daily basis because then they will have little motivation to try anything new.

Get your child involved. Kids love to be helpers and there are lots of fun recipe books for kids to get them involved. If you allow your child to have some control in the process of selecting and cooking meals, they will be far less likely to give you a fight at the meal table.

Healthy snacks:

1. Apple and string cheese or peanut/almond butter
2. High fiber granola bar
3. Carrots/broccoli/zucchini with hummus or bean dip
4. Fruit smoothie, freeze the leftovers and make a great popsicle for the next day.
5. Mixed nuts (if over 3)
6. Plain yogurt with fruit 

Do you have a topic or a question you would like Dr. Jennifer to answer?  Post a comment here or email me at info@tinyoranges.com.  

I admit it.  I am a total germ phobe.  Especially now that I have a child and have experienced how having a sick kid can be “H-E-double hockey sticks” on earth.  It is just the most miserable, helpless feeling.  So, during cold and flu season I am on high alert to do anything I can to keep these nasty bugs out of our household!   

Proper hand washing comes up time and time again as the best way to help keep prevent viruses, so I thought I would share some info I found online. 

Here are some tips from the Mayo Clinic on how to effectively wash your hands!  

• Wet your hands with warm, running water and apply liquid soap or use clean bar soap. Lather well.
• Rub your hands vigorously together for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
• Scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
• Rinse well.
• Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel.
• Use a towel to turn off the faucet.  ( I take it a step further and in public places also use a paper towel to open the bathroom door on my way out.  I figure why waste that good hand washing only to touch a dirty door handle!?)

Make sure to read this article further down, as it includes tips to help kids with washing their hands.  I got in the habit of singing the “ABC’s” when Emma washes her hands so that I know we are washing long enough.   Bonus:  it was how she learned her “ABC’s!” 

{Image and another article on hand washing from Blue Dot Health}

The HAPPYBABY mission is to make baby food as healthy and delicious as homemade with the essential ingredients for growth and development. Their meals are fresh frozen, therefore preserving all the nutrients with no preservatives, and all are 100% organic and allergen friendly (no nuts, soy, dairy, sugar or wheat.) And, with names like “Yes Peas + Thank You Carrots“ how can you can resist???

HAPPYBABY sells purees for the little ones 6+ months graduating up to more hearty meals for the 9+ months crowd. They also offer a variety of organic dry cereals with probiotics and DHA, along with organic finger food puffs.

You can find HAPPYBABY products at local stores like Super Target, Babies R Us, Whole Foods, Albertson’s and Sprouts, and online at Amazon.com. Just don’t forget that the purees are going to be found in the frozen section!  Click here to put in your zip and find a store near you that sells their products.

You can CLICK HERE to download a coupon for HAPPYBABY products just for Tiny Oranges readers.  

Hooray! It’s a Tiny Giveaway! HAPPYBABY is giving away coupon sets for 2 lucky winners! The winners will receive:

*  2 FREE trial coupons for HAPPYBELLIES – fresh frozen organic fruits, vegetables, grains and meats offer interesting combinations like black bean/quinoa/ and spinach/mango/pear.
*  2 FREE trial coupons for HAPPYBABY – is the only baby cereal that is organic with probiotic protection and DHA
*  2 FREE trial coupons for HAPPYBITES – are frozen organic finger foods for toddlers/kids with hidden veggies and nutrition dipping sauces, high in protein and fiber

(equals a case of food = approx $25!)

*  A special Nutrition Guide written by Dr. Bob Sears, MD and Amy Marlow, MPH RD CDN
*  HAPPYFAMILY Recipes
*  FAQ about the products

To enter, send me an email to giveaways@tinyoranges.com and answer this question:  Which item on the menu do you think your little one would love to try?  Click here for the menu options!   One email per person, please have your entries in before 5PM PST on Friday, January 23rd.   Good luck!   

I recently had Erin Malone (a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician-Instructor) from Safety In Motion come to our home for a car seat installation inspection and consultation. I was SHOCKED at the things that I didn’t know and/or the things I was misinformed about. She helped us not only make sure our current convertible car seat was installed correctly in both our cars (it wasn’t), but she also helped us plan ahead for when new baby arrives this summer.  I can’t more highly recommend her service.   What you will learn could be life saving, and it is a small price to pay for how much safer you will make your children.  With all the valuable things she was telling me, I asked her if she would write some important tips for my blog, and she agreed!!   

Here are her important tips:

Would you allow your two-year old child to walk along the roof of a three-story building? Of course not! However, most of us do not realize the force of a car crash or a sudden stop at 30 mph has the same effect on a child as falling from a three-story building! And sadly, statistics across the nation show that most parents are not correctly using and installing their child restraints.

Orange County is no exception. In fact, Orange County has a 95% misuse rate. Out of 30 car seats inspected at monthly car seat check-up events, only ONE is used correctly.

Safety In Motion offers the following tips:

* Infants must ride facing the rear of the car as long as possible. Turning forward is NOT graduation day…it actually decreases their safety. Even though your convertible car seat can turn forward once infants are one year old and weigh 20 lbs, they are five times safer if you keep them facing the rear until they are at least 2 years old.

* When a toddler faces forward, straps will hold back his body but not his head in a sudden stop. The head is thrust forward, stretching the neck and easily injuring the spinal cord. Children in Sweden ride facing the rear until they are three to five years old, and their injury rate is almost non-existent! All new convertible car seats available today allow children to remain rear facing until they weigh 30 pounds or more, depending on the model.

* Don’t be concerned about your rear-facing child’s feet touching the back of your vehicle seat. When the researchers look at the data, they rarely see injuries to the child’s feet or legs. It’s also much easier to fix a broken leg than a broken neck.

* Children should ride in car seats with a harness for as long as possible. Children should not be in a booster seat until they are at least 4 years old—preferably older. It’s important to check the weight limit of your car seat. If your car seat turns into a booster seat by removing the harness, the seat will have two weight limits: one is for the harness and one is for the booster mode. For example, if you see a weight limit of 100 lbs, that is NOT the weight of the harness. Read carefully and you might be surprised to find out your harness weight limit is only 40 lbs!

* Many children outgrow their car seats by height before weight. For a forward-facing car seat, the top of the harness straps should always be AT or ABOVE your child’s shoulders. If you notice your child’s shoulders are too tall for his or her car seat, we can definitely offer advice on selecting a new car seat.

* Most children need to ride in booster seats until at least 8 years of age. Unfortunately, there is not a magic weight or height to let you know when your child is ready to come out a booster seat. Before a child can move out of a booster seat, you must be able to answer “yes” to ALL of the questions in the 5-Step Test developed by Safety Belt Safe USA.

The 5-Step Test

1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?

2. Do the child’s knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?

3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?

4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?

5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, your child needs a booster seat to make the shoulder belt and the lap belt fit right.  My own two step-children were not ready to sit without their booster seats until they were 11 and 12 years old!

Safety In Motion is staffed by professionals dedicated to keeping your family safe. In addition to offering free car seat safety classes and events throughout Orange County, they also offer home appointments. During a home appointment, a certified technician will spend about an hour with you and your family. Not only do they teach YOU how to properly install your child’s car seat, they also check your car seat for recalls and teach you how to properly fit your child or infant in the car seat. In fact, if you are expecting a child, they even bring a doll so you can practice adjusting the straps and feel confident on your first ride home from the hospital.

Appointments are available during the day, evening and weekends, and they even offer gift certificates!

Safety In Motion has extended a special offer to Tiny Oranges. Just mention Tiny Oranges and they will take $10 off the fee for a home visit!

www.safetyinmotion.org
Phone: 714-264-2924