Painting activities are always fun to do with toddlers. Unleashing their creative side is a great learning experience not just for the child, but also for the parents who would be able to witness how a child marvels at what they have created.

You don’t necessarily have to have the best painting products. You can pick items available in your kitchen and create artsy project you and your toddler will enjoy. A reader has sent us some of these ideas on how to do it.

Making paint with soap — for this project, prepare detergent soaps of about 3 cups and some food coloring and water. Mix soap and water together, taking note to only add a little water at a time. The paint’s consistency must be cream-like. When it’s about right, add food coloring in different shades.

Making paint with flour — instead of soap, substitute this with flour and salt. The mixture would be a little puffy and it’s best to put this in squeeze containers to be able to handle it better.

Making paint with salt — aside from food coloring and water, you will need liquid starch for this. Mix this all together. This is the kind of paint that must be used immediately since when it dries out, the paint will crystalize beautifully.

There are plenty of things you can do with a set of colors. You can create artwork that can be displayed at home, too. It would be make your home so much more personal.

There’s a legitimate concern by parents in a community I frequent about children’s toys that may not be really fit for kids. For instance, there are dolls made with provocative dresses, such as the photo on this post, and parents are wondering what kind of messages young children are getting from this.

As written in Parenting.Com:

It’s especially tough when parents are trying to send positive messages to their daughters about their bodies, and in every toy aisle they see made-up faces, short skirts, and flirtatious poses. It’s easy to see how young girls would get the idea that it’s the norm to look like a Bratz Doll, Fashionista Barbie, or (good Lord) even the new-and-improved, trendy Holly Hobbie, who has traded in her prairie dress for a more modern look. Remember when little girls could just be little girls?

I understand the sentiment all too well because I see a lot young kids already dressed provocatively for their age. Media and toys like this do influence the choices their make and parents today have a tougher time shaping their character and motivation when all these are present.

It’s really a challenge because younger kids are made to think some things are alright and acceptable when they’re not. Where to draw the line is also quite difficult to assess because it’s also hard to over protect your children when everywhere around them, pop culture holds a huge influence.

Are we reading too much into these toys or are you also concerned about this?

Toddlers are notoriously curios of their environment. Their exploration is part of a learning process but it can lead them to physical harm. Countless of times, toddlers will get into accidents. But this can be prevented if parents are a lot more vigilant when they’re starting to explore.

Specifically, they must watch out for these possible harmless situations which may lead to dangerous occurrence.

Toddlers & Dogs

The child doesn’t understand how dogs behave and may try to pull or unintentionally hurt them. Many children have been bitten by dogs because of this. Even the friendliest of dogs can be threatened by a toddler’s attempt to “play” with it. Don’t ever let them out of your sight when in the company of dogs.

Toddlers & Cars

I don’t know why some parents can manage to leave their toddlers alone inside the car, even for short errands. If they are a lot more mobile, they can accidentally release the park gear, which is dangerous and may cause death.

Toddlers & Bathtub

Never ever leave the child in the bathtub. If you have to answer the phone, it’s best to carry the child with you. They can slip and hurt themselves, lose their teeth or break their arms and legs or worse, cause a deadly head injury, if left alone.

These are common sense advises that, believe it or not, some parents fail to observe. The first prevention when it comes to accidents always starts with being vigilant.

Some parents will argue that punishing a child, as a form of discipline, no longer works today. Kids are learning how to reason and some children basically aren’t seeing their parents as authority figures. Punishing doesn’t work for these kids, especially those highly resilient ones, because it only allows them to harbor ill-feelings and sentiments.

Taking another route to imparting good behavior, parents must use a lot of positive reinforcements instead. Concentrate on what the child has done, more than what she didn’t do. By creating a positive environment and setting an example of this, you rid your child of the negative energy that may trigger her to behave inappropriately.

Use consequences that are logical, meaning, make the “punishments” realistic and really connected to the wrong-doing. And sometimes, leaving it up to your child to correct her mistake, is one way of not only teaching the lesson, but imparting life skills to your child, as well.

Give children very specific instructions, and it would help to tell the reason why such and such is not allowed in the house. If your child disagrees or seemingly wants to express the disagreement, let them talk, hear the out but then state what you want and expect from them.

Have a set of rules to which you consistently stand by and stick with the routines. Never give out empty threats, because this will truly make the parent less effective.

Most of all, never use nagging as a tool as this will definitely repel any person.

Raising a toddler is tough. But raising two kids (or more) whose ages are so close to each other can drive any parent crazy. You hear most parents say how much their house is a zoo, and you should actually believe that. I have a friend who has kids ranging from 9, 7, 4 and one who just turned a year old, and looking at her juggle through this kids and all their issues is exhausting.

But, there is an upside to this according to the New York Times. Siblings whose age are close to each other grow up really close and bond really well. As kids, they pretty much fight often and have an all-out war. But as adults they way better relationships, they are each other’s best friend. And as far as families go these days, it’s always wonderful to learn that there are still those who keep stronger bonds. Siblings who grew up together have this.

I grew up with a brother who is years younger than I am and our bonding is very different. We hardly have a bonding time, in fact. Which makes me envious of this when I see the relationship of my friends and their siblings.

So, parents with little kids in the house…

As much as you want to pull all of your hair out and you beat yourself with stress trying to referee these siblings when they fight, just learn to appreciate the moment. And learn to appreciate what is there. For there is going to be a huge pay-off later.