People talk about how to support the intellectual development of your baby. Should you play them classical music? Display black and white pictures they can see? Buy the “Baby Einsteins” TV show? I don’t know, but I do have one piece of advice:

When you’re cuddling your baby, tell them they are the most amazing, most beautiful, most brilliant, cutest, and most wonderful baby to ever exist. Babies love this. One of my babies used to do a kind of luxurious stretch when I was telling him things like this. You could see he really understood, in his own baby way.

If interrogated on this point by your other, older children, tell them they were all equally the absolute best baby in the world, and then say you shall not be explaining further.

Snuggle your baby and tell them how amazing they are! Have fun!

We’re often very task oriented when we deal with our kids. They insist on eating three meals plus snacks every day. If your kids are like my kids, this means they want to know what they can eat approximately eleventy billion times daily. There’s definitely laundry, there are probably extracurriculars, you’re trying to teach them to occasionally display good manners … it’s a long list of “to dos.”

Take a pause from all the “doing” and try “being” in their presence. Take five minutes today to watch your kids. If they’re old enough to find this weird, use a decoy book or something. It can be really fun to just see them be … themselves. Soak in the moment. Soon they’ll be different; that’s the way kids are.

Watch your kids! (Not in a weird way). Have fun!

Sometimes when my kids are going somewhere without me, I give them a “kiss for their pocket” to take with them.

Little kids love this:

• Kiss the palm of their hand

• Tell them: “OK, hold on tight to that kiss! Put it in your pocket!”

It’s fun for them to “take a kiss” to wherever they’re going. Even my oldest son still likes this (sometimes!)

Give a “to go” kiss! Have fun!

You should too!

Here’s one I wrote to get you started.

Hug-Bot-2000

I am the Hug-Bot-2000

My mission goal is: HUG

If you’ve cried so hard you’re wheezey

My arms are long and squeeze-y

They’ll keep you nice and snug

Other bots might dig and build

But my gears have one design

Objective? Robot plan?

Good hugging, for sure, is mine

Prompt: Write a robot poem. Read it in a robot voice.

My kids love making blanket forts. Perhaps yours might too?

Here is what you need:

1. Some blankets, comforters, or sheets

2. A bunk bed, table, or chairs

3. Some kids

I don’t know what it is about blanket forts, but they’re a great way to turn around a rainy day or boring afternoon.

Here are some things to up the fun factor:

• Provide snacks for the fort

• Provide pillows for the fort

• Suggest reading in the fort

• Provide flashlights for the fort

  

  Make forts! Have fun!

P.S. In case you need a phone reminder of my last post on remembering to hug your kids, I made a downloadable phone wallpaper.

Here’s one I wrote to get you started:

Poem on a Baby with Teeth

Beware the bigger baby

The one with a toothy grin

He loves to smile wide

And then SINK HIS CHOMPERS IN

Prompt: write a silly poem involving teeth, chomping, a giant bite, and/or a shark. Read it and end with chomping hand motions.

Sometimes, I realize several days have gone by, and I haven’t hugged my kids. We get so busy with school, meals, extracurriculars, bedtime, and everything else … it’s easy to let hugs fall by the wayside.

My recipe for a great hug?

1. “It’s time for an intensive hug!”

2. Hug your kid. Then hug some more. Squeeze tighter, saying “HUG INTENSIFIES.”

3. At the end, I often give my kids a kiss on one of their hands to “put in your pocket for later.”

Science says the hug should be at least 20 seconds long for optimal results. I think snuggling until your child gets wiggly is a good rule of thumb.

If you need inspiration, channel your inner Olaf.

Give your kids a big hug! Have fun!

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