Child care expert Nanny Carrie shares from her bottomless bag of tips and tricks every two weeks here in The Mabelhood. Want advice from a professional nanny? Send your child related questions to blog@mabel.ca

Q – I feel like I’m always nagging at my toddler and saying “NO” all the time. Anything I can do to avoid feeling like a nag?

If you’re finding yourself in a vicious cycle of a toddler who is getting into mischief every 2 minutes, they’re often bored and trying to get your attention to help them find something to do.  Try not to see it as a deliberate ploy to drive mama crazy.  When adults are bored, we doodle on paper, surf the internet, check for split ends, etc.  Your toddler is probably just looking for a way to entertain himself.

There are two ways to manage the situation and keep the “no’s” to a minimum.  You’ll probably find you need to use both depending on the situation.

1) Set them up for success.  It’s not fair to take a 2 year old into a doctor’s office and expect him to quietly read a magazine for 45 minutes.  If you don’t provide something for him to do, he’s going to make his own fun. 

For the little guys: Bring special toys, colouring (stickers are great because they’re less messy), and snacks are always a hit.  Go for a low maintenance snack like bite-size crackers or cereal puffs.  (Scraping muffin crumbs out of the carpet does not make a mama’s life easier!) Try to create an environment so that their activity is something positive and then be sure to load up on the praise for doing a good job.

For bigger kids: Save the electronics for special occasions.  You’ll be surprised how quickly a child can grow to love waiting rooms if it means they get to bust out the video games!  For the less technologically inclined, comic books and magazines for kids are a good bet.  (Steer clear of toys with small pieces and anything that will have you scrambling under chairs for escaped dinky cars and Legos).

2) Cut your losses.  Sometimes you need to get something done and you just can’t arrange an activity to keep your little one out of trouble.  So let him wreak a bit of havoc (obviously ensuring it’s not dangerous or too destructive).  In my house, sometimes that means letting my little guy dust the bathroom cupboard with my makeup brushes or empty ice cube trays into the sink.  They’re not the best activities but it means I can keep the negativity to a minimum while he is safely occupied. 

When you do find you need to redirect your toddler, try using phrases like “uh uh uh”  or “don’t touch please” rather than “no.”  You can use these phrases for minor misbehaviours and save the firm “no’s” for occasions when they really count (running across the street, turning the dials on the stove etc.) and you can follow through with your request.  Then as they get older you can call out “no” with one hand on the phone and one hand making lasagna and they’ll know you still mean business!

Nanny Carrie’s Tip: Keep a ‘busy bag’ filled with fun activities in your car/purse/diaper bag so you’ll always be prepared with something cool to occupy your little one whenever an unforeseen errand/appointment crops up.

A new year usually brings on the notion of new resolutions. A simple definition of resolution is: “A decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner.” I think looking at the big picture of a resolution can be a bit of a daunting task.

To say “I am going to organize my whole house this year!” and wake up on January 1st with the idea that you are going to make huge changes right away can lead to a feeling of discouragement if you don’t see some real changes soon.

We all naturally like making lists of things to do and checking them off to get that sense of accomplishment. So this year instead of saying you’re Going To Get Your Entire House Organized, sit down and make a list of each room in your house. Then break it down even further. List each area in that room and what you want to see accomplished. Next, set a weekly goal of tackling each area until you are finished. Here is an example of what your list may look like:

• Living room

1. Find hidden storage for toys.
2. Need storage for DVDs, get rid of cases.

• Dining Room

1. Go through china cabinet and see if there is anything you want to part with.
2. Store linens properly.

• Kitchen

1. Dump the junk drawer.
2. Create vertical storage for cookie sheets and cutting boards.
3. Get basket for potatoes.

Remember to break down your organizing list into small, accomplishable tasks to avoid resolution run-down. It might be a long list but it will be empowering watching items get checked off as you go. Add a couple of fun ‘to-dos’ on the list too, like a manicure or movie to reward yourself for a job well done.

On January 5^th the Mabel’s Labels team headed out to a secret special location to get creative and think like kids!

Yvan busy setting up the projector

Dolores & Dori fuel up with some coffee!

Mumby, Julie, GG, Mary-Ellen, Cynthia & Yvan

Kitestring Marketing gave us a creative challenge

The Kitestring Challenge Box

Julie, GG & Ramona share their answer to the challenge

Jen & Kim enjoying Poprocks!

Our Timekeeper Ruth

For this week’s blog post, guest blogger Christopher McGrath provides some timely inspiration about getting healthy in the New Year.

Chris before his journey

It’s that time of year again when many people reflect upon the previous year, wondering what could have been, and contemplate the year ahead, dreaming of what could possibly be.  While I’ve never been a huge fan of resolutions (mainly because I’m no good at keeping them), two years ago, I promised myself I would try to make a change that would last a lifetime.

Two years ago, I was a 435-pound man.  And for the last time, I resolved to get healthy.

And while I had tried almost every diet, gimmick and trick out there, I was not thoroughly convinced that surgically wrapping an elastic band around my stomach was going to be the solution to my problems.  Why?  Well, it wasn’t modern medicine’s fault that I was a morbidly obese.  Over the twenty previous years prior, I made a series of bad choices in terms of my eating habits and my inability to manage my emotions.  So while I didn’t resolve to go on a diet, or read yet another self-help book in search of the secret to happiness and weight-loss success, I did resolve to do one thing very differently. 

I made a resolution to hold myself accountable to my own choices.
Finally.
I chose to live my life differently.  Quite simply, I chose to live.

Because 20 months ago, I used to pray at night that I wouldn’t die in my sleep – feeling the weight of 200+ extra pounds, depression, sadness, disappointment, and anxiety pressing down on both my body and my spirit.  And I made a deal with myself on April 19, 2008 – that if I woke up the next morning, I would not only choose to make a change, but I would actually do it.

And I haven’t looked back since.

I hired the best trainer in the world (I think!).
I actually applied everything I had learned from 20+ years of dieting, to fuel my body in healthy and wonderful way.
I learned to enjoy sweating…running, indoor cycling, and kickboxing.  I’ll try anything now, and in the process, likely grow to love it.
 
And most importantly…
I dropped over 200 pounds of body weight…the old fashioned way!
I’ve lost 7.7 feet (yes, feet!) of fat from my body’s girth measurements.
I’ve learned to take control of my life, and forgive myself for the consequences of negative choices.

I learned that the problem with all of my previous resolutions was that they weren’t about making a change in how I think, or how I see myself in the wonderful world around me.  They were about changing something that existed externally to who I am as a person, in hopes that changing that one condition alone would create an imbalance in my already chaotic life that could prompt much-needed change.  But now, the resolution – the best one I ever made – was about not feeling victimized by my bad choices, but instead understanding that the most powerful thing I have as a person is the power to choose.  I can choose to live my life in whatever way I wish.  And once I made the choice to eat more healthfully (I still eat burgers!), exercise daily, and forgive myself and others for everything I had been hanging onto for so very very long, I drew more strength and motivation from that choice than I had ever found before.

And for me, that was the secret to my resolution.

May 2010 bring you the same power and inspiration – from your own power to choose.

Chris today

 To read more about my journey, visit: http://www.secondcomingofchris.blogspot.com

There is a lot of fun stuff going on here at The Mabelhood in 2010! To start things off, friend and amazing fella, Chris McGrath, will be joining us with a guest post next week. He will post about a tremendous accomplishment – he just reached his goal of losing 200 lbs. No gimmicks, but a lot of sweat and hard work. With all those New Year’s resolutions buzzing around, we’re hoping his motivation is contagious!

The following week, you will be introduced to Nanny Carrie (who happened to have a baby a couple of days ago). As an experienced nanny who is oozing with kiddo love, common sense and practical solutions, Nanny Carrie is the mama with the answers! She will be providing regular posts helping us deal with all that kid stuff that drives us crazy.

Of course you’ll still be hearing from me about life in the mama trenches while also juggling Mabel’s Labels madness. Caitlin will be keeping you posted on all the Mabel news and Tanna is here to keep you organized.

All the best for 2010! It’s been a pleasure sharing 2009 with you! And a warm Mabelhood welcome to Chris and Nanny Carrie!