By Samantha Jo Campen of Back To Me

I seem to have a knack for embracing the mild panic that surrounds planning my son’s birthday parties about six months in advance.  I guess my rationale is that most of my life lately feels like everything is pushed to the last minute in a fit of frenzy so let’s try and make this ONE THING thought out and executed in a Xanax-not-needed type of way.  Hey, it doesn’t hurt to have good intentions, but you can only plan for so much.  I just survived our son’s second birthday party and I’m happy with how it turned out–everyone had a good time, no one got hurt (always up in the air when toddlers are involved), and the house was intact when the throngs of people left.  My only regret was expecting it to be similar to his first birthday which, HA HA HA HA HAAAA!  He was crawling then.  He couldn’t talk.  He had no real opinions and only cared about the wrapping paper.  This year?  Was.  Different.  A few things I learned:

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By Kate from ka-ka-ka-katy

When you are a full-time work-outside-the-home parent you give up control on a lot of things. If your child is in a formal daycare or day home setting you most likely have to relinquish your ideals of what the nap schedule should be, how exactly your child is disciplined and maybe even feeding times. For type-A personalities this can be very, very hard (just ask me how I know). However, I assume that every parent who has the need for full-time childcare has a provider they know, trust and respect which makes the situation a whole lot easier.

If there is one time that having a trusted provider – a childcare “expert” if you will – is absolutely beneficial it’s during potty training. For a control freak like me, it took a little while to come to this conclusion, but once I gave myself over to this idea it took the pressure off us at home. The fact is my daughter is in their care for most of her waking hours and 90% of the potty training would happen at school. Her teachers have helped dozens of children reach this milestone and they are the best resource a working parent has for helping a kid learn to use the toilet.

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Katie, aka motherbumper, is co-founder of The Bad Moms Club and Canada Moms Blog. With her friend, she recently drove from Toronto to Orlando with 3 kids under four and last year she travelled across Canada with the same circus, all in a vain attempt to prove she actually is insane. She succeeded admirably.

How does a parent actually survive a road trip with small kids? Because sometimes it really is survival. No matter how wonderful and well behaved the children are at home, when on a road trip with those same children there will be blood, I mean conflicts. Obviously it’s hard being strapped in a car seat just to go to the grocery store so it must royally suck to be strapped in there for hours on a road trip. I really do understand why small children voice so many travel frustrations while on route — I just wish they didn’t have to do it so loudly. Since tele-portation hasn’t happened yet and installing sound proof pexi-glass between the driver and passengers isn’t always an option, I try to adhere to these ideas when hitting the road with small children.

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By Amanda from Kickyboots

I don’t know about you, but parenthood has been more challenging than I ever thought it would be. Everyone always rants that “it’s the hardest job in the world” but I guess I thought they were being melodramatic. Turns out they weren’t. And nothing has pushed me to the brink of insanity, frustration and tears more powerfully than my (dearly beloved) children.

Our eldest child is what one might call “difficult” and as she neared her third birthday I was about ready to box her up and FedEx her to Antarctica. I was at such a loss as to how to parent her, how to discipline her, how to help her grow up to not be a total jerk. Just when I was ready to throw in the towel and inquire about boarding schools for toddlers, I heard about a book called “Connected Parenting” and I don’t hesitate to say that it has transformed both my daughter and my will to live. Here are the steps we’ve taken to connect with our kids:

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By Danica

It amazes me, the amount of paper two small children can go through every single day, most of it at school. Every weekday, somewhere in between cooking dinner and trying to get the laundry processed, my children run up to me with backpacks open, and start throwing at me, gazillions of paper notices of all sizes and colors. Read this one. Sign that one. Comment here.

Think of all the trees that could be saved by getting the school districts on Facebook. Of course, some of the school districts are working on that, and it won’t be all that successful an endeavor until the parents can all be wrangled into joining. Until then, the paper will keep rolling in, and must be dealt with.

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By Leah from Working on Motherhood and A Girl and A Boy

Now that I have almost an entire year of parenting under my belt, I finally feel like I’ve earned the right to throw out advice to anyone, at any time, and at 90 mph, like an automatic ball-pitcher gone haywire. Heads up! I’m coming straight at you! After all, what better way to make mom friends than to tell them exactly how to parent, right?

Okay, obviously unsolicited advice is not what moms want to hear, and least of all when they’re new moms trying to navigate the perilous landscape of parenthood on top of being sleep-deprived, strapped onto the roof of the Hormone Express, and worried that their insides and outsides have been rearranged beyond repair. What new moms don’t need is someone telling them what to do or, worse, someone telling them that they’re doing it all wrong. What you need is love, support, encouragement, respect, validation, and, okay, maybe a few gentle nudges from someone who’s been there. (That’s me!) Oh, and you probably also need a shower.

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By Nadine from Martinis for Milk

“Play Batman with me Mommy,” my almost-five-year-old son,Nate , calls to me as I’m caught checking my Blackberry again. I look up at him, wanting to make him happy, but completely clueless. “OK, but you’ll have to tell me HOW we play Batman.”

I have a dirty secret. I don’t know how to play with my kids.

While my husband creates intricate games and stories in moments, I seem to be missing that gene. But he often works nights, leaving me home alone with two kids under five. Here’s how I get creative with quality time.

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By Sherry of Chaos Theory

There are always rough transitional moments when the school year starts back up; getting up early and rushing everyone out the door, getting back to the grind of homework, and regular bedtimes to name a few.  However, one thing that always seems to strike fear into parents is the thought of having to pack a school lunch.  Many schools offer up hot lunches, but they’re not always appealing and the truth is they cost a lot more than a lunch you prepare and send yourself.

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By Samantha from Back To Me

When we got pregnant I had a few fears about our impending bundle: the wee one would be colicky (check!), would rage against the car (dodged that bullet), and would be a bedtime h8r.  In fact, the sleep issue was the one I was most concerned about so I made sure to read up on ALL the sleep solution books I could get my water retaining hands on.  The main theme?  GET THEE TO A ROUTINE AND QUICK, WOMAN.  This was a no-brainer for me as it made complete and total sense.  Routines help kids feel secure, know what’s coming next and not throw them into a rabid frenzy with each bed time transition.  So that is what we did.

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By Metalia

Considering that I don’t celebrate Halloween (I’m an Orthodox Jew) I’m probably the last person that you’d expect to be writing this piece.

HOWEVER

We have a holiday called Purim that takes place a bit later in the year, but involves—nay, REQUIRES—awesome costumes, as well. I take a bit of pride in putting together what I think are good costumes for my kids every year, and what’s more, I’ve learned something new each year, and so with Halloween rapidly approaching, I thought I’d share a few of my best tips with you today.

1. Take advantage of your powerless kids while they’re young.

As time has gone on, I’ve upped the ante for myself, so to speak, to the point where I feel like I have to outdo last year’s costumes each time. However, for this first point, I’m going to take you back a few years, to my son’s first Purim. Being a new mom, I wanted to dress him in something cute and cuddly and soft, and I had bought him an adorable cow costume (HALF PRICE right after Halloween, thank you very much) a few months earlier. And really, if I tried to dress him in that today, I think he’d roll his eyes at me and/or throw a huge, “NO”-filled tantrum. But back then? Haha, sucker. Mama wants a cowbaby, and she is GETTING a cowbaby. There’s only so long that you can get away with this, so strike while you can, and fulfill all your vicarious costume wishes while they’re one or two years old.

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