LilSugar

OnSugar Blog: Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh About It

OnSugar Blog — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:05:00 PST

Lots of moms like to think out loud and Jo Aaron is one of them. In her latest post, she looks at the lighter side of sending a child through developmental therapy.

Did you know that 1 in 3 kids are in some form of therapy. Well you shouldn't because I totally made that statistic up (anyone, anyone?), but if you spend as much time around kids and parents as I do, you will probably agree...these days, everyone's doing it!

And my oldest is definitely not an exception. If anything, our craziness about saturating his short little life with endless hours of speech and occupational therapy has made him the unofficial poster child for EI.

I've found, by speaking to countless parents in waiting room after waiting room, that developmental therapy is just like infant hiccups in that it seems to be harder on the adults than it is on the kids. My little guy has no idea that his new "school" is actually a speech group or that the "babysitter" that comes to our house to play is really an experienced S&L therapist.

However, I, like many other folks, spend sleepless nights praying for clear speech and worry constantly about what his delay might mean for his future. Will the other kids make fun of him? Will people understand him if he needs something? And how in the hell am I going to potty train a little one who can't tell me he has to go?

Want to see more? Read the rest of her post here and start following Mommy Brain. Or, start your own OnSugar blog. It's easy, it's free, and we just might feature your content on our site!

Sippy Cups Can Lead to Speech Issues

LilSugar — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:00:51 PST

Sippy cups save mothers from mopping up spills and allow tots a bit of freedom to roam with their beverages, but now the convenient cups have been linked to speech delays in children.

According to a recent WebMD article, sucking on the sipper's stiff spouts may lead to lisps and slurred speech. To see how to solve the problem,

. Sandra Holtzman, a speech pathologist said:

If a child goes from the breast or the bottle to a sippy cup, they tend to drink it as if it were a bottle. They lie back or tip their neck in the usual manner, so it's almost like drinking a bottle. They have a hard object or spout with various shapes depending on the type of cup, and their bodies are tipped back. This hard object or spout misplaces the tongue and pushes the teeth out as the thumb can.

For parents looking for a solution, experts suggest switching out sippy cups with those with straws.

Busy Mom Alert: 5 Tips For Keeping Your Home Clean, When You Have No Time

Circle of Moms — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:07:53 PDT

We're excited to share this post from our friends at Circle of Moms! Every week, we will be bringing you the best parenting and motherhood stories from our partners at Circle of Moms, including this post from Kim Westerman about cleaning tips for busy moms.

No one needs to tell you that being a mom is a full-time job. So, if you also work outside the home, how in the world do you keep your house clean? The easiest answer is to hire someone to do the dirty work. But for most of us, that's not possible, at least not on a regular basis. Here are some tricks of the trade from seasoned Circle of Moms members who like to run a tight ship.

Keep the Kids Occupied: Many kids love to "help" clean, and this can be fun for everyone if you have a lot of time. But if you're on a schedule and your kids are at home when you need to clean, make sure they're fully occupied with something more interesting than sweeping, dusting, and vacuuming. So says Brandi S., who also offers the excellent suggestion of breaking down each task into two or more parts. For example, clean the bathroom sinks, toilet, and tub and don't worry about the mirrors and the floor until later.
If you get lucky, you'll be able to do everything in one pass, but setting lower expectations makes it easier to go with the flow when you are inevitably interrupted. If you have children napping in the house, plan to do quiet cleaning when they're down, and save the noisy stuff for when they're awake.
Teach Your Family to Pitch In: If you're the main housekeeper, it's more than reasonable to ask that everyone else in your household do at least small things to make your life easier. These include gathering dirty laundry, cleaning off the table after meals and snacks, loading the dishwasher, picking up toys, books, and newspapers. Then, when you go to clean, you'll have clear access to the area.
Don't Aim for Perfection: Renae K. admits that she used to be a perfectionist when it came to cleaning her house. Not any longer. Now, when she doesn't have time to fully tackle a cleaning project, she goes for appearances rather than the deep clean. This gives her the satisfaction of feeling fairly organized and on top of things, but doesn't require the time commitment that a deep-cleaning would require - time that she rarely has.
Stick to a Schedule: Hayley M. had a breakthrough when she finally sat down with her husband and daughter and mapped out a schedule. Make a rudimentary chore chart and assign each task a time slot or day of the week. Once you get into a routine cleaning will get accomplished without your having to stress over it. Schedule a cleaning task just as you would a playdate or another activity.
Cook in Bulk: Cooking and cleaning are related work, and Shelley T. suggests cooking meals that will last two or three days. That way instead of spending time each day on cooking, you free up some time for daily cleaning. Or better yet, you create time to just relax with your family. Now, there's a novel concept!

More great reads from Circle of Moms:
What to expect when your baby starts teething
4 ways to help your toddler learn social skills
5 signs your preschooler may have a speech delay
10 signs your child may be lying