Parenting undoubtedly comes with hundreds of moments when you question your decision, you question the future, what your child will grow up like, what they will accomplish or where they will end up in this life.

As the mom of a toddler I am constantly trying to make the best choices for my child that will benefit him both now and in the future. Yet, sometimes it is hard to not give-in to those people who always know just how to push my buttons and of course they always add in the well-known “good for you” so somehow whatever they are saying should be taken as a compliment instead of a upsetting remark.

The reasons someone has to belittle you as a Mama are so vast it is incredible to think that we are listening to them instead of banding together to support one another, because being a parent is HARD. It is hard in every season of life, there are joys and triumphs and pitfalls and sorrow.

How often on the internet have you or someone you know posted something about your child, a picture, a sentence, a story and you have seen those comments on them saying something negative.

I cannot imagine using my words; the only thing that is visible to others through this keyboard, to hurt another Mama. I cannot imagine using my words to in person belittle a Mama or take away from the joy she is experiencing, or even worse to add to the pain or uncertainty she is feeling.

In the same breath someone once told me; he will start talking more eventually but good for you that he is talking now. How in the world was that supposed to come off in any way other than a piercing blow?

I will have you know my son is a fantastic little speaker and was already saying many words for his age, yet they were comparing him to another child who was “only a few months older”. Comparing and the blame game are hard to not fall into as a Mama in this current culture.

It is easy to see what some other Mamas are achieving and to feel like you should be doing so much more, it is hard to hear what a child has accomplished and wish your child had done the same.

Maybe instead of backhanded “compliments” or “good for you” when we are jealous we use those words and really put the meaning back into them. Maybe we as parents find the voice to help and put into words how desperately support is needed in the current times.

If you are immune to all negative comments and never feel under attack for your parenting choices or styles then lets hear the tips! I know that I have fallen into feeling less than and to overthink so many conversations pertaining to my child once they are over, but I have a hope that as time goes on and I become more confident in my choices, and have a bigger voice, that I use that to help out others and to raise up as many Mamas as I can and to be part of the positive “good for you” group!

Children can learn so much from watching their parents or caregivers or doing everyday tasks. When we first bought this for our house we did not even have a child; but we did have a toddler niece who really loved playing with the different tools. For a few years, until we had our own child we decided that this would be nice when we did have a child so that they could discover “play cleaning” as well.

Our child loves playing with this toy. He is absolutely in love with watching everyone else clean, he loves pretending to sweep with the broom or “brush” everyone’s hair with the duster. This toy has allowed him to play clean while I am cleaning the house and I would highly suggest it for any toddler!

The leaf blower is a toy that we bought for our nephew for his second birthday. His dad is a caretaker and so we thought it would be a super fun way for him to be like his dad and use his leaf blower at the same time as his dad.

It is one of those toys that is loud and so it is a great gift to give because the child gets so much joy out of it, but you might not love buying it for your own child.

That is what I thought until my child loved playing with his cousins leaf blower so my husband bought it for our child as well. When he first opened the leaf blower he did not really want to play with it that much. I decided to make him fake leaves using ripped up pieces of construction paper and he then started to enjoy this toy because it actually blows a tiny amount of air that made the paper fly around.

He really started falling in love with this toy when we had to get rid of all the leaves in our backyard and get them to the street for leaf pick-up and he was so excited to use his leaf blower just like we were using the actual one.

Our son received this tee and baseball set for his first birthday from his Godfather. He was so excited to see it but then had no idea what to do with the bat or ball. With the help of his dad he was able to use the bat and ball and place it on the tee and pretend to hit it.

It was not long before he started using the tee and put any and every ball he could find on the tee so that he could try to hit it off with his bat. He has gotten so much better at swinging the bat and hitting the ball over the past few months.

Overall, he loves this toy and it is a great first start to introduce your child to baseball if you want something that can be used indoors or outdoors.

This slide has been so great for his gross motor skills! I put it on the list for his birthday. I did not really pay attention to how big it was and I was a little surprised when I opened it and it was so large.

Our son quickly found out that it was so fun to go down the slide with or without assistance. It took him only two days to find out that he could climb up the slide without anyone helping him and go down it alone! Of course we were right next to him and always kept a hand an inch from his back in case he started to fall or slip, yet he surprised us and was great at going up and down it alone!

We used it in the house as he received it in the fall, at it was a bit chilly to be using it outside. After a few weeks he started to try to climb back up the slide instead of going down it so it became something that we would let him do every few days instead of every day and then we put it in the garage until the spring.

One of the best things that he received before his first birthday was the farm set. This was a set that most children play with for a short time and then they get bored of the different parts of it. Our son loved this and his favorite animal has been the horse for months. He took it on car rides, when he goes up for a nap he loves to have it with him.

This set gave us a wonderful opportunity to teach him the names of animals and what sound they made. The easiest by far was the cow, as it is easy for a child to say “moo”. He then liked the sheep with saying “baa”. Recently he has started saying “cluck, cluck” for the chicken.

This set is both fun and helps your child develop skills that they will use for many years to come.

Life is a little crazy right now and I feel for the parents who suddenly have to figure out what to do with their kiddos all day, what activities to plan or who might be in need of an idea for fun play!

Below, I have listed ten activities for toddlers that my preschool kiddos loved! Of course as with any activity there might some kiddos who do not love every activity. You know your kiddos and know which activities they might love more than others!

Making Tacos (sandwiches, or burgers)

This idea is something that my kiddos loved doing! The best way to do this is to create things ahead of time for your child. I cut little pieces of construction paper into different shapes, like little green blobs for lettuce, yellow mini rectangles for cheese, little red circles for tomatoes, etc. One thing that the kids loved about this is that they were able to create their own tacos! They were able to add as little or as much as they liked on their real “tacos”.

Painting-WITHOUT PAINT

This idea was a huge hit when the weather was nice outside! All you in is a paintbrush and a bucket of water. If you do not have paint brushes you can have kiddos use washcloths or anything that can collect water and be brushed around. This is so fun for kids because they love painting and it disappears so quickly that they can use the same spot over and over again.

Creating Faces

This idea is great for little ones or even a bit older. I gave kiddos a face shape cutout, I had also piles of different types of “hair”. I cut out strips of construction paper in varying shades and shapes. The kiddos could choose whichever face and hair they wanted then they drew on the rest of their faces.

Sorting Fluff Balls by Size and Color

This idea works for children of all ages, especially those who are just learning their colors. I used little plastic cups with a colorful shape on the bottom and students had to pick up fluff balls and place them into the containers based on color. For older students or those who needed a little more of a challenge, I had them use the giant tweezers to pick up the balls and put them into the containers. This kept them busy for a long time and then sometimes at the end of this activity they were able to have a “snowball” fight with each other and throw their fluff balls from one side of the room to the other. The kiddos never threw them far enough to bother each other but LOVED pretending it was snow!

Ripping Paper

This activity is a great time consumer for little hands! This activity was done with kiddos age 2-4 1/2. At each place at the table I placed one giant piece of construction paper, and instructed them to tear into as many pieces that they could. They loved seeing how big their pile of pieces got the longer they worked! If you need an extension to this for kids who can easily tear you can always write their name on a piece of paper and have them glue their little pieces onto their name.

Sorting Candy/snacks/goldfish

This activity can be done with any candy, snack or even toy that you have plenty of with similarities and differences. I had the students each get one packet of gummy fruit. They first dumped their fruit out and were able to explore it. They could look at colors, textures and shapes and had the chance to tell me what they noticed about them. Most of them noticed colors and shapes right away. I then asked them to sort them different ways, by color, by shape, by texture (how they felt), in groups of 2, the older kiddos I had do groups of 3 or count them to see how many they had altogether.

Tracing Names

I used this activity to help the kiddos write and learn their names. Even the youngest child in my class as able to write their name within a month or so of practicing. I had them trace their name when I wrote it out using markers, or crayons over and over and the repetition gave them the chance to build skills with writing their names.

Playing in the Dirt

This is a fun activity and once it is a little warmer outside most kiddos enjoyed this! If your kiddo is not a fan of getting their hands muddy a great way for them to still take part in this is for you to give them a shovel or a small toy to dig or play with instead of using their hands.

Painting Pumpkins/Vegetables

In the fall we painted pumpkins! Everyone received a tiny little pumpkin and was allowed to paint it however they wanted with as much or as little paint as they chose. This can be done with any fruit or veggie that you do not want to eat! If you paint mini pumpkins they may last for longer!

Making Butter

My mom was a Kindergarten teacher for over 30 years and she taught her class how to make butter every year around Thanksgiving. This is a fun way for you and your kiddos to play and work to make something that is tasty! In order to do this you need an old jar with a lid that seals completely, take cream and fill the jar about 1/3 of the way and put in a pinch or two of salt. Then get to shaking! You will have to continuously shake the jar for sometime to get the butter to come together and form, but it is super tasty in the end! It helps to have the kiddos shake for awhile, then you, then back and forth. Once there is no liquid in the butter you can take it out and either serve fresh or put in fridge before serving.

If you have any activities that you love to do with your toddler let me know! I would love to try them out!