Solitude

Appetite Loss in Toddlers Feeding a toddler can be a challenge. Seemingly overnight, your good little eater turns into Mr. Picky. As you watch him push away foods that used to be favorites, turn up his nose at anything green and absolutely refuse to try anything new, you wonder if he can really survive on what seems like a handful of food each day. Most of the time, a decrease in appetite in toddlerhood is normal, but if your child is pale, lethargic or tired all the time, sees his doctor. Why Appetite Drops A toddler doesn't need to eat as much or as often as he did as an infant. His appetite drops because his growth rate slows. If he kept up the growth rate of the first year, when he tripled his weight and doubled his height, he'd be around 60 pounds and 5 feet tall at age 2. Since he'll grow just 3 inches and gain 3 to 5 pounds between the ages of 1 and 2, his appetite will decrease. To achieve this gain, he needs to consume between 1,000 to 1,400 calori...

Anger is a normal and useful emotion. It can tell children that things are not fair or right. But watch out for children's behaviour becoming out of control or aggressive because of anger. Don’t be   afraid to explore the causes of angry emotions. Helping your child learn to deal with anger healthily has many benefits. In the short term it stops anger from causing your child and your family distress. In the longer term, it helps them learn to solve problems and cope with emotions. Do not judge children for their Anger Team up with your child to help them deal with their anger. This way, you let your child know that the anger is the problem, not them. With younger children this can be fun and creative. Give anger a name and try drawing it. For example, anger can be a volcano that eventually explodes. How you respond to anger can influence how your child responds to anger. Making it something you do together can help you both. Ide...

Want to make cooking easier and more enjoyable? Try these fun and surprising tricks I found in my foodie travels this week, from my two favorite new (and still under-the-radar!) sites. 1. YouTube it with experts. Why cook and screw up when you can learn from the chefs themselves?  Newcomer ChefDay (A fun start-up that delivers pre-measured fresh ingredients you need to cook chef-designed recipes) features step-by-step tutorial videos with chefs walking you through the recipes.  (Stri-fried Green Bean Vermicelli or Parmesan Veal Milanese, anyone?) Most dishes take around 30 minutes total to prepare, and they’re sorted by level of difficulty to make things easier for even the most amateur chefs. 2. Get creative about salt substitutes. I always thought the only swap for salt was, well, saltless salt. Until now. In talking with Sodium Girl Jessica Goldman Foung, my eyes were opened to a slew of awesome alternatives. Did you know...