Kids Belts – Toddler Belts – Dapper Snappers Blog

Okay, so let me be the first to admit (before my kids grow up and start the “Remember when Mom…?” thing), I have been known to not be the greatest parent. GASP!!! WHAT?? The inventor of my favorite product was always the greatest mom in all of the world??? Say it isn’t so!

I am a product of my parents parenting skills, which weren’t that great (parents – okay people, skills – not so good). I did the best I could, and like 99% of us, I was trying to do things differently/better than my parents did. I think that in a way we all strive to raise our children better, be the parent we wish our parents were, give them everything we didn’t have and more. I’m not talking material things either. I’m talking about the quality of the relationship we have with them. I’m not saying my parents were necessarily bad. They did the best they could and tried to do it better than their parents. But frustrations get in the way, yelling happens, and parenting is well…hard. Yeah, I know somebody warned me and I just didn’t listen.

I have a friend who, in my eyes is the perfect mom. She has her child under control at all times, has always been consistent, and is the perfect Betty Crocker type. I am incredibly jealous of her. She has more patience than anyone I’ve ever known. And she’s the perfect hostest of all things partyish. I don’t know how she does it, but she does it well. But enough about her…

I am not her. I’m not perfect by a very long shot. But I have discovered there is help out there. In joining a moms group and bearing my soul to complete strangers, I found that we all go through the same things. And I’ve heard it only gets worse as the kids get older. So getting started in changing those behaviors while they are young, not only their behaviors but my own as a parent, is so critical. I didn’t want my kids to remember me as the mom that screamed at them all the time and always told them no. I didn’t yell all the time, but I admit that I yelled way too much.

And let’s not forget that I’m setting the example for the kind of parents my kids will grow up like. If all I ever do is yell, what are the chances they will too? Pretty good. I want to be the kind of parent that I want them to grow up to be like. I’m going to fall short in a lot of ways. It is to be expected. But I’m going to try like the dickens! But where to get started???

Well, Hubby and I have always been very big on communication. It’s why our marriage is so strong. We talk about everything. So shouldn’t communication with my kids be the biggest part of raising them? Yelling was the form of communication I needed to change into something more positive. And I found a way to do it!

There is a program called Talking to Toddlers. When I first started to listen to this audiobook, I was very skeptical. It seemed to me that what I was hearing was hooey. But then I decided to challenge myself. I mean, if I was serious about changing my ways, shouldn’t I give this thing a try to see if it works? So I listened…

In Talking to Toddlers, author Chris Thomson talks about communicating with children, not just toddlers, in a way I had never even thought of. In what Chris calls “Unique Language Strategies for Parents”, he share’s techniques that REALLY work! It’s not only taken the frustration out of situations that could have completely exploded, but seriously built the groundwork for great communication with my kids.

This is an audio course that you can download and put on your iPod, iPhone, or other MP3 listening device. Or, if you’d rather, you can get the CD set shipped to you. There are 12 audio lessons. You listen to only one lesson per day and it takes less than 20 minutes, and then do the homework with each lesson. You HAVE to do the homework. I cannot stress this enough. But it’s easy, and in most cases quite fun. I mean, you can actually use some of these techniques on adults. There is no fluff to it. It’s powerful stuff. He dives straight into teaching you the skills that you’ll be able to use immediately with your kids.

Not only will you get the entire Talking to Toddlers audio course – (nearly 3 hours of content), but you also get:

• A printable “cheat sheet” – it breaks down all of the audio tracks into their key points along with the “homework” assignments that go along with each lesson. He’s already written down the key points for you!
• The 60 day guarantee – You are either satisfied, or he doesn’t get paid. The digital files are yours to keep. But trust me, you won’t need the guarantee. It will work.
• BONUS – you’ll also get a copy of “Show Kids the Fun”, a digital (PDF) activity book that is packed with great ideas to entertain your kids without spending a lot of money. You can’t beat that!

This is definitely going to be the program to save your sanity! I know it’s saved mine. Well…what I have left of it… So go check out Talking to Toddlers! You can get a FREE lesson to try out and not even have to buy anything if you don’t wanna.

Even in the free lesson, you will really get a sense of the kind of guy Chris is. I mean, he’s genuine and honest. He’s upfront about everything.To top it off, he’s got a Canadian accent that keeps trying to sneak out.

***I was sent the products mentioned above for free without expectation of review and I was given no other compensation. The review is written based on my opinion. To see my full disclosure policy, please go here.

Since we moved to Florida 6 months ago, it’s been a challenge to get used to certain things. See, in Oregon, where I’m from, we only have 2 kinds of ants that invade our house, Carpenter and Sugar. Every once in a while there’s the invasion of the fruit flies. Here in Florida, we are constantly trying to figure out what bug is bugging us this time, and is that ant a fire ant, and why are there lizards in my bathroom. The weather is a shock too. For the first few months it reminded me of oregon, only a little warmer. Oregon is gloomy and rainy for 9 months out of the year with temperatures in the 40s & 50s. Summer there is short. The chances of getting a tan are very small unless you want to spray it on or fake-n-bake. We Oregonians don’t like the heat, because it’s dry and it’s just as hot in the shade as in full sun. But seriously…who needed sunscreen? Goodness, we go out into the sun once and burn, and then we are fine for the rest of the year.

Well, Floridians love being outdoors. Sunscreen? Every day, every hour, all the time. Wait…sunscreen? What?!? My Oregonian beliefs are shattered as I burn not once, but 3 times in just a couple months, the last time being a 2nd degree burn. To be fair, I did wear spf 15 that time, but I failed to reapply. That whole concept of Florida being nearer the equator and therefore nearer the sun just doesn’t register with me. (Must be the moss that grew in my brain from being waterlogged for so long.)

Now… I do, and always have put sunscreen on the babies for planned outings in the sun. They have never burnt. But the stuff I have to put on them is like Elmer’s Glue. It’s sticky, doesn’t spread well, and won’t wash off my hands. I suppose that’s good for them, but I’m not real thrilled about it. Plus, once they are slathered, everything sticks to them, including every speck of that fine Daytona Beach sugar sand. Ugh!

Well, belonging to an awesome group of Mompreneurs has its privileges. One of my fabulous sisters in biz, Holly Thaggard, founder and CEO of Dr. T’s Supergoop!™ was kind enough to send me a few samples of her toxin-free sunscreen since we don’t have it available in stores in Florida. Dr. T’s Supergoop!™ is an awesome sunscreen doesn’t have any of those possible carcinogens such as oxybenzone and paraben endocrine disruptors. There are also no sulfates, phthalates (yeah, I can’t pronounce that one either), synthetic dyes, fragrances, proplyene glycol, nano-particles, or padimate 0. And it’s gluten free.

I have to admit that I am partial to the Dr. T’s Supergoop!™ Swipes because they are so easy to use. My son, who is sensitive to everything (and by sensitive I mean Drama King) loves Swipes too because the heat of my hand on it makes it warm to his skin. Lotion is “too cooooooooold!” And spray? Forget it!

And that, my friends, is one happy boy. Super Dude loves Dr. T’s Supergoop!™ Swipes!

I slathered the Bug and myself in Dr. T’s Supergoop!™ Everyday Lotion and let me tell you, it’s amazing! Not greasy at all, Dr. T’s Supergoop!™ Everyday Lotion goes on evenly and dries silky smooth. No more sticky, paste-like sunscreens for us. This family is going all Dr. T’s Supergoop!™!

Want another great reason to buy Dr. T’s Supergoop!™? How about this…Holly (@Supergoop on Twitter) is a mompreneur who, like the rest of us mompreneurs, works continually to make her business a success while carrying on all the duties and responsibilities of being a loving mom to two small kiddos (my own kids’ ages) and a loving wife. It’s hard enough work to raise a family, let alone strive to make a small business prosper in a market full of big corporate competition during a down economy. So give  Dr. T’s Supergoop!™ a try, and if you want to go one further, request of  your locally owned stores (natural food stores, baby boutiques, pharmacies, etc) that they carry it too.

Word of Mom, and mouth, is the best advertising for us small businesses!

I was sent the products mentioned above for free without expectation of review and I was given no other compensation. The review is written based on my opinion. To see my full disclosure policy, please go here.