No Shoes Beyond This Point

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0a0285a1erlcgo.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>H.E.A.R.T.H. Inc.</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="H.E.A.R.T.H. 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 My solution for this was to attach a wide, wooden board to the wall with many hooks in it.  This would be hung so that the lower hooks were well within the smallest child's reach.  They hung the wet towel after their bath, and put their dirty clothes in the hamper.  A small basketball hoop over the laundry bin will help motivate the children to toss their dirty clothes in.</div> <bR> <div> For organizing the child's papers or artwork, you could buy a three-hole-punch and loose-leaf binder.  Write the date on the child's artwork if they are too young to do so, and let them slide the paper in and punch the holes.  They can then add the work to their notebook, and never lose their masterpieces!  If they choose, they could decorate the cover and leave their own book on a coffee-table for Grandma to see when she comes over.</div> <bR> <div> Having a race to finish is a great motivator for picking up if you have more than one small child...but everything needs a place to go.  You may wish to put stickers with names or pictures of a category (such as pictures of blocks, dolls, books, etc.) on certain shelves so your child can see where things go.  If they have more things than places for them, it may be time to give some away, get another set of shelves, or store some toys for another season.  When you bring out the stored toys again, it will be like shopping at home!  I find that shelves with labeled boxes are easier to manage than a toy box.  This method keeps toys from getting lost and broken, and teaches children how to sort.  This is a skill they will use all their lives.</div> <bR> <div> Working together with a good attitude helps a lot toward training children to clean.  Playing good music while working also makes it more enjoyable.  The pleasure of a clean room and praise for the child's work has significant results.</div> <bR> <div> In the kitchen and dining room, the best lesson for a young child is to clean up the mess as it happens.  This keeps the size of the job manageable.  Big messes can seem too overwhelming to tackle (for us too)!  If we keep it small, we can keep it fun.</div> <bR> <div> A baby in a high chair can make a huge mess.  A wonderful tool for meal time is a plastic bowl with a suction-cup bottom.  It sticks to the high chair tray, and won't tip over.  I highly recommend this to every mom with a baby.  Another great mess prevented are the extra large plastic bibs with a pocket across the bottom.  These catch much of what could have ruined an outfit.  </div> <bR> <div> Hope these few ideas are a help!</div> <bR> <div> - Jane Clark</div> </td> </tr></table></body>