Premier Baby Concierge was one of the sponsors of the latest G.L.O., Girls’ Lunch Out, this past weekend at 8 East Bar. A great opportunity to meet and network with local bloggers and business women, G.L.O. offers sponsors an excellent way to connect with 50+ of Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware’s social media-savvy movers and shakers. G.L.O. offers great food, networking, swag bags & door prizes, and, of course, lots of tweeting! (#GirlsLunchOut)
We reached out to Dapple to partner with us on this sponsorship and they immediately “got it!” G.L.O. attendees received Dapple’s “Green, Clean & Baby Safe” Dish Liquid and also Toy Cleaner Spray. Made from baby-safe ingredients, better for the environment, yet also strong enough to do the job removing milk residue from bottles and sticky fingerprints from toys, Dapple products *rock* and now G.L.O. members can check them out first hand. Dapple products are available at all the big box stores and by the case on the website: www.DappleBaby.com (@DappleBaby for you twitter folks!).
In this “The 10! Show” segment, Premier Baby Concierge founder, Shannon Choe, brought some tips for parents to encourage their little ones to eat healthy.
Read books with themes about food and healthy eating.
Books are a great way to broach a new topic or developmental stage with little ones. Whether you’re getting ready for a first trip to the dentist or hoping to instill good eating habits, books offer kids a context for new adventures, characters to identify with, vocabulary to discuss what’s happening or any concerns they may have. There are LOTS of great books for kids of all ages at your local library or bookstore. A few Premier Baby Concierge faves: Bee- Bim- Bop, Little Pea & The Secret Life of Mitch Spinach.
The Secret Life of Mitch Spinach. $16.95. www.MitchSpinach.com. Mitch Spinach drinks high-powered fruit and vegetable smoothies which give him special powers to solve mysteries and help out at school. Written in collaboration with renowned physician, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D., this book has been shown to influence over 96% of children, ages 3-9 to eat more fruits and veggies!
Involve kids in growing, shopping for and preparing food.
Studies have shown that kids who are involved in growing, shopping and preparing meals and snacks are more likely to try new foods. Makes sense! After shopping, they can identify more fruits and veggies. Kids are proud to be involved and some can be quite interested in the science of how foods change color or texture when they mix with others or are heated. The once foreign foods are not quite as “suspicious” looking when they arrive on a dinner plate co-mingled with other items.
For playing store or hitting the real farmer’s market in your town, try Reisenthal Parent/Child carry bags $29.99 – $39.99 www.reisenthel.com. They are light weight, yet have the capacity to carry more than 6 gallons and can store easily, as they collapse to one inch thick.
When it’s time to cook, grab a personalized quilted apron and cook set available from Timeless Designs and Monograms. Let kids pack their own lunches (maybe the night before if your AMs are too hectic!) in a matching lunchbox. $13.95-19.95 Timeless Designs and Monograms is offering 10% off orders with code: 10show. www.tdmembroidery.com
Make it fun!
Keeping food interesting, by presenting it in new ways can bring new life to a familiar food and make new foods more enticing. Use toothpicks, placemats, fun tableware to spice up mealtime.
One way to do this is to make your own food “bank” to help your kids learn how to balance snack choices. At our house, we use a recycled circular plastic carry out container on our counter as our “bank.” Each morning, each child gets three poker chips to put in their own container, with each chip representing one sweet snack or drink. Tired of being asked all day long about juice and snacks, I decided to put the decision in their hands. We talked about which items would require payment of a chip and why: juice, pancakes with syrup, a cookie, etc. Whenever they choose to eat or drink something that requires a chip, they take it from their bank and pay it to the mine. If they choose to spend all three by 9AM, so be it. When they ask later in the day for a treat, I simply say, “Do you have any chips?” They quickly learn that they are in control. As an added an incentive to not spend chips on sugary snacks, chips remaining at bedtime may also be traded for extra books to be read at storytime.
Chart & recognize healthy choices.
It’s been said that new habits take about two weeks to become habits. Charts are not only a great way to set goals, but also offer kids a concrete way to chart success.
The Today I Ate A Rainbow Kit was create to encourage kids to eat a variety of fruits and veggies each day. The kit includes a book that introduces them to why this is so important, 4 sets of magnets, the chart and a shopping list notepads that kids and parents can make together to ensure that a “rainbow’s worth” of fruits and veggies are available. Each time they eat a fruit of veggie, they put the corresponding colored magnet on the chart. I was actually amazed that within minutes of opening the kit, my kids “got it” and ran to the fridge to see what else they could eat! $25 www.todayiatearainbow.com
Be flexible.
Every day doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s hard to get kids to eat fruits and veggies at all sometimes, let alone a great variety of them daily which is ideal.
For those days (or stages!), fill in the gaps with nutritional “insurance” like JP+ Soft Chewables). $22.75 www.FoundationalNutritionwithJuicePlus.com It’s an all natural, whole food based nutritional product made by juicing a wide variety of fresh fruits and veggies, drying the juices and offering the powders in capsule and chewable form. It contains 17 raw, juiced fruits, veggies, grains.
Philadelphia’s first & premier baby planner, Shannon Choe, founder of Premier Baby Concierge shared some “last minute” holiday gift ideas for the whole family. As of airtime, all of these were available for Holiday delivery- but deadlines vary, so move quick!
Don’t make it all about the bump or babe! Pamper the new mom or mom-to-be on your list with a gift certificate to a local spa. This is one gift card that doesn’t say, “I wasn’t sure what to get you!” If you’re in Philly, I suggest the Tommi Lifestyle Boutique. My wedding photographer, Tom Wong, and his wife Nikki are the founders of this new one-of-a-kind spot offering services for wedding and non-wedding clients: photography (including maternity photos!), salon & spa services, even cosmetic dentistry, all under one roof! Their new 7th & Chestnut location is beautiful and tranquil. www.tommistudio.com
The Go Gaga Slide ($118) is a really unique, unisex bag that will appeal to the diaper bag toting set, as well as anyone who buckles under the pressure of an ill-fitting strap! Introducing the patent-pending Urban Sherpa Strap designed to distribute weight over your shoulder and back. The Slide also sports a very practical insulated bottle pocket that fits adult water bottles or baby bottles and is easily accessible with one hand. Comes with the Stuff Sack (great “wet bag”) and Nomad Changing Pad. The Urban Sherpa Strap alone is a great stocking stuffer at $28 for anyone on your list! Shop at www.diapers.com and use the code: GOGAGASAVE to save 10%.
Wooden toysfor all the girls and boys on your list! With all of the concern around plastics, BPA and lead paint, you can’t go wrong with wood toys and teethers. They’re natural and durable. HABA of Germany has long been the name in great developmental wooden toys and can be found on www.amazon.com. We love their tagline: “Inventive Playthings for Inquisitive Minds.”
Little Passports is a great gift for the big bro and sis on your list! ($11.95 and up). This award-winning, educational gift introduces the child to a new country each month through goodies, letters, souvenirs, stickers delivered by mail and paired with online games. It’s a gift that starts with a special Little Passports suitcase and stimulates all year long!
A great gift for those far or near! Send a Recordable Storybook from Hallmark($29.95)! With three holiday titles and twelve every day titles available, these books are super easy to record, and more importantly, to set and save from accidental erase (hello little fingers!). From grandkids to grandparents, far away relatives to baby, parents to child, these books are great keepsakes and a great way to share a story all year long, even when loved ones can’t be there.
Our suggestion for teaching kids about being thankful and a time-saving Thank You note solution: Print Art Kids notecards. Every year we do an assembly-line production of handprint thank you notes so the family can have this keepsake and to start the conversation about the importance of being appreciative of gifts and expressing thanks. This year, we can send one such creation to Print Art Kids to create custom thank you notecards. They can turn any artwork or photograph into custom note- or postcards, return address labels, note pads, etc.! There are no limitations to artwork: glitter? googly eyes? oversized paper? No problem, just take a digital photo! Bonus: they use earth friendly products and recycled paper.
Bloggy Boot Camp in Philly in early September was a great experience! A one-day networking, learning, socializing event, it’s a cheap way (especially for locals!) to squeeze in the time to focus and ask questions of those who can totally relate to the challenges & the triumphs of blogging for personal or for business, and to review the basics and learn more about everything from design, to content, to SEO, to legally protecting yourself and your brand. Met some great ladies and look forward to keeping in touch via Twitter, etc., etc.!
Premier Baby Concierge was one of the sponsors of the latest G.L.O., Girls’ Lunch Out, this past weekend at 8 East Bar. A great opportunity to meet and network with local bloggers and business women, G.L.O. offers sponsors an excellent way to connect with 50+ of Pennsylvania, New Jersey & Delaware’s social media-savvy movers and shakers. G.L.O. offers great food, networking, swag bags & door prizes, and, of course, lots of tweeting! (#GirlsLunchOut)
We reached out to Dapple to partner with us on this sponsorship and they immediately “got it!” G.L.O. attendees received Dapple’s “Green, Clean & Baby Safe” Dish Liquid and also Toy Cleaner Spray. Made from baby-safe ingredients, better for the environment, yet also strong enough to do the job removing milk residue from bottles and sticky fingerprints from toys, Dapple products *rock* and now G.L.O. members can check them out first hand. Dapple products are available at all the big box stores and by the case on the website: www.DappleBaby.com (@DappleBaby for you twitter folks!).
