I had not had the pleasure of seasonal allergies until I moved to the East Coast. Every fall my allergies give me the business-such a complicated and busy time of the year to be down for the count; but what can one do? Now that I'm a mom I've had to find a workaround for time lost due to allergy related aliments. As we all know, time spent feeling crummy causes us to lag in life, we may experience brain fog and generally lose those extra bursts of energy to plan for ourselves and our children. That time lost feels like no extra sleep, or moments to yourself, or time for meal prep, yoga, a long shower, a walk and sometimes missing out on those things are the difference between having an ok/good day and a bad day. Okay, okay... enough about the negative, let's move on to the workarounds. The following things are weekly, easy to implement items that become activities that promote gross motor movement, cognitive, speech and language opportunities. Here's to being "prepared" so those down for the count moments don't snag our parenting style.
Tunnels. When we can't make it outside because I'm exhausted I literally pop this out in my small row house hallway and meet my son at one end to encourage him to come to me. I also place toys at one end or in the middle for him to explore different aspects of being in the tunnel. The next item on the list can serve as a pretty decent tunnel as well. As a note we love our tunnel because it's useful from when your kiddo is learning to crawl until well after they walk.. it's seriously money well spent due to its usefulness overtime. https://amzn.to/3BJnzna
The nugget! Or something kinda like it. I know that this kid couch was on back order for the longest but I have to say that it was worth the money and the wait. High quality, fun colors, and many configurations from just four cushions/pillows. This movable piece of furniture helps to exercise the cognitive aspect of play, particularly spatial reasoning. Hint: these make really fun tents when you add blankets to the mix!.
https://amzn.to/3BKloPY
Oooh Oooh Oooh! This looks a bit strange in the picture but it's actually a piece of two sided fabric that looks painted on when wet. When the fabric dries it's like nothing was ever "painted' on it. We paired this lovely fabric with a Melissa and Doug paint brush due to this easy to hold shape for toddler hands. If you don't want to purchase this fabric you can always use a cardboard box and water as it will give you the same effect!
https://amzn.to/3BKlFT0
"As an amazon affiliate I may earn from qualifying purchases."
Inspired by the people who made parenting feel less alone.
When Leigh had her son, her “favorite people” were the ones who shared child-raising wisdom with neutrality. They were sensitive to her needs as a parent, knowledgeable about her child’s development and health, and focused on helping her build the family life she wanted.
“My goal is to be a favorite person to the families I serve.”
That experience became the heart of EdCoSpace: bringing child-development knowledge into daily life with care, context, and respect.
