Sidekicks need more love, especially since they’re often the best movie characters. Disney’s new board game puts your favorite sidekicks—Timon and Pumba, Tinker Bell and Abu—front and center.
Spin Master Games is launching Disney Sidekicks on Aug. 1. The premise? Villains have captured familiar heroes and locked them up in a castle. Sidekicks to the rescue!
You’ll play cooperatively and travel through the gameboard, battling villains, rescuing villagers and collecting locks to open the castle and save the heroes.
Players will have a bevy of characters to choose from, including Lumiere and Flora, Timon and Pumba and Fauna and Merryweather. Familiar nemeses include Captain Hook, Gaston, Jafar and Scar.
Grab this game from your favorite retailer for $29.99 in August. Time for the sidekicks to steal the spotlight and save the day!
Write your first name, recognize numbers, know the sounds of the alphabet, pay attention and take turns…the list of kindergarten readiness tasks can be daunting. Summer success programs can be key to help kids prep for school, but when COVID-19 locked down the country last year, educators had to innovate.
Would a fully virtual readiness program work with four and five-year-olds? The Ohio State University decided to try it and researchers found that it was successful in theory and in practice. Their data showed that it was feasible to operate, it was popular with teachers and parents and it had success in teaching children literacy skills, early math skills and emotional regulation.
“The promising evidence is that a virtual problem like this can succeed, despite the challenges,” said Rebecca Dore, lead author of the study and senior research associate at Ohio State’s Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy.
Ninety-one families enrolled in the four-week virtual program last year and received storybooks plus a computer tablet preloaded with educational videos. It also included weekly individual video interactions between teachers and children and a weekly video or phone meeting with parents. The final result? Seventy-seven percent of families finished the program and teachers found that kids were engaged for more than half the lesson 90% of the time. Participating children were tested before and after the program and the final data showed an upswing in all testing categories.
Although life is returning to normal, the success of this virtual program is promising for other scenarios. Kids who live in very rural areas may not have ready access to resources and kids who must stay home due to extended illness could certainly benefit from future online offerings. Technology for the win!
––Sarah Shebek
Featured image courtesy of andrii Sinenkyi /Pixabay
I wonder if this mama knew how much these little girls loved her.
I wonder if she realized how much comfort they felt nuzzling into her arms and feeling her heartbeat.
I wonder if she ever knew how much they loved their daily dance parties.
I wonder if she knew, how each time she entered the room, they filled up with joy and peace washed over them.
Looking back now, there is so much I didn’t know.
There is so much I missed out on, thinking I wasn’t a good enough mama.
There is so much I second-guessed about my decisions and how I was parenting.
But one thing I did know, the love I had for them was magical.
I loved these girls fiercely.
I loved them with an intensity that even scared me sometimes.
I loved them with my full heart-piercing my soul.
And you know what, my friends, the love for these girls is still just as intense.
They may be teenagers now but some things will forever remain the same.
The bond and the love between a mother and a child rise above all else.
So as I lay in bed, attempting to fall asleep, I recall my daughter’s sweet words reassuring me of all I have done right in this world. A simple moment, a simple phrase, locked in my brain and one she probably wouldn’t think twice about.
A simple remark, “They don’t talk for hours like us, Mom.”
And with that one sentence, all of my worries and anxieties began to fall away and room was made for glorious dreams to swirl around in my head, rather than the nagging thoughts of all I need to improve upon.
So mamas, if we just listen to what our kiddos are saying each day, we are bound to find the little reassurances that our presence means the world to our children.
It may be simple.
It may be one sentence.
But let it fill you up and value their words, for their words are truth.
Ali Flynn Is excited to share with you the joys and hardships of motherhood with an open heart, laughter and some tears. Ali is a monthly guest contributor for Westchester County Mom and has been seen on Filter Free Parents, Grown and Flown, Today Parents and Her View From Home.
I’ve had plenty of parenting fails but I’ll never forget the night we all cried it out. On this particular night, my sweet-natured 22 month-old son had night terrors and my twins were 4 months old; still teeny girls getting up through the night to eat. After soothing my son back to sleep, he got out of his toddler bed and inadvertently locked himself in his room. When he realized what had happened, he started screaming with fright. Naturally, this was the exact moment the twins woke for their 1am feeding.
And of course, the little key we use to pop open locked doors had fallen behind the doorframe.
And of course, the back-up key fell behind the other doorframe.
And of course, my husband was traveling for work.
All three of my babies were screaming and crying. Screaming from fear, from hunger, from confusion. They were screaming from not knowing where mom was or if I would ever come to comfort them. Then, they realized their siblings were screaming which led to more hysteria. Three children in a red alert screaming panic in the middle of the night is a very special brand of parental torture. I hope you never know it.
So what do you do? Help the anxiety-riddled toddler with no quick way to get him out of his room? Or begin the hour long feeding cycle for the hungry twins?
I chose the thing you might have chosen too- run to the garage and dump random drawers until I found something to unlock the door to break my son out of his room. Then, I held him as tightly as I could while I did the world’s worst job of preparing two bottles for two babies with one hand. I am not sure how long the house resonated with screams at 1 am, but I do know that if anyone’s brain cells were destroyed from excessive crying they were surely mine.
I share this with you because even when we’re trying our best, sometimes we still get the worst. Despite our best efforts to soothe, baby might cry for hours. Even after we prepared as best we could, breast milk might be slow to come in and baby might need formula. And if we’re sleep deprived to the point of literal torture, we may need to place baby in the safety of his or her crib to fuss while we do our own version of crying it out.
Our social culture has done a great job of bringing everyday parenting struggles to light in empowering ways; posting our #parentingfails on social media, sharing our stories of postpartum depression to educate others, and joining the local parenting club to find fellow warriors. Our American culture though, has also done a great job of creating impossible early parenting standards, not to mention ways to judge each other. The fact is, so many parenting moments are unwinnable. But if we’re holding all our babies close, in the middle of the night or otherwise, that’s almost always enough.
Photo: Denise Stern
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With twin girls and a boy born 17 months apart, I'm the owner of the world's most ironically named business, Let Mommy Sleep. Let Mommy Sleep provides nurturing postpartum care to newborns and evidence based education to parents by Registered Nurses and Newborn Care Providers.
Check your Crock Pots! In a safety alert shared from Whystle, Sunbeam Products is recalling Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cookers because they can pressurize when the lid is not fully locked, which can cause the lid to detach and eject hot food and liquids.
Affected crock pots have Model Number SCCPPC600-V1 on the label on the bottom of the unit and were manufactured between Jul. 1, 2017 and Oct. 1, 2018. They bear date codes K196JN through K365JN and L001JN through L273JN, which is engraved on one of the prongs of the electrical plug and on the bottom of the base.
photo: Crock Pot
The recalled Crock-Pots were sold at Walmart, Target, Amazon and other retailers from July 2017 through November 2020 for $70 to $100. Sunbeam has received 119 reports of lids detaching and 99 reports of injuries ranging from first-degree to third-degree burns.
If you have a recalled product, stop using it immediately in pressure cooker mode. While it is safe to use in slow cooking and sautéing modes, customers can contact Crock-Pot to obtain a free replacement lid.
Crock-Pot can be reached by phone at 800-323-9519 or you can visit recall.crockpot.com to check if you own an affected product and to request a replacement lid.
Last month, my younger daughter tried to start a nudist colony inside our four-bedroom, two-bath home. It wasn’t a cult. She’s two. We were potty training. As soon as I had her ditch her diapers, she refused to wear clothing. Her older sister also began streaking through the house. But that wasn’t all.
The morning it started, I removed my younger daughter’s diaper and told her we were out of them. At first, she was excited and that gave me hope. I didn’t know that meant she had a plan. My husband is an essential worker and I work from home. In the middle of wrangling statistics for a PowerPoint presentation, I heard my daughter call: “Mama, I’m done!” I hurried down the hallway to the bathroom where she stood proudly in front of the wall she had painted with poop. At least it was hers, and not the dog’s.
It’s possible that all of this gives me a certain edge of expertise I can now offer to other parents who decide to potty train during quarantine.
1. Toddlers in potty training will shred your precious supply of toilet paper—or toss entire rolls in the toilet, fish the roll out, and leave it sopping on the counter. Try locking away spares somewhere.
2. If you have a pet, you will soon realize the location of their poop is more predictable.
3. When your eldest daughter yells, “Something stinks!” Put your laptop aside and lock your eyes to your feet, watching where you step at all times.
4. Clean up pee stain might be on your top action item for the day.
5. Your child may fall forward while wiping themselves during your most important meeting of the day.
6. You cannot control your child’s bladder during your conference calls. Pee will come.
7. Hover over the mute button. A naked two-year-old might run into your home office yelling, “Where is my underwears?”
8. You may walk outside and discover your 5-year-old teaching her two-year-old sister how to pee like the family dog.
9. Listen for the distant splash of water after your child uses the toilet. They may be doing tricep dips into their pee water.
If you’re stuck trying to potty train your little ones during quarantine, don’t give in to a diaper or the nudist’s colony. Capture your kid’s poopy antics. You’ll laugh about it later. I promise.
Karlee Vincent is the mother of two beautiful, spirited little ladies and the wife of one awesome Canadian. During her journey back into the workforce, Karlee has had to traverse the international frontier while nursing, pumping and generally just trying to figure out what it means to be a parent.
Your kids may not know about the laminated blue and yellow Blockbuster card, but you sure do. In fact, if you’re like us, some of your greatest memories are perusing the Blockbuster aisles looking at all the VCR boxes before settling on the one flick you’d get to bring home that weekend (oops, I think we just dated ourselves with VCR?). Fast-forward to 2020 and you can now rent the last Blockbuster store for an epic movie night sleepover. Read on for the scoop on this Airbnb Blockbuster rental.
The Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon is a throwback to the ’90s, replete with a pull-out couch and bean bags and pillows. Renters will enjoy everything they need for a classic ’90s movie night. According to the Airbnb listing, “Crack open a two-liter of Pepsi before locking into a video game, charting your future in a game of MASH, or watching movie after movie. But be wary of reciting ‘Bloody Mary’ in the staff bathroom off of the break room, as you just may summon the ghost rumored to haunt the store. And help yourself to some NERDS, Raisinets and popcorn (heavy on the butter), but make sure you save room for a couple slices.”
Stay the entire night or watch movies until you can’t keep your eyes open anymore. Rest assured you’ll have the store to yourself from check-in to check-out, with the entire space sanitized in compliance with Airbnb’s Enhanced Cleaning Protocol.
And, the price is a throwback, too: each night costs only $4, a penny more than the Blockbuster rental fee.
The catch? Because of COVID-19, you must be a resident of Deschutes County. For those lucky enough to live nearby, set your clocks for Aug. 17 at 1 p.m. PST when the rental becomes available to book.
For those who can’t live out their ’90s nostalgic dreams, shop some throwback swag to help support the store’s staff and community here. And then scroll down for an inside the shop.
Now you can bring the pixels to life. The LEGO Group and Nintendo are continuing to build on their LEGO Super Mario partnership. The new LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System and 1980s-style TV that let adult fans recreate Super Mario Bros. game play and rekindle nostalgic NES memories.
The LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Building Kit for adults lets fans create their own NES console out of LEGO bricks. The new kit offers a brick built NES model packed with realistic details, including the accompanying 1980’s style LEGO television set. Now gamers can get nostalgic recreating their favorite Super Mario Bros. experiences from their childhood.
Take a trip down memory lane when your build a mechanically functional version of the console using LEGO bricks. The new NES Building Kit will include a controller with connecting cable, plug and even an opening slot for the Game Pak with a locking feature. The console also comes with a buildable retro TV, featuring a flat 8-bit Mario figure on the scrolling screen. Fans can scan an included action brick with LEGO® Mario from the LEGO Super Mario Starter Course, so he reacts to on-screen enemies, obstacles and power-ups just as he would have in the iconic Super Mario Bros. game.
“Super Mario has been a cherished figure in the gaming world for over thirty years now,” said Maarten Simons, Creative Lead on LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System™, the LEGO Group. “Many adults still fondly remember that first time they saw Mario leap across the small screen, even if the graphics were a lot simpler than they are today. With the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System, we’re letting them truly indulge in that nostalgia, recreating one of the most-loved consoles of all time so they can see the Super Mario from their childhoods once again – and even to share the experience of gaming in the 1980s with their own children.”
The LEGO Group and Nintendo announced their partnership earlier this year, bringing a fun-packed LEGO Super Mario universe to life through a Super Mario Starter Course set that exclusively features a LEGO Mario figure who displays a wide variety of instant reactions to movement, color and various action bricks.
The LEGO NES will be available exclusively from LEGO Retail Stores and LEGO.com on Aug. 1. Beginning 2021 it will be available at other leading retailers around the world.
The full LEGO Super Mario product line also launches Aug. 1 and will be available directly from LEGO Stores and http://www.LEGO.com as well as at leading retailers around the world.
Are you happy? The question is innocent enough. My four-year-old who is running around the house with his plastic sword in case we get attacked by Princess Robots (yeah, don’t ask) stops dead in his tracks to ask me.
I’m always happy when I’m with you, I instinctively reply. The truth, the truth, I’ll always tell him the truth, I think to myself as I justify the obfuscation by rationalizing that I am indeed always happy in his presence. But this prescient, empathic, stubborn-persistent little boy follows up: Are you happy when you’re sad? I smile. Caught.
In the moment’s melancholy and awed by his ability to read me, I answer: Yes. I’m thinking of your Abuelo. And I’m happy and sad. Content that he got the answer he knew was right, he moved back to the Princess Robots. An Abuelo he’s never met. An Abuelo who would revel in his prescient, persistent precociousness. An Abuelo who doesn’t know he exists.
The earliest memory I have of my Father, is of him giving me 15 cents (I am that old) to go to the corner of the strip-mall to buy a colada. For the uninitiated, a colada is a cup, yes a cup, of espresso that is then poured into tiny cups that people do as shots. He would watch me from one end of the strip-mall as I walked to the other end, to make the purchase at the bakery window. Most bakeries in Miami, at least those that aren’t particularly fancy, have take-out windows. I could do this because at six-years-old I was a big-boy. And, I was allowed certain freedoms and responsibilities.
By eight-years-old, I was helping him in the family business; digging in the earth, planting trees, fertilizing plants. But not too much. My brother did most of that work, with rare protest. I was the fancy child even then. I can, however, still recite the mantra he instilled in me: Make the hole bigger than the root ball so that it fits comfortably in the ground; throw some loose dirt at the bottom and around the root ball to make it easier for the roots to spread; don’t pack the dirt too tightly, you’ll just get in the tree’s way; water, fertilize and leave the rest to nature. I still plant trees in the same way. Little did I know then, the old man was also teaching me how to raise a child. But that’s the subject of another essay. Always leave them wanting more.
By age 15, we would get into ferocious arguments about the need to lift the trade embargo against Cuba. I was for lifting, he was against. His heart still freshly bleeding from the wounds of having to leave a country he loved; even though it had been almost 30 years by then. Of course, during that time, my Father knew nothing, and I knew everything. Still, I marveled in awe with how he could recall with precision his exploits in Cuba and Venezuela, at first selling fruit on the streets with my Mother to eke out a living in support my brother and sister, long before I was born. Then later, owning businesses that were acclaimed by heads of state. I still wish I had told him then how much I loved his stories.
In my early 20s the distance grew between us—physical distance; as I left that godforsaken city and traveled to Washington, D.C. to study. I made the begrudging weekly phone calls. And I remember one in particular. I was on the verge of quitting law school: emotionally wrecked, overwhelmed, and anxious as all. Yet, using every ounce of skill he had as the finest negotiator in the world, he talked me off the edge of the cliff. Not too bad for a guy who never got past the sixth grade. This time, he recalled with great joy my great exploits, and how proud he was of me. He drew on examples of things I had long since forgotten or thought trivial; yet, in his fatherly eyes were luminous.
In my 30s our relationship hit its emotional stride. My Father knew everything, and he acknowledged I knew some things. In his 70s he was funny, uncensored, irreverent, and sharp-as-a-tack. He would go toe-to-toe with me, and with my husband quip for quip. He would regale us with stories of things that happened when I was a child; of his adventures with my mother; of my siblings. We traveled the world together. But we did notice his short-term memory started to fail.
One Thanksgiving, while staying at my sister’s house for a week, I noticed my Dad had been washing his underwear daily in the sink. I checked his suitcase, sure enough, his then-wife had packed him enough underwear for the entire stay. I asked him why he was washing his underwear. I need clean underwear, he answered.
At 93 Dad remembers nothing. The deterioration was slow. And painful. And excruciating to watch. And the memories that are locked inside that, yes, beautiful mind are inaccessible.
My son does not know his Abuelo. I will regale him with stories that are locked in my mind, for as long as I am able. Stories about that prescient, empathic, stubborn-persistent man that he will never meet; a man that he would revel in. A man that in his youth, as a prescient, persistent precocious child, worked the sugar cane fields to support his family. A man that talked me off many a ledge. A man that raised his own brothers. A man that knew to give a root ball space. A man that was happy, even when he was sad.
And even though I am a more imitation than original, he will still hear his voice. And together they will fight the Princess Robots.
Father, children's book critic, writer, judge, director, actor and amature photographer—together with his husband of 25 years—raising an energetic four-year old! "Parent is not just a noun, it's a verb. If you're ever in doubt as to what to do, substitute the word caregiver. It will steer you in the right direction."
If you’re spending time in the car this summer, arm yourself with water, snacks and some very good advice. Read on for our top 10 tips on keeping babies and toddlers safe in the car on warm summer days.
photo: iStock
1. Get your car seat inspected.
More than half of all car seats are installed incorrectly, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And since people tend to spend more time in the car during the summer, it’s a good time to find the nearest car seat inspection station, usually at a local police or fire department. The experts there will inspect your car seat and show you how to install it properly, usually at no charge.
2. Cool the car down quickly.
A hot car is uncomfortable for everybody, especially kids. If you’re getting into a scorching car, crank up the air conditioning and open the windows first to push out that hot air. After a few minutes, when the car is cooler, get in and roll up the car windows and let the AC keep working its magic. Also, when placing your child in the car seat, watch those metal buckles, which can get blazing hot on warm days. When your car is parked outside, keep the metal parts out of direct sunlight, tucking them into the car seat straps or placing a towel or light blanket on top of the metal when your child is out of the car seat.
3. Inspect your tires.
How are tires like babies? They’re both prone to blowouts, and tires are more likely to have them during the summer months. Blame the combination of hot weather, longer drives and cars packed full of road-trip gear. Regularly check your tire pressure and the condition of your tires to stay safe.
4. Pack extra liquids.
On hot days, kids need lots of liquids to stay hydrated. Keep bottles of breast milk or formula in coolers with ice packs. And if your baby is drinking water, always pack more than you think you’ll need. Breastfeeding moms need lots of water too!
5. Keep cars locked with car keys out of kids’ reach.
Babies love playing in cars and fiddling with car keys, especially hitting the lock button to hear the beep it makes. To avoid having them lock themselves inside the car when you’re outside of it, or climbing into the car when you’re not there to supervise, always keep cars locked, even in the garage, and store keys out of reach from tiny hands. This is important year-round but especially so on hot days when temperatures inside the car can get dangerously high.
6. Don’t cover the car seat with a blanket.
A blanket may help your child fall asleep in the car seat, but even a thin muslin covering can make the temperature under that blanket way too hot. You also want to be able to see your child while you’re driving, which brings us to our next tip….
7. Install a backseat mirror.
Set up a mirror that allows you to see your child’s face from the driver’s seat when they’re in a rear-facing car seat. That allows you to keep an eye on them to make sure they’re comfortable and not overheating.
8. Adjust your car seat straps.
If you dressed your baby in bulky clothing on cooler days, the car seat straps may be too loose once your child is in light summer outfits. Straps should be tight enough that you can only fit one finger underneath them, and the buckle should sit across the armpit. Adjust the straps each time you place your child in the seat to make sure they fit comfortably.
9. Never leave your child alone in the car. For real.
Even if you only have a quick errand, even if your baby has finally fallen asleep, even if you crack the window open for air flow, you should never leave your child unattended in a car. A child’s body temperature heats up more quickly than an adult’s, and even a few minutes alone in a hot car can be life-threatening.
10. Check the back seat.
Forgetting a child in a car seat is many parents’ worst fear. To avoid it, leave your shoes, wallet or smartphone in the back seat so you have to go back there to retrieve them before you leave the car. Or, let technology help. The CoPilot Carseat Alert System uses a sensor that clips on to your car seat and a key fob to alert you if you walk away from the car without unbuckling your child first. The eClip ($49.95) from Elepho is a small device that attaches to your car seat and syncs up to an app that reminds you to get your child if you move more than 15 feet away from the car. And if you use the Waze app for driving directions, turn on the Child Reminder feature, which instructs you to check for your child as the last step in the directions.
