“Alexa, remind me to…” You’re probably already using the robotic assistant’s reminder feature to stay on top of the daily grind. Now there’s a new life hack courtesy of Amazon: you can assign reminders to other members of your household!
All you have to do is make sure your family members have Alexa profiles set up. Once that’s done, ask Alexa to remind Timmy to take out the trash or Sarah to schedule a school meeting. The reminder will pop up as a push notification on a phone at an exact time you specify.
You can also create recurring reminders to assign to others, like “Remind Connor to feed the dog twice a day.” Finally, you can specify relationships in the Alexa App, like nicknames or family titles, so it’s even easier to personalize reminders. Any member of your house can use reminder assignments, so don’t be surprised if you see push notifications pop up on your phone, too!
For more Alexa goodness, check out another recent update that lets you add Shaq or Melissa McCarthy to your device. And if your kids are on the younger side, Amazon recently released a new feature that allows Alexa to read with them!
Disney Junior recently announced the debut of a brand-new animated adventure series—and it’s over-the-top egg-citing! The Chicken Squad will premiere on Fri., May 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Disney Junior and DisneyNOW series premiere will feature two back-to-back episodes.
The series chronicles the comedic adventures of three chicken sibs: Coop, Sweetie and Little Boo. Based on the popular children’s books penned by Doreen Cronin, The Chicken Squad tells the tale of the young chips and their problem-solving adventures.
Teaming up with rescue dog mentor, Captain Tully, the chicken stars of the show help their animal pals and model good community helper behaviors. Each episode includes two 11-minute stories and includes the Chicken Charge anthem song.
Along with the anthem, the episodes also include at least one new original song. The songs range the musical gamut, including everything from R&B to country.
The cast includes Yvette Nicole Brown (Captain Tully), Ramone Hamilton (Coop), Gabriella Graves (Sweetie),and Maxwell Simkins (Little Boo). Recurring guest voice cast members include Tony Hale as Frazz, a nervous squirrel, Jane Lynch as Dr. Dirt, a forensic scientist snail, Melissa Rauch as Dinah, the chicks’ mother, Sean Giambrone as Riley, a pack rat, Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Lt. Scruffy, a retired firehouse dog and Melissa Villaseñor and Zack Pearlman as Wheeze and Snick, mischievous raccoon sibs.
Watch a preview of The Chicken Squad on Disney Junior’s YouTube channel here!
As a mother of three, I’ve developed effective strategies over the years for how to get them excited about eating what I make. As any mom will attest, preparing three meals a day for your family is no small feat and since kids’ food preferences go through stages, exposing them to a variety of foods can be challenging — yet I believe it can happen daily. I never thought it wise to attempt to convince or bribe my kids to eat what I made. Nor did I subscribe to sneaking or being a short order cook, catering to everyone’s wants. Rather, I wanted to educate them about making good choices while making eating fun. Here are 5 ways to help get your kids to eat what you make.
1. Two choices: Since adopting this method, I encounter significantly less negotiating and get way more interest in what ends up on everyone’s plate. Instead of announcing what we’re having for dinner, which often leads to someone feeling the need to assert control or, worse, asking the vague, what does everyone want to eat? (make your life easier and never ask that), I give a choice. For example, would you like chicken or salmon tonight? or would you prefer broccoli or rice? In reality, I’m offering two options that require the same amount of effort on my part, however my kids hear it as me giving them control over what’s for dinner. If you don’t have two good options, offer an alternative you know they won’t choose because odds are…they won’t.
2. Keep it upbeat: Berating your child about being fussy or picky in regard to what she will and won’t eat will get you nowhere and, if it becomes a recurring conversation, could turn into a larger issue down the road. If your children see you being positive about different foods, it will make mealtime a lot more fun, relaxed and successful in the long run.
3. Be a good role model: It’s tough to ask your child to eat their Brussels sprouts if you’re not. I avoided olives for years until I saw my daughter, Chloe, devouring them at the ripe old age of two. While I’m all about being open about food, children’s tastes take time to develop. So, when Chloe asked me if I wanted some olives I didn’t have the heart to say I didn’t like them, especially when here she was happily trying so many foods. I ate a couple, resulting in Chloe offering me olives every time she had them after that! Much to my surprise, I actually started to love them. Five years later I still remind Chloe that because of her love of olives, she turned me into an olive lover too! Ultimately, as with most parenting, good modeling and patience is a recipe for long term success.
4. Get kids involved! When I started my organic meal delivery service, One Potato, part of our mission was to make kids better eaters by shipping meals easy enough to prepare that kids could help make them. It’s pride of ownership: when kids help make a meal, they’re excited to eat it. You can start at any age, involvement in even the smallest task pays big dividends.
5. Menu plan: I like to give my kids a few cookbooks and sticker tabs to mark the recipes they want to see at future meals. This way we plan a menu for the month together and everyone has a special night where their choice is featured. Alternatively, give your kids a list of dishes from your own recipe arsenal and have them make their choices. Aside from being a fun, inclusive family activity, it helps you organize your schedule, shop more efficiently and cost effectively and get kids excited about what you make!
Catherine founded Weelicious.com in 2007 as a platform for parents to expose their children to wholesome, delicious homemade food. The author of two cookbooks, Weelicious: One Family. One Mealand Weelicious Lunches: Think Outside the Lunchbox, Catherine launched One Potato, the first organic meal delivery kit service focused specifically on the mealtime needs of families in 2015.
Audible and Sesame Workshop have come together to launch a new Sesame Street podcast. The podcast which is the first of its kind from the children’s show, features new original music, interactive games, jokes, and visits from friends like Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster. Hosted by new character “Foley,” The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley & Friends debuts exclusively on Audible today.
“Sesame Workshop has been one of the most respected names in family entertainment for over 50 years, and we’re honored to bring this unique Sesame Street podcast to listeners,” said Rachel Ghiazza, Executive Vice President, Head of US Content at Audible. “Audible offers immersive audio entertainment for a wide array of listeners, and we’re thrilled to expand our children’s content with this exceptional release. The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley & Friends delivers what parents need most now: educational entertainment that little ones will love, guaranteed.”
Families can join Foley at the Sesame Street Community Center as she and her sidekick Mikee the Microphone tell jokes, sing songs, and host familiar guests from the neighborhood. Each 15-minute episode will revolve around a different preschool-friendly topic, from vehicles to birthdays to learning the alphabet. Young listeners will love the energetic Foley, who has a special knack for making silly sound effects, and they’ll anticipate recurring moments such as “Elmo’s Joke of the Day,” a podcast game show, original songs, and beloved songs like “The Letter of the Day.”
“As families’ media habits evolve, Sesame Workshop is ready to meet them wherever they are with engaging content that sparks playful learning. Together with Audible, we’re creating a rich audio-only world that will come to life in kids’ imaginations,” said Scott Chambers, Sesame Workshop’s Senior Vice President/General Manager, Educational Media and Licensing, North America. “We can’t wait for our friends at home to explore the sounds of Sesame Street in a whole new way. Welcome to the neighborhood, Foley!”
The Sesame Street Podcast with Foley & Friends will include 15 episodes. The podcast premieres in the Audible Plus catalog. Following today’s release, new episodes of the podcast will be released each Tuesday and Thursday starting on Oct. 20.
Teaching kids to read is a rewarding experience, but it doesn’t come easy! Luckily, Random House Children’s Books has just announced that it is launching a new learn-to-read program that comes with a clear method and recurring characters and stories that is perfect for kids ages four to eight.
Developed by reading and literary specialist Marla Conn, the Reading House program is made up of 12 boxed sets all releasing in 2021. Each set comes with 12 leveled storybooks, an activity sheet, a progress sticker sheet and a classroom guide.
The new program teaches kiddos letter recognition and phonemic awareness as they progress on their journey to independent reading. Using recurring characters and stories, kids are able to recognize words and understand meaning due to context clues and familiarity.
The Reading House Sets 1–5 launches 1/5/2021 and includes:
The Reading House Set 1: Letter Recognition A–L
The Reading House Set 2: Letter Recognition M–Z, including lower and upper-case letters and beginning sounds
The Reading House Set 3: Introduction to Short Vowel Sounds
The Reading House Set 4: Short Vowel Clusters and Sight Words
The Reading House Set 5: Short Vowels and Reading for Fluency, including short vowels sounds and word families, clusters, and sight words
The Reading House Sets 6–8 launches 3/2/2021 and includes:
The Reading House Set 6: Introduction to Long Vowel Sounds
The Reading House Set 7: Long Vowel Blends and Sight Words
The Reading House Set 8: Long Vowels and Reading for Fluency, including long vowel sounds and word families, blends, and sight words
The Reading House Sets 9–12 launches 5/4/2021 and includes:
The Reading House Set 9: Introduction to Reading for Meaning
The Reading House Set 10: Sequencing Events
The Reading House Set 11: Comparing and Contrasting
The Reading House Set 12: Cause and Effect Relationships
Stay tuned for more details about pre-order availability!
When you welcome a new baby into your family, you are equipped with a car seat, a stroller and a crib but have you given any thought to how you are going to prepare to send your little one off to college. Acorns Financial will provide Acorns Early free to babies born in 2020. Now it is even easier to invest in your child’s future.
With an Early, a UGMA/UTMA account parents have the tools to save and invest beginning at any age. Early funds can be used for anything that benefits the child, and custodians may see tax advantages while they invest, before easily transferring the account when the child is an adult. Acorns Early features automated Recurring Investments, an interactive Potential graph to view the power of compounding, exclusive Found Money offers, and custom financial literacy content, developed in partnership with CNBC. As part of the release, Acorns has introduced a $5 monthly tier, Acorns Family. Customers in this tier get Acorns Early, plus all-in-one investing, retirement, and checking accounts, Smart Deposit, personalized insurance options, and tools to earn more money. To support as many families as possible, Acorns will allow multiple children per Family account, at no added cost.
“We have always been guided by our mission to look after the financial best interests of the up-and-coming,” said Acorns CEO, Noah Kerner. “If we begin as early as birth, we have the opportunity to change the financial outcomes of an entire generation.”
To support its goal of 1 million Acorns children in one year, and boost customers on their family’s financial wellness journey, the company is kicking off a referral campaign today. Any new Early customers will receive a $50 bonus investment for every friend they refer, and each friend will receive a $10 bonus.
“Early is special for me as a mom, but it feels even more important this year,” said Kennedy Reynolds, mother of three, author of the children’s book, “Grow Your Oak,” and Acorns Chief Brand Officer. “Alongside our customers, we can level the playing field, and get our kids financially ready for whatever comes their way.”
Acorns is accessed simply and easily via the app for iPhone, Android or desktop. Visit Acorns.com for more.
As a new parent, the list of to-dos seems endless and, let’s face it, daunting. From babyproofing the house to building your own infant pharmacy, tackling bigger-picture necessities like your finances may seem like the last thing you’re ready to take on. But it’s never too early to start planning for financial goals and expenses, especially when you’re expanding your family. As overwhelming as it may seem now, you’ll thank yourself in the future if you tackle a few financial necessities as soon as possible.
1. Invest in Life Insurance
Your family is just beginning, so why focus on passing away? Life insurance is one of those tricky topics. No one wants to think about dying unexpectedly, but the unfortunate truth is that it’s still better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Life insurance isn’t about betting against yourself—it’s about helping ensure your family has financial security should something happen to you.
What many people don’t realize is that the lower your risk of death, the lower the cost of life insurance. Purchasing a life insurance policy when you’re in your 30s can be half as much as purchasing one when you’re in your 50s. In fact, a policy can be as little as $9 per month in your 30s versus $20 per month in your 50s.
Additionally, the younger you are and the fewer assets you have, the more you benefit from life insurance. For example, if you’re in your early 30s, you may not reach your peak earning years until your 40s. You might also be paying off student loan debt and a mortgage. Life insurance helps replace that income so your family can maintain their lifestyle.
There are two types of life insurance, and it’s important to understand the differences:
Permanent policies come in the form of whole life and universal life insurance and are designed to remain in place for the entirety of your life.
Term life policies are purchased to cover select periods of time, usually in increments of 10 years. While premiums are typically lower, term life policies don’t offer you the ability to build cash value.
Speak with a financial representative to determine which type of policy best suits your family’s needs.
2. Adjust Your Budget
Part of the initiation process in becoming a parent is hearing from at least half a dozen friends how much it costs to raise a child. NerdWallet estimates costs over $250,000 for raising a child until they’re 18 years old. This calls for a new family budget.
When adjusting your budget, evaluate all new expenses. Determine your recurring costs for healthcare coverage, childcare, college savings (let’s tackle that next) and everyday costs for supplies like diapers, clothing and food. These will impact your monthly budget for the next few years and may adjust in the future. Do you need to cut back in other areas of your budget, or do you have other sources of income to make up for these new expenses?
If you’re preparing to welcome a new baby to the family, you’ll want to budget for up-front, one-time costs. Some of the bigger-ticket items can include a safer or more child-friendly vehicle. Some families also need to transform a former office or guest room into a nursery and purchase new furniture.
If you struggle to build or maintain a budget, consider using a budgeting app. One of the most popular is Mint, which syncs to your bank accounts and tracks all your incoming and outgoing money. Organize expenses by category so you can see where you spend the most and least and adjust your budget as needed.
3. Start Saving for College
You’re likely thinking, “Isn’t my kid at least 17 years away from college?” Yes, but as you may remember from your own experience, college is expensive. A ValuePenguin study found that public, in-state colleges cost an average of $20,770 per year (for tuition, fees and room and board) and private colleges an average of $46,950. Multiply that by four and you’re looking at more than $80,000.
Too often, parents make the mistake of waiting to save for college until their child is in high school. Rather than try to save as much as possible in a few years, it’s much less taxing on your wallet if you spread it out—save a little each month and factor the cost into your monthly budget from year one.
Now is the time to speak with a financial representative and research your college savings options. Beyond traditional savings accounts, many families choose to invest in a 529 plan, which is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed specifically for saving for future education costs. The great thing about 529 plans is that you can use the savings for K-12 tuition if unexpected costs come up or you decide to send your child to a private high school. A financial advisor can help you identify an appropriate plan and savings goals based on current finances.
As many new parents quickly learn, a little preparation can save you a lot of stress in the future. Start tackling these three essential financial steps by researching your life insurance and college savings options and dusting off your budget. You’ll feel like a champ parent, and you can focus on the beautiful years of raising a family.
Kendra is a writer for Eligibility.com who loves healthy living, the outdoors, and obsessing over plants. When she isn’t writing, Kendra can be found exploring the mountains with her puppy or curled up at home with a good book.
Libraries rock. They are beautiful, filled with things to do (books! story time! play spaces!) and are indoors, which is key in LA with these recurring heatwaves. So, clearly your local library is a regular stop. But if you need a change of scene and a destination date, head downtown to visit one of the most amazing libraries in the country. Brimming with history, a great Children’s Room, activities and events—if you haven’t been, you’re due for a visit.
The Los Angeles Central Library was first established in 1872. Yes, back when Los Angeles was the little pueblo that could, it already had a library. It’s gone through a lot of growth and change, most recently in 2001 the library was renamed the Richard Riodan Central Library and had a few nips and tucks (because we are in LA). With 538,000 square feet and 8 floors, it houses more than six million items and happens to be one of the largest publicly funded library in the world. So next time anyone tells you LA is full of surfers and surface, you tell them about our library!
photo credit: Erica Groten
The library offers many WOW factors, so make “Look up!” your mantra throughout your visit. Besides the gazillion mosaic pieces located in the grand hall outside Children’s Literature, mouths will drop when viewing the globe light fixture.
photo credit: Erica Groten
But, probably, you want to head straight to the kids books.
photo credit: Erica Groten
Kiddos and parents alike will have a tough time deciding what to look at first. There are so many choices, it’s like a Willy Wonka Factory of books. When your little reader finds a book that catches their fancy, they can sit down on one of the many seating choices.
If you’ve got an ants-in-their pants toddler who isn’t ready to settle with a book, don’t fret. Ample play objects abound, like this kitchen set sitting in a sunny corner. Play hide and seek to see what you can find.
photo credit: Erica Groten
And when playtime gets old, you can plop the kiddos onto seats at story telling. Check out their Kid’s Portal for the latest events, story times, and activities.
photo credit: Erica Groten
When you’re ready to get back up and moving, it’s time to take in the sights. Take a walk around the library and have the kiddos point out all the art installations that are located everywhere. Look up, look down, look all around. You never know what you’ll find, or where you’ll find it.
Know Before You Go
Hours (as of May 3, 2021): Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., closed Sat.-Sun & closed holidays.
Eating: Maguire Gardens, centrally located and facing Flower St., offers outdoor-seating, a grass area for picnicking and fascinating fountains to check out.
Parking: Even though public parking is not available at the library, there are plenty of lots around downtown and metered parking on the street. The library has even negotiated a special rate at the 524 South Flower St. Garage, validation rates are available only when the library is open to the public. Get your validation from the library information desk on the first floor. Present a valid library card to receive the discount.
Potties: Potties abound throughout the library and many offer diaper changing stations.
The Richard Riordan Central Library
630 West 5th St.
DTLA
“Today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.”
Or, how about the most cliché saying: “Time flies!”
Whatever your favorite or most hated cliché saying about time is, there are so many because time is so important to us. We hate to waste it. Then we want it to pass quickly. Then we realize we don’t have enough of it.
How do we utilize our time and make the most of it? How do we grapple with this love-hate relationship with time? I’m not trying to suggest ways to squeeze as much as you can into your waking hours or give tips on how to be super efficient and check everything off your to-do list. It is funny though that I’m now bringing up my awesome Passion Planner that I use to hand-write my weekly schedule, goals, dreams, and doodles. But it’s not my endless to-do lists or calendaring that I want to share. What I want to share is something that I find so simple and silly at the same time. There is a section for your daily focus and I often pencil in mindfulness or being present. And then I never do it. Such a seemingly easy thing to do, yet so hard and silly that I have to be reminded to do it.
What’s the best way to define “mindfulness”? To put it simply, it’s being present in the moment. Being present and aware of your feelings, thoughts, and body. I think this is a good start if you want to be more mindful of your time. My mind moves at a million miles per minute. I am a self-proclaimed multi-tasking queen, but that comes at the expense of never being fully present wherever I am. Or never getting to the big things that will make a real impact. A recurring problem for me is story time with my son at night. I love reading together and we do it every night, but as I’m reading Steam Train, Dream Train or Are You My Mother? for the thousandth time, I’m constantly thinking about what to do once he falls asleep.
I start to read, “Through the darkness clickety-clack…” And as I’m reading the words, my mind wanders and I think about how many loads of laundry I can get done tonight. And I ask myself whether or not I should bake muffins for tomorrow. I try to remember the things that I need to order from Amazon. “A whistle blares out in the night,” I continue, while reminding myself to schedule a gas delivery at work tomorrow so I can run out of the office and start the long trek home without having to make any stops. And this goes on and on until I finally whisper, “chhhhhh…goodnight.”
When I was kid, I saw this saying somewhere. “To say ‘Time is money’ is an insult to time.” I think it was a billboard or maybe a commercial on TV. I didn’t have enough life experience as a kid to truly grasp the meaning of it, but I get it now. More than ever.
I currently find myself in a job that I absolutely hate. I find my mind wandering to places I want to be or to things I wish I could be doing or to people I’d rather be spending my time with. When I think about how fleeting time is, I often see these flashes of my son quickly growing up before my eyes. Then my mind darts back to my college years and how I ended up where I am today. Should I have gone to school elsewhere? Should I have taken my chances with this or that? Should I take my chances and take a big risk now? I can’t go back and change things, but I can embrace the here and now and realize that there’s no time like the present.
Years from now, when Tyler is in school or away at college, do I want to look back on how amazing my multi-tasking was? That I could seemingly be the most put-together mom who didn’t shirk my parenting duties or work because I just did it all? Or how I was so good at establishing routine and order? Probably not. I want my memories to be filled with the nights (almost every night) that my two-year old stayed up later than he should because we were cuddling and getting lost in storybooks about trains and night owls. I want my memories to be filled with the countless times we pushed toy trucks around and used our imaginations to be silly and make up games and songs and laughed until we couldn’t breathe. Not the way I rushed through our bedtime routine so that I could quickly move onto chores and meaningless stuff. You have to run a household and do adult things like laundry and grocery shopping, but most times, those things can wait. The laundry will still be there in the morning as much as you don’t want it to be. You can always run to the store or order groceries. But you can never replace or replenish that precious time.
When I’m retired years (many many years) from now, whether I’m rolling in piles of cash, or living frugally, do I want to see the same monotonous routine day in and day out? Just mechanically going through the motions? Do I want to remember hating my job and being stuck where I was because I didn’t do anything about it? No. I want to remember the risks I took, the projects I worked on, and the lessons I learned. I want to think back and remember that even if I failed along the way, I pursued the dreams that were most meaningful to me. I want to be able to go to sleep every night knowing that I contributed to my family, community, and self to my fullest potential. That I filled my life with people and things that added positive value to it, and that in turn, I did the same.
It is important to have an awareness of time and understand how valuable it is, but it’s worthless if you don’t act upon that knowledge. For me, it’s a work in progress, but I aim to be present in the moment and I aim to thoughtfully spend my time in ways that reflect what I value. The time is now!
Hi! I'm Kathee! I hope to inspire and find inspiration in my everyday. I love to share stories and I enjoy opportunities that allow me to be creative. Family, food, crafting, and planning are my passions. I'm excited to join the Red Tricycle community and can't wait to connect!
If you’re anything like me, you assured yourself during your pregnancy that nothing would change between you and your friends once the baby arrived. And you definitely wouldn’t be like those other parents you know who totally ditched their friends post-child in order to replace them with a new set of parent friends.
Flash forward to your new life as a parent and you might be finding that your pre-baby promise to yourself is easier said than done. Research tells us that maintaining your social circle is more critical than ever as a parent. Social isolation can lead to clinical depression in parents and “belonging to multiple social groups is a critical buffer.”* Simply stated: you need your closest friends in your life.
So how do you blend your new life as a parent with your pre-parent, childless friends—especially when getting child-free time can be a real challenge?
Here are a few tips for blending your “parent life” with your “pre-parent life.”
Reach out to your friends. While you may want your friends to do the reaching out, the fact is you very well may be the one who needs to get in touch. Your friends may be worried about bothering you, assume you’re busy, or just busy with their own life events. Be the first to reach out and get some friend time on the books.
Let them into your “new parent life.” Your child-free friends don’t need to be separate from this new stage of your life. Involve them! (And if it turns out they don’t want to be there for you, you’ll quickly find out—and I’d suggest rethinking the friendship). Invite them to go places with you and the little one, invite them over to birthday parties and events with other parents/kids, and ask them for help. You don’t want them to cut you out, so you shouldn’t cut them out either.
Keep going out to coffee/brunch/lunch/dinner/happy hour. Chances are, this was one of your primary socializing methods pre-baby. After all, they say food tastes better with friends! It may seem overwhelming to dine out with your little one and child-free friend(s), but it doesn’t have to be. If the very idea of dining out with your little one in tow makes you want to hide under the covers, check out my post, “Tips for Dining Out With Your (Child-Free) Friends.”
Join the “serial socializing” bandwagon. The easier you can make everything in your life, the better, and building a routine helps with that. For us, “serial socializing” has been a gamechanger. We host a monthly Brunch & Board Games open house on the 3rd Sunday of each month. We issued a standing, recurring invitation and everyone is invited. If they can make it that month, great. If not, no worries. It’s helped us stay connected with our social circle and is a day we look forward to each month.
Carve out child-free time. I also encourage you to carve out time—even if it’s only once a month—to spend child-free time with friends. My husband and I alternate covering for one another a couple of evenings per month to make sure each of us gets solo time with our friends.
Host at home. In addition to the solo time, we also have found inviting our child-free friends over to hang with us in the evenings (after our kids are in bed) to be a great way to spend time with our mutual friends. We’ve had several amazing game nights on weekdays that run from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. and are completely child-free!
I know it can sometimes feel like an insurmountable challenge to reconnect with friends in the craziness of life as a parent, but I promise it’s not —and even more importantly, I promise it’s worth it.
Megan loves hiking with family, a good gin cocktail, and reading Llama Llama Red Pajama to her toddler on repeat. She lives in DC and is the co-founder of Highchair Society, a website & blog dedicated to helping parents have 5-star kid-friendly dining experiences.
