Category: Tips for Parents

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Hand-Me-Down Etiquette for Children’s Toys and Clothes

young girl kneeling in front of box full of stuffed animals

As your child gets older and friends and family members start to have little ones of their own, you may be tempted to give them some of your child’s old toys and clothes. However, before you throw your child’s old things into a bin and ship them off to someone, you may want to ask yourself a few questions. Following these hand-me-down etiquettes can ensure that everyone is happy in the long run:

Make sure the other person wants your hand-me-downs

Don’t just show up at your friend’s doorstep with a box of baby supplies in your hands. They may not need those supplies, or they may not want to give their first baby hand-me-downs. Whatever the reason, there is always the chance that the other person may not want your hand-me-downs and you’ve just put them in the awkward position of either taking things they don’t want or saying no to your face. So, be sure to ask them first instead of just assuming they would take your hand-me-downs.

Only give items that are gently used

Giving someone hand-me-downs is not an opportunity to clear away junk. The items you give them should be in good condition and gently used. Anything with stains, tears, or other forms of damage should be thrown away.

Let the other person pick and choose what they want

If the other person agrees to take some of your hand-me-downs, don’t just give them everything you have. Instead, invite them over one day and let them go through what you have. That way, they can pick and choose what they want or need, and they won’t have to get rid of a bunch of items. If there are items leftover, consider donating them to a local charity.

As you’re getting rid of your child’s old belongings, make sure you replace some of those old toys and stuffed animals. Here at The Zoo Factory, we have plenty of stuffable animals for all ages. Look through our website to get started!

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The Benefits of Giving Your Kids Chores

young girl doing chores

As your child gets older, you want to teach them the importance of responsibility. One key way to do that is to give them chores. Giving your child chores will not only help you around the house, but it will also teach your child vital life lessons. Read on to learn more:

Chores can build self-esteem

Accomplishing a task, especially if it was difficult, is one of the best ways to build your self-esteem. Your child may complain and grumble when they have to do chores, but once they’ve completed the task, they’ll feel a sense of satisfaction. When they see themselves finishing chores, they’ll see they are capable of more than they realize.

It encourages independence

When you ask your child to vacuum the carpet or dust the shelves, you’re teaching them how to take care of themselves once they’re older. Chores foster independence, and this independence will help them when they live on their own in the years ahead.

Chores will become a habit

The more your child does their chores, the more those chores will become a habit. They’ll stop grumbling about cleaning the dishes and instead automatically do it once dinner is done. By establishing these chores as habits, this will help them keep a healthy and clean environment when they’re out on their own.

It teaches cooperation and teamwork

When everyone pitches in to keep the house clean and orderly, your children will learn the importance of cooperation and teamwork. They’ll be less likely to see household chores as a burden but as a way to help out the family.

When your child does their chores, it’s important to show your appreciation and give them a goal to work towards. A stuffable animal from The Zoo Factory can be just that. Look through our website today to get started!

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Why Parents Should Limit Their Screen Time

man staring at cellphone

Here at The Zoo Factory, we’ve talked a lot about how parents should limit their children’s screen time. But what about the time parents spend on their own screens? While children are particularly susceptible to screens, so too are parents. Just because we’re adults doesn’t mean that excessive screen time can’t harm our health or our ability to parent our kids. Here’s why:

You’ll struggle to balance work and family

Technology has blurred the lines between work and home. This is especially true now that many of us are working from home. However, if you’re “on call” for work at all times, you’ll have less time for your kids. At the end of the day, you need to put your phone down, turn your laptop off, and take a break from work for a little while.

You’ll seem disconnected

Children like to feel that you’re paying attention to them. However, if you spend all your time at home staring at your phone or watching TV, they won’t feel like you care about them. In fact, a recent study described how parents who spent more time using technology dealt with more attention-seeking behavior from their children.

Children copy what they see

Chances are that many of the behaviors your parents exhibited in your childhood are behaviors you repeat today. That’s because our parents are our primary role models as children. As a parent yourself, you will notice your own child copying what you do. So, if they see you constantly staring at a screen, they will replicate that behavior in their own life. Meanwhile, a parent who is engaged and spends a reasonable amount of time on their screens will exhibit healthier behavior.

While digital screens can be handy and fun, it’s important to make sure they don’t take over our or our children’s lives. Here at The Zoo Factory, we encourage all parents and kids to put their phones down for a little while and have some one-on-one interactions, preferably with one of our stuffable animals involved! To get started, look through our website today!

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Can Toddlers Learn from Screens?

toddler lying on floor staring at tablet screen

Many of us have sat our toddlers down in front of a TV or a tablet, hoping they’ll learn something as we go about doing chores and finishing tasks. But is this actually an effective way to teach our kids? A new study from Vanderbilt University suggests not.

About the Study

Researchers at Vanderbilt University conducted a study in October 2021 to determine if toddlers can learn from screens. In order to do so, they had toddlers take frequent selfies with their family and then look through those photos on the parents’ smartphones. They also had the toddlers look through photos that would help them find a hidden toy in the room.

The researchers hoped this would teach the children that digital photos can represent reality. However, the opposite occurred. The toddlers struggled to realize that the digital photos represented a real situation and could help them find the hidden toy.

Simply put, toddlers don’t understand that digital media can represent reality.

So how do toddlers learn?

Of course, this doesn’t mean that screens are useless. Digital games can teach your child skills such as problem-solving, and educate them on certain subjects such as history or math. However, these benefits are most often seen with older children. Toddlers, meanwhile, find more success learning from face-to-face interactions.

Screen-time balance

Should you ban your toddler from ever looking at screens? Absolutely not. Toddlers can still have fun watching videos and playing games. However, if you want to help educate them, then finding a good screen-time balance is key. Make sure your toddler doesn’t spend all day in front of a screen. Instead, spend some one-on-one time with your toddler chatting, playing, reading, and more. Free play is especially beneficial for kids to learn and let off some steam.

Stuffed animals can be a great play companion that can also help you teach your toddler some lessons too! Look through our website here at The Zoo Factory to find the perfect stuffed animal friend for your child.

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Tips for Buying Secondhand Baby Items

baby clothes hanging on wire

Raising a child is expensive. From cribs to clothes to toys to food, you’ll be stretching your budget thin if you always buy the latest and greatest items. That’s why many parents turn to secondhand items to buy for their children. By buying secondhand, you can get the great quality products for half the price as it would be new. Nevertheless, buying secondhand is different from buying new. That’s why we’ve put together these simple tips to help you get started.

Where to buy secondhand baby items

You can’t buy secondhand baby items in a traditional store, so you’ll have to look elsewhere. Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are the most common places to find secondhand items. Plus, you can arrange an in-person meet-up to inspect the item. There are also apps such as ThredUP that specialize in selling used items.

What NOT to buy secondhand

There are many baby items you can buy secondhand, but there are some that you shouldn’t. Breast pumps and crib mattresses should never be bought secondhand. And while many items of clothing and blankets can be bought used, you’ll want to inspect them carefully to ensure they’re in good shape.

Inspect the item carefully

Every item that you buy secondhand should be inspected carefully before purchase. While most used items are in good condition, you still run the risk of buying an item that is broken or soiled. If you’re buying online, try to find pictures of the item or make sure you’re buying from a reputable seller. If you’re buying in-person, test the item out and inspect every inch of it before you buy it.

Check for expiration dates or recalled items

Many baby items such as clothes or blankets don’t have expiration dates. But some do. Car seats, for instance, come with expiration dates of about six to ten years. Cribs or toys, meanwhile, may have been recalled after they were first purchased. Do your research before buying any older item.

While buying secondhand items can save you lots of money, it’s important to still get new items for your child. In that regard, consider buying your child a stuffable animal from The Zoo Factory. We have plenty of options available, just look through our website to get started!

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How to Start a Family Fitness Challenge

How to Start a Family Fitness Challenge

We all understand the importance of staying fit, not just for our children but for ourselves as well. However, it can be difficult to motivate everyone. That’s where family fitness challenges come in. Fun for the whole family, these challenges can motivate the adults and children to reach their fitness goals. Here’s how to start:

Pick a goal

A family fitness challenge requires every member of the family to work towards a goal. Picking that goal, however, will require some thought. Some families do the same sport and work towards, say, running a mile under 10 minutes. Yet, you may find that not every member of your family wants to run or do the same sport. If that’s the case, you can all have your own individual goals. Your son may work on improving his batting average, while your daughter can try to do 30 consecutive push-ups.

Make a plan

Now that you have your goal(s), it’s time to make a plan to reaching it. Detail how each person will reach their fitness goal and find a way to monitor their efforts (such as fitness logs, training apps, and more). You should also have a timeframe for when the challenge starts and when it ends. If you would like certain rules or guidelines, these should be agreed upon before the challenge starts.

Choose a reward

A fitness challenge can be arduous, but you can keep everyone motivated with a reward. If your family is the competitive type, you can all compete to see who reaches their goal first. Whoever does gets a reward of their choosing. However, you can also reward each person who manages to meet their fitness goal in the allotted time. Almost anything can be a reward—a trip, cash, a new toy, or a fancy meal.

One way you can reward your kids for meeting their fitness goals is to get them a stuffable animal from The Zoo Factory. Look through our website to get started!

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How to Help Your Shy Child

How to Help Your Shy Child

Shyness is often seen as a negative trait by many parents, but in reality, it can be a strength. Shy children are polite, attentive, and great listeners. Their shyness isn’t something that needs to be fixed, but your children may need help learning to cope with it as they’re introduced to new environments and new people.

Why is my child shy?

The first step in helping your shy child is learning more about shyness. Shyness is considered a complex trait, meaning that their shyness was caused by a combination of genetics and life experiences. Put simply, if your child is shy, they will likely be shy for the rest of their life, no matter what you do to “get them out of their shell.”

Don’t see it as a problem to be “fixed”

Many people see shyness as a problem, and that they have to “fix” it in order for their child to live a happy and carefree life. However, this isn’t the case, and telling your child that their shyness is a problem will only hurt their self-esteem. Just because your child doesn’t jump to introduce themselves to every stranger doesn’t mean they can’t be happy in their own way.

Instead, help them cope with their shyness

Shy children will likely be shy for their entire lives. Instead of trying to fix their shyness, teach them how to accept, cope, and live with it. You can do this in a few ways:

  • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: CBT teaches children how to face their fears and manage their anxiety in tough situations.
  • Social Scripts: Teach your child what to say and how to behave in certain situations. You can teach them by using toys or stuffed animals to practice social interactions.
  • One-on-one interactions: Introducing your child to a large group of people will just frighten them. One-on-one interactions are much easier for them, and you’ll have more success getting your child to open up.
  • Be patient: If your child shrinks away from a social situation, don’t lose your patients with them. Understand that it will take time until they’re completely comfortable around certain people.

Stuffed animals can help children cope with anxiety and learn social skills. At The Zoo Factory, we have many lovable stuffed animals that can help your shy child throughout their lives. Look through our inventory to get started!

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How to Divide Chores Between Your Kids

How to Divide Chores Between Your Kids

Chores can teach our kids valuable life lessons, making them more independent and more successful later on in life. But when you have multiple kids, dividing chores amongst them can be a chore on its own. After all, you don’t want things to feel unfair, but you also don’t want to give your kids more than they can handle.

Here we discuss how best to divide chores between your kids to keep everyone (mostly) happy in your household:

 

Make it age-appropriate

The types of chores you assign to your children will depend largely on their age. For instance, a 12-year-old could handle vacuuming their own room, but you can’t expect the same of your 6-year-old. Keep the chores age-appropriate so that everyone can handle their fair share. If you’re not sure what’s appropriate for your child, look through this list here.

Use a buddy system

A buddy system can ease the burden and even make chores a bit more fun for everyone involved. A younger sibling can help an older sibling with their tasks, allowing both to get through their chores quickly. You can also pair similar-aged siblings together to complete the same chores.

Rotate chores

If your kids are close in age, then the fairest way to divide chores is to rotate them. In other words, if Stacey cleaned the toy room last week, then it’s Tom’s turn to clean it this week. This keeps things fair, but it also changes it up and prevents chores from becoming too monotonous.

Have a reward system in place

Frankly put, your kids won’t do their chores just because you tell them to (though we certainly wish that were the case). A reward system will motivate kids to keep up with their tasks and do what is asked of them. This reward system can be a simple allowance, or it can involve presents such as a trip to the ice cream shop or a new toy.

If your kids have been keeping up with their chores, then consider rewarding them with a stuffable animal from The Zoo Factory. Look through our inventory today to get started!

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How Parents (And Kids) Can Celebrate Valentine’s Day During COVID-19

How Parents (And Kids) Can Celebrate Valentine’s Day During COVID-19

Like every holiday since the COVID-19 Pandemic, Valentine’s Day looks a little different this year. Instead of dropping the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa’s and having a romantic evening out with your spouse, you’re now stuck at home with the kids in tow.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great evening. Here we discuss a few ways parents (and kids) can celebrate Valentine’s Day during the COVID-19 Pandemic:

Plan a family activity

We understand the desire to get some time away from the kids, but it really is important to include them in some of the festivities. Unable to celebrate it at school with their peers, your kids may feel left out. Instead, plan one or two family activities for the day. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Make a chocolate dessert together for dinner
  • Create Valentine’s Day cards to send out to friends and family
  • Have a movie marathon
  • Play Valentine’s Day-based, pretend play games with their toys and stuffed animals

But plan some alone time too

After almost a year shut up in the house with the kids, the urge for some alone time with your spouse is real. We get it. So, if you can, try to carve out some time to spend with just your spouse. This year, Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday, giving you ample time throughout the day (or at least, more than usual). We recommend doing those family activities mentioned above during the day. Then, once the kids have gone up for bed, cuddle up with your spouse on the couch, turn on a movie, and relish in some peace and quiet.

Whether it’s for your kids or your spouse, teddy bears are the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. Check out our collection here at The Zoo Factory to get started!

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How to Help Your Child Build Their Self-Esteem

How to Help Your Child Build Their Self-Esteem

We all want our kids to have high self-esteem. After all, high self-esteem can make our kids more capable and confident, both now and into the future. But self-esteem doesn’t just appear on its own. There are things that we, as parents and caregivers, can do to further promote our children’s confidence in their abilities.

Here are just a few but impactful ways that you can help build your child’s self-esteem:

Show your love

Our kids aren’t mind-readers. While we know how much we love them, they may be less sure if we are more stoic about our emotions. So, be sure to show them how much you love them each and every day. It doesn’t have to be something overt. Instead, it can be something as simple as a hug goodbye, a kiss on the forehead before bed, or listening to them talk about their day.

Give them responsibilities

Chores and other responsibilities will show your kids that they are capable of much more than they thought. If you always take care of everything, your kids will think that they can’t do anything on their own. So, don’t be afraid to give your kids some age-appropriate chores to do, as well as an allowance for each chore they complete.

Let them be independent

Allowing your kids to be more independent will, similar to added responsibilities, show them what they are capable of. Confidence and independence are directly linked, with one building off of the other and vice versa. While your kids may make mistakes, they will learn and grow from it more than they would if you take care of everything for them.

Play with them

Spending fun, quality time with your kids is another way to show them that you love them. Plus, the more our kids play, the more they learn; and the more they learn, the more confident they will become. Not to mention that regular playtime is a great stress reliever, especially during these difficult times.

Here at The Zoo Factory, we carry plenty of lovable, stuffable animals for your child to play with. Have questions? Then feel free to contact us today!