toddler

LUNCHBOX IDEA – SAUSAGE ROLLS HACK

Hey!! Who’s feeling organised with lunch box preparation? I am leaning more towards overwhelmed these days. I never thought that this process will take so much of my attention and energy until the 4th week of school.

We live in a busy, fast paced schedules often mean there are just not enough hours in a day. This is why preparing lunch boxes can be so challenging for parents. Kids can be fussy and coming up with new and interesting foods that aren’t full of sugar that won’t get thrown in the bin can be tricky. But the importance of packing a healthy lunchbox is immeasurable. Kids are more alert and focused when they’re fuelled with healthy food.

And, you all know that I am very intrigued to always find new things which may make life a lot simpler and efficient. So, here we go again!! I create a very simple hack to nail a healthy lunch packs for your little ones.

What you need is 2 main ingredients and 20 minutes of your time

SAUSAGE ROLLS HACK

puff pastry (room temperature)
poppy seed (optional)

filling:

gourmet sausages (your own choice at room temperature)

how to:

pre-heat the oven at 200’C
remove the sausages’ skin
cut half the pastry – rectangle shape
roll the sausages inside the pastry
cut into small pieces/ finger size (3cm)
place them on the layered baking tray
sprinkle them with poppy seed (optional)
In the oven for 20 minutes or until golden

I can’t believe that I just made a homemade sausage rolls. AARRGGHHH!! I am a cool mum. I had Jared back home bringing his empty lunch box and said, “that was the best mum!” – the best feeling ever. TT

This very simple idea can be done quickly after dinner or early in the morning. It is a great finger food option for your busy little champions packed with nutrients and tasteful. It’s worth to try!

Yup!! IT IS TIME TO TAKE YOUR KIDS’ LUNCH BOX TO THE NEXT LEVEL. BECAUSE YOU CAN.

Share your reviews on the comments below and if you like my hack, please like this article and subscribe for more hacks coming to your inbox. x

Love,

Kenny

7 TIPS TO GET YOUR KIDS TO SLEEP ALONE

I have to say how happy I am to tuck in a happy kid in bed after 3 years of needing to lay with him till he fell into very deep sleep OR many times I ended up waking up on his bed.

Does it sounds familiar in your household? Then maybe these tips are for you or at least letting you know that it’s possible. Cause I doubted it too. 😉

But, today I am proudly say that these tips do good to us, as a husband and wife, a father and mother. We wake up feeling good.

7 TIPS TO GET YOUR KIDS TO SLEEP ALONE

1. REASON

Always give your kid a reason behind your action.

I used to say to him that “he is now a big boy, he is brave, etc.” But somehow, it didn’t work. Telling him the fact of his present existence isn’t really helpful.

Then, I tried to use a different approach, “blame others”. I told Jared, that the doctor wants mommy and daddy to sleep at mommy’s bed so baby could have a nice sleep without being possibly kicked by him. While daddy’s need to help mommy in case mommy need to pee at night. He somehow got this idea and let us sleep in our bedroom.

I am not suggesting you to tell any lies to your kids, give them more specific reason which weight on others than YOU, parents. Because kids, they are tend to regards others/strangers highly than their closest ones.

2. REWARD

It is time to congratulate them for their successful effort. By giving them a reward. A sticker, kinder egg, lollies, anything on their top list will do. Because who doesn’t love acknowledgement?! Even a small reward will help to boost the confidence of your minis.

I used to have a sleep tracker stuck on Jared’s bedroom wall. It’s a monthly calendar filled with stickers. 1 sticker for 1 successful night. Every night before bed I always point out to that “sleep track calendar” to remind him of how close he is from getting all the stickers collection.

3. REDUCE

If you happened to get used to stay at your kids room until they fell asleep, you might want to try to reduce your stay inside.

Find an excuse to get out of their room with a promise to come back afterwards.
Be specific in what you are going to do and when are you coming back.

For example: Mommy needs to throw some laundries to the drier, be back for 5 minutes. Mommy needs to use the toilet to do #2, I promise I’ll be finished in 5 minutes max. Mommy needs to call aunty XX to arrange our playdate tomorrow, be back in 7 minutes. Then, please make sure you’re back at the right time.

My point is this; try to reduce your stay inside your kids’ room to loosen the their attachment before sleep with you. Make them used to with the new (alone) environment.

Do this gradually. A drastic change may cause a shock to your child’s mental. Give time for your child to process the new forms and informations you are trying to implement in the house. Again, it’s all about the progress not the process. We’ve started with 3 minutes – 5 minutes – 10 minutes – standing on his door – 15 minutes – to not coming back because all we can hear is silent.

4. RELY ON THEM

Rely on their choices. They know what works best for them. They know what makes them comfortable most. Let them do it their way. Involve them in the process, count their opinions.

Every time (still today) before I leave the room, I always throw questions to Jared on how he would like to set the mood inside his room which will help him to send him help faster.

do you want me to leave your water bottle next to you or may I take it with me?
do you want me to cover your whole body with blanket or just your feet?
do you want me to turn off or leave the lights on?
do you want me to close or leave the door open?

I realised, by allowing Jared to has input in some of the minor decisions, he can begin to feel important and have confidence in their abilities to do so.

5. REINFORCE

Do not forget to send good vibes in the morning post a successful night.

“Mommy and Daddy had such a very good night, and baby were happy too.”

“Mommy is feeling really good this morning, can’t wait to have more fun with you.”

Give the positive credits to your kids as a reassurance of their brave action. “Because of you, I can ________________” (fill in the gap).

6. RESTRAINT

This is the hardest part. One night must be easy. The other nights must be super challenging. One thing to remember, stand on your ground. Restraint on your feet. Do not give in.

There were nights when I had to send him to his room back and forth 20 times; which were very frustrating both physical and emotional. There were nights I ended up raising my voice. BUT, I stand on my belief, that WE (Jared and mommy) can do this together. Both parents and kids need to support one another in order to succeed this challenge.

7. REPEAT

Repeat above steps again and again.

After approximately 60 days of training, consist of repetition of some bedtime routines (which I will post in details next week), we finally made it. Through this repetition, Jared was improved his confidence. The new routine had been set up. And we can’t be more proud and happier than this.

These routine is really helpful for me especially with the addition of the newborn in the house, I am able to get more works done around the house.

Above routine is best to apply for those of you who are not doing co-sleep. Including me, I and hubby chose to choose crib-sleep and keep our bed as our sanctuary. Read more about our crib-sleep journey here.

Above approach isn’t a sleep training, this is for toddlers who has been sleeping through the night without needing any bottle or still weaning. This does not requires a tough love. This requires a lot of patience, assurance, and explanations. Each toddler may not sit at the same level of readiness. Some toddlers, they need more time to adapt, while others may take it instantly.

Nonethless, one key to rememeber; is to keep doing it, and doing it right. You can’t do it for 3 days straight, then stop for the whole week. You gotta be consistent in implementing this new lifestyle.

If you find these tips helpful, leave your comments below. Or you might wanna share some of your tips too, I am more than happy to hear that. Happy trying!! May you have some good quality pillow talks with your partner. Time to mend the romance back. X

Love,

Kenny

ANZAC DAY OUT

A “Sunday” on weekdays? I’LL TAKE IT. Here I dumped some of the photos taken during our family day out on Anzac Day. Well, since most of the brunch cafes and shopping mall were closed for operations, we decided to take J’s out to amusement park. And we chose Luna Park, the most iconic amusement park in Sydney, New South Wales. I will be honest, most of the rides were pretty old-school but mannnn…location wise, Luna Park is just one of the most beautiful spot I would go back for 52 times in a year with same level of excitement. Located on the northern shore of Sydney Harbour, there are simply many things you can explore around the area. I would say, I am quite lucky to live here today. I AM BLESSED.

Well, it is an opened air amusement park, so, raining is its biggest enemy. Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened during our visit. The first half day was wonderful then few hours later after midday, the rain hit. We, as a parent, were sad for a probability that our kid wouldn’t be able to enjoy his free time at the park. But, it turned out the other way around, J was really calm and collective at those present moment, he embraced the rain and told us word by word “Jared helps mommy to hold the umbrella”, and my heart melted. That was exactly my mood booster for the day. AGAIN. I was reminded, there’s always one beauty out of your messy wet soaking day. Well, on my case, it’s more than one though. J enjoyed his time with some Smurfs fellas and we (daddy & mommy) enjoyed some (non) extreme rides too. We finished the day off by taking some killer shots on the harbour. And here I am dumping some of previous photos taken by my talented husband. Ps: he is a legend. He carried 2 bags (nappy & camera bag), held the umbrella, while taking pictures of two of us under the rain. I can’t imagine life without him. He never complains and he make things happen. He even said to me that “part of my vow was to take countless photos of you”.

I JUST LOVE HIM SO MUCH MORE THAN HE COULD EVER IMAGINE.

Kenny : hat (Miniso Japan), eyewear (Duma Official), oversized denim (Pull&Bear), tribal top (@bevnoir), white pants (Zara), oxford (Gardenia Copenhagen), triangle clutch (@asamula_bali) // Jared : hat & monster tee (cotton on kids), leather jacket (eve.jnr), denim (@izzybizzyshop), timberland kids

Love,

Kenny

NEW WAYS TO DEAL WITH TANTRUMS & REBELLIOUS TODDLER

Attention to bad behavior increases bad behavior (yelling, lecturing, scolding, spanking and punishing are all forms of negative attention), while attention to good behavior increases good behavior.

I was struggling to deal with a two year old J. He becomes fussier, more demanding, more fractious, more resistant, more stubborn. I freaked out whenever the tantrums hit. Especially ON PUBLIC, when I’m doing groceries or coffee catch-ups. When all eyes are ON me; all fingers are pointing AT me. Yelling, spanking, bribery, I literally unload all stuffs inside my bag. I did everything I could, but he went more hysterical and rebels against me.

And then I read above quote : Attention to bad behavior increases bad behavior (yelling, lecturing, scolding, spanking and punishing are all forms of negative attention), while attention to good behavior increases good behavior.

Then I realised that I’ve been give a wrong approach to J’s tantrums and bad behaviours. The harder I push myself on fixing his bad behaviour, the more efforts he will hardened himself to change. It’s just the nature of growing. So, I’ve learned from my mistakes.

And here are my successful tips in dealing with tantrums and rebellious toddler:

Try to BE CALM in every situation : your kids are able to sense your feelings/emotions. If they see you’re panicking, they will become one too. But, if they see your calm face, then they will calm down themselves too. When they hear you yell or scream, they will cry even harder.
Learn to IGNORE – or walk away from annoying behaviour : when you stop giving attention to the annoying behaviour, there’s nothing in it for the child. They may start to throw more tantrums at first for not getting what they want as it used to be, but eventually they will realise that tantrums won’t work anymore.
DISTRACT their focus to their favourite things : this trick is the best magic we could ever do to Mr. J, this guy loves his snack time, and whenever he cries in the car, in the laundry, under my feet, I always straight away offer him food. And as soon as he hears snacks, he stop crying. Do not focus on saying “don’t cry, stop crying” cause it makes them more focus on the crying itself, cause that’s the only word they could hear from us.
Give an instruction only ONCE : Don’t foster greater disobedience by giving it a lot of attention. If you focus on their defiance, it will actually increase. With J, I try to tell him once and then watch his following reaction from a far. Most of the results surprise me.
CHANGE our language – find the “positive opposite” of “stop” and “don’t” instead of saying “do not use your shoes at home”, change it to “please take off your shoes before you enter the house”
REWARD every positive good behaviours they do : after all, this thing matter the most, they learn and grow become a better person. So, every little praise, smile, high five, word of encouragement counts. Give extra attention to the positive behaviour they do and give them an assurance that they are on the right track.

These methods NOT only works well for Jared, but for me too. It gave me a big change. To be ease on myself, cause after all, I can’t change people according to my time and will. I can expect them to change the way I want them to be in such period of time. I gotta remind myself that I’m dealing with a 2.9 feet tall human being that see things differently than what I see. One way to understand their perspective is by kneeling down on their shoes and become a mature version of them. So, mommies, let’s take a deep breath and be easy on ourself and to our kids more. As long as we live on this earth, we are all still on the run of learning process. This is called the SCHOOL OF LIFE. xx

Love,

the Tjungs