Guest Post: Bests for Baby—Nutrition, Food Safety, and Homemade Baby Food

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Across the state, USU Extensions offer various classes to Utah families. The Utah County head of Family and Consumer Sciences, Cathy Merrill, wrote this post for us about infant nutrition and baby food.

WE LOVE OUR BABIES! From the very first moment, we want the best for our children: the best food, the best education, the best love. As new parents quickly discover, “best” for the baby often means “work” for the parents, but the kids are totally worth it! Few "bests" seem to take more work than making sure baby has the best food possible. Baby food, including formula, is expensive, and sometimes very confusing. Here are some basics about nutrition, as well as a simple way to make baby food at home to save money while still giving your child the best!

Election Day!

As an adult it's easy to see why we need to participate in election day, we understand the importance of being an informed citizen and being involved. But have you ever thought of using this time of year as a opportunity to start educating your child to be involved in their community?

There are ways that you can talk about voting and government without getting technical or overwhelming your child with specifics. With this year's election day upon us, your child has likely seen billboards, TV and radio commercials, and the ever present "I voted!" sticker. You can use any of these as a jumping off point to start a conversation.

Ask your child if they know what it means to vote. I'm sure they have already formed some idea about the word. After seeing what your child knows, you can explain to them that voting is a chance for them to speak up, share their opinion, and have their opinion counted as one of a whole group.

After you've introduced the idea, help your child apply these concepts in appropriate settings. Perhaps you could call for a family vote on what to eat for dinner one day that week or what fun activity your family should do over the weekend. Make it extra fun and have the vote using actual "ballots".

How have you talked to your child about voting and government? We'd love to hear your ideas in the comments!

-Kali

Uplift Families Parenting Conference - GIVEAWAY

Utah’s First Lady Jeanette Herbert created the initiative Uplift Families to connect parents to resources and information that would help them gain the skills necessary to raise loving, responsible children.

“Our organization believes that to have a strong viable state, we must have strong viable families.” - First Lady Jeanette Herbert

The vibrant website, upliftfamilies.org, includes free links to outside resources, videos, and articles that support the 3 fold purpose of Uplift Families: strengthen parent-child relationships, provide tools and resources that improve parenting skills, and help children make safe and healthy choices.

Under the parenting resources tab, the three step process allows families to make selections that will directly link them to credible websites and community resources to get them the information they seek. As well as referring those who wish to speak with a person directly about their concerns or needs to 2-1-1.

Article authors include Doctor Julie de Azevedo Hanks, lawyer and life coach Merrilee Boyack, and parenting experts Richard and Linda Eyre. They cover topics from Financial Health to Pornography, 5 Ways to Foster Truth-telling to De-stressing at the Holidays. Each article aims to help parents address common and difficult issues that many families face. With personal experiences and professional advice, these prove to be a great read.

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The Youtube channel houses TIPS clips from annual conferences that address a variety of topics.

Uplift Families will be having an annual parenting conference on September 19, 2015 at the Thanksgiving Point Show Barn in Lehi. Individual tickets are $15, couples are $25. Use code $5offUF to receive a five dollar discount. 

For more information on the parenting conference, click here.

Help Me Grow is giving couples the opportunity to attend, on us! Five comments on this post will be randomly selected to receive a couple’s ticket to the event on September 19th which includes dinner and dessert!

What is your favorite feature of the Uplift Families website?

- Amanda

MORE BOOKS for just a LITTLE

Summer is a great time to read! Here is some ideas on how to aquire

MORE BOOKS for just a LITTLE

It's great to go to the public library for books, but you may ask yourself, how can I increase my home library?  Here are a few ideas to consider:

Yard Sales:  This is a great way to get gently used books for a bargain price.  I'm a big yard-saler, and I see books at almost every one I go to.  For kids books, make sure you flip through the pages and check for torn, missing or colored-on pages (it happens!).

Thrift Stores:  Most thrift stores, such as Desert Industries and Savers, have a good supply of books for sale.  So many that you can even be choosy!  For kids, I would suggest getting hardback or board books, they just hold up a lot better.

Public Libraries:  Your local library probably has a book cart/shelf with books for sale.  These are usually discarded items that may have issues, so check carefully.  The Provo City Library will have their next Book Sale on Sept. 2, 2015.  www.provolibrary.com/library-book-sale

School Libraries:  Periodically the school libraries will "clean out" their inventory and give away or sell their excess books.  Ask your school librarian when the next time is they will do this.

Birthday Gifts:  Books make a great gift for anyone at any age!  Start giving your child a book each birthday to help build their own collection.  Also, when grandparents or relatives are asking for gift ideas, simply say, "Books!"

BYU Bookstore:  The BYU Bookstore has several sections of books on clearance.  On top of that, if you go from late November to late December, you can get 20% off your total purchase.  Just in time for Christmas!

Seagull Book:  The Seagull Bookstores found throughout Utah County have a bargain book table somewhere in the store (usually in the back) with great deals on books for all ages.

With just a little bit of effort and not a lot of money, you can increase the books available in your home, and hopefully the amount of reading in your home.  Good luck and happy reading!

Happy Halloween from Help Me Grow!!

Help Me Grow and RBM Building Services recently put on a family Halloween carnival at the Valley Fair Mall. We had so much fun and love holding these events! We also love encouraging play between parents and their children. Play is a child's work! All of our Family Events are centered on three foundational toys of a child's life: books, balls, and blocks. These events are always free and are for families with children ages 0-8. Click on the following links if you would like to download some activity sheets on play, books, balls, and blocks. 

(If you would like to be on the email invite list for our Family Events, please email us.)

Also, check out our awesome video from the Halloween carnival... Spooky costumes, LEARNING activities, candy, and referrals to resources to help families! What could be better?

We hope you ENJOY your HALLOWEEN!!

Mummies, Misters and Monsters Halloween Family Event

Join us THIS Saturday, October 11th for our free annual Help Me Grow Halloween Family Event!

KBYU, RBM, Valley Fair Mall and Help Me Grow have partnered together to make this a spooktacular event!! Come play with blocks, balls, and read Halloween books with your little ones!  Don't forget to wear your costume and participate in the costume parade!

This Saturday, October 11th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Valley Fair Mall

3601 S. 2700 W. (Constitution Blvd.)

West Valley City, UT 84119

Everyone is invited!  See you there!

Day of Caring September 11, 2014

Yesterday as part of United Way Day of Caring, we had an awesome activity at Mountainland HeadStart! We had a great turn-out and had super fun activities. Thanks to our volunteers from BYU Broadcasting. Check out all the fun we had!

Child Abuse Prevention Month

It’s officially planting season! You may have started to see gardens popping up here and there, but how about a pinwheel garden?! April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and as part of a nationwide public awareness campaign Pinwheels for Prevention is challenging everyone to GET INVOLVED!  

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Why a pinwheel? Pinwheels are a symbol of childhood, fun, and laughter. By getting involved and being engaged as a community, we can work together to prioritize prevention from the very beginning. NO child deserves to be neglected or abused.

So what can YOU do?

• Teach your child about recognizing abuse. Click here to check out the April packet filled with awesome learning tools including:
• Make your own pinwheel!
• Plans for parents
• Activity calendar
• Creating your own bookmark
• Coloring sheets

• Use your voice! Write to your elected official and let them know you care about preventing child abuse and neglect to Utah’s children

• Show your support, purchase pinwheels and plant your own pinwheel garden!

• SPREAD THE WORD. Talk about prevention in your community

• Take action! Organize a small fundraiser to raise awareness in your community

• Serve on a committee or board

For more information on events, facts, and ways to get involved visit the Prevent Child Abuse Utah website! 

What are you doing to spread awareness? Let us know! 

A Spooktacular Event!

There were witches bouncing giant eyeballs, superheros speeding through obstacles, and animals bowling with basketballs. It was an event to remember filled with everything from puppet shows to play dough, and it would not have been possible without our amazing volunteers and our fun-seeking families. So from all of us here at Help Me Grow, thanks for making our Halloween event spooktacular!

Want to see more? Click here for more fun photos!

Halloween Family Event

It's time to dress up your little monster in your best Halloween costume and come on over to Thanksgiving Point' s Haunted Barn this Saturday!  KBYU, RBM, and Help Me Grow have partnered together for the best free kid friendly Halloween event around!  

 It will be a whole new experience, even if you have come to a family event before! The balls have grown eyes and some of the blocks have grown horns...  Come and see what else is brewing... 

Hurry! The first 100 people will receive coupons for other Thanksgiving Point attractions!  See you there!!

This Saturday, October 19th from 11 am to 1:30 pm. 

Thanksgiving Point's Haunted Barn

3003 North Thanksgiving Way, 

Lehi, UT 84043

Uplift Families Parenting Conference

The First Lady of Utah, Jeanette Herbert, is bringing her annual conference to Utah County this month!  The “Uplift FamiliesParenting Conference” will be held on Saturday, October 26^th at the Utah Valley Convention Center from 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm.  This will be a fantastic evening for those who are single, married, a parent or a grandparent! 

The conference will include international dinner and dessert stations among booths and exhibits, addresses by Governor and First Lady Herbert, inspirational presentations by Richard and Linda Eyre, Chad Lewis, Stephanie Nielsen, Carmen Rasmussen Herbert and other renowned experts on issues that families face.  The cost is $25.00 per couple of $15.00 for a single ticket.  Seating will be limited to 500.  The folks from Deseret Digital Media will be filming the presentations to go on the Uplift Families YouTube channel in 2014, so the attendees will literally become a studio audience.

Don't miss out on this great opportunity to learn valuable parenting information! Click here to purchase your tickets for the conference now!

Screen Time—Can It Really Help Children Learn to Read?

I watched my 13 month-old granddaughter learn to screw off the top of a water bottle last night.  She was totally absorbed in getting her little fingers around the top and turning her wrist just right to get the top off and then putting it back on and turning it the other direction to get it back on. The intent and determined look on her face was precious. But as soon as her grandpa and dad started looking at the new features on their latest iphone updates, she dropped the bottle and reached for the phone.  What is the intrigue of screens for these developing toddler minds?

There is a great presentation at KBYU Eleven coming up titled:  Screen Time—Can It Really Help Children Learn to Read?”  Diena Simmons, the station manager, will discuss how TV, computer, tablet and mobile screen time can be leveraged to help children learn to read.  She’ll talk about what works, what doesn’t, and how parents and caregivers (including grandparents!) can tell the difference.  Plus she will review free resources that are available to almost every home through public television, America’s largest classroom.

The luncheon is on Wednesday,Oct. 2, 2013, 11:30 am-1:00 pm at KBYU Broadcasting (east of the Marriott Center, free parking for guests in the “Y” lot on the north side of KBYU).  

For a $10 donation to United Way of Utah County Welcome Baby program, you will be educated AND have a great lunch with a roomful of women like yourself.  There will even be door prizes!  So get a bunch of your friends together, find a babysitter and enjoy a midday break.

I feel pretty inadequate trying to keep up with technology for myself—my new iphone updates are still challenging me—but I sure want to keep up with what impact the screens at my house will have on my granddaughter’s development.

August 3rd Family Event and DIY Blocks at Home!

Hey everyone! We're excited to invite you to our next Family Event, held August 3rd, 2013 in Provo, Utah. Any shout outs from those who have been to our events before? They are a blast. Basically we have several play stations set up for parents and their young kids to come and play in. All the activities are easily replicated in the home and are great for boosting a child's development.

We'll have activities for kids 0-8 and a special area for children under 1 year. Who doesn't love to see their baby in these non-toxic biodegradable packing peanuts?

To get you excited for this upcoming event we're going to be doing posts on a few of the activity stations we have regularly at our events and show you how (and why) you should have these kinds of toys in your home. But FIRST! Go and confirm your attendance at the family event by clicking here.  

Do-It-Yourself Blocks or Piggy's Brick Blocks

Supplies:

• Tissue boxes, capri-sun boxes, milk carton boxes, shoe boxes and any other container you think would make a nice big block for your kids. 
• Contact paper or wrapping paper in bright colors. (Contact paper is nice because it has a sticky background. The red/white checker blocks in the picture to the right were covered with contact paper.)
• Tape (of any kind, but for long lasting blocks, get a role of packaging tape)

1. Get a smallish cardboard box.

2. Wrap it in paper. 

3. Tape the paper to the box. 

4. Have your kids decorate them. 

5. Repeat steps 1-4. 

(yes. its that easy)

The picture above was from a family event that we did in April. These kids were having SO MUCH FUN playing with our piggy brick blocks. They built all these crazy formations and then had a blast knocking them down. We had a volunteer read the story of the three little pigs and then they would pretend to be the wolf and BLOW the houses down. (yes, we didn't have straw or wood, but the kids didn't care, they just wanted to build and destroy their buildings).

Lest you be concerned that destroying a block tower is a sign of anger management, DON"T BE! The repetition of building and knocking things over and then doing it again is a part of PLAY and part of LEARNING. (Obviously, you know your child, so you do know when its anger or misbehavior. But also, know that kids are kids and its okay.) 

Children build spatial understanding and math skills while engaged in block play. They can learn about counting, equality, addition, subtraction, planning, patterns, volume, classification, area and measurement. When a parent engages with their child in block play it provides teaching moments for social skills, language and exploration. 

At the the event, we'll be handing out our activity sheets with ideas of things to do in the home with BOOKS, BALLS and BLOCKS. Click here to download and print our Block Activity Sheet. But don't forget to come to our event and stay tuned for upcoming blog posts on other activity ideas!

WIC Breastfeeding Classes

Women, Infants & Children (WIC) of Utah County is offering FREE Breastfeeding classes!

Where: Utah County Health Department, 151 S. University Ave Rm. 2601, Provo, UT

When: Wednesdays at 5:30pm

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July 3, 10, 17

August 7, 14, 21

September 4, 11, 18

En Español: 

31 de Julio

28 de Agosto

25 de Septiembre

Everyone is welcome!*

Come and learn:

• How do lay a good foundation for breastfeeding in the hospital and early weeks, in order to avoid common problems
• The benefits of breastfeeding vs. formula
• What to expect as you learn how to breastfeed
• ...and much more!

*Pregnant/breastfeeding moms are encouraged to please bring you support with you. 

(Husband, Mother,Friend etc.) 

Some Benefits of Breastfeeding (from healthychildren.org)

-Cheaper

-Faster

-Simpler

-Feeling of maternal fulfillment

However, breastfeeding can be a challenge! Click here to read more about the challenges of breastfeeding.  Also, under some circumstances, breastfeeding is not an option. You do whatever is best for you. Loving and caring for your child is the best possible thing that you can do for your baby.  

To Find A WIC location or for more breastfeeding resources, check out the Utah WIC website.

Out and About: Fun Summer Activities in the Community!

Looking for summer activities to do outside of your home? One of our blog posts (Fun for the Thrifty Family) focused on summer activities to do with your kids at home. The flexibility of in-home activities can be very appealing (especially to parents with young children like me!). However, it is also great to have some out-of-house options up your sleeve for the days when everyone gets a little stir-crazy or you just plain need to be around other people! :)

But what parent has hours to spend researching different activities in the community? Luckily Child Care Resource and Referral has done the dirty work for you! They have compiled a fantastic summer activity guide which includes a list of summer programs, community activities, information on public swimming pools and libraries, articles on summer safety and more!

To view the summer activity guide for Utah, Summit, Wasatch, and Juab Counties, click here.

Spotlight from this activity guide: Provo Recreation Center

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The new and improved Provo Rec Center is something you shouldn't miss out on! Located at 320 West 500  North in Provo, the center offers a wide range of activities for both children and adults. 

As far as aquatic fun alone goes, the rec center boasts: 

- a kids' swim area

- a lazy river

- a deep water pool

- an indoor leisure pool

- a hot tub

- an outdoor splash pool

- and outdoor water slides! 

Day passes are $5 for adults and $4 for youth (ages 3-17). Summer swimming lessons are also available. For more information about the Provo Rec Center, including a full list of 

facility amenities, click here.

To view the summer activity guide for Salt Lake and Tooele Counties, click here.

Spotlight from this activity guide: The City Library

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"The City Library" indicates libraries that are part of the Salt Lake City Public Library System. This system includes six libraries in the Salt Lake area (for a list of these library hours and locations, click here). Each branch offers several recurring kids' events every week. Some of these events include:

- Preschool Story Time

- Friday Afternoon Movies

- Wednesday Crafts

- Book Baby

- Cuentame Cuentos

- Weekend Wiggle Time

- Family Yoga

Activities offered vary by location. For a complete list of recurring children's events and 

which libraries they are offered at, click here. Additional non-recurring library events that your 

kids may enjoy can also be found here.

Get out of your house this summer and have fun with your kids! 

There are so many things to do - they'll love it! :)

Freedom Festival Family Event

More info on Baby Contest here.

In conjunction with the Freedom Festival Baby Contest, United Way of Utah County will be hosting a Family Event this Saturday, June 1st!

Date: Saturday, June 1st 
Time: 10:00-3:00 p.m.
Location: Utah Valley University Sorensen Student Center, Hall of Flags, 800 West University Pkwy, Orem
Families with children 0-12 are welcome!

(Participation in the Baby Contest is not required.)

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Some of the activities include:

• Reading Fort

• Puppet Fort

• Obstacle Course

• Parachute Play

• Weights and Scales

• Foam Blocks

• Balls and Baskets

• ASQ Table

There will also be presentations from various community organizations including: Kids on the Move,  Easter Seals-Goodwill Provo Early Intervention Program, Help Me Grow, Welcome Baby and Mountainland HeadStart.

Come learn how Books, Balls and Blocks stimulate your child's development and how you can turn EveryDay activities into learning opportunities!

Help Me Grow Community Calendar!

Spring is here and school will soon be out for the summer!  Need some ideas of what to do with your little ones all summer long?? Do you have children with disabilities?  Are you looking for a parent support group?

Our community calendar is a great way to find resources throughout the Salt Lake and Utah counties!

Help Me Grow's Community Calendar is located on our website www.helpmegrowutah.org under the Events tab.

The calendar includes various activities such as community wide events, events specific for children with disabilities, educational events, parenting classes, playgroups, and more! 

Some events going on now include: 

Ready to Learn Workshop

Mommy and Me Playgroup

Welcome Baby Playgroup

Siblings Helping Siblings Support Group for children with Autism and siblings.

Events coming soon:

Freedom Festival Baby Contest, June 1st

Handwriting Classes, beginning June 18th

Summer Social Skills Groups for children with Autism, beginning June 10th.

& more.

Check out the calendar for more details.

Here's a snapshot of what the calendar looks like... 

Click here to access calendar.

What other events have you heard about?

If you would like your program's event to be included, please contact us. 

National Forum: Family Event

It's hard to capture all of the fun that we've been having over the past few days here at Help Me Grow Utah!  

We have been so privileged to host the 4th Annual Help Me Grow National event, right here in our backyard!  Amazing people from all over the country, have come to visit and share their experiences, passions, stories, and love - for families.

Each state has it's own journey developing the Help Me Grow model, because of the diverse people, cultures, situations from which they come from, and challenges they face in trying to bring families the resources they need for healthy children, but everyone is making it happen in their own creative ways.

I believe we are all more alike than we are different.  It's been so much fun learning from each other, and helping one another to reach our goals. 

Some of the people coming to the conference decided to visit one of our family events that we held in Salem.  Family events are one way we love sharing information about the Help Me Grow model, and get the kiddos connected right into services they may need.  We will actually have the Ages and Stages questionnaire right there, along with information for the parents to take home.  

As you can see, it's just as much fun for the volunteers as it was for the children!