Debi Calabrese

Did you know that reading daily to infants stimulates early brain development? And as kids get older reading helps them build vocabulary, gives them stronger language skills and a much higher likelihood of doing well in school and graduating. Here are five ways to bring the joy and benefits of reading to your kids.

Choose Books for your Kid’s Interests

If your kids are fascinated with dinosaurs or ponies, let them pick books about these subjects, they’ll be much more likely to want to read about their favorite things. You can even go further by finding connections to similar topics.  For example if you child loves cars, then don’t stop at fictional stories about cars, think about choosing books about car racing, car designs  or racecar drivers.

DIY Valentine’s Day greetings that are made with love beat out store bought cards every time. Here are fun, easy and inexpensive ways for you and your kids to share the love with family and friends.

Stamp It
Stamping designs on plain paper is an easy way for kids to create their own Valentine’s cards. But instead of buying pre-cut rubber stamps, try stamping with things you have already available. Paper towel or toilet paper cardboard rolls are easy for little hands to hold and can be bent into the shape of a heart for stamping. Make a pretty bouquet of flowers with a bunch of celery. Just cut off most of the stalk, leaving a few inches of the base to use as the stamp. Even your little ones’ tiny thumbs can make an adorable heart stamp. Washable paint (Crayola makes one) makes for an easy clean-up.

No matter If you’re raising an infant, teen or in-between, there’s an app for you.  Here are a few of our favorites that get rave reviews from parents.

Baby Connect (Android and Apple)

Baby Connect (by SeaCloud Software) is a new parent’s best friend. This #1 activity logger is user-friendly and keeps track of all the daily details of caring for your new baby. With feeding timers, medicine tracking, vaccine lists, graphs and trending charts, it even lets you exchange information in real time with your spouse, babysitter or daycare provider. Plus it’s great for sharing information when you visit your doctor.