garage sale, garage sale, garage sale, garage sale.I will never buy a new childrens book because every garage sale (with kids stuff) has 10 cent books. I have actually gifted several garage sale books because they were Brand New. 90%, maybe more, of my daughter’s cloths are from garage sales (not counting underwear and socks). Even snow suits and snow boots I got off ebay (nice LLBean stuff).

Finally, we skipped sippy cups and just used regular cups. The only exception was for long trips in the car.

1) On reading –
-At the baby shower, ask for a book for the baby’s library.
-Pick up used books at yard sales or ask for hand me downs.
-Take a trip to the library — this offers a wide range and free selection to choose from + you’ll meet other parents in the community!

2) Odd and ends are right! Toddlers don’t need plastic crap. My son is infatuated with the mylar balloon that someone gave him. He also likes pots and pans, paper, all of our electronic gadgets (from phones to remotes to the computer), his socks (he likes to tote them around the house like prized possessions), etc. And, he is 12 months old — so to every object that he touches (rightly or wrongly), we will name. Sorry Fisher Price and Leap Frog…

3) Always lead by example — with food, actions, and positivity. For food, junior needs a balanced diet (less milk than when s/he was a baby) and plenty of vitamins and minerals found in all natural foods. Eating healthy also means trying new things, finding colorful options, and taking the time to plan to eat right. Baby food doesn’t need to come from a jar — it came be prepared — and toddler food can be chopped into little pieces.

Of course, they made a mess with the food, but it served to develop fine motor skills and they like doing things for themselves. As for putting toys away, if they have just a few, they don’t make as big a mess and remember where to put them back. We would have them periodically put toys away while singing a “clean up song” (just make one up). Then they could proceed to play again.

Transitions are important. You’ve got to sing or have something that marks the end of one activity before moving on to the next. This way they know what to expect and can act accordingly.

We had songs for tooth brushing, cleaning up, washing our hands, eating, and whatever change in activity.

While we’re on fruit, fruit helps alcohol be absorbed into the blood stream much more quickly, which is why cocktails can get you drunk very quickly. Something to watch out for – or take advantage of…

We did this for two things. For books, I found someone selling a collection of 60 toddler books. Got them for a knock down price. They’re all in good condition. They are about 10 or so that we don’t like (or our toddler doesn’t), but that’s fine. Since we did that, we’ve never had to buy any more books.

Our boy became interested in matchbox cars. So I found a collection of 30 being sold for a great price, all in good condition. Got them in the post, and our boy loved to see that suddenly he had a whole bunch of them. He uses them in creative play, and we’ve never had to buy any more.

That’s my tip: for toddlers and children, some things are a passing phase, so why not acquire a collection from others, and then if you can, pass it on.

buy all their clothes at yard sales, or swap for them among family/friends

They are growing too fast to wear out clothing before it’s outgrown

Another thing that has worked well for us is trading. Trade some toys and books with family, neighbors, and friends. It is a great way to refresh and let other people try your items.

Or 20 month old has just started getting into longer books(Cat in the Hat, Curious George, etc), so our collection is incomplete. We will be grabbing arms loads of books from family members next time we visit! Cheap, free, and they come with recommendations.

And Gerber veggie puffs are the appetizer at every meal. It gives him something to do while we’re getting the rest of it ready, and it lets him work on his hand-eye coordination. (Parental note: the sweet potato puffs are actually pretty good–they smell and taste like wafer ice cream cones.)

It depends on a lot on your particular baby, of course, and when her teeth come in. At nine months, our son has 8 teeth through. He got his first two somewhere around 4-5 months.

When people send gifts for a birthday or Christmas, my wife pre-opens them. (Don’t be shocked because people send inappropriate things all the time! And then try getting the bad toy back from the kid who’s already opened it. They want that thing more than ever now!). She will stash them away either for us to give them at the next birthday or Christmas or even to give away to a friend’s child.

That way we never have to buy toys for our children or friends children.