“Mama Knows Best!” Tips for Moms from Fellow Moms

One thing I’ve learned from my popular From the Mouths of Moms parenting tips series is every mom, child, and family is different. And each mom assesses their own unique experiences, values, and circumstances to make the best parenting decisions possible for their own child and family. Each mother knows best and does the best she can for her child. 

Tips for Moms — From Fellow Moms Who’ve Been There!

So, why not share and learn from one another — moms helping moms?  In this “Mama Knows Best” series, I spotlight one mama and her top tips for moms including parenting advice, helpful resources, and kids products.

---

Best Parenting Websites

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: The groups and discussion boards at BabyCenter are an endless resource for parenting questions and challenges.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: I like the Ask Dr. Sears website because it has a lot of solid information on a plethora of topics.

Olusola of My Twintopia: Definitely Babycenter. I got so many good tips from my Got Twins board.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: There are so many. I really like Hands Free Mama and Awesomely Awake because they focus on the little moments of parenting and share my philosophy.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: Nearly impossible to pick just one… I’m going with Genevieve Simperingham’s Peaceful Parent Institute – she has wonderful articles on her website on attachment, conflict resolution and other family topics. Plus, her facebook page often has links and discussions that are very interesting.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: I love Kelly Mom for pregnancy, breastfeeding and beginning foods. If I have a question about nursing or solids I can usually find it there or find a link that takes me to where I can find it. I like Ask Dr. Sears for health related information, sleep issues and all around child rearing.

---

Best Blogs for Moms

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: Well, B-Inspired Mama, of course! But since that might be a slightly biased opinion, I’d have to recommend Offbeat Mama, because I love how inclusive it is of all kinds of families and styles of parenting.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: I love Teacher Tom’s blog. His insight on preschoolers is unique, smart and funny.

Olusola of My Twintopia: Any blog featuring a common-sense parent with kids older or the same age as mine. There’s nothing quite like tapping into the wisdom of a mom who’s going through the same things I’m going through.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: Most of the blogs I read are parenting blogs. If I want to laugh, I like People I Want to Punch in the Throat. Jen is one angry but hilarious mama!

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: I simply cannot pick just one, my list goes on and on, if I must answer: Nurturestore for art and activity ideas, Parenting From Scratch for positive discipline.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Just one?! Finding Joy or Hands Free Mama. Both have wonderful information and just make me feel better as a mom. Finding Joy’s letters to moms are one of my favorites and I always love reading anything Hands Free Mama has to say!

---

Best Baby Products

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: I have found lots of great products that helped with each of my babies, but honestly the only one I have used consistently for all three of my children has been my trusty Boppy Pillow.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: Ergo Baby Carrier because it is the only carrier I’ve used that did not hurt my back.

Olusola of My Twintopia: With twins, you learn to cherish the well-made products which are few and far between. If I have to choose one product that I would gladly spend on again, it would be my Baby Jogger City Mini Double stroller. As the twins grow bigger and the stroller is STILL easy to maneuver, my respect for it grows.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: Medela Pump in Style. I went back to work when Luke was 3 months old. I was able to give him breast milk for an entire year, thanks to this pump.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: I love my Ergo Baby Carrier. It has lasted through nearly 6 years of pretty continuous use and baby wearing was comforting to my babies and a great way to free up some hands to help my toddlers.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Sophie the Giraffe! That might seem silly, but she has seriously been one of the best baby items we received! And as of right now, she is lost. And very much needed for my teething toddler.

---

Best Parenting Advice

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: In parenting, as in life, there are seasons and change.  Be flexible and know that “this too shall pass.”

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: With your first baby, a mommy’s group that meets weekly so you have lots of friends to talk with about all those baby questions and concerns will likely be your best support during those early weeks and months. With multiple children find a friend with kids similar in age so you can arrange childcare swaps and play dates.

Olusola of My Twintopia: I pick up little nuggets from a lot of people; even those that are not parents.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: Whenever your child is driving you crazy with some kind of odd behavior, it is just a phase. Some phases move very quickly. It seems like every 6 months you have a totally new child.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: Don’t waste time trying to be the perfect parent or raising perfect kids, instead connect, love, cherish and live the time you have together, especially in the first years – building a relationship based on love and trust gives children the most solid foundation for a great life.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Give your child as many choices as possible to help them feel in control, and hug your child as much as possible. Do I always do the former? No, but the day goes a heck of a lot smoother if I do! But I do hug them as much as I possibly can throughout the day. Teach your child to love God, love others and love themselves – all other positive characteristics will follow.

---

Best Parenting Books

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: I don’t have much time anymore to read parenting books; I wish I did! But I have read and liked The Happiest Baby on the Block.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: I highly recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth for new or expectant parents. Sleep can be a tricky thing and this book is based on actual sleep studies, rather than anecdotal evidence. Parent Effectiveness Training by Thomas Gordan is a book to read as your children pass their first birthday. It is such an enlightened and practical guide to parenting that focuses on what kind of child you are raising in the long run, not short-term obedience. For preschool and school age children I recommend Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn. This book is a hard look at the destructive aspects of rewards and punishments at home and in our schools. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv examines how our children are losing access to nature and how devastating this is for our children’s futures.

Olusola of My Twintopia: Depends on the season of life. To date, there are 3 books that have had the most impact on me as a mother. When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads: Proven Guidelines for a Healthy Multiple Pregnancy gave me the tools to tailor my diet to my twin pregnancy. Healthy Sleep Happy Child: A Step-by-Step Program for a Good Night’s Sleep helped me manage the twins’ sleep and schedule and possibly saved my sanity. The Wonder Weeks: A Stress-Free Guide to Your Baby’s Behavior made me more empathetic to the times my girls were moody.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: The Happiest Baby on the Block helped me through the newborn years. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv is a must-read for every parent. Time spent outdoors is truly a necessity.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: If I must pick just one: Attached at the Heart: 8 Proven Parenting Principles for Raising Connected and Compassionate Children by Barbara Nicholson and Lysa Parker.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: I can’t say enough about Parenting with Love & Logic. From birth to teenagers, they have great info for disciplining your children. I really struggled with what to do for discipline until I found this book. I recommend it to everyone I know. If you do it, it works.

---

Best Children’s Books

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: Little Blue Truck has always been a favorite in our house. It’s a fun rhyming story about how friendly little blue truck saves the day with the help of his animal pals.  

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: The best baby book in my opinion is Peek-a-Boo by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. It is the only book all three of my children LOVED! I also recommend Garbage Delight by Dennis Lee for it’s amazing creativity and humor.

Olusola of My Twintopia: My girls love Brown Bear and have a silly goldfish song they sing with their dad when reading it.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: I love so many children’s books that it is hard to name just one. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig were favorites of mine when I was a child. I’m glad my kids like them, too! Right now, my son likes the Berenstain Bears series. Leah is hooked on Fancy Nancy.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: Press Here! By Herve Tullet. I love this book, it’s great for all ages, we have spun off many different activities after reading it and it never gets old!

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Goodnight Moon. It’s a classic that all ages enjoy. I love the pictures and how quickly a child catches on to the story. I also loved explaining to Sweet P what a bowl full of mush was!

---

Best Kids Toys

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: We have been lucky enough to find lots of Fisher Price Little People sets at yard sales. I love how they are suitable for even the littlest ones yet are still enjoyable for my imaginative 5 year old.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: If it has batteries, don’t buy it! Seriously, open-ended classic toys are best such as blocks or play silks. I love making our own toys and my blog has many DIY toys. We recently made a fairy garden, mermaid lagoon and light table.

Olusola of My Twintopia: That would be the Fisher Price Musical Table. My twins have had this since they were 7 months old and they still get hours of play out of it – they’ll be 2 years old this month so that’s over 17 months of quality play.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: My 7 year old loves his little green army men from Toy Story. My 5 year old likes her Baby Alive. Both my children like toys that let them use their imagination. They both like to pretend.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: A play tunnel. We’ve had ours for 6 years now and it’s always fun. In the summer it can be outside, on rainy days it can be inside, part of a fort, part of an obstacle course, the kids step into it and pretend to be monsters, the possibilities are endless.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: A box! Seriously, I don’t even know why we own toys! If you have an imagination and a box, you can do anything. It’s a favorite around our house and I love to see what Sweet P comes up with.

---

Best Kids’ Games

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: Candy Land is a classic that we play a lot as a family. It works for many ages, since all you need to know is a few basic colors.  

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: Hide and seek of course!

Olusola of My Twintopia: Tickles. Tag. Peek a boo.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: Hullabaloo is fun for so many ages. Leah started playing when she was just 2 and my 7 year old still likes it. We also love Kids’ Yahtzee.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: Mighty Minds. I love that the children can take turns, do individual challenges or work together to solve many different levels of puzzles.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Candy Land or Sorry. These are generic, but such classics! My favorite part of Candy Land that is is so simple and easy enough for a 2 year old or any child who knows their colors.

---

Best Kids’ Crafts

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: When I asked my kids, their favorite by far was when they made marshmallow and toothpick sculptures for an Easter craft. They created with those toothpicks and marshmallows for hours!

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: Recently, we enjoyed making glitter jars. We do a lot of open-ended art at home. 

Olusola of My Twintopia: After a false start, I’m really pleased with the sensory bottles and so are the girls.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: I am not a crafty mom. I am just so glad that there are so many talented kid bloggers on Pinterest who think of these amazing ideas for me. I enjoy looking at famous works of art and making our own art in their style. Jackson Pollock has been our favorite so far, but we also love our paintings in the style of Mondrian, Kandinsky, and Warhol.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: Transforming a giant cardboard box into anything – fire truck, house, rocket, car ramp…

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Coffee filter projects are a huge hit at our house right now! Although, I also love crafts using paper plates or other items we have on hand.

---

Best Outdoor Play Ideas

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: We love anything with water: “washing” the car with water guns, spraying one another with the hose, running through the sprinkler, and playing with the Barbie Pool.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: Our mud kitchen is my best outdoor play idea. It was such fun searching thrift stores for lots of neat tools for the kitchen. I also like how to flows with the seasons. In summer it gets a lot of water play and in winter lots more leaf and sticks get added to the mix.

Olusola of My Twintopia: Take a walk around the neighborhood and see the ordinary through the eyes of your child. There’s always something new to see, be it a construction site, a fence, the bus stop bench… As adults, we pass by those things without heeding everyday but to the kids, they are a new adventure to be investigated.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: I think it is important for kids to come up with their own ideas. When we are outside, I do very little to entertain my kids. They enjoy climbing on our local playground, playing tag, and kicking a soccer ball around.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: The woods or a forest – rain or shine we love it!

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Anything involving chalk and a walk! Or both! We recently did a nature scavenger hunt inspired by Nurturestore and it was a huge hit and so much fun. Chalk has endless possibilities for pretend play outdoors and walks can turn into an adventure!

---

Best Ways to Stay Organized

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: Use lots of bins, baskets, and over the door organizers to store toys and kids art supplies.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: I love over the door shoe organizers for every room in the house. Here’s how we organize art and art supplies in our home.

Olusola of My Twintopia: With twins, the 3 biggest sources of clutter are paperwork, toys and clothes. Have a plan in place for organizing what’s in use and getting rid of what’s not needed and you’re halfway there.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: I had someone build cubbies in my garage for our coats and backpacks. I can’t even begin to explain how happy those cubbies make me feel!

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: I got a memo that moms are supposed to be organized and I put it away somewhere safe, it’s around here, I think, uhm….next question please!

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Use a wall calendar your entire family can see and make sure to update it! Then don’t forget to update a pocketbook calendar, phone or computer calendar as well!

---

Best Ways to Keep a Happy Relationship or Marriage

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: Communicate, communicate, communicate. Make sure your significant other knows how you truly feel.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: Weekly dates! We either have a date night at home. One of us will go get a take out dinner, usually something the kids don’t like, while the other puts the kids to bed. Or we hire a sitter from 3-6 pm and take an afternoon for ourselves. This is a great break for us as the kids are fed when we get home and usually we get them to bed for the night not long after getting home.

Olusola of My Twintopia: When it comes to the kids, you both HAVE to agree on how to parent. If your views differ, talk about them until you meet somewhere in the middle.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: I have been divorced since my children were 3 years old and 18 months old. Not a day goes by when I don’t feel sad that my children don’t have an intact family. The only thing that makes me feel better is the knowledge that I tried every single thing I could think of to work through our problems and save our marriage. If you think your marriage is in trouble, definitely work on it as much as you can.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: Keep building your story together – listen to each other, share the highs and lows, spend time together and invest in the relationship. Don’t forget to make time to fold the laundry.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Communication, communication, communication AND date night! I once had a friend say “Go out to dinner after you have the baby, ALONE. Taking the baby along, even if he/she is asleep is NOT date night.” You and your spouse really do need that alone time and if possible, talk about something other than the kids.

---

Best Family Vacations and Outings

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: A simple trip to a local park or playground followed up by an ice cream treat is always the best low-stress family time.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: Picking fruit at a local u-pick is my favorite outing with the kids.

Olusola of My Twintopia: One with extended family present. The kids adore being around their numerous aunties, uncles and cousins and it gives the parents a break.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: National Parks! I’ve taken the kids to Disney World solo and three national parks solo. Disney was so much fun, but it was also totally exhausting. Our National Parks vacation allowed us so much time together. I felt like we bonded more, relaxed more, and had just as much fun (in a different way). 

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection:A beach vacation – for the last two years we have spent one week at the beach and it was relaxing and fun for everyone. I hope we have the chance to do it year after year and make it a tradition.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Taking a family walk or going to an outdoor fair, market or parade. We also love pumpkin patches and apple orchards in the fall. Really any time we have the opportunity to spend quality time together classifies as a BEST for us. It’s hard because of my husband’s schedule to have time at night or on the weekends so we really cherish the family time we do get together. And vacations, well, we haven’t really done one that doesn’t involve going to visit relatives!

---

Best Kid-Friendly Restaurants

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: Any place with a buffet typically pleases my picky eaters, because it offers a good variety, fast service, and usually yummy desserts.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: A locally owned pizza eatery is our favorite because they sell pizza by the slice and then they cut it into little squares for kids. Everyone gets a slice of what they love and the service is fast. I also bring a waiting bag with me to keep the kids busy.

Olusola of My Twintopia: Any one that has more than 2 highchairs with working seat belts makes the shortlist. Surprisingly enough one of my best chain restaurant experiences has been at Hooters. Some of the patrons gave us the evil eye but the service was very kid-friendly as was the changing room.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: A mom and pop pizzeria. We live in New Jersey, where there is a pizzeria in just about every strip mall. The kids can get pizza, I can get eggplant Parmesan, and we are all happy.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Red Robin — from the balloons to the bright colors, it’s a great place for kids, especially if Red Robin is there in costume! The kids can be loud, there’s games at the front and they make birthdays fun!

---

Best Family Meals and Recipes

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: The meal that gets eaten best by my two picky eaters is definitely mini meatloaf muffins with mashed potatoes and broccoli. I’m pretty sure Priscilla only eats it because she loves to help make it!

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: Chicken breasts placed in a crockpot with your favorite BBQ sauce. Shred cooked chicken and place it on top of whole grain hamburger buns and serve with a bagged salad and corn on the cob or fruit.

Olusola of My Twintopia: Ah ha! The question that exposes my (non) kitchen skills. Don’t have one.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: Our favorite family dinner is Taco Night. I set out all the toppings, and the kids have fun sprinkling their own cheese, olives, lettuce, and tomatoes on top of the tacos.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: Make your own pizza night! My children love to help with making the dough, chopping veggies, sprinkling the cheese and so on. Bonus: The kids discovered they love mushrooms and bell peppers!

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Green chile enchiladas. My mom has made them for as long as I can remember and they are so simple. I’m making them for dinner tonight, actually! Just 18 corn tortillas, 2 cans of green chile sauce, cheese, spinach and mushrooms. I heat the sauce in a pot on the stove, add the spinach and mushrooms and let it simmer for a few minutes. Layer 6 tortillas in a 9×13 pan, pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top, sprinkle with cheese and repeat 3 layers worth. Bake at 350 for 30 mins. Quick and easy!

---

Best Behavior Management and Discipline Tips

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: This is one I learned from my Principal while I was teaching: “Mean what you say and say what you mean.” As hard as it is sometimes, honesty and consistency are key.

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: We use a visual schedule at our home to help our children understand what is expected each day.

Olusola of My Twintopia: My twins are barely 2 so I’m nowhere close to having the behavior management bit figured out. One of the strategies that has worked so far is instead of telling them what not to do, I suggest an alternative positive behavior to whatever negative is currently going on. As a mother to older twins advised me, “don’t let them see you sweat.”

Danielle of 52 Brand New: Only say no if you are going to stick with it. If there is even a chance you might change your mind, don’t say no. Staying consistent is key.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: Practice positive parenting! The idea is to aim for cooperation, mutual understanding and setting realistic expectations. The more we know our children, understand their needs and abilities the more we can guide and transform would be challenging, hair rising, button pushing moments into more peaceful, positive interactions.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Empathy, not anger (this is hard, but SO true). Again, I turn to Parenting with Love & Logic and offering choices. Giving your child a chance to cool off also helps. And while it may not work for Sprout, explaining why we shouldn’t do something or why I’m doing something really helps Sweet P when it becomes to behavior issues.

---

Best Ways to Spend a Mommy Moment

Krissy of B-Inspired Mama: Blogging at B-Inspired Mama and connecting with other mamas, of course!

Kara of Kara’s Classroom: I am blessed to have some very special friends (who are also moms) that enjoy getting together often without the kids for drinks, food and laughter.

Olusola of My Twintopia: A power nap; preferably while getting a massage.

Danielle of 52 Brand New: Trying a new experience, of course! The best way to break out of a rut is to try something new. I also love to exercise. My weekly Zumba class is all about having fun, not looking good.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection: Eating chocolate and watching a TV show or movie – so rare and yet so wonderful!

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife: Reading a book, soaking in a bath, a glass of red wine, going out with friends or a movie with the Farmer really helps me unwind. And when I have lots of time, I’ll work out for stress relief!

---

Meet the Moms:

Kara of Kara’s Classroom — Kara is a mama to three little ones and a preschool teacher.  Her blog, Kara’s Classroom, features progressive early childhood education ideas.

Olusola of My Twintopia — Olusola is a first time mom of twins who researches and shares all things related to twin parenting on her My Twintopia blog.

Danielle of 52 Brand New — Danielle is the ambitious mama behind 52 Brand New, a blog chronicling her journey through new, fun experiences with her children for every week of the year.

Ariadne of Positive Parenting Connection — Ariadne Brill is mom to three children, a certified positive discipline parenting educator and the creator of Positive Parenting Connection, a resource for gentle parenting and positive yet effective discipline. Ariadne loves chocolate and is passionate about helping parents and children create harmony at home. She would rather write instead of doing the laundry. She is a regular contributor to Authentic Parenting and has contributed to various parenting outlets such as ALL Parenting, Positive Parenting Toddlers & Beyond; I’m Not the BabySitter, A Little bit of All of It, Elephant Journal and more. Connect with Ariadne on Facebook.

Adrienne of The Iowa Farmer’s Wife — Adrienne, aka The Iowa Farmer’s Wife, is a mommy blogger and mother of two who enjoys sharing simple ideas about educational activities for kids, frugal living and healthy eating. She lives in the Midwest, where she and her husband own a small farm. In addition to being a stay-at-home-mom, Adrienne teaches a speech course at a local university and serves as a co-coordinator of her local MOPS group.