Helpful Mom

Yesterday I had to drive all the way to N. Greece to pick something up from someone from Craig’s list. So I decided we should make a day of it.  I decided that I would take my two girls to the beach for the first time ever by myself.  We have tried two different times in the past to take the girls to the beach with disappointing results.  We were on vacation in Rhode Island, renting a beach house no less.  And our girls were terrified of the ocean!  Here we thought they’d just love it because it’s the ultimate sand box with endless possibilities.  But they were afraid of the ocean itself, the loud crashing waves to be exact.  Our second try was this year when we went to visit a friend in Boston.  It went a little bit better, at least one out of two children liked it, because it was a rocky beach.  She enjoyed filling her buckets with rocks to take home.  The other one wouldn’t even leave the grassy area.

So what made me think I should try taking my kids to the beach this time?  My sense of fun.  I thought if we were that close to Lake Ontario already I should certainly give it a try.  If they didn’t like it at least we had an adventure.  And I can’t believe that I have lived here all my life and I can only count on one hand how many times I can remember going to the lake!  I’ve been to see Niagara Falls many more times than I’ve been to the lake.  And there is one big key difference, instead of trying the ocean again I was taking them to a lake where there are very small to no waves.  And boy am I glad I took the chance.  We had a blast!  I can’t wait to take them again and hopefully for a longer period of time.

We went to Hamlin State Park(north west of Greece, NY).  It is a beautiful state park right on Lake Ontario.  There are sandy beaches with lifeguards on duty.  There are at least 2 playgrounds of the newer plastic variety with rubber mulch underfoot.  There are a number of shelters with restrooms and water fountains about.  There is lots of shaded areas and picnic tables scattered about.  For a Thursday in summer it was fairly empty so you felt like you were nearly alone with your kids.  The beaches are clearly raked out each day and kept pretty clean.  The water was very clean and clear.  And the view was beautiful.  We spent nearly an hour just digging in the sand trying to create moats and riverways to channel water.  It was such fun for all three of us.  And the girls even got their feet wet in the lake!

If you are interested in a trip to Hamlin State Park you should know that it does cost $7 cash to get in.  They don’t take credit cards and the nearest ATM is quite far away so you should come prepared.  Another tip is if you are thinking of taking multiple trips to State Parks you may be interested in the Empire Passport.   The passport provides unlimited day use vehicle entry to most state parks and recreation facilities for just $59.  To pack correctly for the beach you should think of all possibilities.  Obviously they will be playing with sand so you will need a couple shovels and pails, containers to use as molds are optional.  A change of clothes and towels, sunscreen, and enough food and drinks because there’s nowhere near to buy anything.  Also I took my handy dandy Travel Potty with us because the walk from the beach to the bathroom to way to far for a toddler to hold it.

I don’t know if your kids are anything like mine but they’ve had a love hate relationship with baths since the day they were born. When they were babies they hated the bath and I refused to bath them unless my husband was home to help me since they screamed bloody murder and were so fragile and slippery. Then when they were older and could sit up on their own they loved it. They would just sit in that tub for an hour and play. I would get a book or magazine and lay next to the tub and let them play to their hearts content. There were even days when Katrina even wanted to take two baths! Now we are back to the disliking it again, so we have to think of creative ways to entice them into the tub. It’s not the playing they dislike, it’s just the hair washing. So we have to get them into the tub somehow. Once they are in there they will play forever before the dreaded deed needs doing.  (This is also a great time to clean the bathroom while they are occupied, keep all your supplies in one place so you won’t have to leave the kids unattended.)

Some of the ideas and things we have found works to get them excited about a bath are water coloring tablets, shaving cream paint, body paints, soap crayons, and rotating bath toys so they are “new” to them.

Amazonsells a variety of different bath coloring tablets, which are little tablets that dissolve in the tub and color the water different colors.  They generally come in a mix of red, yellow, and blue tablets but it gives you another chance to teach your kids how mixing different colors make new ones, like red and blue make purple.

Shaving cream paint is simply shaving cream, like Colgate or Barbasol which you can get for $0.50-$1 on sale, and mix it with a couple drops of food coloring.  Then the kids can “paint” pictures on the walls of your shower.  It washs off easily and does not stain your kid or your tub.  Just make sure your kids not going to try and eat it.

Body paints are fun too, since they can paint the tub and themselves.  In essence they can clean your tub for you ;P  and clean their own body without knowing it.  Body paints can either be boughtBathtub Finger Painting Kit or you can make your own.  Take 1/4 cup clear bath wash, 2 Tbs. corn starch, and a few drops of food coloring just mix and have fun.  Soap crayons can also be bought

Bath Crayons or made. To make you need 1 cup unscented soap flakes or grate a bar of soap mix it with 2 Tbs. hot water, mix in what ever food coloring you like and put in molds like an ice cube tray or candy molds. Let them harden for a few days and then pop em out and let the kids test them out.

And for bath tub toys we love the Foam Alphabet Letters that stick to the walls when wet so your kids can be playing and learning at the same time. As they get bigger they can practice spelling words too. Of course the regular tub toys like boats and ducks are always a hit. There are ducks and frogs you can get that have LCDs in them that blink different colors when put into the water. My girls love these and they are great for trips in the car after dark too. We also have bought collections of sea animals that have whales and octopuses and such in them, which we will pull out special and then put away for a while. I love these because they are learning the different types of ocean animals while playing.  A  sand wheel can be used in the tub too, as can lots of other sand box toys. They love filling things with water and pouring them one to another. An kind of container will do, even empty shampoo bottles and yogurt containers, fun does not have to be expensive or fancy.

As for the actual washing there are a variety of tricks we have tried.  Some have worked and some didn’t for us.  Some kids like to wear swim goggles while you wash their hair since for most kids the issue usually revolves around the fear of getting water on the face.  It didn’t work for our kids although they did love wearing the goggles and it’s worth the money spent to see their little faces squashed into goggles.  You should try it just for a good laugh.  You could tape pictures to the ceiling to have your child look up at since it can be a challenge to get them to keep looking up.   We found that their toy watering can worked well as well toy buckets with a wash cloth on their forehead  to keep the water off their face.  Some kids like it if they feel in control and they can do the dumping of the water themselves.  And we just recently bought a showerhead with a hand shower so we can wash them with more control.  Whatever you try make it quick and easy.  Baths should be fun not torture.