Parenting & Family | Blog Category Archives | Meraki Lane

48 Tips and Recipes For Picky Eaters | Most kids go through a period of fussy eating, but some take it to the extreme. Whether you have toddlers, school-aged kids, tween, or teens, finding a balance between serving healthy meals and avoiding power struggles can be difficult! We're sharing 8 tips and 40 delicious breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recipes the whole family will love! With tons of simple and easy hidden veggies recipes to choose from, these recipes will save your sanity.

Kids Won’t Eat?! 48 Tips and Recipes For Picky Eaters

Surviving a School Closure During a Pandemic | If your child's daycare, childcare services, and/or school has been shutdown due to the current pandemic, preparedness is key! We already know the facts, we have our lists written and supplies handy, and now it's time for a little prepping. If you're looking for work from home tips to help you juggle a full time job and keep your kids entertained and off of Netflix while you figure out a daily homeschool schedule, we're sharing 12 tips to help!

Surviving a School Closure: 12 Tips for Working Parents

21 Budget-Friendly Family Staycation Ideas | If you're stuck at home with your kids during summer vacation, the winter holidays, and/or spring break, and you're looking for planning tips and activities ideas for kids to help you spend quality time together while also allowing everyone a little alone time to get some much needed R&R, this post is for you! We've got a list of things you can organize on a budget for a fun yet relaxing family vacation at home!

21 Budget-Friendly Family Staycation Ideas that Don’t Suck

49 Story Starters for Kids | If you're looking for creative writing prompts for kids, we're sharing 49 classroom ideas and activities to inspire you! Perfect for kids in elementary and middle school, we've included a mix of different narrative ideas, including journal prompts, personal essay prompts, and fun fiction writing prompts. We've also included tips to get kids excited about writing, and how to keep the momentum going!

How to Get Kids Excited About Creative Writing: 49 Story Starters for Kids

5 Postpartum Pelvic Floor Exercises for New Moms | If you're looking for exercises you can do post-baby to help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, treat incontinence, and close a diastasis recti, we're sharing 5 workout videos you can do at home. There are tons of benefits of doing pelvic floor exercises after natural childbirth, a c-section, and a hysterectomy, and these are helpful for prolapse as well. From kegels, to postpartum yoga, to exercises with weights, give these a try!

5 Strengthening Postpartum Pelvic Floor Exercises for New Moms

How to Make Hair Scrunchies with Your Kids | If you're looking for simple tutorials to teach you how to make 80s-inspired retro ponytail holders, we're sharing 5 step-by-step videos that are equal parts easy and stylish! Whether you use a sewing machine, sew by hand, or opt for the no sew options, there's a DIY scrunchie here for everyone! #scrunchie #scrunchies #DIYscrunchies

Retro Ponytail Holders: How to Make Hair Scrunchies with Your Kids

What to Do When Kids Talk Back | If you want to know how to stop kids from talking back to parents and to teachers without yelling, handing out time outs, and enforcing consequences, we're sharing 8 positive parenting tips and techniques that work. Whether you're trying to discipline toddlers, elementary aged kids, tweens, or teens, these behavior management strategies work - even on a strong willed child! #positiveparenting #positiveparentingtips #disciplinekids

What to Do When Kids Talk Back: 8 Tips for Parents

How to Limit Screen Time for Kids | Limiting screen time sounds easy in theory, but it can be much more difficult to implement for parents, especially if you have tweens or teenagers! If you're trying to enforce rules around your child's screen time, and want to know the effects of screen time, how much is too much, along with digital detox tips, we're sharing 7 practical strategies to get your kids to spend less time on their electronic devices. #screentime #kidsandscreens #digitaldetox

How to Limit Screen Time for Kids: 7 Effective Tips for Parents

How to Raise Independent Children | If you want to know how to teach your kids responsibility without nagging, reminding, and power struggles, these positive parenting tips will inspire you. Whether you're raising toddlers or teens, girls or boys, these strategies and techniques will help you empower your child to take on new challenges and give them the tools and solutions they need to be successful along the way! #independentkids #choresforkids #parentingtips #positiveparenting

How to Raise Independent Children: 9 Tips for Parents

How to Calm Down When Angry | Perfect for adults, children, teens, and especially overwhelmed parents, these anger management tips will teach you how to deal with anger in the moment, and will provide you with coping skills and exercises you can use to develop a plan that promotes better temper control to avoid feelings of anger and frustration from occurring in the first place. #calmdown #angermanagement #selfhelp #copingskills

How to Calm Down When Angry: 11 Tips that Work

How to Teach Kids Responsibility | While teachers often do a great job of teaching responsibility to kids at school, parenting our own children never seems to be as simple. Am I right? If you're trying to teach important life skills to your kids, and need an easy daily system that works, we're sharing 9 ideas to help. From assigning chores by age, to developing a chore chart, to rewarding kids through praise and allowance, this post has great tips! #chorecharts #behaviorcharts #kidschores

How to Teach Kids Responsibility: 9 Tips for Parents

8 Morning Hacks to Start Your Day Off Right | Perfect for teens, for college students, for moms getting small kids up and ready for school, and for lazy people with a long hair and beauty routine who can't seem to wake up early no matter how hard they try, we're sharing 8 life hacks to streamline your mornings and kick off your day with a bang! If you hate Mondays, this post is for you! #morninghacks #morningroutine #morningtips

Life Hacks 101: 8 Morning Hacks to Start Your Day Off Right

How to Use Positive Reinforcement in the Classroom | Whether your students are in preschool, kindergarten, upper elementary, or middle school, one thing is for certain: you need a classroom management system that works. We're sharing 6 positive reinforcement strategies for teachers, along with 9 classroom reward system ideas to inspire you! #positivereinforcement #classroomstrategies #classroommanagement

How to Use Positive Reinforcement in the Classroom: 15 Tips for Teachers

6 Tips to Find Balance During the Holiday Season | If you're trying to find balance in life, but constantly feel pulled in a million different directions, we're sharing 6 life hacks to help you set boundaries at work, with family, and with friends so you can unplug, rest, and recharge. We're also sharing 2 tools we use in our house to set healthy boundaries with technology so we can spend quality time together! #digitalwellbeing #android #findbalance #lifebalance #worklifebalance

6 Tips to Find Balance During the Holiday Season (and Beyond)

How to Stop Procrastinating | If time management isn’t your thing and you’re looking for tips to help you find your motivation and tackle homework and/or work assignments like a boss, this list of productivity tips is for you! Perfect for students, small business owners and entrepreneurs, for kids, and for moms, these tips will help you learn how to stay focused instead of leaving things to the last minute! #stopprocrastinating #procrastinating #procrastination #timemanagement

How to Stop Procrastinating: 8 Tips for Procrastinators

13 Stress Relief Activities for Kids | If your little one suffers from feelings of overwhelm, stress, and/or anxiety and you’re looking for coping skills you can teach him or her, we’re sharing 13 simple yet effective activities that help calm the mind and body. From mindful breathing and yoga, to coloring, art therapy, and journaling, these ideas work for all ages and stages and offer a great way to spend quality time with your kids to boot! #calmingactivities #calmingactivitiesforkids

Calm and Collected: 13 Stress Relief Activities for Kids

36 Ways to Spend One-On-One Time with Kids | If you’re looking for fun, easy, and meaningful things to do with your kids after school and on weekends to help you connect and spend quality time together, this collection of activities will inspire you! We’ve included ideas for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school the entire family will enjoy to add to your calendar! #qualitytimewithkids #positiveparenting #intentionalparenting

How to Spend One-On-One Time with Kids: 36 Ideas We Love

Coping with a Miscarriage | Whether you’ve experienced an early or late miscarriage, you probably already know the facts and symptoms, but those don’t help during the recovery and emotional healing process. I’m sharing my own experience along with tips I found helpful in coping with my loss and all of the grief it brought with it. We need to do a better job in raising miscarriage awareness, and offering the proper support, and I hope these ideas help! #tryingtoconceive #TTC #infertility

Coping with a Miscarriage: 10 Tips to Help You Heal Emotionally

20 Self-Care Activities for Kids We Love | If you’re looking for ideas to help the children in your life learn how to relax and unwind when they are feeling stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed, this collection of parenting tips and ideas is a great place to start! We’ve got stress-busting ideas for toddlers, children in elementary school, and even tweens and teens. Use these at home with your kids or with your students in the classroom! #selfcareactivities #selfcareforkids

Put Yourself First: 20 Self-Care Activities for Kids We Love

7 Tips to Beat Working Mom Guilt | It seems like no matter what your situation is – stay-at-home mom, work-at-home mom, or work-outside-the-home mom – you will experience intense feelings of guilt somewhere along the way. This post is filled with helpful tips for overcoming and letting go of working mom guilt and the negative thoughts it creates in our minds, embracing our choices, and living our best lives every single day. #momguilt #workingmomguilt #workingmom

Stop Apologizing! 7 Tips to Beat Working Mom Guilt Once and For All

How to Organize Toys | Perfect for those who live in small spaces without dedicated playrooms, these DIY organization ideas will restore order in your basement, living room, bedroom, closet, and any other place in your home that has been taken over by plastic monstrosities. From Ikea hacks, to LEGO organization ideas, to easy storage for stuffed animals, to an adorable homemade trunk for dress-up clothes, you’ll wish you knew these toy organization ideas sooner! #organizetoys #toyorganization

How to Organize Toys: 15 Genius Organization Tips for Parents