New York Nanny Center » parties

Are You Really Sorry?

Lindsay Bell — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:47:29 +0000

At LLD, our sitters are trained to help children manage inevitable conflicts and unhappiness. However, when children are playing together nicely, sometimes even a small things can become challenging. Dana Rosenbloom, Owner and Therapist at Dana’s Kids, explores how we use “I’m Sorry” in place of fostering meaningful interactions between our children.

The Problem: Children can be playing nicely together at a birthday party or event when suddenly a conflict arises. Or perhaps two children are sharing and enjoying each other’s company when one leans over and grabs a toy, pushes the other child, or bites the other’s arm.

The Age Old Solution: Parents are quick to tell their child “tell them you’re sorry!”

Why It Doesn’t Work: Children, in an attempt to appease their parents and stay at the birthday party, will often say I’m sorry and move on. However, oftentimes the children do not actually know why they’re saying sorry or the meaning behind the phrase.

The Solution: There are a few ways Ms. Rosenbloom suggests for teaching young children better and more genuine ways of handling these situations:

Instead of asking children to say “I’m Sorry,” teach them to “check in” with the victim. They may ask them if they’re okay or if they need help getting up.
Make sure your child waits and listens to the response instead of just asking the question and walking away.

If the other child is hurt, you may teach your child to offer assistance. This could be in the form of bringing them ice, a tissue, or a band aid. This will build problem solving skills and empathy.

For older children, help them to identify the other child’s emotions. This can be done by helping them think of a time they felt the same. This will also give them an opportunity to think of realistic ways they can help the victim.

For more information about teaching your children about “I’m Sorry” and other alternatives, check out Ms. Rosenbloom’s article.

eco-friendly baby shower & birthday party invitations

Lindsay Bell — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:55:00 +0000

Since we are on the topic of baby showers and birthday parties,when you are ready to be the hostess, where do you start?

The invitations of course!

I came across PaperCulture from one of my LLD member moms. Paper Culture is a modern eco-friendly stationary company that brings a uniquetwist to boring stuff that reads like a resume. They pride themselves on providing clean, fresh modern aesthetic.Developed by parents themselves they truly care about the environment and thefuture state of the planet for our children.

Click herefor eco baby shower invitations; girl, boy and gender neutral.

Click herefor birthday party invitations; kids birthdays, girl or boy, photo birthdayinvites or adult parties.

Hear what Parenting Magazine, Cool Mom Picks and Daily Candyhas to say about Paper Culture here!

Plan your child’s birthday party with Blast Events!

Lindsay Bell — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:29:00 +0000

Annie Steinberg–Joachim has been in the events industry for 10+ years. She has built her reputation on being an upbeat event planner who is extremely detail oriented.

What sparked Blast Events?

Blast Events NYC was sparked by the birthday of my nephews Jackson and Truman. They are the most fun little guys in the world. I was in event planning for 10 years and feeling like I needed a change, once the boys were born I realized I could still do event planning, but for children. After my sister in law let me plan a few of their birthday parties and all the moms started to inquire about my services, I had the confidence to start Blast Events NYC.

Tell us a bit about the events that you work on?

We work on all types of events, they just have to be about children. We do baby showers, a briss, a baby naming, birthday parties and everything in between. My favorite is a birthday party. When you see a child walk in to their own party and they light up, it’s such a good feeling. We work on events of all sizes, we’ve done events in a Manhattan apartment and events located in Cipriani – so really no job too big, no job too small – when your job doesn’t feel like work you just go with the flow and enjoy!

What is your favorite project thus far?

Well this is my favorite question, thus far.. I love the parties we produce, they are all special to me, but my favorite project was a 1st birthday for a child named Jacob. The theme was a safari and it was held in their beautiful Chelsea apartment. I would say it was my favorite because the family was lovely to work with. His mommy was very involved in the planning process, but was very gentle and welcoming to our suggestions. It was the perfect balance of an involved mom but one who wasn’t a control freak. When you hire a party planner you have to know that they are the expert, not you! This mom welcomed our suggestions and still gave her opinion, it was just perfect. Once we arrived at the party her guest treated us like guest. The entire party, family and friends were by far the nicest people we have ever worked with. We made them a beautiful photo album of pictures from the day to say thank you. My wish is that we will be able to work with them on more events in the future.

For more info on blast events click here!