A Holy Ghost Party

When you bring a new baby into the house, there is always going to be a sense of jealousy from your toddler. This is especially true if the toddler has been an only child and getting all of the attention before the new baby arrives. In order to avoid this situation, you should begin talking to your toddler as soon as you know a new baby is on the way. Allow him or her to interact with the baby’s movements in your uterus but at the same time let him know you will not love him any less.

Having a new baby in the house is difficult for a toddler, so you will have to allow for a period of adjustment. The easiest way to do this is to allow your toddler to take part in the care of the baby. He may not want to help at first but whenever he shows interest in doing things, allow him to help you feed and bathe the baby. Your toddler can also hold the baby while he sits on the sofa or in a chair as long as he is supervised by an adult. If you push him away you will create a real sense of jealousy that will escalate into sibling rivalry very quickly.

Some toddlers like to help hold the baby’s bottle while others are content to help carry things like baby’s diapers, towel, or other items that Mommy needs for bath or feeding time. You have to judge your own toddler in order to know what is important to him and what makes him content. You want to avoid alienating your toddler and the new baby by paying more attention to the baby. If you allow your child to participate in the baby’s care, there is less of a chance that he will feel left out and unloved.

If at all possible avoid forcing your toddler to give up his space to the new baby. Although sometimes this is unavoidable—such as when you don’t have an extra bedroom for the new baby—always make sure your toddler still has some space of his own. One way to do that is to allow the new baby to nap in the living room so that your toddler can play with his toys without disturbing the baby. Forcing the toddler to be quiet or not allowing him into his room when the baby is sleeping is a sure fire way to create hatred or at least distaste for the new baby.

One of the most important things of all is to be sure to set aside special time for your toddler. Do not make him feel alone or neglected with a new baby in the house. Invite Grandma and Grandpa to babysit while you and hubby take the toddler on an outing for the day or even a few hours. It can something as simple as lunch at McDonald’s or a day at the park, but you have to take private time with your toddler to prevent him resenting the new baby.

When you’re trying to plan a children’s party it can be difficult if you don’t know all of the different themes that capture a child’s heart today. Certainly those with children or grandchildren know all of the themes that will make a child’s party fun and interesting for the children, but for those who have never had children, the task can be somewhat difficult. Some themes have never changed over the years and probably never will, but occasionally you will find new ones that appeal to children, so you must stay on top if you want to plan a successful children’s party.

Children can be very fickle, so you have to make sure you follow the patterns and know what the current favorite themes are for children. In addition you have to know the preferences for the children who will be attending the party, especially that of the birthday child. Although you want to plan a party based on a theme everyone can enjoy, your main focus needs to be on the birthday child. Some of the more popular themes that are available today include the following:

• SpongeBob Squarepants
• Dora the Explorer
• Disney characters (these are always popular)
• Diego
• The Cars (anything from the movie)
• Barbie
• The Bratz
• Hannah Montana
• Spiderman
• Winnie the Pooh characters
• Characters from various Disney movies such as Disney Princess
• Care Bears

This is by no means a comprehensive or complete list, but it gives you an idea of the kinds of things children enjoy at the moment. Things change over time, of course—only a few years ago there was a rave over The Wiggles and Teletubbies, and they may indeed return to popularity as have many characters over the years. The only themes that have remained consistent over the past few decades are Disney themes of any kind, Barbie, and Winnie the Pooh. Others have come and gone like The Smurfs and Strawberry Shortcake, so you have to make sure you are on top of things when you plan the party.

One of the easiest ways to discover the best theme for the children’s party you are planning to is ask for feedback from the child or pay attention to their choices in toys and cartoons in the days leading up to the party. Children have subtle ways of showing you in what they are interested or may make comments about the type of cake they want, which is a hint regarding the theme they want for their party. By learning to follow the hints children drop you can easily learn exactly what theme they want for their party. Other children are more open about it and will come right out and tell you that they want a particular theme. Do not choose a theme because it was your favorite as a child unless you know for sure that the birthday child is also a fan of that theme or cartoon character.