Top Tips

Toddler Tip If you are concerned that your toddler isn't cleaning his teeth sufficiently, buy a new toothbrush and tell your little one that the 'magic brush' will be able to find the carrots, broccoli etc that he's had for tea. Take the brush and 'go looking' for everything he's had that evening. While I was 'brushing everything out' my little one let me clean all his teeth and has done every morning and evening for the last 2 weeks or so!! Sometimes he starts off and I finish, but he always gets a good clean now! Wendy.

Food Tip Asparagus is now in season, so why not introduce it to your older babies? It is a great source of antioxidants and vitamins A and C and is also thought to have sedative qualities! If your little one has a few teeth and is able to chew finger foods, try him with a few sticks of asparagus, steamed until soft and cut into short lengths - just the right size for little fists to grasp and enjoy. Along with some sticks of raw or cooked carrot and red and yellow peppers, your baby will have a rainbow selection of antioxidant-rich vegetables. If your baby is over one and sometimes has a boiled egg and soldiers of toast, why not offer some cooked asparagus tips to dip in the egg too - very sophisticated and extremely delicious - try it yourself! Kateb.

Shopping Tip Visits to shops such as a greengrocer's (or even the fruit and veg department of your local supermarket) can be a great opportunity for discussing with your child where the food comes from, talking about the different countries where certain fruit and vegetables grow, whether they grow under or on top of the ground or on a tree, at what time of year certain foods appear, the various colours and textures of the fruits and vegetables. Having awakened your child's curiosity, you could allow them to help you choose a new fruit or vegetable, that they haven't tried before. Perhaps he could hand the money to the shopkeeper and carry his purchase himself. Children are far more likely to try something new if they have been involved in the selection of it. From Feeding Made Easy.

'Me-Time' Tip
It is all too easy to get house-bound with a new baby. Cuddle more and worry less, and always make time for a walk each day, go to a coffee shop, read a book and have a large piece of cake, don't forget to treat yourself! The fresh air and seeing people going about their own daily life helps puts things into perspective. Sweetpea.

Travelling/Food Tip
I came up with this idea for easy travelling food, and it worked really well for us during a trip to Spain, helping to solve the tea issue - it's not always easy to get food in restaurants so early in the evening. Before leaving home I weighed out and bagged up portions of dried couscous and then took some of the Ella's Kitchen squirty vegetable puree sachets. To make yummy couscous and vegetable puree, we just asked for some boiled water at whichever cafe we were in at teatime and made up the couscous, before adding the puree. So easy. Just remember to take a bottle so you can measure the right amount of water. HollyF

Cooking Tip
In her Weaning Guide, Gina suggests making shapes out of puff pastry to serve with soup. Try this too: if you have any normal shortcrust pastry left over, roll it out, cut it into star/ heart/duck shapes (or whatever cutters you might have!), sprinkle cheese on top, and bake in a medium-hot oven for about twenty minutes. Sarahruth

Baby Care Tip
If you would rather not use piles of un-environmentally sound baby wipes, try making your own, washable, re-useable ones. I use the soft blue and white striped kitchen cloths. I cut the cloth in half. Then I make a cup of camomile tea, and add a drop of lavender oil. I tip this over the wipes and make sure they are soaked, then I squeeze out the excess moisture and store them in an airtight container. I make them fresh every couple of days to avoid them going off. I prefer them because they smell nice, are gentle on bottoms and faces and are bigger and more effective than commercial wipes without the slimey feeling - and I feel that it must be better for the environment to re-use them. I find that it makes it easier when using washable nappies because they just go with the nappies into the nappy bucket. Mummybear.

Travelling/Food Tip
If you are travelling to France for a holiday and your little one is keen on yoghurt/fromage frais, get a big pot of Jockey from any French supermarket. It's available full- or half-fat and is plain fromage blanc, so sort of in-between yoghurt and fromage frais, and is delicious with fruit or honey. It's a staple pudding in our house! Anna34

Travel Tip
I found a couple of pashminas from Debenhams (£15) and these are great for travelling; they look stylish on you, are light and warm, they wrap babies up very easily and, in an emergency, I've even turned one into a makeshift sling and another into a sheet after a sicky episode in the cot! Riab

Travel/Toys Tip
Babies can't discriminate between toys and other objects. Don't worry about taking the whole of Hamleys to amuse your child, there are always paper cups, wooden plates and pepper pots to amuse them. Older children will often be happy with paper and crayons, books and balls, which shouldn't take up much space. Christina Hopkinson, from On Holiday with a Baby

Travel/Food Tip
If you and your child are often out and about, it is worth investing in a selection of plastic containers in a range of sizes, in which to pack your food. Make sure that your boxes have reliable, leak-proof lids. Children like to have their own individual container of little sandwiches. As well as acting as a crumb collector, this will save you handing out each sandwich across a crowded train carriage, and will limit the opportunity for sandwiches getting stuck under the seats of your car. from Feeding Made Easy by Gina Ford

Cooking Tip
When fruit is in season and readily available you can make delicious fruit purées, which can be frozen for later use. Simmer the fruit (chopped and stoned if necessary) until soft in a small amount of water - just enough to prevent the fruit from sticking and burning. Sweeten to taste with a little honey, maple syrup or sugar. The amount of sweetener required will vary according to the fruit - blackcurrants are a tart fruit and need more sugar than raspberries but they are high in vitamin C, so in my opinion the benefit of the fruit's goodness outweighs the disadvantage of needing to add sugar. Once softened, the fruit van be puréed using a hand blender or liquidizer and packed in plastic bags or boxes. from Feeding Made Easy by Gina Ford

 

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