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One tried and true way to snap an angry preschooler into a happy sweetheart is to channel their energy into something positive.  Playing with Thomas the Tank Engine might be…

I’ve seen plenty of mood swings at mealtime, so I asked Jeanne Muchnick, who’s just written a book called Dinner for Busy Moms, to tell us some of her strategies…

I don’t know much about St. Patty’s Day beyond shamrock shakes, but I do know that come March, four leaf clovers seem to be everwhere! So I asked Jocelyn of…

 This is not a theoretical question!  Assuming your kids have valentines that they've received from friends and family, what do you do with that big stack of stuff? …

I’ve noticed that the more sternly I speak to my kids, the more distraught they get. If they’ve done something serious, like running into the street without looking, and I…

Ah, the magic of a DVD.  A mom can turn it on whenever she wants, play it as often as the kids like, rewind or fast forward on command, snuggle…

Ah, the magic of a DVD.  A mom can turn it on whenever she wants, play it as often as the kids like, rewind or fast forward on command, snuggle…

 It's January, which means New Year's Resolution time.  Have you come up with any personal or family ideas?…

The title of this article promises a lot--and I think Elizabeth Donovan of Parenting Pink delivers some insightful information about what our kids need from us when we're all inside…

When my kids are home, the house gets very "lived in" which is code for messy, and I can't even think about tackling a big project like cleaning a closet…

I don't know about you, but I have a tough time figuring out who to buy holiday gifts for.  Babysitters, postal workers, daycare staff...who gets a gift and who gets…

Many families celebrate Christmas every December, but not everyone waits for Santa Claus. This month we thought we’d take a look at how people of different traditions celebrate important holidays…

Many holiday specials are the same year after year: Santa rides his sleigh, Frosty frolics in the snow, Sprout stick puppets dance and sing…wait! That last part is true but…

I love getting holiday cards from friends and family, but I never know what to do with them. They collect in a pile while I plan to hang them up…

Each year, I take a picture of my kids dressed up in their holiday finest, and create holiday cards for friends and family. Most likely, you do, too, judging by…

Celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family is fantastic. Actually getting to the dinner --not usually so much fun.  Facing congestion, delays, and traffic with toddlers in tow takes a lot…

As a special bonus for you parents and caretakers who check out SFP, I've got insider information about The Sunny Side Up Show. From the show's origins to the way…

This month, the Family Online Safety Institute is hosting a conference in Washington D.C. I realized that there’s a lot more I should do to keep my family safe while…

I love going to Thanksgiving dinner at someone else's house. They cook the turkey, clean the house, set the table, and I show up. It isn't quite a free ride,…

Thanksgiving is a day to come together as a family, to eat a delicious meal and make memories while sharing beloved family traditions, right?  In a perfect world, that would…

Congratulations to John, Jody and their Sproutlet from California.   They're the lucky winners of The Sprout for Parents Sweepstakes to see The Wiggles LIVE! Hope they're ready to wiggle!…

 Do you have visions of your Sproutlet lighting up the Halloween night as your very own Star?  We asked Benita Black and Lisa Ruth, two crafty moms, how they’d transform…

 Sprout is gathering Hand Turkeys to use in our Thanksgiving on-air packaging—you know, the little icons that say Sprout that appear on your TV screen?  We’d like them to come…

 Question: It’s October, which means I’ve been sneezing for the last month, with itchy eyes and a red nose. My oldest son seems to have the same seasonal allergies, and…

 The night we go trick or treating is CRAZY. No matter how much I plan, my family always ends up scrambling at the last minute to eat dinner before we…

 I’d like to be sensitive to kids with allergies when I hand out treats at Halloween but I’m having a hard time figuring out what to buy.  It seems like…

 I'm not crafty, but I know people who are!  Here are 3 Halloween decorations you and your kids can make from Cassie at The Crafty Crow. These are spooky enough…

 Hey Parents--Sprout needs your help!  We want to know how your kids make life better for the people around them.…

 The first day of preschool can be so much fun. I know lots of kids who run into their class ready to tackle the world. Unfortunately, none of my three…

 This month will probably find many of us packing lunches for our kids. I find myself packing the same thing for my troop every day, week after week. They seem…

 Not every Sproutlet goes to school in September. For the little ones who stay at home, or for the half day preschoolers who want something to do in their off…

 We’re in the thick of August now, and my kids are swarming around me, bored all the time. They’ve exhausted their own creativity, they’re hot, and they’re looking to me…

 Question: I always thought that chlorine in a pool was a good soap substitute in the summer — if it’s good enough to clean a swimming pool, isn’t it good…

By now, I'm sure you know that Sprout's  Wiggly Waffle Show started its first season here at Sprout. August 24.  We're featuring something very special in honor of the big launch--a peek behind…

  In the summer, I relax the rules about leaving stuffed animals at home. We take stuffed friends on long car trips, we play with them outside, we bring them to…

Question: My kids are eaten alive all summer. Mosquitoes, spiders, flies with teeth, ants with claws — if there’s a bug out there, it’s bitten one of my kids! How…

 We’re thinking about getting a pet at my house. Because I’m allergic to cats, afraid of birds, and uncomfortable around small rodents, the animal of choice for us is a…

 If you’ve decided to bring an animal into your home, be it dog, cat or iguana, the next decision you have to make is where to get it. Do you…

 My kids are really begging us for a dog, and Kevin and I have done a lot of talking about this and think we're ready to make the leap. All…

 I can’t help thinking about what will happen when the dog we adopt inevitably dies. Hopefully, this will be years away, but there’s always a chance for something to go…

 Have you heard about Mr. Mailman’s Summer Adventure Contest at Sprout?   …

 One of my favorite family adventures involves gathering friends and family and hosting a cook out.  We let the kids run around in the yard while the grown ups hang…

Summer means theme parks to me, and has from the time I was a little girl. Unfortunately, somewhere along the years, I lost all sense of balance and get carsick…

Question: An inevitable part of any adventure at my house is a fall, a scratch, a bump, or a gash—and a child’s cry for bandaids. I have to be honest,…

 Did you hear the great news? The Wiggles are moving to Sprout!  Beginning on August 24, your children will be able to wake up with The Wiggles!  …

 Question: Most of the preschoolers I know have at least one pronounced fear — and I'm not talking about being scared of the dark. I know a four year old…

 Nothing changes a preshooler’s life like the introduction of a new sibling. When Clara came home from the hospital, Peter was 3 ½ and he did not like sharing me…

 Question: As a mother with young kids, I often find friendly strangers approaching us to smile and say “hi” when we’re out and about. I try to encourage my son…

 I know all of our kids love the Sesame Street characters, but it’s one thing to see them on tv and quite another to meet them in person. For one…

 Cases of swine flu in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Spain, and New Zealand have sparked international headlines about the possibility of a pandemic — the worldwide spread of a potentially deadly illness. But the reality…

 Reduce trips to the grocery store, and clutter in your pantry while saving money! How?  Don’t buy any groceries for one week. Starting right now. And start reaching to the…

 I have a really easy recycling program in my neighborhood, where I put everything recyclable into one big bin and the garbage truck hauls it away to be sorted later.…

Question:  I always considered using cloth diapers as an environmentally friendly alternative to disposables, but could never bring myself to make the leap. I heard that they can give kids…

Loyal Sprout viewers -- we wanted to let those of you watching Sprout on AT&T know that AT&T has moved Sprout on Demand to another level of service.…

 I quit my job and moved when my oldest son was two and I was pregnant with my daughter. It was really hard for me to find friends in the…

 Sometimes we moms are too busy to go outside and make friends at the playground, but community is never farther away than our computer.  You can reach out at any…

 Barney is coming for a Valentine’s Day visit with Sean and Chica at Sprout’s Super-Dee-Duper Valentine Party on February 13 and 14!  In honor of his visit, we have a…

Prices are rising in the grocery store and it can be a real challenge to feed our families healthy food without spending a fortune. I reached out to an expert…

 A great way to get more for your money is to not spend any! Do I speak for all of us when I say my house is full of toys…

 I know we all love our children, but sometimes I feel like I love them a little more after we've had a break from each other!  We all need a…

Who says we parents are the only ones who should make resolutions?  We can find ways for our kids to help out around the house as their resolution!…

Question: I resolve to be more patient with my family…but how do I do it? As my kids get a little older — no more babies in my house, although…

No matter what holiday your family celebrates, the people at Sesame Street have great ideas to make these special occasions even more memorable for our children and us. …

The holidays are a great time for family activities. Here's a  fun and edible craft project from Elizabeth Edwards at MomCooks that is sure to put smiles on the faces of…

Question: The holidays are coming and I'm expecting an influx of presents from family and friends and Santa. To prepare for that, I've started sorting through our old toys and…

As I watched Preschool Musical on a Stick,  I couldn’t stop asking myself two questions: How did they do that? And, more importantly, why did they do that? So I…

  I like the attitude of the Cool Mom's this holiday season--take a minute for yourself while you're doing all that holiday shopping.  Sounds good to me!--Diana…

This month, I asked Steph Dunkle, the Problem Solvin' Mom, to write something for us about Thanksgiving. Without any more prompting than that, she came up with the answer to…

This year, I am thankful that the Cool Mom's have found a delicious chocolate treat that I can eat when everyone else has their pumpkin pie.  Nothing against the pie,…

Question: At my house, we share just about everything, but each of my three kids has a few special toys that are either brand new or especially beloved — or…

We've talk about what to feed our kids here all the time, but even with all those ideas, my morning routine still consists of walking downstairs and try to figure out…

This is part two of a conversation I had with Jill Spivack, co-creator of The Sleepeasy Solution and co-founder of Sleepy Planet. In our first post (Advice from a Sleep…

Picture this:  an hour and a half spent at the grocery store, a cart loaded with every imaginable healthy food you can find, and then another painful eternity of lugging…

You can't get into a routine if you forget who's going where on what day! The Cool Moms have found a calendar that will help us keep all the schedules…

I don't usually put a lot of thought into what my kids will use to collect their trick-or-treat goodies, but the Cool Moms have. Here's what they found!--Diana…

The only good thing about being a grown-up and not getting  to trick or treat on Halloween is that I get to BUY all the candy we give out. Sure,…

I’m a big fan of M&Ms, but I never would have thought to add them to my list of party favor ideas. I’m glad that the Cool Moms did!--Diana   …

Sesame Street has sent us a look at some of the ways they celebrate grandparents.…

Themes are a great way to organize a party and make it special. Here's how Shannon Hutton, at Seasonal Kids Activities planned a party for her daughter that sounds creative, fun…

I’m sure I’ve written this elsewhere on the site, but if you don’t know by now, this is a busy time of year for me, birthdaywise.  Two of my three…

Question: My parents love my kids, but my dad is convinced that the way to their hearts is through too many treats. He gives them candy, and lots of it,…

We’re always looking for great ideas to share at Sproutforparents.com, and that’s why I was really excited when Shannon Hutton got in touch with this terrific way for our kids…

Peter and Henry both have birthdays coming up, and I hold on to their cards for a few weeks before tossing them in the garbage with a guilty sigh. But…

I love to take pictures of my family. I have hundreds of them uploaded on my computer, and tons of then sitting in a big dresser devoted to years of…

We asked the Cool Moms to recommend a backpack, since it's that time to year.--back to preschool is just around the corner! Here's what they found. --Diana…

Question: My kids (Peter, 7, Clara, 5, and Henry, 3) don't bathe together, but they get ready for baths and showers at the same time, with one jumping in when…

When I’m online I always mean to seach for products, gadgets and gizmos that can make life a little easier for my family. Unfortunately, that takes a lot of time…

When it comes to vacations, my children have taught me an important lesson—it’s not just the destination that matters, it’s the journey there that really counts. Who hasn’t emerged from…

When we go on vacation, it's all about the water! Either in a pool or at the beach, swimming is one of the rare activities that all of my kids…

Last month, Dyani from KidsU had great ideas for games we can play outside with our kids, and that got me thinking that there must be lots of other cool…

Summer is a time to relax and have fun--but for our children, the learning never stops. Dr. Jeanette Betancourt of Sesame Street, has lots of ideas for ways we can…

They did it for us. Now it’s our turn to return the favor. This is the time to start planning for Father’s Day—and I need help!…

I've struggled with finding time to exercise with my kids around since they were born! I found some great advice about how to work it all in which I'd love to share with…

Everywhere I turn, I hear about the need for kids to exercise.  What does that mean exactly? Do I need to have my preschoolers doing jumping jacks?  (A lofty goal,…

Now that Mother's Day has come and gone, let's recap! What were your favorite moments? Best gifts? Sweetest cards? From all the messages posted below, I can see that lots…

 My 3-year-old, Henry, and my 5-year-old, Clara, are occasionally inclined to throw a good, old-fashioned, kicking and screaming tantrum, when the right events stir them up. For Clara, it's a…

I'm not great at handling change--it takes me awhile to get used to a new schedule, a new tv remote, even a new strainer in my kitchen! But it never…

For me, spring cleaning starts by digging through the stuff we’ve accumulated and weeding out what my kids don’t wear or play with anymore. Figuring out what to do with…

Most of the experts seem to agree that cooking with our children is a great way to get them to try new foods. It seems that if they make it,…

My children are creatures of habit.  Should I worry that they aren't getting enough nutrients if they eat the same thing for lunch and breakfast everyday?--Diana KidsHealth says: Picky eating is very…

I work really hard to give each of our children attention, but my daughter Clara, our middle child, only seems to notice when I’m paying attention to her brothers. She…

My children are not quite toddlers anymore, but I still find 3-year old Henry putting little pieces of his big brother's games in his mouth when no one is looking.…