Toddler Buzz

It's time for a Mom Confession -- because, let's face it, we're real mothers and sometimes it doesn't work the way the parenting books say it should.

This Week's Confession:

I accidentally left my toddler at church. I thought my mom had her, my mom thought I had her, so she was left. The people at church watched her but I felt so bad! — anonymous

Photo by Shinde-Kudasai

This recent news story about a toddler boy who helped his mom deliver his baby brother completely blows my mind.

I can't even get my 3-year old to sit up to the table for dinner, let alone assist in childbirth!

This week, CafeMom aurorabunny shares several strategies she has learned and uses to prepare herself and her son with autism for all the changes that come with celebrating the holidays.

Each week in Special Needs Living, aurorabunny, mom to 3-year old Brody, who has autism, shares her ongoing triumphs and struggles parenting a child with special needs.

Photo from My Paper Crane

I've been keeping my eye out for simple Thanksgiving crafts to do with toddlers, and I found a few that make me happy.

Loving this family hands turkey card from My Paper Crane. This puts a little spin on the traditional kid handprint turkey we see year after year. And if you have a larger family, stretched out this could make an adorable mantle decoration. :)

Photo by BusyBee908

Eating olives off your fingertips, this is one activity that should be declared a Thanksgiving holiday tradition for toddlers everywhere. Right?

Photo by LelandsMommy

The toddler years...when our disciplinary skills are first really put to the test. We all have our own methods that we feel work best with our families. Here are some discipline links I love:

On Thanksgiving, no mom wants to deal with gravy down her toddler's new dress, cranberry sauce on the new shirt, and/or mashed potato in the belly button (you know it could happen).

So why not protect your child's clothing and hard-to-clean nooks and crannies by putting your kid in a cool smock? These SMOX are handmade by CafeMom chealam0de and sold in her SMOX shop.

Photo from Mama's Little Monkeys

Finally, this Thanksgiving your toddler gets to sit up to the table with the family. So keep your tot neat and clean with this Toddler's Thanksgiving Bib from Mama's Little Monkeys (CafeMom southernlamom ).

The bib snaps on, includes sensory tags at the edges (so your little one play with the tags instead of their food), and is $12. Plus, it's made by a CafeMom!

Photo by Chele1313

Sure, there was the Baby's First Thanksgiving thing. However, unless you got really sassy with a blender, that was before the most important element of the holiday was introduced: the Thanksgiving dinner.

Will this be the year of your toddler's first Thanksgiving meal?

Photo by rockerchic

Dolls, action figures, learning toys, building toys, cars and trucks, video games, board games, dollhouses, books, stuffed animals, imagination games, and more — there are a gazillion types of cool kid toys these days. However, many kids tend to cling to one or two favorite kinds.

What are your kids' favorite types of toys?