Pregnancy, Parenting and Beyond

4 Power-Food Pairings for Kid s Strawberries and Whole Wheat Toast The vitamin C in strawberries converts the iron in whole wheat bread to a form that cells can absorb. Oatmeal and Milk The magnesium in oats increases the amount of calcium your child gets from the milk by keeping it from binding to fiber and other nutrients. Olive Oil and Veggies Spritz spinach, green peppers, squash, and dark greens with olive oil. This healthy fat helps your child absorb the veggies' antioxidants. Chicken and Carrots Don't save chicken soup for sick days -- and always include carrots. The zinc in chicken helps the body metabolize the carrots' vitamin A.  Originally published in the October 2008 issue of Parents magazine.

Find answers to your questions like What's the best way to brush my child's teeth? When should I let my toddler start brushing his own teeth? What should I do if my child won't brush? When does my child need fluoride and how can I tell if he's getting the right amount? When should I start taking my child to the dentist?

How should I treat my toddler's cold? No medicine will make a virus go away faster, but you can help your toddler feel better and prevent the infection from getting worse by making sure he gets plenty of rest and liquids. Since most children don't master nose blowing until about age 4, here are a few ways to help ease his congestion: It's not worth struggling over, but if your toddler tolerates it, tip his head back and squeeze over-the-counter saline (salt water) drops into his nostrils to loosen up the mucus. Then suction out the liquid and mucus a few minutes later with a rubber bulb syringe . Apply petroleum jelly to the outside of your toddler's nostrils to reduce irritation. (Don't use nasal sprays on your child unless his doctor says it's okay. They may work temporarily but can cause a rebound effect in which the congestion gets worse with continued use.) Use a humidifier or a cool-mist vaporizer to moisten the air in his room. Or take your toddler into

At this age, children learn best from unstructured play, so just make the toys available and off she'll go. Plastic tea set or playhouse : Your child will get a kick out of play eating and drinking. And in general, scaled-down toys, from rakes, push brooms, and shopping carts to miniature kitchens, give her a chance to do one of the things she loves best — mimic what she sees the adults around her do and organize her world to her own satisfaction. Large and small blocks : Working with blocks lets your toddler build her handling skills by grabbing, stacking, and sorting. Large cardboard bricks easily add up to toddler-size forts and hiding spaces. Small wooden ones can be sorted and organized into any number of original designs. Toy instruments : Children generally love music and the chance to create their own sound, no matter how cacophonous. Give her a toy guitar to strum or a keyboard to bang on and she'll treat you to many original compositions. Make sure whatever in

HE DOCTOR WILL... weigh and measure your child to make sure she's growing at a healthy rate . give your toddler another round of immunizations (if she didn't get vaccines for DPT or DTaP , polio , or chicken pox at her 12-month checkup, she'll get immunized for them now). address any health concerns that he notices. ( Ear infections , colds , and the flu are common in toddlers, especially if they attend daycare or preschool , where they're exposed to many children.) answer any questions you may have about toilet training or discipline. give some insight into your toddler's development , temperament, and behavior. look at your child's eyesight . look at your child's hearing . QUESTIONS THE DOCTOR MAY ASK 1. How is your child sleeping? 2. What are her eating habits? 3. Is your child showing any signs of toilet training readiness? 4. Is your child walking? 5. Has she been saying "no" a lot or throwing temper tantrums? 6. Is your chil

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Kids Love Stickers You can buy a package of stickers and a package of construction paper and help your toddler put the stickers on. They really enjoy the process, although they aren’t too interested in the finished product at this toddler stage. But they will have fun putting the stickers on, with your help. Make a Collage Buy a roll of clear contact paper. You can cut a piece and tape it to the surface of the table you’re working on. Your child can then easily make a collage with any kind of material that sticks on the contact paper, such as confetti. Your child will enjoy dribbling the confetti over the paper, and then pressing it down to make it stick. You can also rip up construction paper into smaller pieces and use that instead of confetti. When you are finished, place another piece of contact paper of the same size over the first one, and voila! You have a lovely work of art suitable for giving to Grandma or hanging on the refrigerator. Play Dough and Finger Paint The t