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Where Does Our Food Come From?
Ty, age 4, stared with wonder at the long orange vegetable with the big green leaves coming out of the top. "What is this?" he asked his Dad. His Dad replied, "That's a carrot." "That's a carrot?" asked Ty. "I thought carrots were those little orange things that come in plastic bags."

Many children have never had experience with where food comes from. A by-product of less and less time outdoors and a trend for many U.S. families is that fewer children get first-hand experience with food sources. In days past, more of us had backyard gardens or visited a farm of family members or friends. We may have gotten to pick apples from the tree or ground, collect eggs from the hen house, or harvest beans off the plants. Today, many children only experience food coming from a grocery store.

Reconnecting our children to food's origins can build their conceptual understanding of food sources, while also providing an opportunity to talk about healthy eating and learn about the environmental implications of growing organically or transporting food long distances.

Here are a few suggestions to introduce these ideas to your children:
Plant your own garden which can be as small or large as you would like. Even having one cherry tomato plant in a container on your porch or patio gives your child a chance to experience the growing and harvesting cycle. Some regions sponsor community or urban gardens where several families who don't have gardening space can farm a small plot together.

Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group.
Many farms now offer locally grown, often organic, foods by subscription. A family purchases a "share" of a local farm and receives a bag or box of fresh fruits and veggies that they pick up each week. Purchasing shares help guarantee the farmer's subsistence and the food is seasonal and fresh off the farm.
Visit the local farmers market with your children.
While your children probably won't get to see where the actual food is grown, they will typically see unpackaged foods and some foods they are unfamiliar with. They may even get to talk to the farmer.
Consider eating one "seasonal" meal each week.
This would mean only using fruits and vegetables that are in season, not grown in different climates and not shipped from far away. If you shop at farmers markets or join a CSA, this is easy, because they only carry seasonal items. Older children might enjoy making a chart of when their favorite fruits and vegetables are available locally and can look forward to their purchase.
Go to www.localharvest.org for a listing of CSAs and farmers markets in your area as well as for additional information about organic food and related topics.
Make a trip to the farmers market or to pick up your CSA share interesting for your child(ren).

Encourage conversations between your child and the farmer. Older children can keep a market journal. Questions to ask:
- Where is your farm located?
- What kind of tomato/lettuce/etc. is this?
- When was this vegetable/fruit picked?
- What produce will you have next week?

 
Engage young children using their senses:
- What does the vegetable/fruit feel like? Is it bumpy or smooth? Is it hard or soft?
- What does the vegetable/fruit look like? What color is it? What shape?
- What does the vegetable/fruit sound like when you tap it? Is it hollow? Does it sound like a drum?
- What does the vegetable/fruit smell like? Does it have a strong smell or no smell?
- What does the vegetable/fruit taste like? Do you think it will be juicy or dry? Sweet or salty? Let's go home and give it a taste.

 
Create a Market Scavenger Hunt:
- Create a grocery list before going to the market.
- Have your child help locate the items on the list.
- Use check marks or stickers to show the item as complete.
- Consider a "freebie" square for an item that the child can pick.

Goodbye Diapers, Hello Underwear:

Ideas for Successful Potty Training
If your child is ready to learn how to use the toilet, you also want to determine if you are ready to take on this sometimes daunting task.
Here are some pledges you can commit to yourself before getting started:

• I am prepared with paper towels and cleaning products when my child, house, furniture, and clothes need to be cleaned after an accident.
• I will set aside a couple of days to start the process. A weekend is a good time to start for working parents. Don’t forget to talk to your child’s caregiver about your plan to start potty training your child.
• I will be patient.
• I understand that my child will be potty trained and that “when” is not a direct correlation to her future success in life.
• I am willing to wash unlimited amounts of laundry.
  

What Do I Need to Get Started?
As with everything we do with our children - feeding, sleeping, and toilet learning - there are lots of products designed to help make it easier. You can decide which of these products you would like to use. You might want to consider a potty chair that sits on the floor. Children seem to have a greater sense of security without the giant steps up and flushing water below. We already give children little spoons, little beds, little cups, and little books. Little potties just make sense.
How Do I Encourage and Praise My Child?
Nurturing, positive, and patient parents foster learning success in any learning situation and this is especially true with toilet training. Accidents will happen. And often it feels like they happen and happen and happen. Some children have lots of accidents and others only a few, which is not developmentally significant. Try considering each accident a near-success.
Shopping for Underwear
When your child is ready to start toilet training, make a special date with your child to go shopping for underwear. Let your child pick the type of underwear and then treat her to ice cream. It’s her special potty day.
Personalized Potty Chair
Put your child’s name on his potty chair. Children love personalized things and a chair of his own will really make him feel special. Put a clean, disinfected potty chair in the playroom and let your child experiment and play with it just like any other toy. At first he’ll find that it’s a great place to collect Legos and eventually all the stuffed animals will be lined up "to go."
Musical Potty Chair
Place a clean potty chair in your child’s play space and turn on the music. Tell your child to sit on the potty every time the music stops. Your child will love this game and it’s a great activity for children who are just getting used to the potty chair.

Books and Reading
Keep a basket of books in the bathroom. Your child will have so much fun reading she might forget she’s sitting on the potty.
Potty Picture Book
Make a Potty Picture Book of photographs you cut from old magazines. You and your child can pick pictures of potty chairs, pull-ups, toilet paper, wipes, underwear, and diapers. Parenting magazines are great to use. Then read it with your child and name the pictures and talk about what is happening.
Potty Talk
Potty talk and bathroom humor is not something you outgrow, but just learn to control. If your child likes to make others laugh by using potty talk, help him make up some silly words or phrases to use instead.
Potty Time
Create a toileting routine. Make “potty time” part of your everyday schedule, just like brushing teeth or getting ready for a nap. When you find that your child’s diaper is dry after a nap, start the routine of heading to the potty as soon as your child wakes up. Your child will have a better chance of success because he probably needs to go.
Sticker Fun
Giving a child a reward for going to the potty works well for some children. Try keeping a sticker chart. Let your child add a sticker every time she goes to the potty. When the stickers add up, treat your child to some special time with you.