It’s 8 o’clock at night, the kids are finally asleep. The floor is covered with toys and the trail of rejected dinner food items that ‘accidentally’ fell off the kids’ dinner trays. The sofa and the walls are sticky with jelly, the TV remotes are gone, the kitchen sink is overfilled with dishes and the laundry basket must be shrinking because it just doesn’t seem to be able to accommodate the 4 changes of kids clothes each of the boys went through today. I finally sit down and then I think to myself that I’m proud. I am not only proud of my 2 active boys, Ryan (3) and Gregory (1) but also of myself and the smart strategies I developed to help me along in the challenge of raising toddlers.

Here are a few of them:

Bring Them Outdoors
Have you noticed that the behavior of kids who stay indoors all day resembles that of a wild animal in captivity? The moods of my children change dramatically the moment they escape from the house and get the chance to roam at large in the wilderness of their back yard. The crankiness and clinginess disappear as soon as they step outside. Their tempers mellow and the pent up aggression fades away once they let off some steam by running wild. Being outdoors gives kids a sense of freedom and independence. Not only do they become more calm and quiet, but their appetites get a big boost as well.

Hide the Toys
We tend to buy more and more toys for our kids hoping each time we will find the one that keeps them occupied long enough for you to cook, clean, go to bathroom or simply relax (Relax? Keep dreaming!) The overabundance of toys actually creates a problem: Too many toys can make your child feel discouraged and less focused. Leave out just a few toys and hide the rest. Rotate them every 2-3 days. Exchange the toys after the kids are in bed and make it a morning surprise for them. You will notice how happy your toddler will be to see and play with the toys he or she had forgotten about.

Serve Fruit Snacks to Boost Their Appetites
One of the rules established in our house is NO SNACKING within 90 minutes of mealtime. Moms know that even a small snack given too close to a meal usually results in a plate full of uneaten food. There is something you can do to to give your child a snack and actually increase their appetite at the same time: Serve fruit snacks between meals. A fruit snack about 90 minutes before a meal will not only help to satisfy the kids’ hunger until mealtime, it will actually stimulate their appetites for dinner and make them anxious to eat. Grapes are the favorite choice for both of my boys but an apple, an orange, a peach or some pineapple works just as well. If your kids are accustomed to non fruit snacks, try to give it to them soon after a main meal and then serve the fruit snack 90 minutes before the next one.

Give Them Choices
This is a powerful strategy I began using lately and it works nearly all the time for me.

Give Your Toddler a Choice Within Your Choice
Kids, in general, get frustrated when they feel like they have no control over their little lives. I used to lose my mind trying to win the battle with Ryan. Whenever I would tell him to do something the contest would begin. I could ask politely, I could ask firmly, I could order and I could even yell. Nothing helped. In fact, the more I insisted that he do something the more stubborn and adamant he would be in resisting me. Then, I started giving Ryan choices that each served my disciplinary goal. When Ryan throws his sippy cup on the floor, instead of starting the battle of wills, I give him a choice by politely asking:

If you’re looking for freshness and great taste, of course you can’t beat the vegetables from local farms. But have you ever stopped to think about the gas used in shipping those veggies from Chili, Florida, or wherever? Or the gas that is being burned by loud, obnoxious, emissions-belching trains, and roaring dangerous tractor-trailer rigs on the highway?

Living green is about making a lot of little choices to eliminate our impact on our environment. If more and more people make those little responsible choices, maybe we can eliminate a truck on the highway, or even a lot of trucks on the highway. We can make an impact in the area of noise pollution as well as air pollution and depletion of natural resources by banding together. Buying local is a prime example.

Another thing about buying local produce is that you can get to know your local producers. Many of these agrarian folks are similarly interested in making the greener, simpler choices in life. Many of them raise their food organically. Often, they can become sources for responsibly raised meat and dairy products, or can advise you about where you can find these products.

These producers often are also a source for home baked wholegrain breads and goodies as they try to supplement their family income. The children often participate by selling cookies or produce from their own little gardens, thus learning valuable business and people skills.

Not all of green living is about chemicals and scientific statistics. When we get to know and support our local farmers, our world becomes friendlier and more charitable. Local farmers often have a strong sense of faith and family. When we buy from them, we are helping to support a way of life that is traditional and wholesome, a way of life that is quickly becoming extinct as our cities grow and our pace of life quickens.

When you think about it, there is much more to buying local produce than getting a great tasting tomato. Environmentalists have been saying for years, “Think globally, act locally.” Supporting your local producers, whether through an organized Farmers’ Market, or stopping by that house with the homemade sign proclaiming “Eggs – $1 a dozen,” you are making a statement that you are in favor of a gentler, greener world for all.