Nanny to Mommy: play

Bringing Back Outdoor Play: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever

Monday, July 14, 2025

We’ve all seen it — kids hunched over tablets, eyes fixed on video games, even on beautiful sunny days. While screens offer learning and entertainment, they’ve quietly replaced something fundamental to childhood: outdoor play!

Bringing Back Outdoor Play: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever

The average child today spends more than 7 hours a day in front of screens — and less than 10 minutes playing outside freely, according to the Child Mind Institute. That’s not just a lifestyle shift — it’s a developmental one.

But there’s good news. With a few simple changes — and maybe some toys to get your kids outside — we can bring outdoor play back. And we should. Because the benefits are too big to ignore.

Outdoor Play: Building Confidence, Creativity, and Bonding Time

Saturday, June 28, 2025

In today’s fast-paced, screen-saturated world, outdoor play remains an essential foundation for childhood development. Fresh air, imaginative adventures, and active movement don’t just keep kids healthy. They empower them emotionally, socially, and creatively.

Outdoor Play: Building Confidence, Creativity, and Bonding Time

For caregivers and parents who want to enrich their children’s daily experiences, purpose-built backyard equipment can make all the difference. These pieces do more than entertain; they offer opportunities to explore independence, practice problem-solving, and strengthen family bonds.

11 Ways To Encourage Outdoor Play for Your Child’s Development

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

As more and more children choose to spend their leisure time indoors, they're often glued to screens for hours. While technology has its benefits, excessive screen time can negatively impact a child's physical, emotional, and social development. Encouraging outdoor play is a powerful way to counterbalance this trend and foster holistic growth.

11 Ways To Encourage Outdoor Play for Your Child’s Development

From improving physical health to boosting mental well-being, outdoor time offers countless benefits for children. This article explores 10 ways to inspire your child to step outside and embrace the beauty of nature. Keep reading to learn more.

A New Parent’s Guide to Picking the Right Toys for Their Child

Saturday, October 12, 2024

As a new parent, the excitement of buying toys for your child can be overwhelming. Toys are crucial to your baby’s development, helping them explore the world, learn new skills, and stimulate their imagination. However, choosing the right ones can feel daunting with so many options.

A New Parent’s Guide to Picking the Right Toys for Their Child

This guide will help you better select toys that are fun, safe, and beneficial for your child’s growth.

From Playdates to Paydays: Turning Mom Meetups into Business Ventures

Thursday, June 13, 2024

In the hustle and bustle of parenting, playdates have become a staple in many moms' lives. These gatherings offer a much-needed break from the daily grind, providing both moms and their children with social interaction and fun. However, what if these casual meetups could also be a stepping stone to profitable business ventures? With the right approach, moms can transform playdates into opportunities for starting and growing successful businesses together. This article will explore how to leverage the power of mom meetups to create thriving entrepreneurial endeavors.

From Playdates to Paydays: Turning Mom Meetups into Business Ventures

Green Spaces, Growing Minds: The Power of Outdoor Play

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Introduction: The Necessity of Green Spaces in a Digital Age

With urban sprawls and screens vying for our attention, nature's lush expanses offer a refreshing respite and an educative platform. Stepping into the green is not just a break from monotony but an entry into a holistic classroom that teaches, inspires, and rejuvenates.

How to Make Exercise Fun for Your Children

Sunday, August 20, 2023

Everyone struggles to exercise, but it doesn't have to; with a few simple strategies and adjustments, you can make exercise fun and exciting for your children. Physical activity will benefit them and teach them healthy body practices for life.

Moreover, it will give them an outlet to be creative and active when they would normally be bored or inactive. To guide you, we'll give you some Ideas on how to make exercise fun for your children. Keep reading on how to get your kids moving in a fun and healthy way.

Activities To Engage Children Within Their Free Time

Monday, June 5, 2023

Parents are not superhumans, and sometimes they are tired of taking care of their children. It could be their own fatigue from their work, or they are simply tired of making new games in their head.

Sometimes all they need is someone to come and give them a list of activities that can occupy their child for at least an hour.

Activities To Engage Children Within Their Free Time

This is so that their boredom in their free time doesn’t lead to a temper tantrum!

If this is the reason you are particularly searching for this topic, you have reached the right place. No, not all of us want our children to be glued to a screen for hours. It will cause concentration issues later in their academic life, and they might also deal with eyesight issues. This is why we are bringing you a list of activities that can help you help occupy your children in their free time.

Play Is Your Child's Superpower: Here's How To Nurture It

Friday, January 14, 2022

Psychologists like to use the term "free play" to describe what kids do best: muck around.

While the term itself might sound fancy, children don’t see it that way. Instead, it’s what they do naturally. Leave them to their own devices and they’ll start playing around, finding some sort of entertainment for themselves.

Play Is Your Child's Superpower: Here's How To Nurture It

As parents, it's your job to facilitate this type of activity. Free play is extraordinarily beneficial to child development and can help them succeed in other areas of their life. It engages their creativity, imagination and so much more.

Here are some of the methods that parents can use to support free play in their kids.

Finding The Right Ways To Encourage Your Kids To Exercise

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

It’s no secret that exercise is incredibly important for a child. Having a healthy and active lifestyle while young can have a lasting effect throughout life, giving your child the tools they need to enjoy a good lifestyle as they get older. Of course, though, finding ways to encourage your children to get involved with the right kinds of exercise can be a big challenge. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring a range of exercise ideas that will give you the chance to do this for your little ones. This should make it much easier to feel confident about the exercises you encourage your kids to perform.

Helping Kids Stay on Track with Kids Health, Learning, & Play Babbleboxx

Monday, August 24, 2020

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.

Usually we are all gearing up for back-to-school this time of year, but that might look different for each and every family. And that's okay! Keeping kids healthy and engaged is still the goal. So I was super excited when Babbleboxx sent us an awesome box full for great items that are perfect for kid's health, learning, and play.

Helping Kids Stay on Track with Kids Health, Learning, & Play

What was so much fun about this box, is that it included items to take care of their bodies, minds, and creativity. I think the key with this new school year is going into it with an open mind, understanding that not all homes or situations are the same, things are bound to go wrong since it's a learning curve, and compassion with everyone.

Keeping Your Kids Safe On the Playground

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

As a parent, you want to make sure to keep your kids safe at all costs no matter where they are. One place that you’ll want to make sure your kids are especially safe is on the playground. This can seem a little intimidating. After all, the playground doesn’t have amenities such as child locks like your house does. Luckily, there are steps you can take to ensure the security of your kids while they are playing on the playground.

Keeping Your Kids Safe On the Playground

Giving the Gift of Creative Play with Schleich

Friday, November 17, 2017

Since the weather is turning colder and we are staying indoors more, I have decided to share a great rainy day activity - DIY Farm Life Sensory Bin. Sensory play enhances learning through hands-on activities that stimulate the child's senses. This is a great way for children to explore the world they live in. Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine/gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction.

This post is part of a sponsored campaign for Schleich. I received compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own.

Here is what you'll need to make a DIY Farm Life Sensory Bin:

How to Throw an Epic (& Inexpensive) Preschool Playdate

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

I love throwing parties. I love having everyone get together at my house regardless of what we are celebrating. When I was invited to host a Disney Kids Preschool Playdate for the third time, I wanted to make this one different and unique. If you follow me on Facebook or YouTube, then you have seen our #DisneyKids Preschool Playdate Unboxing already. These past few months have flown by and been very crazy, but that doesn't mean that a party still can't be fun. I love how our party turned out. Everyone had a great time, it wasn't time consuming to plan, and it was inexpensive as well. Plus everyone learned about the awesomeness of Walt Disney World.

Celebrating Easter & My 30th Birthday #DisneyKids #DisneySide

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

I received complimentary products to provide this post. All opinions are my own.

Yesterday was not only Easter, it was also my 30th birthday. Yes, I turned the big 3-0. I remember crying, like a lot, when I turned 20 because I was sad I wasn't a teenager anymore. But I wasn't sad yesterday, I was happy and am excited for the journey ahead. We were fortunate enough to be chosen to host a #DisneyKids Preschool Playdate. (Here's a video of our unboxing.) So we had both sides of the family over for Easter and of course all the cousins. We did some egg hunting, had a great meal, enjoyed some cupcakes, and shared the #DisneySide fun.

We started the day off with some egg hunting.

Bright Starts "League of Little Laughers" Play Date #BabyLOLL

Thursday, December 10, 2015

I received free products in order to host the Bright Starts sponsored Play Date. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Baby and toddler play dates are so much fun. Not only do the little ones get to play together, but the moms get some socialization too. ;) I had the opportunity to host a Bright Starts Little League of Laughers play date for my children and their little friends. Bright Starts, a toy brand committed to smiles, giggles and happy babies, provided me with these fun toys below for our play date.

Our group consists mostly of my kids and my sister-in-law's kiddos, but we do have a few mutual friends and we all like to get together whenever we can. Which was harder this time of year, but it was nice that we were able to make it work. I love the items we received from Bright Starts.

Hanging Onto Summer with Lil' Monkey Dome Climber

Thursday, August 13, 2015

I received complimentary products to provide this review. All opinions are my own.

School started back today. All last week we enjoyed every day outside. Either at the pool, the lake, the zoo, or even just our back yard. But our back yard is starting to look like a playground. I was recently sent the Lil' Monkey Dome Climber to review and my kids LOVE it!

Hanging Onto Summer with Lil' Monkey Dome Climber

Lil' Monkey is the world's first physical outdoor game that combines a mobile app with augmented reality! It encourages the "screen generation" kids to be physically active and get some fun outdoor exercise.

Nanny to Mommy