Parents Latina April/May 2021

“Bendición, Mami” AS A KID, I never left my house without getting a blessing from my mom. “Que Dios te bendiga, mijita,” she would tell me on my way out the door. Five simple words that served as an invisible shield wherever I went. Even as a full-grown woman with children of my own, I would feel a bit safer in the world whenever my mother called to say she had prayed for my little family. For me, her prayers weren’t just about scripture but the intention behind them. I can picture my mami in her room in Queens, New York, quietly channeling her love my way. A single mom, she barely ever found time to sit down, but in those moments she was fully focused and relaxed. This was her meditation,…

WE ASKED. YOU ANSWERED. What’s your favorite part of your mom bod? 1. “My brain. I’ve learned so much about the world and myself since becoming a mother to my son, now 5 months.”—Carolina Rodríguez-Neufeld; Houston, TX2. “When I was growing up, my nickname was ‘Flaca.’ After having two boys, 6 and 3, I’ve filled out and my breasts are much fuller. It makes me feel sexy!”—Vivian Pazos Newburgh, NY3. “My hips have widened in the best way—when I dance, they sway and flow like never before!”—Elha Cardona Portland, OR4. “I’ve always had bigger arms, what my mami called brazotes. Now, though, these are the arms that get to embrace my 2-year-old son and carry him around when we play.”—Jessica Collado Mesa, AZ5. “Definitely my C-section scar, aka the smile on my…

TODDLER LET’S BOOGIE! Typically, a toddler will start dancing between 15 and 20 months. Bopping to the beat means that your child has discovered a new way to challenge their body and is learning to integrate a variety of movements into sequences, says Laura Prosser, Ph.D., a pediatric physical therapist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Encourage them to bust a move by playing their favorite tunes, and then introduce a maraca or a tambourine. PRESCHOOLER Are Imaginary Friends Okay? Some 65 percent of young kids have them, and most of the time, they pop up during the preschool years, according to a study by Marjorie Taylor, Ph.D., author of Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them. These fantastical beings can help children with everything from problem-solving skills to emotional wellness. What’s more, preschoolers…

DIANA TORRES has fond memories of her mother showing her how to sew a button and fix a hem as a kid. When Torres became a mom, she wanted to share the same experience with her two daughters, 10 and 13. But between homework and after-school activities, it often fell off her to-do list. Until the pandemic hit. Stuck in their Charlotte, North Carolina, home last spring, Torres taught her girls how to hand-sew cloth face masks. And with the younger one, she made a sock monkey—a fun way to practice sewing buttons. “I’m glad I finally made the time,” Torres says. “Even if it seems simple, I want to make sure my kids have the know-how to figure things out when they’re on their own one day.” There’s so much…

YOU’RE HEADING OUT the door for a pediatrician appointment and your 6-year-old kid’s still playing with a pile of LEGO bricks on the floor. “Vamanos,” you say. Only they’re so caught up in building a miniature city, it’s like they can’t hear you at all. What you really want is to leave the house already. What your child really wants is just five more minutes. And because they’re a person, too, their interests—whether or not you share them—deserve respect. Instead of saying, “Seriously, get moving!” you can try, “I know you’re still busy. Do you think another two minutes is enough time?” Or maybe you compromise and they bring a toy along—or, if you’re running late, maybe you simply assert that it’s time to go, but politely. It might seem like a…

HOW-TO 1. Wash and dry a dozen jumbo eggs. Tap bottom of each egg with edge of spoon to make a small crack. Using toothpick, poke a ¾-in. hole from crack. Drain and rinse each egg. 2. Poke wooden skewers through empty egg carton. Rest shells on skewers to dry. With paint brush, cover shells in shades of green acrylic paint. Dry. 3. Using acrylic paint pens, decorate each shell with cactus designs in white or green. Once dry, fill eggs with confetti. Set aside. 4. Stack layers of green tissue paper; cut out 1-in. circle with scissors. Using a glue stick, seal hole in shell with a tissue-paper circle. 5. Stack layers of pink or red tissue paper; cut out a 1-in. circle. Fold two circles in half, and fold again. Cut edges to…