Remembering First Milestones and Playtime Activities

This past February, marked a momentous time in my motherhood journey, when my oldest son turned 20 years-old. It’s almost hard to believe that I have officially been a mother for 20 years! Having a college student, elementary aged identical twins and a toddler, I can safely say nothing prepares you in life for the adventure of parenthood. Once your little bundle of joy arrives, you will be taking part in one of life’s wonderful and crazy roller coaster rides. The last few years have brought many “firsts” as a mother and for my family. Memorable milestones occurred like my first child graduated high school and experienced the first day of college. My twins experienced being “big” brothers for the first time. My youngest child took his first steps and celebrated his first birthday.

Feeding The Oldest Baby Cereal For The 1st Time

Celebrating The Youngest First Birthday

As most parents understand, anything that has to do with a “first” milestone, brings lots of joy, happy tears and a whole lot of mess! From wobbly first steps (that can track dirt or create accidental spills) to celebrating the momentous first birthday (complete with the adorable birthday cake all over the face and highchair), cameras to capture the special moments and cleaning supplies go hand-in-hand. There is no messy milestone too big or too small for the cleaning power of Clorox^® Bleach. With Clorox^® Regular Bleach₂ with CLOROMAX^®, Clorox^® Clean-Up^® Cleaner + Bleach and even Clorox^® Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach, you can disinfect with the bleach power you love and trust, while making your surfaces easier to clean.

With 4 boys, active play and learning are part of our daily routine. Toddlers and kids love to explore, move, touch, feel, play and experience the world around them with all their senses. Messy milestones (and everyday activities) are exciting and memorable, but they are easier to get through when you have the powerful clean of Clorox^® Bleach.

DID YOU KNOW? Clorox^® Regular Bleach₂ has a new patented formula called CLOROMAX^®, which invisibly adheres to hard surfaces, forming a protective shield that repels stains to make cleaning quicker and easier.

From games to outside trips, babies and kids love to play and there many fun learning activities. The following are some of our favorite playtime activities and tips on how Clorox^® Bleach helps clean little ones’ dirtiest messes and protect them from harmful germs:

IMAGINATIVE PLAY

• Reading Soft or sturdy “touch and feel” baby books will help little hands gain a love of reading.
• Peekaboo & Pattycake Peekaboo stimulates baby’s senses, strengthens visual tracking, encourages social development­. Pattycake helps with hand-eye coordination, social and verbal development and fine motor skills.
• Housekeeping Items Play kitchen with food, plastic tea sets, kid-sized vacuum or mop.

• CLEANING TIP: How to disinfect kid’s toys’ and hard nonporous furniture like painted cribs and changing tables with bleach

  • Step 1: Mix solution of 1/2 cup of Clorox^® Regular Bleach₂ with CLOROMAX^® in one gallon of water
  • Step 2: Wipe down toys and/or furniture with bleach solution
  • Step 3: Let stand for 5 minutes
  • Step 4: Rinse and allow to air dry

• Play Dress-Up   Encourage play with make-up, face painting and costumes. Put on a play or make a mini movie with a video camera.
• Pretend Play with Big Cardboard Boxes Create rocket ships, houses, shops, trains and planes.
• Drawing and Coloring Use printables or activity sheets to create fun drawings using washable crayons and markers. Setup a kid-friendly easel to showcase the artwork.
• Singing and Dancing Put on a favorite song and have a dance party.

SENSORY PLAY

• Messy Play with Textures. Play with foamy soap, shaving cream or add sand for extra texture. Finger-paint, play with glitter glue, mix cookie dough and cake batter, etc. Use a playground sandbox or create your own at home by filling a bin with dry beans and rice or other materials and small toys. Cover and store the bin for future use.

• CLEANING TIP: How to brighten/whiten and remove stains in laundry

  • Step 1: Sort laundry by color
  • Step 2: Add detergent
  • Step 3: Fill bleach to maximum line and/or add 1/2 cup of bleach to dispenser or wash water
  • Step 4: Ensure contact with bleach solution for 10 minutes
  • Step 5: Add clothes and start wash

• Hands-Free Kitchen Play

• QUICK CLEANING TIP: How to clean & disinfect surfaces with Clorox^® Clean-Up^® Cleaner + Bleach 

  • Step 1: Using the spray bottle and a cloth, remove excess dirt
  • Step 2: Spray product 4–6 inches from surface until thoroughly wet
  • Step 3: Let stand for 30 seconds
  • Step 4: Rinse or wipe clean

• Scent Play Play a smelling game with kids. Have them close their eyes or wear a blindfold and try to identify smells such as citrus fruit, flowers, spices (like cinnamon).

PLAYING WITH TOYS

• Shape Sorters Sorting and stacking and learning to identify and match shapes with shape sorters.
• Stacking or Nesting Cups Find ones in assorted colors which stack from large to small.
• Simple Puzzles Puzzles with knobs are great for building hand eye coordination and starts developing problem solving skills.
• Push-or-Pull Toys Think doll strollers or the classic corn popper.
• Ride-On Toys Without pedals or motors.
• Learning and Music Activity Centers For babies and toddlers.
• Mega Bloks Sets are great for building and help develop color recognition.
• Musical Instruments Music sets are helpful to develop fine motor skills and a love for music.

OUTSIDE PLAY

• Library Check out baby or toddler story times at local libraries.
• Parks and Playgrounds Visit your neighborhood park or create your own backyard waterpark.
• Petting Zoos and Pick Your Own Farms Fun family outing that provides access to animals, fruits and vegetables.
• Nature Walks

• Zoos and Aquariums See offer special hours, discounts and children activities.
• Farmer’s Markets and Community Gardens  Garden with your kids and plant easy edible plants.
• Parent and Kids Day Create a time to have fun and spend quality time together.

For more information, visit Clorox.com

MyStain App: Clorox.com/mystainapp

Facebook: Facebook.com/Clorox

Twitter: @Clorox

Pinterest: Pinterest.com/clorox

YouTube: Youtube.com/user/clorox

Remember that as a parent, you are your child’s best teacher. A lot of imagination, play, hugs and love will create many memorable fun moments for you and your growing family. No matter which milestone you are celebrating, Clorox will be there to not only ensure those memories stay with you forever, but give you a clean canvas for more firsts to come. After all, clean comes first. What comes next is everything!

Disclosure: This is sponsored content in partnership with Clorox.
However, all opinions expressed here are my own.

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Joscelyn, Owner of Mami of Multiples & Mami Innovative Media

Joscelyn Ramos Campbell has more than a decade of experience as an award-winning former federal government public relations executive under the Bush and Obama administrations. The “super-connected power mom“ was recently named by Latina Magazine as one of “The 10 Best Latina Mommy Bloggers on the Web“; by CBS News as one of the “Top Bloggers in the Business“; by NBC Latino Work-Life Balance series as a “Top Latina Mom Blogger“; an Empowering Latina in the Marketing Field; by CNBC.com as a Top Latino Social Media Stars and Leading Hispanic Bloggers. She is the owner of Mami Innovative Media and founder of Mami of Multiples, one of the nation’s leading Latina American parenting and lifestyle sites offering resources and helpful tips for families. She is a nationally syndicated Parenting Columnist and co-hosts a Talk Radio Show. Joscelyn is a public speaker, military wife and mother to a teen son and identical twin boys. Connect with Joscelyn at @JoscelynRC & @InnovativeTalk.

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