Let’s Talk About: How to Utilize Play for Positive Behavior and A Peaceful Home

I have always loved being a public speaker. When I was a senior in high school I used to work for The San Diego County Office of Education and other platforms presenting at school assemblies for students K-12 on a variety of topics including drug and alcohol prevention, eating disorders, and more. As I grew older I did other public speaking and eventually received my first Master’s in TV Broadcasting and eventually became a university professor. I love being in front of an audience and educating as many people as I can. I know speaking in front of a large audience isn’t everyone’s thing, but it’s my passion. The more people, the better! My commencement speech was given in front of 1000’s of people and was my favorite speech to date! So it only seemed natural that I would be doing television appearances, speaking at conferences, and conducting parenting workshops once I started my brand.

I have put on various workshops over the years, but the one I just conducted titled How to Utilize Play for Positive Behavior and A Peaceful Home was my biggest one yet and I couldn’t be more thrilled! And this was the first workshop where I invited children to attend as well as their caregivers so we had infants to grandparents in the room and all ages in between and it was wonderful! I couldn’t have been more ecstatic that the room was filled with children and caregivers of all ages! We had about 30 people total and it was the perfect size!

In this experiential workshop they learned practical play techniques and positive behavior support interventions for all ages. They learned play based activities you can do to encourage self regulation, sensory play, social emotional skills, positive behavior, eating food, and more! We also discussed limit setting and how to get children to listen and comply to your requests, and how they can ultimitely have a more peaceful home!

And best of all we had fun!!! We played with PlayDoh, puppets, and food and even had a huge snow ball fight to teach parents and caregivers to let go of inhibitions when they play. Everyone was involved and it was my favorite part of the workshop!! You can see the video of it on Instagram here!

The event was held at Babies in Bloom, a family-owned business dedicated to the education and support of growing families, in Vista, California. I have known the owner of this birth center and baby boutique for years as she first started as my lactation consultant when my daughter was 6-months old and then became a friend and colleague when I starting speaking at their annual BabyFest, which is coming up on April 28th at the Westin Carlsbad Report and Spa! In addition to the birth center and baby boutique, they also offer classes and hold other events like Hypnobabies, Baby & Me Barre, Baby Signing, Prenatal Yoga, Toddler & Me Yoga, and basics on baby wearing, cloth diapering and more! You can check out all of their classes and events calendar here! I am so grateful for my continued partnership with Babies and Bloom and Rochelle. If you are in the area, please stop by and say hello! Tell them I sent you!

The workshop was sponsored by one of my most favorite companies I have ever worked with called North States. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you are probably familiar with them and their products. If you aren’t familiar, they are the leading safety gate manufacture with one mission in mind – keeping children safe. They make baby gates, play yards, and play mats and we have owned multiple types of each of their products over the years and have loved all of them! And right now you can use the code DRKIM20 for anything on their site!!! 

Let’s first talk about the Light The Way Gate that we currently own and use at the top of our stairs. I love it because it’s safe and sturdy, it stays in a closed locked position or an open unlocked position with an automatic close with the touch of your hand, and it even lights up in the dark! Plus it has an extra wide opening so I can easily get through with a laundry basket or something with my babe on my hip! And it isn’t an eyesore like other gates we have owned in the past. It’s stylish and easily fits in to our home decor. You can read my moving and safety tips as well as a full review of the gate here! And you can check out all of the baby gates they offer here!

We also own their SuperYard ColorPlay Ultimate, which we keep outside in the backyard and take with us on road trips! You can read my household safety tips and full review of the play yard here!

We also own their Superyard® 3-in-1 Extra-Wide Gated Wood Barrier, which we use on the daily at home in our living room. I swear to you that I can’t live without it and wish every parent had one just  as they do a stroller, crib, and high chair. I love that you can position the panels in 3 different ways: as a barrier around the fireplace, as a portable play yard, or as a 151 inch barrier that can act as an extra wide gate anywhere in your home to keep your child safety in one room. You can read my toddler safety tips and a full review of the play yard here! And you can shop all of their play yards here!

Lastly, we own their new Folding ABC Play Mat that can be used alone or under your play yard! I love that the play mat is play mat is cushioned, colorful, educational, easy to clean, easy to fold up and take on the go, is made of PE Foam and is hypoallergenic, BPA FREE, and non-toxic. You can read my blog on How To Play When You are a Tired, Overworked, and Overwhelmed Parent and a full review of the play mat here!

In January 2018, I proudly guest blogged for North States on the topic of THE BENEFITS OF COLOR AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT that you can read about here! And in July 2018, I guest blogged again on the topic of WAYS TO PREVENTATIVELY TEACH YOUR INFANTS AND TODDLERS ABOUT SAFETY that you can read about here!

And Smart Noggin Toys gave away some NogginStik® Developmental Light-up Rattles!! Designed for babies 0-12 months old to encourage early milestones, this rattle has many benefits. It’s a learning toy that helps sensory driven fun while developing motor skills! It has red, green, and blue lights to encourage visual tracking skills, a soft rattle sound to encourage auditory skills, an easy to hold handle for mastering grasping, and fun textures to delight the sense of touch. We bought one for our daughter 6 years ago and then bought one for our son when we was born. And honestly both of my children still love to play with them and they are years above the recommended age!! I believe every parent should have one for their baby!

And we can’t forget about the curated gift baskets from Plum + Sparrow! We have had a few different baskets from this amazing family owned brand (who also just happens to be local) and I knew I had to have their pint baskets at the event!!

Their baskets are made by an amazing group of weavers in a village in Africa and I love how each one is just a little different than one another! I also love that they are a supporter of the Fair Trade Federation which means 10% of each purchase goes back to the African weavers and their families – providing them with school supplies, healthcare and the funding and building of the community weaving centers. On their website you can find Moses baskets, changing baskets, shopping baskets, and other baskets of all sizes – even ones for dolls!

And a very special thank you to my co-workers, Bobby, Kennedi, Torry, and Ashleigh for coming to my workshop to learn, help, and support me!

If you want to see this workshop again, you can come see me at the Pinner’s Conference in Ontario, CA on Friday, March 8th at 6:30pm. Use DRKIM for 10% off your ticket!!! And tickets range from $17-44 with my discount depending on what tier ticket you buy!