There was a recent series on one of my favorite podcasts called “What’s Saving my Life” that I really loved. The co-hosts would share just a few simple things that have been making life a little better, like Arnold Palmers on hot summer days. Since listening I’ve been compiling my own lists in my head and I thought I would share one of them, a kid edition!

The first one, I find a little hilarious because here we are living in the Silicon Valley, but I was recently on a hunt for a CD player! I ended up spotting one at my in-laws house and they happily shared it with me. There is such an amazing collection of kids’ music CDs and audiobooks at the library, but we never had an easy way of playing them. Now with the CD player sitting on our living room window box with a CD case right there, my kids are always popping in music or stories whenever they want. It’s awesome because it’s one more thing they can do on their own and it has also meant less asking for screen time.

Next, is a podcast called Chompers, a twice-daily tooth brushing show for kids. I’ve had such a hard time getting our kids into the rhythm of regular morning tooth brushing. Night brushing Pat takes care of but it’s usually me around in the mornings with the kids. On hectic school mornings, brushing teeth is such an afterthought, and this summer, we are in lazy mornings mode with kids waking up and eating breakfast at different times, so again, brushing doesn’t happen. Chompers guides the kids through a full 2 minutes of tooth brushing while also sharing fun, informational tidbits. The last few weeks have been on mythical creatures. We use our Echo to play Chompers and the kids are able to turn it on themselves.

Lastly, bubble bath! I know, this has been around for a while, but we’ve never had it in our house. When we stayed at an airbnb for our recent road-trip, they had it and the kids had such a blast in the tub. I ending up finding the same exact bubble bath at Whole Foods, I love the soothing lavender scent (maybe it helps with bedtime relaxation for kids?) and I also feel good that it’s natural and fair trade. Win win. Sometimes the kids are reluctant to end playtime and start bath time, but when it’s a bubble bath? They’re always ready.