Category Archives: ACA Blog

You whip up delicious, nutritious meals, but your child only eats hot dogs. You put new food in front of them all the time, but they won’t touch anything but mac and cheese. You try cajoling, tempting, and non-food rewards. But still, your child will only eat pizza. You know such eating habits aren’t healthy, […]

Sometimes it’s just too hot to go outside. Yet the last thing you want to do is spend another day in the house with your restless kids, or drop a fortune on an indoor play space or yet another screaming big-screen movie. If you’re looking for some affordable, educational, age-appropriate fun for your kids in […]

Growing kids eat a lot of snacks, because active kids need energy! Sometimes it’s easier to reach for a bag of cookies, crackers, or chips than take the trouble to dream up something healthy and yet still tasty enough to tempt your children. But healthy snacks don’t have to be full of fuss-and-bother, if you […]

Conflicts between siblings are inevitable. While many of the more hair-raising fights might center on toys, insults, or general bad behavior, more subtle ones will occur as siblings vie for parental attention, approval, and validation. But no matter what the cause, yelling, kicking, scratching, name-calling, or having rolling-on-the floor brawls are all unacceptable behaviors which […]

August is when the hot summer days start to mellow, but for your kids there’s a shadow on the horizon. It’s not easy for a child who is settled in a lazy-day mode, waking up late, slurping ice pops, and playing in sprinklers, to suddenly be faced with early-morning awakenings, a more rigid schedule, and […]

Summer is upon us, and so are those soaring 100-degree-plus days. While you may be tempted to hunker down for these blistering weeks in home air conditioning, your kids will soon go stir-crazy. Check out these seven ways to keep the kids cool in an Austin summer. Splash Pads They’re all over the city, and […]

Any parent of a toddler knows that no child is born knowing how to share. Toddlers are propelled into action by the strength of their own needs and desires, which they haven’t yet learned to identify, never mind master. To them, to “share” a toy means that toy is being taken away. Children don’t usually […]

There’s nothing quite like fruit picked at the height of its ripeness, which makes summer the best time to enjoy it. A perfect self-packaged snack for kids, fruit is a sweet but healthy substitute for more sugary, tooth-rotting snacks. It’s full of essential vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and fiber. Check out the nutritious power of […]

Are the kids out of school? Is camp over? Are your kids telling you they’re bored? Are you out of ideas? Don’t worry, there’s plenty to keep them busy right here in Austin on those long, lazy days. Check out these five fun summer Austin activities. Zilker Park Blessed with a spectacular view of the […]

When conflicts erupt among siblings over toys, you may be tempted to buy two of everything just to avoid the frequent trouble. Yet you know they’ll surely find something new to fight over, whether it be a family blanket, a cookie, or just the space they both inhabit. Fighting over things is what young siblings […]