Listen to Lena

Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

Kinder Surprise

The Kid, The Lunchbox and The Kinder Surprise Bribe

By

I’ve got two very different little boys. Ying and yang, I like to call them. Because even though they’re both Tauruses, share physical characteristics and have an intense dislike for the bad “b” word – bedtime –  they really couldn’t be more dissimilar. Which I suppose is half the joy of raising more than one child; the varying array of quirks, conflicts and complex personalities that keep you on your toes. (And often, reaching for a bottle of wine.)

This year, with Reid being in school for the very first time (translation: freedom!) I’m once again reminded that he is very different from his older brother. Whereas Ryder will ALWAYS finish his entire lunch at school, Reid has an insurmountable decision-making process, known only to him, for what he will eat, and what will go untouched.

“Why didn’t you eat your sandwich?”
“It was too melty.”
“Why didn’t you finish your grapes?”
“They’re too round. I like them less round.”
“Why did you bring back your cookies?”
“They smell funny. Like someone has been breathing on them.”

Now I ask you, what does melty even mean?? And how does it relate to a pristine turkey sandwich?

Two weeks in, I was seriously beginning to wonder if he would ever get the hang of eating a school lunch. And then I remembered a key piece of armour – a strategic tactic, if you will – in the war against determined toddlers: The Bribe.

Please don’t look for The Bribe in parenting manuals. We are stoically told from the moment our children are born that thou shalt not bribe children to elicit a desired behaviour or outcome. To which I say, yeah, and my toddler was toilet trained in 3 days when I bribed him with a KINDER SURPRISE.
KINDER SURPRISESo, I did what any responsible parent would do: I told Reid that if he finished his lunch… within reason, of course… he would receive a KINDER SURPRISE as an after school treat. The first day, he attempted to call my bluff; returning with an almost full, untouched lunchbox. However, when I doled out one of those delicious chocolate eggs to his brother, and not him, he quickly revised his stance. …

Read More

The EGGpic Easter Egg Hunt

By

Since Easter only comes around once per year, you’d better make it EGGpic. And what better way than with a Kinder Egg Hunt? Quite possibly the perfect Easter treat, Kinder Eggs offer your child both chocolate and a toy. Now that’s worth hunting for!

Keep it simple, especially if you have young children. Hide your treats in easily accessible places, and within reach of little fingers. Always be sure to watch out for potential hazards that excited little hunters may run into while they’re otherwise distracted. Never place eggs near electrical outlets or in small crevices.

Encourage good sportsmanship and have older siblings help out the younger ones. Be sure to hide more eggs than you think you’ll need – and count them so you can rescue any strays. Use your smartphone to snap photos of the egg locations in case you have trouble recovering them all when the hunt is over. …

Read More

Are You Feeling Lucky? Crack ‘n Win with Kinder!

By

So, do you consider yourself lucky? Are you fortunate, blessed, favoured or charmed? (I *may* have Googled synonyms.) I think everyone is lucky in their own way. Some forms of luck are more apparent than others (a contest win, a winning lottery ticket, sunshine on your wedding day), but often, luck is a little more understated (good health, a roof over your head, clean water and fresh food).

Recently, I’ve realized that the luckiest people in the world are those who are happy with what they have. 

Of course, that’s very deep, isn’t it? And I’m not going all philosophical on you, I promise. But ever since these specially-marked Kinder Surprise Eggs landed on my doorstep, I’ve been feeling a little lucky.

I’m excited to share with you Kinder Crack’n Win, a fun promotion designed to celebrate the launch of Kinder’s new toy collections. There are over $2.4 million in instant prizes to be won! Simply keep an eye out for specially-marked Kinder Surprise Classic and Pink products in stores.

Inside each specially-marked Kinder Surprise egg, you will find a PIN embossed on the toy and/or toy leaflet within the capsule. Once you’ve found your code, entering the contest is super-duper easy! Visit the Kinder Canada Facebook Page, enter your PIN code (along with some additional information as required) and click “Check Your PIN”. We’ve passed on quite a few eggs to friends and family – so far, no one has fessed up to winning, but if I see a girlfriend drive around in a brand new FIAT 500 POP, I’ll be quite suspicious!

So what else is up for grabs? Well, two lucky Kinder fans could win a family trip to Orlando, and over 27,000 Kinder fans could win a family night out to the movies. And… 201,000 fans could win a free Kinder treat! So awesome!

If you’re thinking: “That means that ONE egg has the potential to give TWO surprises”, you’re right! 

Tell me, are you feeling lucky? Have you ever won something – in a contest, at a casino, in the lottery… or life?

I am part of the Kinder Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group.  
The opinions on this blog are my own.

Tis the Season: It’s a Joy to Share

By

Last month, I regaled you with the tale of how an egg trained my toddler. This month, I want to show you how an egg can make miracles happen.

For the second year, KINDER has partnered with Children’s Miracle Network with the “A Joy To Share” program. The “A Joy to Share” program is just one of the ways KINDER is helping bring joy to families this holiday season.

Helping out is oh-so-simple: Create a holiday greeting card with your little one for the children in a Children’s Miracle Network member hospital through the KINDER Facebook page. By creating a personalized greeting card with your child, KINDER will automatically donate $1.00 to Children’s Miracle Network on your behalf. It only takes minutes – and yet, it can have a huge impact on the life of a child. I am 100% LOVING this program.

Sitting down with Ryder, it also provided a great opportunity to talk about children who are looking for a medical miracle this Christmas. And how a simple act of kindness, like creating a holiday card, can make all the difference in their recovery. He was excited to share his joy, and even asked if he could deliver his card personally. What a sweet little man.

So if you’re reading this, and have a Facebook account, here’s what I want you to do. Visit the KINDER Facebook page and create a card from the templates filled with holiday cheer. If you have kiddos, involve them in the design – the app is very child-friendly with fun characters and backgrounds to choose from.

Then, know that you’ve taken less than 5 minutes to do two amazing things today: put a smile on a child’s face and donate to a worthy cause.

KINDER has a goal of raising $25,000 for Children’s Miracle Network this holiday season. Once this post is published, it has the potential to be seen by 2,438 sets of eyes over the course of the day. If everyone stopped and gave just a few minutes, we’d be almost 10% closer to the goal. C’mon folks; it’s a joy to share.

 

I’m part of the Kinder Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group.
The opinions on this blog are my own. 

The Egg that Trained My Toddler

By

I know you’re looking at the title of this blog post and thinking… come again?

Truth be told, I spent a long time deciding whether it was actually an egg that toilet trained Reid, or if hard work, persistence and a positive attitude reigned supreme. In the end, I decided to give credit where credit is due…

All bow to the mighty KINDER Surprise. Delicious treat and toilet trainer extraordinaire.

Okay, I’ll elaborate. Early last year, I joined the #KINDERMom program with Mom Central Canada. If you’re so inclined, you can read some of my posts here and here. But the truth is, as much as I loved the concept of KINDER Surprises, my boys just weren’t that into them. They liked the chocolate and they were fond of the toys, but they could take it or leave it. In fact, a box of unopened KINDER eggs eventually made its way to the next door neighbour’s kids without so much a word of protest.

That was last year. Fast forward to this summer, and the magical discovery of YouTube. I know you’re going to laugh at my little guys, but their very favourite videos in the entire world are the ones dedicated to unwrapping KINDER Eggs. Think I’m joking? I wish! If I didn’t take the tablet away, they would literally squat in front of the screen for hours watching videos like this one while trading insight on the size and desirability of the toy. And then, at every shopping trip, the boys asked for a KINDER Surprise. (I suppose “asked” is putting it lightly. They threw tantrums until I finally threw two eggs in the cart.) I thought of all the KINDER eggs I had previously given away and wanted to cry.

So when the opportunity once again came to join the #KINDERMom program, I jumped at it. Because the idea of not having to buy the Eggs for the foreseeable future was very appealing to me, and my boys more than just like the Eggs now. They’re obsessed with them.

So, I got to thinking.

Toilet training was going slowly. V-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. And with Reid being the last one in the household who still dabbled in diapers, I was very motivated to put an end to it. Suddenly, I realized that KINDER Surprises are not only a treat; they’re also a reward. They reinforce good behavior, and they celebrate a child’s accomplishments, big and small. And after almost six months of grossly ineffective attempts to toilet train Reid, we considered his willingness to use the potty to be a BIG accomplishment. Hence, I bartered with him: using the potty throughout the day = 1 KINDER Surprise after dinner.

My husband scoffed at me. Here’s a boy who defiantly shunned all toilet training attempts for over half a year. And here I was, thinking the promise of a chocolate egg would change his mind?

Reid was fully trained 3 days later.

 Do you have a little one who loves KINDER Surprises as much as Reid does? I’m happy to share with you KINDER’s newest partnership – Disney Princesses and Marvel Heroes!…

Read More

Kinder: Believe in Miracles

By

When I signed up to be a #KinderMom, I knew little about the brand – other than they produced chocolatey treats that my boys simply adored, and they were a hit chez Lena around Easter time.

Turns out, this past Easter was no different; YES, they were a hit – and they were universally adored.

But for me, I have a sweet little secret – every time I dole out an egg to an über excited boy, I also know that I’m supporting a company that believes in miracles… and does their part to make them a reality.

I pleased to share that Kinder has partnered with the Children’s Miracle Network for their “A Joy to Share” campaign. This season, proceeds from their sales of Easter products will be donated to the Children’s Miracle Network to help families that are less fortunate.

(There are tons of Easter products still available in stores! Snap them up at a good price – for a great cause!)

I count my blessings each day that I have two healthy, vivacious little boys. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing – Ryder was born with a cephalhematoma, a birth injury that had us routinely following up with doctors (and a neurosurgeon at Sick Kids Hospital) for months and months after his birth. But following every visit – every time we left the hospital with another positive prognosis – my heart literally burst with sadness for those parents who weren’t receiving the same good news. That’s why supporting other moms – and causes like the Children’s Miracle Network – is so very important.

Visit Kinder Canada on Facebook and click The Miracle Kids tab. Here you’ll find stories of children, as told by their mothers, who have been helped by the Children’s Miracle Network through their own local Children’s Hospital – including a call to action to areas that could really use one (read Vicki’s story – a touching story of love and loss).

This Easter, we once again gave thanks for a multitude of blessings, and paused to reflect and pray for those in need. After our family meal, the best part came – seeing the joy on the faces of my little boys as they unwrapped their Kinder Eggs, and knowing that their Easter Kinder treats are helping to spread joy to other sweet little boys in our community as well.

(You can now follow Kinder Canada on Twitter. And don’t forget to visit the Kinder Canada website for product and parenting information.)

I’m part of the KINDER Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group.
As with every post that I write, the opinions on this blog are my own.

March Break: Off the Beaten Path

By

As a parent, it’s impossible not to notice the perceptible buzz in the air – let’s call it, oh, March Break.

Even though both my boys are not in school yet, we’ve been “celebrating” March Break thanks to the plethora of activities that spring up during the illustrious week off.

Matinees. Indoor Playgrounds. Museum, Science Center and Art Gallery events… it appears that the entire city is hopping with excitement in an effort to soothe those who didn’t make it down south. And there are a lot of us; although it seems like EVERYONE is getting away, the truth is, most of us are still here :)

But for parents of pre-school children, March Break can also be overwhelming. Suddenly our favourite spots are crowded with school aged party crashers (boo!). Who wants to elbow for room on the “magic story carpet” at the local community centre? Or be demoted to the front of an overcrowded movie theatre? As a mom who relishes in anti-mob surroundings, I actually find it unnerving to suddenly be in the throngs of children.

So we’ve learned to make the most of March Break festivities by finding events off the beaten path: special engagements that aren’t necessarily standing room only. Consider visiting an independent bookstore or children’s art store; chances are they’ll have something special planned (crafts, story time, puppets shows and more). Skip the indoor playground and arrange a playdate at a local park or arcade. Do an “urban wildlife” tour; visit a pet store or aquarium – but only if you’re prepared to come home with a pug or tetra fish. Find free concerts featuring local talent. If you live in (or close to) the same city you grew up in, take the kids to your favourite burger joint for lunch, and your favourite ice cream parlour for dessert.

I like to enjoy my community without sticking to the usual tried-and-true March Break events. No matter what you decide, make fun your first priority… and have TONS of treats on hand :)

Speaking of treats, as a proud Kinder® Mom, I’ll definitely be well stocked for March Break! Check out KINDER® Canada on Facebook for a peek at the 2012 toy collection, great conversation, and exclusive monthly contests through the My Kinder Moments application!

Do you have any suggestions for unique ways to enjoy March Break? What are your plans? 

I’m part of the Kinder® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.