How to ease separation anxiety

When you’re ready for a day or night out of the house, the last thing you need is to feel guilty for leaving your little one home alone. When your Keiki Sitters childcare expert has arrived and you are heading out the door, don’t let your child’s separation anxiety hold you back. There are several techniques you can use to make saying goodbye to your keiki a smoother experience.

Have an adjustment period

Giving your keiki time to adjust to the sitter can be a wonderful transition from spending time with you to spending time with the sitter. Arrange for the sitter to arrive 1 hour early and play with your child while you are home. Your keiki will see that you are comfortable with and trusting of the sitter, so they will see the sitter as a fun playmate that can be trusted, rather than as a stranger.

Don’t say goodbye

Rather than saying goodbye and drawing your child’s attention to the fact that you’re leaving, slip out the door while the sitter distracts your child in another room. Your child will not noticed you left when he or she is happily busy with the fun activity the sitter has planned.

Sitter on stand-by

If you prefer to say goodbye, have the sitter be prepared with books, music, and something your child is easily entertained by ready for when your keiki begins to cry. This approach usually calms keiki in only 5 minutes.

What other ideas do you have to ease separation anxiety? Share them with us, and we’ll pass them along to our sitters!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Moms and Moms-to-be,

Keiki Sitters wishes all of you a very happy and loving Mother’s Day with your family!

What are you doing to celebrate? Whatever it may be, we hope you are having a lovely day. You deserve it!

The business side of Keiki Sitters

Have you ever wondered what it takes to run a business? Tune your radio to 760 AM this afternoon at 2 p.m. to hear Kathy Custer, founder of Keiki Sitters, discuss the business side of Keiki Sitters. It's more than fun, games, and caring for keiki – but Keiki Sitters includes plenty of that, too!

Be sure to give Keiki Sitters a call at 808-861-7294 the next time you need a sitter.

Win a Sephora gift card from Keiki Sitters!

Our sitters are awesome and we know it! We want the world to know it, too. Our reach is expanding on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, and we’re looking to grow it even further. To help spread the word about how awesome our sitters are, we’re raffling off a pretty little incentive.

All new Facebook likes and Twitter followers will be entered in a drawing to win a $25 Sephora gift card! Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter before the April 19 deadline. Oh, and we’ll follow you back, too!

There’s more to Keiki Sitters on Facebook and Twitter than winning a Sephora gift card (but that’s pretty nice, too!). We share photos and news about our current and upcoming events, expert childcare advice including tips for sitters and moms, activity ideas and events for keiki, and much, much more.

See you on Facebook and Twitter! Mahalo and good luck!

Hop or swim to “sea” Keiki Sitters at the Waikiki Aquarium’s SeaHunt!

Hop – or swim – with the keiki down to the Waikiki Aquarium for SeaHunt, a splashing Easter celebration!

Join Keiki Sitters this Saturday morning, March 31, for SeaHunt, a fun-filled Easter celebration event for keiki at the Waikiki Aquarium. There’ll be free crafts and activities, a fish pond game, food and soft drinks, and, of course, the Easter Bunny! While SeaHunt is designed for keiki ages 2 to 7 years old, there will be plenty of other fun activities for keiki of all ages. Bring the whole family!

Keiki Sitters will have a fun activities booth – be sure to hop over to “sea” what fun, fishy activity we have planned! Look for us at the Moms in Hawaii tent. There’ll be a prize drawing sponsored by Meadow Gold (you could win a three-month supply of milk!) and an appearance by Lani Moo!

Waikiki Aquarium’s SeaHunt doors will open at 8:30 a.m. to Friends of Waikiki Aquarium members; doors will open at 9 a.m. to the public. Keiki are welcome to visit with the Easter Bunny until 11:30 a.m. and participate in free crafts and activities and play a game at the fish pond until noon. SeaHunt will take place between 9:15 and 11:30 a.m., and Hawaiian Monk Seal and shark presentations will be held throughout the day.

While many activities at SeaHunt are free, there is a cost associated with some of the events. If you’d like more information about SeaHunt, contact the Waikiki Events & Membership Office at 808-440-9015 or email membership@waquarium.org.

After spending the morning at the aquarium, you may want to go out Saturday night! If you need a sitter, give Keiki Sitters a call at 808-861-7294.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a pot of gold

Let’s face it: March is a long month. There are no days off for holidays, and with all the rain we’ve been having, keiki have been stuck inside after school and on weekends. Luckily, after all of this rain, there will be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on Saturday as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!

There are plenty of ways to share in the luck of the Irish and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the kids. Be sure you’re all wearing green on Saturday while you try one or two of these desserts and games!

Desserts

St. Patrick’s Day is a great day to try out some Irish cooking. After a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, have some St. Patrick’s Day dessert with the keiki. These Little Lucky Whoopie Pies, a recipe of Betty Crocker’s, may not be an Irish tradition, but they sure look like fun to make! 

Leprechauns love a taste of the rainbow, so if you don’t like chocolate, try making these Taste a Rainbow creations from FamilyFun Magazine:

Games

DLTK offers many St. Patrick’s Day game ideas for kids. We like this maze, which challenges kids to help “Sean” navigate through the maze to find the pot of gold! Print one copy of the maze for each little leprechaun who wants to play.

Disney FamilyFun shares a great idea for a St. Patrick’s Day scavenger hunt that you can organize in or outside of your home. Let’s hope for good weather on Saturday so you can play the game outside! The scavenger hunt is simple; you just need a few basic items from home:

• Paper
• Marker
• Black pot
• Chocolate gold coins or other prize item
• Scissors
• Green paper

To get started, fill the pot with the chocolate gold coins or another prize item somewhere in your home or outside in a safe place, such as next to a tree trunk or under a bush in your yard. Using the green paper, cut out several four leaf clovers. Write clues that’ll lead your little leprechaun to the hidden pot of “gold,” and give the first clue to your keiki to get the game started. Good luck!

Do you know of a great St. Patrick’s Day game or recipe we didn’t include? Please share it in the comments section.

Need a sitter for the evening while you paint the town green? Give us a call at 808-861-7294 to schedule a sitter or check out the Keiki Sitters website!

Mahalo and happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The Hawaiian Humane Society

Kathy and Kiwi

Always passionate about animals, the owner of Keiki Sitters, Kathy Kuster, recently added a new addition to her life: she adopted an eight-year-old toy Fox Terrier named Kiwi from the Hawaiian Humane Society.

"I recently took the dogs sailing, and Kiwi, who loves the ocean, ran right off the deck and jumped in the water," says Kathy. "Captain Dave had to jump overboard to help us lift her back into the boat!" Kathy's other dog, Ipo, a two-year-old Chihuahua, is terrified of the water and stayed safely on board.

Kathy is an ardent supporter of the Humane Society and recommends to families that they look there first, when choosing a new family pet.

In 1883 the Hawaiian Humane Society opened its doors to abused and abandoned animals. With a long history as advocates for our furry friends, the Humane Society champions humane animal laws and cares for upwards of 30,000 animals a year.

Serving as a community hub, the organization is dedicated to finding loving homes for animals and educating the public on how to properly care for their pets. The Humane Society offers a robust volunteer program (children as young as eight years old may volunteer with a responsible adult), stays active in the state legislature, hosts adoption programs and events, and has an island-friendly pet surrender policy.

Many are pleasantly surprised to learn that Keiki Sitters extends its services to care for dogs, cats, and the occasional goldfish. Pet owners may request a sitter to stop by or stay in the home with their animals. Additional services run the gamut from walking, grooming, socializing, feeding, and transporting. Want to schedule a pet or home sitter on Oahu? Call: 808-861-7294.

(Get to Know Us: Hawaiian Humane Society)