Get Strong as Steel While You Workout in Your Kitchen!Plus Win A Yoga Mat With Carrier!!

Image by kyle.nz via Flickr

I know it's been awhile since I've posted over here, but as we all know life as a parent is always busy. There is a contest on my blog I'd like to share. So check it out!

Get fit and enter to win some workout equipment:

As a parent, I know that it can be challenging to find time to go to the gym. With the summer months here, the pressure to get fit grows everyday. And these days, few people have the money for costly home gym equipment… The solution? Work out at home, with things that you already own!

 

You should read the whole article to learn how to win and find new inspiration for your next workout at: Littlebytesnews.com| Win A Yoga Mat With Carrier!!

 

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Easy Customizable Chore Charts

I have been trying to find an easy way to make a chore chart for both myself and my tween. I have tried out several different methods and have finally found one I LOVE. Again this is not only great for the kids, but for us Moms too! Best of all it's FREE.

Make your own chart here.

I made one for my tween not only for chores but added everything she is responsible each day. By just implementing this system at home we are seeing A LOT of improvement in her staying on task and completing her tasks each day. Her self esteem has improved, and in turn she has also began to take more initiative to do even MORE.

Her chart ended up being 4 pages long. I have a small home laminating machine (which I LOVE), so I laminated the pages, then fit them together, hung the chart on her wall in the bedroom with a dry erase marker attached with yarn. She checks off each task as she completes them, and at the end of the week just wipe it down and start over. EASY.

My husband and I also took her latest school picture and pasted it on a piece of paper, wrote her name on it, my favorite Bible verse (I can do all things...) and then he and I took turns writing positive words about her in different colored markers. This was put above her chore chart to remind her of who she is, and to stay positive and to keep working hard. We laminated this as well.

Just wanted to share in hopes this could also help another family bring a bit of order to their lives! ;)

~Jenn


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Today (April 7) , Parenting Powers is offering a FREE Tele-Class

Today, Parenting Powers is offering a FREE
Tele-Class!

Click here to register:
http://tinyurl.com/dzewaz


Special Ed Parent Coach Mindy Mazur
will walk you through the Federal Laws
around children with learning disabilities and
what you need to know and what steps you can
take immediately to make sure that
your child is adequately educated.

Mindy will also be available to answer any
pressing questions that you have.

Today, April 7th 2009
6:00PM EST
(check your time zone)

Simulcast- telephone &/or Web
sign up and receive an email with information
on how to access the call.

Click here to register:
http://tinyurl.com/dzewaz


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Morning Sickness Relief

Written by Susanne Myers

I still haven’t figured out why they call it morning sickness. If you ask me, it’s all day every day sickness. For many of us, dealing with the queasiness and nausea of morning sickness is the hardest part about being pregnant. Thankfully there are quite a few easy and natural ways to improve the way you feel without harming your baby. Here are a few of my favorite remedies to give you morning sickness relief.

Eat small meals spread out through the day. This way your stomach is never quite empty which helps prevent excessive stomach acid. Eating small meals will also keep you from eating too much at once, which can also make you feel sick.

Drink plenty of water. Carry a cup or a water bottle with you at all times and sip throughout the day. The water is important for the overall health and wellbeing of both you and your baby. It will also dilute any stomach acid, keeping you from getting quite as sick.

Take your prenatal vitamins right before you go to sleep at night. Mine used to make me really sick, even if I took them with a full meal. Taking them at night, right before I went to bed, allowed me to fall asleep before I started getting sick. Take them with a snack, like a bowl of cereal, or some crackers and cheese.

Ginger and peppermint will both help with nausea. Carry some ginger snaps, or some candied ginger with you. Nibble on it when you feel the first signs of morning sickness. Carry some peppermint candy or gum with. For bad cases of morning sickness, a cup of peppermint tea always helped me. It may be worth a try.

Please check with your OBGYN about these tips on morning sickness relief before implementing them.

Article by:

Susanne Myers has suffered her share of morning sickness, which prompted her to create www.morningsicknessinfo.com a website full of information about and tips to prevent morning sickness. For more information about your pregnancy in general please visit www.healthandbeautyinfo.com/pregnancy.html

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Minimizing Toddler Tantrums: Giving Your Toddler Choices

Written by Rachel Paxton

Oh, the terrible two’s. As a mom of twin toddlers, I wasn’t
particularly looking forward to my boys turning two. As their
third birthday approaches, I now realize that it wasn’t really as
bad as I had been expecting. I don’t think temper tantrums can
ever be eliminated completely, but there are some things you can
do to minimize and sometimes even avoid them.

One of the best ways I have found to avoid a toddler tantrum is
by giving my boys choices. When you give your toddler a choice,
he feels like he has some control over the situation, and is much
less likely to throw a fit to get his way. This solution does
have a catch, however.

When you are giving your toddler a choice between two options,
don’t offer him anything you don’t want to give him. At this
young age, they don’t yet understand that you are in fact getting
them to do what you wanted in the first place. Yet, they think
it was their idea. (You have to be sneakier about it when they
get older, but this also works on older kids!)

I have listed below a number of scenarios I often find myself in
with my boys. They fall for it almost every time!

One of my boys is very clingy and wants me to hold him all of the
time. When we are at the grocery store and he wants to get out
of the grocery cart, he wants me to hold me. I tell him he can
either sit in the cart or walk and hold my hand. This usually
distracts him from wanting me to hold him.

Most kids hate wearing hats, and it is often hard to get them to
wear them outside. If I want my boys to wear a hat, they each
have several to choose from and I let them pick out which one
they want to wear. Sometimes it may take 10 minutes for them to
decide, but they are both happy in the end (and so am I).

Food and eating can be big issues when parenting toddlers. A
toddler can drive you nuts trying to get him to eat what you want
him to. I have found that giving them acceptable choices usually
gets them to eat what I want them to eat. If I want them to eat
a vegetable, I let them choose between two vegetables. Having
clear expectations also helps. If you tell them to eat two more
bites before they eat dessert, they will usually cooperate quite
easily.

Getting a toddler into the bedroom at night can also be a
challenge. If you entice them into their room by letting them
choose a book for you to read to them, you will probably have few
complaints. After a story or two they are usually ready to
settle down for bed.

If your toddler is starting to have a tantrum, try to distract
him as quickly as possible. Try to get him interested in an
engaging activity. Make sure that he is not hungry or tired.

Toddlers thrive on routine. Try keep them on as regular as a
daily schedule or routine as possible, with regular sleeping
times, eating times, and play times.

Establishing a daily routine for your toddler, as well as giving
him choices as much as possible, will result in a happier and
much more well behaved toddler.

Article by:

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For resources for the Christian family, including parenting from toddlers to teens, homeschooling, family traditions and activities, and more, visit www.christian-parent.com

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Teen Suicide: Facts and Tips On What You Can Do To Help

Written by Aurelia Williams

According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, “teen suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers — almost 2,000 teens kill themselves each year.” Depression is one of the leading causes of teen suicide. It is estimated that “over 90% of teen suicide victims have a mental disorder, such as depression, and/or a history of alcohol or drug abuse.” The National Institute of Mental Health considers depression “to be a real medical illness and it’s treatable.”

What drives a teen to commit suicide? What is so horribly wrong in their lives that ending it is the only alternative? There are risk factors involved in teen suicide: Peer pressure, low self-esteem, dysfunctional family, stress, and access to drugs, guns, and an unyielding desire to make the pain disappear.

Teen suicide has and is becoming a pandemic in our country and around the world. Our youth has become entrenched in an ideology doled out by those who seek to control, persuade and coerce our teenagers. At the same time, communication between parent and child has become, in most situations, non-existent. This leaves teens to fend for themselves in areas they are too young to understand and too eager to become engaged in.

Our music, movies, and educational system have let down our teens in the most rudimentary way. Our teens lack guidance and care. They are the fabric of our society which has been shredding for years and have been reduced to a statistic. Our child services, our family courts, our teens’ caregivers have offered nothing to assert the importance of self-worth. Over the years, the make-up of the “family” has dramatically changed. The two-parent household has, in some cases, changed to one. A teen’s family could be his gang members who, on a daily basis, feed into the destruction of that teen. Morality has become passé. Many youth have become self-absorbed in an underworld of hatred and self-loathing.

Have all teenagers talked or even thought about suicide? No. However, the statistics are frightening. Who is responsible for this outbreak? Some would agree parents should take a stronger role in their child’s life from the outset. A teenager doesn’t suddenly choose to die unless something terribly wrong has pushed him/her over the edge. We cannot allow them to choose that end game.

Teenagers do become depressed, alone, angry, hopeless and helpless. As parents, as friends, as educators, as guardians of this precious commodity - we cannot allow them to succeed in what they think may be in their best interest. They must be given a reason to live, to love, to become needed and useful members of our society. We, as adults, must educate and interact with our youth in a positive, caring and thoughtful way to ensure they have the proper tools with which to grow and gain empowerment. How can we do anything less?

Statewide Suicide Hotline: 1-800-564-2120

Aurelia Williams is the host of Parenting My Teen Podcast and is also the owner of Real Life Solutions, a free resource site for moms.

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Super-Sizing Your Teen's Self-Esteem

Written by Aurelia Williams

Your teenager may go through times where their self-esteem goes up and down; especially if they’re being teased by their peers. You may want to find ways of raising your teen’s self-esteem to a higher level to help them cope with their issues. Here are some ways you can do just that:

Take the Time To Listen- You may not always be able to stop what you’re doing when your teen wants to talk. Don’t brush them away and say that you don’t have time. This shows them you don’t care even when you actually do. Tell them that you need a minute or two to finish up what you’re doing and then you will sit down and talk with them.

Listen- Your teen needs to know that you’re actually listening to what they’re saying. Let them tell you what’s on their mind. Ask questions related to what they’re saying. For example, if they’re telling you about someone at school, you can ask if that person is in their class or not. This shows them that what they have to say is valuable; no matter what it is. On the same token, don’t interrupt them by saying what they’re talking about is wrong. Let them talk through their issue first and then explain what might have been wrong about it.

More Praise- Offer more praise for the good things they do and less focus on the things they do wrong. You still want to show them what their mistakes are, but don’t dwell solely on that. Tell them what they could have done right and praise them for anything they may have done correctly in that situation. This helps them see that they aren’t as bad as they might think they are.

Punish Behaviors and Not The Teen- There will be times where you will have to dole out some form of punishment for your teen. It’s important that you punish the behavior, but never tell your teen how stupid they are for doing it or that they can’t do anything right. You would only be adding to their self-esteem problem. They need to know the behavior was unacceptable, but talk to them about how they could have handled it instead, so they don’t come out of it feeling like they’re not worth anything.

Share some of their interests- You don’t need to like everything they do. Find some things that they like and learn about them. For example, if your teen likes to play golf; you can offer to take them sometime and play along with. They can even teach you how to play, so they can feel like they’re really good at something.

Be Understanding- Don’t laugh or brush off your teen’s fears or insecurities. Always be understanding of that fear and help them work through whatever it is. Confess to some fears you might have had when you were their age. This shows them that they’re not alone and they’re not dumb for what they’re feeling.

Encourage- You will want to encourage your teen to do whatever it is they want to do. If their career choice is to be an engineer, then encourage them to find out what they need to learn to become one and encourage them to do whatever they need to accomplish that goal. If they choose to become a professional sports player and not go to college; you should still encourage them to continue playing that sport, but they could do it while in college. Let them know that they can get a feel for how it could work if they get on a professional team later on.

These things give them the confidence they need to try new things and to look forward to the future. To get super-sized self-esteem for your teen, you can start offering it yourself. This will help them when they have issues outside of the home that could cause a poor self-confidence.

Aurelia Williams is the host of Parenting My Teen Podcast and is also the owner of Real Life Solutions, a free resource site for moms.

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Family Time at Dinner Time

Written by Peggy Baron

These days, many families struggle to find time when they can all be together. Sometimes it’s because both parents work long hours and sometimes it’s because of the kids’ many extracurricular activities.

Some nights are going to be crazy busy and you each just have to eat when you can. Other times your family can shift things around to make time for a family meal. Dinner together as a family has never been so important. Why? Here are some reasons:

Eating meals together increases enjoyment of the meal. Food tastes so much better when you’re eating with someone else, don’t you think? You might say that when you eat together your food is well-seasoned with love or friendship.

Eating altogether encourages communication and strengthens family bonds. With hectic schedules, families don’t spend as much time together. Slowing down and sharing a meal gives everyone a chance to catch up with the day’s events. You get to find out just how each family member is doing. Call it a daily family check-up.

Younger children love having routines. Sharing meals together with the whole family is a positive event in their young lives and they look forward to it. Don’t have them share their meal with the TV. The TV is not a dinner partner, and certainly not family.

Family dinner conversation helps children’s vocabularies to grow. When kids listen to their parents or older siblings speak, they learn new words. They will ask what the words mean or figure out the “gist of it”, but either way, they are more likely to understand and use more words because of older people conversing with them.

The dinner table is where children learn social skills. Table manners are not something learned from a book, they’re learned by practicing them. Kids learn them from their parents - when eating with them. The art of dinner conversation is also a skill they learn from parents at the dinner table. Another plus of dinner conversation is that kids often get to learn about their family history.

Eating traditional foods as a family strengthens a family’s ethnic background. Having meals traditional to their heritage helps children to identify and bond with their heritage.

Kids eat healthier at the family dinner table. Kids who eat without their parents tend to eat fewer of the desired foods and more of the less-desired foods. This is particularly true of teenagers who eat more junk food or fast food when by themselves or with friends. When kids eat with their parents, the parents usually provide healthier meals and can keep an eye on what their kids are eating.

Even though it’s not always easy to gather together as a family for a meal, it’s worth the extra effort. Eating dinner (or any meal) together is a time for nourishment as well as a time for strengthening bonds. After all, family time is treasured time.

Learning to cook can be educational child’s play for your kids, and now they can explore a cooking website that’s all their own. Cookin’ Kids is the place for easy kid-friendly recipes and much more! www.cookinkids.com Parents can visit too for their free Parent Tips.

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Anger Management Tips for Moms

Written by Carrie Lauth

Anger - it sounds like a dirty word, but the more we try to avoid it, the more
we feel it. Is anger so bad? Is there a positive way we Moms can learn from our anger and model productive ways to express feelings?

Firstly, there is nothing wrong with anger. Anger, like all emotions, is merely
a messenger. Anger is there to alert you to something wrong in your environment. Perhaps you’ve been ignoring your feelings of frustration, annoyance, or burden far too long. Anger is likely to be the result. Psychologist Dr. Haim Ginott once said that “Humans can be a little nicer than they feel, but not a lot.” I agree with that statement! So if you feel anger welling up, what can you do to avoid exploding, especially on someone nearby?

1- Leave the situation
As soon as possible, take your leave for a moment. Explain to the person you’re with that you need a moment, but don’t ask for their permission. Walk away. If the person you’re talking to is a very small child, you might not be able to leave them alone, but you can turn around and remove your attention for a moment.

While you’re having your “timeout”, do something productive. Practice deep
breathing exercises. Take a walk. Pray. Rehearse what your next words will be so you have more control over your response. Don’t just dwell on your negative feelings, find something positive you can do to restore your emotional balance.

2- Try laughter
Humor can diffuse a situation like nothing else. So if you are steaming, think of something amusing. Your favorite line from a funny movie, something silly your child did, whatever it is. Laughter helps put things into perspective and can turn around your mood quickly.

3- Decide on your response ahead of time
It’s helpful to decide ahead of time what you’ll do when you feel yourself getting angry. If you’re a yeller, make a pact with yourself that you’ll whisper when you get angry. If you’re dealing with a manipulative person, rehearse a phrase like: “That deserves consideration. I’ll think about it and get back to you on that.” to put yourself back in control.

Or write your feelings in a note. This works really well with children.
For example, if your teen promised to clean the kitchen but never got around to it, tape a note to the fridge that says: “A Dirty Kitchen Makes Mom Start Witchin” Signed, The Management

Be determined to focus on the behavior that triggers your anger, not the person, and inform them what they can do to make things right with you.

Instead of saying: “You lazy, greedy brat!” try “I am so angry that you decided to play video games instead of clean up your room. In the future, I expect you to keep your promises to me. When will you be starting on this room?”

4- Analyze your anger
If you lose it and blow up, try to explore what led to it. It might be helpful to
write down what was happening in the hours leading up to the explosion. Was someone really pushing your buttons and instead of setting a boundary, you let them continue? Has it been way too long since you’ve had some time to yourself? Had it been many hours since you and everyone else had eaten? What could you do differently next time? Is there an area where you could change your routine for everyone’s benefit?

Every parent loses their temper from time to time. It’s not helpful to wallow in guilt or beat yourself up. Anger isn’t an unacceptable emotion. What’s unacceptable is how it’s sometimes expressed. Hopefully these tips will you learn to express your anger in a way you and your family can live with.

Carrie Lauth is the host of www.NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com, a free internet talk radio show and podcast for Moms practicing gentle discipline. Come have a listen.

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Step Kids Driving You Nuts

By: Emily Bouchard

Step Kids Under Your Skin?

One challenge that many step parents face but few will admit is that they do not like one or more of their stepchildren. They love their partner, they love their kids, and they find themselves particularly challenged by the behaviors of their step kids.

When a stepmom presents this problem to me, the first thing I do is "get" her on how frustrating and irritating the situation is for her. We explore all her feelings around it and get a sense for what's really getting under her skin in relationship to the child that is not "hers".

After doing some emotional "excavating", we then shift the focus to look at the ways the child is a gift in her life. We explore what this child is there to teach her and show her about herself.

The easiest way to receive the gift that is in front of you is to ask yourself what life was like for you at that child's particular age. What were you going through? What did you need from a parental figure at that time? What were the messages you received about how to be a good kid at that time?

So often we focus on someone outside ourselves, thinking that they are the problem and that they need to change in order for us to be happy. The truth is that who they are and how they behave is really their business, and the only thing we have control over is how we choose to respond to what is in front of us.

If we tell ourselves that the child is mean, rude, disrespectful, and inappropriate, that is what we will see and react to. If we tell ourselves that the child is hurting, scared, lonely, and sad, we tend to be more empathetic and understanding, and possibly even loving, as we support them in working through what's not right in their life.

Emily Bouchard, has over 18 years of experience in working with children and families to deal with problems. Emily is also a loving stepmother to two young women who were teenagers when she entered their lives. She publishes a free Blended Families newsletter. Don't miss her Caring page.

Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com

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