Search results matching tag 'kids'

8 Parenting Tips for Happier Holidays with Young Children

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:00:00 GMT

It's time once again to begin preparing for the holidays and gearing up for family, fun, and festivals. The kids will be getting excited and home for school vacation. Here are eight tips for ensuring a happier holiday season.

TIP # 1: Good Behavior in Someone Else's Home

At some point prior to arriving at someone else's home for a holiday party, get to your child's eye level and go over the rules for being at the party. You may even ask them to explain the rules to you and don't be surprised if they already know. Throughout the event, acknowledge them every time you witness the behavior you want. If their behavior has been a problem in the past, tell them there will be a consequence to bad behavior and that consequence will be leaving the party. If you choose this option, be ready to implement it immediately, and don't punish them. The punishment is the departure itself and your complete silence on the drive home.

TIP # 2: Reduce the Toys and Gifts

A few weeks before the holiday season arrives, allow your child to lead an activity to thin out the usable toys and clothes they already have and then donate them to a local charity. Let your child have as much participation in the process, especially the delivery to the donation center. Commit to buying your children less toys. Too many can create visual chaos and excess stimulation, and certainly do not teach crucial lessons of moderation and limits.

TIP # 3: Take Care of Yourself

When you become stressed over the holidays, your appearance of being frantic and frazzled will be felt by the children and they too will begin to simulate it in their own way. Take time out for yourself to recharge your batteries. You need extra rest, exercise, and healthy eating, ingredients for greater self-control and patience.

TIP # 4: Teach Children Gratitude

Make it a priority to get your family involved in a giving exercise this holiday season. Donate your time to volunteer for a charitable organization by wrapping gifts for a gift collection agency, delivering a meal to a shut-in, or serving the hungry at a soup kitchen. This act of compassion will remain with your children for a very long time. During the thanksgiving holiday, my family and I would prepare and deliver a meal to an elderly person living alone. I'll never forget the year we delivered our dinner to an elderly lady who was so grateful for our gift, she cried as we left. My son was silent as we drove away and he had tears welling in his eyes.

TIP # 5: Don't Over Schedule

During the holidays we automatically think about wanting to connect and be with family and friends. But if past holidays have not been fond memories because of over scheduling, reconsider your plans for this year and commit to simplifying the family calendar or take a vacation away from home. This move may require having to say no to some invitations or changing routines. One family we connect with often makes it a point to avoid the holiday rush. They plan plenty of get-togethers throughout the year and then disappear at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas to take cruises, go to Disney, or travel to see family out of state.

TIP # 6: Set Realistic Expectations for the Kids

Let's face it; December can be a stressful month for the kids and stressful or busy times for you. This guarantees that your children are going to behave differently and it will be a challenge getting them to cooperate and remain calm. Clarify your boundaries and rules and be patient when their excitement gets in the way. Remind yourself about the true meaning of the holidays; it's not about having the perfect family. A big mistake parents make is remembering the holidays from their childhood and trying to recreate them today.

TIP # 7: Create the Reverence of New Traditions

Participating in family traditions that were passed down can be fun and exciting, but it can also add to the stress of the holidays when it means having to recreate complex meals, trips, and events that originally belonged to someone else. Take bold steps to create new traditions for your immediate family that will leave lasting impressions, regardless of how simple they might be. When my children were young, we started a new tradition of allowing the kids to open one gift on Christmas Eve. We intentionally gave them new pajamas in this one special gift and they would be the pajamas they would wear to bed that night. Each year after that, I came up with fun and creative ways of disguising the gift to keep them guessing, because they knew what they would find in the packages. Creating new and fun traditions and faithfully celebrating them each year with consistency will teach your children how to do it themselves when they have families of their own.

TIP # 8: Be the Person You Want Your Children to Be

Finally, there is no better way to teach your children how to enjoy the holidays than to demonstrate being the person you want them to be. The most powerful training your children will ever have is the observations they make of your behavior on a daily basis. Work hard to remain calm and loving throughout the holidays. When you find yourself on the threshold of an emotional reaction to someone else's behavior, ask yourself if what you're about to say or do will bring your family closer together, or create more distance. Being close of course, is what the holidays are all about!

Get more help for discipline for small children at http://www.StopTheTantrums.com

Bill Corbett is the author of the award-winning parenting book series, LOVE, LIMITS, & LESSONS: A PARENT'S GUIDE TO RAISING COOPERATIVE KIDS (in English and in Spanish) and the executive producer and host of the public access television show CREATING COOPERATIVE KIDS (http://www.CooperativeKids.com). As a member of the American Psychological Association and the North American Society for Adlerian Psychology, Bill provides parent coaching and keynote presentations to parent and professional audiences across the country. He sits on the board of the Network Against Domestic Abuse, the Resource Advisory Committee for Attachment Parenting International, and the management team of the Springfield Parent Academy. Bill's practical experience comes as a father of 3 grown children, a grandfather of two, and a stepdad to three. You can learn more about his work at http://www.BillCorbett.com and http://www.StopTheTantrums.com.

Kidzvuz

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 03:05:00 GMT

Kidzvuz is a safe site for kids ages 7-12 to review videos. These reviews are shared in a online community where kids can collaborate as well as the ability to earn badges by interacting on the site.

I recommend checking out Kidzvuz by clicking here.

Inspiring Children to Love Learning – with Reptiles

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:50:39 GMT

Posting by CobraCaroline

Do you know a child who loves snakes? How about a child who loves exploring in the park and asks questions about every leaf, rock, and worm? Or a child who wants to know how an airplane flies or what makes the trash truck so loud? If so, you know a child who is interested in science.

While hiking in the cold winter woods the other day, I began thinking of all the family members, teachers, and other adults who encouraged my interest in snakes , reptiles, and the natural world when I was a child.

Although no one in my family loved (or even liked) snakes, my parents allowed me to explore the woods and swamps near my house, bring home and even the keep garter snakes and frogs I found. My grandparents brought me to reptile lectures at the zoo and baked cakes in the shape of snakes and lizards for my birthdays. When I was 9 years old, my grandma even snake-sat for me while I was on vacation – and my pet brown snake gave birth to over 20 live baby snakes while under her care!

Due to the encouragement of my family, I developed a life long love of and respect for nature and science. My goal in creating Reptiles Alive over 16 years ago was to inspire the same interests for science in other people – especially children.

Watching television shows or looking at a computer screens are two dimensional experiences that have little impact on our senses . Seeing a snake or lizard in a picture will not inspire the same excitement as seeing a real, living, breathing animal up close.

Imagine the difference between looking at a picture of an apple on a computer screen and holding a real apple in your hand. Which experience will give you a better appreciation for what an apple really is?

A child who comes home from a Reptiles Alive show wanting to learn more about reptiles, is a child who has been inspired to learn. An interest in snakes and animals can lead to interests in other aspects of science. A love of nature and animals can lead to compassion for all living creatures and our planet itself.

How to Encourage Good Eating Habits in Your Kids

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:00:00 GMT

Good eating habits don’t just miraculously develop in a child’s life, they have to be shown the way by demonstration and repetition. As with most habits, it is very important that the proper eating guidelines are taught as early as possible, so that there is more chance they will be followed as the years go [...]

How to Enhance Your Children’s Learning with a Better Night’s Sleep

Anonymous — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:00:00 GMT

As a parent, you do all you can to give your child a good night’s sleep. The mattress is comfortable, the room is warm and the decor is soothing. Parents know that rested kids are happy kids, but did you also know that making sure your child gets enough sleep could actually enhance their ability [...]

Safe Social Networks for Kids

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:00:00 GMT

Social media and social networking has become more and more popular on account of Facebook and MySpace. Social networking sites have many different uses based on the interests of the user. Although Facebook and MySpace started out for friends to connect, users are now able to create groups to connect of those with similar interests [...]

10 Excellent Fundraising Ideas for Kids

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Children make excellent fundraising partners. Major organizations, like the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, know that it’s difficult to turn away an earnest child trying to earn money for a cause that’s important to him or her. That said, not all fundraising ideas are suited for younger volunteers. The following are 10 excellent fundraising ideas [...]

ENGLISH FLASH GAMES

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:35:00 GMT

Here you will find English vocabulary games for kids and ESL students: Hangman, Memory matching games, Drag & Drop games, Hidden object games... If you want to know much …follow this link

http://englishflashgames.blogspot.com/

All At The Right Time

Anonymous — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 07:36:45 GMT

Haven’t seen me here for a while? I’ve been using my precious blogging time to really listen to my kids, get some extra exercise happening, paying attention to my husband, cooking some wholesome meals (okay…at least I try) and I … Continue reading →

Hosting Your School Assembly Performers

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:27:31 GMT

The school year is just getting swinging. You have been given the task of hiring and hosting this year’s school assemblies. You have finished hiring your performers – now it’s time to get ready for the show.

Step One: Choosing the Right Location for the Show

A variety of factors make up a good school assembly performance space.

Availability – the performer will need time to set up and break down before and after the assemblies, so be sure the space is available during the full time the performer will be at your school.
Size – More space is always better than not enough. Try to secure the largest possible venue for the performance. Keep in mind the size of your audience and the size of the actual performance space. Also respect FIRE CODE occupancy limits. If you think there may not be enough room to accommodate all the audience members plus the performance area , you may need to book extra shows.
Access: Most school assembly performers come with a lot of baggage, literally speaking. PA systems, props, and especially live animals are not easily transported up stairs or for long distances. Choose a performance space that is easy to load equipment and animals into. Try to choose a location is wheelchair accessable (this makes loading with a cart easy.) If there will be stairs, be sure to let the performer know in advance as stairs may present a problem for some performances.
PARKING: Please be sure you have a close parking spot reserved for your performer. No Parking = No Performance for us here at Reptiles Alive and for many other performers as well.

STEP TWO: Know Your Performer’s Show Set Up Requirements

Closely read ALL of the paper work the performer has sent you: contracts, prep sheets, etc… Contact the performer with any questions you may as soon as possible. If your performer has not informed you of any specific needs or requirements ASK them BEFORE the date of your assembly.
Arrange with your school’s staff to have the performance space set up as needed on the date of the assembly.

Step 3: The Day of the Show

Arrive at the school at or before the approximate arrival time of the performer so you are there to greet them and assist in getting the performer checked into the school, parked, and shown to the performance space.
Keep a phone with you that you have given as your emergency contact number for the performer. This way you will know if the performer is running late or having other trouble getting to your show that day.
If the agreement was for payment to be given on the day of the show, make sure to have the signed check in the proper amount ready to give to the performer.

Now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!