United together to build strong families
There is so much for our families to learn from being outside. Unfortunantly, since the early 80′s we have seen a dramatic change in where children spend their time. The “inside movement” (started because parents became deathly afraid of their children being kidnapped) and now, fostered by technology (and laziness), is keeping kids inside, in [...]
Spring in Utah is beautiful. While the weather is warming up outside, we are busy Spring Cleaning inside. It is not a one man job and I really want and need our kids to help. Cleaning isn’t always first on their list of priorities so there are a few things that I do to make [...]
Not only is it important to be active with your family, but it is also important to be active with your spouse. Working together and going on dates together will strengthen your relationship. Research suggests that couples should go on a date every other week. Gasp, I know. With 4 kids, this seems impossible to [...]
There are so many reasons why kids need to be active and exercise. There is the obvious: Activity and exercise helps kids maintain a healthy weight, builds strong and healthy bodies, and promotes overall wellness. But, did you also know that… Being active and exercising improves the quality and amount of sleep kids get? Kids [...]
Are you looking for the perfect last minute addition to your Valentine’s Celebration? Look no further. This is a really fun way to show someone you care. Can’t you just see a special little bag filled with personalized conversation hearts? Or, take a box of store bought conversation hearts, pour them out and fill the [...]
You try to make your children’s lives happy and fulfilled. You want them to have the best education, the best doctors, and the safest environment. What you might not realize is how important your marriage is to shape your child’s life and how the healthy your marriage is the healthy your child can be overall. [...]
When we bring a tiny life into this world as first time parents, we try to do everything right and perfect. Oftentimes we even project this perfection onto our children by expecting them to fit into a perfect little mold. Some of it is our own expectations we had of what our future children (prior to becoming [...]
One of the best ways we can come closer together as families, is to have fun together. This doesn’t mean that we need to spend money to go out and participate in lavish expensive activities. There are so many ways we can have fun together at home, or driving in the car, or anywhere we [...]
When we had our first child, I was worried about EVERY developmental stage. Shouldn’t he be rolling over? Why isn’t he walking? What if he walks before he crawls? Out of excitement I jumped the gun a little and wanted him to develop fast. Now after our 4th child, I have finally learned to relax, be [...]
One of my New Year’s resolutions was to start reading chapter books at bedtime to our sensitive 4 year old son and spunky 2 year old daughter. Okay, the 2 year old might have been a stretch, but we’ll try anyway. Yes, chances are that your preschoolers, too, can sit still enough to listen to [...]
“Mom, I am bored!” Anyone hearing this from their kids right about now? Half way through Christmas Break and wondering what to do? I get a lot of parents asking why kids always say they are bored. Although every child is different, here are some suggestions. Let’s start with some interesting findings… Kids now are [...]
My freshman year in college, I had a roommate who never had to do any work in her house growing up. Didn’t make a bed, cook a meal, clean a bathroom, or help with yard work. At first I though she was soooooo lucky. I wished I never had to do those things. UNTIL the [...]
SO… where did we leave off last week? Let’s talk about how we can stop the selfishness. Take Back Control… A spoiled and selfish child knows how to get what they want. Did you know that a child will hound you approximately 9 times to get their way, or get what they want? Don’t give in. The [...]
(Part 2 is at the bottom of the post. Watch them with your kids) Is your child unappreciative? Do you often hear “I want” and “Now”? When you ask your child to do something, do they say “No”? Do they always expect to get their way? At one time or another, all of our children [...]
As a new graduate student I was asked to take a TA class. The training prepared me to assist professors with grading assignments in their classes. One of the first things I learned in that TA course was to avoid using a red pen when I was grading papers. I remember laughing to [...]
Research shows that kids need certain things to succeed in life. Are our children getting what they need to succeed? As parents it is good to read through the list regularly and evaluate how we are doing. 1. Family support: Our children need us to verbally tell them they are loved, spend time with them, and [...]
“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” Phyllis Diller “Make Your Home Clean Enough to be Healthy and Dirty Enough To Be Happy.” Unknown “Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don’t do it.” Unknown Our family is growing. Every day [...]
Don’t let the similar faces fool you … they are complete opposites. My husband and I have spent the last two hours sitting on the couch talking about our kids. This isn’t unusual. We have sat and talked about our kids since we met, before our kids were born. Lately though, our conversations have changed. [...]
CaringBridge is an organization dedicated to helping families connect with family and friends when they need it the most. At CaringBridge you can set up a FREE, personal, and private journal to record your health record. In the event of a life changing situation, CaringBridge can help you share updates, photos, and get encouragement from your [...]
As a parent, it is a horrible feeling to wake up in the middle of the night to your child screaming and crying from a bad dream. Our first instinct might be to hollar “it’s just a bad dream, go back to sleep.” Although it isn’t real, the best thing we can do as [...]
Our son and daughter are very different. Like oil and water, the sun and the moon, Modern Family and Leave it to Beaver. Differences aside, they have a few things in common. One being that both of them have gone through a Demanding Phase. You know, when they are relentless in their requests and [...]
The attention and flattery that comes with being the oldest child is starting to wear off for our daughter. She now has two younger sisters, one is only 8 weeks old and minds her own business. The other one wants to follow and copy everything she does. Our daughter, a great big sister, is needing [...]
In a previous post, I discussed my decision to enroll the girls in a cyber school. This post is about the benefits to ME! I remember that fateful day in October 2009~ Knuckles’ very first Parent-Teacher conference. She was in Kindergarten. It changed my life forever. I don’t remember if I had The Princesses [...]
It doesn’t take long to notice that each of our children are different. Some are less outgoing than others and each has their own temperament. For those children of ours that are more reserved and less outgoing than the others, there are things we can do and skills we can teach so they can feel more [...]
I know I ‘homeschool.’ and I am (one of) the homeschool contributor (who misses her deadlines by 2 or 3 months) here, but I have a confession. I am not homeschooling anymore. My kids are going to *GASP* public school. Well, kinda… Not really but kinda… I have, indeed enrolled my kids in public school [...]
Growing up these days seems more challenging than ever. Especially for girls. There is so much pressure to fit a certain mold. The challenges are numerous and it can be hard to know who you are when society, and the media can put so much pressure on our young girls as they grow. The tween [...]
“No” “Your not the boss of me” “Do it yourself” Sound familiar? Regardless of our children’s age, toddlers to teenagers. Backtalk is a parent’s nightmare. So what can we do to make this most frustrating of problems stop. First, we need to understand why kids talk back. If we can understand why our kids are [...]
Currently, there is a new topic of discussion among parents: Should we focus on building self-esteem in children or not? Fortunately, we have two great writers who will each touch on the subject. Today, we have the brilliant Heather Ann, who will speak to us about the importance of building self-esteem in your children. Come [...]
“Smart choices for the whole family” . Here are a few movies that I think all teens should watch. They teach some pretty great lessons that I think almost every teen struggles with (or has a friend that does). I am only recommending these movies for teens and above because the first two have a [...]
Recent studies show that 160,000 children a day skip school because they fear being attacked or intimidated by other students. Bullying is real, it is an ongoing problem, and it will most likely happen to all our children at some point in time. As parents, we all worry about our children being teased, taunted, and bullied. So what do [...]
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