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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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
With the impending birth of our third child in a few very short weeks, I have been giving some thought to writing down some tips that helped me with the natural birth of our second child after having had a medicated one previously. Natural birth. I know these can be scary words, especially the way that [...]
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 [...]
A Nation of Moms would like to get you ready to run your local “Turkey Trot” road race on Thanksgiving Day, or as close to it as possible. Lace up your running shoes and get ready to “Get Fit.” A few weeks ago I posted a basic three-week schedule for beginners. Last week I posted [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Holding a garage sale may seem like an overwhelming task, but with some forethought, hard work and preparation, it can be a nice way to make some money and get rid of stuff. Here are some tidbits of advice from someone who has already done three and is planning a fourth this summer! PLANNING Choose [...]
“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 [...]
Last month, Heather Ann spoke of the importance of building self-esteem in children. In Part 2 of our 2-part series, Kimberlee will discuss why that shouldn’t be our focus and how it could be potentially damaging to do so. Both writers make great points – you decide which of the two very thought-provoking points on [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I am at a stage in life when I am losing grandparents and some of my older friends. Many of my parent’s peers are getting sick and dying. I even have friends my age that are getting sick and dying. It stinks. But a couple of recent experiences have encouraged me to share what I [...]
I jumped at the chance to guest blog at A Nation of Moms because who doesn’t love the topics they cover, the principles they stand for and the great giveaways they host. Choosing what to write about actually wasn’t too complicated because Valerie asked for something crafty. Easy peasy! Or so I thought. I’m so [...]
Last week I asked our 2 year old to head to the garage door so we could get in the car and leave. Her response, “I can’t mommy, Maddie doesn’t have her coat on yet.” I wasn’t sure what I heard, I didn’t know she had a friend named Maddie. So I asked her to [...]
Our family had an experience a few months ago that changed us. Enough time has passed that I can share. In November, at a doctor’s appointment I had my blood taken. The quick results came back with a problem. Anemia. Anemia is a lack of iron. Iron helps your body take in oxygen. You need [...]
Not all children are cut out to start playing an instrument at age 3 or 4 or 10. In fact, I would argue that there are very few children who are ready at an early age. Some are never ready. As a music teacher, I am constantly asked whether a specific child is ready for [...]
I am a planner by nature. Growing up (and even until I had kids) I had schedules and lists, and even lists for my lists. I spent hours just organizing my days, weeks, months, to-do lists, and so forth. Anything that could be written in list format was. And then some. After having kids I [...]
Being married to a former professional athlete and being a former personal trainer, swim instructor, and dancer myself, I used to workout. A lot. After college, my weekdays consisted of 4 to 5 days of a solid running program, while my Saturdays were filled with about 4-5 hours of trails running, a spinning class, an aerobicsclass and lifting weights. A [...]
Our little ones need naps. Babies that have good nap habits have better nighttime sleep habits. It is important to set a routine early, from birth, to help set the stage for years of good sleeping. Here are some general tips. Under 3 Months. Newborns don’t have working internal clocks yet. It isn’t until they [...]
Your friend calls and tells you she is coming over for a unplanned visit in 30 minutes, but your house is a mess. What do you do? Hopefully you are not put in this disadvantageous situation, but if you are I’m here to help! You can panic for about 3.2 seconds (because that’s all you have time [...]
According to several Twitter (@momtosprouts) and Facebook (Home Grown Families) prompts I am the ONLY single Mom that homeschools. Fortunately, a Google search confirmed that this isn’t true but there definitely aren’t a lot of us. Homeschooling is hard. Period. When you talk to other homeschooling Moms they will tell you how much they love [...]
Does this face look bossy to you? Contrary to popular belief, the 2′s don’t have to be terrible. My mom always calls them terrific and I have to agree. It is a time of discovery and development. It is really fun to watch kids start to come into their own. But… There is something that [...]
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