Archives for October 2019

Aren’t we all a little guilty of labeling other moms? Sure, we all share the common goal of nurturing a happy, healthy family, and we make different choices to get there. But just for fun, have you ever considered what “mom” category you most likely fall into?

It’s a busy school night. What’s for dinner?

1. Tofu stir-fry
2. Pizza
3. Crockpot meal
4. Hotdogs
5. Mac and cheese
6. One of your wholesome pre-made meals from the freezer

Your family pet is a:

1. Rescue dog or cat
2. Cat or purse-sized puppy
3. Golden retriever or a labrador
4. A boxer or German shepherd
5. Dogs, cats, fish, gerbils…we have a houseful
6. Zhu Zhu Pet

Your kids want to go to an amusement park with friends. You:

1. Say okay, but with strict instructions that they are not to eat anything with artificial colors.
2. Warn them not to ruin those jeans you got them. They cost a fortune.
3. Look online to see if there are any coupon deals.
4. Insist on going, too. You are never too old for roller coasters!
5. Say no problem and offer to drive.
6. Agree, but secretly begin agonizing about the safety of the rides.

Your 13-year-old daughter is begging for the latest cellphone. You say:

1. No way. You can use a flip phone when you need to reach me.
2. Yes, let’s go shopping!
3. Okay, but first we are going to draw up a contract together and discuss the rules and responsibilities of owning a smartphone.
4. Well, I don’t want you to be the only one of your friends who doesn’t have one.
5. Sure, whatever. Let’s add you to the family plan.
6. Are you kidding? A phone will expose your developing brain to harmful radiation.

Your child has an early morning soccer game. You are most likely to wear:

1. Yoga pants and an organic cotton t-shirt.
2. Designer jeans, Ugg boots, hip jacket and a cute hat.
3. Comfy jeans and your favorite t-shirt.
4. Team shirt, capris and a great attitude.
5. Oops, forgot to do laundry. Pull on something relatively clean.
6. Soccer causes concussions. My kids don’t play soccer.

You relax by:

1. Making homemade soaps and gardening.
2. Shopping and a spa day.
3. Relax? What?
4. Cheering on your favorite team.
5. Sleeping in and watching old movies.
6. Cleaning and organizing.

A vacation for your family looks like:

1. Camping.
2. Relaxing at a beach-side resort.
3. Disney World and a full schedule of activities.
4. Wherever my child’s tournament is also being played.
5. A leisurely drive to your destination with stops at historical landmarks and tourist attractions along the way.
6. Family lake house.

How many extracurricular activities is each of your children in?

1. 0-2
2. 2-3
3. 4-5
4. 6+
5. I don’t have a clue.

Your car:

1. Has a picture of the earth on it.
2. Is detailed at least once a month.
3. Has your website on the rear windshield.
4. Features decals of your kids’ names and the sports they play.
5. Is littered with crumbs, sippy cups and toys.
6. Is meticulously clean.

Your friend invites you to join her for a manicure. You say:

1. Come over! I’ll show you how to do an inexpensive, all-natural mani that you’ll love.
2. Sure, I could use a little pampering.
3. I’d love to and then post a photo of the two of you enjoying your time on Facebook.
4. Absolutely! I wonder if they can put a baseball design on my nails?
5. Fun! Let’s have lunch, too!
6. Hmmm. Does this place clean their tools between clients?

Your favorite work-out is:

1. Om! Yoga all the way.
2. Tennis.
3. Jazzercize. Group exercise is motivating.
4. Running. Walking is for whiners.
5. Chasing my kids.
6. Weights and cardio with a personal trainer.

Your toddler has a melt-down at the store. You:

1. Hand him homemade fruit leather you stashed in your purse. He is quickly appeased.
2. Are surprised. This undesirable behavior clearly runs on your husband’s side.
3. Take a photo of your screaming tot and post it to Facebook with the breezy status “Another day in paradise!” Your friends quickly commiserate.
4. Annoyed, you pick him up, abandon the cart and flee the store.
5. Allow him to carry on. He’s only embarrassing himself.
6. Get worried and wonder if he is acting out because he is coming down with something.

Your parenting mantra is:

1. “Eat real food. Live simply. Recycle like there is no tomorrow.”
2. “To be the best mom, you have to take care of yourself.”
3. “Need something done? Ask a busy mom!”
4. “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”
5. “Keep calm and carry on.”
6. “Cleanliness is next to godliness!”

You organize your family by:

1. Using an old-fashioned day-planner.
2. Hiring a virtual assistant.
3. Plugging everything into your smartphone.
4. Recording all activities on the family wall calendar, color-coded according to the family member.
5. Taking a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach. It will all work out.
6. Each person has a folder

On the first day of school. You:

1. Sadly drop your child off and start researching how to home school.
2. Skip through the morning routine singing “It’s the most wonderful day of the year!”
3. Post Instagram photos of your kids dressed for the first day in Pinterest-inspired poses.
4. Give your kids a pep talk before dropping them off.
5. Weep at the passing of another summer.
6. Deliver an extra supply of disinfectant wipes to the teacher.

Your kids are performing in the school musical. You:

1. Prepare a healthy dinner before performance time. Good food will help them focus.
2. Work with the music teacher to ensure the costume designs are just right.
3. Arrive an hour and half before performance time. How else are you going to visit with friends and get a good seat for your YouTube recording?
4. Rehearse daily with your kids. You would be mortified if they screwed up.
5. Remind your kids to practice their lines and assume they have it under control.
6. Stay awake worrying the night before. What if a piece of equipment falls on their heads? Could they fall off of the stage? You’ve heard about these things happening.

If most of your answers were:

A – Crunchy Mama

From food to cleansers, you take an all-natural approach to life. You are committed to a healthy lifestyle and to feeding your family wholesome, unprocessed foods. You either belong to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for locally sourced foods or you grow your own. You typically shop at places like Whole Foods and Sprouts with your cloth bags in hand. If you wear makeup, you keep it simple. You opted for a natural birth with your children, hired a doula and had a birth plan in place when you were pregnant. You have a “breast is best” philosophy for feeding your babies. You may have opted to homeschool your kids.

What others admire about you: Your commitment to living a more holistic, simpler life.

B – Butterfly Mama

You rarely have a hair out of place and other moms are constantly wondering how you manage to look so classy and put together all of the time. You have a quiet confidence and own your fashionable style. You not only care about how you look, you also have the attitude that self-care is important to being a better mother. Your home further reflects your creativity and is a show stopper that is as comfortable as it is stylish. Whether you shop at garage sales or high-end department stores, you always know what looks good and your kids generally share your sense of style.

What others admire about you: Your charming personality and fashion sense.

C – Connected Mama

Social media has created a perfect storm of connection for you. You not only get to chat daily with friends and family from afar, you can share entertaining bits and pieces of your daily life with friends who may be right around the corner. Networking comes with ease and you manage to find friends where ever you go. You frequently organize moms night outs, get togethers and events. Your smart phone is your favorite device. Of all the moms listed, you are probably the most sleep deprived. But you thrive on busyness and tend to be exceptionally organized.

What others admire about you: Your vast network and your resourcefulness.

D – Sports Mama

You love sports as much as your kids. Your competitive nature can get you a little riled up during games. You push your children to always do their best whether in school, sports or life. You typically wear your hair in a pony tail, sporting a sun visor and a t-shirt that says “Baseball/Soccer/Football Mom.” You come to games prepared with a cooler full of healthy snacks, bottled water, blankets, an umbrella and a comfortable bleacher chair. Your favorite mode of transportation is your SUV or minivan to accommodate the sports equipment, random water bottles and any team members who need rides. As something of a mother hen, you carry a first-aid kit and can always be depended on to offer praise and encouragement to every player.

What others admire about you: Your can-do, up-beat and playful personality.

E – Free Spirit Mama

You tend to take a go-with-the-flow approach to life and prefer to live for the present. Your favorite outfit is whatever is clean and ready to throw on first thing in the morning. You don’t let a screaming child rush you into decisions you aren’t comfortable with. You aren’t one to hurry to urgent care the minute your child sneezes, falls or nibbles on some sand. You don’t worry too much about the daily messes and chaos of life. Your attitude is that inconveniences and frustrations will sort themselves out eventually. For now, you say, let’s celebrate the moments and embrace the journey.

What others admire about you: Your reliable, even-keeled sense of calm.

F – Mama Bear

Committed to the health and wellness of the family, you are an avid reader of medical news and child development books. You tend to worry about your family frequently and pay close attention to any sniffles or complaints of body aches. You frequently evaluate if your kids’ behavior is due to illness, allergy or some other disorder and you aren’t shy about consulting with the pediatrician. Your kids knew about stranger danger and how germs spread before any other kid on the block. You keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the car, the house and in your purse. You are happiest in a clean, well-organized environment.

What others admire about you: Your nurturing, fiercely protective spirit.

By Christa Melnyk Hines, a freelance writer and mom of two children, ages 9 and 11. Her newest book is Happy, Healthy & Hyperconnected: Raise a Thoughtful Communicator in a Digital World.

Teachers do so much for our children. It’s so important to thank them for it. Want to show a little gratitude to your kids’ teachers? Here’s a list of simple ways to help them feel as amazing as they are!

Printables – Help your child show his or her appreciation in a special way with these free downloadable printables:
Thank You Teacher Printable

 

Gift Cards – Everyone can use a gift card — especially teachers! Show your appreciation by giving them gift of whatever they want.
Amazon Thank You Gift Cards

Gift Baskets – This is a great gift from the whole class. You can fill it with anything- gum, supplies, wipes, etc. Ask your kids for ideas too; they know their teacher best.
Gift Basket

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Get crafty – This craft features EOS lip balm and is a sweet token of appreciation for any student. Personalize it by adding the teacher’s name on top and your child’s name at the bottom.
Lip Balm Teacher Gift

 

Tons of Puns – Here’s a fun list of gift ideas that involve some clever word play to you can use as a tags on your gift tokens of appreciation.
50 Sayings for Teacher Gifts

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Boys and girls have always been attracted to one another, but the age attraction begins varies tremendously from one person to another. For some, those feelings of attraction start in the later years of their life, which is when they step into online sites to find their perfect match, for others it begins in elementary school. And for a few others, it’s not until high school.

Although the age gap varies, when a child of 9- or 10-years-old begins to show romantic interest in another, parents need to be proactive in communicating and establishing guidelines. Here are some tips to help:

Set the stage

Take your preteen’s relationships seriously. Attractions are normal and will only increase as children grow. Remember the way he or she views and conducts relationships now paves the way for future dating relationships.

Get their view

Ask your child how he or she defines “dating,” “going out” or “having a boyfriend/girlfriend.” Then share your views. Reinforce the need to always respect others and oneself.

Keep the line of communication open

If the relationship has gelled, continue dialoguing so you know how it is progressing. Ask open-ended questions in a casual way: “What do you like about this boy?” “What do you have in common?” “How does he treat you?” “Who are his friends?” “How do you feel about them?” “Do you feel respected by this person?” This gets your child thinking about what is important in a relationship.

Establish & discuss relationship boundaries

These could include not being alone with the boy/girlfriend, having parental supervision at home, not being allowed in each other’s bedrooms, no touching, staying in group settings and having a curfew, to name a few. Equally important is to help your preteens understand why these boundaries are there so they begin to develop an internal compass.

Set expectations in other realms of life

Remind your preteen the importance of remaining focused on academics and extra-curricular activities, as well as maintaining current friendships. Set guidelines about phone and Internet use too.

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Monitor media exposure

The messages young people receive from music, TV, movies, books and magazines are laden with love, sex and relationships. Make sure these messages line up with your family’s values. If you see or hear something questionable with their media, use it as an opportunity to discuss your values in a non-confrontational way. Realize your preteen may question your values, particularly if they don’t line up with media messages or their friends’ values. This is normal and means they are questioning, but not necessarily rejecting, what you embrace.

Know their friends

They have a tremendous influence on the way your child thinks, talks and acts. Open your home and encourage your preteen to invite his or her friends over so you know them and see how they interact.

Discuss dress

Share with your preteen that the way we dress sends a message to others. Clothing should be modest and should not have provocative messages written on it. Set the standard by being a good role model in the way you dress.

Honor privacy to a point

Reserve the right to inspect your preteen’s backpack or room if he or she becomes secretive or begins to show other signs that concern you.

Allow expression of emotions

Don’t minimize your preteen’s feelings, no matter how trivial they may seem. This is particularly true for boys who may think they need to suppress it. At the same time, teach him or her to make decisions based on careful thought, not heartfelt emotions.

Lend emotional support

Most preteen relationships are short lived. When the relationship ends, your child may or may not be hurt, but your sensitivity and empathy toward the situation will build a healthy trust and bond between you.

Know when it is time to intervene

If the relationship moves beyond innocent, the preteen becomes obsessive or you begin to see unhealthy behaviors, contact your school counselor or other professional for advice.

By Denise Yearian, former editor of two parenting magazines and the mother of three children and four grandchildren.

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Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start to summer, a time when pool-owners and pool-goers alike get ready for a summer of splashing in the water. Unfortunately, it’s also the time when you hear about tragic drownings. As such, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and PoolSafely.gov are reminding parents to take every possible precaution to ensure the safety of their children in the water by taking the following Pool Safely Pledge.

I pledge that I will…
• Designate a water watcher every single time children in my care are in or near the water.
• Make sure my kids know how to swim.
• As a parent or guardian, learn CPR.
• Always remove portable pool ladders when not in use.
• Ensure all permanent pools have a proper fence and gate and safer drain covers.

You can submit your pledge here.

For more information from the CPSC on recent statistics involving drownings and water injuries involving children, click here.