Parenting Articles

Safe Halloween Family Fun

How to Be Safe This Halloween

By / 4 minutes of reading

Halloween is quickly approaching with its pumpkins, costumes, candy, and fun! As we plan for our fun, it’s also important to plan for our kids’ safety.  And while safety is always something we consider for Halloween activities, 2020 requires that we add an additional level of safety to our Halloween fun. Let’s look at how we can have fun and be safe this Halloween. Standard Halloween Safety Tips There are several safety tips that are always part of our Halloween activities.  We know that children should wear something bright and reflective or carry a glow stick or flashlight. Parents should …

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healthy drug free kids

Red Ribbon Week Celebrates a Healthy, Drug-Free Life

By / 3 minutes of reading

The wearing of a red ribbon can represent different causes. During October 23-31 each year, it is dedicated to awareness efforts to keep kids drug-free.   We don’t really like to think about substance abuse, especially in reference to our children. However, our discomfort with the subject does not change its reality.  Substance abuse can affect every segment of the community. It can pop up in any age group.  While it tends to be associated with only certain types of communities, the truth is that it affects all communities.  And yes, it can reach our kids. Red Ribbon Week is about …

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Smart Screen Time

Tips for Balancing Your Kids’ Screen Time

By / 4 minutes of reading

So much of our world depends on screen usage. We work on screens, use them for entertainment, and now we rely on them for much of our communication.  We know that some research tells us that our kids shouldn’t be watching so much. But research from the American Academy of Pediatrics also suggests that well designed and monitored interactions can improve cognitive, literacy, and social outcomes for children. With work and school and meetings and communication each coming through a screen, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to balance our screen time.  How do we guide our kids in balancing their screen …

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child passenger safety

Child Passenger Safety Week: Tips for Parents

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September 20-26 is National Child Passenger Safety Week.  It’s common practice in our society to use car seats and seat belts, and we tend to think it’s a pretty straightforward practice.  So why do we need to talk about or have an awareness week about child passenger safety? Unfortunately, many of us do not use our safety restraint systems properly.  There is a correct way to use a seatbelt, a car seat, or a booster seat.  Incorrect usage can be fatal in a car wreck.  The National Safety Council reports that a child under 13 years of age is involved …

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How to Keep Little Ones Busy When You Have to Work

By / 4 minutes of reading

School is looming ahead for most of us, and for many of us it doesn’t look the same as it ever has.  The balance of working from home, leading virtual schooling or a new home school, and tending to younger children is a problem many of us have not faced on such a long-term basis before. How do we work from home, help our school aged kids with their virtual schooling, and tend to little ones who want our attention or want to be part of what’s going on?  This has typically been an issue for traditional home-schoolers, but with …

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Weekly Routines for Summer

Weekly Routines for Summer Fun

By / 5 minutes of reading

We’re on a routine run for this summer!  With the current pandemic restrictions, closures, and cancellations, we all need ideas for making the summer fun for our families.  My own family has settled into lazing around each day, so I’m inspired to implement more structure to our days. One way to do this is to assign an activity to each day of the week.  Some can be fun and some can be practical.  Either way, having a clear “Taco Tuesday” kind of label helps everyone to know what is happening that day.  It gives your kids something to look forward …

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Music and Routines

By / 4 minutes of reading

We’ve seen movies with scenes where someone is cleaning while dancing away to some energetic song, and then we feel inspired to be so carefree and fun while cleaning. Granted, movies show only the dancing, with the cleaning supplies sitting there as props, right?  But could we be inspired and motivated to action with music?   The Science Studies show that music can cause our brains to release dopamine.  While we tend to associate dopamine with pleasure, its actual function is to regulate motivation and goal oriented behavior. Basically, something that brings pleasure or fun (music) causes dopamine release.  Then …

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