Parenting Children

Are you or your children fast food fans? If you are you will be happy to hear this: Burger King has vowed to offer healthier fast-food items for children under 12. they plan to sell and market flame-broiled Chicken Tenders and apples cut to resemble thick-cut french fries. They plan to have these new menu option out in 2008.

I think the problem is not with the menu at any fast food chain, although I think they are usually terrible. You can make a sensible choice like a salad and a water at any fast food place these days. I think a parent has to make healthy choices for themselves as well as their children to make a difference in this overly obese country. Maybe not stopping at the fast food chain at all is the first step.

fast food, healthy fast food, parenting, obese children, kids

We are all aware how expensive it can be to have children. For some reason they keep needing new clothes and want to be fed 3-4 times a day! That is why keeping a food budget can be a great idea.
Here are some ideas on how to keep your grocery list down while still feeding your family healthy foods. Of course, some of these ideas may have to be adapted for your larger, or smaller family.

Use coupons.

Shop flyers first. Maybe your graocry has great sales on the meat you need but target or walmart has great deals on the paper goods you have to buy. Making a seperate trip may work in your favor if these stores are close to you.

Do not eat out. Or only eat out on special occasions. Make a pizza at home or find your favorite chinese recipes online.

Buy in season produce and vegetables. You can always buy canned fruit, which can be rinsed of the sugary water it is packed in.

Drink water. Ditch sodas and sugary energy drinks.

Plan your weekly meals ahead of time. That way you know exactly what to get at the store and if you leave your kids at home you will be less likely to buy impulse purchases.

Try these two great web sites to help you plan meals for your family. How to feed yourself for $15 a week has some good ideas, as well as $45 emergency menu for 4-6 people who has great menu ideas as well as a shopping list for these sample menus.

Do you have any tips or tricks to keep your weekly food bill down?

families, parenting, moms, feeding your family, frugal tips, frugal moms

It is still hot and humid here in NJ and we can’t wait for it to get a little bit cooler so we can really enjoy the weather instead of complaining about it. My kids still have many days to play outside before we are hunkering down in our house.
I think this toy is so perfect for this time of year.

It is a line chaser truck that follows any path you can make with your chalk. Make it go in circles, over bumps, whatever. Perfect for ages 3 and up and a perfect present for that fall birthday.

toys, outdoor chalk, outdoor toys, outdoor fun, parenting,

Fathers having their child’s name on their arm is nothing new. What is new is mothers getting tattoos of their child’s name on their body. The newest trend in tattoos is mothers getting their child’s footprints, names, birth date or hand prints on their bodies.

I think this is a great idea, if it is done nicely and the right spot on the body. My favorite from this tattoo gallery is the one that says “mother” on a woman’s back.
Do you have a tattoo for your children on your body? Would you get one?

mother’s tattoos, tattoos, babies, mothers, new mothers

infants, babies, bottles, baby bottles and tooth decay, tooth decay in babies, parenting

Have you heard of kajeet yet? It is a new pay-as-you-go cell phone designed with kids in mind. It is very parent friendly also which is nice to be able to control all the features for and with your kids. I do not think all kids need cell phones but with dance classes, sleep overs, after school activities and working parents, I think it is a great idea. When I got the chance to review this phone for you guys, I jumped on the chance.

Here are just some of the features the kajeet phone has:

Wallets: they have parent wallets and kid wallets, use your wallet if you want to make all the decisions about usage, but use the kid wallet to teach kids money management. Have him track his usage, text messaging and downloads.

Pay As You Go: kajeet starts you out with $5.00 but you can add money into your account any time. People can even gift money towards the usage and minutes never expire.

Feature Manager: Decide what features your child can use with online managing. There are a ton of features like instant messaging, web browsing or downloads.

Time Manager: Parents can decide when their child’s phone can be used. You can make sure there are no late night phone calls when your child should be sleeping or during school hours.

Safety: All kajeet handsets are GPS-capable, which means there is a chipset in the phone that will help provide location information to a capable emergency service provider when a caller dials 911.

All in all, I think this phone is great for tweens and teens. It is sleek and stylish with a ton of features kids would love. I know I would feel safer (and my wallet would think me) dropping my kids off wherever they go with this phone.

kajeet, cell phones for kids, kid’s cell phones, tweens, teens, kids, parenting, parenting children

Something I thought I would never say to my 4.5 year old:

“Honey, how did you get poop on your heel and your arm? and where are your pants?”

parenting, moms, SAHM, four year olds, kids, funny kids

Researchers say first born children are smarter then their siblings and are more successful in business. Whether it is a bigger drive or higher IQ, firstborns succeed more and it doesn’t matter what gender you are or where you are born.

Many CEOs of large companies are the first born. USA TODAY took a small survey of CEOs on its own panel. It received responses from 155, of which 59 percent were first born, 18 percent were the youngest and 23 percent fell in the middle.

I wonder what the difference is. Is it undivided attention from parents the first years of life? Do they have higher expectations placed on them by their parents? I also wonder what that says about my first born children who are twins. Will my son who was born 1 minute first be smarter, or will they both be successful. I know they are both smart and will succeed, I will not accept failure.
That is because I am a first born.

first born children, children, birth order, kids, parenting, parenting children

Mattel is recalling more then 800,000 toys in the third recall in a little over a month. Again these are Chinese made toys containing high counts of lead paint.

The recall includes Barbie accessories sold between October 2006 and August of this year, 90,000 units of Mattel’s GeoTrax locomotive line and about 8,900 Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys, both from the company’s Fisher-Price brand. The Big Big World products were sold in the U.S. from July through August of this year, while the GeoTrax toys were sold from September 2006 through August of this year.

For information about these latest recalls, you should call Mattel at 888-496-8330 or visit the company’s Web site at http://www.service.mattel.com.

Tell me what are you doing now that all these toys are recalled? Are you OK with buying toys from China?

recalls, Mattel recalls, toy recalls, toys, lead paint, lead pain in toys, kids, parenting, parenting children

Does your child love to sing and dance as much as mine do? Maybe Baby Disco is perfect for you and your young children.
Baby Loves Disco was started by A mom who was sick of the same old places to take the children loaded with gift shops and terrible snacks.

Baby Loves Disco transforms a regular night club into a party for kids 6 months to 7 years old and their parents! They have healthy snacks, good music and tons of fun. They started out in Philadelphia and now has dance parties in nineteen cities in the U.S.. I am so intrigued by this idea that I am signing up for the next one in Philadelphia. I can’t wait to go and see what all the fun is about and report back to you.

I am always looking for something fun and different to do with the kids which does not require me to sell a body part to pay for it. I love that we can all go as a family too.

Have you ever been to Baby Loves Disco in your area? Any Philly area moms going to the next one?

vegans, vegan parenting, vegan children, parenting, parenting children