Parenting Children

Finding the right gift for kids these days is hard for me, they seem to have everything.
Are you looking for a one-of-a-kind gift for that special child in your life? Something that is as unique as they are? Enter Child’s Own Studio.

Child’s Own Studio is a special place where you can transform your child’s drawing into a custom plush doll or soft toy. That is right, make a toy out of a drawing your child made! Anything in your child’s imagination for the first time can be made into their own personal lovey.
Wendy was generous enough to make a softie for my daughter from the drawing of a princess she has made.

Drawing by R age 5

I loved this drawing because of how detailed her dress was, I loved the way my daughter had drawn her shoes. Wendy made the doll exactly like her picture and we couldn’t have been more happy with the results! You can tell it was made with love.
Don’t believe me? Check out the gallery of other amazing softies she has made.
Wendy will make any drawing that is a recognizable person, place or thing.

A Child’s Own custom made soft toy starts at $50 CAD, plus shipping. Drawings containing many details and/or many colours will require more labor and therefore be priced accordingly. After payment is received, expect your special toy in 2-4 weeks!

Wendy was amazing to work with and I cannot say how much I love this site.

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Moving from New Jersey to New Hampshire in the middle of winter wasn’t the best idea. It has been all snow all the time here. We are just catching some reasonable weather and the snow has been melting (finally!) and now there is rain!
I can’t complain because I would rather have rain than snow any day! Rainy days can be fun for the whole family!

If it is warm enough, go ahead and let the kids get wet. My kids love when I let them go outside in their clothes and just run in the rain and splash in puddles. Go out there and get wet with them, I promise they will remember it always.
Bring your bath toys outside and play in the puddles or collect the rain water in your buckets. Find a “stream” and race a light toy in it. Use your outside chalk and “paint” in the rain.
Here are ideas for fun with water inside or out like making your own little boats.
See who can collect the most worms.

Here are great indoor fun ideas for kids of all ages, and some of these ideas will maybe let you get some things done around the house while the kids are busy too!
Make a tiara

Lastly here are some fun craft ideas for Easter or Spring.

rainy day fun, indoor fun ideas, crafts for kids, parenting, weekend fun, kids, children, parenting children, stay at home moms, rainy day fun, activities for kids

When Connie and Donald McCracken heard about the tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson from a head injury, they thought of their daughter, 7-year-old Morgan.
Two days earlier, Morgan, her father, and brother had been playing baseball in their yard when her father hit a line drive that landed just above Morgan’s left temple. She had a big lump formed, but her parents iced it down and the swelling went down within an hour.
Then for two days she was fine.

But after hearing about Richardson’s death, the McCrackens wondered if Morgan was really okaylike Natasha was immediately after her fatal injury.

That night Morgan complained of a headache. “Because of Natasha, we called the pediatrician immediately. And by the time I got off the phone with him, Morgan was sobbing, her head hurt so much,” McCracken says.
The McCrackens took Morgan to the emergency room and after a CT scan immediately put Morgan on a helicopter to another hospital.

She was whisked into the operating room and her parents were told she had the very same injury as Richardson: an epidural hematoma.

After surgery and five days in the hospital, she’s at home and doing fine. “Dr. Cohen told us that if we hadn’t brought her in Thursday night, she never would have woken up,” McCracken says.

So what does that mean for our kids who fall down, get hit by stuff and hurt themselves all the time? In most cases, it’s pretty clear when someone needs medical attention after a head injury, says Greg Ayotte, a spokesperson for the Brain Injury Association of America and a cognitive rehabilitation therapist. “They’re confused, they’re agitated, or they might be dizzy or unresponsive,” he says.

Here is what you should do after someone has suffered a blow to the head:

Keep an eye on someone who has hit his head, even if the person never lost consciousness
They say even if you are not knocked out, you still need to watch them and look for dizziness, vomiting, headache and confusion.
Look for changes in symptoms and behavior, any change like suddenly being sleepy or a migraine that just appears, should be taken seriously and that person should be taken to the hospital.

Use these precautions when anyone has a bad fall or gets a blow to the head, old or young!

Natasha Richardson, head injuries, head injuries and children, kids, parenting, parenting children, epidural hematoma, sports injuries

When I was very young my mother worked part time in retail. One night she came home and warned us to be very careful on escalators. That night she had seen a boy get his sneaker caught in the teeth of the escalator and it took a very long time to free him and his poor toes and he was hurt pretty badly.
I am still aware of that story as I teach my children how to use the escalator.

Apparently if you wear the popular shoe Crocs, your chance of getting your shoe caught in the escalator is elevated. In the past couple of years “shoe entrapments” have happened all over the world. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said escalator accidents caused more than 10,000 injuries last year, but there is very few records of specific shoe problems. Now some subway stations and some stores are warning you to be careful on escalators if you are wearing soft sole shoes.

In recent statements, the Crocs company claimed that “Crocs shoes are completely safe,” and went on to point out that escalators that have not received proper care and maintenance pose a risk to their riders.
It is not just Crocs some imitation Crocs type shoes ahve bene involved in accidents as well.

Have you heard of these escalator/shoe problems before? My daughter loves Crocs so I will still let her wear them wherever we go, but I will be sure to take the elevator!

escalator injuries, crocs, dangerous kid’s shoes, kid’s shoes, children’s safety, escalators, parenting, kids

I believe that education does not only take place in school, but it goes hand in hand with what you teach and foster in your children at home. I do not think the public school system can do it alone, it is proven that it cannot. When I had the chance to review How to Discover and Develop Your Child’s Strengths By Jenifer Fox, I was excited to see what this mother and teacher had to say about our children.

We force our children to excel at school only by memorizing and regurgitating information. The standardized tests are not a fair tool on gauging how much someone knows or understands.
From the book “Children become passionate and interested when they see real life ways that the subjects, topics, lessons are applied. Chidlren, like adults, want to know first why a topic is important to learn and then be shown how to use it.”
In this book the author focuses on identifying children’s strengths based on 3 areas (activity, relationship and learning) and how we can nurture them. Her idea is simple, we must work WITH children instead of ON them. Work with our children’s interests and loves instead of trying to redirect them in the path of where we think they need to go.

She includes a practical workbook to practice these skills. Ending the book is an outline for the Affinities curriculum which she has implemented in her school with positive results. I am encouraged after reading this book that I can implement these ideas into parenting my children better.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I do think it is a great read for all parents and educators.

Do you think you parent your children based on their strengths? Do you even know what your child’s strengths are?

Jenifer Fox, Your Child’s Strengths, parenting, parenting children, public schools, teaching children, book review

Having a baby in the house has been wonderful. Now that he is going to be 1 next week, his personality is really coming out. I love to see what interests him, what he loves and how different he is from his brother and sister at that age. Simple things make every baby happy and they are all free!

Tickles- Baby K loves it when I tickle him under all of his chins. He laughs and pulls my finger away and then puts it back under his chin for more. Laughing together is a bonding experience for baby and parent.

Pets- K LOVES our cats and “kitty cat” was one of his first words. He loves his cousins dog or “da” and can watch them play for hours.

His Siblings- The only thing better than the cats is his sister and brother. He loves to play with the kids and loves watching them run, jump and play even more. He loves to explore their rooms for lots of cool, colorful things!

Any Remote- I swear you can buy your kids every toy in the store, but they will still want the plain black and silver remote! I don’t know whether they love it because it is plain looking or because it is forbidden!

Mirrors- I can get a good face and hair washing because the bathroom has so many big mirrors in it. Babies all love to look at themselves in mirrors even as infants. It is not until they are well over 12 months before they realize they are looking at themselves.

What amuses your baby these days?

baby, infants, what babies love, parenting, kids, parenting children

These days money is tight for everyone. If you do not know how to spend responsibly then it may be worse for you. Good spending habits and monetary responsibility start young and we are trying to teach our twins already how to save and what to spend. Discover has a new way to teach teens just how to manage spending.

Current by Discovery Card is a debit card for teens, ages 13 to 18 and works like a bank debit card (but looks much cooler!). The card will not work once the limit is reached, which protects teens from overspending and incurring costly fees. But this card also provides parents with controls that let you set (daily, weekly or monthly) spending limits, block the card from being usable at some merchant categories (like ATMs or liquor stores), and allows you to track your child’s spending either online or through e-mail and text message alerts!
Teens can learn how to spend smart by logging onto the Account Center at Current by Discover Card. In addition, Current by Discover Card is sponsoring a nationwide Money Smarts Program in high schools to educate students on basic money management skills.
Kids are also eligible for coupons and online discounts at select restaurants, theaters and more. Parents earn Cashback Bonus or Miles when they load their teen’s Current Card by using their Discover Card.

The pricing for this card is a $5 monthly charge for each card or an annual fee of $50.
I think this card is better than just giving your child one of your credit cards. It gives them ownership of the money and if they are irresponsible with it, then they have a lesson to learn. I think it is a great idea for teens.
Thanks to Mom Central for giving me the chance to review this product!

Current by Discover, credit cards for teens, debit cards for teens, money management, teaching children financial management, teens, tweens, parenting, parenting teens

The five winners of My Little Red Book are:

Billie
Jessica C.
Erin
emilie and
Amanda

Congratulations ladies and look for an email from me!
Keep reading Parenting Children and Reviewing Baby Gear for more great reviews, giveaways and articles!

I am sure you all have heard the stories of Rihanna getting beat up by her boyfriend Chris Brown. I am sure some of you have even seen the photos to prove this wasn’t a little slap she was given- this was a beat down. Now the reports are that Rhianna and Chris Brown are “reconciling” in Florida at Sean Comb’s house.
I cannot fathom going back to an abuser, even though I know statistically it happens all the time- but what do we tell our teenage daughters?
How do we explain that it is literally a one strike rule?

Rihanna and Chris Brown have a huge fan base and teenagers love them. They look up to them, they see things that go on in star’s lives and think they want to have that life, they want what they have. We know that teenage dating abuse is common already, is Rhianna sending the message that it is okay to stay?

Sixty-nine percent of teens who had sex by age 14 reported some type of abuse in a relationship, with slightly more than one-third saying they had been physically abused, according to the survey, conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited. One in five 13- or 14-year-olds in relationships say they know friends who have been “struck in anger” by a boyfriend or girlfriend. Sixty-two percent have friends who have been called stupid, worthless or ugly by their dates.

We need to teach our daughters that they are not worthless, and they should never be treated like they are- by anyone, with our actions in addition to our words. We need to tell our sons, as well as our daughters, it is not okay to hit anyone and that name calling IS abuse. We need to not let our children see us be hit- or abused in anyway.
We as mothers, as women, need to end the cycle of abuse.
We need to tell then that Rihanna made the wrong decision and she will regret it someday.

What do you think of this relationship?

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