Family time is a necessity for those wishing to build happy and healthy families. Parents that take time out to eat as a family, play, read, and talk together, teach children that they matter, that relationships are worth nurturing, and that strong family bonds breed success.
Setting aside blocks allocated for family time can be very difficult for busy families. By the time everyone is home from work, school, sports, and other outside activities people are tired, playing a board game seems like the least important item on the to-do list. However, playing a board game, metaphorically, is the most important item to cross off of the list.
Family time is valuable time when parents can take time out to observe their children, follow their children, hug and kiss them, encourage, guide, and laugh. Family time is when children feel comfortable opening up to their parents; this is a time when the mood is relaxed and children feel supported, valued and loved.
Eat together
Studies have shown that the family activity with the greatest positive impact on children, is sitting down together to dinner each evening. Benefits for children include learning patience, (family members should wait for everyone to be served before eating and remain at the table until everyone is through), sitting quietly and calmly to eat, and listening attentively and participating in the conversation. If an evening meal is impossible to schedule, families can find a different meal to gather, a fun idea is to set the table later in the evening when everyone is home, and have dessert together.
Children should be included in meal preparation, setting the table, and clean-up. Although table manners must be taught and reinforced, mealtime should be a pleasant experience with a focus on togetherness. Quick behavioral reminders will reinforce good manners and then conversation can be resumed. Parents should choose to be in a good mood and not let the day’s issues weigh down the meal. After all, this is family time!
Creative planning can make the evening meal easier to put on the table and clean up afterwards. Simple meals, and meals prepared in advance and frozen, are good ways to ease the evening scramble and help keep the focus on family time, not on cooking and cleanup. Instead of spending an hour cleaning the kitchen after the meal, simple meals free up some time in the evening for togetherness.
Shut off the television and the computer
Shutting off the television in the evening helps to place the focus on the people in the house instead of the strangers on the screen. The evening hours spent interacting as a family instead of staring at the television will benefit everyone greatly and will help create warm and lasting memories.
Shutting off the television and the computer eliminates the risk that children will be exposed to damaging levels of violence and sexual content. Experts claim that violence and sexual imagery negatively change the brain chemistry of children, resulting in permanent changes in the brain’s wiring.
Set a relaxed mood
Bathe young children and put them in their pajamas. Put on some light music that isn’t jarring or offensive, this often cues a little impromptu dancing from children, always good for a laugh. No arguing, bickering, or crabbiness. Family time should be warm, joyful and happy. Parents should be demonstrative and giving, snuggle, hug, and kiss the kids and each other. Family time like this is ideal for modeling loving, kind behavior.
Find fun games and activities
The nature of children is to be fun loving and flexible and open to many ideas. Coloring, board games, guessing games, acting, playing with dolls or cars, and reading are all fun things to do together. Allow children to help set the evening agenda. One idea based on the Montessori principal of learning suggests observing the child and leading by following the child.
There are other opportunities during the day for family time
The evening is not the only option for family time. Parents should seek out other times to be together. Take the kids on the morning and afternoon dog walk, invite them to join in on gardening, ask them to help wash the car or help with the laundry. It is probably true that activities will be completed slower with kids as helpers, but their happiness far outweighs the inconvenience.
Parents who zone out each evening in front of the television or computer for hours and hours rob children of the necessary family time that they need. It is stingy of parents to choose to channel or web surf over spending time with their kids. In a blink of an eye the kids will be up and out of the house and parents will have the rest of their lives to stare blankly at a screen, alone.
Making a conscious effort to spend quality family time together is vital to the health and welfare of children. Children do not thrive if parents don’t interact with them daily. When parents choose to have kids, they automatically choose to sacrifice their time to raise their kids. Family time is a parenting tool which helps to regulate the content that children are exposed to and introduce healthier activities. Developing strong relationships with children also will build bonds that last a lifetime.
by: Elena Neitlich
Wednesday 25 February 2009
Ten Easy Steps to Great Kid Party Food
This simple guide to kid party food turns your kids party into a fun food fest.
Learn what turns kids on when it comes to party fare, and how to make it quick, easy, and impressive.
Ten Easy Steps to Great Kids Party Food will show you how to think like a kid when it comes to celebratory snacking!
1. Make in Advance - Do as much food preparation prior to your party as possible. A variety of kid party food can be made ahead and stored for the big day, such as popcorn balls, jello jigglers, and snack mixes in ziploc bags.
2. Keep it Simple and Fresh - Kids really do know what’s good for them, and will often gravitate to simple healthy foods first. Provide lots of natural choices such as vegetables with cream cheese based dips and salsas, fresh fruit fondue or chocolate dipped strawberries. Bugs on a log (cream-cheese filled celery, topped with raisins), and fish in the stream (cream-cheese filled celery, topped with goldfish crackers) are great healthy options too.
3. Try Quick Favorites - Tried-and-true kid party foods have stood the test of time and many a child’s fickle taste buds. Stick with the originals you can whip up quick, such as pigs in a blanket, nachos, and microwave s’mores.
4. Color and Create - The more colorful it is, the better it will taste! At least kids seem to think so! Let kids color and decorate their own cookies or cupcakes using assorted frostings and food colorings, sprinkles, mini M & M’s, chocolate morsels, gummies, etc.
5. Smooth & Creamy - Arm yourself with a crushed ice maker or blender and you’re ready to try any of these refreshing combinations: smoothies, snow cones, ice cream sodas or milk shakes. Another “smooth and creamy” alternative is to have kids make their own ice cream sundaes or layer fruit and yogurt for easy parfaits.
6. Crisp & Crunchy - Don’t be a slave to unhealthy snacks. Crisp and crunchy goes way beyond potato chips! Experiment with whole wheat crackers, sweet cereals, peanuts (always check for allergies), pretzels, and crunchy snack mixes combining raisins, coconut and other dried fruits for sweetness.
7. Vary Ingredients - Just imagine the many unique sandwiches that can be made just by using different kinds of bread such as English muffins, tacos, pitas, small deli rolls, or tortilla wraps. They same goes for the sweets. Try fruit pops, pudding, cupcakes or mini donuts instead of the traditional cake and ice cream dessert.
8. Proper Presentation - Serve drinks in fancy plastic cocktail glasses, or colorful cups for toddlers. Serve dip in a hollowed-out pumpkin, squash or round bread. Serve chips, pretzels and munchies in themed containers such as disposable foil pie plates for a cowboy party, Chinese noodle boxes for a karate party.
9. Surprise Them! - Kids love surprises and food is no exception. Imagine their delight when they bite into a hamburger with taco filling, or a slice of cake with jello filling. Try hiding a jellybean surprise inside a cupcake, or add a small container of dry ice (with holes punched in it) to your party punch to make a bubbling brew!
10. Stash an Extra Supply - It’s always wise to keep some extra snacks on hand for surprise guests. Siblings may show up uninvited and tax your food reserves, so be prepared
by: Patricia B. Jensen
Learn what turns kids on when it comes to party fare, and how to make it quick, easy, and impressive.
Ten Easy Steps to Great Kids Party Food will show you how to think like a kid when it comes to celebratory snacking!
1. Make in Advance - Do as much food preparation prior to your party as possible. A variety of kid party food can be made ahead and stored for the big day, such as popcorn balls, jello jigglers, and snack mixes in ziploc bags.
2. Keep it Simple and Fresh - Kids really do know what’s good for them, and will often gravitate to simple healthy foods first. Provide lots of natural choices such as vegetables with cream cheese based dips and salsas, fresh fruit fondue or chocolate dipped strawberries. Bugs on a log (cream-cheese filled celery, topped with raisins), and fish in the stream (cream-cheese filled celery, topped with goldfish crackers) are great healthy options too.
3. Try Quick Favorites - Tried-and-true kid party foods have stood the test of time and many a child’s fickle taste buds. Stick with the originals you can whip up quick, such as pigs in a blanket, nachos, and microwave s’mores.
4. Color and Create - The more colorful it is, the better it will taste! At least kids seem to think so! Let kids color and decorate their own cookies or cupcakes using assorted frostings and food colorings, sprinkles, mini M & M’s, chocolate morsels, gummies, etc.
5. Smooth & Creamy - Arm yourself with a crushed ice maker or blender and you’re ready to try any of these refreshing combinations: smoothies, snow cones, ice cream sodas or milk shakes. Another “smooth and creamy” alternative is to have kids make their own ice cream sundaes or layer fruit and yogurt for easy parfaits.
6. Crisp & Crunchy - Don’t be a slave to unhealthy snacks. Crisp and crunchy goes way beyond potato chips! Experiment with whole wheat crackers, sweet cereals, peanuts (always check for allergies), pretzels, and crunchy snack mixes combining raisins, coconut and other dried fruits for sweetness.
7. Vary Ingredients - Just imagine the many unique sandwiches that can be made just by using different kinds of bread such as English muffins, tacos, pitas, small deli rolls, or tortilla wraps. They same goes for the sweets. Try fruit pops, pudding, cupcakes or mini donuts instead of the traditional cake and ice cream dessert.
8. Proper Presentation - Serve drinks in fancy plastic cocktail glasses, or colorful cups for toddlers. Serve dip in a hollowed-out pumpkin, squash or round bread. Serve chips, pretzels and munchies in themed containers such as disposable foil pie plates for a cowboy party, Chinese noodle boxes for a karate party.
9. Surprise Them! - Kids love surprises and food is no exception. Imagine their delight when they bite into a hamburger with taco filling, or a slice of cake with jello filling. Try hiding a jellybean surprise inside a cupcake, or add a small container of dry ice (with holes punched in it) to your party punch to make a bubbling brew!
10. Stash an Extra Supply - It’s always wise to keep some extra snacks on hand for surprise guests. Siblings may show up uninvited and tax your food reserves, so be prepared
by: Patricia B. Jensen
8 Tips to Keeping your Kitchen Organized
As I went out to feed the birds today I sunk up to my knees in snow as I made my way to the bird feeder. And more snow is expected for the end of this week. I know this kind of weather makes some people have cabin fever. Do you get cabin fever?
I was working with a woman who said her therapist told her to get organizing. He told her even if you don't do any more than move one can to the other side of the shelf you have done something and that is a good thing.
In my jargon as a professional organizer of homes I would say doing this is taking baby steps. If you are having cabin fever and want to get outside but can't because of the weather and it is too early for Spring cleaning here are 8 tips on organizing your home.
Let's start with the kitchen:
Pantry or food shelves: Put like items together, soups in one place, and canned vegetables in another and canned fruits all together, pasta in one place—you get the idea. Everything has its place so when you need it you will save time and easily be able to see what you have. (It just might scream 'take out' pizza night.) If you haven't done this for awhile it is a good idea to make sure the cans or bottles are still good by checking expiration dates and check to see it is bulging. If it is, it is definitely spoiled and you need to get rid of it.
Snacks: Place them in a basket at a convenient level to grab and go. Or if you have family members that you don't want to get into them, hide them.
Lids: Do you have plastic or glass bowls used for storing left-overs? If the lids are always all over the place, put them in a basket by themselves which makes it easy to match to the bowl and eliminates hunting for the matches. If you keep the lids on the container that takes up a lot of space in your cupboard.
Dishes: Do you have enough room for all you have? Get metal stacking shelves that can double the amount of space in your cupboards. They come in many sizes and there are corner ones as well as straight ones that are adjustable. It is a good time to determine if you like or need all the dishes you have. If you see you never use some as you don't like them or you have too many for your needs or space; then donate to a charity.
Silverware drawer: Place the silverware in a container made for that purpose. Larger serving pieces can be placed next to it. Does your container slide back and forth as you open the drawer? A simple solution is to use sticky Velcro on the underside of the container—works great for bathroom drawers too where containers tend to want to slide about.
Pans: Place the ones you use most frequently toward the front of your shelf (if you hang them you have no problem with finding the right size when you need it). If you have pans with a finish that can be chipped or scratched paper plates between the pans prevents this from happening.
If you have medicines in the cupboards check their expiration dates and make sure little children can't get into them.
Have vases become squatters under your sink? If they belong in a different place, move them to their home.
Kitchens are often the hub of the home so a well organized one makes everyone happy. While you are waiting for Spring, or if you live where it is already Spring check out those cupboards, take an inventory and Get Organized now.
by: Marilyn Bohn
I was working with a woman who said her therapist told her to get organizing. He told her even if you don't do any more than move one can to the other side of the shelf you have done something and that is a good thing.
In my jargon as a professional organizer of homes I would say doing this is taking baby steps. If you are having cabin fever and want to get outside but can't because of the weather and it is too early for Spring cleaning here are 8 tips on organizing your home.
Let's start with the kitchen:
Pantry or food shelves: Put like items together, soups in one place, and canned vegetables in another and canned fruits all together, pasta in one place—you get the idea. Everything has its place so when you need it you will save time and easily be able to see what you have. (It just might scream 'take out' pizza night.) If you haven't done this for awhile it is a good idea to make sure the cans or bottles are still good by checking expiration dates and check to see it is bulging. If it is, it is definitely spoiled and you need to get rid of it.
Snacks: Place them in a basket at a convenient level to grab and go. Or if you have family members that you don't want to get into them, hide them.
Lids: Do you have plastic or glass bowls used for storing left-overs? If the lids are always all over the place, put them in a basket by themselves which makes it easy to match to the bowl and eliminates hunting for the matches. If you keep the lids on the container that takes up a lot of space in your cupboard.
Dishes: Do you have enough room for all you have? Get metal stacking shelves that can double the amount of space in your cupboards. They come in many sizes and there are corner ones as well as straight ones that are adjustable. It is a good time to determine if you like or need all the dishes you have. If you see you never use some as you don't like them or you have too many for your needs or space; then donate to a charity.
Silverware drawer: Place the silverware in a container made for that purpose. Larger serving pieces can be placed next to it. Does your container slide back and forth as you open the drawer? A simple solution is to use sticky Velcro on the underside of the container—works great for bathroom drawers too where containers tend to want to slide about.
Pans: Place the ones you use most frequently toward the front of your shelf (if you hang them you have no problem with finding the right size when you need it). If you have pans with a finish that can be chipped or scratched paper plates between the pans prevents this from happening.
If you have medicines in the cupboards check their expiration dates and make sure little children can't get into them.
Have vases become squatters under your sink? If they belong in a different place, move them to their home.
Kitchens are often the hub of the home so a well organized one makes everyone happy. While you are waiting for Spring, or if you live where it is already Spring check out those cupboards, take an inventory and Get Organized now.
by: Marilyn Bohn
Learning Problems in Children
Children can experience learning problems because of several reasons. Some children excel at studies while others strive hard. In this article, we discuss the different behavioural and learning problems that students aged 5-15 face.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is reading problem. The children find it difficult to read what they have written. Dyslexia is characterised by the difficulty of brain in separating and processing written and verbal language. These children find it difficult to learn spelling and to read fluently. They also confuse between similar looking letters like b, d, p, q, etc. They also tend to skip letters, words or sentences while reading.
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is the difficulty to write. Students with this problem may be smart at reading and memorizing. Such students also show signs of diminished motor coordination and find the tasks like tying a shoelace.
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is problems associated with numbers. They interchange the places of digits. This problem makes it difficult for the children to learn mathematics.
Dysnomia
Dysnomia is characterised by lack of ability in memorizing names or words. Pupils with this problem find it difficult to remember the word for objects, places or things.
Dyspraxia
Dyspraxia is characterised by lack of or poorly developed skills in skilled tasks like typing, sewing, etc. Such children can also show signs of difficulty in controlling sound and speaking and can be slow at eating or drinking.
Children with these type of disorders may be smart at one or more special skills. For example, Ernest Hemingway is believed to have suffered from Dyspraxia.
Helping the children and instilling in them a sense of confidence is essential for the development of such children and to help them lead successful lives.
by: Dev Sri
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is reading problem. The children find it difficult to read what they have written. Dyslexia is characterised by the difficulty of brain in separating and processing written and verbal language. These children find it difficult to learn spelling and to read fluently. They also confuse between similar looking letters like b, d, p, q, etc. They also tend to skip letters, words or sentences while reading.
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is the difficulty to write. Students with this problem may be smart at reading and memorizing. Such students also show signs of diminished motor coordination and find the tasks like tying a shoelace.
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is problems associated with numbers. They interchange the places of digits. This problem makes it difficult for the children to learn mathematics.
Dysnomia
Dysnomia is characterised by lack of ability in memorizing names or words. Pupils with this problem find it difficult to remember the word for objects, places or things.
Dyspraxia
Dyspraxia is characterised by lack of or poorly developed skills in skilled tasks like typing, sewing, etc. Such children can also show signs of difficulty in controlling sound and speaking and can be slow at eating or drinking.
Children with these type of disorders may be smart at one or more special skills. For example, Ernest Hemingway is believed to have suffered from Dyspraxia.
Helping the children and instilling in them a sense of confidence is essential for the development of such children and to help them lead successful lives.
by: Dev Sri
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)