When you have small children, keeping them occupied can be a full-time job in and of itself. During the winter or on rainy days, that task gets even more difficult, so craft time can become a very important part of your daily activities. Read more about Made to Play!: Handmade Toys and Crafts for Growing Imaginations
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the one single answer to being a good parent is to respect your children. While there are many other aspects of good parenting, I think if you have this one basic principle down, you will go far as a parent and have kids who are confident and happy, despite the hurdles life may throw at them. Read more about Good Parenting: It All Revolves Around Respect
As parents, we are constantly inundated with instructions and warnings about what our kids are exposed to, how every little action has long-term effects, and an ever-growing list of what not to do when it comes to raising our kids. It can be a little overwhelming, to say the least. None of us wants to do permanent damage to our kids by exposing them to the wrong TV program or by not getting the proper help for a developmental issue, but it is difficult to know just what is important. Read more about Welcome to Your Child's Brain
One of the most debated topics among parents these days is whether or not to vaccinate. There are compelling arguments on both sides of the fence. None of us wants to risk the health or safety of our children, which is what makes this argument so difficult. When it comes to intentions, both sides are absolutely correct. The following books about vaccinations may help shed some light on this tough subject. Read more about All About Vaccines
Being a mom is one of the most satisfying achievements a woman can be. It can also be the most difficult, least glamorous and most stressful endeavor a woman can undertake. Our society today puts so much pressure on women, both in the home and out of it. Not only are we expected to keep the house clean, cook the meals and raise the kids, but also work a job, be a wife and countless other tasks. It can be exhausting and overwhelming, sapping the joy out of every task because there are just too many. Read more about The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers
Recently, there have been many concerns raised with the quality of school lunches for kids in public schools. From junk foods and high calorie sweets to the fact that most of what is served in some schools is of very low nutritional value, it seems lower educational scores are not the only concerns we must face when we enroll our kids in public schools today. Read more about Fed Up with Lunch: The School Lunch Project
As new parents, I think every one of us struggles with parenting concepts. That every parent you meet will have their own opinion about the “right” way to parent only adds to the confusion. When that first baby is born, at least half of the grand ideas we had fly right out the window when reality slaps us in the face and says, “Hey, you had no idea what you were getting into, did you?” Read more about What Can Aretha Franklin Teach Us About Parenting?
Perhaps the most difficult age to parent, the age of teenagers is fraught with insecurity, emotions, and hormones. If you find yourself struggling with what used to be your happy child and is now a surly stranger, it may be time to hit up the library for some ideas on rekindling the connection. The following books are written specifically for parents of teenagers and will give you insights into why your teen acts out and how to bridge the growing gap between you both.
As I watch my young children flit from toy to toy, never seeming to settle on a single activity for very long, I wonder what it is I can do to help them focus and enjoy what they have. It often seems as though they are simply overwhelmed with the choices in their lives. During a typical day, they watch a little TV, wander around the house picking on each other, and stop in once in a while for some toys. Most of what we buy them is ignored, so we have cut back drastically on the toys we bring home. Read more about Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids
As our world speeds up, demands on our time increase, and the number of activities each family member participates in keeps growing, our time spent together as a family suffers greatly. It is so difficult to prioritize family time when we are being pulled in so many different directions. As a result, family dinners have nearly become a thing of the past. Less than half of families say they have family dinners together, a much smaller number than even a single generation ago.
New research is showing that spending just one hour together each day can reap great rewards for family relationships and the long-term happiness and development of our children. While that seems like a long amount of time in the life of a busy family, you probably already spend close to that in dinner preparations and eating, so combining that time with family together time can be relatively simple and infinitely beneficial. Read more about The Hour that Matters Most: The Surprising Power of the Family Meal