A New School Year
June 30, 2007
Depending on where you live school will be starting this month or next month. A new school year is usually exciting and scary at the same time. Most children won’t admit it, but they are ready to get back to school and see their friends. As much as I love not having a rigid schedule in the summer, I do miss the structure of the school year. We get up later in the summer and go to bed later as well.
When you think of a new School Year what are your first thoughts? Back to school shopping for clothes and school supplies. A big transition from elementary to middle school, or to high school, even college. A new teacher who you heard is strict or not strict enough? There can often be lots of anxiety with a new school year for parents as well as children.
The 411 on Natural Colic Remedies
June 29, 2007
Any parent whose baby has suffered from colic can tell you that colic is one of the most excruciating experiences ever imaginable. Nothing is worse than seeing one’s baby in pain and not being able to help take it away. Finding relief for colic quickly becomes a top priority. There are many different colic remedies that may come to the rescue for your particular baby. Each baby is unique and may only respond to some or a combination of colic remedies. Unfortunately, parents may have to use the old trial and error method to determine which provide the greatest amount of relief for their little colic sufferer. One thing is certain?the days of "waiting it out" are long gone for those determined to find an answer. There is no need to suffer needlessly along with baby. If you’ve tried all proper feeding and burping techniques and baby is still crying, try the following list of the most effective remedies available:
Surviving As A Single Parent: Seven Simple Suggestions To Make Your Life Easier
June 29, 2007
1 - Forgive even if you will never be able to Forget -
Let go of grudges you may hold against your child’s other parent, who is absent from BOTH of your lives. Holding onto feelings of anger will not change your situation and will probably consume a great deal of your energy - energy you need to devote to creating a positive environment for your child. If you dwell on your disappointment with and/or dislike of the father or mother of your child - chances are your child will sense your feelings and suffer in some way from your negative attitude.
2 - Make the most of everything you have -
Even if you do not have a lot of money, you do have your child and your love and your time to give to him or her. Try to remember that monetary wealth and material possessions are not the most important items in your child’s life. Your love, support and time together mean much more to them. You can have fun for free. Activities like - going for a walk or a bike ride, playing at the park, coloring, painting, singing, or dancing - will thrill your child just as much as spending money to go to an amusement park, an arcade or a toy store.
Back to School; Time to Recharge
June 28, 2007
The back-to-school shopping is done. Brand new pencils, colored markers, and notebooks fill my daughter’s back pack. I’ve cleaned off the refrigerator in preparation for the new onslaught of pictures and class notices. School’s started. She is excited to be back amongst her friends. I find myself in the everyday routine of waking up in the dark, fixing breakfast and packing lunches. Even though my daughter is old enough to drive herself to school this year, I still rush out the door behind her dressed in sweat pants and no makeup. After a quick work out and a shower, my work day finally begins. It’s good to be back in the routine.
But, back-to-school is also time to recharge the parenting batteries. The kids are gone until at least 3:00. The house is quiet. I actually get some work done for the first time in 3 months. I’ve signed up for an art class at the local university. I have time for lunch with my girlfriends.
This month, why not celebrate back-to-school by taking a few minutes for yourself? Put on your favorite CD and take a long leisurely, uninterrupted bath. Why not go for coffee with the girls or host a brunch for your neighborhood friends? Try something decadent, just for mom.
Parents: Take the SAT Challenge!
June 27, 2007
I keep a box of tissues on the table where I tutor because, as an SAT tutor and college application consultant, I listen to high school juniors and seniors who are so overwhelmed by college pressure that they begin to cry. Not just girls. Not just Ivy League aspirants.
High school students are always convinced their parents don’t understand them. This time the students are right. Parents don’t understand because the college admission process is so much more competitive than it was when most parents applied to college.
These are the ten things I wish I could tell parents:
1. I am convinced that parents have to walk a mile in the student’s moccasins to gain some appreciation for the stress the students are under and to reverse the tension at home. If parents will take an SAT practice test they will feel some of the same anxiety, cringe at their results, and discover that the test is hard. Instead of piling 25 pounds of SAT study books on the desk, parents can commiserate with students over missed problems. Parents and students can become allies rather than adversaries as they face the college admission process.
TEA for TWO, For BABY and YOU!
June 26, 2007
Baby Rooibos Tea is naturally good for your baby. It is an anti-allergic nutritional supplementary drink and is suitable for babies from birth. It can help relieve the following conditions:
Colic Insomnia Food Allergies Stomach Cramps Eczema
Rooibos Tea has been a trusted solution for the above conditions for the last three decades amongst South African mothers and more recently, mothers worldwide.
Rooibos Tea contains the soothing and relaxing flavonoid quercetin with anti-spasmodic properties and luteolin an anti-inflammatory antioxidant. Rooibos tea has a dramatic calming and soothing effect when added to allergic babies’ bottles and promotes good sleeping patterns. Furthermore, Rooibos has anti-allergic properties because it contains the unique flavonoid aspalathin, which only occurs in the Rooibos plant.
Scientists have found that Rooibos Tea has the following properties:
Anti-allergic Anti-bacterial Anti-ageing Anti-spasmodic Anti-viral Anti-oxidant No caffeine Low tannin Rich in Minerals Anti-carcinogenic
Top Seven Tips for Back-to-School Success
June 25, 2007
Parents play a critical role in their child’s success. These seven tips from http://www.goalsettingforstudents.com explain how to help your child set and achieve goals for the new school year.
1. Set 30, 60 and 90-day goals - with your child. What’s most important for the first 30 days? Ask your child what they plan to accomplish and help them make a plan to get there. Creating a regular routine with time for homework, chores, outside activities and free time is critical. Help your child tweak their schedule for the best way to spend their time. At the end of the first 30 days, review what worked and what didn’t, and then discuss the 60 and 90-day goals. 2. Write it down. Don’t just talk about goals. Have your child write them down. The act of writing down goals reinforces the message. According to John Bishop, author of the workbook, Goal Setting for Students®, “There are two great benefits to writing down goals. First, it is implanting in their minds a gentle, yet important, message that they are responsible for their day. Secondly, this exercise teaches them that they cannot simply blame others for their lack of effort.”
How To Get The Most Out Of Class
June 24, 2007
How To Get The Most Out Of Class
by: Scott Palat
Some students spend too much time studying because they did not take the time to learn what was being taught in class the first time. If you follow these four tips, you will learn how to understand each lesson being taught in class so you will not have to put in extra time studying. This does not mean you will not have to study, but this will become a guide so you can use your time wisely. While you are in class, sit back and learn as much as you can and you will almost certainly get better grades and have more free time.
1. If possible, try to sit near the front to eliminate
distractions. Teachers will probably not have a problem
accommodating you if you ask them to sit you in a specific
location in order to help you focus.
2. Avoid distractions such as chatting with friends, looking
around the room, doodling, dozing, and daydreaming.
Keep busy by participating in the discussion, asking or
answering questions, and taking notes.
3. Contribute to classroom discussions. Raising your hand
Im a Mom, Shes a Mom: Being an Adult with Your Parents
June 24, 2007
On one of her quarterly visits to see her grandson, my three-year-old son, my mother ignores the available front seat of the car, crowds into the back next to the car seat and promptly unwraps a lollipop. Feeling the tension rising, I recall the numerous conversations where I so proudly tell my mother how I keep sugar away from my son. "Mom, what are you doing? Haven’t you heard a word I said?" And so it starts. The struggle of being an adult with my parent.
So much is written today about taking care of our parents as they age. Monitoring medical care, determining living arrangements and providing emotional support are the new roles that we have taken on to help our parents age gracefully and with dignity. We are the "Sandwich Generation," the growing number of adult children squeezed between the needs of an aging parent and the demands of our own children, spouses and careers. But not much is written about the stage prior to this phase. That time when our parents are still healthy and active and still very much involved in our own lives. I am talking about that period of time when you, yourself, are an active adult, with a family and a husband and life of your very own. That is when the struggle to be an adult with your parents begins. So, which Mom really knows best?
Meeting The True Needs of Children Diagnosed As ADHD
June 23, 2007
How should one look upon Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and what is the effective way to aid those who are given this diagnosis? There has been considerable debate as to whether or not ADHD is a genuine disorder. Psychiatrist and professor Robert Hedaya (1996, pg. 140) mentions that an examination by Hartmann in 1993 felt that ADHD is actually normal variant of human behavior that doesn’t fit into cultural norms.
In addition, there is no objective test for this disorder. Hedaya (1996, pg. 140) mentions that a commonly used test is the TOVA (test of variables of attention), a test where the client must use a computer and hit a target at various points. This test is designed to measure the person’s response time and distractibility. However, Hedaya (1996, pg. 140) notes, this tool cannot be relied upon to make or exclude the diagnosis in and of itself. Hedaya (1996, pg. 268) notes that there has been controversy in the use of stimulants for the treatment of ADHD, he states, medications alone do not provide adequate or full treatment in this disorder.
