Did You Get the Hidden Parenting Message in Finding Nemo?
May 31, 2010
In the movie, Finding Nemo, Nemo’s father, Marlyn asks the sea turtle, “Dude, how do you know when they are ready?”
This is an interesting question that many parents would like to know. How DO you know when your children are ready to take on tasks for themselves? The only way to know if your children are ready for something is to test them. In the movie you may remember Nemo being in the fish tank and becoming stuck in the air tube, all of the other fish wanted to rescue Nemo from a certain death. All except Gil. Gil could see that Nemo was perfectly capable of getting out of the tube for himself. Nemo on the other hand was told his entire life by his father that he couldn’t swim well because he had a bad fin. Nemo promptly relayed this message to Gil. Yet Gil didn’t buy it. He could see that Nemo could indeed save himself and he told him so. So what could Nemo do? Nothing. Nothing that is except perform. He had to save himself because he had no other choice. He had to get out of the air tube himself or he would die. When put to the test by Gil, Nemo passed with flying colors. He got himself out of the air tube and quickly realized that he COULD do it himself. Gil instantly gave Nemo the gift of self-accomplishment and confidence that his father had unintentionally robbed Nemo of his entire life.
8 Beauty Tips To Help You Get Rid Of Acne
May 30, 2010
8 Beauty Tips To Help You Get Rid Of Acne
by: Janice Wee
How do you deal with acne? How can you keep the pimples at bay? How do you stop new pimples from appearing?
It all starts with a clogged pore. When a pore in your skin gets clogged up with oil, dirt and skin debris. Bacteria happily breeds in that concoction, infecting that pore, leading to acne.
To treat acne, attack the root of problem. The bacteria and the clogged pores.
That brings us to these 8 tips.
1. Do NOT touch your face with your hands
Throughout the day, your hands come in contact with the world around you. Your hands touch surfaces like the phone, the computer keyboards, your bag, the table and basically everything around you. Picking up germs as you go along. Touching your face with your hands before washing them is a big No No. The last thing you want is to introduce more bacteria to your skin, leading to more pimples.
2. Keep your hair off your face.
Got To, Get To ? Change The Way Your Family Thinks
May 29, 2010
I recently heard a story that has literally changed the way that I, and my family, think about life. The story is as follows:
There was once a high-powered woman in her 30s who ran her own company and was massively successful in business. Yet every single day, at 10am, she visited her elderly mother, who was in an old peoples’ home. When asked if she could attend meetings at that time, she would reply, "I’m sorry, I’ve got to visit my mother". She sometimes resented the commitment and was occasionally ridiculed, but nevertheless answered, "No, I’m sorry, I’ve got to visit my mother."
One day her mother died. Soon afterwards she was asked if she could make a meeting at 10am the following day. She started to reply, "No, I’m sorry, I’ve got to visit my mother", but of course quickly realised that this was no longer the case. Sadly, she realised that for many years she had been saying, "I’ve got to visit my mother" when what she
should have instead been saying was, "I get to visit my mother". She would never “get to” visit her mother again.
Playing Safe
May 29, 2010
Do you really want your child to enjoy playing with a toy that was made on the other side of the world by people who are no more than children themselves, and paid 30 cents an hour - a paltry sum that can barely sustain them? Unfortunately, all too often, that’s exactly what you’re doing.
I’m not suggesting that anybody who does this is uncaring and selfish - when we buy these toys it’s usually because we don’t know any better. After all, the big toy manufacturers are hardly going to tell us, are they?
Manufacture
So why is this allowed to go on? How can the toy giants get away with it?
Quite easily. Thanks to the way these factories are monitored, owners are warned of inspections beforehand and have time to ‘clean up their act’.
While the Toy Industry Association of America has developed regulations regarding the safety of children’s toys, they’ve done little to improve the situation for the unfortunate children who are forced to make them.
Their website explains that since a large percentage of toys sold in the US are produced in China, as far back as in 1996 the TIA developed a program to teach Chinese toy manufacturers US toy safety standards to ensure that imported toys met US requirements.
Baby Furniture Buyers Guide
May 28, 2010
Communication between the guests would be wise to prevent any duplicate gifts. The guests could also choose to get together on something more expensive such as a piece of nursery furniture. The parents need items that will hold up well for their newborn, so check to make certain the item you choose is sturdy and built for safety.
Purchasing an expensive gift such as a piece of furniture for the nursery would help the new parents tremendously as they are probably strapped for cash at this point. What with the pre-natel care and the upcoming hospital and doctor expenses that come with any childbirth.
Baby Cribs Cribs will be the most important piece of furniture the new parent will need for the baby. They come in a wide variety of styles and finishes to match any nursery theme or color scheme the parents might have for the nursery. They come as standard cribs, canopy, convertible, sleigh and various other types. Some of the more common features available would be adjustable mattress heights, metal mattress supports, one of three different kinds of release mechanism, rolling casters and/or a teething rail. A baby can use the crib from birth until around the age of 3. A safe and sturdy crib will cost from $150 to over $1000 depending on the quality of the wood and the features provided.
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream, But Not For Ice Cream!
May 27, 2010
We all scream for ice cream. Or, we don’t, at least not anymore.
Before moving to this sleepy suburb as kids, we lived in the city. We’d walk to the corner store for an italian ice. I barely kindergarten age when we moved south of Boston, but I remember the cool lemony goodness on a wooden stick like it was yesterday.
When we moved to the ‘burbs, we didn’t have to go to the store anymore for a treat. The ice-cream truck would come to us, (though I seem to remember calling it the slush truck?) Of course, looking back, I see that an ice cream truck was just one more hurdle in my weight gain problems, but this is a happy memory, damnit.
During the summer months, you’d hear the distinct sound of bells, calling to us kids like the Pied Piper of frozen confections. We’d haul up the driveway, down the street, out of the woods, with quarters, dimes and nickels, to buy a “graveyard” slush. Does anybody remember this- getting all those syrupy sweet flavors mixed together to make a greyish-blackish mud of a slush? Maybe it was just my brother who ordered it like that? I used to love watermelon, cotton candy, anything pink.
Joining a School Band
May 26, 2010
Joining a School Band
by: Jean Feingold
From selecting the right instrument to learning to read music, being in band can enhance a student’s education. Even children with no musical background can join their school’s band. How is this possible? It’s because all the basic aspects of playing a musical instrument and reading musical notation are taught at school. No one can predict whether a child will have musical ability, but even those whose parents are not musical have a chance of success. The most important factors in whether a child will do well are regular practicing and desire.
Finding an instrument
Selecting the right instrument is an important part of joining a band class. Band directors will consider the student’s preferences, musical aptitude and physical characteristics before recommending the most appropriate band instruments for each student. The flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, french horn, trombone, baritone, tuba and percussion are good choices for beginners.
Band instruments can be purchased from local musical instrument dealers or online. Prices vary widely depending on the level of quality. Beginners should select lower priced, entry level instruments. Upgrading to better quality instruments should the students have a gift for music can always be done later. Those with a strong interest in improving their skills can take private music lessons to supplement the school instruction.
Encouraging Your Child to Write
May 25, 2010
How in the world do you get your child to write? This is the battle cry of many parents. A lot of imagination, with a little bribery (or praise) is all you need to get your child writing. We’ll supply the imagination. The praise and bribery is all up to you.
Grocery List: Enlist your child’s help in making the grocery list. Walk around the kitchen, naming things you need from the store. Ask your child to write everything down. Your child can also suggest foods you might need from the store and he can add those, too.
Old Checks: If you’ve recently switched banks and have checks that need to be destroyed, first let your child play with them. Give him some envelopes and he can pretend to pay bills — while getting him to do some writing. Of course, destroy the checks afterwards. If you do not have checks available, you can just give your child some blank pieces of paper and he can make his own checks.
Cards: If your child is interested in Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh cards, then give him some index cards cut in half and have him design his own cards. Encourage your child to give the characters names and special abilities on their cards.
When Your Childs Adoption Story Changes: Nothing But the Facts or is It Nothing are the Facts?
May 24, 2010
Elana, born in Russia, was told "We really don’t know why your birth family couldn’t care for you.""
Katie, adopted from China, cherishes an item from a birth parent: a red note that was enclosed with her blanket.
Peter grew up celebrating his birthday on July 7th He believed that the reason for his adoption was due to poverty in Guatemala. .
There is nothing new about finding "new" adoption information-the kind that turns your life upside down and changes basic life facts. Professionally and personally, as adoptee, adoptive mother, social worker I’ve learned a single truth: everything changes in adoption.
Sometimes the changes are in a child’s levels of understanding which evolves with age. For example, the day a child realizes that prior to being adopted he or she lived somewhere else (or many places) and with birth family and caretakers.
But sometimes new information emerges. The new information may be personal and specific for your child. Other times the information affects all the children adopted from an entire country.
School Holiday Survival Guide
May 24, 2010
The school holidays are a great time for the kids, all those weeks of fun and games, no school, getting up late??but not for their parents! Summer vacation time can be just as much like hard work as the rest of the year. Trying to keep the kids entertained for six whole weeks can seem like a daunting task, so here are ten top tips to help you survive the summer holidays.
1. A little planning goes along way. You don’t have to time everything to the minute, but a plan of the next week’s events will at least mean you make sure you have the food for the picnic on the right day.
2. Don’t over-schedule your children’s time. Remember they need to rest, relax and recuperate so that they are ready to go back to school in September.
3. If you need to buy any items of school uniform, stationary, books or sports equipment, get it done in the first two weeks. If you don’t there will be nothing left in your child’s size and you won’t have enough time to sew in the name tapes.
