We’ve all said it. “Good job.” But what does it really mean and is it even effective in helping raise our children? The truth in the matter is that praising our kids more and more doesn’t help enable them, nor does it boost a child’s self-esteem.
1,700 miles, two planes, 4 bags, and two kids followed by 2 weeks of ear infections, whiny children, and work piling up without getting any attention and I was about to snap. I was trying to balance my family time with my work time with my everything else time. But instead of succeeding at giving…
Bake up some spinach zucchini bites with your kids and you have a healthy and strangely sophisticated meal to share with your kids or a great party snack for when you have guests over. Whether you’re making these for a party with friends or just a party in your tummy, they’re a quick and easy…
From birth, the two aspects of development that are continual are language and aotor skills. Both are greatly influenced by each other and even more interestingly, music. Therefore, it is important to start developing a love for and involvement in music at birth and continue throughout life.
I remember when my oldest had just turned one, the few months following I felt this urge to have more kids. Maybe because it was my biologic trigger, maybe because so many around me were adding baby 2 and even 3 to their line-up, or maybe just because I desired a large family. Regardless, we…
Even great parents have to ask hard questions about child abuse. It’s important to keep our kids safe with both those we know and those we don’t. And it’s an open-ended conversation that we should all be having even though it seems to be a taboo subject. This is all about tools to think about…
Ever since childhood, I have been a big fan of the maze game. Now that I am parent, I know that maze games are puzzles, making them great for spatial awareness, fine motor skills, and expanding the capacity of the mind. This inspired me to try my hand at a DIY maze game that my…
I sat down in my Boston home some time back in December, and started scrolling through Facebook. “On this day” popped up and I was suddenly was reminded of the chaos the previous year had brought. We lost my grandad, had a pet run away, and I gave birth to a daughter all in the…
Before my first was born, my mother-in-law warned that my husband was the child who never slept. So much so, she kept a journal of when he woke and fell asleep. So I knew from day one I would be looking to find some great sleep solutions for kids if I wanted to keep my own sanity.
Gardening not only is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, but there are some many ways to recycle and reuse in preparation for planting. One of my favorite ways is to make plastic upcycle seed starters. And with so much plastic used now, there are countless ideas, but I have collected a few of…
Paris, Brussels, and who knows where next. Our world is full of bad news stories and little ears hear a lot more even when we try to shelter them. Explaining terrorism doesn’t have to be a chore as a parent. It doesn’t even have to be scary. But in today’s world, I would argue that…
In raising our children, there are inevitable moments we must start telling a child no. But there are actually easy ways to say yes, but mean no in the effort to start parenting with positive phrasing and without always saying no.