How to Encourage Kids to Make Friends at Any Age

Forming Friendships from Toddler to Teen

 

by Kerrie McLoughlin

As parents, we want our kids to make good friends, friends who they have fun with and in whom they can confide. Of course, not all kids are social butterflies, so how do you encourage friendships at every stage of the game from toddler to teen? Read on to learn!

Toddler Play Date

I envy the easy way in which the tiny crowd makes friends. They can plop down next to any random kid at a park, daycare or preschool, start chatting and … BAM! … they are instant pals. Taking your child places and providing chances for him to be around other kids is what it takes for him to make new friends during this special time.

Colorful, Squishy Laundry Detergent Packets Attract Kids

Keep Highly Concentrated Packets of Laundry Detergent Locked Up and Out of the Reach of Kids

If you use highly concentrated liquid laundry detergent that comes in small packets, you’ll want to heed this warning from the experts at the North Texas Poison Center:  Always keep them locked up high and out of the reach of kids!

Raising a Lefty in a Right-Handed World

Raising a Lefty in a Right-Handed World

by Kerrie McLoughlin

Those poor lefties! They pick up a mug and the picture is facing away from them. They struggle while using regular scissors. And we’ve all seen a lefty write while their hand smears ink across the page while they sit at their school desk made for righties.

How to Protect Children from Child Predators

Protect children from child predators

Trust Your Gut… and your child’s gut, too!

 

by Darlene Ellison, M.S

iPhones, texting, YouTube…we seem to be a technology-dominated society. Of course, in my 40’s, I am probably a bit insecure in these high tech times, since the first time I ever turned on a computer was in college!  Don’t get me wrong, I am a definitive fan of technology as it aids me in my business, in keeping up with my kids’ whereabouts, and in providing research at my fingertips…not to mention great recipes at a moment’s notice.  But when it comes to protecting our children from child predators, detection is key and there is no technology in the world that is more valuable than feelings that stir inside of you and your child—TRUST YOUR GUT!

How do We Begin to Love our Children Unconditionally?

“Love in a Nutshell”

by Sedef Orsel

Our daily lives are so fast and so hectic that we have little time to reflect and understand how our actions translate into a chain of events that significantly impact our children. Each day, parental love transfers into a belief in self-worth and abundance for our children. When we demonstrate parental love, our children are better able to grow more deeply in love with themselves.

What to do When Kids Fight

Fighting Kids

Ask Amy: When Siblings Fight

by Amy Egan

Very little can disturb a parent’s peace like children fighting.  And it seems that very little we do to alleviate it does much, if any good. Most of us use knee-jerk reactions when we hear our kids fight or throwing punches.  Those reactions being either yelling at them and telling they must learn to get along, or stepping in trying to find out who started the whole darn mess.

The problem with telling them, in our sternest voices, that they must learn to get along and quit fighting is that it doesn’t work. How many times have you said something like this to your kids? And how much better do they get along now? The real problem is that whenever we command our children to do something and they don’t do it, we look very wimpy! I’m pretty sure that we can all agree we ought to toss this technique into the trash bin.