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Parenting: Raising Savvy Citizens

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Raising Savvy Citizens

Guest Post

Cuddle time, crafts, and play dates don’t comprise all of a mom’s duties. It is also our responsibility to help usher our kids into adulthood as upstanding and responsible members of society. While it is easy to cloister ourselves in the home nest for a time, at some point our kids need to face the world head on. Providing a solid education in citizenship allows children to enter the world as informed adults. Whether that means navigating tricky bureaucracy, exercising sound financial judgement, or volunteering to help improve the community, the example we set at an early age sets the foundation from which the next generation builds their communities, their country, and their lives.

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Provide a Civics Lesson

As soon as children are old enough, bring them along to the polls on voting day. Bringing your children along to pull the lever or push a screen instills the voting habit young. Toddlers might only note the "I Voted" sticker at the end of their first voting sessions, but as children grow more mature so may discussions of civic responsibility.  Walk them through the voting process. Introduce them to polling volunteers. Make sure they are aware of your state’s voter ID requirements, and even feel free to discuss why your vote goes one way or another. Attending election days takes the mystery out of the process, and make certain that kids will be confident in casting a vote by the time they are of age.

If your neighborhood association or town hosts monthly meetings, bring older children along to these events as well. While subdivision matters might seem tedious to your teenager, building the habit of interacting with the community creates an active and engaged citizen. Encourage lively debate and discussion around the dinner table about local matters. Allow your child to form their own opinions, but encourage them also to develop well-informed arguments to support them.

Teach Personal Finance

Personal finance is woefully undertaught as a school subject, however developing good fiscal habits helps young adults get ahead early. Invite your children to shadow you while balancing your monthly statements and paying bills. Open up a savings account in their name and allow them deposit allowances and birthday money into the account.

Young kids often misunderstand credit cards as an unending fountain of money. Without the proper education from parents, this fantasy is often taken into adulthood. Teach them about responsible use of credit cards. Educate about the value of credit card with a low interest rate as well as the penalties of late payments and overdraft fees.

College age students are often bombarded with confusing and often predatory credit card offers when they get to campus. Demonstrate the power of a good credit history by showing the difference interest rates on high ticket items like cars, furniture, and mortgages. Offer to help sift through available credit cards to choose a card that will help develop credit history, but won’t bury in interest.

Volunteer

Get out into the community and do some good as a family. Find an opportunity to volunteer together. Whether building houses with an organization like Habit for Humanity, gathering food at a food bank, or simply shelving books at the school library, encouraging volunteerism not only develops generous habits it also allows kids to gain a rich perspective of the community and learn valuable skills.

Often organizations like the Girls Scouts involve volunteerism as part of their charter. Investigate the options, and make certain to set a good example by logging volunteer hours of your own.

Raising children to be polite and respectful isn’t an easy task – but it is a rewarding one. What tips do you have to raise savvy citizens?

Ten Essential Must Haves For Mom and Dads

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Guest Post:

Ten Essential Must Haves For Mom and Dads

Being a parent is hard work, but not having the proper things makes it even harder. Mom’s need to have decor, a home that reflects who they are as a person, and dads have to have a place to go in order to feel happy in their home. Having children in their home requires not only decor and things to make mom and dad happy but important items to keep children happy.

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Must Haves

1.  Bassinet for children at least for the first 12 weeks of their life.

2.  No more tears baby wash is a must have for all parents

3.  Baby nail clippers, baby’s have a tendency to scratch themselves so these are handy to have around.

4.  Soft symphonic music that allows you to relax and loosen up a little when your baby is sleeping finally.

5.  A flatscreen television to watch those reruns of pride and prejudice or the football game.

6.  Boppy pillow for those times when you and your baby want to cuddle

7.  For older children you might want to have a section where you can put your mud boots.

8.  Designer barf bags, perfect for travel on the go.

9.  Temp ducky, stick him in the tub and make sure that your child will enjoy a temperate bath and not be stuck in sweltering water.

10. A pedometer that dad and mom can both use to make sure that they are getting the exercise they need and to ensure that they are able to work on their own time schedule.

These must haves are available at LTD Commodities and many other online retailers. Online stores are easy to work with than many mainline stores because online you can find most anything. There is a limited amount of space available in most traditional stores, plus the amount of items available in the store are based entirely on the chains clients.

If there are more people there with children in the elementary school age group then you will not find many items for babies. If you are looking for a store that has clothing, furniture, and more in one space then look no further then Ltd Commodities. There you will find a plethora of items that you would otherwise never have found.

 

 

Online shopping benefits consumers because you can compare several items at once looking at all aspects. Plus in the store you cannot review items as easiy as you can when you are shopping online. Simply look at the peer review to see if the product has been well received, where else can you go to easily view the items you need and understand what others are saying about them.

 

Having a family is hard work,shopping should not be. It is easy to maintain a busy lifestyle when you  log in to your computer, pul up the website you need and get those items ordered that you need. It is hard work creating a steady lifestyle, the least the internet can offer is the “easy” button when it comes to shopping.

Kids Love Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood

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My kids have the PBS app on their iPad where they can watch Sprout shows, PBS children’s shows on their iPad. I caught them last night watching Daniel Tiger’s neighborhood. I’ve also heard from one of my neighbors who has an over active little girl who will only sit and watch Daniel Tiger’s neighborhood. Everything else she has no interest in. I think it’s quite cute, I mean it’s Mr. Rogers modernized for kids.

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According to a recent PBS KIDS survey of parents of 2-6 year-olds, 86 percent of parents believe they have the most influence in preparing children for kindergarten and teaching a child social-emotional skills.

The survey stated that parents rely on a variety of tools, including parenting books/magazines (47%), PBS KIDS (46%), online parenting sites (46%), and other moms/parents (45%), to give them guidance on preparing their children for school.  As was found in the survey, PBS KIDS can be a viable resource for parents, providing tips and advice for dealing with social emotional issues, such as how to handle potty training, problem solving or teaching your child how to share.

PBS KIDS’ new show DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD can be a unique “secret tool” for any parent’s tool box.  The show is designed to help support a child’s social-emotional development and to give kids practical strategies for dealing with various emotions. 

PBS KIDS has developed five simple tips, adapted from the new series DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, which launched earlier this month, to help parents support their children’s social-emotional development, and to give kids practical strategies for dealing with various emotions:

Tip #1: When your child is disappointed about something, help him/her find something positive about the situation to focus on instead.

Tip #2: When your child gets angry, encourage him/her to take a deep breath and count to four.

Tip #3: Encourage your child to keep trying when he/she is struggling with a challenging task.

Tip #4: When your child is feeling apprehensive about a new experience – like going to the doctor or starting school – talk to him/her about what to expect beforehand.

Tip #5: Teach your child patience by coming up with activities to do while you’re waiting, like singing a song or playing a quiet game.

What Moms Have to Say About Traveling with Kids

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Pampers was my sponsor to Blogher 12 and I learned so much about where blogging conferences are going, networking opportunities and about moms and how those of us do it all and how we do it well. We keep our kids close and travel with them as often as we can. Sometimes work takes us away from them but many of the moms I encountered had their children with them. Since holiday travel plans are being made for us I figured others are thinking about the same things. And that’s what made me decide to go ahead and share these tips with you today.

I was tasked with interviewing moms to find out what their tips were about traveling with kids. Here’s what they had to say:

Tips:

Baby Carrier

Packed Toys Wrapped so the child can open them

Snacks that aren’t messy

Leave in the middle of the night

Travel Version of their favorite Game

Baby Wearing

I find that when I travel with my kids I need to be prepared to be stranded so we each have a backpack full of things we need. The kids have one change of clothes and all the toys and activities they can fit in their bags. In my bag I have a change of clothes, my computer, wrapped toys new and old and lots and lots of snacks. (YES I have been stranded in an airport overnight with my children). So we’re always prepared or try to be prepared for the unexpected.

 

I loved doing this with Pampers and thank them a great deal for sponsoring me to Blogher 12.

Getting Kids Out of the House

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Guest Post:

With the advent of iPhones, Xbox’s and every kind of video game you can imagine, it’s harder than ever to get kids off the couch and outside to play. Well, there’s a new reasons for kids to go outside and play in the sun, and that’s JT SplatMaster. Fun, safe and exciting, JT SplatMaster provides kids with a great new hobby for the outdoorsy-minded youngster.

imageThe JT SplatMaster z100 Pistol is a lightweight, safe toy for kids to target practice with, and the inexpensive pistol comes fully loaded with color-filled pellets perfect for aiming at targets with. Of course, parents shy away from these ideas for many valid reasons – cleaning up the mess, it’s dangerous, it promotes bad behavior. But JT SplatMaster accounts for all those things. The pellets wash away completely with water, they’re cheap and easy to use, and under the right circumstances, target practice teaches kids great skills like diligence and restraint.

These toys are really a great alternative to playing yet another game of Angry Birds. There are lots of ways kid can have target practice, but JT SplatMaster is a great option. The toys and pistols are safe and easy to use, easy to clean up, and require little to no maintenance.

Target practice is a hobby that is centuries old; it’s an Olympic sport, a fun and relatable game for boys and girls alike, and it really provides kids a safe way to learn diligence and safety around the idea. Have you been thinking of a new way to get your kids out of the house? They’ll be begging you to let them practice splattering their targets again, or practicing in a field or play area with friends having the time of their young lives.

Children have a lot of reasons to stay inside – television, video games, smart phones, overeating. But with toys like those from JT SplatMaster, kids will really want to get out of the house and play outside. Target practice and playing games with each other involves physical exercise, strategic and diligent thinking, and most importantly, just a lot of fun. Not all activities outdoors involve these things, and if you’ve been having a hard time getting your children out of the house, consider suggesting target practice and games with other kids using JT SplatMaster toys.

You’ll find it a lot easier to motivate children to be healthy, active, and involved with toys like these. Fun, safe, and easy to clean, think about investing in your children’s lives with the right toys, not just another video game.