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Alone at Home Overnight – When is it Okay for Teens to Man the Fort
Alone at home. The ultimate test for a teenager. Mom and dad are gone overnight. The house is theirs. How will they handle it? Will mom and dad come back to a home just as they left it. Will they discover a beer bottle under the couch from the wild party that 16 year old Jessie had. Or will they simply return to discover too many dishes in the sink from too many hours on the PS4? These questions and more go through all of our minds when the day finally comes to leave the kids alone at home. But when is that day? Leaving the Kids Alone at Home…
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University Student Care Package Essentials #ChurchandDwight #Giveaway
With one daughter well into high school it won’t be long before we are preparing to launch her to university or college. Like many parents we want the best for our kids. And no matter how old your kids get, you never stop being their mom or dad. So naturally, when that bittersweet milestone finally becomes a reality we will be sure to equip her with several essentials and a student care package to help everyone here sleep better at night. After all it takes more than books and money to succeed as a young adult living independently. There are some life skills that are vital for your students too.…
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Water Safety – Keeping Kids Safe While They Have Fun
Water safety is something that should be in the forefront of every parent’s mind. Whether you have a pool, love the water park, visit the beach, or go swimming in your local lake or river, being safe on and near the water is crucial. All it takes is a few seconds for a tragedy to happen. Parents and caregivers can keep kids safe by making sure we practice proper water safety at all times. Why Water Safety is so Important Our kids were babies when we began swimming lessons through the Red Cross Canada program. Swimming is a lifeskill that is not negotiable for me. I was a late swimmer…
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Stop Telling Me How To Do Summer – My Summer Mantra
I have a summer mantra this year. It’s a little bit like this You do you and I’ll do me. It’s definitely not new. It’s mine, and I don’t really care to hear anyone else’s opinion about how I do summer. YOU DO YOU. See, I wish I actually didn’t need to say this out loud. But get your hands off my summer. You do you. My summer mantra. YOU do your summer and I’ll do mine. This past two weeks since school ended, I’ve heard a zillion experts and read dozens of posts about people taking back their summer. Usually that involves terms like let your children discover the great…
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Motion Sickness – Tricks to Getting Through It When Traveling With Family
Motion sickness is no fun. If you suffer from it, you can look forward to nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating, and generally feeling awful. All those symptoms are compounded if you’re wrangling kids at the same time. I’ve put together some tips for combating motion sickness when you are traveling with family. The Lowdown on Motion Sickness Also called sea sickness or car sickness, this annoying and sickening problem actually has nothing to do with your mode of transportation. It’s an inner ear disturbance. The motion of a vehicle or boat causes an imbalance within the inner ear, which in turn disrupts our equilibrium. That equilibrium disruption is what leads to the nausea,…
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Raising Anxious Kids in Anxious Times
If parenting was a ride at the amusement park it would be the biggest of all Behemoth coasters. One that catapults you from bed, hurls you out the door and plummets you 7 stories down before your eyes are even open. Daily. But it would also throw in some 3 D effects, just enough to rip your heart out, before it stops and you wobble away, stomach trailing five stories behind. And it would yell SAVAGE and probably blare Musical.ly videos at you too. In my daughter’s room I have a framed picture of her on her first birthday. Her hair is KOOKY, so Kooky it makes me laugh still,…
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Father’s Day Trivia – 6 Facts You Didn’t Know
Father’s Day is pretty common to almost every household in North America, and has been for as long as most of us can remember. But where did it come from? How did it happen? Who started this Dad love in? Have fathers always been celebrated in June since the beginning of time or a little later than that? Amazingly Father’s Day has been around for a time. But it’s only relatively recently that is has become entrenched and celebrated. Well, I figured you’d like to know some interesting Father’s Day trivia in honor of this June holiday. So here’s a bit more information and some cool Father’s Day trivia. Father’s…
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Scared to Fly – 5 Ways to Help Your Nervous Child
Scared to fly? Maybe your child has never travelled before. Maybe they are naturally anxious in most things. Fear of flying is not uncommon for any age. Adults – most of them, at least – can simply psyche themselves into preparing for the flight, or they can try exposure, repeatedly flying until they conquer their fears. Children are a bit different that way. You may need to give a child who is scared to fly more help. Helping a Child How is Scared to Fly There are some things that we as parents and guardians can do to help out kiddos who are afraid of flying. The biggest thing we can…
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Handling Disappointment – Seven Ways to Help Children Feel Okay About Losing
No trophies today? That’s okay. This past weekend our kids were in a massive martial arts tournament. They came away with a good attitude, great memories and no trophies. Why am I talking about that then? Well, I was super proud at how grownup the girls were after losing. Handling disappointment is a part of growing up and it’s a skill I feel like they are finally doing well. So, I am celebrating losing. Past Examples of Not Handling Disappointment Well Trust me, this has not always been the case. In the past, my youngest would have cried or had a full meltdown in exhaustion and frustration. And my older daughter, a…
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If Laundry Makes You Cringe, Try This Triple Chamber Challenge #AHFreshPerspective
Someone asked me recently what I liked about laundry. I didn’t need to think hard about that because honestly there’s nothing I like about laundry. Nothing at all. Unless someone else does the laundry. Then I love it. I also love it when my clothes are clean and put away and ready to wear. Laundry is expensive and seemingly endless at times. Thank Goodness I have helpers. My husband and daughters help out. In fact my husband does three quarters of the laundry here. I do three quarters of the cooking so that’s fair. And my teens mostly help with the folding parts. It makes sense because they make some of…