Search Results for: blog my kids

Anti-Vaccination Mom Changed Mind After Her 3 Kids Got Sick

Vaccinations prevent people from catching dangerous diseases. Vaccines also can help stop the spread of a disease. There are schools that require students to have their vaccinations before the student can attend school. A mom who was anti-vaccinations has changed her mind after her three children got sick. Kristen O’Meara has three daughters, all of whom are under the age of seven. She chose not to vaccinate her daughters because she was a big believer in anti-vaccination research. O’Meara said she actively sought out anti-vaccination research and books and presumed that they were accurate. Anti-vaccination research has been proven flawed. … Continue reading →

The “Sugar High” Appears to be a Myth

There is a commonly held belief that children who are given too much sugar will immediately engage in hyperactive behavior. The concept seems to be that kids get a “sugar-high” from sugary treats and that this causes them to have a ton of extra energy. But, is that really what is going on? In the 1990’s Dr. Mark Wolraich, who is currently chief of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, was among the researchers that investigated sugar’s effect on children. They found that sugar does not appear to affect behavior in children. One study on this topic … Continue reading →

Tommy Hilfiger Creates Adaptive Clothes for Kids with Disabilities

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Tommy Hilfiger makes clothing that is fashionable and still retains a classic look. It’s the clothing that the “cool kids” (or “cool adults”) wear. A new line of Tommy Hilfiger adaptive clothing means that kids who have disabilities can look just as cool as their classmates do. The Tommy Hilfiger blog has a brief explanation of why the company created an adaptive clothing line. “Because every kid deserves a great pair of jeans”, it says. The same blog post points out that there are 73 million children in the United States of America, and that one in twenty live with … Continue reading →

Tips for Parenting Introverted Kids

Do you feel that your child is exceptionally quiet? This can be somewhat confusing for parents who are naturally extroverted. How do you raise a child who is very different from yourself? Here are some tips to help extroverted parents raise introverted kids. What is an introvert? People who are introverted prefer to be by themselves (or, sometimes, with one or two very close friends.) Being in a crowd of people, or forced to attend a party, can be overwhelming to introverted people. To “recharge”, an introvert will need to spend some time alone. Extroverted parents might feel the need … Continue reading →

How to Help Your Kids Fall Asleep

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Sleep is important. We all know what it feels like to have to get up and start the day after not having enough sleep. Before parents can turn in for the night they need to make sure their children are asleep. What can you do if your child is resisting bedtime or getting up at night? Here are some ideas that could help your kids to fall asleep. How much sleep do kids really need? The National Sleep Foundation has some recommendations that are based upon the age of the person. Adults need less sleep than children and babies do. … Continue reading →

When Kids Stop Believing in Santa

How can you tell if your child has stopped believing in Santa? Sometimes, it becomes obvious. Your kid suddenly declares that Santa isn’t real (and appears to be comfortable with that knowledge). Most of the time though, kids come to parents with questions about Santa. Your child is not sure what to believe, and is trying to figure things out based on whatever evidence he or she can find. What’s a parent to do? One way to handle it is to ask your child a question. “What do you think?” This gives your kid the opportunity to direct the conversation … Continue reading →

Your Parenting Style Impacts Your Teen’s Autonomy

One of the many goals of parenting is to raise children who become successful adults. Ideally, teens should develop the skills they need in order to become adults who can function in the “real world”. A study shows that your parenting style impacts your teen’s autonomy and the quality of his or her romantic relationships as an adult. Developmentally speaking, teenagers are at a stage when they are beginning to separate from their family and seek out their own, individual, identity. Little kids typically have a strong desire to seek approval from their parents. Teens, however, are much more interested … Continue reading →

Kids Today Aren’t Assigned Chores

Do you require your children to do chores? I don’t mean the occasional request to help with a little bit of cleaning. Instead, I mean regularly assigned tasks that you expect your child to complete on a daily or weekly basis. It appears that the majority of parents today are not assigning chores to their children. A survey conducted by Whirlpool found that 82% of Americans did chores when they were children. That same survey found that only 28% of parents today are assigning their children chores. What changed between today and when the current generation of parents were kids? … Continue reading →

Is it Ever Ok to Bribe your Kids?

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How do you get your children to do what you want them to? What do you do to encourage them to do certain things and to refrain from doing other things? Many parents have, at least sometimes, resorted to bribing their children. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Is it ever ok to bribe your kids? New findings reveal some interesting answers to these questions. First, it would be helpful to figure out what a bribe is (and what it isn’t). Author Ellen Perry points out that there is a continuum to be aware of. Motivation is one one end, … Continue reading →

Must-Have Travel Accessory for Kids

I’ve spent the last eight years racking up more than 160,000 frequent flyer miles with my daughter during our annual jaunts from Wisconsin to Hawaii.  If all goes according to plan, we can get from our home to my parents’ house in roughly 18 hours. Of course, things rarely go according to plan. Honestly, I’ve lost track of how many hours I’ve spent in various airplanes and airports with a young child who would rather be anywhere other than in an airplane or airport. What I do recall are all of the mistakes I’ve made during those seemingly endless flights. … Continue reading →