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The Carnival of Family Life is a wonderful collection of articles and posts related to everything family. There are so many submissions every week that you are bound to find something of interest. This week’s edition is being hosted by DigitalRichDaily. Be sure to stop by when you some time and check out all the great submissions.
Here are a few of my favorites this week.
- Lil Duck has a great post on Edible Easter Baskets. If you are look for something a little different to do for the kids this Easter, be sure you check out her edible easter basket recipe.
- Getting to Graduation has a very interesting post on Should Parents Pay for Children’s College? If you are struggling with making this decision, be sure to check out this post.
- Daddy Dialectic has a very funny post on Housework vs the Rest of Life. It is a struggle we all deal with every day!!
- Unplug Your Kids submitted a very entertaining post, The M-word. All moms know that this is a word that gets old fast, particularly when your kids keep saying it, over and over again.
Those are just a few of my favorites among the 42 submissions to this week’s carnival. When you have some time, stop by to check out the other great posts.
It is something all pregnant pet owners think about, what will my first babies think of this new addition to the family? How will they react? Will they feel left out and unloved? Before we are ready to have children we often start a little family with pets. They are like our children. We love them, take care of them, and appreciate their unconditional companionship. Adding a new little baby to the mix can be upsetting for your pet so it is important to approach it the right way, and give your first baby time to get used to your new baby.
So what can you do to help make the introduction and the transition a little easier for everyone, especially your pets? Here are a few helpful hints to consider.
- Consider any current behavioral issues you may have with your pet, particular those that could be harmful to the baby. The time to deal with behavioral issues is before the baby arrives.
- If you don’t want your pet to enter the baby’s nursery or jump on the couch once the baby arrives start early with the training (long before the baby arrives). Your pet will get confused if they were allowed to do what they wanted up until the baby arrived and then all of a sudden all the rules changed. It may cause your pet to resent the baby.
- Take some time to introduce your pet to the sights and sounds of a baby. Have a few things like the bouncy seat, car seat, and swing laying around for a few weeks (or longer) before the baby arrives so your pet can get used to the items before there is a baby in them. Also, you can find CDs of baby sounds that you can play for your pet to help them get used to what they will hear once the baby arrives. Getting them used to the crying is probably most important.
- After the baby has arrived but before you bring the little one home be sure to have your partner (or someone else your pet is very comfortable with) take home a blanket that smells like the baby. Let you pet smell it and get used to the scent of the baby before you bring the little one home.
- When you do bring the baby home consider your pet’s personality and temperament when deciding how best to introduce them, and when to do it. If there will be lots of people around and lots of excitement when you first get home with the baby it is probably not the best time to make the introductions. Wait until things have quieted down. Don’t force anything, if your pet isn’t ready to approach the baby, give them some space and time.
The key to the successful introduction of baby and pets is to prepare yourself and your pet for the changes that are coming. Taking the time the ease your pet into the new sights, sounds, and smells. And, most importantly, making sure your pet knows at all times that they are still loved and still very much an important part of the family. It might take some time but your pets and your children will become the best of friends.
If you have questions or concerns about making the introductions talk with your doctor, your pet’s veterinarian or trainer. Also, talk with friends who have been through it to get some helpful pointers.
What did you find helpful when introducing your baby to your pets? Do you have any helpful hints to share?
Obesity is a major problem here in the United States, and many other countries for that matter, with close to 40% of the population considered obese. It is a particular problem among children. Over the past couple of decades childhood obesity has more than doubled in the US. The key factors contributing to this rise in obesity among children are lack of healthy foods in their diets, little knowledge about healthy eating, and a major decline in physical activity.
So what can parents do to help ensure their child doesn’t become part of this statistic? Here a few helping tips for keeping your child healthy.
- Don’t force your child to clean his plate at every meal. This was a big thing when I was growing up; we always had to finish everything on our plates. However, a big part of weight control is portion management. If you child is full you shouldn’t force him to eat more as this teaches your child bad eating habits and forces him to over eat.
- Avoid using food as a reward or a means of comfort. Try to find another form of reward for your child. This can contribute to over eating and eating the wrong kinds of food, particularly if the reward is a high fat, high sugar item. If children learn at a young age to associate food with comfort and reward they will carry this into adulthood.
- Focus on feeding your family a healthy diet. Involve your children in the food purchasing and preparation so they learn early what foods are good for them, and learn to appreciate the importance of a balanced diet.
- Encourage your child to participate in some form of physical activity every day. Do something together as a family like go for a walk or a bike ride. Talk to your child about the importance of exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.
- Limit the amount of time your child spends doing sedentary activities like watching television and playing video games. These activities are ok sometimes but not as a substitute to good physical activity.
The more your child learns about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and the importance of a healthy diet and exercise the better off they will be. Preventing obesity is so important as it will help prevent many preventable childhood illnesses that are contributed to obesity, such as diabetes. Healthy living starts young, and those habits you learn as a child carrying into adulthood, so help your child start out with good habits.
On the Today Show this morning they ran a segment on when a child is ready for certain milestones of teenage life such as going to their first boy girl party, getting a cell phone, and going to mall by themselves. The segment, entitled, Your Child’s First: Is he or she ready? Are you?, addressed the concerns many parents having about letting go and allowing their child to become a little more independent.
The guest was a psychologist and she provided some insight into this very unnerving topic for any parent of pre-teens and teenagers. Here are a few the areas they addressed and the suggestions made in case you didn’t get a chance to see the show.
Letting your child go to the mall or movies without you: there was no age recommendation made for this one. She did say it was most common for this request to start coming up when the child is about 12 or 13 years old. The psychologist recommended looking at the child, their maturity, their history of reliability, and whether the child would be in a group and who was in that group.
Letting you child attend their first boy/girl party: this typically becomes an issue when your child hits their teenage years. Letting your 8 year old attend a co-ed birthday party is a whole lot different than letting your 16 year old attend a co-ed party. Again, the rule should be to look at the child and the situation. The decision will ultimate come down to your responsible your child is, if there will be a parental chaperon at the party, and who else will be there. This will like be hard one to say yes to!!!
Giving your child a cell phone: this has become a very different question lately. Many children have cell phones at very young ages. The key to this question for a lot of parents comes down to safety and wanting to be able to reach your child at any time. Whenever you allow your child to have a cell phone the key will be laying down the right ground rules and being able to rely on your child to obey them.
Allowing your child to drive: most teenagers get their driver’s license when they about 16 years old, but that doesn’t mean you have to let them drive all the time. Some things to consider are whether they will be allowed to have other kids in the car with them, if they will be allowed to drive at night, and how often they can drive.
The answer to these and many more topics that come up as your child approaches and enters their teenage years boils down to the maturity and responsibility of your child as well as how ready you are to let go a little.
If you have teenagers how did you approach these difficult situations? When did you allow your child to drive, have cell phone, or go to the mall by themselves?
Cravings are a very natural and common part of pregnancy. Cravings can be a good thing if you are craving something really healthy and good for you like spinach, bananas, or other fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, many women crave foods that aren’t all that healthy, like chocolate and ice cream.
According to research there are three common food cravings during pregnancy.
- 33% of women crave chocolate
- 20% of women crave sweets of some kind
- 19% of women crave citrus fruit and juices
Food cravings are a part of pregnancy, the important thing is to consider the craving and how it will affect the very delicate “normal” weight gain you are trying to achieve. If you are craving something healthy like fruit go ahead and indulge. However, if you are craving a chocolate fudge sundae you might want to think twice about indulging that craving. Now it wouldn’t hurt to occasionally enjoy a few bites of a hot fudge sundae, but be aware of the additional calories and high sugar content.
Doctors and nutritionist recommend that if you are craving something unhealthy like a piece of sweet candy try to substitute a piece of fruit. It might not always work but it does most of the time you can avoid adding those unhealthy, empty calories to your diet.
What things did you crave during your pregnancy? Did you indulge your cravings?
(source: Pregnancy Week by Week)