Posts Tagged ‘Family Training Night’

Summer Dehydration – Both Spiritual and Physical

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

parenting summer dehydration

It seems that summers are getting hotter and hotter and busier and busier! With everything we have to do during the year, it flies by with lightening speed! Just as we survive the holidays, anniversaries and birthdays – summer hits! Here are just a few suggestions to make your summer easier:

  1. Drink plenty of water. There are so many options for fluid intake today. Water remains the number one best way to hydrate your body. It is important to teach your children to drink water – especially small children so they will grow into healthy water drinking teens and adults later. Simply drinking water makes you think clearer, helps with weight loss and keeps you hydrated.
  2. Begin every day with an attitude of gratitude! Being thankful creates a positive atitude…..which creates happiness…..which creates positive forward motion!
  3. Sit down and create a summer schedule for your children. If you don’t, you will spend the majority of your day being worried, frustrated and angry and your children will become resentful – all of which will create stress for you and your household.
  4. Make a list for your children of projects you want them to accomplish during their time off. Make sure they understand what is acceptable and what is not.
  5. Make a list of friends that will be acceptable for your children to hang out with or have over. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. No matter what happens or doesn’t happen – don’t forget to have some FAMILY FUN! It doesn’t have to cost money, you just have to be with your family .

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

Flu Season

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Washing Hands Is Still The Best Way To Stop The Flu.Washing your hands still remains the number one way to prevent yourself from catching the flu. Surprising, however, is how many people don’t understand this, or worse, don’t know exactly how to wash their hands properly.  Your children are never too young to teach them how to properly wash their hands.  

TRY THIS: 

Step 1:  Take your toddler to the sink.  

Step 2:  Put a dime size dot of anti-bacterial soap in their hands.

Step 3:   Show them how to rub their hands together for several minutes before rinsing.  (One of the most overlooked critical procedures in teaching children proper hand washing is not rubbing their hands together long enough.  TRY THIS:  while they are rubbing their hands together, teach them to sing the ABC song.)

Step 4:   After rubbing their hands together the entire time they are singing the ABC’s, rinse their hands thoroughly.

With the onslaught of new flu bugs evolving into new and improved viruses, this simple hand washing procedure can save you not only money from saved Dr. visits, but save your family’s health as well!

Moms MUST Stick Together!

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

My son had a friend spend the night last Friday – they are both 12 years old.  They had a GREAT time sleeping out under the stars on the trampoline!  I did my best to be non-intrusive, yet watchful… needless to say, no one slept very well.  In the morning as they were sitting at the table, I overheard my son’s friend talking about how he was grounded for life!  I couldn’t help wondering that if that were true, why was he at my house?  I was quiet as long as I could, but felt I needed to ask why?  He proceeded to tell me that he had taken his mother’s credit card and charged $40.00 on it on some internet game without her permission!  He looked at me with his beautiful big brown eyes and told me that he had asked her first, but she had told him no.   I asked him why he had been allowed to spend the night?  He confidently replied that his mom never followed through with punishments, no matter what he did!  

I had a choice at that moment, ignore the situation and let the boys carry on……or, I could choose to support his mother, possibly alienate my son for a day or two, and sit down for as long as it would take to discuss the situation with him in terms of right and wrong and send him home.   I looked up across the table at my son.  He was watching my every move and listening to my every word.  I knew right then I did not have a choice.  This would be a very big family value training moment!!  I swallowed, put my arm around my son’s friend and began…

When it comes to your children’s friends, remember there are Moms at their homes wondering the same things you are and dealing with the same problems you are!  If you are brave enough to stand firm for your core values NO MATTER WHAT, soon you will have those friends trained, you will gain life long friends in their mothers as you navigate these years supporting each other and you will also have their respect.  More importantly your children will naturally begin to live those values because it is just expected…..it’s natural and a part of their everyday life because it is a part of your everyday life.

Teaching and training your children morals and values is accomplished best during the everyday, all day long little moments as you live them.  Supporting the moms and dads of your children’s friends to the extent that support enforces your values will only add to your happiness and the happiness of your children.

Work Ethic

Friday, June 5th, 2009

Teaching your children the value of hard work is one of the greatest gifts you can give them!  Human beings are not born with one, it has to be taught to them.  More importantly, if children are taught to enjoy work while they are young, they will grow into teenagers and then adults who understand and even enjoy working.

Lucky are the children who grow up watching parents enjoy their work, because they have worked along side them.  Teaching is best done through example – especially when it comes to learning to work.

Summer Equals Fun

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Try to think way back to when you were a child. What was your summer like? What kind of games did you play? Nothing can compare to the feeling of freedom that summer brings. Even as an adult, I can’t help but feel a little more liberated as the summer months approach – even though it actually just brings more work with the kids home from school all day. This summer make a goal to spend extra time with your children. Get to know each one and make memories together. Blow bubbles, go swimming, go on a trip, or go camping in your backyard – especially if you have teenagers. This time will pass too quickly. Here is an idea for Family Training Night you might try to get the fun rolling:  

Splash Tag 
This is a spin-off of classic tag with a twist to accommodate those hot summer months.

What You Will Need:

  • A big, soft sponge 
  •  Several buckets of water
  • A sense of humor
Bucket, sponge, and water for splash tag activity.

Bucket, sponge, and water for splash tag activity.

This is played a lot like traditional tag only the person who is “it” tries to tag running players with a wet sponge. The person who gets tagged with the sponge  is “it”.

There is no denying who has been tagged, the wet mark on their back is a dead give away! This is a lot of fun for young children and older children alike. And don’t just watch, where is the fun in that? Besides, the secret to getting your teenagers to play, or do chores, or to participate in general is to see their parents doing – not watching. Let me know how it goes!