10 Ways You Can Spend Time With Your Family This Holiday Season

When it comes to spending quality time with your family during the holiday season, there are many things that you can do that are free or low cost. The following ideas are both in-home and out-of-the home ideas.

1. Singing Christmas Carols – You can go out singing Christmas Carols in your community with a community based or church based group.

2. Tree Lighting Service – You will find that most communities have a free tree lighting service that you and your family can attend.

3. Holiday Decorating – Involve your entire family in the holiday decorating task. If you can afford it, order take-out food and decorate your home and yard for the holidays.

4. Attend a holiday play or concert – Its the season to be jolly and almost all communities, churches or schools will put on some type of play or concert event. Gather up the family and attend a few events which are free or low-cost activities that you all can enjoy.

5. Holiday Baking – Here at my home, several females in our family get together the second Saturday in December every year and we do all of our holiday baking together. We will make pies, tortes, cookies, brownies and several cakes. We all bring a covered dish so that we can have lunch and dinner together and we make it an all day event. We send the men in the family out to hunt down our Christmas trees and to do ‘their’ own gift shopping. This is totally a ‘girls’ only day.

6. Arts and Crafts – Schedule one to two days and sit down with your children to make some holiday theme’d arts and crafts. Children love to craft!

7. Volunteer – If you have the time, I recommend gathering up the family and doing some volunteer work. You can volunteer your time at your local Food Pantry, Women’s and Children Shelter, Nursing Home, Homeless Shelter, Humane Society, etc. All of these types of charities need volunteers…especially around the holidays.

8. Christmas Lights Sight Seeing – Pack a few snacks and pile the family into the car. Drive around your community and check out all of the festive holiday lights and displays. We make this an annual event at our home and look forward to it every year.

9. Adopt A Needy Family – If you are financially stable, I recommend adopting a needy family in your community. You can locate those in need through local churches. You can make a few baked goods and purchase a few inexpensive gifts and drop them off to the family in need. This is the season to give back to others who are less fortunate.

10. Adopt A Military Soldier – There are many programs where you can adopt an overseas military member or his/her stateside family. You can send a care package to a military member overseas or offer help to his/her family here stateside. Whatever you do…make sure you show your appreciation to our military members.

~ Shelly Hill ~ Copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved

5 Important Back To School Subjects To Discuss with Your Children

Summer is over and it’s time to get back to school. This time can be stressful for many families as they all try to adjust to new routines. You can lessen this stress and set up some guidelines by sitting down with your children for a family discussion.

Here are some important things you should be discussing with your children, before they head back to school this fall.

1. School Bus Safety – It is important to speak to your child about what kind of behavior you expect from him or her while they are at the bus stop or riding on the school bus.

2. Classroom Behavior – Let your child know what kind of behavior you expect them to exhibit while at school. All teachers expect different things from each child, remind your child to be respectful of others at all times. I think this is a good time to bring up the topic of bullying with your child. Let them know how to report this to their school officials and to you, should they know of any children who are being bullied or those who are doing the bullying.

3. Homework and Grades – If you expect your children to follow a homework routine, now is the time to outline that routine with them. I found it helpful to let our daughter know up front what the consequences would be if she did not complete homework assignments on time, or if she got unacceptable grades.

4. Stranger Danger – Your child will come into contact with many people while involved with school activities or while attending classes. It is important to go over with him or her all of the safety precautions that they need to know to protect themselves from stranger danger.

5. Family Emergency – When our daughter was young, we gave her a new family password every few months. If a family emergency would occur and we would need to send someone to the school to pick her up, they would have to provide the secret family password to her before she would even leave the school office with that particular person. Even if your child knows the person who is picking them up, it is important for that person to provide the secret family password to your child.

Heading back to school doesn’t have to be a stressful time for you and your family. Take the time out of your busy schedule and communicate with your children about what you expect from them this school year. It is important to be flexible and to have an open door policy in regards to communication.

Copyright © 2009 By Shelly Hill

How To Avoid Back To School Shopping Stress

Back to school supply shopping can be a stressful time, however, if you plan ahead and come up with a game plan, you can lessen the stress for the entire family.

Here are some tips that worked well for my family over the years.

1. If you have more than one child, consider taking each child shopping on a different day. This will allow you to spend one on one quality time with each individual child. Make a day of it by planning some shopping time and then do a quick lunch. This is also a good time to discuss personal topics and safety issues with your child.

2. Plan ahead! Sit down with each child and come up with a list of school supplies that he or she will need. Break the list up into 2 categories.

Your first category should include school supplies such as notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, paper, bookbags, bookcovers, etc.

Your second category should clothing items such as jeans, tops, sneakers, underclothing, shoes and coats.

3. Set a budget. Let each child know before hand how much money you are budgeting for back to school supplies. It is important to teach children to stay within a budget. Hand the child some sales flyers from local stores and have them make a list of items that they are interested in. Take a calculator with you during your shopping trip and allow your child to keep track of the expenses.

4. Break Time. All children need a little break time during a full day of shopping. Let your child pick out a place to stop and eat lunch. Allow them a little unwind time to break up the day.

The trick to avoiding back to school shopping stress is to plan out your shopping trip ahead of time. Make a few lists, carry a few snacks and be prepared.

~Shelly~

How To Save Money – Back To School Lunch Essentials

Every year when it’s time to send our children back to school, one of the many items we need to purchase are back to school lunch supplies. If you are looking to save money through out the year, consider investing in non-disposable products.

Here is a list of products you will need for those school lunches.

1. A good lunch bag or box. I don’t recommend metal lunch boxes as they are hard to clean and can get rusty and dented over time. Invest in a fabric insulated bag that can be washed or a plastic lunchbox that can be hand washed.

You can purchase a nice bag or box for under $20 at most stores. This is more earth friendly and more economical than using disposable paper bags.

2. Consider purchasing plastic sandwich keepers that are reusable and will keep the sandwich protected. There is nothing worse than a squished sandwich. This sandwich keeper will pay for itself within 8 weeks compared to using plastic baggies.

3. You will need some plastic snack cups or side dishes with airtight and liquid tight seals. You can pack applesauce, mini salads, fruit snacks and side dishes in these containers. I recommend picking up four of these styled containers.

4. Purchase a package of reusable forks and spoons. You can pick these up for less than $5.00 at most stores. Have your child bring them home every day so that they can be washed and reused.

5. You will need to purchase a reusable ice pack for each child that will be packing his or her lunch. I like to keep several ice packs in my freezer at all times, that way when one ice pack is freezing, the other one can be in use.

6. I recommend purchasing a small beverage bottle with a liquid-tight lid. I like the ones that are designed like a small sports bottle with a drinking spout. You can then send your child to school with homemade beverages or fruit juices that you make yourself or purchase in bulk.

By investing in quality reusable plastic lunch products, you will be saving money and our planet. Make your list and take your child with you when you go out shopping for these products, let them participate in selecting the fun colors that they enjoy.

If you are looking for quality reusable back to school lunch packing products, I recommend Tupperware Products.

This article was written by Shelly Hill and can not be reprinted without Shelly’s permission.

Fighting Obesity In Children

A friend of mine came to me a few days ago concerned about her child’s obesity problem. Finally, she is seeing that there is a problem!

In the past I have tried to tactfully address this issue with her but my words and concern fell upon deaf ears so I backed off. Now that a few weeks have passed, she has approached me about the issue.

History: My friends daughter is a minimum of 35 lbs over weight for her age and she is 11 years old. This problem didn’t happen over night, it has been going on for several years. I will refer to the child as Jessica for the purpose of this blog post.

My friend Jane Doe was made aware of this problem a few years ago but totally got defensive when their doctor, family or friends tried to talk with her about the issue. Most of us got frustrated with her and eventually just backed off.

Now that she has brought up the subject with me, I was more than ready to give her some advice…advice I know she wasn’t ready to hear.

I have firmly told her that this problem with Jessica is her fault. Why am I saying it’s her fault you might ask? Because…she has continually purchased junk food and high fat foods for her to eat the past several years and furthermore, they are fast food drive-thru junkies and visit fast food places a minimum of 3 times a week.

Jessica’s bad eating habits are a learned behavior from her mother’s poor grocery shopping and eating out choices. Yes, I know some readers of this blog post are going to disagree with my opinion and that is fine…however I know this family very well and I am 100% positive that this is the problem.

When Jessica comes to visit me (which is often) all she wants to eat is chips, ice cream, candy, baked pastries, french fries and other junk style food. When I would offer her healthier choices, I would get a reply from her such as, “I don’t like that, I want ______.” Everything she wanted was junk food! I don’t eat like that nor do I feed my family like that.

Another issue that has compounded this problem is that fact that Jessica sits in front of the TV watching TV shows, movies and playing video games for hours during the evenings and the weekends instead of engaging in any type of physical activity. You need physical activity to burn calories and to build a strong body.

My advice to my friend was the following:

1. Purchase healthier food choices at the grocery store. Quit buying the junk food…if it’s not in the house, she won’t be able to eat it.

2. Quit eating out at fast food joints 3-4 times a week. When you do eat out…it should be an ocassional treat and order healthier choices.

3. Enroll Jessica in some physical activities such as a swim club, sports team or even a gym membership for children and as her mother, get involved and participate with her.

4. Turn off the TV. Invest in some outdoor games, bicycles, roller blades and other things to get outdoors and some physical activity going.

If you are truly interested in helping your child lose weight and obtain better health, you will find the time to make the changes. Talk to your doctor and a nutritionist for ideas and come up with a plan. Involve your child in the decision making so that they become part of the plan as it will yield better results.

The time to make the change is NOW!

~ Shelly ~

Should You Let Newborn Babies Cry?

Let me start off by saying that I raised a daughter who is now 24 years old and I am a new grandmother to a 23 day old grand daughter.

My daughter asked me over the weekend if she should let her baby cry when she believes there is nothing wrong with her and that she is just being fussy. My reply was…absolutely not! Yes, babies cry and Yes, it’s okay to let them fuss or cry for a few minutes…however, anything longer than a few minutes means that there is something wrong or they just need your comforting.

I firmly believe it’s not okay to put a baby in a crib and just let them cry themself to sleep. (I know other’s will have different opinions and that is fine).

When a baby cries, it is usually their way of communicating with you such as:

Mom, I need a diaper change.
Mom, I have gas pains and need to pass gas or burp.
Dad, I am hungry, I need another bottle.
Grandmom, I am cutting teeth and my gums hurt.
Dad, I have a belly ache.
Mom…I miss you and just need comforting…

It is my personal opinion that babies (especially young babies) don’t cry for the heck of it. Crying is their way of communicating with you so take the time out of your busy schedule to investigate what they might need. If you can’t find anything wrong with them, then perhaps they are just being fussy (which is normal baby behavior) and just need some comforting. Regardless, I don’t believe you should let a crying baby lay in a crib and just walk out of the room.

~Shelly~

Kids Spending Too Much Time In Front Of The TV

Do you feel that children are spending too much time indoors? If so, you are not alone.

I get so frustrated when I meet other mothers who feel there is nothing wrong with their kids who are parked in front of the tv all day long watching cartoons and kiddie movies or worse yet…parked in front of the tv playing video games!

There is nothing wrong with watching a little tv or playing some video games but it shouldn’t be done all day long just so the kids stay out of your hair.

What ever happened to children going outside to play? When I was growing up, we spent most of our summer outside playing with friends, riding bikes, swimming and playing sports.

When the Summer weather was rainy or too hot, we would play indoors. I can remember spending time playing house, Barbies, board games and doing arts and craft projects.

These healthier activities get your children up and moving, they increase their independence and creativity and help to reduce stress and tension. Sitting in front of the tv all day playing video games or watching tv shows is not healthy.

As a parent, I feel video games and tv watching should be limited to just a couple of hours a day and it should be broken up into small chunks throughout the childs day.

What kind of fun activities do your children enjoy doing? Now that school is out for the summer months, please post some of your ideas by leaving comments to this post.

The Importance of Infant CPR Training For New Parents

When a new baby arrives, along comes the responsibility of keeping your new baby safe. If an emergency would occur, are you prepared to handle it? Would you know what to do?

Your first line of defense when an emergency strikes is drawing on your abilities to save the life of your child. You need to be prepared. One way you can do this is by getting trained in Infant and Child CPR and First Aid. (CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)

If you are adequately trained in life-saving techniques, you can avoid a tragedy. These training courses can help you to:

1. Recognize an Emergency- New mothers are often unsure if a behavior or symptom their child is exhibiting is normal or abnormal. Taking a class can help you to recognize these types of problems before it’s too late to do something about it.

2. Obtaining Help and Providing Care- If there is an emergency, you will know the steps that you need to follow to get help. Once you summon help, you will know what to do to administer care until emergency personnel arrive.

Where can you find CPR training classes? You can call your local hospitals, the American Red Cross, community centers and local municipality offices. You can ask your personal physician for recommendations.

With technology these days, you can also obtain your certification via online classes. If you decide to take the class online, make sure it’s reputable and Nationally accredited.

What are the costs? The costs to receive training are varied. I have seen free programs as well as programs that cost up to $100.00 so it’s best to shop around for one that meets your budget.

What will you learn? You will learn how to recognize the signs of a true emergency, how to summon help, the basics of CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and how to save your child if he/she is choking. These classes only take a few hours of your time.

When it comes to an emergency, every minute counts. If you take the CPR training courses, you will be able to handle an emergency quickly and appropriately and perhaps save the life of your own child.

Shelly Hill is a mother and a grandmother and has been certified in CPR since 1985. You can contact Shelly at:
Web: Classy Home Business Women
Web: Shelly’s Tupperware Home Business