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18 Rainy Day Activities for Kids

Miranda — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:31:59 +0000

Source: sxc.hu Photo: zumbari

My son is home this entire week, since he is out of school on spring break. Of course, the weather isn’t cooperating. It’s rainy, and so I can’t just send him outside to ride his bike or kick the soccer ball around. I need to find ways to keep him occupied inside the house while I get some work done. So I thought about it, and came up with 18 ideas for kids to do on a rainy day. Some of the activities require a certain level of participation from parents, but most will give you at least a few minutes to accomplish something.

Most of these activities are for children ages six to 10. Feel free to add your own ideas for rainy day activities in the comments.

Play dough: Have your children create their own animals with play dough. They can also create entire scenes. Set up a space on the table and let them amuse themselves for a while. There are recipes for making your own play dough as well.
Happiness list: Have your child come up with a happiness list. He or she can write down what makes him or her happy — and illustrate the list.
Scavenger hunt: Create a scavenger hunt for your children, with clues to lead them around the house. It might take some time to set up, but it will occupy your kids for a while, leaving you free to get some work done.
Exercise: Have them do exercises, like jumping jacks and push-ups. You can even put on some music and have them dance for a while.
Collage: Get some old magazines and newspapers, and have them look for pictures they like. They can cut out the pictures and paste them to a piece of posterboard to make a collage.
Build a tent: Help your children create a tent out of blankets. They will have fun playing in the tent for quite some time.
Sort money: If your child has a bank or money jar, have him or her sort the money into piles. You can help him or her roll the coins later — and take them to the bank. It’s a good way to teach about money as well.
Observation: Have your child go into a room and write down everything he or she sees in that room.
Make a book: Encourage your child to write a book. Have him or her draw pictures and/or write the words of a book.
Quiet time: Have quiet time, where your child goes to his or her room with a book or just to take a nap.
Balloon: Kids love balloons. Blow up a couple and let your kids play with balloons for a while.
Feely box: Put objects into a box, so your child can’t see them. Have him or her feel what’s in there, and then write down what he or she thinks the objects are. Then, send your child on a hunt through the house to find objects for you to guess.
Pet classroom: If your children have stuffed animals, encourage them to play pet class. Have them “teach” their pet animals something that they already know. This also works with a pet picnic, store or party.
Perform a play: Have your children create a play. Have them practice and give them some dress-up clothes for costumes. Then, later, you can watch the play.
Book report: Encourage your child to read a book, and then give you a “report” on it.
Puzzles: Get out an age appropriate puzzle, and have your child work on it.
Movie: The old standby. While few parents want their children watching TV all day, it can be nice to let your kids watch a movie for a couple of hours. Everyone gets a break.
Video games: Like the movie, this can provide some distraction and peace. Bonus points if you’ve got an educational video or computer game for your kids to play.

And, of course, you can also get a little help keeping your children occupied by hiring a neighborhood teen to come and amuse/babysit your kids for two or three hours while you get a few things done.

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18 Rainy Day Activities for Kids

New Parent? 5 Tips for Getting the Sleep You Need

Miranda — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:58:46 +0000

Source: sxc.hu Photo: nelso47

There are a number of things you can do to improve your sleep, and to make sure that you are getting enough of it. Adequate sleep is important for your health, happiness and for your sanity. However, some of the tricks you can use to improve your sleep don’t hold up as well if you are a new parent, trying to get the rest you need while caring for a newborn. Sometimes you just can’t do all of the things you should when it comes to ensuring a whole night of uninterrupted sleep. In situations that involve newborns, you actually need to come up with different strategies for getting better sleep. You want to get good rest as a new parent, and here are 5 tips for getting the sleep you need:

Nap when your baby does: You might have heard this before, but when you are faced with dirty dishes and a number of other chores, it suddenly becomes more tempting to skip the sleep and get something else done. Don’t. When your newborn sleeps, you should, too. You can clean or return phone calls at some other point, such as right after the baby has been fed and is content to sit in the bouncer chair for half an hour.
Get help: Enlist the help of the rest of your family to help with keeping the house clean so that you don’t have to resort to chores when you could be napping while the baby sleeps. You can also check into the costs of hiring a mother’s helper or a babysitter to help with household chores, or to watch the baby once or twice a week. You can also get a little help from older children or a partner by having someone else take care of one or two feedings. If you breastfeed, you can pump ahead of time. It doesn’t hurt for baby to learn to take feedings from others via bottle.
Don’t immediately jump up when you hear the baby: It’s okay for the baby to cry for a few minutes before you pick him or her up. Sometimes, after your baby starts sleeping most of the night, he or she will cry a little before re-settling and going back to sleep. You don’t need to hurry into the room at every noise. Usually, it can wait a little bit.
Be up front about your sleep needs: Talk to your partner about your sleep needs, and your health. Be up front with how lack of sleep is affecting you, and see if you can work out some way to help you get the rest that you need. This may include help from your partner on the weekends so that you can sleep a little to recharge, or help with a feeding so that you can nap.
Don’t take on too much: When you are caring for a newborn is not the time to add new responsibilities to your plate. Instead, cut back. Taking care of yourself and your new baby should be your main concerns. Additionally, you want to have time with other children that you may have, so taking on new responsibilities could be a real problem. Instead, learn to say “no” so that you can take care of the more pressing necessities in your life.

Having children is both challenging and rewarding. Adequate sleep and some time for relaxation are necessary if you want to be able to better deal with the challenges so that you can, in the end, take good care of yourself and the rest of your family.

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New Parent? 5 Tips for Getting the Sleep You Need

Tough Love Parenting Style Prepares Children Better for the Future

Arohan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:17:47 +0000

Source: Flickr Photo: Vlad the Impala

As parents of two very young kids, my wife and I constantly struggle to figure out a consistent parenting style that we can call our own. I am much more easy going, generally letting the young ‘uns explore and play as they wish and only intervening when they are about to hurt themselves or get into a fight. I figure, they do what they are doing because they are curious and this is all a part of the learning process. I have been known to let the kid finish his fall, when it is safe, so he understands that there is a cause and an effect!

My wife on the other hand is quick to point out dos and don’ts to them and does not hesitate to say no when needed. There have been times when I have looked on in amazement at the tone of my wife’s voice when she is busy teaching one of those life’s lessons feeling that the sternness is uncalled for. I cannot bear to see my kids in tears. Next thing I know, the kids have actually listened to her and are jumping all over her and there is laughter all around.

Here is the thing: we both love our children and freely express our love. There is no doubt about it. And both of us have the same goals: to raise our kids to be respectful, smart and curious. But our parenting styles are very different. I have always wondered which style works best.

It turns out that tough-love parenting as practiced by my wife does a better job of raising rounded and well developed character in children. At least, that is the verdict of this study done by the think tank Demos in UK.

According to the study, this result is consistent across all social and income demographics. Your parenting style has more impact on how your kids will eventually turn out than whether you are rich or poor, blue collar or white collar, single parent or a dual parent household or any thing else.

I know there are many who will not agree with this finding or will counter with their own examples but one thing to remember is that this is a statistical study. What that means is that this may not be the best style for each individual family, although I have to say that it does make some intuitive sense.

Personally, I reserve my judgment. What do you think?

Photo Credit: Vlad the Impala under Creative Common License

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Tough Love Parenting Style Prepares Children Better for the Future

How to Find a Babysitter That is Right for Your Kids

Miranda — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:59:20 +0000

Source: sxc.hu Photo: apfelholz

It is probable that the time may come when you want a babysitter to look after your kids while you spend some quality time with your significant other. Or you may just need a break so that you can go relax on your own. A good first choice may be a relative; grandma or grandpa — or even aunts or uncles — may be willing to help out. However, a relative may not be an option. In that case, you will have to look outside your family, and choosing a babysitter for your kids can be a daunting task. You want someone you can trust, and that means that it is a good idea to take some time to find a competent babysitter that gets along with your kids, and has some experience with children — as well as knowledge of how to handle simple emergencies.

Looking for a babysitter

One of the best ways to get an idea of who would make a good babysitter is to ask friends and family. Get recommendations from people you know. You can also check at your church, community center and local schools. Many community education programs now offer babysitting courses and certifications. These courses often teach babysitters First Aid and CPR, how to handle emergencies and basic care of children. Choosing a babysitter that has been through such courses can help provide you with peace of mind.

Check references from babysitters, and find out how many kids the sitter can handle at one time (and compare that to how many children you have). Also get rates. Babysitting rates vary according to area, the training and certifications the sitter has, as well as how many children you have, the kinds of things you expect of the babysitter and the time of day s/he will be caring for your children. Compare different rates from different sitters. You should also consider recommendations and training; sometimes it is worth it to pay a little more to know that your child is in good hands.

Choosing a babysitter

Interview prospective babysitters. Invite the sitter over to meet your children and interact with them for 20 to 30 minutes. Observe how the sitter plays with your children, and ask questions about what the sitter would do in an emergency situation. If you are looking for a sitter than will be able to drive your children to occasional activities, or pick them up, load everyone up and take a short drive to assess your sitter’s abilities. It is vital that you and your sitter get along, and that the babysitter gets along with your children. You also want to make sure that your sitter is open to your parenting techniques, and can handle your children.

After you have chosen a sitter

When you decide on a sitter, you will need to work out the terms of his or her employment. This is especially important if you expect to have your sitter come regularly. Discuss rates and times that you expect the sitter. Agree upon a regular schedule (if needed). If you do not plan to have regular need of a sitter, it is a good idea to have two or three sitters in mind so that if your preferred sitter is unavailable, you have a fall back plan. You can even ask your sitter for recommendations in such cases. It is a good idea to call a sitter at least two days ahead of time so that s/he has ample warning that services are needed. (And you can call someone else if your first choice is unavailable.)

The first time a sitter comes to care for your children, plan for him or her to arrive early. This will allow you time to go over the house rules with the sitter, and to let your caregiver know how to contact you should the need arise. Having the sitter come early can also be beneficial in that it allows him or her to start playing with your children, occupying them before you leave. This can help you avoid painful departure scenes. It is not a bad idea to call partway through the evening the first time that your sitter watches your children. When you return home, get a debriefing from the sitter about how things went. Make sure that, if there were problems, you talk to your children later about proper behavior while with the sitter.

Here are some basic considerations when choosing a babysitter for your kids:

Does the sitter show reasonable maturity and a sense of responsibility?
Does the sitter demonstrate good judgment and common sense?
Does the sitter have a friendly personality? Does s/he get along with you and your kids?
Is the sitter organized and neat?
Does the sitter have some sort of certification or training in CPR/First Aid or some sort of babysitting course?
Do you trust the sitter with your children?

In the end, you have to take a babysitter on faith to a certain extent. But as s/he proves competent, you will begin to feel safer about leaving your children with him or her.

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How to Find a Babysitter That is Right for Your Kids

Parenting moves to social media

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:26:43 +0000

Source: stck.xchng Photo: lusi

I guess this was bound to happen. Dads and Moms are now signing up for Myspace, Facebook and other social media accounts and are friending their kids, in many cases, to monitor the online activities of their wards and in many other cases as a way to communicate.

Social media is fast becoming an established medium for communication among people of all ages. So it is not surprising that parents are signing up, nor is it surprising that once they are signed up, they consider adding their kids to their network. Parenting and Social Media, seems to be a relationship that was bound to happen.

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Parenting moves to social media