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Parenting :: Tips for Celebrating Mini-Milestones
As we get older, milestones are few and far between. Landing our dream job, getting married, having a baby. But kids, on the other hand, are just starting to reach large and mini-milestones! From bringing home their first pet to going to their first high school dance, frame-worthy moments go far beyond the baby book. I still can remember the first day of high school like it was yesterday – and even what I wore! Many of these mini-milestones stick with you for years to come. Like my first dance in junior high. I went with one of the cutest boys in school (at least I thought so… and most of the girls did too). …
- Awareness, Creativity, Culture, Love, Parenting, Play, Relationships, Slideshow, Special Needs Parenting, Spotlight
One Mom’s One-Story-At-A-Time Mission
I’m on a mission to profoundly change the way the world views autism…one story at a time. ~ Jodi Murphy My adult son is on the autism spectrum and from the outside he looked just like any other little boy. But his brain is wired differently. He is autistic. The kids at school thought he was weird, so they teased and taunted him, and never invited him over to play. It’s his story, but sadly it’s a universal experience when you are autistic. And when 1 in 68 children are on the autism spectrum and 70% of them say that they are isolated and bullied in school,…
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The Weirdest Foods You Can Grow In Your Garden
What really fires our children’s imagination is the extraordinary. Whether this week’s fixation is monsters, aliens, magical powers, superheroes or mythical lands, it’s always the strange and the super that inspires them. If you’re struggling to get them excited about their vegetables, then use this knowledge to your advantage: here are some right truly magical, and sometimes monstrous, fruits and veggies that you can easily grow in your back garden. The process of growing produce in itself can inspire a sense of wonder in children. It also helps to get them more involved in the food they eat: tomatoes grown from seeds are inherently more interesting than those in…
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Culture :: Selfies – Are They Really Such A Big Deal?
If your kids are on social media, then you’ve probably heard them mention the word ‘selfie’ a time or two. The trend of taking pictures of themselves and then uploading them onto social profiles seems harmless enough, but when you look a little deeper, it’s a trend that could be fostering some negative behavior. The infographic below, by TeenSafe.com, provides more insight into selfies – what they are, where they came from, and why they’re so popular. While the photos can be a light-hearted way to connect with peers online, they can also create a sense of narcissism and self-obsession. Even more frightening is the fact that 25% of all…
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The Power of Positive Reinforcement in Kids
Image courtesy of Flickr The Power of Positive Reinforcement in Kids As parents, we want to raise thoughtful and caring kids who make good decisions. One way to do this quite effectively is by using positive reinforcement as often as possible. In most cases, praising kids for their positive behavior will help them to feel good about what they just did, which in turn increases the likelihood of them continuing to do it, Livestrong notes. A basic example of this is a child who remembers to feed and water his pet; if his mom tells him how proud she is of his responsible pet owner skills, her son will feel pretty darn…
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Melissa’s Musings :: 5 Tips To Stay In The Moment
“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.” ~ Rose Kennedy Lately I have been thinking about how great it would be if I could just freeze time or at least slow it down and keep my little girl from growing up too fast. She just celebrated her 8th birthday last week and I really can’t believe how quickly it goes by. You hear that from mom’s who have older children but don’t really understand until you too, see your toddler suddenly go from shaky steps to running around on the soccer field in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic wand that will allow me to…
