I love inspirational quotes. I always save them on my computer or my phone thinking that I'd share them with my kids. I've even thought about putting up a chalkboard where I would write daily inspirational quotes or affirmations. Unfortunately, we don't have too much empty wall space left in our main living area. Eventually, I decided to give a try … [Read more...]
Teen cell phone contract with printable sample
Raising kids sometimes feels like driving a power car that accelerates from 0 to 60 in seconds. I was writing about preschool selection, like, yesterday. Today, my first-born has his own cell phone. It wasn't in our 5-year growth plan. We were thinking "no earlier than 13". Things change, kids get independent, cell phone upgrade time comes up. For … [Read more...]
When your child’s question is unanswerable
When their child(ren) start(s) talking, parents enjoy their cute, sweet chatter as much as they dread their major verbal milestones such as "No!" Phase, "Why?" Phase, "Where did I (do babies) come from?" phase, "Death" phase, "Where is God?" phase and more relevant to the current editorial calendar "Is Santa real?" phase. I've always felt, we've … [Read more...]
Setting new year’s goals with children
Beginning of a new year, makes us think about what we've done, what we've accomplished or what we can learn from our failures or shortcomings in the year behind, and set new goals, both personal and professional, for the coming year. We might not aspire for big bangs or extraordinary inventions. However, I believe every human being needs growth in … [Read more...]
10 tips to get your children pick up after themselves
I am a lazy parent, especially, when it comes to house chores. Give me any type of cooking, outdoor activity, physical exercise, arts and crafts or DIY projects or visiting museums and gardens, I'll get to it right away. I'll wake up at 5, I'll stay up late. However, when it comes to tidying up the house, especially the mess caused by two Tasmanian … [Read more...]
Good Things & Great Times Jar
I am a little bit behind on the new year's personal development initiatives. I've seen this "good things & great times jar" on various blogs and I loved the idea. A memory jar is similar to having a collective gratitude journal, but this one is a collective one for the family. A family memory collection jar. It encourages focusing on positive … [Read more...]
Feeling-o-meter to help children identify and describe their feelings
My son gets frustrated and upset very quickly. He has a short fuse. He always describes his state as he's "MAD". Whatever happens, he's always mad and whenever that word comes out of his mouth, things get escalated pretty quickly. I explained to him that most probably he doesn't get MAD in every situation. He doesn't feel the same level of … [Read more...]
How to get your children help clean-up
Every weekend, children - have to - cleanup and organize their own living and playing areas. Then 5 minutes later, until next weekend, they run around like a tornado and we end up with a house like a bomb exploded in the middle. Now that they are 7 and 5, I do not clean up their territories anymore. Unfortunately, they do not keep it tidy or they … [Read more...]
“First think, then act” status update
It's been more than a month, since we've completed the “First think, then act” program in February. I wanted to share the results with you. I also learned that today is "National Siblings Day". The month of February was a work-in-progress. My beloved kids really tried to work on the communication, mostly because they did want to get a green icon … [Read more...]
Sibling Relationship: Making new habits
For the last few weeks, my son and daughter literally lost their capabilities to communicate and getting along well. The constant bickering, stubbornness, competition, disrespect and fights got worse. Not only did we lose our peace in our home that but they carried their unacceptable behavior out of the house to family visits and public … [Read more...]