Back to School Snack Box Help By David Kraft

With a new school year beginning, parents of kindergartners and younger children will soon be faced with the task of supplying snacks for some sort of activity at school. In the case of you kindergartner, the 'snack box' is a largish tub that has a lid. Each week, it goes home with a different child who brings it back on Friday full of snacks for the entire class. We were the 6th family on the list, so I asked my daughter what kinds of snacks had been brought in previously to get an idea of what to send it. I was surprised to hear that I'd be up against some pretty stiff competition.

According to my daughter, previous snack box goodies had included cookies, chips, candy bars and chocolate bars. At first I was skeptical of this report, but a call to the teacher confirmed her report.

To say the least, I was amazed. I understand that not all parents are aware of the growing obestity problem among today's youth because it doesn't effect them, but even I wouldn't allow my kid to eat these kind of 'snacks' on a daily basis. It simply doesn't matter if you have an overweight child or not - all of these products made from refined sugars are not good for kids. Sure, they're alright every once in a while, but not on a daily basis.

So what can you do? How can you convice the other parents of the class that they should be sending in healthier snacks? Better yet, how do you send healthier snacks? You can't make things at home anymore because of the potential for food born illnesses, so any snacks that get sent in for other children than your own need to be store bought. And, they need to be the kind of thing that kids will eat...which might be the hardest part of it all.

So, what I did was simple and seems to be something that other parents like. I got in touch with some other mothers in the class and brainstormed some ideas with them after sharing my concerns. One of my other children attended a weight loss camp a couple years ago, so I had a good number of ideas when we sat down to develop a plan. The hardest part was figuring out how to 'scale' the snacks for an entire classroom, but with a group of adults, we were more than able to figure it out. Once we had some ideas ironed out, we printed out a take home sheet that we gave to the teacher who then distributed it to the rest of the parents. Of course the teacher was on our side - she had been battling sugar snacks for years! Would you want to have 20 or so kids hopped up on sugar under your responsibility?

Here are some of the things we came up with. Some of these ideas won't work if there are children in the class with peanut allergies, so make sure you check with your child's teacher.

1) Yogurt covered raisins, cashews, and soy nuts mixed together like a trail mix

2) Strawberries and Cream: Sliced strawberries (or unsweetened frozen strawberries) and plain vanilla yogurt. For service, call a local restaurant and ask them if they'd be willing to donate some small 'take out' containers that the kids can use and check with your local deli or ice cream shop to see if they'll donate some small tester spoons.

3) Sugar or Toffee coated nuts and grapes. (Yes, there is some sugar involved here, but the proteins, vitamins, and Omega 3 in the nuts far outweighs the sugar).

4) Turkey and cheese rollups (these are essentially a piece of turkey from the deli rolled together with a small piece of mild cheese)

Keep in mind that these are snacks - not meals. They may not seem like a lot of food, but we're talking about 5-8 year olds here that have small stomachs, right? Let's keep it that way.

On another note, I mentioned above that some of the snack ideas I had came from when my older child attended a weight loss camp. If you have a child that struggles with weight issues, it is especially important that you do your part to make sure that 'snack time' is a healthy time of the day. And, if you really need some help, know that there are a lot of excellent weight loss camps for kids out there.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=421515&ca=Parenting

How do You Know if Your Child is Using Drugs? By Amy Cainfield

Most parents today agree that drug use by our teenagers is one of our greatest fears.

Since the inception of DARE programs across the country, many schools are teaching the dangers of drugs and kids ARE paying attention. Part of the DARE curriculum is to work with the parents, too.

By doing so, parents are taught about warning signs to look for, such as changes in friends, changes in wardrobe, becoming more and more isolated and children who may have more volatile personalities; some parents may have the unfortunate task of finding remnants of drug use.

Other people, usually childless couples and sometimes parents of children of their own, take the opinion of “Well, not my kid....he knows better!”

Oh, if it were to be always true!!

Through these school programs, the media, support groups and friends, the majority of parents DO have the tools and the knowledge to protect their kids from a life of drugs and other poor choices.

The task at hand is getting the parents to address it with the kids. It can be uncomfortable and it seems more uncomfortable to ask if your child isn’t doing drugs.

But doing it honestly and with a sincere heart and concern will convey to your child that you DO love them and you want to help. Not to punish them...that is not the end goal. You must ask from a place of love and support but just be direct and honest. Approaching the matter at hand in this way, if the child wants help but doesn’t know how to ask for it, being direct may be the way the door opens within the family.

Be prepared for whatever answer you get, though. They may be extremely relieved that now the “cat is out of the bag” so to speak and this will be the prime opportunity to start the healing process and get the child to a treatment facility and prepare the whole family for therapy.

You may get a vehement, “NO, I’m NOT using drugs!! Don’t you trust me???” And, you may just open up a whole new line of communication that will lead to further trust and accountability for the whole family!

There are children who choose to “experiment” with drugs once in a while. It may be more of a challenge to spot any of the signs and symptoms of very occasional and sporadic drug use. But, if you suspect it at all, just ask!

This is also an optimal time to start an ongoing dialogue with your teen about the dangers of even recreational use of drugs, the dangers of those drugs and the less than reasonable choices people in general tend to make while they are under the influence.

Again, having this ongoing dialogue and making yourself approachable will further their trust with you and, even when parents aren’t around, your teen will remember all the trust and love there is being invested in them.

If these direct approach methods don’t work and all the signs point to a resounding yes, perhaps the next step is to purchase a home drug screen kit and check in the privacy of your own home.

If it’s negative, GREAT! Not only do you have good news and reassurance, for the time being, it is also a time to embrace your child and remind him or her, exactly how much you love them and how much you do trust them.

If the test comes back positive, then you have all sorts of options to explore but make no mistake, you may have just saved your own child’s life.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=423278&ca=Parenting

What to Look For in a Tandem Stroller By Deborah Mehan

If you have any combination of small children still in strollers, just traveling around town can become a challenging event. By the time you have packed multiple diaper bags, dressed more than one child, and have everyone settled down, you are ready to get throw in the towel.

The thought of having to load two different strollers in the car is not a pleasant one. That is why these parents are thankful for whoever created tandem strollers. Owning a tandem stroller has reduced stress in many families by making their life much easier. Purchasing one of these strollers will make going out in public once again a joyful event.

When you are looking to purchase a new stroller for more multiple children that are close in age tandem strollers, are often better than the double jogging stroller or the double umbrella stroller. However, before you make that final purchase there are a few items you should think about, or at least a few questions you should ask yourself.

Will I be able to lift the stroller?

Using twice as much material, which will naturally make them heavier. Make sure you check the weight or purchase one that is lightweight.

Will the stroller fit in my life?

Tandem strollers will be larger than most, even when they are in their collapsible state; therefore, you will want to make sure they will fit comfortably in your car.

Which feature fits my needs?

Are cup holders more important than having storage room for a diaper bag? Deciding between the different features, before you are at the store will say you a great deal of time.

How easy is it to maintain?

It is just a fact of life that your stroller will get dirty. The question is not how but when. When it happens you will want to make sure that your stroller has removable parts so that it is easy to clean.

However, price cannot be the only consideration when purchasing either a stroller or carriage. If you are in the market for something to transport two babies, a lightweight double stroller should certainly be in the running for a second look. Depending on what you need a stroller or carriage to do, the affordable lightweight double stroller may be just the ticket for your family. But buy smart. make certain the lightweight baby stroller you decide upon is heavy-duty enough to carry the load of two newborns as well as two infants as they grow. Saving a few bucks in the beginning may cost you another trip for another stroller before the babies are out of their rolling along stage

Nothing can be more precious cargo than the infant going for a ride in a stroller. The infant stroller must be comfortable for the baby, provide support over possible bumps, and sturdy enough to carry the baby safely to the destination, no matter how far the trip. There can be no compromise whatsoever on the safety issue of an infant stroller.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=424542&ca=Parenting

5 Key Steps to Teach Your Child to Become Self Aware By Ruth Edensor

Being self aware means that you are conscious of what you are doing and how it affects your life, in other words you understand that if you do a certain thing you will get a certain result. As adults we know that this is not always easy to and that we usually have to work hard to remember to do it. If you teach your children to grow up self aware you are giving them vital tools to build the life of their dreams. They will be able to understand who they are, what their skills, weakness and strengths are and how their behaviour affects others and their selves.
They will also be able to;

•Self motivate

•Improve social skills

•Set goals and work towards them

•Show empathy towards others

•Manage their feelings appropriately

•Solve problems

•Keep themselves safe

•Stay healthy

•Find out what they enjoy doing

•Understand the consequences of their actions

I am sure you agree that the benefits are huge.
Here are 5 steps to help you teach your child to become self aware.

1.Have some quiet time.

You need to give your child some peace and quiet if they are to become self aware because it is then that they can stop thinking about everything that is around them and just listen to their own thoughts and feelings.
Having no music, TV, computers or other distractions and activities will benefit even very small children because it is then that they listen to every day sounds and really get to know there environment, which also helps them with their speech and language skills. So turn off the everyday distractions and enjoy some quiet time each day.

2.Be a good role model.

If you practise being self aware yourself then it is going to be very likely that your children will follow you naturally as you pass it on.

3.Coach and guide them.

By coaching and guiding your child to be self aware constantly and routinely, it will become second nature and a habit.

4.Help them to be reflective

When your child has done something positive or negative you can help them to reflect on what they have done to help them to see the consequences of their actions. For example asking them, “How did that make you feel?” Or, “What went well when you did that?” “What could you do differently to get a better result?” “What did you learn?”

5.Use positive parenting techniques.

Positive parenting techniques encourage children to think about what they are doing. If you are just dictating and telling your children what to do all they will learn to do as they are told without questioning. On the other hand if you have taught them to reason and think for them selves you will find that they will be self directing and think and plan ahead for themselves instead of waiting to be told what to do.

Doing these 5 things consistently everyday means that you will most definitely be successful in teaching your children to be self aware and give them a great start in life.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=423947&ca=Parenting