Ways to Practice Gender Neutral Parenting

Many of us grew up with the idea that certain toys and activities were only for one gender of child. There were toys for girls, and toys for boys, and our parents may have steered us towards one or the other. Today, things are very different. Now is a good time to practice gender neutral parenting. When I was a little kid, I was taught that girls were supposed to play with dolls and enjoy kitchen sets and playing dress up. The boys in my kindergarten were taught that boys were supposed to play with trucks and blocks. Today, things … Continue reading

Another Source of Free Events!

If you want more free activities to do with the kids than you could possible fit in this summer, use this free source. pick up a free copy of your own local regional parenting magazine. Regional parenting magazines are geared for parents and caregivers, and they are filled with lots of helpful articles that deal with all sorts of subjects, from breakthroughs in healthcare to recommendations about the best learning toys. I should know. I often write articles for regional parenting magazines, and I interview top experts in their chosen fields. There really is a lot of great information for … Continue reading

Tis the Season of Getting

I am going to just throw this out there;  I don’t see anything wrong with buying your children a lot of gifts.  Christmas may not be about gifts but we all know gifts help make the season bright.  If we didn’t believe that we wouldn’t give to Toys for Tots, Operation Homefront, or go into an insane amount of debt every year.  Like it or not, gifts are here to stay and I do not feel that is negative.  Who doesn’t like to unwrap a gift?  Who doesn’t like to see their children’s eyes light up when they open that … Continue reading

What Are Disney Alliances?

Note the outside corporate sponsorship listed on the sign Browsing through my Facebook one day I saw an advertisement on the side, for the official Disney Alliance Facebook page. I’ll let the Facebook page speak for itself, pulling its description from under the “About” heading: “Welcome to the official Facebook Page of Disney Corporate Alliances! Learn about the latest news, promotions, and experiences our Alliance Partners help create across Disney Parks and The Walt Disney Company.” Basically, Disney Alliances, and all of its related websites (though so far that just seems to be Facebook and Twitter), are just there to … Continue reading

Teaching Toddlers Empathy

One important skill that we as parents can help our children to learn is empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and experience the feelings of others, and to respond in helpful ways. No child is too young to begin learning about empathy. In fact, you have probably been modeling empathy for your child since the moment that she was born by being sensitive to her feelings and responding to her needs. As your toddler grows, she can begin to build on the empathy that you have shown her by reaching out to others in a caring way. Of course, … Continue reading

Cloudy With a Chance of Tooth Showers

It’s raining teeth around here. Teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy pearly whites belonging to a child who was absolutely convinced that she would go to her grave with all of her baby teeth intact. My 8-year-old has turned into a human slot machine, except when you pull her arm she spits out teeth instead of quarters. Which is not to say that she hasn’t made out like a pachislo addict. Who needs to hit the jackpot on a real one-arm bandit when you’ve got the Tooth Fairy making sure you win big when you loose little choppers? My daughter’s teeth have been falling … Continue reading

Time To Thin Out The Toy Collection

With Dylan’s third birthday just around the corner and Christmas coming about a month later, there are sure to be many new toys coming into our home. We already have a lot of toys, and they are currently all over the floor of the playroom because Dylan enjoys dumping out the toy storage bins. Sometimes I think that he has too many toys, but I am not exactly sure what to do about it. The other day I decided that I would like to use our too many toys dilemma as an opportunity to teach Dylan about generosity and helping … Continue reading

Prepping for Summer Dangers

The heat is on. Apparently, we don’t have to wait until Memorial Day for summer weather to commence. Much of the nation is expected to experience record-breaking heat this weekend. In my neck of the woods, daytime highs are supposed to hit 90 degrees tomorrow and Sunday. That’s a huge deal, especially since there have been years when it has snowed in late May. While the fabulous weather is reason to celebrate, it should also serve as a reminder to parents to be more vigilant as kids look to cool off around water. According to a new government report, drowning … Continue reading

Special Needs Blog Week in Review – April 1 – 7, 2012

Every week, the Special Needs Blog Week in Review gives you a brief description of all of the blogs that appeared there in the past seven days. This is a good way to find the blogs that you missed, but perhaps would have liked to read when they first appeared. The Special Needs Podcast Roundup went up on April 2, 2012. This time, I’d like to point out an episode of NPR’s “All Things Considered”. The episode is called “N.Y. Preschool Starts DNA Testing for Admission”. If something in the child’s DNA makes the school think that he or she … Continue reading

Stress Free Home

In my mind, my home is a tidy, organized sanctuary from the stresses of the world. In reality it is something quite different. Just walking in the door and I’m hit with the million and one things that need to be done. There’s a pile of shoes by the front door, the dog has torn up one of her stuffed toys on the living room floor, the pile of papers on my desk is threatening to topple over, and that’s all before I’ve shut the front door. Our homes should be a sanctuary and believe it or not, the best … Continue reading