The Best Part of a Bedtime Routine

Getting your child to settle down and fall asleep can be a challenge but it’s never too late to establish bedtime routines and reclaim some evening time for yourself.  There are some great websites that offer step by step instructions on how to accomplish this:  www.parents.com  www.child-psych.org, and http://www.mayoclinic.com.

The best activity you can include in your child’s evening routine is a bedtime story.  The website Man of the House has some compelling reasons why you should engage in this activity often.  You can read a story to your child or you can tell a story with your child.  While either choice is win-win for you and your child, telling a story can be a powerful bonding time together.  The click here for some great storytelling tips.

My children were read to a lot when they were young—even when they became teenagers we would still buddy read (take turns).  It was a relaxing way to spend some quality time together while getting a glimpse into what they were reading for school.  Every now and then they'll say, "Remember when we read together?"  It makes me smile to think of it.

Do you read to and/or with your child?  It’s the best twenty minutes you can spend each day.  Leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Helping A Reluctant Child Get Their Face Painted

Has this ever happened to you? You’re at a festival and your child says she wants her face painted. You wait in line for an hour. Then when it’s her turn, she suddenly gets shy and refuses to get in the painter’s chair.

This is actually quite common, but what is a parent to do? Because the painter has probably encountered this situation before they can usually coax your child into getting something painted, such as a design on her arm instead of her face. If that doesn’t work, perhaps you could get something small painted on you! You did wait in line patiently all that time, didn’t you?

The worse thing to do is to get mad and force your child to get painted, especially if they are crying and flailing about. Most face painters won’t paint a child in that instance. It’s not safe and there’s no need to traumatize the child any more than they already are. It’s also not good for business as it might frighten away other customers! 

Has this happened to you?  What did you do?  Leave me a comment.  I'd love to hear from you!

Later, when everyone is relaxed, you could ask your child what made her change her mind? Reassure her that it is okay to not want to get painted. Children need to feel empowered about their bodies.  The face is a very close personal space. From farther away your child felt comfortable with that concept but it probably overwhelmed her when it was her turn.

Other ideas to get her used to the idea:
--Have her watch friends get painted at birthday parties and discuss the pretty designs and how nicely they sat to be painted. She can then ask her friends how it felt.

--Hire a face painter to come to your home. In her own territory she may feel more comfortable. Again, she could watch everyone else get painted before taking her turn.

When I encounter this situation I don’t make the child get in my chair. I have them stand next to me and I just chat with them. I have them put their arm on the chair or table and I tickle them with a dry brush. I make sure I tell them they don’t have to get painted if they don’t want to. But once I put my paints away they can’t change their mind. This usually works.

If the child does decide to be painted I distract them by more chatting and before they know it, I’m done. I tell them they did such a great job. Everybody’s happy. Mission accomplished.

Parenting and Pets

A parent’s job is never done. Not only are you responsible for your children, but if you have pets it’s important to give them a good life, too. Dogs need to be trained, walked, and played with. Cats don’t usually like to be walked but they do like to be played with and, believe it or not, they can be trained, especially if there’s food involved.

Speaking of training, it’s important to train children to be respectful of pets. There’s a great website called teachkidshow that categorizes the information according to the age of the child. The website for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has some great tips on this subject as well. You will also find some great information on choosing the right pet for your family on the ASPCA website.

How you treat your family pet is crucial. As in everything else, you are the role model for your child. No matter what your pet may do—soil the rug, chew something they’re not supposed to, or the like, how you react will set the example for how your child treats the pet.

A happy, well-behaved, healthy pet is a blessing to a family. The unconditional love and affection that a pet gives back is so heartwarming. It’s worth the work, don’t you think?

Are you a pet owner? How do your kids treat your pet? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

New Year's Resolutions

Have you seen the writing on the wall?  No, I’m not talking about graffiti or perhaps some crayon scribblings.  I’m referring to the pencil marks that show the growth or your child.  Most families have them in a special place.  Some families even incorporate the annual height measuring into their décor with an actual painted or pasted ruler on the wall.  It’s a great way to track your child’s growth. 

Isn’t it amazing how time flies?  With another year behind us, it’s a good time to look forward to the coming year.  Have you made any resolutions?  Is your child old enough to make some for herself?  Teaching children how to set and achieve goals is a great life skill.  CLICK HERE for an awesome how-to article to get you and your family started. 

Happy New Year!  May it be filled with much good health and happiness!  What are your hopes for this year?  Leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Family Traditions

Recently, in an attempt to prepare my students for the MCAS long composition test, I had them write a personal narrative. The topic: “Family Traditions.” The first word that tripped them up was “traditions.” Many children had no clue as to what the word even meant. How could they start the writing process?

Unlike the real MCAS, I could tell them the definition of traditions as well as brainstorm some examples. Most children thought of holiday traditions but I also tried to get them to think of vacation traditions and any others they could think of.

We had many traditions in my family. When I was little we had a tradition of going to dinner at my grandma’s house on Sundays. The traditional Sunday dinner has become a thing of the past in many families, including mine. We spent Christmas Day with my mom’s side of the family at my great uncle and aunt’s house. Having no children of their own, it was not a kid friendly place to be. Picture, if you will, white furniture and carpeting.

One of my favorite vacation traditions was the brown lunch bag for the road trip. We couldn’t open the bag to enjoy its contents until we were officially on the highway. But we already knew what we’d find: a new comic book, quiet car games and candy!

These were designed to keep us quiet and occupied for the majority of our journey. Being voracious readers we were done with all three of the comic books in no time. (We traded back and forth.) My older sister, Cindy, could make her candy last, but not we younger two, Marcia and me. We gobbled it down then enjoyed a sugar rush followed by a sugar crash. Good times.

After modeling the above traditions from my childhood, it was time to set the children loose on their writing. A couple of students were able to accomplish the task with relative ease. The rest had melt downs. They couldn’t think of any traditions. They didn’t know where to start.

After reminding them to make a list, draw a picture, or web out their ideas, they still whined. Most of my students do not like to write. It is too much effort for them. Writing is hard and takes focus and an ability to visualize. I tried to get them to tell their story by painting a picture with their words.

Still no luck for my severest reluctant writers. Some days I feel like I’m pulling teeth trying to get these kids to write. My only hope is that I’m planting seeds for the future when everything clicks and these kids, hopefully, get turned on to writing.

I actually called a few families and explained their child’s difficulties. The homework for those kids: talk with their families about their traditions. As I suspected, the families did have traditions, the kids were just not aware of them.

The bottom line? Talk with your children about your childhood traditions. It’s your heritage and theirs as well. Point out your family’s current tradition. Chances are, you’ve got them, your children just don’t know it.

Are you continuing any childhood traditions with your family? Are you creating new ones? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

Teaching Gratitude and Graciousness

As parents the greatest gift we can give our children is the ability to navigate successfully through life. One of the best ways to do this is to teach them to be grateful. Practicing gratitude daily has many benefits but at this time of year we focus more on giving and receiving presents.

Jimmy Kimmel asked parents to play a trick on their children. The parents were to give their children an early Christmas gift. The twist was that the gift had to be something the children would never want. Then the parents video-taped their offspring opening said presents and posted them on YouTube.

Some parents wrapped up half-eaten sandwiches and rotten bananas. I enjoyed watching the little girl open the carton of six eggs and then proceed to crack open an egg. The child who got the rotten banana actually started eating it, peel and all.

Most of it made me laugh out loud but there were two clips that disturbed me. One was the boy in the red striped sweater. He has some anger management issues, I think. The fact that he was allowed to attack his parents bothered me as well. That was bad enough, but the last clip was over the top. The comment made by the young boy about what Santa could do was quite rude. Those parents get no “Parent of the Year Award” in my book. Apparently that language is considered acceptable in that household. I found it vulgar and disgusting especially to be uttered by what appears to be a ten-year old.

See for yourself. CLICK HERE to watch. Oh, and if you read the comments below the video, some of them are quite vulgar as well. (Just my humble opinion)

In addition to being grateful, perhaps we should also teach graciousness. When preparing my children to attend family gatherings, we discussed opening “Aunt Claire” gifts. My husband’s godmother, Aunt Claire, often gave gifts that weren’t quite what he wanted, like the year he received the cowboy hat. Still, he said thank you and even wore it for a short time. Then it was relegated to the back of the closet for all eternity.

Gifts are not so much about the recipient as the giver. There is a great article from USAToday about this very subject. CLICK HERE to read it.

The bottom line is that when you open a gift, even if it’s not something you like, it’s important to smile and thank the giver. It’s more about their thoughtfulness, time, and efforts.  Teaching this to children is key to avoiding social gaffes and possible embarrassment.  A polite, well behaved, gracious child is a gift not only to you and anyone your child encounters, but to your child as well.

Has your child ever reacted in a not-so-appropriate manner when they opened a gift?  Leave me a comment.  I'd love to hear about it.

Achieving the Impossible by Overcoming Procrastination

Everybody procrastinates to some degree. That is, we avoid doing something we should do in favor of something we want to do. Procrastination becomes a problem when it interferes with our lives. We may not reach our fullest potential in our professional and/or private lives.

 According to Mindtools.com, there are three steps to overcoming procrastination:

1. Recognize that you are procrastinating. You can’t address a problem if you don’t acknowledge it.

2. Determine WHY you are procrastinating. The most common causes: the task is unpleasant to us, we are unorganized, and/or the task is overwhelming.

3. Develop anti-procrastination strategies. There is a great, free, on-line tip sheet at onlineorganizing.com to help even the worst procrastinator get started.

So, what are you waiting for? Seize the day and get something done!

Have you ever put off doing something and regretted it? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Halloween Etiquette

At this time of year many sources offer advice on safe trick or treating.  I’d like to focus on etiquette.  For grownups and kids.  Many parents remind their children to say please and thank you while they are gathering their treats.  What I’ve observed over the past few years is that parents aren’t taking the time to explain to their children the trick or treating protocol.

1.  Ring the doorbell of houses that have their lights on.

2.  Wait patiently.

3.  When the person answers the door say, “Trick or treat.”

4.  After the candy is put in the bags say, “Thank you.”

5.  Walk carefully down the steps and back to the grownups.

Why do we say trick or treat?  Basically we’re threatening the homeowner with a trick such as soaping windows (or worse in some cases) if they don’t give us a treat.  Click HERE for a great website about the origins of the phrase and some history of Halloween traditions.

The biggest complaint I heard this year was that grownups are now carrying their own trick or treat containers.  When the door opens they are begging for candy and they’re not even wearing costumes.  This is downright rude.  Candy is expensive and it is purchased with the intention of distributing it to children.  Do what all parents have done over the years: raid your kids’ Halloween candy stash after they go to bed!  Kids shouldn’t eat all that candy anyway.

Teaching Your Child To Cross the Road

If you read this week’s “Ponderings” you know that I witnessed a near calamity recently. As parents we hope that our children make good choices and would never do something so stupid. Although we can’t guarantee that they will always use common sense, it is still our job to teach them strategies for safety and success as well as the rules of society and laws of the land.

There are some great resources for teaching your child to cross the road safely. Pedestrian laws vary from town to town, city to city so it’s important to know them, show them, and practice them with your child. Remember, by “show them” I mean model, model, model. If you say, “Always cross in a crosswalk,” and then jaywalk where your child can witness, all your parenting efforts are out the window.

As usual, the web is a fantastic resource for how-to information on teaching your child how to cross the road safely.  Click HERE, HERE, and HERE for some great links on how to teach your child pedestrian safety laws.

Politeness Pays

Politeness really pays. When children are sitting politely waiting for their balloon, I pick them first. The other day as I was feverishly making balloon animals for a dozen children, only one of them said thank you. The others just grabbed their balloon. Often when I’m clowning I have parents who prompt their child to use their polite words. To them I say, “Thank you!”

A well-mannered child doesn’t happen by accident. Teaching your child manners starts with you modeling good manners and then having her say please and thank you when she is able to say a few words. Most importantly, manners need to be practiced in order for them to be part of your child’s daily habits. Manners are an important part of civility and by using manners on a daily basis your home will be more peaceful. An added bonus is that when you are out in public your child is apt to be better behaved, earning you kudos as a good parent!

There are some great resources on the web for teaching manners to your child:
· The Etiquette Princess has a great book for young children.
· Sylvan Education has a page with lots of links for teaching manners.
· The ever popular Emily Post has a great site with lots of articles about manners.

Unfortunately what I see happening lately is that parents are not teaching their children manners and it is one more thing that the schools have to teach. This leaves less time for teaching the nitty-gritty academic subjects. As a result I am seeing an overall decline in intelligence and higher level thinking abilities. Is this what we want for our next generation?

Is your child polite?  Leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Whine-free Zone

It’s late, it’s a school night, and you need to go grocery shopping. As a single parent, this is tough. You have few options but to drag the kids along with you. If you have a partner, could one of you stay home with the kids while the other does the shopping? Different strategies work for different families but the bottom line is what’s best for the kids?

By 7PM most kids are winding down from their day, or at least they should be. Kids need lots of sleep! According to Webmd, kids 4-6 need 10-12 hours of sleep per night! Taking your children to the grocery store at this hour is just asking for trouble. It’s hard for children to behave when they’re overtired. Why set yourself up for disaster?

If you have to bring your children to the grocery store, make sure they’ve had something to eat beforehand. This will help alleviate the whining for snacks. You can always pack an easy to eat snack such as a cheese stick or crackers. When my mom took us shopping we always got a little box of animal crackers to munch on when we shopped. At the end of the trip the cashier rang up the empty box. Yum! CLICK HERE for some great tips on how to have a stress-less grocery shopping trip with your child.

Before going anywhere out in public it’s important to communicate with your child what they can expect as well as what you expect from them. Children need lots of direction when it comes to good behavior and lots of practice.

Follow-through is the hardest thing for most adults. We have to say what we mean and mean what we say. Giving kids mixed messages is frustrating for all.

Dealing with children takes a lot of energy. Have you had something to eat? Have you gotten enough sleep? According to Webmd,  “Most adults need seven to eight hours a night for the best amount of sleep, although some people may need as few as five hours or as many as 10 hours of sleep each day.”

After a long day at work it’s difficult to stay one step ahead of your energetic child. Putting in the effort to teach them self-control and good behavior when they’re young will pay off big time when they get older. It’s your job as a parent and they’re worth the effort, don’t you think?


What do you think? Do you have any “shopping with children” strategies? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Getting Organized

Do you have CHAOS?  According to Flylady, that’s “Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome” due to a less than organized home.  Flylady is a helpful resource for getting organized.  She encourages you to just begin where you are and take baby steps.  I have found it very helpful in all aspects of my life.  CLICK HERE to check out her website.  You can sign up for daily emails to help you on your path to a more organized and less stressful life.

In addition to the many books you can purchase and websites where you can pay for organizational strategies, there’s also a free online resource called Organized Families that provides free suggestions and strategies to get and keep your family organized.  CLICK HERE to check out that website  

             

Now that school has resumed, you may wish to reference some of my older blogs.  I’ve got some great tips on time management as well as how to help with the homework blues.

               

Do you have any tips for organization that have worked well with your family?  Please leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Letting Your Child Stay Home Alone

Guidance—Grownups

How do you know when your child is ready to stay home alone?  Every child is different and different states have different laws.  The recommended minimum age ranges from 8-12.  CLICK HERE for a link to the legal age limits for each state—not all states have them, however!

This can be a tough decision for families but the reality is not all grownups can be there when their child gets home from school.  CLICK HERE   for an online quiz to see if your child is responsible enough to stay home alone.

According to Child Welfare Information Gateway,  there are some things to consider when making this decision:

• Is your child physically and mentally able to care for him- or herself?
• Does your child obey rules and make good decisions?
• Does your child feel comfortable or fearful about being home alone?

In an article reviewed by Nicole Green MD, you will find some great tips on this topic.  They include:

• Factors to Consider
• Make a “Practice Run”
• Handling the Unexpected
• Before You Leave
• Ready to Go

CLICK HERE to read the entire article.

Knowing your child is home alone can be nerve wracking.  Taking the above steps to ensure their safety just might give you some peace of mind.  The effort is worth it for everyone, I think.

What do you think?  Does your child stay home alone?  Do you have any advice for other parents?  Leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Haircuts Without Fear

Many children are afraid to get their hair cut because they think it might hurt.  That word “cut” just turns some children into screaming, squirming maniacs in the salon chair.  Is it a simple fear or a full blown phobia known as tonsurephobia? 

According to Kendra Van Wagner - Psychosocial Therapist, some haircut phobias are due to a bad past experience.  Perhaps the stylist nicked an ear or you just can’t stand the buzzing of the clippers.  CLICK HERE to read the entire article.

At one point or another you are probably going to want your child to get a haircut of some sort.  How do you make sure it is a pleasant experience?  There is a lot of great advice to be had at baby center.com.  

There’s also a cute book, “No Haircut” by James Grady, illustrated by Janet Grady.  “Sprinkles First Haircut” by J.C. Schwanda and illustrated by Dan Kanemoto is another good book for children to help ease their haircut fears.

Making sure your child is well rested, well fed, and distracted seems to be the common strategies used by many parents.

Do you have a strategy to help make your child’s haircuts more pleasant?  Please leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Politeness Pays

One of the best things that parents* can teach their children is manners. I always give “extra points” to the parents of children who say please and thank you when I’m making animal balloon sculptures. 

Politeness pays! People are more apt to want to interact/help your child is he is polite. The basics of please, thank you, and excuse me come in so handy every day! As a clown I will give the patient, polite child a balloon much faster than the demanding rude child.

This applies to the classroom as well. School is preparation for the “real world” for when children get older and go on to further education and/or jobs. Being able to wait your turn and use courteous words gets you farther in life. 

Civility breeds civility. By this I mean if your child is well-mannered, people will treat him better. Conversely, if your child is ill-mannered, people will avoid interacting with him. Which would you prefer?

And as always, your actions speak much louder than your words. Do you set an example? Are you polite and well-mannered? And not just to others but your child as well. That way they’ll be polite and well-mannered to you. It’s a two-way street!

How did you teach your child manners? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

*By parents I mean any primary caregiver of children.

Stress and Overscheduled Kids

Unfortunately today’s kids can be very stressed. CLICK HERE for an informative article on childhood stress. The demands of schoolwork, afterschool activities, and family can take their toll. The results are not pretty: lowered grades, disinterest in school and other activities, and even illness/injuries. What’s a grownup to do?

Teachers need to be careful when scheduling homework, especially in the older grades where students have more than one teacher. The teachers need to communicate. I try to give plenty of time for long-term projects. Nightly reading and math fact practice is expected, however. I sometimes suggest to students who are having trouble fitting it all in that they can break up their homework into chunks: do some at night and some in the morning before school.

Coaches and other extracurricular grownup leaders need to be cautious of their demands on children’s time. Often children are overbooked with sports, scouting, AND art lessons of one form or another. I know that parents want their children to be well rounded but we don’t want them falling flat!

So the bottom line starts and ends with parents and guardians. Parents and guardians have (or should have) the ultimate say in how much or how little their child is involved in extracurricular activities. If you feel stressed with all of the chauffeuring to and from these activities, imagine how your child feels?

Besides not overscheduling children, I highly recommend teaching them to meditate. Of course, it helps if you as the grownup model meditate, too. Dr. Robert Puff speaks about the benefits of meditation for children and gives a simple how to on this video. CLICK HERE for a link to the video. This Yoga Journal article link can help you instruct your child on how to do simple yoga. CLICK HERE for the link to that article.

What do you do to help your child feel less stressed? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Your Child's Written Work: To Edit or Not To Edit?

After your child finishes a writing assignment for school, do you immediately proofread and edit it “with” them?  As a caring parent it's normal to want to help your child with their homework. However, giving him the opportunity to find and fix his own mistakes is important. Throughout their school careers students are required to edit their work without assistance. Therefore it is crucial that they have experience doing so. 

One strategy that I recommend is having the child read their piece out loud. Very often they’ll hear their mistake and be able to correct it. If they don’t notice, perhaps a gentle, “Does that sound right?” after you read it aloud to them, might help.

Sometimes though, when we read our own work, our brain fills in what we intended to write. You can read what your child has written out loud to them. If they have typed their assignment on the computer, you can have the computer read it to them. ReadPlease is a computer program that reads text aloud. CLICK HERE for free downloadable software.

A critical tool for every household is a dictionary. A good dictionary will include synonyms antonyms which can help increase your child’s word usage. Why use mundane words like said, sad, walk, when retorted, depressed, ambled, would be so much more interesting! The verbs are the power of our language, not the flowery adjectives. 

One of the reasons children balk at writing is because handwriting is so cumbersome. I recommend teaching touch typing to children. There are many free typing tutor software programs available that have a game format, making it fun for the children to learn and practice. CLICK HERE for a link to an article comparing the different programs.

The more children write, the better they get. Encourage your child to write as much as possible. Model writing whenever you can. The more they see you writing, the more they’ll want to write. And most importantly: writing should be a joy and never used as a punishment.

Music Everyday

You’ve heard that old saying, “Music soothes the savage beast”* When it comes to music, especially singing, children are more than just soothed! Music increases a child’s language skills with rhythm and rhyme. Music pulls a group together as a community. Music helps calm children down or rev them up. Music can help with breathing and thus public speaking/oral reading. Can music make your child smarter?   Click HERE for a great website with more information.   Click HERE for a website with free classical music from many composers.

As a teacher, I’ve noticed children don’t seem to know their nursery rhymes and other early childhood songs. As Peppermint Patti I’ve tried to initiate “Patty cake” and “Eensy Weensy Spider” with little ones who look at me as if I’m insane. This makes me sad. Those classic childhood songs and fingerplays are so much fun and so important for early language development! When did parents stop teaching them to their children?

Sometimes during the school day I will play various types of music to either pep up or calm down the class. We also sing many “camp” songs together. Sometimes they’ll even teach me the songs they learned at camp over the summer! I love to learn new songs. A few years ago my student Adam taught me the Beaver Song:

Beaver 1 Beaver All let's all do the beaver call.
Beaver 2 Beaver 3 let’s all climb the beaver tree.
Beaver 4 Beaver 5 let's all do the beaver jive.
Beaver six Beaver 7 let’s all go to beaver heaven.
Beaver 8 Beaver 9 STOP!! It's Beaver time.

Singing brings us together as a community. On Fridays we always have pizza for lunch so we chant the Pizza Song:

Eat. (R)
Eat a. (R)
Eat a lotta. (R)
Eat a lotta, eat a lotta, eat a lotta pizza. (R)
No, no don’t eat the pizza! (R)
Pizza’s got a lotta hot and spicy pepperoni. (R)
Pizza’s got a lotta hot and spicy peppermoni got a lotta hot and spicy pepperoni on the top. (R)

The leader chants the line and then the group repeats (R). We start slow and each time we do it, we go faster! The students love to see how fast they can go!

Music comes in really handy.  One time when we were on a fieldtrip, we had some time to kill so I gathered all 150 third graders and led them in a sing along. It made the wait time go by so much faster. We also like to sing on the bus when we go on fieldtrips. This is sometimes thwarted by the bus driver playing CDs or some sort of Disney radio.

I can't imagine a day without music.

*FYI the actual saying is: “Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast”…from a play by William Congreve, The mourning bride, 1697. Click HERE for the internet source.

Do you have a favorite song or fingerplay you taught your child? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Healthy Snacking

Getting all the necessary nutrition into your child on a daily basis is tricky.  Giving him a multivitamin may help but the best source of vitamins and minerals are from a variety of healthy foods.  Viewing snacks as mini meals of nutritious offerings is a great way to provide your child with the daily nutrition he needs.  As a certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant, I try to teach the importance of choosing a variety of healthy foods every day. 

On the Mayo Clinic website you’ll find a great article “Healthy snacks for kids: 10 child-friendly tips.” There are other great resources on the internet such as this very informative article “Healthy Snacks for Kids” fromthe Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine website.  At the Center for Science in the Public Interest website you’ll find ideas for serving healthy snacks to children and much more!   

Snacking is a great way to help picky eaters get the daily nutrition that they need.  There’s a great article on tips for picky eaters on the Mayo Clinic website .  Cooking with kids helps them want to try new foods.  Discover more about this at the PBS website. 

Fueling your child with nutritious food not only keeps them alert, focused, and able to work, it also sets good habits in place for a lifetime of good health.  In addition, a healthy child is able to attend school on a regular basis which has been shown to increase academic achievement.

Does all this mean that you can’t give your child a treat?  Not at all, but treats should be just that, rare special nonnutritive foods just for fun like a cookie or other sweet.  However, there’s no rule that says you have to have dessert at every meal--save dessert for dinner.   Check out some cookbooks to help you get started. I found some great books HERE.

Does your family have any favorite kid-friendly recipes?  Leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Bats Are Good

Hooray for Bats! Bats are really very beneficial to our ecosystem yet they have gotten a bad rap over the years. Tired of getting eaten alive by mosquitoes? You need more bats in your neighborhood!

My family had a lot of experience with bats when I was growing up. In 1977 my parents bought an old (built in 1799) brick house. They still live there today. It has thirteen rooms, nine fireplaces, and bats. Every summer evening we could see their dark silhouettes swooping in the dusk sky catching their supper.

Sometimes the bats would get into the house. One night, I’m told (I slept through this event) a bat got into my younger sister Marcia’s bedroom. She wrapped up in her comforter, cocoon style and inch-wormed her way down the hall to our parents’ bedroom as Dad went to investigate.

Meanwhile the bat had followed Marcia and had perched on the wall in the corner of our parents’ bedroom. My mom called, “Buster, the bat’s in here now.” So Buster, that’s Dad’s nickname, came into the room and whooped, “Whoop, whoop.” The bat dive bombed the bed. Mom screamed and scrambled off of the bed and attempted to get under it…

…Only to find she didn’t fit. Not that Mom was too chubby, she’s actually quite thin. No, the bedframe was really close to the floor to accommodate the thick mattresses. Dad eventually got the bat outside and everybody went back to sleep. How I slept through all of this excitement I’ll never know.

Speaking of bats, Brian Lies’ Bats at the Beach, Bats at the Library, and Bats at the Ballgame are delightful and engaging! His illustrations are vivid and detailed, making the reader stop and take a closer look. The rhyming text is gentle and fun to read aloud, not forced. Brian Lies won this year’s Crystal Kite award for his newest book, Bats at the Ballgame, a NY Times best seller!

Find out more about bats at Brian Lies’ website then spend an enjoyable summer evening with your family outdoors observing the bats in your neighborhood. (You’ll need blankets to lie on and some bug repellant.) As they flit about, it’s fun to imagine they’re on their way to a new adventure!