Things to Know About Preschoolers and YouTube Videos

Your preschooler may have developed an interest in YouTube videos. There are some videos out there that were created for young children to view. The majority of YouTube, however, is not intended for young children. Here are some things that parents need to know about preschoolers and YouTube videos. Limit Screen Time The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that television and other entertainment media should be avoided for infants and children under age 2. They also recommend that children and teens should engage with entertainment media for no more than two hours per day – and that the media … Continue reading

Are You Too Critical?

How often do you start the day with a morning lecture? My 8-year-old daughter’s answer:  “Too many!” She’s probably right. If she asks for help locating her backpack, I spend five minutes “suggesting” that she hang it in the back hall where she can easily find it. If she complains about taking the same home lunch to school every day I “propose” that she expand her palate because there’s only so much I can do with strawberries, crackers and plain chicken. When she whines about not having enough time to eat a leisurely breakfast before school I “recommend” moving up … Continue reading

Teaching Responsibility Through Chores

We didn’t have a lot of chores growing up. Every Saturday we had to help clean the bathrooms, but that was about it. We helped a little here and there, but in the end, we didn’t do a whole lot to help around the house when we were kids. My mother tried, but after battling grumpy children for a couple years she finally gave up. In very little time, she had six spoiled teenagers who didn’t know how to cook or clean for themselves. I was the only one who had a consistent job through high school, and the others … Continue reading

Free Websites that Teach Your Kids about Money

Teaching kids about money, where it comes from, how to make it grow and how to use it responsibly is one of those things that many of us mean to get around to doing, but don’t often seem to complete. In fact, money lessons should never really come to an end. As society, the economy and technology changes, it is important for us all to keep up, and pass on the skills, knowledge and advice to our children. Fortunately, we don’t have to do this alone. There are a few really good websites out there that will help us teach … Continue reading

Teaching Responsibility One Step at a Time

Today Logan and I embarked on a great adventure. While this adventure was more for fun, it is definitely one of those teaching moments you never want to pass up. This afternoon I made the crazy decision to take my son to the pet store. Like any four year old, Logan wanted to bring the entire store home with us—the cats, the dogs, the birds, the guinea pigs, the mice, the fish, the turtles, the frogs, the snakes, he wanted them all. Seeing as for the time being we are still living with Grandma anything with fur was out of … Continue reading

It Is Never Too Late To Work From Home

No matter how long you have been in your current job outside of the home, it is never too late to make the switch to working from home. Perhaps you are ready for a career change and want to try something new. You may have always dreamed of having a different career, and now might be the right time to explore it. If you are over fifty and you are thinking of making the switch to working from home, go for it. Do not let anyone talk you out of it because of how far you have come in your … Continue reading

You Just Never Know

It has been one of “those” mornings. My youngest son woke up late and put the rest of the family behind. When we should have been walking out the door, same child was trying to quick finish something for school. Because we left later, there was much more traffic at the school to deal with. That meant more opportunities to be cut off, passed or to wait in the very long drop off line. Needless to say this also resulted in my day getting set back. You would think my mood would be sour. Normally my daughter would have been … Continue reading

Teach Your Children Before It’s Too Late

We all have things we wish we would have done differently., especially when it comes to raising our children. If I could do things over again I would have made Hailey do more chores, take more responsibility around the house. When I became a single parent it just seemed easier to do things myself. The time it would take to teach Hailey was time we could spend doing something we enjoyed, so I didn’t teach her. Now she is an adult and is missing some very important life skills. If you think it’s hard to teach a ten year old … Continue reading

Do You Open Up To Your Visiting Teachers?

I went visiting teaching last night. As usual, I always feel so much better about life when I get to go visiting teaching. This month, the topic of the visiting teaching message was visiting teaching. I thought that was interesting. Yet, I have gained a testimony over the years that visiting teaching is truly important to helping us become more like Christ. The message was very similar to the article I spoke of from the March Ensign. It spoke of being the hands of the Savior and what we can do to really minister to the sisters we visit. However, … Continue reading

Where to Find Templates for Book Reviews

Would you like your children to become book lovers? One way to do that is to get them into the habit of reading lots of books. Book reports are a good tool to determine how well your child is comprehending the book that he or she just read. Here are a few places to find printable book report templates. Writing a book report allows kids to practice a skill that will help them to have a detailed discussion about books with other people. It might not be as fun as some of the alternatives to book reports, but it is … Continue reading