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Parenting by the Seat of Your Pants

There is a common theme I have begun to notice in many of the Dr. Phil shows I watch on parenting, along with many episodes of “Supernanny.” It’s the “fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” kind of parenting. This kind of parenting has no plan in place. Many parents just take life as it comes and when problems arise, try to handle them in the moment. I don’t know about you but when I try to handle anything in a moment of pressure, I usually don’t fare well. Parenting has to be deliberate and thought out. It takes energy, time and ideas to do this. … Continue reading →

Green Parenting Tips

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Being green starts at home and if you are like many of us, you have children. But, you can adopt green parenting strategies that can help the environment. Here are a few green parenting tips: Swap Kid’s Clothes Most kids outgrow clothes before they can stain them or tear them up, so swapping your child’s clothes with family and friends is a great recycling idea. Unfortunately for me, most of my son’s friends are girls, but there are a few younger boys he knows that we give good condition hand-me-downs to. Another great recycling idea is, as your child ages … Continue reading →

Do-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes for Boys

Part of the reason I allow my 5-year-old to attend so many Halloween-related events is that I want to get the most out of the money I dropped paying for her overpriced costume. However, if your son is content with using a costume simply to trick-or-treat, then you might consider making your own. After all, why should you drain your bank account if your little guy is only going to dress up for a couple of hours on Halloween night? Save your money, and instead, rummage through your home for the materials needed to make these simple, yet creative costumes: … Continue reading →

The Let’s Talk Blog Top Ten – Reasons to Have Children Later in Life

If you are trying to conceive, you have probably come across information suggesting that women in their twenties are more apt to conceive than women who are older. This means that if you put off starting a family until after your career took off, or for any other reason, you may have a difficult time conceiving. Aside from that, there can be some major benefits to putting off starting a family until later in life. I asked a group of wise, hip mamas of all ages to share their reasons for when they chose to start their families. Here’s my … Continue reading →

Who’s The New Girl? – A Parenting Introduction

That would be me, Cathy Ipcizade. I used to write for the Baby Blog and currently also write for the Food Blog. Now, I’m happy to be part of the Parenting Blog. I wanted to introduce myself and let you know a little bit about who I am. I am the proud mother to two rambunctious little monkeys. My son is five-and-a-half and my daughter is two-and-a-half. Life is never boring, often crazy, and full of fun and chaos. We reside in Southern California where the sun always shines and we never quite make it to the beach enough, though … 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 →

Enjoying the Teen Years

The past couple of weeks my husband and I have been enjoying a video series at our church, “Running the Rapids” by Dr. Kevin Leman. It is about guiding teenagers through the turbulent waters of adolescence, comparing river rafting to parenting. It is very lighthearted, informational and inspiring. I am one of those moms who can easily admit that I need all the help I can get. One of the things he said early on in the video series was that the teenage years can be the best. Isn’t it more often that we look upon these years with dread? … Continue reading →

Getting Called on the Carpet

Judge Judy has this saying that has always stuck with me. “How do you know when a teenager is lying?” The answer is…their lips are moving. In other words, you can’t count on anything being truthful when it comes to a teen. The first time I heard this, I had to laugh. While I don’t believe its true, I do understand where she is coming from. Trust is something we earn. I try to explain to my teens that it’s true in our house as well. When I know I can trust them, when they have earned my trust, I … Continue reading →

You’re Always the Expert Until You Get to That Stage

What I am about to say doesn’t just apply to others…it is something I have been guilty of as well. It is the mentality that you “know” the right way to parent, the right way to handle a child at a particular stage of life. Or at least you know what you will and won’t do. But then suddenly you are finally in that stage and all of your “knowing” goes flying right out the window. Most of the families I surround myself with have teenage children. But there are also other families whose children are younger and I once-in-a-while … Continue reading →

Parents of Teens Need Friends Too

I spent a good half hour late last night texting a friend. I sound like a teenager, don’t I? We were going back and forth, sharing our “teen” stories and encouraging each other. What I especially love about this friend is that she is one who can truly relate. We both have sons who are seniors. We both have daughters that are just one year apart and our youngest sons are both in 7th grade. In fact, all of our kids are very good friends, having grown up in the church together. One of the topics of our texting was … Continue reading →