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How to Make Fat Tuesday Fun for Kids

Fat Tuesday is typically associated with half-naked women whipping out their hooters and half-naked men whipping beads at ladies to see said hooters. Not exactly kid-friendly stuff. These days you don’t have to travel to New Orleans or Rio de Janeiro to partake in R-rated Fat Tuesday celebrations complete with raucous booze-filled parties. Heck, the tiny rural town I reside in holds an annual Fat Tuesday beer chugging contest at the pub on Main Street. Hide your children… or steer clear of the mayhem by taking them to Mass. On Shrove Tuesday our church is celebrating a Votive Mass in … Continue reading →

How Often Do You Argue With Your Kids?

Raise your hand if you NEVER argue with your kids. Scores of childhood experts claim that parents should take the high road and never quarrel with their kids. Of course, we don’t how many of those “experts” have kids of their own, and of those that do, how many share living space with tempestuous teens who could care less if you want them off the phone RIGHT.THIS.INSTANT. My young daughter is nowhere near teen-dom, but I still find myself arguing with her over issues including picking up her toys, not running around in Target’s crowded parking lot and exercising good … Continue reading →

Do You Over or Under Medicate Your Toddler?

My young daughter would rather endure excruciatingly painful injections to her thighs than down a teaspoon of grape-flavored medicine. Since she was a tiny baby, my daughter has forcefully regurgitated every single drop of oral medication that I have carefully and skillfully placed in her mouth… towards her cheek, away from her taste buds and not directly down her throat. As a result of her violent gagging and distressful purging tendencies, my daughter’s pediatrician recommends that my little throw-up queen receive medication via syringe. It works when the injection option is available, like when she had strep throat, hand, foot … Continue reading →

Why You Shouldn’t Slide With Your Toddler

Parents, who try to get their toddlers acclimated to playground slides by holding them on their laps before taking off, are not doing themselves or their children any favors. According to a new study published in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, moms and dads should think twice before placing toddlers on their laps and heading down the park’s slide. Researchers say you are not protecting your child by placing him on your lap; rather you are increasing the chances of him getting seriously injured. The study found parents, who sit and slid with little Johnny on their laps, doubled the … Continue reading →

Teaching Your Toddler to Lose Gracefully

Yeah, right! Good luck with that. I know some adults (okay, one in particular) who explode when they miss a single shot at a mini-golf course, so the thought of having a toddler lose gracefully is somewhat of an oxymoron to me. Still, childhood experts say it is very possible for young children to lose a game without having a full-blown meltdown, provided you teach them about winning first. This, of course, opens an entirely different can of worms: When playing a game with your toddler (Candy Land, hopscotch, Memory, etc.) do you let her win all the time, or … Continue reading →

It’s Not Whether You Win or Lose…

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I have lost count of all the electronic games that Tyler has. There’s the V-tech- both console and travel models, a plug and play Pac Man and a plug and play Star Wars, just to name a few. I admit, they are great amusements for him while I try to work or sneak some me time in my busy schedule. And I especially love the V-tech because the “games” are educational learning experiences in disguise. I rarely play them myself with the exception of Pac Man but on Wednesday of last week, Tyler insisted that I sit down and play … Continue reading →

Teaching Your Kids To Lose Gracefully

Tyler and I have been playing games most of his life. The one thing I decided early on was that I would not “let” him win. I want to teach him that there are winners and and there are losers. I want him to know that sometimes he’s going to be the winner and sometimes his opponent will win. That’s life. Some games, like Candyland, are games of chance. So when we play he has the same odds of winning as I do. Other games, like basketball, are games of skill. When we play, I don’t go easy on him. … Continue reading →

Are You a Baby Talk Basher?

Are you guilty of slapping on a smile when speaking to a baby and letting loose on nauseatingly annoying phrases like: “Coochie, coochie coo you cutesy wootsey cutie patootie! Does my little poopsie woopsie need a fresh diapey wipey?” Baby talk. For some parents it’s their best friend, while other moms and dads view the high-pitched, jibber jabber as their worst enemy. If you do a lot of baby-talking in public places, you might end up with more enemies than friends, but that’s no reason to tone down your shrill sentences, at least according to some pediatric speech and language … Continue reading →

Keep New Year’s Resolutions Realistic – Ideas for Young People

Earlier I joked that my daughter’s New Year’s resolution should be doing the dishes every night without being told. What I should have suggested was that she brush her teeth twice a day without whining and complaining. Then again, that would be more of a miracle than a resolution. Regardless, she wasn’t very receptive to either proposition. That’s the thing about New Year’s resolutions; you have to want to make a change in order for them to work. Still, there are many kids out there, who are more than willing to take on a New Year’s resolution, especially if they … Continue reading →

Can’t Win for Winning

When it comes to playing games with my young daughter, I am that mom. You know, the one that lets her kid win. Personally, I am not married to the life-isn’t-fair-and-kids-need-to-learn-how-to-lose philosophy of parenting. To my daughter, playing is a means to an end, and that end is winning. To me, winning is subjective. Are you really winning if you crush your 3-year-old in a sprint from the front yard to the back? Are you really teaching your 40-inch preschooler the art of healthy competition if you smoke him at basketball? How damaging is it to throw a match or … Continue reading →