Search Results for: blog who watches your kids on vacation

More Family-Friendly Spring Break Vacation Hot Spots

There’s nothing like including your kids in your bucket list. I do it all the time. I have a list of places I want to travel to and explore before I die and I’d like to take my daughter with me to as many of them as possible. With spring break just around the corner, now is the time for us to start crossing items off the list, including visiting some of the world’s most family-friendly travel destinations: Washington, D.C.: Ideally, I would love to visit the tourist hot spot during the cherry blossom festival, but with so much to … Continue reading →

How Much Do You Pay Your Babysitter?

“Bankrupt by Babysitter!” It’s a mock headline, but one that is apropos after speaking to my friend in Atlanta, who claims her bank account, has been sapped by her babysitter. The babysitter she pays $15 an hour to watch her three kids (who are 2, 4, and 6). Fifteen bucks an hour! That’s more than I made working my first post-college job… and my second… and third—COMBINED! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little (and by little I mean like 50 cents–COMBINED), but I think my exasperation is warranted. Fifteen dollars an hour for watching three well-behaved children watch TV for … Continue reading →

Summer Vacation from Hell

The next time you feel like complaining about how your summer vacation was marred by delayed flights, flat tires, crabby kids, and horrible hotels, consider the hell a Nevada mom endured while taking a camping trip with her 11-year-old son last week. What started off as an innocent overnight trip with her son and their dog to Death Valley National Park, quickly turned into the worst summer vacation in Alicia Sanchez’s life. The 28-year-old mom was just released from a Las Vegas hospital where she was being treated for severe dehydration. Now Sanchez must return home to bury her young … Continue reading →

Preparing your home for vacation

As time draws near for going on an vacation, I am beginning to compile in my mind all of the things I need to before I leave. This is a good opportunity to share these things with you. 1: Use a note book or journal: The first thing you need to do is get and find a notebook or journal to use for your vacation and vacation planning. I like to use a bright colored folder with a clasp on it so nothing falls out. In it I put a notepad and this is where I begin to compile important … Continue reading →

Who Watches Your Kids on Vacation?

Can you really have a relaxing vacation when you are constantly breaking up fights between your tweens while looking for the purple pail and shovel set that your preschooler MUST have NOW or ELSE? For some parents, the answer is an irrefutable “no,” which is why more and more moms and dads are opting to take nannycations. The simple concept means that another trusted adult is around 24/7 to help deal with warring kids, beach meltdowns, mini-golfing fits and cannonball mishaps at the hotel pool. The extra set of hands and eyes also allows parents to actually get in a … Continue reading →

Can You Really Afford Cable?

Forget about alcohol, tobacco, Facebook or chocolate; cable TV is one of the most addicting entities around. Just ask the kids who spend hours upon hours watching it. Then, ask the parents who use it as a babysitter. These days it doesn’t take much to get moms and dads to admit that they’ve used cable to keep their kids occupied. Got an important phone call to make, turn on Nick Jr. Want to use the bathroom in peace, switch it to Cartoon Network. Desperate for a few minutes of uninterrupted me time, Disney Channel to the rescue. Cable is undoubtedly … Continue reading →

Taking Care of Children: Priceless

Clearly, I am in the wrong line of work. Can’t stand the sight of blood, so medicine is out; not great with numbers, so hedge fund manager is not an option. However, I do love kids, even ones that aren’t mine, so why am I not raking in the dough? Because I am not a babysitter in California. If you thought it was costing you an arm and a leg to fund your monthly date night in the Golden State now, just wait until a new bill passes. You may be a paraplegic before your kids enter high school. Assemblyman … Continue reading →

Happy Endings

I was 12 years old when I got my first brand-new bike. Prior to that I rode hand-me-downs from my older brothers. By the time the two-wheelers got to me they were dinged, chipped and… blue. Blue! What self-respecting girly-girl wants to be seen riding around the neighborhood on a midnight-blue bike with half-torn orange lightning bolts across the frame? It took me nearly a year to save up for the bike of my dreams: A red and white Huffy with iridescent scrolling on the handlebars. It was a beaut! I rode that bike every day in the hot, Hawaiian … Continue reading →

Mister Rogers Returns

Sure I loved Trolley, the fish tank, Mr. McFeely, and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, but as a kid, the part of “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” that sent me to the edge of my seat each day was the ritualistic sneaker and sweater swap. I held my breath daily wondering if Mr. Rogers could change out of his blazer and dress shoes and into his trademark cardigan and canvas sneakers before he hit the last note of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” Unfortunately, my young daughter would never get to experience the same heart-stopping thrills. Fred Rogers and his award-winning PBS program … Continue reading →

Avoiding Summer Sluggishness

Do you allow your kids to skip chore duty during the summer months? That was the topic du jour at a recent “Playdate at the Playground” event I attended with a bunch of other moms I hang out with on a regular basis. Once school let out for the year, slowly structure and routine slid into oblivion. Now, my mom pals say they can’t get their kids motivated to complete the simplest household tasks. Fortunately, my kid is still on track. Of course, she is just six years old and follows her chore chart religiously. I am a huge advocate … Continue reading →