Search Results for: blog why not make it a game

Why Your Pre-Teen Quit Playing Sports

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One way to encourage your child to get a healthy amount of exercise is to make it fun. Sports offer kids the ability to exercise while having fun, the chance to learn how to play as a team, and a good way to develop athletic skills. Despite these benefits, 70% of kids quit sports by the age of 13. Here are some reasons why that happens. It stopped being fun. Have you ever watched kindergartners play soccer against another team of kindergarteners? What happens is both adorable and amusing. They sit down when they get tired, and start playing with … Continue reading →

Why Regular Exercise is Important for Kids

Many of us realize that it is a good idea to get some exercise. Adults tend to think of exercise as a way to lose weight or tone up muscle. It turns out that getting regular exercise is more beneficial than randomly exercising done every so often. This is true for both adults and children. Are your kids getting the regular exercise? Regular Exercise is Important for Children The Mayo Clinic points out that the health benefits of getting regular exercise and physical activity are “hard to ignore”. Of course, some exercise is better than none at all. However, if … Continue reading →

Playing the Numbers Game

It’s dinnertime and you’re frantically scrambling to get your three kids under six years old fed before you have to get the oldest to his soccer game and the middle one to the barber.  You swing into McDonald’s, order, squeeze into a booth, divvy up a 20-piece McNuggets amongst your offspring, and then quickly shove the first meal of your day down your gullet. What’s the last thing you’re thinking about during this manic mealtime? Well, other than wondering if Kate Middleton is breastfeeding Prince George. That’s right; calories. Those numbers, which are now posted on many restaurant menus in … Continue reading →

Why It Pays To Read the Fine Print

There’s nothing worse than losing money when you don’t have to. Traveling doesn’t come cheap, so when it’s time to take flight, hit the road or ride the rails it’s a good idea to read the fine print before you fork over your hard-earned cash. For example, many jet-setting travelers think they are scoring big time by signing up for airlines’ frequent flyer credit cards.  However, unless you read all the details associated with the enrollment process, becoming a member may end up costing you more than you bargained for.  Sure, you’re earning bonus miles each time you use the … Continue reading →

Not Buying It

After nearly two decades working in television news, I’ve learned to be a bit more judicious when perusing headlines. In other words, I don’t believe half of what I see published these days, especially viral items that sweep the globe and become water cooler fodder, despite there being very little fact checking prior to their circulation. But, hey, sensationalism sells, so why mess up the money-making process by letting a little thing like the truth get in the way? It’s a question single moms around the world are left to ponder yet again thanks to an anonymous server who claims … Continue reading →

When Lady Luck is Not On Your Side

During a recent trip to Six Flags Great America my 7-year-old was inundated by gamers calling out for players to press their luck at various activities. The teen workers enthusiastically described the thrills of the ring toss, basketball throw and balloon pop, and then waved humongous stuffed prizes in the faces of kids who stopped and sized up their chances. After unsuccessfully trying her hand at an array of games, my daughter begged me for more money to fund her pursuit of a large stuffed Scooby-Doo. When I told her that I didn’t have any more money she frowned and … Continue reading →

Star Wars the Old Republic Game has Family Tree

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You might not expect a video game to have anything to do with concepts of family. Often, though the MMORPGs do have quite a lot of detail about the family trees of certain, important, in game characters. The new Star Wars game might be the first to connect the characters of players into a family tree. Video games have come a long way since the days when your choices were Mario or Luigi, and your goal was to collect coins, and finish the level before the time ran out. Video games today have detailed story lines that include a history … Continue reading →

Family Game Night: Goggle Eyes

GAME: Goggle Eyes MADE BY: Goliath AGE RECOMMENDATION: 7 to Adult TIME OF PLAY: Approximately 20 to 30 minutes PRICE: $25.00 RATING: 4 out of 4 Stars What is Goggle Eyes? Goggle Eyes is a game that inspires enough family laughter to fill a room. The game provides a pair of super silly glasses that immediately make anyone laugh at the wearer. Just be careful how much you laugh since your turn will come soon. The glasses are not only silly looking they alter your vision. The game comes with three lenses that vary in difficulty to see through. Why … Continue reading →

Special Needs Blog Week in Review – Week of February 12 – 18, 2012

The Special Needs Blog Week in Review is a great way to quickly catch up on everything that appeared in the Special Needs Blog in the past week. It is a good way to make sure that you haven’t missed anything. You can scan through this list to search for blogs about whatever particular special needs your child happens to have. The Special Needs Podcast Roundup for the week went up on February 13, 2012. I would like to point out an episode done by The Coffee Klatch that is titled “NY Times Op Ed Gone Wrong – Ritalin Gone … Continue reading →

How to Make Household Chores More Pleasant

Have you ever met anyone who really lived for cleaning? The kind of person that would give up, let’s say, going to the movies, in favor of cleaning the kitchen? Can you believe that these people actually exist? While I like a clean and organized home, I have to confess that there are many other things I would rather do than to do the household chores. But, they have to be done lest we live in dirty, messy houses. So, the trick here is to find ways to make the chores more pleasant, so they will seem to go by … Continue reading →