Family Life Resources

Alpine Village Family January 8th, 2007

If you are having trouble connecting with your child, try crafting with her.

Find a fun craft that you know she will enjoy and block out some special time with her. Crafting together is an easy way to get one-on-one time with your kids and find out what’s going on in their minds.

As you craft together, your child will probably be more willing to open up and talk to you about things that are on his mind. If there is something bothering your child and he opens up and shares his problem with you during your craft time, give him emotional support. Offer your advice and let him know that you are there for him, unconditionally.

If you craft with your child specifically for the purpose of bonding with her, keep your craft time fun. Try not to obsess about how perfect she’s painting or getting the bead glued on just right. Keep your craft time relaxed.

Many adults suffer from low self-esteem as a direct result of their parents’ negative attitude towards them during childhood. As you craft with your kids, be interested in what they’re doing. Kids love to share their artwork. Be encouraging and pay positive comments to your kid about their craft. Show them that you are interested in them.

• Family Helps , Parenting Helps
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Alpine Village Family January 7th, 2007

I had a personalized book when I was a kid and it was my favorite! My mom kept it in my baby book when I outgrew it, but I still remember how important I felt when I read it. It had my dog’s name, my best friend’s name, my address… and MY name in it.

You can treat your child to a personalized kid’s book too.

[tags]personalized childrens book, gifts for kids[/tags]

• Gift Helps
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Alpine Village Family January 6th, 2007

What’s your niche? Is it cooking, crafting, organizing or budgeting?

MomsNiche.com is a resource for moms looking for great parenting articles, recipes, craft ideas, ways to get organized and save money.  Check out the Freebies section for ebooks and courses to take advantage of.  Find your niche and be all you can be!

Visit: Moms Niche

[tags]websites for moms[/tags]

• Misc
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Alpine Village Family January 6th, 2007

Take a trip to the airport.  You don’t actually have to go in the airport but you can park close by and spot the airplanes.  Talk to your kids about where the airplanes may be going or how many people may be on board.  Kids find airplanes fascinating.

Visit the train station.  Again, kids are fascinated by anything loud and with an engine.  Help them spot the different trains and talk about where the passengers may be going.

Go to the sea side.  You don’t have to save the beach for summer breaks only.  Go anytime of the year and collect rocks or sea shells.  Let your kids play and run on the sand. 

Take them to yard sales.  Make a morning out of it and have fun.  Tell each child they can choose a small toy or item.  They can have fun chatting to different people, help you pay for things and even get some good exercise if you walk or take the bikes.

For the older kids, sometimes the best thing can be to let them chill out with a friend; a sleepover with a rented DVD can go a long way.  As your children get older, you could try dusting off the hobbies you have hidden in the attic, such as the old hockey stick or the fishing equipment and let them follow in your footsteps.

A little investment in a new hobby for them may be just the ticket to keep them entertained and active.

With a little thought and imagination the possibilities for fun and frugal activities are endless.  And don’t worry about not spending a lot of money, all that really matters is that you’re spending quality time with your kids. 

[tags]frugal families, activities for kids[/tags]

• Family Helps
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Alpine Village Family January 5th, 2007

Do you have a toddler? Do you find it challenging coming up with interesting snacks (and the ubiquitous PB & J is getting tiresome)?

It was so much easier when they were babies, but now that they’re up and running, it seems some days they subsist on the cat’s food, chewing gum and spit!

If you need a little help, visit Snacks for Toddlers and get inspired with yummy, healthy and good looking food ideas for the little ones. None of it involves defrosting frozen fish sticks, I promise.

[tags]snacks for toddlers, kid meal ideas[/tags]

• Meal Helps
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Alpine Village Family January 4th, 2007

Whether intentional or not, generational traits are passed down from parents to children.  If mom and dad live a fairly healthy lifestyle, odds are much greater that the children will follow suit. 

If the head of the household believes being on a diet means skipping the super size fries and adding extra lettuce to the fast food burger, we can see the outlook that the children will hold.

There is no time like the present to turn the sinking ship around.  New Years is the perfect time to make a family resolution – agree to set healthier habits.  One can’t do it without the support of others, so the entire family might as well jump on board.

The easiest change a family can start with is in food consumption. Obviously you’ll need to incorporate exercise into the habits; however starting with food is a small step with measurable results. Simply do not bring junk food into the house.  If you have chips, sodas and ice cream available, would you really be able to just have some grapes?  More than anything you will need a change of mindset.

Sit down at the table as a family and get input from everyone.  Talk about the health risks, talk about wanting to be around for the children for years to come.  Make an agreement that there will be no closet eating.  Agree to look for creative recipes so that it doesn’t seem like you’re eating rabbit food.

Forcing or demanding healthier habits is formula for failure.  If you can make other family members feel that they are part of the decision and truly understand the importance of it, positive results will be easier to achieve.

Hold each other accountable.  Give son permission to question mom why she’s eating a donut.  Agree to support, not ridicule.  Accept digressions as temporary set backs, not failures.  Agree that failure is not an option.  Keep on keeping on.

[tags]resolutions, healthy eating[/tags]

• Family Helps , Meal Helps
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Alpine Village Family January 4th, 2007

Kids of all ages love to craft and get all messy.  (So keep all of your old newspapers!)

Finger Painting Fun
All kids love the gooey feeling of finger painting. Put an old shirt or paper apron on your kid before giving them the paints. For an even less-messy clean-up, take your kids outside and sit them under a tree in the cool shade to paint.

Playdo Art
Another favorite is play dough and clay. Lay newspaper on the floor and give your kids small tubs of their favorite-colored play dough. Encourage them to create sculptures with their fun dough.

Sock Puppett Theater Fun
Sock puppets are easy to make. Just glue on a pair of wiggle eyes and make a nose and mouth from felt. Then add a sprout of hair, made with colorful yarn. Make several of these sock puppets out of different sizes of socks and let your kids put on a sock puppet show for you.

Fun with Pipe Cleaners
Buy a couple of packs of colorful pipe cleaners and let your kids create art with them. You will be amazed at what they can make from something this simple!

Art with Noodles
Give your kids a sheet of construction paper and a mound of dry macaroni noodles (any fun-shaped dry noodle will work for this craft). Let them draw a picture on their paper with a pencil or crayon first. Then glue around the outline of their picture with white school glue. Let them place their noodles on top of the glue to create a fun noodle art picture.
[tags]family fun, crafts for kids[/tags]

• Family Helps
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Alpine Village Family January 1st, 2007

What do Alicia Silverstone, the entire Phoenix family, Ed Begley, Jr., Gillian Anderson, Margaret Cho, Darryl Hannah, Coretta Scott Kin, Dr. Spock and Gwyneth Paltrow have in common?

They’re all vegans. If you’ve considered adopting the vegan lifestyle (so is that how Gwynnie Pooh got so thin after Moses was born?!), check out vegan family and get inspired.

[tags]vegan family, vegan lifestyle[/tags]

• Meal Helps , Misc
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