Mother’s Day is on our doorstep and the gift guides are everywhere we turn. Don’t get me wrong, fancy gifts are awesome, but for me, the best Mother’s Day prezzies don’t have a price sticker on them. So, for my lucky number 13th Mother’s Day (and with three kids to celebrate it), here are my five gift ideas to give any mom on her special day. And they’re all totally free.
Nothing would please me more if I could just plop my kids in front of the television for hours on end, guilt-free. Thankfully, we live in a great age where we can entertain our children while they learn a little something. My favorite place to find great educational animated series for free is Netflix. I also take full advantage of Xfinity On Demand, PBS Kids, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and DVDs.
You have kids and you want to be a part of everything they do. You want to see all of their “firsts” and you want to be the one to experience life with them. For some moms, that involvement may end once they get to be school-aged. For others though, there is still the pull to stay involved as their kids go through school. This finds us at the crossroads of yet another “mommy war.” I’m talking about the moms who choose to be actively involved with their kids’ school vs. the ones who think that this is a colossal waste of time: the PTO Mommy Wars.
To my oldest son,
I see you. I really see you. You are a deep thinker with a compassionate heart. You are a perfect old soul with wisdom beyond your years. When I speak to you I no longer see the child you were, but the man you will become. It frightens me a little, because soon you will make your own choices and I will have little say in them. So forgive me while I cling a little longer. Placate me when I need giant squeeze hugs and time spent together. I will always need your love and in turn will always give my love back unconditionally.
Now that my son is in kindergarten, I find myself with ample one-on-one time with my 3 year-old daughter. This is the first year my daughter and I have had so many chances to spend solo time together since she was born because before this, my son also demanded much of my attention. The challenge underlying all of this quality time, however, is finding activities to do together that won’t drive me crazy or break the bank.
Here are five of my frugal, go-to mother-daughter dates that we both enjoy.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and as a parent to two small children I am plagued with how and when to begin sexual assault education and prevention in a meaningful way while my children are still so young. How does one teach kids about sexual assault awareness?
You’ve threatened, cajoled – even begged your kids to tidy up. But it still seems you’re the one facing the ultimatum: either ignore the mess or do it for them.
Here are 7 tips to encourage kids to clean their bedrooms, without raising your voice or losing your mind:
Society generally portrays dads as having it pretty easy. I am not going to lie – sometimes I think they do too. Raise your hand if you don’t think you occasionally do more than your partner, and I will personally nominate you for sainthood.
I am the default parent of our daughter in that I look after snack-day, what needs to be in her daily backpack, or when it’s time for her next shots. This is not because I am the mother, but because my partner has a memory like a sieve and the poor kids at daycare would never get their cupcakes.
If you want your children to be skilled and creative problem solvers, consider preparing outdoor play spaces for imaginative play! Fantasy play and imaginative role playing, in spaces like fairy gardens, are well established pre-cursers to divergent and original problem solving later in life; skills that are well recognized in highly effective students! Fairy Gardens are a great way to encourage imaginative play and they are perfect for taking advantage of the magical thinking young children bring to their everyday play.
Lice. Just saying the word makes me scratch my head. Once you have seen a few creatures crawling in your kid’s head, you will never rid yourself of the itchy-head feeling when you hear, say or write the word lice.