Bonding - One-On-One Time With Your Kids is Easier Than You Think

It is so easy to let quality time with your kids slip through your fingers. Life is a complicated thing. Jobs, mortgages, extra-curricular activities can all find themselves on the top of the docket. The problem?

What about all that quality time you need to have with your child? What happens to that? All too often, it gets swept under the carpet. Tucked away again and again until postponing it is the norm.

I agree, it is challenging to schedule one-on-one time with your child. Life does get in the way. But there are ways around it. When I was a kid, my dad would always take me to the hardware store. I knew that place like the back of my hand. And they knew me. He showed me off to the guys and I loved being in a place that was different, but most of all, I just loved being with my dad.

I follow that tradition with my own kids. Our "mother-son" or "mother-daughter" time can take place when we are gassing up the car, running errands or just cooking together. All it takes is a little tweaking. I can run errands and spend 10 minutes in the toy aisle with my son, checking out all the cool new toys. Or maybe we get some gas and stop for a candy bar in the gas station. Sometimes I stop at the post office after school and we take a walk through our historic downtown and chat about our day.

Quality time doesn't have to be a once a month all day extravaganza. Those days are important, too. But the little moments we take in our every day have tremendous power to remind us how enchanting our relationships with our children can be. Remember to take a little time out of your every day to spend with your kids in some one-on-one time.


Be the parent you want to be with simplicity and organization one day at a time.

Money, Money, Money! Teaching your kids how to deal!

It's the age old problem. Teaching our kids how to manage money. And that is no easy feat!

Check out the article I wrote after interviewing finance guru, Julie Barcus for quick and easy tips on teaching your kids how to master their relationship with money!


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Kind Kids - Teaching our Kids how to Give

Here is a helpful article I published in Indy's Child. Check it out for some great volunteering ideas.

Click here to go to the article.

Smart Parent/ Smart Mentor - Don't, Don't, Don't! - Getting Kids Motivated

Good lord, we all know that one, don't we? I was reading an article recently about what rules are recommended to be posted in a classroom. The author said it is a lot easier to summarize the things we expect from kids rather than producing a litany of "no's."

Allow me an example.

No hitting. No pushing. No yelling. No stealing. Vs. Be respectful.

The author recommended no more than 3 positive "rules" for kids to live by in the classroom. But that got me to thinking. As mentors, just having a couple of "rules" for the mentoring relationship, for life even, makes sense.
What happens if in the mentoring relationship, we offer the kids we work with some basic guidelines based on how we live our lives? What if during conversation your student admits to sassing a teacher? And what if you say, "Johnnie, respecting others is a rule I try to live by. You might want to think about it. It works." It feels better than "sassing is wrong, you shouldn't do that."

Or here's another one. Your student just doesn't feel like trying. "Sometimes I don't want to try either, but no matter what happens in the end, if I have done my best, I can always feel good about myself. Let's stick with it and get this done." Doesn't that sound better than "you're not going to get a good grade if you don't put out more effort?"

What if, just like in the classroom, we show the kids we work with one or two universal "rules" that we expect from them? What if we forget all the things we don't want and instead, help shape them with universal rules to live by? Sounds good to me.

Consider this as you work with your student in the days to come. So many good behaviors can be shaped with some simple universal rules. Plus, when we share universal rules like compassion and hard work, the reward is in the behavior, not the outcome. That is something your student can have with them always, no matter what twists and turns life sends their way. Here are a few examples to consider.

Always do your best.

Be respectful to self and others.

Be kind to self and others.

Oh, and don't forget, you can talk about all the positive rules in the world, but if you want to give your student a mentoring one-two-punch, make sure you tell them the rule and see you living it!

Have fun with your students and remember to believe in the power of your every contribution!


Maria

Smart Parent - Mentoring at the Mall - Seizing life's moments to teach our kids

There are so many ways to mentor our kids.

Check out this article in how we can use every day occurances to teach our children.

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Smart Parent - It's September, get Back on the Horse

Read about how to get back in the groove for school in my Indy's Child article, Back on the Horse again.

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Creative Kids - 10 Things I love about Kid's Craft Weekly!

I love the site, Kid's Craft Weekly. The editor, Amber, who lives in Australia, clearly has a strong passion for kids and art and having fun. Instead of the standard crafts we all know so well, Amber explores the creative world with passion and excitement.

The result? Fabulous ideas and great fun. Here are the 10 things I love about Kids Craft Weekly.

1. Tons of exciting topics, like Pirates, Mice and the Night Sky.

2. Pictures of what the craft is supposed to look like and how to do it!

3. Easy directions. None of that 5 million steps that leaves kids staring blankly while parents do all the work.

4. Green, green, green. So many of the crafts can be made with things from around the house. Fabulous!

5. Spirited. It is clear editor Amber believes in the importance of imagination. Her projects spurn excitement and creativity.

6. One of us. Amber says her most "feral" time of day is when the kids are tired and it is still 30 minutes from dinner. I have always called that the "witching hour." The point? Amber is one of us! She understands the struggles of parenting and uses great art projects to get through those times with some dignity!

7. Funny. This site is funny. Why not laugh at the editorial while you are searching out an activity for your kids?

8. Articles. Amber writes great articles. You have to read her blurb on "mud pies plus."

9. Newsletters. Yes, you can get all this stuff sent to you every week. Why not?

10. Because our kids are worth it. Amber finds a way to remind us the magic and beauty of inspiring our kids to be creative and passionate about exploring their world. How amazing is that?!

Have a great week and click here to check out kidscraftweekly.com.