Fourth of July Fun With Kids

Fourth of July will be here this weekend and you want to make it a fun event for the whole family. Below are a few tips on making it an exciting time for the kids.

1. Head to your local library and pick out some books to read to the kids about Independence Day.

2. Teach the kids some patriotic songs like "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "America the Beautiful" and "The Star-Spangled Banner."

3. Crafts are always a great hit. Have them make an American flag or a paper chain of red, white and blue construction paper. Make fireworks on black construction paper.

4. Everyone loves a Fourth of July Parade. If you don’t have a parade in your town let your children decorate their bikes and make their own parade. Even better, get kids from the neighborhood involved. You just might start a tradition.

5. Everyone loves dessert. With some whipped topping, strawberries and blue berries they can create a sweet treat everyone can enjoy.

6. When the sun goes down attend a fireworks display or, have them look for fireworks off in the distance. End the night with a fun game of flashlight tag.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Getting a Puppy

Getting a puppy is an exciting time for children. It can be an event they will remember forever. Before you get your pup, do a little prep. Your children need to know how to treat a new puppy for their safety and for the safety of your new puppy.

Prep Work

Books and the web are great resources for information on your new puppy. Start with a basic set of rules. Explain that they shouldn’t pick up the dog. Kids often see no difference between a real dog and their stuffed animals. Take time to explain that a real puppy squirms when you pick it up and how dropping a new puppy can hurt them.

Also explain that the dog could be spooked by sudden movements and that the best way to approach a puppy is calmly and slowly.

Take your children shopping for pet supplies. By helping you shop for food, bedding, toys, water bowls, ect., they will start to understand that a puppy is a living thing that needs a great deal of care.

When the puppy arrives

This can be an emotional time for your child. They are going to be very excited and your puppy might be a little scared. Bring the dog into your home and hold the dog while your children approach. Let them pet the dog calmly and slowly. If the puppy responds positively, give them a little more freedom to explore, perhaps in a gated-off area.

Always supervise very young children around a puppy. Make sure your children leave the puppy alone while eating or sleeping. And, tell them not to put their face in front of the puppy. You don’t want a playful puppy to bite or scratch your child unintentionally.

Lastly, if you think your puppy has behavior problems seek the assistance of a professional .

Painting The Great Outdoors

Summer is here and just like last year we will be posting some fun and easy activities throughout the summer to help you keep your children entertained. Here is an idea, paint outside instead of in. It’s more fun and easier to clean up.

Here’s what you will need!

Liquid tempera paints

Plastic pump bottle or squirt gun

One old bed sheet

A clothesline

Instructions

· Fill a squirt bottle with 1 part paint and 2 parts water mixture

· Adjust the nozzle for the desired pattern

· Hang the bed sheet on the clothesline

· And let your child start shooting at the bed sheet

· Paint can still stain so, make sure your children are not in shooting range of anything they can ruin.

They can create patterns, spell out letters or paint an elaborate landscape. It’s all up to their imagination.

Reading over Summer Break

School’s Out For the Summer!!! It’s a proven fact that kids that read over the summer retain more knowledge from the past school year and they are better prepared to start the next school year. But parents sometimes have a difficult time getting their kids to read. Here are a few simple tips on how to get your children excited about summer reading.

• Provide them as much incentive as possible to read. Some book like Barnes and Noble and Borders offer rewards for summer readers.

• Read together – try to play out the characters in the book you read with your children. Use funny voices, be animated and try to make the story come to life. Have your child do the same while reading to you. Don’t correct them with every mistake they make and give lots of positive encouragement.

• Make going to the library a summer event. Let your child search through and pick out the books that interest them and that they want to read. The library often has summer activities that can help reinforce that libraries and reading can be fun.

• Many children get hooked on reading through reading a series of books. Think of all of the kids who have become avid readers through Harry Potter and other series books. If your child gets intrigued by certain characters, they may start to anxiously anticipate reading the next book in the series and so on.

Enjoy your summer reading!

Talking About the Danger of Strangers

It’s been the topic of many TV news shows and a parent’s worst nightmare. The danger of children being approached by strangers is an important subject that should be discussed with all children. Here are a few tips on having this difficult conversation.

Inform Don’t Scare

One of the mistakes parents sometimes make is giving too much detail to younger children. Children can easily become consumed with fear. Stick with the who (who is a stranger) and stay general on the why.

Explain the Rules

• Who is considered a stranger and who is not
• Parents or caregivers need to know where you are at all times
• For younger kids, parents or caregivers need to be able to see you at all times when on the playground, etc.
• What your child should do if they become separated – who should they seek help from
• Make sure your child knows their full name
• Teach your child their phone number and address

Practice Makes Perfect

Run through real life scenarios with your children. For example: If someone comes up to you and asks you to help them find their lost puppy would you help them? If someone approaches you and says your parents are hurt and are in the hospital would you go with them? Etc. These scenarios will allow you to model your child’s response and help them recognize potentially dangerous situations.

Source:http://life.familyeducation.com

Keeping the kids hydrated

With summer vacation starting and the temperatures rising, your kids will be spending more time outdoors. It’s very important to make certain they do not get dehydration.

In general, kids are even more susceptible to dehydration than adults. This is mainly because children don't cool down as efficiently. Here are some precautions you can take to make summer more fun and safe and to help avoid dehydration.

Proper Fluid Intake

• Preparing Before They Play – As a general rule, children should be taking in about 5 ounces of fluids for every 20 minutes of strenuous play.
• Keep Them Hydrated During The Day – The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children drink six glasses of water on an average day.

Now you’re probably asking yourself what drinks provide the best hydration.

Water

• All natural
• No additives or sugar
• Best for routine hydration

Sports Drinks

· Great tasting

· More appealing to children

· Can increase the amount of fluids children will take in

· Can be high in carbohydrates and calories

· Replace electrolytes lost through sweating

· Limit their use to strenuous play and sporting events

Popsicles

• Great tasting
• Cool
• High water content
• Great alternative for hydration particularly with smaller children

Heat Exhaustion: If your child shows signs of heat exhaustion (fever, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness), get them medical attention as soon as possible.

Easy Summer Games

Here are some easy games for when you’re on a limited budget and your kids are bored.

Green Bowling

Find a volleyball, basket ball or soccer ball and set up a bowling ally in your backyard. For bowling pins, here is where the green comes in. Go the recycling bin and find discarded plastic bottles to use as pins. Have your children keep score. This will reinforce counting and basic math skills during the long summer break from school.

Pick Pocket

Use some old shirts or cut up some cloth and tell each child to tuck it into their back pocket. Have the kids play tag by pulling the cloth out of each others pockets. The child with the most pieces of fabric wins. You can also add to the fun by having the kids dribble soccer balls while playing tag for an additional challenge.

Cold Potato

Here is a tricky spin on the old game hot potato. Instead of a ball or an actual potato, fill up a balloon with water. Have your children get in to a circle and pass the balloon from one to another. On a hot summer day, when the water balloon pops, your children will just love cooling off.

Walk Don’t Run

This is another way to take what’s in the recycling bin and use it for summer fun. Set up a course with old plastic bottles from the recycling bin. Let the children take a long look at the course. Then, blind fold them and let them walk through the course without going outside of the boundaries. Just make sure you follow each child so they don’t fall and get hurt.

Other Options

Flash Light Tag-

Red Lights Green Light

Kick Ball

Guilt Free Snacks For Kids

It’s so important that children get proper nourishment. But during the summer it is easy to get off track with ice cream, water ice and other sugary snacks. But if you keep some guilt-free snacks around the house you can make sure your children get the right fuel for the lon g, activity-filled summer days. Here are some suggestions for high-power guilt-free snack options

100 Calorie Snack Packs

100 calorie snack packs have become quite popular. Pretzels, gram crackers, cookies and other snacks come in easy to store, on-the-go packages. Just throw a few in your bag and take off with your children for a day at the park. Since they are pre-measured to exactly 100 calories you don’t have to worry about what your child is eating.

Better Than Fruit – Dried Fruit

Dried fruit comes in all shapes and sizes, banana chips, strawberries and of course, raisins not only taste like candy but they are portable. Unlike regular fruit they don’t need refrigeration so they are good for camping and long trips in the car and they have a long shelf life.

Yogurt Parfait or Smoothie

Cold and tasty, these treats are a fantastic substitute for ice cream. Add your favorite fruits and berries into the mix and you have a healthy treat that your child will beg you for. Smoothies can also be a great fix for that milkshake craving.

Carrots or Celery and Low Fat Dressing

Just cut them up and leave them in the fridge for the kids to munch on. This can serve as a great light summer lunch or a snack. Best of all it’s pre-made so mom doesn’t have to heat up the kitchen on a hot summer day.

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Teaching Your Child Persistence

Persistence is a valuable life skill that can lead to success and the ability to persevere and cope during life’s difficult moments. Some children have a difficult time developing this skill. You might notice your child tends to give up when tasks become too difficult. Since young children have short attention spans this shouldn’t be a concern to parents but, here are some ways to reinforce and teach persistence.

Set Expectations
Anything requiring hard work is worth achieving. Talk to your child about the goals they want to achieve in school, in sports or at home. Tell them what it will take to “score a goal” or “do a back hand-spring”. Let them know how good it will feel to work hard and achieve their goal.

Don’t Jump to the Rescue
It is part of the parental DNA to step in a do things for our kids. Find a balance between teaching your child vs. doing things that are difficult for them. You have to experience defeat before you can really understand and appreciate success. If your child is stuck on something, guide them through the problem solving process. Show them how to think of alternate ways to achieve their goal. Tell them how important creative problem solving is.

Praise, Praise and More Praise
You see it in sports all the time. Praise can really be an incredible motivator. Winning teams who achieve great goals often have some players with average abilities. Praise can motivate even the most average player or student to perform at a much higher level.

Your child will not be persistent if they don’t like what they are doing. Find what your child really enjoys about sports, school or hobbies. Persistence will be natural if your child is working toward something they really enjoy.