As we raise our children, we often search for strong role models to include in their lives. Role models can be parents, friends, family, religious leaders, teachers, famous figure heads and celebrities. Each role model within a children’s life has influence over who they will become over time. While some role models have direct influence over our children, others influence through example. Many parents around the world are excited about the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States. How can this historic event and this historic person be a role model for your family?
With the historic presidential inauguration recently behind our nation, what learning opportunities are there to share with our children? After all, Barack Obama is the first African American President of the United States. And, he is one of the youngest, presidents at the age of 47.
Age is Not Always Relevant
Many children or adolescents get frustrated as they mature with comments such as, ‘you are too young’ to do……While there are certainly age requirements and suggestions for many important milestones within a child’s or a young adults life, there should also be limitless options. For example, what if your child has an above average IQ and has the opportunity to move ahead a grade in school or to attend a gifted and talented program. This accomplishment is not related to age, it is offered because your child has earned the opportunity.
What about influencing others; is there an age requirement for that? As children age, they will be presented with a variety of informal or formal leadership opportunities. Leading a school project, becoming captain of the basketball team or even capturing the lead in a school play are all examples of leadership. The ability for Obama to capture a formal leadership position at such a young age offers encouragement for all children who would like to make a difference now in their lives as well as in their future.
Color Blind
Racism as well as inequality still remains in almost every culture around the world. While many groups struggle to gain equality, when someone of color achieves such a high accomplishment, it creates hope for all other members of that particular race. Obama becoming elected and inaugurated as the President of the United States offers hope for not only every other African American in the world, but to all other minority races. It has even offered hope to women who one day seek the opportunity to seize a powerful leadership position.
Becoming the first African American president has now paved the way for others to follow. Encourage your children than anything is possible! Anything at all. Use Obama’s story as well as others of accomplishment as examples for your children that they can achieve anything that they set their minds to.

I can remember so many times my mother telling me that someday I would know what it was like to be the mother of a teenager and suffer like I’d made her suffer.  Made her suffer?  I didn’t know I’d made her suffer in my teen years, after all when a child moved to the teen years all of the things I thought I was old enough to do I got to do and got to argue why I was allowed to do them even if I was told no.

Throwing tantrums was always an exciting thing to do.  Being dramatic and over reacting showed us how to be a teen also.  Not knowing any different we also said many times that we were going thru PMS.  Fourteen and going through PMS and it always sounded good because none of us knew what it meant.  I had heard my mother say it many times, so I said it many times.  Can you imagine a teenage boy say he was going through PMS?

Controlling my anger was very hard at times and yet society did not, and still doesn’t, allow us to show any strong emotions from the time we’re little.  From the time we’re little if we showed anger we were sent to time out for our “fits”.  A healthy thing to do is to express emotions of anger, fear, sadness or rage regularly, but it would be wrong if we did this hurting someone in the process.

Teenagers have so much to go through and to learn, and parents are trying to offer them all the help they can.  There is so much teen pregnancy and the numbers increase over the years so teen parenting and teen help is required.

Last year there was a television show called “The Baby Borrowers” on NBC and the concept of the show was to see if teen parenting was a possibility for some teens or if teen help was needed for some.  There were five teen couples in the reality series said to be a social experiment which is a very unusual parenting test.

The show was a good way to show teens what doing sex early and having a child could do to their lives.  Not listening to their parents and doing what they wanted can totally ruin their life for good.  A well planned out life with a college education or a professional athletic scholarship planned can be shot down with two words, “I’m pregnant.”  Then the planning has to start on what you’re going to do.  The money, where is the money going to come from to support a baby?  You have to have insurance, but very few hamburger joints have insurance.

You can go to night school and get an education and still be a teen parenting a child.  There is teen help for teenage pregnancy.  There is help and ways to have a good life.  If you really want it you can do it.  There is never anything too high that you can’t reach it and complete your dreams.  And you can reach your dreams without going through anger, fear, sadness or rage.

Teens parenting can see a lot of anger and screaming.  Teens believe they are all grown up and that they know more than the parents do, but they don’t and when they have teenagers they find this out.

The main and one most important thing that we have to be learned is forgiveness.  There are many things that a teenager needs to learn, but above all is forgiveness and love of one another.  We all grow-up and most of us become parents ourselves, but to become good parents we have to learn forgiveness of others.  I guess I was a teenager and grew up to have a good life.

Most people love to read, however most adults do not ready annually unless the habit was instilled as a child. Reading as an adult provides so many benefits, so take time to work with your child today and either read to them or encourage them to read.

When children are read to when they are little, they not only understand the story, but they also enjoy the comfort of your voice.  Then they get older and they begin to understand the story and want you to read it to them, or they can tell it to you from memory. Encourage your children to love reading.

Popular Age Appropriate Children’s Books

The type of book that your children will enjoy is often age dependent. Something like the three different series of the Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot is very popular with teenager girls for reading.

A Tomboyish girls dream of being a supermodel can be found in “Violet on the Runway,” a book that provides an exclusive view at life on the runway.  Violet is an awkward teenager who is transformed to high-fashion almost overnight, when she is unexpectedly “discovered” and whisked away to New York.  The nice thing is that you don’t get jealous of her because being a model isn’t as glossy as it appears in the magazines; Melissa Walker, the author, uses her insider experience as a fashion writer and is able to paint a realistic portrait of the fashion industry.

Males and females alike will both like Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.  This is a hard novel about a boy, Clay, dealing with the death of Hannah Baker who committed suicide that he liked very much.  Hannah Baker left a series of cassette tapes behind telling the events that led her to committee suicide.  Depressed she tells how brutal high school was and why she died.

Fantasy stories are very popular with teenagers, including boys, as well as the Harry Potter series of stories.  Other popular authors include Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Stephen King.  The list of authors that your children can choose from seems virtually endless.

Watership Down was the first book ever prominently featured on Lost and is technically a story about bunnies.  And yes, I said Lost, the TV Show.  The story focuses on the members of one community forced to scrap and struggle their way toward survival.  But what makes it a joy to read is the way author Richard Adams personifies those bunnies, endowing them with stubbornness endowing them with stubbornness fear and resourcefulness as well as a unique, melodic vocabulary.  Invented words like “Owsla” (a bunny police force) and “silflay” (to go above ground to feed) waft effortlessly into the.

Children seem to be so smart by the time they are 7 to 10 years old today, and that seems to be because of the innovative toys and games that have been developed. Some of these games are designed to be played by the children alone, while others are interactive, allowing parents and children to play and learn together.

Children’s development is equating at a much higher speed and we as parents and grandparents exclaim how smart our children are for their age. The games they play are unbelievable and when we look at them, we realize they advanced and often cover topics that are not included in traditional curriculums.

Let’s take a look at one of them- Leap Frogs Math Games. This game is for a six year olds and teaches numbers. When this game is played, the next thing you know, your child is counting and recognizing numbers; then they are learning to add. This game truly does help a child when they enter into the school system as it advances their natural learning curve.

The activity of reading is also beneficial, allowing a child to recognize letters and words while also teaching them to read. While reading has been a long lasting tradition, the advent of the computer has drastically changed the way children play games.

Before you know it the kids are downloading games on the computer, which is just flabbergasting. My son was doing that at the age of 5. I never realized that they had games for the 5 through 12 year old age bracket available for download on the computer. My son was learning more than I have ever known on the computer.

One of the games kids download that my son used to use fascinated me. It involved flight and was an airplane game whereby you took off, flew around and landed the airplane or crashed it, whatever the case may be. My son is a small plane pilot so my son learned how to fly that plane in an attempt to be like his father when he grew up. My grandson loves planes and he taught himself that game which made me extremely proud of him. This game also taught him coordination and helped him learn how to count. All of these games have a special purpose and are teaching the children something that will help them in their future.

We find that our children’s development is depending a lot on hand games and on computer games in addition to a parent’s interaction with them. It is so different from 30 years ago. Anything that can help a child’s development is a blessing and that includes the games kids download from the computer. Never assume that your kids are just playing around. Check it out with your kids and see what they are learning.

You might be surprised at some of the things people own as pets. Parrots and parakeets, hamsters and gerbils, mice and rats, guinea pigs and pot-bellied pigs, hermit crabs and bunnies. But I am going to come right out and say it; the best family pets are the traditional but loveable cats and dogs.

I’m not going to narrow it down any further than that, since I know (from bitter experience) that there are cat people and there are dog people and seldom the twain shall meet. So, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Here are some of the great things about cats:

• Cats are warm and cuddly. Making a cat purr is one of life’s little pleasures.
• They let you pet them.
• They potty train themselves.
• They clean themselves.
• They refuse to do tricks, so you don’t have to train them.
• They are independent; you can leave for a few days and your cat will be just fine on his own.

However, there are a few drawbacks:

• Cats are only affectionate on their terms, not yours.
• They have no sense of hierarchy (Alpha? What’s that?)
• Litter boxes need to be cleaned often, or they smell really bad.
• Cats bring you presents…usually half-dead bloody ones.
• Cats can’t—or won’t—do tricks.
• Cats are passive-aggressive. Sure you can leave for a few days, but you’ll come back to find pee in your best shoes.
• Cats can’t protect you, your home, or your kids. They just aren’t scary to an intruder.

Now, how about dogs? Dogs are great for the following reasons:

• They can protect you. Many people feel more secure with a dog in the house or in the yard with the children.
• They are pack animals, and your family is the pack. Once they learn their place in it, they will be utterly devoted to everyone else in the pack.
• They are affectionate on your terms, when you want to pet and cuddle.
• They can learn cool tricks, such as sitting, fetching, and rolling over.
• They inspire lifelong memories of friendship and affection in kids; people talk about their beloved dogs for much longer than their childhood cats.
• They need exercise, which gets you out walking, too.

So, why not get a dog?

• They have to be walked.
• They have to be potty-trained, and it’s a learning process.
• They need more attention and training than cats.
• They don’t groom themselves.
• They chew things, at least at first.
• Most of them are bigger than cats, which can be a problem in a small space. They need more room than cats do.

It’s up to you to decide whether your family is cat people or dog people. But either of these two can provide companionship, teach kids responsibility, and have care and supplies easily accessible. When it comes to pets, stick with the classics.

Congratulations to all Americans and my very best wishes for 2009! Karina.

For the sake of this blog entry, I’m going to define “family movie” as a movie that the whole family can sit down and watch together.  So even if the kids are crazy about Barney or Hannah Montana, the grown-ups aren’t going to want to sit and watch those movies very long.

The best family movies will vary depending on your kids’ ages and interests, but if your family enjoys a regular family movie night, you have a chance to introduce them to some great films they might not have a chance to see otherwise.

It was important to me that my kids have an appreciation for a wide variety of films, and that they not have a horror for anything in black-and-white.  If this matters to you, too, a good way to start is with the Technicolor musicals of the 40’s and 50’s.  They’re not black-and-white, but they lay a foundation for you later to say, “Remember the girl in The Wizard of Oz?  She’s in this one, too.  I think you’ll like it.”

Here are some wonderful, classic, colorful movie musicals that provide both a good time and a deeper cultural education than many kids get.

•    The Wizard of Oz, 1939.  This movie is so much a part of American childhood that we sometimes forget it’s an “old movie.”  The kid-friendly roles of the Scarecrow, the Tin-Man and the Cowardly Lion don’t get old, the hero is a kid who has to undergo some real character development, and the lesson is simple enough for us all to learn.  Plus, the songs have lasted America almost 80 years, and show no sign of wearing out.
•    On the Town, 1949.  This movie has it all; it’s funny enough to make kids laugh out loud, and sophisticated enough for adults to appreciate.  It has pretty dresses, romance and sailors for moms, a police chase and cooch dancers for dads, and dinosaurs and guys dressed as girls—the height of juvenile humor—for kids.  And the songs and dances are so much fun.
•    Singin’ in the Rain, 1952.  This one’s all about the music and dancing.  It only takes one sitting for kids to learn the lines to “Moses Supposes His Toeses Are Roses,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” and, most especially, “Make ‘Em Laugh.”  Donald O’Connor was in bed for three days after that dance number, but his sacrifice is still providing applause-worthy moments for kids and adults.
•    White Christmas, 1954.  Christmas movies are big at our house, and this one has the best American Christmas carol of the 20th century.  Of course, that song was written by Irving Berling for Holiday Inn in 1942 (and Holiday Inn is another excellent family film), and so was well known by 1954.  Holiday Inn has humor, chiefly offered through the physical comedy of Danny Kaye, a wealth of singing and dancing, and an excellent supporting cast.  As the first film shot in Vistavision, it’s also a treat to look at, and has enough going on that it never loses our attention.

If you think about it, even we normal women have miraculous bodies, bodies that know just what to do to make, grow, carry, deliver, and feed a totally unique human being.  Getting in shape is important, but it’s also important to remember that your body gained weight in its performance of a miracle.  So, don’t be mad at your body, okay?  Be patient with it; it has just done something really amazing.  Besides, look at your beautiful baby (preferably when he’s sleeping, not screaming or spitting up); even if you never lose that pregnancy weight, isn’t it worth it?

So, now that we’re in the right frame of mind, here are a few reasons why we all want to get our old figures back:

•    To be at our best.  You probably know by now how much energy that little one takes.  The better shape you’re in, the more energy you have.  And if you have another child or two at home, you still have to run after them, as well as attend to your newborn.  When we’re overweight, we don’t have the energy we need to do well all the things moms have to do.
•    To be good examples.  With all the horror stories about the spread of diabetes and childhood obesity, it’s really important that we create a healthy family culture for our kids to grow up in.  Good eating habits and an active lifestyle are an important part of that, and will take us a long way to looking and feeling how we want.
•    To boost our self-esteem.  When we were 8 or 9 months pregnant, we felt hideous, but at least we were going through it for a really good reason.  After childbirth, we’re all lumpy and saggy, as the muscles slowly contract and the fat that we collected sort of settles in.  But we can’t say we’re doing it for the baby anymore; now we’re just fat.  It’s depressing…
•    To get our sex life back.  In most cases, after that 6 week waiting period to have sex after childbirth, our husbands won’t care if we grew an extra head.  And the guys aren’t the only ones eager for some alone time, right?  Still, it’s hard to feel sexy when we don’t feel attractive.

One important thing to do is breastfeed your baby.  Besides the benefits to the baby, breastfeeding makes your uterus contract more quickly, helping your tummy shrink faster.  Breastmilk is also full of fat…fat it has taken from your body to give to your baby.  And breastfeeding burns about 500 calories a day.  It would take a long walk on the treadmill to burn 500 calories, so don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

So, it’s true, losing pregnancy weight and getting our figures back are real concerns for most women.  We all should be working on that.  But you know how to lose weight and be healthy—exercise and eat nutritious foods. Spend more calories than you take in, balance carbs and proteins…you know this stuff.  Everyone knows it, but the question is, are we doing it?

As we all approach the New Year, we can’t help but think of the things that we didn’t accomplish last year or how we could have made the prior year better. This is because as humans we have a tendency to dwell on the negative and “could haves” “would haves” should haves. This phenomenon has been studied and addressed by countless professionals; however no one can come up with why we are so hard on ourselves. Maybe we cannot explain the phenomenon, but we can do something about it. As we bring in the New Year we can take forward a new theory and lease on life. Read on the sweets New Years Eve story ever.
As I sat dwelling on the fact that I was not being wined and dined to bring in the New Year it came increasingly depressing as I watched my surroundings. With children under feet that were fighting, bickering about who got what toy, a husband watching football to no avail, my day seemed that it couldn’t get any worse. The mounting dishes and floor in need of vacuuming seemed to be a never ending task on my eternal chore list. With little help cleaning the house, cooking the meals or taking care of my snoozing pouch, I began to wonder if my past several years were how I planned them. No, the answer quickly darted into my head, so drawing from a recent magazine article, I began to plan in my mind how I could make 2009 a year that was only to dream of.
One of the comments in the magazine article was how to be thankful for what we have, family members, friends and our surroundings. Looking around, I thought to myself, how could anyone be thankful for a dirty house, screaming children and a couch potato of a husband? It dawned on me that maybe they were doing those things because I hadn’t made the changes that I vowed at 2008’s New Year resolution. Was this my fault? Would things turn out differently if I changed? It was almost like a flash of light and all I could feel was a renewed source of energy. I actually had a good idea, the first one in several years! My life was changing!
I gathered the courage to call each and every child over to give thanks to my higher power. As I held them in my lap, I prayed that they could stay safe and move with me through the changes that I was proposing. For my husband, I was thankful that he has job, makes decent money and was not running the streets with women like many of his buddies. My entire thought process and feelings changed as I began moving down the list of changes. As I came to each and every blessing in my life, it was like a light went off in my head of why things were great. My children are healthy, happy most of the time and best of all we are all together.
Life may not always seem like it turned out the way that we planned and it can be frustrating, however is it or are we looking at it wrong. As I moved to change my life it became increasingly apparent that my attitude had fallen in a slump of dwelling on how things could be, instead of what I have. So, as 2009 moves in let’s make a list together and give thanks for the things, people and blessing that we have in our lives. It may not be perfect, but it is ours and we can make what we want with it!

Guest writer Julie.

If your children have food allergies, the holidays can be challenging, especially when you are visiting family and friends or attending holiday parties at other people’s homes. You are no alone; millions of children have a variety of allergies. Keeping your children safe during the holidays is of course your top priority. Follow the advice below to keep your children protected from food allergens to ensure that you have a fantastic holiday season.
Tell Guests and Hosts
The best thing that you can do is to be proactive. Tell your guests and the hosts of your parties about the allergies that your children have. This way your guests will not bring food to your home that your children are allergic to, and your hosts can take allergies into consideration when preparing their holiday menu. Don’t feel bad at all by telling others in advance about allergies, it will ensure that you are comfortable and that your children are also comfortable. You may even consider offering menu help or to bring things yourself. This way the process is easy and not inconvenient for any party involved.
Plan in Advance
If you are truly concerned about allergies, bring your own food to the parties you attend with your children. Or, you can feed your kids before you get to a party in the event that there is not food that they can eat. Also consider keeping snacks in your car or bag for your children if they are hungry and have limited options where you are visiting.
Participate in School Party Planning
The best way to make sure that your kids have fun at their school parties without the worry of allergies is to plan them. Offer to join the committee and to plan the menus so that the food offered is great and allergy free. Take into consideration common allergies of children as well as specific allergies that you know about. You could even take planning one step further and ask all of the parents about allergies before planning the menu- parents will appreciate your efforts as anyone who has a child with allergies is also going to have concerns.
No matter which allergies your children have, you can make sure that their holiday season is fantastic and allergen free. Be proactive, plan in advance and participate in school and other party planning to ensure that there are great holiday foods that your kids can enjoy.