Parenting Archives

Did you attend the World’s Largest Bake Sale? It isn’t too late to help!

May 2, 2013 By Nina Say 1 Comment

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Yesterday one of the best events of the year happened, The World's Largest Bake Sale in NYC, which benefitted No Kid Hungry and the Food Bank of New York. There were lots of celebrities there for this good cause such as Mario Batali, Ty Pennington, Wendy Williams, Rosanna Scotto, Dylan Lauren, and Buddy Valastro. These very influential people know how important it is that our kids do not go hungry, and I want to continue helping this cause by sharing some really important information with you. This is what hit me hardest, this is a quote taken directly from the No Kid Hungry website: In the worlds wealthiest nation, more than 16 million kids struggle with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: child hunger, Food Bank, No Kid Hungry, World's Largest Bake Sale

Take The Stress Out Of Potty Training with Pull-Ups

March 26, 2013 By Nina Say Leave a Comment

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Potty Training is something that every single parent has gone through, and it is one of the most stressful times of a parents life. When Zoey was potty training we didn't want to go anywhere public because it always seemed to end in disaster. What I didn't understand back then was that all we needed was a different attitude and approach from us, as the parents. We set the mood and make potty training a better experience for everyone involved. My favorite tool while potty training was definitely Pull-Ups. How to Take the Stress Out of Potty Training Here are a few tips that I personally love, and wish I would have embraced when potty training Zoey. I'll definitely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting

How We Do Bedtime in the Say Household

January 29, 2013 By Nina Say Leave a Comment

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Bedtime around here has become much more eventful since Emma was born 8 months ago. It used to be so simple, after dinner Zoey would have an hour or two to play and wind-down. After that she would get a bath, brush her teeth, lay in bed for a story and then it was lights out. Nowadays bedtime for the kids feels more like a juggling act--but we've come up with a system that works pretty well for us...as long as we're practicing that essential skill that is teamwork. This is how it goes: Bath: An hour before bedtime my husband and I tag-team bath time for the kids. I bathe Emma on the dining table in her little baby bath while Bryan lets Zoey shower (she … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting

How to Remove Sport Uniform Stains! #Infographic

January 18, 2013 By Nina Say Leave a Comment

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Kids are messy. That actually seems like an understatement when they start joining sports teams and are required to get a little down and dirty. Stains are unsightly but thankfully they are not the end of the world. The following infographic shows some easy to follow steps for multiple types of stains. Have you ever used these methods? How did they work for you? Image provided by: ciscoathletic.com. Want to add this illustration to your site too? Click here to get the embed code. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting

New Generation of Backyard Gaming

December 11, 2012 By Nina Say Leave a Comment

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Planning activities for your children to nurture their imaginative skills in early years will play a role in their future development. Currently, the majority of children are exposed to passive form of learning. Imaginative learning is a more creative way for children to learn about the world. The new-generation of toys and games have made it possible for parents to facilitate and encourage this form of learning without letting their children take part in dangerous activities. 1. Capture the Flag Capture the flag is a timeless classic when it comes to backyard games. However, these days you can use the latest toy shooters from JT Splatmaster to spice up the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: Frisbee Tower, kids

The EDU review (Local school district rankings)

November 27, 2012 By Guest Author Leave a Comment

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The Twin Cities generally rate highly on a national level. In fact, this last year alone saw 7 Twin City area schools ranked among the best in the entire country by US News. On top of the 7 gold medal winning schools, Minnesota also had 24 schools receive silver medals and 96 rating bronze. Southwest High School in Minneapolis was ranked highest, at 163 out of the top 500. So generally, there is a lot to be proud of when it comes to schools in the area. But for newly arrived families, especially those with children of various ages, the question becomes which districts in the Twin City area came offer the most for their family? (Please note these are all public … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: St Paul, Twin Cities, Twin City

Teach Your Kid To Jam

November 7, 2012 By Nina Say 3 Comments

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Learning how to play a musical instrument can be a valuable experience in your child’s life. Music also has many benefits for your child's health, and studies continue to bear out the positive health effects on the population at large. Here are some of them: 1. Increases the capacity of the child’s memory A study was conducted on 22 children aged between three to four and half years old. They were given keyboard lessons. Another 15 children were given no lessons at all. Both the groups participated in similar activities. The result indicated the group who took the keyboard lessons improved their spatial-temporal skills by a margin of 34 percent, and the effect … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: how to

To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool? Things to Consider When Making this Important Decision

October 17, 2012 By Guest Author Leave a Comment

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Whether or not to homeschool your child can be a very difficult decision to make—one that will impact your child’s life forever. While public schooling is not for everyone, homeschooling isn’t either. As with any other major life decision, adequate research is important in the final decision making process. You want to be sure that you have all the facts, including the positive and negative aspects of both choices, before you make your choice. The following questions should be considered before making this decision. Do You Have Time? Making the decision to homeschool your child is not something that should be taken lightly. Homeschooling is a great … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: Daphne Garder, fun, Need Personal Time, parenting

Get Your Kids To Assist You With Chores And Steal Back A Few Hours Of Your Day

October 5, 2012 By Guest Author Leave a Comment

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Have you ever stopped to count how much things you have to do every day? If you're like most single moms it would take you too long to count. Everything that has to be done is in your hands. You don't have a man around who can help you out, and that's if he ever did in the first place. After a hard day at work, and getting dinner ready the last thing you need is to have hundreds of housework to do. Eventually it will be time for bed and you haven't had a 2-minute rest. You need some assistance with all the little things. That's where your kids come in. If they aren't helping you with tasks around the house you better start making them. They will kick and scream. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: Carol Swords, kids, laundry, TV

Building a Playground For Kids Ought To Be Fun

October 4, 2012 By Guest Author Leave a Comment

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Kids love summer vacation, because they get to be outdoors all day and don’t have to sit in a classroom studying and twiddling their thumbs. The warmer weather is a welcome change from the dreary winter, but what are the kids going to do all day long once they are released from junior league Sing Sing and are allowed to roam the highways and byways of your local hamlet? It’s a good idea to give them some place to play where they’ll be out of harm’s way and will likely have fun while getting all of the fresh air and exercise that they could possibly need. When School Is Close By If you’re lucky enough to live within walking distance of the school that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: Eric Blair, fun, kids, Parknpool School, Sing Sing