‘….Pants On Fire’
Written by Elissa R. Lerma
We didn’t mean to, but we are lying to our daughter.
While at my mom’s house my daughter was looking through a little photo album with wallet sized pictures. It was an old album and in it was a picture of me and my ex-husband. She asked me, “Who is that mom?” I panicked and made a quick decision to lie and tell her, “That’s my old boyfriend.” (READ MORE)
When Is The Right Time To Introduce Stranger Danger To Our Kids?
Written by: Michelle Rivera
The other day our neighbor stopped by to ask us if we could get his mail while he was away on travel in Japan. This was a neighbor my husband Mark and I knew, but not someone our 3 year old daughter knew. When our neighbor came to our door, our daughter walked right up to him, took his hand, and then started insisting that he come into the house to play with her. Our neighbor laughed and commented on how friendly our daughter was and although my husband and I tried to play it off we were actually very alarmed on how willing she was to talk to a stranger. (READ MORE)
Skip The Entitlement: How To Raise Financial Fit Kids!
Written by: Jeanette Pavini
With the state of the economy, schools are having a hard enough time getting in all the basic requirements let alone extra courses in subjects such as personal finance. In studies over the last several years only 14 percent of teens have taken personal finance classes in school. These segments will help parents learn what they can do to teach their kids the importance of household finances. (READ MORE)
Fairy Tale Theatre Workshop: A Unique After-School Enrichment Class For Kids!
Written by: Michelle Rivera
If you are a parent in the Los Angeles area who is dying to find a creative outlet for your kids then I have the place just for you! It’s called the Fairy Tale Theatre Workshop at The Young Actors Space in Sherman Oaks, C.A. (READ MORE)
How Many Days Until Christmas?
Written by: Elissa R. Lerma
The month of December can be tough on parents. All the shopping and baking andwrapping gifts can eventually become overwhelming. By the way, I HATE wrapping gifts! Now for the kids it is a pretty awesome and magical time. There are school parties, plays to rehearse, pretty lights on all of the houses, and of course the anticipation of ripping open those holiday presents. When my daughter was younger, as soon as December hit, she would ask me every single day. (READ MORE)
Sibling Rivalry: Chopped Liver?
Written by: Elissa R. Lerma
I know I am going to sound completely full of myself here, but I’m going to just say it, I have some cute kids and when they are babies, the cuteness is off the charts. My kids are 5 years apart, so for 5 years my oldest was the only one getting all of the compliments and pinched cheeks. Then the baby was born and the spotlight that had been all hers all those years was suddenly pointing at someone else. (READ MORE)
gmc Uplifting Entertainment! Family Safe TV by the Parent’s Television Council.
Written by: Michelle Rivera
I was having a quiet Friday night at home when I stumbled upon one of my favorite sports movies of all time-Rudy! I’m sure many of you are thinking, “Michelle has a favorite sports movie?” Well Rudy is more than just a sports movie, it’s a movie about overcoming obstacles and is just an overall inspirational and motivational film.
Anyhow, I then realized I was watching Rudy on a TV Network called gmc. Have any of you heard of this network before because I haven’t? As I watched promos on gmc I noticed a running theme, all of their programming is of a positive nature. (READ MORE)
Lollipoxs? Chicken Pox Lollipops For Sale?!?
Written by: Elissa R. Lerma
There are lots of things you can do on Facebook. You can….
- reconnect with old high school friends
- keep tabs on what your family is doing
- play games
- buy chicken pox infected lollipops.
That’s right. Not only was there a Facebook page that was selling chicken pox infected lollipops, but you can also easily find a local“Pox Party” online too. (READ MORE)
Child On Leash
Written by: Elissa R. Lerma
My first baby was what is often referred to as an “easy baby.” As far as baby/toddler things were concerned Sophia was super easy. She was sleeping through the night within a few weeks. She started sleeping in a twin bed by 16 months old. She was potty trained by 24 months. She has always been well behaved. She always stayed by my side, nicely holding my hand. And I can admit it, I got cocky. (READ MORE)
Jimmy Kimmel’s: Tell Your children, “I Ate All Of Your Halloween Candy!” (VIDEO)
Written by: Michelle Rivera
Sometimes as parents we just really need a good laugh and once in a while that means it’s at the expense of our children. If you missed Jimmy Kimmel‘s You Tube challenge to have parents tell their kids that they ate all of their Halloween candy, then you missed out because it was hilarious. (READ MORE)
Too “Rated-R” For The Pumpkin Patch!?!
Written by: Michelle Rivera
You gather up your little ones for your traditional family outing to the pumpkin patch during the Halloween/Fall season. They’re all dressed up in their cute Fall attire, Halloween shirts, or costumes and you look forward to a day of hayrides or tractor rides, corn mazes, petting zoos, and pumpkin picking. You’ve arrived to your favorite pumpkin patch when you see this…..
What Is Infant Massage?
Written by: Jade Lee
I have been teaching Infant Massage for a while now and I still get so many people who come to me and ask, what exactly is Infant Massage?
My favorite term for Infant Massage is that it is “The Art of Touch.” It is a beautiful form of bonding between a parent and their child and quite simply put it is a form of expressing love. (READ MORE)
“The Tooth Fairy” Teeth Dilemma…What Do You Do With Them?
Written by: Elissa R. Lerma
There are some aspects of parenting that you are just not prepared for. Those things that other parents fail to mention and lately I have had a question about one of those things that has been troubling me. See my oldest is 6 years old and you know what 6 year old’s have a tendency to do, right? Well they tend to lose those cute little baby teeth that just fall right out of their mouths or in the case of my kid they tend to swallow it. So here is my question. When my kid isn’t swallowing her baby teeth, what am I or “The Tooth Fairy” supposed to do with all these teeth that he or she collects? (READ MORE)
Not All Moms Are Created Equal
Written by: Lindsay O’Neil
When it comes to core values, I think us mamas (and papas) are all a lot more alike than we are different. We all tend to focus on the big things – family, finances, health, and safety. And in that way, we can all commiserate and relate to one another. However, no matter how much we crave that camaraderie of other parents…it’s so easy to fall into the competitive mommy mentality. Sizing up how the other mothers dress their little ones, sizing up how they dress themselves, comparing your parenting style to someone else’s, and comparing your family car to someone else’s are all very easy things to get caught up in. However, while it’s natural to want to “measure up”…no good can come from comparing your family, parenting philosophy, or lifestyle to another mom’s. (READ MORE)
Natural Home Birth Streams Live On The Internet
Written by: Elissa R. Lerma
So the buzz at the mommy blog water cooler a few weeks ago was about this Canadian woman named Nancy Salgueiro who was going to be streaming her natural home birth live on the Internet. That’s right, a baby was going to be born live in front of an online audience. (READ MORE)
Are Halloween Costumes Over Sexualizing Our Kids?
Written by: Michelle Rivera
As I was shopping online for my two-in-a-half year old daughter’s Halloween costume this year, I noticed a somewhat disturbing trend. It’s a trend that is not just geared towards teenagers either, but more disturbingly a trend that seems to be geared towards tweens and even children of a younger age. Yes I’m talking about the sexy Halloween costume. (READ MORE)
Confessions of a (Not So) Supermom:
Written by: The Other Sarah
When you’re at the park pushing a swing, shopping for diapers at Target, or simply walking down the street with baby in tow, do you ever find yourself staring at one of those mothers and wonder what you’re missing? C’mon, you know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the Supermom. She runs 10 miles, does downward dog, and answers 50 e-mails before the sun and Little Johnny rise. She has perfectly coiffed hair, a body that rivals Heidi Klum, and doesn’t need botulism Botox to look beautiful. She’s CEO of everything, only prepares scrumptious organic meals, and has children that emit sunshine. Okay, so I exaggerate. The woman isn’t that perfect, but she sure seems to epitomize this otherworldly, unattainable ideal of motherhood. And alas, I still find myself staring at this mythical heroine through the shield of my aviator sunglasses wondering how she balances it all (or at least fakes it to make it). (READ MORE)
My Personal Survival Guide To Traveling With Kids!!!
Written by: Susan Jarvis Moody
It’s back to school time for most kids, but if you have preschoolers, Fall is a great time to take advantage of cooler temperatures, lower rates, and less crowded tourist destinations. We live between 500-1,000 miles away from both sets of grandparents, so air travel began for our children, Alex (now 6) and Harper (now 3) at about 12 weeks old. While both are now experienced travelers, as they can take off their shoes and fill their own bin at airport security, they are not immune from some travel related meltdowns and mishaps. (Read More)
Epic Fail
Written by: Steph B.
As a direct result of my son’s craniosynostosis surgery, he has to wear a cranial helmet to help finish the shaping of his head. The goal is a perfect Charlie Brown shaped head. The helmet costs $2000 (thank you insurance for covering!), and it comes in a nice white.
Well, I was dying to get something on there. I REALLY wanted to get it airbrushed. However as much as I tried, I could not convince my husband to go along with it. He said to me, the first time, that it was too much money. The second time he said that I like to spend money, just to spend it, and then the third time, he said that I must think money grows on trees. (READ MORE)
“Infertility”
Written by: Fran Meadows
“Infertility” is a word that most couples don’t want to hear, but today it is more common than you know. It is devastating and puts a strain on couples emotionally and financially. It is a roller coaster ride and most people don’t even know how they got on it. It hits you hard like you ran high speed into a brick wall. (READ MORE)
The Power of Touch Through Infant Massage
Written by: Jade Lee
Ever since I was a little girl it was apparent that all I wanted to be was a mother, I decided that until I was lucky enough to become one I would do the next best thing, I’d become a Nanny.
While studying for my diploma I was introduced to something called Infant Massage, this was something I’d never heard of before but I was intrigued, even though I was learning on a plastic doll. I felt rather silly talking to this doll and trying to connect to it through my studies, but I was curious to see how these techniques would work on a child in my care. (READ MORE)
To Make Kids Say “Sorry”… Or Not To?
Written by: Shara Lawrence-Weiss
Most of us have probably been victim to a rock in the head, tossed by a toddler…or a kick in the shin delivered by a temperamental two-year-old. You’ve probably attended a park outing or play date at which someone was hurt and no “sorry” was delivered. This can be an angering and frustrating experience for the parent of the child who was hurt. Why wasn’t some kind of remorse demonstrated? Why did the aggressive kiddo get away with that behavior?
Many of us were raised by mama’s or daddy’s who forced a “sorry!” every time we did something wrong. While research doesn’t imply that saying sorry is detrimental to our upbringing, some parenting experts believe there’s an even better way. (READ MORE)
My Groovy Planet
Written by: Staci Schwarz
As moms, we are responsible for teaching our kids a varied of incredibly important things: how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, how to care for skinned knees and broken hearts, and how to brush their teeth and have them spit without covering every inch of the bathroom in toothpaste.
However, some of the really beautiful things we get to teach our children is how to be in constant awe and reverence of the world around them, as well as how to take care of the planet and the people who call it home. Therefore, one of the most important things we can teach our children, is how to be awesome global citizens. (READ MORE)
Should Mothers Take Time Between Births To Create A Big Family?
Written by Dee Mason
Traveling with children can be difficult, to put it mildly. Traveling with multiple children is of course more difficult. Traveling with multiple children, all under the age of 3, while pregnant, is nearly impossible. I recently watched a husband and wife team try to do just this, and it was kind of a heartbreaking experience. My mother worked for Family Planning during the 70s, and I grew up to work first as a dancer and then as a trainer, with my primary clientele being women between the ages of 30 and 70 who had given birth to one or more children. Pregnancy has always been around me, and when I began contemplating starting my own family, one of the first things my mother said was “give yourself time between births or your body will fall apart”. As I have witnessed the different ways that my peers and I have gone about growing our families, I have to say that my mother’s advice was incredibly important. (READ MORE)
