Safety rules are the chief consideration in buying a seat for your young baby, but the differences in style aren’t purely cosmetic, and it’s important to understand what the exact effects of your selection will be before it’s final
Continue Reading October 31st, 2009
Often parents are unaware of the differences between pushchairs and prams. This makes it difficult for them to choose a travel system for their babies. Before you decide what to buy, you must know the features of both the products.
Continue Reading September 22nd, 2009
Feed The Children never ceases to show their kindness and empathy to the less fortunate. With their mission of delivering food, medicine, clothing, and other supplies to victims of famine, war, poverty, and natural disasters, they have helped out children and families in 119 countries around the world.
One of the Feed The Children’s latest efforts at helping the needy is their program for children and families devastated by the recent US economic breakdown. News coverage of the emerging national crisis cannot be avoided. The facts may not be surprising provided we already know the country’s status, nonetheless, they are disturbing. According to research results, Americans that do not have enough access to adequate food supply are found in low-income communities and areas where there are more fast food restaurants than grocery stores. However, a closer look at these people would show that they do not have access to enough food because they cannot seem to make ends meet. These people are finding it hard to buy food and pay for bills and rent.
Fortunately, for three decades, Feed The Children has always been there, helping the country in its several of its darkest times. With their food distribution programs, the organization is efficiently helping out thousands of individuals.
http://blog.feedthechildren.org/?p=170 http://blog.feedthechildren.org/
August 25th, 2009
Graduation Cord
A graduation cord refers to a string that is attached to the graduation cap and worn as part of the graduation regalia. They are also worn for aesthetic purpose so that the graduates stand out from the rest. graduation cord has been worn since the 14th century. Initially in Europe, the cords signified different tiers of learning and the students wore them as part of their daily attire. This however has changed with time. In modern days, the cords are worn during graduation ceremonies that are viewed as a rite of passage. The cords are worn alongside graduation gowns, academic hoods and caps. Graduation cords are attached to the caps and hang from their sides.
Graduation cords make for good graduation gifts to a loved on who is graduating. The cords can be made from different colors to signify the graduate’s new academic status. The cords can be made using colors that represent the colors of the academic institutions from which one graduates. People can make their own cords by using a number of strings. The strings can be twisted or plaited for enforcement. The colors that people select are not limited and a number of colors can be combined.
GraduationSource, a leader in graduation regalia products since 1960.
April 13th, 2009
Teen years are some of the most turbulent between a parent and a child. Often, you want to impart wisdom to them, but they don’t want to hear what you have to say. After all, you “don’t know what it’s like to be a kid today.” Wouldn’t you love to have a book that could help bridge the communication gap?
Bill O’Reilly, anchor of Fox’s The O’Reilly Factor, has co-authored a book, The O’Reilly Factor for Kids, that does just that.
Subtitled A Survival Guide for America’s Families, the book is written to teenagers addressing a variety of topics.
The first section addresses people in your teenager’s life - including friends, or “so called” friends, as the case may be, who should be there when they need them and let them be themselves. There’s how your child can get along with his/her siblings and the benefits of helping others. And, they can find out how to disagree with you in a responsible way.
Next, O’Reilly tackles your teen’s private life - why it really is “uncool” to do any kind of drug, why they should wait to have intercourse, why hours upon hours of TV isn’t a good idea, and why listening to music with explicit language isn’t really enjoyable. He talks about the importance of earning and managing money and why and how to have fun. All the things you’ve been trying to say for the last 5 - 10 years. The difference is that it isn’t coming out of your mouth.
The third section focuses on school and addresses these issues: dressing provocatively, playing a sport, cheating, reading for pleasure, and respecting teachers.
Finally, the last section deals with things to think about - health, work, helping others, death…He also brings up religion and the importance God has played in his life.
O’Reilly comes out and tells the readers that “Life Isn’t Fair.” He just tells it like it is - and in a way they can understand. He uses a format that intertwines Bill’s Story with “IMings” (”Instant Messages for those of us less ‘with it’ “).
When all is said and done, he has covered the important topics in a way that many parents would agree with. Like it or not, teenagers tune us out and we become a talking head. Take advantage of this resource to present another person’s point of view.
Susan Sitton is the founder of http://www.DiscoveryJourney.com DiscoveryJourney has a variety of tools available to parents to help build character and promote a culture of reading. Discovery Journey’s children’s book reviews and family movie reviews identify character trait and child behavior issues. These reviews help parents choose books and movies fpr their children that match their family’s values. Each children’s book review contains related fun and educational child activities to enjoy as a family, inspiring the passion for learning and reading!
May 16th, 2008
Gender stereotyping starts even before a child is born. As friends and family buy gifts for an upcoming birth, color choices are often limited to pale green or yellow if the baby’s gender is to be a surprise. If the baby’s sex is known, or after the child is born, pale pinks and small flowers adorn newborn girls’ clothing, while light blue with trucks and sports insignia adorn newborn boys’ clothes.
An attempt to find gender neutral clothing, unisex, or bright colored clothes for babies and toddlers can result in frustration. The clothing exists and boutiques do carry them, but the selections are often limited. Children’s clothing should represent the spirit of childhood: fun and exciting, colorful and unique. Children’s clothing should not begin to stereotype children prior to their ability to determine their own likes and dislikes. This does not mean dressing boys in pink lace and girls in black, it means providing a range of colors and options.
There are some wonderful children’s boutique clothing with colorful, unisex designs. It can take some time and perseverance to find these clothes, but there are sources available for busy parents and shoppers.
Finding high quality, gender neutral and unique baby clothes can be a challenge, but hopefully not as difficult as it once was!
Breaking with the current trends, while still being fashionable, Polkadot Patch Boutique opened in April 2006. Online at polkadotpatch.com, parents looking for unique, whimsical and bright colors, as well as fun gender neutral clothing will find a growing selection at one, convenient location. While you will still find pink and blue, black and brown, unless it is bright, whimsical or unique, Polkadot Patch Boutique will not carry it.
For fun bright colored baby clothes see the Cow & Lizard line featuring turtles, fish, and caterpillars. For something a little more funky, take a look at the “Zoot” the Bee or “Algernon” the Fox on the long sleeve shirts, with matching striped pants and hats from Tiny Tyrants.
Marianne Mullen is Co-Owner of Polkadot Patch Boutique , a speciality boutique featuring colorful children’s clothing, accessories, and gifts.
May 10th, 2008
“Talent is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration.” Thomas Edison
I experienced the privilege and joy of sitting back and watching my daughter perform in a Suzuki Festival this weekend at Yale University. In its glorious Woolsey Hall, oversized, magnificent gilded pipes for the front-and-center organ stared us parents (and more-than-proud grandparents) in our faces while we watched a couple hundred musicians balance pint-sized violins, maneuver mini-cellos and stroke lightweight guitars on stage. Classical and folk music filled the air, starting with Copland’s invigorating “Hoedown” and ending with the Suzuki signature “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” which we parents have enjoyed (or endured) anywhere from a hundred to a zillion times, depending on our length in the Suzuki program. But we sat there, all of us, mesmerized and busting with pride. To think that our kids could have multiple books of music permanently ingrained in their brains; that their thin little fingers could glide over the strings at lightning speed; and that they could produce such beautiful music with complete strangers in perfect harmony, their only bond being the study of the same music under the same pedagogical training, was almost too much to comprehend. It was nothing short of splendid.
It was a sadly striking observationespecially given the glory of the occasionto note the high rate of “de-selection” out of the system as kids grew older. While dozens upon dozens of little ones proudly played “Twinkle,” only a handful of teens took to the stage for the advanced pieces.
Now, this could be said of practically anything. How many toddler girls enjoy all of that pink tulle for those first few years of ballet, after all, only to drop out right before going on to pointe? Or enthusiastically embrace early morning lap swimming with the neighborhood gang, only to drop out when the coach asks them to swim five hours a day? How many unused drum sets, guitars, easels and athletic equipment are collecting dust in garages across the globe as overly-ambitious pursuitsquick shots out of the blocks each one of themfizzle to a grinding halt once the realization of all of that hard work sets into our youngsters’ collective consciousnesses?
Let’s face it: it’s a lot more difficult to stick with something than it is to get something started. Drumming up enthusiasm for a new project, be it taking up the oboe or taking up oil painting, is no harder for most of us than getting our fannies up and off the sofa. We order the new gear, new art supplies or new instruments, practically salivating at the vision. We enthusiastically walk into our new lessons, proudly toting new stuff, bubbling over with excitement and energy for the newness of it all. Like staring into a new baby’s eyes and understanding that this life holds such promise, we zealously embrace new projects, and realize, all too slowly, the terrific sacrifices demanded for growth.
One of the most difficult challenges of parenting is discerning how long we require our children to stick with something…keeping the train on the track…and knowing when it’s okay to let them jump off.
Do we decide at the point when the frustration level becomes unbearable that “now is the time”? Or do we grit our teeth and understand that this is all just part of the process? When our kids slam the door, stomp their feet and scream “I hate this!” do we take that as a sign that we should stop now? Or do we simply acknowledge that as a good time for a strong cup of coffee, a bit of dark chocolate and a time-out?
I have remained amazedover these past almost twenty yearsof the number of parents who throw in the towel too soon, as well as the ones who manage to hold on through their children’s mastery. I have taken my own fair share of well-intentioned yet unsolicited advice from honest parents who simply see things differently than I do. There is a great deal of difference here and it’s a tough one to sort out. And it was particularly glaring today.
As there are, of course, vast personal differences among children and families; in constraints on time, energy and financial resources; and in personality variances of pure persistence (or of pure stubbornness), one can’t devise blanket generalizations for keepingor movingthe train on track. There are just too many variables in the equation. Regardless, one bottom line is true virtually across the board: children despise hard work, and anything requiring mastery demands hard work! As parents, we need to figure out when to chalk up something unpleasantviolin practice or spelling drills or swimming regimens or frustrated painting sessionsto hard work, pure and simpleor to “it’s time to get the train off the track.” There are few things couples argue more over, few questions moms ask me more frequently, and few things that cause me greater personal angst, than this issue.
I wish I had the answer. I wish every situation had a pat solution. I wish it was as easy as encouraging every parent to stick with it ’til the bitter end! To battle it out until the final victory is achieved! ‘Til you hear “the” recital, witness the home run or hang the blue ribbon you’ve been waiting for. That you won’t let him quit until he finishes that tenth book of violin music or makes it all the way through the majors in Little League. That she has to take Spanish all the way through high school. Or must enroll in art school until she uses up all of her expensive supplies.
But it’s never that easy. Nope. Parenting is always full of surprises. Our kids can out-smart us, out-maneuver us and out-last us…and they will. Just when we think we’ve got this parenting thing figured out, we face another trick or challenge or dilemma and we feel like we’re back at square one. Or we realize that what worked for the first kid has no power over the second. Oh geez.
One thing I know for sure: mastery commands respect. As does consistency. Perseverance. Persistence. Stick-to-it-ive-ness. We reward singers who make it all the way on American Idol and athletes who make it to the Olympics. We love stories of persevering against all odds and of sticking it out even when it hurts. And so while that certainly doesn’t mean that it’s never okay to let the train jump off the tracksbecause some times that truly is the right thing to domake sure that you don’t trade common everyday impatience for quick fix solutions. For increased peace and quiet in the home. Or increased harmony. For less fighting or foot stomping or door slamming.
Remember, always, the dirty little secret of parenting: it takes far more nurturing, far more patience and far more energy than anyone ever warned you about. That it takes years of hard work and practice. That practice is hard work and that hard work is just practice. And that it will all be worth it when you receive the joyas I did todayas you simply sit back, smile, and think: “We done good.”
Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. and worked at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch before coming home to work as a wife and mother of four. She totally re-invented herself along the way. Strong convictions were born about the role of the arts in child development; ten years of homeschooling and raising four kids provide fertile soil for devising creative parenting strategies. These are played out in ROCKET MOM! 7 Strategies To Blast You Into Brilliance. It is widely available online, in bookstores or through 888-476-2493. She writes extensively for a variety of parenting resources and teaches other moms via seminars, workshops, keynotes and monthly meetings of the ROCKET MOM SOCIETY, a sisterhood group she launched to “encourage, equip and empower moms for excellence.”
Please visit =>http://www.rocketmom.com
April 25th, 2008
The method know as 3d ultrasound is that can be used when a woman is in early pregnancy, it can provide 3d pictures of the unborn child. Most of the time these pictures are rapidly captured and joined together to make a 4d ultrasound scan.
Three dimensional scans works similarly to the usual ultrasound methods except that the ultrasound pulses can be directed from multiple directions. The waves are redirected back then captured to provide info to construct a 3d image in in the same way as 3d movies. 3d ultasound scanning was devised in the usa.
It’s important to understand that sonologists worldwide always conjured 3d images of anatomy or pathology in their minds while carrying out 2d scans. However, until recently it was very difficult to do this type of reconstruction on on patient information using ultasound scanning. With the introduction of baby scans for the first time allowed us a peek into the brain of a sonologist and hence letting us view the images on the ultrasound machine.
The 3d/4d ultrasound image should utilize ultrasound energy following the same limits as conventional 2d ultrasound to create the 3d images. There is no data to suggest harm due to 3d ultrasound, its use in none essential situations should be undertaken with an understanding of the risks that may exist.
Please also remember, bank your new born babies umbilical cord blood cells by involving people such as babycells.
April 23rd, 2008
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