How to Raise a Confident Child

Does your child have difficulty making decisions on their own? Are they having problems with low self-esteem? These problems can signal that they lack confidence in their own opinions, abilities, and worth. Here are some things parents can do to raise a confident child. Don’t solve the problem for them. Take a minute to think about how you communicate with your child when they are trying to solve a problem or make a decision. Do you find yourself trying to talk them out of something (or into something)? You may feel that this is helpful, but it is actually preventing … Continue reading

Sesame Street Launches Autism Initiative

Sesame Street, a show you loved when you were a kid, and one that your kids enjoy today, has launched a major autism initiative. The program is called “See Amazing in All Children”. It is designed to foster greater understanding about autism for all children and families. There is a stigma placed upon autism that need not be there. People who do not understand autism, or who do not have anyone in their lives that has it, may harbor many misconceptions about it. The goal of the Sesame Street autism initiative is to help de-stigmatize autism (which affects one in … Continue reading

3 Important Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween can be fun, exciting, and just a little bit scary at times. The goal, of course, is to find ways for your kids to safely have fun, and avoid having to take a scary trip to an emergency room. The way to do that is to follow these Halloween safety tips. Overall, the safety tips that apply specifically to the celebration of Halloween aren’t that different from day-to-day safety tips. For example, you have probably taught your children to look both ways before crossing the street. For whatever reason, kids (and some adults) forget about basic safety as they … Continue reading

Should Both Parents Tend to the Baby at Night?

Whose job is it to get up in the middle of the night to tend to a crying infant? There was a time when the automatic assumption was that this task was entirely for the mother. Today, there are plenty of parents who realize that there are good reasons to share this responsibility. Babies are incredibly cute. They can also be exhausting. Many babies simply refuse to sleep through the night. They loudly let their parents know that they need a diaper change or want to be fed. At least one parent needs to get up to tend to the … Continue reading

Christmas is on December 27th this Year

In case you haven’t heard, there has been a change in the calendar for Christmas Day. No longer celebrated on December 25th, as it has been traditionally. This year, Christmas falls on December 27th. News Year Eve will be celebrated on December 30th or on January 3rd. Is this for real? Yes. That is, it is for real for many people who decide to save money, into the hundreds of dollars by celebrating Christmas and New Years on days that most of us don’t. Celebrating the major holidays on off-days is a trend that has been embraced by more and … Continue reading

Fun Father’s Day Reads

Forget about the tacky tie, fluorescent golf balls, and the tennis racket-shaped bug zapper.  What Dad really wants this Father’s Day is some quality time with the TV remote, his trusty recliner and a plate of bacon. Of course, what Dad wants for the upcoming holiday and what his enthusiastic young offspring want for him may be vastly different.  Fortunately, the following Father’s Day reads may be the key to compromise.  Kids can cuddle up with Dad on his favorite chair and share quality time reading the delightful holiday-themed page turners… while Mom cooks a pile of pork products for a post-story time … Continue reading

Waste Not

My mom spent years battling stage II breast cancer, three of my aunts died from the insidious disease, and I am long overdue for a mammogram. I keep ignoring my doctor’s suggestion to make an appointment and potentially save my own life, yet I refuse to eat unopened yogurt that’s been in my refrigerator even one day past its expiration date for fear of getting sick. How’s that for irony? And by irony I mean stupidity. My senseless thinking hurts my budget as much as it does my head.  What’s more, I take little solace in the fact that studies … Continue reading

Save Those Pennies! They Add Up

About a year and a half ago, my husband and I decided that we wanted to eliminate the car payment, and so we employed all sorts of methods of scrimping and saving to do this, including reducing our grocery bill, eating out less frequently, and finding fun and free things to do. One big step that got us closer to our goal of paying off the car loan was turning in all of our change. We had a few baby wipe tubs full of change, which we took, as a family, to the bank. We loaded the change into the … Continue reading

How to Save Money on Lipstick

Did you know that during the worst economic times, sales of lipstick tend to go up? This is because lipstick can be a little affordable luxury that makes women feel good without having to spend a lot of money. Lipstick has gotten a bit fancy these days, though, and all of the special formulas can come with a special price, making lipstick more pricey than it was in years past. Still there are ways to save money on lipstick, no matter what your favorite type or color. Rescuing a Bad Lipstick Sometimes you buy a lipstick on impulse, you get … Continue reading

Ideas for Easter Fun Without the Calories

Want to serve up heaping helpings of holiday fun without spending a ton of money on high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie Easter treats that’ll turn your kids into Energizer bunnies? Take a look in a book. These adorable Easter reads are the perfect addition to a sugar-free holiday basket or a great way to bond in bed with your child as you countdown to Sunday’s visit from the gift-bearing bunny: Easter Bunny on the Loose!:  A Seek and Solve Mystery There’s an emergency in Easterville and your kid gets to play detective.  Wendy Wax and Dave Garbot team up for this fun-filled, … Continue reading