Regards,

Julie &  Kevin - More4kids Inc.
"More4kids, because kids don’t come with instructions"

Back to School – Back to Schedules

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Hey Moms and Dads, kids love to play, and playtime is a great way to bond and have silly fun with our kids. We need our kids as much as they need us, and the great things about having kids is they can escape from the pressures of daily life. Here are some fun activities that don’t have to cost an arm and a leg we can enjoy with our children:

Fun Kids Activities 

• How about having a picnic? Requires food out of the fridge and stuff from around the house, use paper plates for easy clean up, spread a blanket out right outside your house and have a picnic. Raining, snowing, or just too darn hot outside? No problem, move the furniture out of the way and have a picnic on the living room floor.
• Go buy a puzzle and make it together. This is a great learning activity. Check out Ann Bowers article on "Teaching with Puzzles". Ann has been an educator for over 20 years and provides great insight on the effectiveness of puzzles in teaching children skills and concepts.
• Go to the local park, playground, garden path, or whatever you have for gathering of children in your area with no admission fees! Even if you go to the local school during “off time” usually weekends and after 6:00 pm on weekdays get some play time in and have a ride on the swings
• Take pictures ~ what better way to see the world through your child’s eyes than to hand the camera and let them snap a few shots. If your kids are like mine, they love it when the camera comes out.
• Play a board game, but be creative and create new rules!!  
• Go to the movies. At home! Make a big bowl of popcorn and snuggle up to watch a favorite movie together, remember to turn out the lights for super theater effect.
• You know that video game they like to play? Play it with them, trust me there will be laughing, a lot of it.
• Play hide and seek. Classic, and still fun.

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Introduction by Kevin
What does it mean to cherish our kids? Many parents, including dads like myself sometimes tend to get so wrapped up with work and careers, that we sometimes forget how much our kids need us. Perhaps one of the greatest days in my life was when my son was born. I was so happy and overwelmed my hands shook a little and my voice quivered a bit as I held him for the first time. For me, when I get busy, or frustrated, I think of this. What it does for me is to put everything back in prospective. It helps me find the time, or become less frustrated around my kids. Jobs and problems will come and go, but family is forever, and that is what is most important. Pam Leo in this article helps remind us how much our kids need us, and how important it is to let them know how much they are truely loved.

"Shower the people you love with love."
- James Taylor

Cherishing Our Children by Pam Leo

What does it mean to cherish our children? I don’t think I’ve even heard the word cherish used since the days when it was the title of a popular song. The admonition not to spoil children has been part of our parenting culture for so long that most parents are reluctant to shower love abundantly on their children for fear of spoiling them. Cherishing our children does not mean buying them everything, giving them anything they want, letting them do anything they want or not teaching them acceptable behavior. That would be spoiling them. The word, cherish, as defined in my dictionary means: to hold dear; feel or show love for; to take good care of; protect. Tender, loving care is the foundation of cherishing children.

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It can be a bit scary and overwelming when your realize your teen is start to grow up and become independent. While your first urge may be to lock them in the basement until they’re 18, that probably won’t work out well. Since we can’t keep our children by our side all the time, it’s important to take steps to keep them safe when we’re not around. So what should we do?

Communication is key and starting to talk to your teens early can help. Teach them what kind of behavior you expect from them and what you won’t tolerate. Also teach them how to say no when they don’t want to do something, and how to get out of various bad situations. You may even want to go as far as role playing with your child.

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As parents who love our children, one of our main objectives to raising healthy minded and goal oriented children is to give them a sense of purpose in life. Many people may disagree about whether or not purpose in life can be found through employment or leisure activities, but few will debate the necessity for living life with a feeling of purpose and meaning. Even kids need to feel that they are important and can help accomplish tasks.

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Face it, not all parents can afford to stay home with their kids. As a working parent, it very often becomes necessary to enroll your child in a daycare center. While you may be understandably a bit nervous, here are some tips for choosing a daycare provider which will help lessen some of the fears and concerns you may have.

• What are the cost involved? Are there any hidden costs?
• Ask where they are located and their hours of operation.
• Check out the daycare centers in your area, either on line or by calling.
• Find out if there are any vacant spots so you can enroll your child.
• Do they supply meals or snacks to the kids?.
• Ensure the daycare provider is licensed. Many times you can check with the state, and a lot of states have this information on the Internet.
• Ask how many children are currently enrolled in the center, and their ages.
• Did you know some states do inspections and post those inspections on the internet? If you have internet access check it out.
• Ask for references or other parents you can talk to.

After you have asked these quesitons, you are not done. It is very important to visit the daycare center and check on, and ask the following:

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How can you become the best parent to your child? It is a big lesson to learn but will be a benefit to you as long as you are a parent or grandparent. Listen to your children. An important part of parenting is to listen to the big things, listen to the small things, and listen to what may seem unimportant stuff. You will find listening to be a valuable tool while parenting your children. Does it take time? Sure it is time-consuming and sometimes you are busy with other activities but if you begin listening to your children when they are young they will continue to talk to you when they become teenagers.

Learning to be a good listener takes just a little time and patience but can bring massive rewards when your child is older. There are a few quick hints that may help you develop your listening skills. First, if your child has something to say, stop what you are doing. Yes, parents are busy and often feel they do not have time to stop and listen to their child. It’s important to realize the time to listen is when they want to talk. You will never have this time back. So, stop what you are doing. The dishes will wait, you can watch the same news again after they are in bed, and nothing is more important to your child than your attention.

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by Stacey Schifferdecker

Only a few more weeks until school starts, and the back-to-school sales have started. Follow these tips to keep more of your money in your wallet as your kids head back to school:

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A very important goal for us as parents is to try and help our  children gain self-confidence and self-worth. This not only helps our children develop mentally and emotionally, it also add the  extra bonus of helping with life skills and building self-esteem in our kids. As a parent there are certain things that we can do and skills we can develop in ourselves and in our child that will help our children grow in self-confidence.

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Many things may lead to step Parenting. Death or divorce, both unpleasant circumstances can often result in the need for step parenting. Re-marrying and subsequent step parenting require the same skills, dedication, focus and luck that is necessary in good parenting under ideal conditions. In step parenting there is a little more to consider. Let’s call these considerations steps – steps toward parenting or step parenting - sort of fits doesn’t it?

Where to start? The first Step.

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If this is the first time your child is off to a day care or preschool it can be a nervious time not only for the child, but the part as well.  This is a time when both you and your child will face the issues of separation and independence. These are very normal feelings, but it is also a very important stage in your childs development.  A child that is at the age of four or five years old will probably go off without much difficulty, but many children under the age of three have a very hard time with leaving their parents. Here are some ways to help make the transition a little easier.

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Are you a Father with a wonderful daughter who is going through those monumental changes from young girl to an adult women? How does that make you feel? Most dads feel a bit uneasy and ackward around their growing daughters. In fact, many fathers all over the world have a hard time adjusting to their  ‘little girl’ as she turns into a young lady. Many times it is our own ego that gets in the way of us being as close with our teenager daughters as we were when they were little.

In fact, girls often say that they feel their Fathers are distancing themselves from them as the change from girl to woman occurs. Our daughters are very keen to what is going on around them and they sense their Dad’s dismay and discomfort at the changes their bodies are going through. And these young ladies are missing the easy comfort of hanging out with Dad.

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There is probably no more exhausting, exciting, frustrating, or gratifying job than that of being a parent. One-minute things are going well and the next you are pulling your hair out wondering if you are going to survive. No matter what your socio-economic status or your education, parenting is an adventure second to none.

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Museums – maybe now that you’ve had kids, you think the only museums you can visit are the children’s kind with fire poles and mini grocery stores. But while those kinds of museums are certainly fun, you don’t need to cross art or zoological museums off your list until the kids go away to college. Instead, you just need to plan ahead and change your approach.

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