Archive for the ‘Parenting’ Category

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Potty Training at a Restaurant Table!

September 6, 2012

I try not to judge other parents, but I just can’t let this one go without making a comment.

Potting training can be a very difficult challenge, especially when you have twins, but there is nothing more disgusting than to practice it at the table of a restaurant:

A MOTHER is facing a backlash of criticism worldwide after she was caught potty training her twin daughters in a busy restaurant.

The mother from Utah was first seen by nearby diner Kimberly Decker, who was having lunch with a friend.

She was spotted at the famous Thanksgiving Point Deli in Lehi, in Las Vegas. Several other diners also complained about the mother’s actions.

Ms Decker was so shocked by the mother’s actions that she decided to take a photo of one of the young girls sitting in her portable potty seat before she put it on Facebook.

On her blog, she then wrote: “While we sat down to have lunch, I noticed this young Mother was potty training her two twin daughters at the table.

“It didn’t quite register at first what was happening, but when I took a second glance I realized this is NOT OK!

“I decided to snap a picture of the whole incident and then later that afternoon as a ‘joke’ I decided to post it on Facebook. I couldn’t believe the response I got.”

Click on the link to read A Mother’s Punishment For Her Pot Smoking Son (Video)

Click on the link to read Brilliant Rap Song By Parents About Parenting

Click on the link to read 20 Tips to Ensuring Your Kids Find You Embarrassing

Click on the link to read This is What You Get for Doing Your Homework

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Posted in Parenting, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

A Mother’s Punishment For Her Pot Smoking Son (Video)

August 28, 2012

Good on April Mathison for doing her best to get her son on the right track:

“Smoked Pot, got caught. Don’t I look cool? Not.”

That’s what was written on the sandwich board-style sign that Brandon Mathison, 13, wore as he walked back and forth along an intersection in South Carolina, Wave3.com reports.

“Time outs and taking things away just doesn’t work any more. Sometimes a little public humility is what they need nowadays to get a point across,” the boy’s mother, April Mathison, told the news outlet.

Mathison said that if the display prevents even one child from thinking about smoking marijuana, then she will feel she has done her job as a parent. But she’s not the only parent to use the tactic on her child.

Click on the link to read Inspirational Dad Competes In Triathlon With Daughter Who Has Cerebral Palsy

Click on the link to read Brilliant Rap Song By Parents About Parenting

Click on the link to read 20 Tips to Ensuring Your Kids Find You Embarrassing

Click on the link to read This is What You Get for Doing Your Homework

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Posted in Parenting | 5 Comments »

100 Skills Parents Should Teach Their Children

August 27, 2012

 

Courtesy of blog.sfgate.com:

  1. Love one another
  2. Tie shoes
  3. Swim
  4. Brush and floss daily
  5. Ride a bike
  6. Do a somersault
  7. Fly a kite
  8. Make a bed
  9. Read before going to bed
  10. Put your napkin in your lap at the dinner table
  11. Say please and thank you
  12. Cook a meal
  13. Watch TV (and play video games) in moderation
  14. Apply sunscreen
  15. Sew on a button
  16. Tell time using a non-digital clock
  17. Treat others with kindness and respect
  18. Blow a runny nose into a tissue
  19. Eat one bag (not three bags) of potato chips
  20. Throw a ball
  21. Skip a rock
  22. Jump rope
  23. Wipe from front to back
  24. Hammer in a nail
  25. Be a good sport
  26. Write a thank-you letter
  27. Iron a pair of pants
  28. Make healthy food choices
  29. Fix a leaky faucet
  30. Catch a fish
  31. Develop self control
  32. Resolve a dilemma
  33. Read a map
  34. Be respectful to elders
  35. Show compassion
  36. Apologize when you are wrong
  37. Use a public restroom
  38. Do the laundry
  39. Grow something like flowers
  40. Balance a checkbook
  41. Have confidence
  42. Make a pie crust from scratch
  43. Speak in front of a group
  44. Take public transportation
  45. Fight courageously, lose graciously
  46. Save a life using CPR or the Heimlich maneuver
  47. Clean up a mess
  48. Study for a test
  49. Turn off all the lights before leaving the house
  50. Properly pop a zit
  51. Dress for the occasion
  52. Sing at least one song well
  53. Dance
  54. Have safe sex
  55. Know when to say no
  56. Write a sonnet, or at least a limerick
  57. Make an honest dollar
  58. Save money, and spend wisely
  59. Do your research
  60. Look someone in the eye during a conversation
  61. Find a book in a library
  62. Wrap a present
  63. Remove a chocolate stain
  64. Tie a tie (bonus points for a bow tie)
  65. Apply mascara
  66. Read a newspaper
  67. Donate time to those less fortunate
  68. Be independent
  69. Be confident
  70. Sneeze and cough into your arm
  71. Lead
  72. Speak a second language, especially Spanish
  73. Ask questions
  74. Hold a baby
  75. Accept others for their differences
  76. Manage stress
  77. Distinguish needs from wants
  78. Negotiate
  79. Support yourself
  80. Comfort others
  81. Write an essay
  82. Take a taxi home (or call mom) when you’re not fit to drive
  83. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide without using a calculator
  84. Get along with people you may not like that much
  85. Deal with tragedy
  86. Build a campfire (and put it out)
  87. Open a bottle of champagne
  88. Celebrate and congratulate
  89. Use chopsticks
  90. Deal with rejection and disappointment
  91. Parallel park
  92. Drive a stick shift
  93. Change a flat tire
  94. Parallel park with ease
  95. Use a fire extinguisher
  96. Bake a cake
  97. Pitch a tent
  98. Pick a piece of fruit that’s ripe
  99. Look on the bright side
  100. Listen

Click on the link to read Inspirational Dad Competes In Triathlon With Daughter Who Has Cerebral Palsy

Click on the link to read Brilliant Rap Song By Parents About Parenting

Click on the link to read 20 Tips to Ensuring Your Kids Find You Embarrassing

Click on the link to read This is What You Get for Doing Your Homework

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Posted in Parenting | 2 Comments »

Brilliant Rap Song By Parents About Parenting

August 17, 2012

It’s rap Friday and this one has particular resonance. It’s about the sacrifices parents make and the demands placed on them.

Enjoy!

Click on the link to read Inspirational Dad Competes In Triathlon With Daughter Who Has Cerebral Palsy

Click on the link to read Lessons Learned From Maddy

Click on the link to read 20 Tips to Ensuring Your Kids Find You Embarrassing

Click on the link to read This is What You Get for Doing Your Homework

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Posted in Parenting, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Inspirational Dad Competes In Triathlon With Daughter Who Has Cerebral Palsy

August 14, 2012

What a fantastic story!

A Michigan man who participated in a local triathlon over the weekend has been called the “father of the century” by some because of the devotion he has shown for his child.

Rick van Beek of Byron Center, Mich., took part in the Sanford and Sun sprint triathlon this Saturday with his 13-year-old daughter, Madison, the Midland Daily News reports.

The teenager couldn’t take part in the event alone, so her heroic dad pulled and pushed her along with him, taking every stride and stroke together toward the finish line.

Maddy, as she is affectionately known, has cerebral palsy. The teen can neither walk nor talk, and her dad says he isn’t even sure that she can see.

But what van Beek does know is that Maddy loves the outdoors.

“She functions like a 3-month-old, and one of the very few things that we know she enjoys is being outside, being in the water, feeling the breeze in her hair and in her face,” van Beek, 39, told Midland Daily News.

So, in 2008, van Beek — then terribly out of shape and a heavy smoker — decided he would start training for outdoor races.

 In his blog, van Beek admits that getting into shape was initially extremely difficult.

However, he was determined to live a healthier life for Maddy and to share the fruits of that labor with her.

“I run for and with my daughter,” he wrote in 2010.

Click on the link to read Lessons Learned From Maddy

Click on the link to read 20 Tips to Ensuring Your Kids Find You Embarrassing

Click on the link to read It’s Not Spying on Your Children, It’s Called Parenting

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Posted in Parenting | Leave a Comment »

20 Tips to Ensuring Your Kids Find You Embarrassing

August 9, 2012

Courtesy of blogger Jill Smokler comes 20 Creative Ways To Embarrass Your Kids:

20. Blast Broadway show tunes and belt out every last word, with the windows wide open.

19. Send elaborate love letters in lunch boxes.

18. Chaperone a field trip wearing a “Team Lily” t-shirt.

17. Cheer loudly and animatedly at sporting events à la Aly Raisman’s parents.

16. Carry adorable, naked baby pictures everywhere and whip them out to complete strangers.

15. Talk in goofy, made-up foreign accents to their friends.

14. Answer the door wearing a bright green face mask and plastic shower cap.

13. Dance like a crazy person when ’80s music comes on in the grocery store.

12. Dance at all, ever.

11. Use silly pet names in public. Loudly.

10. Force them to wear matching outfits for holiday photos.

9. Label their clothing with smiley face hearts around their names.

8. Shower them in constant kisses, wherever we may be.

7. Pick their noses.

6. Welcome the bus with a fully choreographed cheer.

5. Yell “I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!” at the top of my lungs as the bus drives off.

4. Use saliva to wipe off their dirty faces.

3. Wear a bathrobe and slippers to school pick up.

2. Maintain my blog.

1. Breathe. (I’m thinking that’s probably enough.)

Click on the link to read Insensitive ‘Parent Bashers’ Take Aim at Grieving Colorado Parents

Click on the link to read Mother Films Her Kids Fighting and Posts it on Facebook

Click on the link to read It’s Not Spying on Your Children, It’s Called Parenting

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Posted in Parenting | Leave a Comment »

Father Builds Roller Coaster for his Children in his Backyard

August 9, 2012

Now that’s bound to inspire a few play dates!

Click on the link to read Insensitive ‘Parent Bashers’ Take Aim at Grieving Colorado Parents

Click on the link to read Mother Films Her Kids Fighting and Posts it on Facebook

Click on the link to read It’s Not Spying on Your Children, It’s Called Parenting

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Posted in Parenting | Leave a Comment »

The New Form of Spanking

August 7, 2012

I am personally not fond of spanking. I don’t think it works and I personally choose to discipline my daughter by other means. I don’t, however, believe in banning parents from exercising their right to spank.

I was reading a standard article about spanking and couldn’t help but gasp at a new form of spanking:

In an experiment that involved surreptitiously watching parents discipline their kids in public places such as restaurants, researchers found that in 23 percent of cases, mom or dad resorted to “negative touch” to get their child to comply. Negative touch can include anything from restraining and spanking to pinching and hitting.

Restraining? How can you blame a parent for restraining their own child? Just the expression “negative touch” is something I consider repulsive.

It is just completely mind-boggling that it is legal for teachers to inflict corporal punishments in many civilised countries, yet to simply restrain your own child during a tantrum draws the disapproval of so-called child experts.

Click on the link to read Teachers Who Beat Kids Should Be Put Away!

Click on the link to read Corporal Punishment Reveals the Worst School Has to Offer

Click on the link to read Calls To Allow Teachers To Use “Reasonable Force” on Students

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Posted in Corporal Punishment, Parenting | Leave a Comment »

The Pressure to be a Perfect Parent

August 6, 2012

There has never been greater pressure on parents to be perfect than there is today. Mothers, in particular, struggle with judgmental comments and unhelpful stigmas. It should not come as a surprise that parents have resorted to lying in order to seem more in control than they are:

A study found new mothers are under increasing pressure due to children waking up in the night, meaning they are not getting enough sleep.

However, parents are lying about their children’s disrupted sleep patterns, fearing it will make them look like bad parents.

A fifth of those who admit lying about it pretend their child is sleeping through the night, the survey by Netmums found.

Parents also frequently cover up how badly they were coping with sleep deprivation – 62 per cent of the third who lied, and one in 50 mums and dads are so desperate for sleep they have hired a specialist to help them – costing £1,000 a week.

The Netmums report showed a quarter of all UK kids wake up before 6.30am everyday – meaning their parents never get enough sleep.

Click on the link to read Insensitive ‘Parent Bashers’ Take Aim at Grieving Colorado Parents

Click on the link to read Mother Films Her Kids Fighting and Posts it on Facebook

Click on the link to read It’s Not Spying on Your Children, It’s Called Parenting

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Posted in Parenting | Leave a Comment »

Sometimes the Parents are More Exhausted than their Athlete Children

August 2, 2012

It must be hard to be an athlete’s parent. On one hand, you are supportive no matter what the result is, on the other, you naturally want your child to give a good account of themself.

I prefer enjoying my child’s development away from the cameras.

Click on the link to read Insensitive ‘Parent Bashers’ Take Aim at Grieving Colorado Parents

Click on the link to read Mother Films Her Kids Fighting and Posts it on Facebook

Click on the link to read It’s Not Spying on Your Children, It’s Called Parenting

 

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Posted in Parenting | Leave a Comment »

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