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What's your Christmas morning game plan?
Christmas morning may look like a breezy time on the Hallmark cards, but it can be meltdown-worthy mess if you aren't careful. Toys packed in vacuum sealed plastic "clamshells" that require a jackhammer to open. No batteries. No breakfast ready. The coffee isn't ready and you REALLY need it, the camera's batteries aren't charged.
Face it, Mommas, you need a survival kit. Here's what's in mine: ... Read more
Try puppy hugging for a birthday party
We know parents are always looking for ways to shine as the most fun party planner ever. (C'mon, admit it). So imagine our delight in finding out that the Southeastern Guide Dogs Discovery Center in Sarasota has rolled out a new feature: Puppy Hugging Birthday Parties.
They'll supply the cake, drinks and decor and after devouring the cake and ripping into the gifts, kids get to go to the puppy kennels for their very own private puppy-hugging session. The center encourages the dogs to get socialized -- and who doesn't love to cuddle a puppy? -- so everybody wins.
The parties are for a minimum of 10 children, $20 per child for a two-hour party. ... Read more
Elmo to help kids break pacifier habit
There's some tot-sized junkies out there and it takes more than the tough talk of Intervention to get them to give up the stuff. We're talking pacifiers. Binkies. Baby's bah-bah. The fuss plug. Like all habit-forming behaviors it starts off as an easy way to feel better. But breaking that habit can bring on a harrowing case of withdrawal.
Beginning today, Sesame Street is kicking off its first-ever "Put Down the Pacifier" initiative to help kids through the difficult milestone of giving up their pacifier. The week-long promotion, which culminates on Nov. 4 with "Put Down the Pacifier Day." Parents will get daily tips and video clips from Elmo that will ease their child's transition into a "big kid." ... Read more
Cheap birthday party ideas
We need a peace treaty in the arms race that has become kids' birthday parties. Pop the balloon artist. Send home the clowns. But even a basic party gets pricey. By the time you've bought invitations, goody bags and decorations, not to mention a venue if you don't want your house overrun, you've spent more than you ever would have on the kid's birthday present.
So we were delighted to get this list of "Bargain Basics for a Kids' Birthday Blowout" from consumer expert Andrea Woroch, who operates the web site The Frugals. "Thanks to the trickle-down theory, private parties for the little people must now have everything from a guest performer to a theme with lots of bells and whistles," she writes. "Before you rent that bouncy princess castle or buy all-thematic accessories, consider the following nine bargain-basic tips: ... Read more
How to score cheap movies in the theater this summer
Last week we gave you a pretty good roundup of all the free and cheap movies outdoors, alongside swimming pools and at city parks. But you can also find a price break on kids movies in the theaters during summer, too.
Every summer national movie theater chains roll our their free or cheap movies you see in the theater. There is a catch of course, there always is. They are likely to be movies that are already out on DVD, and the popcorn and sodas still equal the cost of your mortgage, and sometimes you have to navigate crowds. But if you've got bored kids on a hot day, this can be a good midweek summer option.
Here's what you need to know before you go: ... Read more
I'm bribing my kids not to get a tattoo
I read somewhere once that if you don't get a tattoo before age 23, chances greatly increase that you will never get one, or that the ones you get are very easy to cover up as needed for work or school. So I've decided to offer my kids a bribe. If they are tattoo-free at their 23rd birthday, we're giving them $1,000.
My older son said, "Great, that will help me buy a really awesome tattoo." Smart aleck.
But I'm willing to take the bet that if he will delay gratification until then, chances are he will have his degree or know what kind of job or career he wants to pursue. He might even consider marriage by that point, and he will be less likly to have a Mike Tyson face tattoo. ... Read more
Tween birthday party games that won't get you in trouble
As we sat down to plan an upcoming tween’s birthday party and the extravagant ideas started swirling, I had to remind myself that some of the best kids’ birthday parties that I’ve hosted or attended were among the most simple celebrated at home.
Our kids don’t get birthday parties every year. We celebrate in different ways, but most years don’t include a traditional party. This year was a little different since we moved into a new state into a new school and we thought this might be a great opportunity to start to get to know my son’s new classmates.
While a golden opportunity, it is also presents a slight challenge. This is an awkward age anyway, and finding age-appropriate activities that don’t cost a small fortune for fifteen fifth grade boys took a little creativity and going old school when it came to a party at home. ... Read more
Is parenting like a drug?
Slate offers an interesting theory on parenting. We are junkies.
But when parents think about parenting, they don't remember the background stress. They remember the cuddle and the kiss. Parenting is a series of intensely high highs, followed by long periods of frustration and stress, during which you go to great lengths to find your way back to that sofa and that kiss.
We have a name for people who pursue rare moments of bliss at the expense of their wallets and their social and professional relationships: addicts.
Children regularly give parents the kind of highs that only narcotics can rival. The unpredictability of those moments of bliss is an important factor in their addictiveness. ... Read more
How was school? Fine. What'd you do? Nothing
I get nothing out of my kids at the end of the school day, and it makes me so sad. I see so many kids who chatter away about their day and it drives their mothers nuts, I'm sure, but I'm jealous. I've tried the tricks of asking questions like "Did anything funny happen?" or "Did anyone get in trouble?" or any kind of unusual question to get them talking. They see me coming a mile away and clam up even more.
Is it a boy thing?
This article in Parenting magazine had some tips, from a tactful game of 20 questions to indirect questions like "If a genie gave you three wishes right now, what would they be? And if the genie could erase three things that really worry you, what would those be?"
I'm not sure that would work. They know I'm a newspaper reporter and if anyone distrusts the mainstream media more than Sarah Palin, it's my kids. They know I have an agenda when it comes to them. ... Read more
What age should a girl wear makeup?
I have several friends wrestling with the issue of makeup. And it always seems like their daughters are the opposite of the mothers. If mom is a girly-girl who can't wait to hit the makeup counter, the daughter is a tomboy. If mom still doesn't wear makeup to this day, her fifth grader wants to vogue it up.
Then there's the issue of when to start. One mom I know is adamant that her 11 year old won't have a drop of makeup until she's 13. Others say 16, and some say this is just not a battle worth fighting. I think I may have found a compromise position. ... Read more
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THE AUTHORS
E-mail Sharon Kennedy Wynne:
wynne@tampabay.com
E-mail Kate Brassfield:
katedaphne17@gmail.com