The Cheerful Giver

It was another typical Sunday morning for Miss Debbie as she came to teach her toddler class at church. She had an established routine, and the children knew what to expect each week and so did Miss Debbie. However, in dealing with this age group, a child will occasionally do something out of the ordinary, and a valuable lesson is instilled in the lives touched by that occurrence.

“Does anyone have money to share today,” Miss Debbie asked her little ones.


”I do,” a few answered.

“No,” several others responded with a pout, my daughter being one of them.

Wanting her students to learn the concept of tithing, Miss Debbie reached into her purse. She handed a few coins to the children who had forgotten. She then proceeded to collect the money and found the children cheerfully willing to surrender the pennies, dimes and nickels that she had just given to them. Miss Debbie was pleased to see how quickly they had learned the lesson on giving.

The following week, Miss Debbie once again asked her young students if they had money to offer. Like the week before, she found that some had money and others didn’t. Before Miss Debbie knew what was happening, my two-year-old daughter, Lana, had sprung to her feet. She grabbed Miss Debbie’s purse, pulled out her checkbook, and brought it to her.

Taken back by Lana’s actions, she said, “Lana, please put that back in my purse.” Lana instantly complied with the request and placed it back into the purse.

However, determined to share money, Lana continued to dig into Miss Debbie’s purse. Unaware of what she was doing, Miss Debbie suddenly heard jingling behind her. She turned and found Lana holding her change purse and handing out coins. Miss Debbie realized the lesson on being a cheerful giver was being taught to her today. She allowed Lana to give the remaining coins to her little friends. Later, Miss Debbie wrote a check and placed it into the offering plate with a smile.

How To Relieve Financial Stress On Baby Needs

Baby showers are wonderful occasions where families and mothers are aided in surviving the financial strain of a forthcoming baby. Babies, as mothers should know, are very expensive after weighing in clothes, furniture, food, toys, decor, and diapers.

But how does a mother get relief of such stress after the initial support from family and friends? Baby showers come and go- but the financial strain just keeps building. To help avoid stressful financial scenarios, there are indeed a few things mothers can do to better their situation.

The First Step: Take Inventory

After the baby shower an inventory should be taken. A list of what was obtained and what is still needed should be created, as it will serve as a great guide for baby shopping later on. You’ll want to focus on the long-term items such as furniture, clothing, or strollers- since other items such as diapers are depleted within a week or less, and usually have little financial weight.

As for what a family should have for the baby, there are a few things to look out for. Baby strollers, cribs, carriers, and strollers are the most basic of needs. More importantly, there should be safety devices installed on items such as wall outlets, to ensure the best environment for your little one.

Although it was previously mentioned that taking inventory of temporary goods such as diapers and food isn’t necessary, it is usually a good idea as well. Stockpiling diapers and food is a great way to save money if you find sales and discounts here and there. It’s also a nice feeling to have a stockpile of goods to fall back on when a stressful schedule forbids trips to the supermarket (or even your wallet).

Keeping Success High With Cutting Costs

If you’ve followed the above tips, chances are that you’ll be off to a great start. But don’t expect this leap ahead to last long; you’ll need extra supplies sooner than you’d think! The trick to keeping one’s life stress-free at this point is to go bargain hunting.

Bargain hunting was made easy with the invention and rise in popularity of the Internet. Now you don’t have to wait for local supermarkets to have sales on the baby items you need. Instead, simply go to online websites or trade with others at online auctions to barter and buy what you need. This technique has enabled many parents to keep costs minimal; making a stress-free environment for families that would otherwise need aid.

Another good tip is to buy generic goods. Instead of buying diapers with fancy labels, or baby food with expensive packaging and name branding, go for the cheaper products. In many cases, they are just as good or better- and cost a fraction of what the brand name products do. It’s perplexing to find families buy such brands, even though they could be saving hundreds of dollars annually and still be getting the same quality of service.

Final Thoughts on Baby Needs

Above all else, make sure a baby is well clothed, is kept safe, and is comfortably living the perfect life for a toddler. Just remember that babies aren’t as stressful and expensive as some make them out to be- simply learn how to prepare and be thrifty, and the difficulties associated with babies becomes nonexistent. And what a relaxing feeling that is!

Find Baby Bargains - Save Money on Baby Essentials such as Car Safety Seats.

Scrabble Lessons

I’ve always been a little competitive in the academic field. Since I am not athletic, I thrive on competition regarding my mind and my own will power to accomplish it. No, I am not a good team player. Nothing frustrates me more than believing I can win, and losing because of the mistake of others. As long as I lose due to my own mistakes or sheer knowledge of someone doing something better than me, I am okay.

So as an only child of a single father, I enjoyed many weekends playing board games with him. He never let me win and so when I did, I knew I had truly accomplished that victory. I will never forget the valuable lesson learned during a competitive game of Scrabble.

This particular game began with a bang for me. I selected the letter closest to “a”, and so had gained the advantage of placing the first word down. With my letters I formed the word “greedy” strategically placing the “y” on the double letter score. Because it was the first word of the game, my score doubled because it covered the pink star in the center of the board.

“Wow, thirty points, ” my father told me. “That is a great start.”

My father looked the board over carefully and played the word “draft” and received eighteen points for his word. No matter how well I did or did not play a word on each turn, I always remained at least five to ten points ahead of my father.

“I am ruling this game,” I thought to myself as we were finally nearing the end. With only a few more letters to play, this game would be over and the win would be mine.

“There it is,” I suddenly said to myself. With four letters remaining I placed an “r” in the spot that formed two words and gave me twenty more points.

“I believe you misspelled that word,” my father challenged. We pulled out the dictionary, and indeed my father was correct. I removed my letter and lost my turn. With one sweeping blow, my father used his last three letters and I subtracted four points from my score. With my spelling error and my father’s last word, I lost the game by two points. I should have known that first word was warning me about the traps of life.

Math Help for Students with Learning Disabilities

Many struggling math students have been diagnosed with a specific learning disability. Some of them share this diagnosis with their math tutors and math teachers in a matter-of-fact way and others believe that tried and true methods will better “reach” them in their disabled state.

Although there are various schools of thought on this issue, as well as whole schools devoted to working with students based on a physiologically or emotionally based diagnosis, it is often best to deal with students in a multisensory environment.

Multisensory learning enables students of diverse strengths and weaknesses to experience a powerful tool. Traditional classroom learning requires that students be quiet and not move while learning large bodies of patterns such as multiplication tables. Children learn geometric shapes and conceptual patterns and spatial relationships almost entirely without movement. Using manipulative tools is not uniform and it is often limited to non-instructional time.

Although much time and money has been spent researching learning disabilities in the area of language, little conclusive research is available in the area of general math skills. Math tests require a variety of conceptual and cognitive skills and no single test can pinpoint a deficit which can be alleviated through a specific intervention or technique.

Often, using diagnoses to approach working with a person who has difficulty in math is counterproductive. Mathematics is a rubric which covers many diverse skills and abilities, form language to organization to sequencing to classification and beyond. Some students hope that when they divulge their diagnosis, a math teacher or math tutor will know exactly how to help them. However, even with established research in other areas of diagnosed disabilities there is much which can only be learned in the practical here-and-now of working with the individual student.

The vast majority of students with learning problems are those who find it hard to remember patterns. This impedes their ability to learn the algorithms of multiplication and division. These students often find it hard to recall multiplication tables. Some of them are so motivated that they devise their own methods of remembering these factoids and patterns.

There is help for many students with difficulties in math - also called “dyscalculia,” a vague but clinical-sounding name for difficulties in the general area of mathematical skills. It’s important to keep in mind that diagnosis implies a scientific approach to problems. It often is not. Sometimes the solution lies in rolling up one’s sleeves and doing what intuitively feels right.

Math Made Easy provides Math help for Algebra help, Geometry help, math homework help using math online tutorial services and math tutorial cd so you can watch your math scores soar.

5 Chores for Toddlers

Submitted by  Meryl Rose  - http://www.chitchatformommies.com

When toddlers see Mom and Dad doing chores around the house, they are often eager to help.  They love to try to do the same things their parents are doing.  Although it may take longer to get the chores done when trying to teach a toddler how to do them, it can help them learn to enjoy housework and develop good habits that will be an asset later on.

The most important thing to remember when selecting chores for toddlers is to keep it simple.  Very young children do not have the cognitive or motor skills to take on complicated tasks.  But there are some things they can do that, after some practice, will be helpful to you.

1. Picking Up Toys

Getting your toddler to pick up after himself can be a great help.  But it’s usually too much to expect him to put everything in its exact place.  A better approach would be to provide a laundry basket or large box for him to simply throw all of his stuff into.  Then you can take it to his room and put it where it belongs.
2. Feeding the Pets

Kids love to help take care of their pets  - to them its like playing mommy/daddy to a little person.  Toddlers are capable of helping to feed pets, but occasional messes should be expected.  To minimize accidents, you could buy pet food in individual packets or cans for small cats and dogs.  Dry food is really the easiest for young kids to handle – if  your child is capable of scooping something in a cup, they should be able to put it on the pet’s dish just fine.  For watering purposes, toddlers can put the water into a small watering can and then pour it into the bowl.

3. Watering Plants

Small children usually can’t resist the opportunity to water plants.  This is another task that could get messy, so make sure your plants aren’t sitting on or near anything that could be easily damaged by water.  It’s also smart to make sure they don’t fill the watering can over half full.  This will help prevent spilling the water in transit.

4. Cleaning the Floors

It may seem like an adults-only task, but floor cleaning is something that kids often enjoy.  The trick is to let them use tools that they can easily manage.  Cordless floor sweepers are ideal for this purpose.  There are also small, working vacuum cleaners and brooms available in the toy departments of most stores.  While it might be too ambitious to expect a child to sweep all of the dirt into a neat pile, he can help get the dirt out of the corners while you go behind him and sweep it all together.  Again, Swiffers are wonderful for kids  - you can find wet and/or dry Swiffers for the floors.

5. Laundry

Every mom could use some help with the laundry, and young children are often happy to oblige.  Toddlers can help sort dirty clothes, and you can even turn it into a learning experience.  You could also enlist your toddler’s help in loading and unloading the washer and dryer.

When your child is old enough to walk and is somewhat verbal, he can start helping with the housework.  Getting your child to help with chores will help him develop a sense of responsibility.  And that is something that you will be thankful for when he is older and can do more substantial housework.

Meryl D. Rose is a mommy to an adorable 5 1/2 year old girl and has been married for almost 13 years to a wonderfully supportive husband. Meryl has over twenty years’ experience teaching and counselling children and parents both in and out of the classroom. Meryl was bitten by the proverbial computer bug and created www.chitchatformommies.com - a website created by moms for moms. Once you enter the website, you will find brand-new as well as time-tested, creative and simple solutions to help multi-tasking moms of today thrive in their most important roles - as mommies.

5 Chores for School-Age Kids

Submitted by  Meryl Rose  - http://www.chitchatformommies.com

Okay, let’s admit it – as moms we except (or at least hope) that when our kids reach school age, they will help out a bit around the house.  Ideally they will have already been doing some small chores for a while.  The truth is, if you start having them do some chores while they are young, it makes it quite a bit easier to get them to do the harder stuff as they get older (and more capable).

Moms – you might even be surprised at the chores kids in school can manage.  If you can find tasks that they happen to like as well, I guarantee it will make “job time” much more pleasant for everyone involved.   Here are some good chores for young school aged kids:

1.      Setting & Clearing the Table

Kids are often eager to help at mealtime.  Setting the table is a simple but important task that they can perform.  You can make it easier by using placemats that have outlines of where the plate and utensils go.  You might also want to consider getting plastic plates and cups to help avoid breakage – or at least not using your fanciest plates.  After the family eats, your child can help clear the table.

2. Folding & Putting Away the Laundry

The laundry is my least favorite household chore – I always seem to have piles of clean, but unfolded laundry still in the dryer or in baskets waiting to be folded.  Enlisting the help of the kids to get it folded and put away can be a huge help to a busy mom.  It’s usually unrealistic to expect a young school aged child to fold an entire load of laundry on her own, but she could fold her own clothes and put them up.  She may not fold them as well as you or put them exactly where they belong, but there’s no need to make a big issue out of it.  The important thing is that she is trying.

3. Dusting

This is a very simple task that kids usually enjoy.  Give your child a duster or a sock to wear on her hand and let her have a blast.  Swiffer makes a great product that is a glove that fits over your hand – my daughter LOVES to use this to dust!  If you’re worried about breakable items, have your child skip dusting those shelves until you are more comfortable with his/her dusting abilities. 

4. Help With Dishes

The dishes may go more slowly when you have a child helping, but things will get better once she has helped a few times and gotten the hang of it.  If you have a dishwasher, your school aged child can help with the loading and unloading.  If you wash by hand, she could rinse and dry the dishes.  Storing them in low cabinets will allow your child to put them up herself as well.

5. Pet Care

Kids usually prefer playing with their furry friends then helping out with their care, but having your child help with pet care is a great way to build her sense of responsibility.  You could start small, having your child give the pet food and water.  Once that is mastered, she could clean cages or litter boxes, and perhaps help with grooming if the pet gentle and even-tempered enough.

School aged children can help around the house in many ways.  Your child may be able to take on more complex tasks, or she may need some coaching on the simpler ones.  Either way, making housework a part of your child’s routine will make your life easier in the long run.

 Meryl D. Rose is a mommy to an adorable 5 1/2 year old girl and has been married for almost 13 years to a wonderfully supportive husband. Meryl has over twenty years’ experience teaching and counselling children and parents both in and out of the classroom. Meryl was bitten by the proverbial computer bug and created www.chitchatformommies.com - a website created by moms for moms. Once you enter the website, you will find brand-new as well as time-tested, creative and simple solutions to help multi-tasking moms of today thrive in their most important roles - as mommies.

Top 10 Things Never to Say to a Mother of Twins or Multiples

1.  You must have your hands full!
2.  Are they identical? (especially if they are clearly a boy and girl)
3.  Did you use fertility drugs?
4.  Do twins run in your family?
5.  Better you than me!
6.  How do you tell them apart?
7.  Are they all yours?
8.  Which one is the smart one?
9.  You’re lucky you got your family all in one shot.
10. I always wanted to have twins!

The Spring After Winter

The ice on the lake begins to thin and creaks and finally cracks. Spring follows winter and is all about new beginnings. It’s always been my favorite season, but it took on a whole new meaning when I adopted my little girl from Kazakhstan. I brought her home during one of the coldest winters in fifty years in her country. The land had been covered with a thick blanket of white. The temperatures were frigid enough to cause icicles to form off the breathe of the animals abandoned outside. If not properly covered, frostbite would grab a hold of exposed skin within five minutes.

As cold as Kazakhstan was, so was the heart of my little nine-month-old daughter. The first sign of this appeared just days before she was officially declared my daughter when she slammed her head into my chest. She was not feeling well and was tired, but did not wish to be cuddled and encouraged to sleep. Within the first six weeks home, I received two black eyes from thrown toys and scratches upon my face and neck.

I was determined to help my little girl bond and work through her pent up emotions. I had received many ideas from my adoption agency as well as books I had read prior to her adoption. I was glad I did, because I had not faced these issues with my older children who I gave birth to.

Even though she was nine months old, the orphanage still had her on a bottle. Because their bottles were glass, they did not allow the babies to hold their own bottles. So, for the first nine months home, I kept my daughter on a bottle and did not allow her to hold it for the first three months. I held her like a nursing infant and fed the bottle to her. Due to low iron count, I also kept her on formula for the first six months. It was difficult being criticized by other moms, but I felt she needed what was not received the first nine months of her life from me.

Something I also did to encourage touch and bonding was to give her a bath every night. Our bath routine always involved massaging her with lavender lotion. I always took extra time rubbing the lotion on her hands and feet. It was wonderful watching her relax. I believe this time also encouraged her sleep time. She slept twelve hours each night and took two naps each day the first three months home. I was told she was sleeping to block out the new life she did not understand. I believe this was true, but it became a restful sleep for her instead of a restless sleep like those first ten days.

For that first year, my daughter’s heart remained as hard as a lake in winter. However, the evidence of spring has been emerging during this second year into our family. Unless she is being told “no”, she is filled with laughter and joy. “Smile, mommy.” She will remind me so many times in a day. She greets all she sees with a smile and “I’m free.” A day does not go by when you will not hear a spontaneous, “I love you.” What fun it has been to watch this shy timid infant blossom into a happy, carefree toddler!

IQ, Intelligence and Brain Development- More Breastfeeding Benefits

by Carrie Lauth

Modern parents want to do everything they can to help their children’s brain development.

Never before have there been so many products and books sold that claim to help parents stimulate their baby’s brain, assist in brain development, and give baby an intelligence “edge”.

Recently, a variety of studies have come to light that tout the benefits of breastfeeding on brain development and intelligence.

How does breastfeeding benefit the brain?

It comes down to a couple of important things, some of which are tangible and measurable, and some that are not.

The Importance of Fats and Other Essential Nutrients in Breastmilk

Breastmilk contains the ideal ratio of fats, amino acids and other nutrients that baby needs for brain and nervous system development. These ingredients provide the ideal basis for the “hard-wiring” component of a person’s intelligence.

For instance, Taurine is an important amino acid found in high concentrations in mother’s milk. (In contrast, it is almost nonexistent in cow’s milk.) Taurine has an important role in the development of brain tissue, among other things. A baby’s body is unable to form Taurine on its own, so s/he is totally reliant on his food to supply it.

Another important ingredient of mom’s milk are fats. Breastmilk contains high amounts of important fats, such as DHA and ARA. These are very important components of brain structures, and research has shown that breastfed infants have higher concentration of these essential fats in their brain and blood than do formula fed babies.

Some artificial baby milk manufacturers are adding Taurine and DHA to their formulas, but this does not make these identical to mother’s milk. Researchers have concluded that there is an important interplay between all of the components of breastmilk that cause this effect, and that this effect can’t be duplicated.

Cholesterol is another ingredient found in high concentrations in breastmilk. It is needed to build tissue in the brain and nervous system. Babies need cholesterol in the first two years of life. (Incidentally, there is evidence that points to a connection between cholesterol in breastmilk and the ability to handle dietery cholesterol in adulthood.)

Studies comparing breastfed children and their formula fed peers in different ages and stages of life show time and again that breastfed infants do better on various tests of intellectual ability. Some have shown these differences persisting for many years.

Even after the differences in socioeconomic status were accounted for or eliminated in these studies, breastfed children still clearly come out ahead.

In fact, one study showed that premature infants who were breastfed had significantly higher IQs than formula fed babies, and when babies were fed a combination of breastmilk and formula, their cognitive scores were directly related to the amount of mother’s milk they received.

Breastfeeding and Hormones- Both Baby’s and Mom’s

Mother’s milk has a high level of endorphins in the first few days after birth. This helps the baby ease the transition to life outside the womb.

When babies are stressed out, their tiny bodies are in “fight or flight” mode, and essential energy is diverted away from growth and development, which would have an obvious effect on the brain.

Additionally, a nursing Mom is biologically a different animal than a non-breastfeeding one.

For instance, when a woman breastfeeds, her body is flooded with pleasure hormones, one of which is Oxytocin, the so called “love hormone”, that is also present during orgasm. This hormone helps her to feel relaxed and bonded with her baby. Oxytocin triggers nurturing activity, which no doubt plays a huge role in baby’s cognitive and emotional development.

Since lactation suppresses the nervous system response to stressful stimuli, a happy nursing Mommy means a happy baby!

What are some of the intangible benefits that breastfeeding has on brain development and IQ?

Breastfeeding Promotes Physical Closeness and Emotional Health

In recent years a lot of emphasis has been put on “Emotional Intelligence”. How does breastfeeding assist with helping a child develop this?

The closeness of breastfeeding is an important bridge between baby’s intrauterine life and his new experience of being out in the world.

Studies have shown that babies who receive lots of physical contact with their primary caregiver, and lots of stimulating eye contact and “conversation” are getting important brain stimulation that gadgets and toys cannot produce.

That is not to say that a formula feeding Mother doesn’t do this, but a breastfeeding baby can’t help but have lots of skin to skin contact and interaction with his Mother!

Breastfeeding also gives Mom a chance to reconnect with her busy crawling baby or walking toddler, who seems to spend all his time running from Mom. Having several quiet moments during the day to kiss those dimpled hands, sniff that sweet smelling head, and tickle those fat feet (that will be bigger than your own soon enough) is an important way for Mom and Baby to achieve that closeness.

The late Dr. Lee Salk, pediatric psychologist, said that “The baby whose cries are answered now will later be the child confident enough to show his independence and curiosity. But the baby left to cry may develop a sense of isolation and distrust, and may turn inward…later in life, this child may continue to cope with stress by trying to shut out reality.”

The closeness of breastfeeding makes for a happier baby, one who is settled inside and who trusts that another human will be there to meet his needs, instead of an outside gadget. Don’t we want our children learning this important lesson from infancy?

Of course, breastfeeding does not automatically ensure that a child will be smart, but it can be a way to virtually guarantee that a child lives up to their full genetic potential for emotional intelligence, smarts and IQ!

For more breastfeeding tips, information and support, visit http://www.SexyNursingBra.com

Foods To Avoid While Breastfeeding

by Carrie Lauth

Women in our culture are sometimes advised to avoid spicy or “gassy” foods when nursing. Or they are told that chocolate, citrus, carbonated beverages or dairy causes problems in all nursing babies.

As a breastfeeding educator, I often see women warning other Moms that they need to avoid certain foods while breastfeeding. There are also websites that give unproven breastfeeding advice that claim that women must eat a certain kind of diet in order to make quality milk for her baby. So what is the truth?

Does a nursing Mom need to restrict her diet?
Are there foods that a Mom should avoid while breastfeeding?

Generally speaking, a nursing Mom does NOT need to restrict her diet.

Obviously, drinking heavily or excessive caffeine consumption (meaning several cups of coffee a day) is a no-no, but other than that, there is no reason for a breastfeeding Mother to assume that she needs to avoid any foods.

So called “gassy” foods do not affect the nursing infant because the undigested carbs that cause gas in Mom do not pass into breastmilk. It is literally impossible for “gassy” foods to cause gas in babies except in the rare case of an infant being allergic to one of these foods.

Interestingly, according to the La Leche League (considered the world’s foremost authority on breastfeeding) website, “In Italy, mothers are often told not to eat garlic, cauliflower, lentils, and red peppers. In India most mothers eat all these things and breastfeed very happily. Actually, in parts of India they believe that garlic helps a mother to breastfeed successfully!”

There are even a couple of studies that showed that babies nursed longer and with more vigor when their Moms ate garlic.

The advice given to a nursing Mom varies according to local culture and the popular “old wive’s tales”. Women all over the world eating a wide variety of foods produce good quality milk and have thriving babies. There is not a shred of evidence that supports the idea that eating a special diet helps make breastmilk “richer”.

Consequently, there is no one food that all breastfeeding Moms should avoid. Breastfeeding women should eat a variety of healthy foods, just as they did while they were pregnant.

The only exception would be if your baby has food allergies/sensitivies, which is rare but not unheard of. If your family has a strong history of allergy to a specific food (such as peanuts), you might consider avoiding that food while nursing and during pregnancy.

Enjoy nursing your baby!

For more breastfeeding tips and support, visit http://www.SexyNursingBra.com

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