Posts Tagged ‘Saving Money’
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011
by Kyle D. Pruett, M.D
Love and time…need we say more? How about wise historian, mentor, confidant, elder, counselor, spiritual guide, financier, playmate or parental antidote? These are all roles that grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren. And grandparents are a growing force! The number and percentage of the population that grandparents account for has grown dramatically in the last 15 years – from 58 million to 78 million.
Here are a few ways that you can help foster a healthy relationship between your parents and your children:
- When planning a visit, talk about how you can help and what you should bring to help things go smoothly. Discuss recent routines and help your parents childproof their house – more to keep your child safe than to protect the crystal. This communication
provokes less defensiveness in grandparents, and helps them be a part of the solution from the start.
- Relax some rules, but don’t compromise your core values. For instance, sweets seem to be a generational prerogative, but television monitoring should continue according to your child’s habits and your beliefs.
- Children and grandparents are so close because they share something in common – you! They can share stories, secrets, etc. that allow children the experience of close relationships with a loving family member who is not wholly responsible for their future happiness, homework or well being.
- Spoiling is not a helpful approach to grandparenting and most of them know it. Positive expectant attention is best. Interestingly, today’s grandparents are so busy, I think this is less of a problem these days.
- Enjoy the relationship your children are developing with your parents.
When misunderstandings or problems occur (and they are bound to), it’s better to figure out a way to talk about them than to avoid each other. That is too steep a price for your children. We all want this relationship to work because the benefits are forever.
Kyle D. Pruett, M.D. is an advisor for The Goddard School®. Dr. Pruett is an authority on child development who has been practicing child and family psychiatry for over twenty-five years. He is a clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale University’s Child Study Center.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, Back To School, Biting, boredom, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Centers in Ballantyne, Controlling Worrying in children, Fun in the Sun, Goddard School, Literacy, Pacifier, Phonics, Reading, Saving Money, The Goddard School-Ballantyne, Transitions, water Play
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Monday, December 20th, 2010
Though we’ve heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day—especially for children—it is often a casualty of morning mayhem. Start your child’s day off with a nutritious and energy-boosting breakfast. Children (grown-ups too!) who consistently eat balanced breakfasts have more energy, better diets, perform better and are less likely to be anxious or irritable. We’re busy with our daily routines and sometimes it seems difficult to find healthy foods that children enjoy. Serving up a balanced breakfast is actually easier than it seems!
Trying these nutritious breakfast tips and easy ideas can help make mornings cheerier, keep tummies fuller and help provide lots of energy.
- Cutting foods into fun shapes with seasonal, animal or other cookie cutters is a quick way to turn a boring breakfast into a tummy pleaser.
- Turn an ordinary bowl of whole grain cereal with milk into something more exciting by topping with sliced star fruit, pomegranate seeds or other unexpected bright fruit.
- Scramble egg whites with low-fat cheese and diced, colorful veggies. Add tomatoes for eyes, a baby carrot for a nose, a slice of turkey bacon for the mouth—even broccoli for hair!
- Whip up a mixed fruit smoothie using crushed ice, yogurt, fresh or canned fruit and add brightly colored frozen juice concentrate. Garnish with an orange wedge. This can be made the night before to save time in the morning.
- Toast a whole grain toaster waffle, top with low-fat berry cream cheese. Create a flower or other fun design on top using sliced strawberries and peaches.
- Spread peanut butter in a whole wheat tortilla. Add raisins and banana slices, roll up tightly and slice to create yummy pinwheels.
- Serve up a ‘breakfast sundae’ by layering low-fat yogurt with fresh fruit and crunchy granola cereal in a fun, see-through container. Top with a cherry or grape and use colored cereal bits for “sprinkles.”
Create a ‘breakfast pizza’ using a whole wheat English muffin. Spread the English muffin with low-fat flavored cream cheese and top with diced fruits or veggies.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, Add new tag, Back To School, Biting, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Controlling Worrying in children, Learning through Play, New School, Preventing Biting, Saving Money, Sleeping, Sun Protection, The Goddard School, Thumbsucking, Transitions, Traveling Children, Worrying in Children
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Friday, November 5th, 2010
Introduce your children to healthy eating by involving them in the lunch preparation. Children have a tendency to eat and try new foods that they helped to prepare. And children who help in the kitchen build their confidence which makes them feel important and proud.
Avoid brown bag boredom and try the following healthy, easy and fun options. Bonus – your children will want to eat these choices!
Turn lunch into an adventure:
Cut sandwiches into playful shapes with cookie cutters. Children are more excited about eating a star- or dinosaur-shaped sandwich because it makes the experience fun! Choose cheese or deli meats to replace breads and cut them into fun shapes, too.
Make lunch fun by including a dip:
Yogurt is a great dip for fruit.
Provide hummus for veggies.
Use a variety of ‘sandwich’ options:
Bagels, pita bread, wheat wraps or crackers.
Consider packing applesauce or yogurt as a treat in lieu of a ‘sweet’ dessert.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, Biting, boredom, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Development, Controlling Worrying in children, Goddard School, Learning through Play, Saving Money, The Goddard School, The Goddard School-Ballantyne
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Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
by Dr Kyle Pruett
Growing up is heady stuff for kids. So sleep problems are not uncommon. If your child routinely has trouble getting to sleep or wakes up at night and needs comforting, his developmental achievements give you some important new tools to work with at this age.
Dr. Minde reminds parents of the importance of routine in the daily life of a child. At an age when children are learning so much so fast, predictability and regularity in the timing and location of meals, bathing, and bedtimes is soothing and comforting. In today’s environment of working parents, such routines may be harder to provide, but they are no less important to the child.
He encourages parents to use quiet bedtime rituals to ease the transition. Bedtime stories are a proven staple, as are songs and prayers. But you can personalize the routine and periodically update it to match you child’s special interests, such as helping him put his favorite stuffed animal or doll to bed.
When the child cries, he recommends that the parents check on the child every five to ten minutes (whatever time frame is tolerable for the parent), perhaps patting and reassuring the child, but making it clear that the child is expected to stay in bed. If necessary, he recommends that the parent withdraw from the room in stages, first sitting on the bed, then in a nearby chair.
If problems persist, Dr. Minde suggests that you enlist your child’s help. You can put your child’s growing language and imaginative powers, as well as his growing independence, to work on the case. Explain that you need your sleep, and ask your child what would help him to stay clam when he wakes and to get back to sleep on his own. Perhaps holding and talking to his favorite teddy bear or snuggling with his favorite blanket. Make sure these items are within easy reach at bedtime.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, Back To School, Ballantyne, Biting, boredom, car, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Fun in the Sun, Goddard School, Phonics, Role of Fathers, Saving Money, South Charlotte, The Goddard School
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Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
The Goddard School® located in Charlotte, North Carolina recommends trying new activities with your child!
Materials:
Contact paper (clear)
Colored tissue paper
Permanent marker
Double-sided tape
Scissors
Ruler
*Children should have adult supervision throughout this activity.
How To:
- Cut two pieces of contact paper into 5” X 5” squares.
- Place double-sided tape on the dull side of one square and secure the square to a table or flat surface.
- Peel off the contact paper backing so the sticky side faces up.
- Cut or tear small pieces of different colored tissue paper and place them on the sticky side of the contact paper square until completely covered.
- Place the second square on top of the first square (sticky side down) so the tissue paper is sealed between the two contact paper squares.
- Trace a leaf shape onto the contact paper squares.
- Cut out the shape to make a colorful fall leaf.
- Use tape to adhere the leaf to a window where the sun will shine through it!
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, Add new tag, Back To School, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Centers in Ballantyne, Goddard School, Literacy, Pacifier, Saving Money, The Goddard School, Thumbsucking, Traveling Children
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Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
by Dr. Kyle Pruett
Parental and marital burnout is a common fellow traveler at the end of the third parental year. It should not be ignored, any more than a lump or a polyp. And it is just as important that you fix it while it is still benign.
It seems to show up now because we finally let ourselves relax a bit, having gotten our kids talking, potty-trained (or at least started), loving and human enough to believe they will at least have a life. But that’s when we often begin wondering about our own life, sometimes for the first time in years.
Research on family development shows that marital satisfaction can get perilously low early in the lives of kids because they seem to be such huge energy sinks. Thoughts of “Are-we-having-fun-yet?” guiltily badger mothers and fathers, especially if they keep these thoughts to themselves. If you are not enjoying parenting, it may mean that you are working too hard at it. You may be allowing yourself no savor time because you are too busy whipping the process of development into a frenzy. My father’s favorite relevant quote: “Trying to teach a pig to sing is just a waste of time. It frustrates the farmer and really irritates the pig.” Return to being a parent, not a driver, and let your child return to growing instead of balking.
As for the marriage or partnership that spawned this child, it, too, is usually nurtured by a heart-mind connection that requires periodic preventive and reparative maintenance. The three-year or 36,000-mile (stairs, chasing, cruise & snooze, shopping) check-up is critical for long-term endurance, because if that machine isn’t purring along, the wheels are going to eventually come off, given the road conditions ahead.
Take time to be together and uncover who you are as adults with minds, opinions, ideas, hobbies, yearnings and dreams. Date, overnight away, lunch, whatever. Pay someone else to feed or entertain you for a change, to reverse the energy flow. Replenishing affection between adults takes conscious effort. Childcare involves so much touching, holding, carrying, bathing and comforting that adult affection can simply get crowded out of a relationship. But the replenishment of that affectional and intellectual tie between the adults will be especially important in the years to come when the older school-age child wouldn’t get caught dead kissing a parent on the cheek, much less discuss the idea!
Bottom line: you’ll be fine. Meanwhile, celebrate how far you’ve come together, and whom you have uniquely become together. These have been golden years to savor and adore. None of us would amount to anything without each other, and these early parenting years show better than any others.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, boredom, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Charlotte, Goddard School, New Place, Role of Fathers, Saving Money, The Goddard School, The Goddard Schoolol, Worrying in Children
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Friday, September 17th, 2010
The Goddard School® located in Charlotte, North Carolina recommends trying new activities with your child!
Materials:
Contact paper (clear)
Colored tissue paper
Permanent marker
Double-sided tape
Scissors
Ruler
*Children should have adult supervision throughout this activity.
How To:
- Cut two pieces of contact paper into 5” X 5” squares.
- Place double-sided tape on the dull side of one square and secure the square to a table or flat surface.
- Peel off the contact paper backing so the sticky side faces up.
- Cut or tear small pieces of different colored tissue paper and place them on the sticky side of the contact paper square until completely covered.
- Place the second square on top of the first square (sticky side down) so the tissue paper is sealed between the two contact paper squares.
- Trace a leaf shape onto the contact paper squares.
- Cut out the shape to make a colorful fall leaf.
- Use tape to adhere the leaf to a window where the sun will shine through it!
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, 5-star Preschools, Back To School, Biting, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Development, Fun in the Sun, New School, Pacifier, Preventing Biting, Saving Money, The Goddard School, The Goddard School-Ballantyne, Traveling Children
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Monday, September 13th, 2010
True toys have no bells or whistles, they do not do anything and you do not turn them on. Most toys today have taken the fun out of imaginative play. Manipulating toys and giving them life develops reasoning and problem-solving skills as well as creates a base of simple knowledge of how things work.
Infants
Rattles – Fine motor development toy of the century. Grasping, repetitive motion that creates a desired outcome, music, hand-eye coordination and focusing visually on a moving object are all part of infant learning. Have rattles handy in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes and sounds.
One-Year-Olds
Blocks, blocks and more blocks – Spatial relationships, size and shape discrimination leads to early math skills, fine motor control as well as cause and effect. This true toy is fun at any age! A child may spend hours building and knocking down blocks while developing science skills including balance, gravity and concepts of weight.
Two-Year-Olds
Paint and play-dough – It is messy and that is why they like it so much. This tactile experience will open the doors of creativity and thinking. Let them mix the colors, use different tools and add to the experience by playing some music in the background. Finger paint, paintbrushes and textured paint can be mixed with a variety of painting surfaces for further explanation.
Three-Year-Olds
A ball – Look at everything you can do with a ball – kick it, catch it, sit on it, bounce it, dribble it, play alone or with someone. A ball develops gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination and encourages healthy practices. A child needs to learn to handle a ball before they can handle a pencil.
Four- to Five-Year-Olds
Dramatic Play – Dramatic play is more than dress-up. It is a shovel, a whisk, a pad of paper. It is a pile of dirt, an old tire and a cardboard box. The sky is the limit – if your children have seen it, they want to explore it. Cut the cord off an old landline telephone and let them look inside as the telephone repair man. True toys for a four year old are simply real life items. These toys will allow children to try on new personalities and play out roles.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 28277, 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, Add new tag, Back To School, Biting, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Development, Child Vacations, Controlling Worrying in children, Learning through Play, Literacy, Pacifier, Preventing Biting, Saving Money, Staying Cool, The Goddard School, The Goddard Schoolol, Traveling Children, Worrying in Children
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Monday, August 16th, 2010
Parents can help make the “back to school” transition much smoother for their child if they prepare in advance. Try to add activities or planned outings to your child’s day. This structure helps prepare them to be on a schedule when they return to the classroom. If the child will be going to a new school, parents may want to schedule a visit with their child before the first day. Consider taking your child on a fun shopping trip where they can help pick out their clothes, lunchbox and supplies.
Ensuring your child has adequate sleep and proper nutrition is very important. Your child will do their best if they get to sleep early and eat a healthy breakfast each day before school. A daily diet of junk food is not compatible with learning. It can cause listlessness and hyperactivity which can impair a child’s ability to learn. Skipping breakfast especially is a detriment to a child’s education.
Adjust your child’s sleep schedule a few weeks in advance to help avoid struggling to get them out of bed for school. Set up a consistent daily routine so that your child wakes up and goes to sleep at the same times each day. If you have not created one already, start a bedtime routine, including bathing, selecting clothes for the next day, cuddling together for a bedtime story and a kiss goodnight. Begin a regular morning routine that includes a healthy breakfast, packing a nutritious lunch, grooming and getting dressed for the day.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, Add new tag, Back To School, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Development, Choosing a Preschool, Fun in the Sun, Goddard School Ballantyne, Learning through Play, Literacy, New School, Phonics, Role of Fathers, Saving Money, Sleeping, The Goddard School, water Play, Worrying in Children
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Friday, August 13th, 2010
If you want your child to grow up to be a gardener, it’s important to remember to share gardening experiences with them throughout their childhood. These include frequent, pleasurable occurrences, designs that include messy, colorful plots and great memories of working together in the garden. Each child’s capabilities and attention span will vary so it’s important to adjust your expectations. The goal is to teach your children to respect and enjoy gardening as well as experience a feeling of “I did it myself” at harvest time.
The Composting Council of Canada developed the following good reasons to foster a lifelong love of gardening in children.
- Health: Growing your own vegetables makes it easier to get enough servings each day.
- Exercise: Digging, turning, spreading compost, mulching, hoeing, excavating rocks – all burn calories, help build muscles and strengthen hearts and lungs.
- Save Money: Even a small vegetable patch can reduce your expenses.
- Education: Gardening is terrific for providing hands-on lessons in botany, zoology, weather, hydrology, as well as cycles of life, death and physical decay.
- Waste Reduction and Recycling: Compost piles transform kitchen scraps, leaves and yard waste into rich soil amendments. Gardeners can reuse of all kinds of cans, cartoons, meat trays and more.
- Stress Relief: Planting seeds and tending plants can restore balance and perspective.
- Togetherness: Use vegetables grown together to make delicious meals together and donate abundance to people who need it.
- Helps Improve Reading and Math Skills: Children can make plant markers, read seed packets and even help pay for nursery plants.
- Memory Building: Provides great memories for the years to come.
- Satisfaction: The more time you spend with your children in the garden, the more they will feel the garden is truly theirs and the more eager they will be to take care of it.
To learn more about The Goddard School, click here.
Tags: 5 Star Child Care Centers, 5 star Preschools in Charlotte, Add new tag, Back To School, Biting, Charlotte Preschools, Child Care Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Ballantyne, Child Care Centers Charlotte, Child Care Centers in Ballantyne, Controlling Worrying in children, Goddard School, Literacy, Reading, Saving Money, Sleeping, The Goddard School, The Goddard Schoolol, water Play, Worrying in Children
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