Parenting Survival Tips

Who Are The New MySpace Moms?

Hi Moms,

Do you have a MySpace profile?

The media is all over the fact that MySpace is just for the under 25 crowd and infiltrated with "bad guys" , but in a recent MySpace survey, it appears there is a growing network of MySpace Moms that are extremely active in the social network and for a variety of reasons.

Here are the top reasons moms joined the most popular social networking site:

• 37% to keep in touch with their friends
• 23% to meet new people
• 26% to keep an eye on their kids

This astounding feedback indicates that 37% of the MySpace Moms visit the site 3 or more times daily and spend more than 30 minutes on the site every single day.  Ninety-two percent of the moms also indicated they would recommend the site to other moms.

43% of the MySpace moms are reading friend's blogs and 45% take time to post comments.

These stats show that MySpace is not just a teen fad, but it is a revolutionary social network medium for all generations and all lifestyles and it is here to stay and that Moms are becoming a growing and increasingly active segment of this network!

The MySpace Moms survey consisted of moms 35+ years of age with a majority having 2 children under age 18 and only 25% are stay-at-home moms.

I would love to hear from you if you are a MySpace Mom and why you joined or if you think this is something you might consider in the future?

GO Moms!

Julie
aka: mom

Scrapbooking Online - The Latest Mommy Craze!

Hi Moms -

I am part of a scrapbooking club and it has been a passion of mine for many years to make sure my kids have endless memories to treasure aobut their younger years.

I was just introduced to a new site called www.scrapblog.com which is the new craze for moms who love to take photos and create memories!

Scrapbook is amazing and they wanted to go beyond sharing photos and videos online. They made Scrapblog drag-and-drop-easy so that everyone can tell their stories and create beautiful multimedia scrapbooks.

Their goal is to enable everyday people to express themselves online in a creative way.  What you see online today is only the beginning of creating and sharing memories online.

Part of the appeal of my scrapbooking club is the girl's chatter that goes on whenever we get together. Will this be lost when we move to scrapbooking online? I would love to hear your comments on how this new online experience will change your life and are you willing to give up the tangible albums?

Check it out and please comment on your experience at www.scrapblog.com!

Julie
aka: Mom

Where are all the female bloggers?

Chicago!

800 femal bloggers rally together at the third annual BlogHer, www.blogher.org,  event in Chicago this week and it is truly amazing to see the long list of Mommy Bloggers that are sharing their stories and tips online. I have met some amazing women and some have millions of readers visiting their site which calls out the need and demand for such sites to exist.

I find it interesting that most bloggers are spending 40+ hours a week on researching, writing for their blogs, etc. and even though it is truly a full-time job, less than 10% are actually monetizing their blogs. Many of the mommy blogs started as a hobby, a journal of the live of their little ones, a sanity break from the mommy world, etc. and have never thought about making money from their site.

It has been fun to share with them the cool product launched this year by Simply Hired called job-a-matic, www.job-a-matic.com, which allows bloggers for free to set up a job board on their site and to start earning money for their efforts! Everyone I met has been extremely interested and exciting about adding relevant jobs to their site as valuable content for their readers while making some money in the process.

Some of the cool moms I met at this conference are running the following mommy sites that you may want to check out as we are all "sisters" in making a difference in the lives of our children.

http://fishygirl.typepad.com

www.scrapblog.com

www.plainjanemom.com

www.simplyrecipes.com

www.svmoms.com

www.chicagomomsblog.com

www.schulala.com

http://wheresmycape.blgospot.com

www.amommystory.blogspot.com

www.momready.com

www.WIMonline.org

What do you do with all the McDonald's toys?

Hi Parents,

If you are a normal family you probably have a nice collection of small toys from McDonalds, birthday party goody bags, festivals, and the numerous other places that like to pass out small plastic objects, but you may not know what to do with all of them. Are you concerned they are taking over your house? Are you looking for ways to redistribute them?

You can certainly share them with your recycling bin or donate them to your favorite charity or tie a few to each kid's birthday present you wrap to add a little decor, but here's another idea of how I put all of this plastic to good use in our home.

I collect all of the small toys from fast food, birthday party goody bags, fairs, etc. and put them into a sturdy 16 in. x 16 in. wicker box with a lid on it. The box is covered and looks trendy so it fits right in as decor in my front room.

Then whenever my kids have friends over to play we play games or go on a scavenger hunt and at the end we let them pick a prize from the wicker "treasure chest".  It is worth it to save and recycle the plastic just to see the smile on their friend's face for just a few seconds when they pick a prize.  The neighborhood kids think we have a really cool house and always want to visit since we pass out prizes! :-)

Once all the toys are collected into the box, I let each of my kids select 2-4 items that they really want to keep and otherwise they are not allowed to go into the box unless friends are visiting. This rule keeps the house picked up while making it a special time whenever their friends are over.  My kids haven't looked in the box for awhile so many of the items seem new to them as well, so it is a win-win experience every time without the expense!

I would love to hear your ideas on how you "recycle the hundreds of small plastic toys" that are taking over your house!

Julie
aka: Mom

BlogHer's Coming - Female Bloggers Unite! Join us!

Hi Moms,

I wanted to let you know that next week I will be blogging LIVE from the BlogHer conference that is taking place at Navy Pier in Chicago July 27-29th. BlogHer is the leading organization for pulling together female bloggers on a wide variety of topics. If you are currently a blogger or if you are interested in started a blog you won't want to miss this event!

Read on to enter to win a FREE TRIP to this amazing event!   

Win a trip to BlogHer Conference ‘07! Scrapbog will pay for your airfare, hotel and conference admission!

Sound too good to be true? Not if you are in touch with your inner scrapbooker. BlogHer has partnered with Scrapblog, the premiere multimedia scrapbook creation tool, to offer BlogHers a chance to win a trip to BlogHer

Visit blogher.scrapblog.com to participate!

Entering the sweepstakes is easy. Simply create a scrapblog, publish it, and tag it with “blogher07”. The more views your scrapblog gets, the more entries you have in the sweepstakes. Simple enough, right?

Ready to jump in? Here’s how to get started…

1. Go to blogher.scrapblog.com and create a scrapblog. The step-by-step instructions make it easy or you can take a quick tour.
2. Publish your scrapblog and tag it with “BlogHer07”. You will be automatically entered into the sweepstakes.
3. Go back to blogher.scrapblog.com and list the link to your scrapblog in the comments section, start generating buzz around your scrapblog, and let your friends know that you’ve posted it.

Since you are the first to know about this sweepstakes, Scrapblog would also like your feedback on the experience of creating a scrapblog. Feel free to offer your feedback in the comments as well. Scrapblog will start selecting outstanding entries and posting them to a contest page on Scrapblog.com and Flickr.

Keep checking back at BlogHer.org, as they will be linking announcements regarding the official contest rules, outstanding scrapblogs, and the winners which will be announced on July 17!

What are you waiting for...enter today...and I hope to see you in the Windy City next week!

Julie
aka: Mom

Are You Raising Responsible Children?

Hi Parents,

I was raised in a traditional home in the Midwest, so it seems so natural to me that Saturday mornings are designated as "chore days", (maybe because in the Midwest it is cold and gray six months out of the year so no one seems to mind doing the chores?). Every Saturday every member of the family had a list of chores to complete before they could do their own thing and it was just the way of life, but I believe being raised in this structure has helped me to be more organized, disciplined and successful in the workplace today. 

The more I talk to other parents these days, I am amazed at how many parents do not give their children the responsibility of regular chores. Do you?

I have heard replies such as "Well they are just too young what could they possibly do?", or "I ask them to help but then they end up finding something else to do", or my personal favorite "Why ask them to do chores if I am just going to have to spend my time to go behind them and do the same chore over again to get it done right?".

I am sure these are valid concerns, but I will counter the argument that it is the parent's responsibility to raise responsible children, and I believe by the age of 2 all kids should begin to be accountable for regular chores.  Even if it is a small task it is teaching your child that being in a family and living in a home is a group responsibility and everyone needs to pitch in and help out to maintain the home.  I also believe it is a good idea to separate regular chores (responsibilities for being a member of the family) from the extra chores that can be tied to a weekly allowance.  By giving your child an allowance you are teaching them to manage their finances and allowing them to make discretionary spending choices with their own money when they really want that cool new toy and it is not their birthday.  If you are consistent in this practice, not only will you contribute to raising responsible children, but you will begin to see great pride in your children when they successfully accomplish a task!

Remember - it does not have to be done perfectly - this is a parental exercise for raising responsible children and it is not about having a squeaky clean house!  Here are 30 quick suggested chores for kids - why not pick two or three that are appropriate for your child's age and get started this week?

Sample Chores for Children:

1. pick up toys
2. make bed
3. set table for dinner
4. clean up the table after dinner
5. wash dishes
6. dust
7. feed the pet
8. brush/walk - take care of a pet
9. get the mail everyday from the mailbox
10. take out the garbage
11. fold clothes
12. wash the car
13. sweep out the garage
14. pick vegetables in the garden
15. organize the books on the bookshelf - by size or alphabetically
16. vacuum
17. water plants
18. if they are young - line up their plastic bath toys with 2 tubs and ask them to help you wash the toys
19. roll their coins so they are ready to take to the bank
20. help plan and write down the meals for the coming week
21. wipe down the kitchen cabinets or counters
22. if they are old enough - mow the yard
23. My six year old's favorite - identify and put batteries in the flashlights or toys that have dead batteries! - Yes - a future engineer I do believe! :-)
24. organize a closet or drawer
25. collect all of the towels in the house into one basket for someone to wash
26. organize the DVD/movie or games
27. again for the little ones - have them find every ball in the house or garage and put them into 1 bucket or basket
28. clean their bedroom
29. put the stamps on your bills/letters that are ready to go out or write the return address on each envelope
30. help prepare a meal or help to prepare the grocery list

I would love to hear from you if you have other chores that your kids are doing today!

Good luck and know that your effort is worth the reward!

Julie
aka: Mom

Menu-Math

Hi Parents,

It's summertime and it can be difficult to keep your children brushed up on their math skills to be ready for the next school year. Here is one of our favorite activities to have fun refreshing their math skills without them even knowing it! :-)

Menu-Math

Let the children know they are going to run a restaurant for the day. First, give each child a piece of blank paper and ask them to create a menu for their restaurant by writing down a list of food items they want to serve in their restaurant.

Then, next to each food item ask them to write the price and be sure to encourage them to use dollars and cents. To make the activity even more interesting ask them to draw pictures on their menu of the food items or if they are younger kids let them cut the food pictures out of a magazine or take labels off of some of the food boxes/cans in your kitchen.

Set the ambiance with tables, plates, cups, etc. Let the kids take turns playing the host/hostess to seat the customers and to pass out the menus. Then ask the waiter to take their order and write it down and then serve the food when it is ready. You can use real food if it is meal time or plastic food or paper pretend food. Make sure the waiter takes good care of the customers and brings them the bill when they are done eating. Of course you will want to give the customer some monopoly or pretend money to leave a tip and explain to them how to calculate the tip (typical 10%-15%) and let them try to figure out the amount to leave on their own.

Finally the customer(s) go to the cashier to pay their bill. Let the cashier make the correct change and ask the customer to verify it is the correct amount. If you don't have a toy cash register then you can use a shoe box or some other creative cash box solution.

Let the kids take turns playing the different roles and you will be surprised that after playing the menu math game a few times how well their math and change counting skills will improve (hopefully their manners, writing, and service skills as well!).

I would love to hear from you if you have other fun math building activities that you play in your home!

Bon Appetit!

Julie
aka: Mom

 

The Gamer Generation - Are the Kids Alright?

Hi Parents -

I would love your comments on this hot generational topic. Do your kids enjoy video games?

I recently read a book called "The Kids Are Alright - How the Gamer Generation is Changing the Workplace" by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade. These two authors surveyed 2,000 young gamers and concluded the following data points about our future leaders:

1. The ninety million young gamers have an amazing ability to multitask. Do you agree?
2. The young gamers are better at creative problem solving than the current baby boomer leaders. Do you agree?
3. The young gamers bring unexpected leadership to the table. What do you think?
4. The young gamers are revealed as committed, team-oriented and play to win. Does this describe your gaming child?

I look forward to your comments on how gaming has impacted your family life or workplace. I would also love to know if you control the amount of time your gaming child gets to play.

Thanks,

Julie
aka: Mom

 

My CEO is a Four-Year-Old

Hi Moms,

So many little girls dream of one day becoming a mom. Whether a mom works in the home or outside of the home, I think we can all agree and appreciate that we have one of the most important roles in the world and that is to be called "mom".

I read this poem by Carol Frink and it rang so true for me that I wanted to share with all the moms out there that always knew they wanted to be a mom.  Please share this link with all of your friends that are also proud to be moms!

My CEO is a Four-Year-Old

My CEO is a four-year-old,
the V.P. is just one.
From what my friends have told me,
my "fun" has just begun.

When the work force day is ending,
mine just seems to start
with dinner, baths and bedtime,
and lessons from the heart.

I may not fax and copy
or play that "corporate game,"
but my hours are plenty long,
the work tiring just the same.

"Hostile take-overs" in my job,
involve a toy or two,
and most "successful mergers"
are done with Elmer's Glue.

My vacation time is little,
and sick days are no more.
And all important meetings
are on the bedroom floor.

While most can't wait to retire,
I hope my job NEVER ENDS,
Because in those smiling faces,
I've found my two BEST FRIENDS.

I now proudly distribute business cards to anyone who will accept one. They simply say:

                                           Nick & Luke's Proud Mom

Mom-Friendly Companies - they really do exist!

Hi Moms,

Let's face it - times have certainly changed since our parents were young and many moms today are faced with the reality of not only raising the kids but also finding a job to help support their family.  I recently wrote an article about "Why Start-Ups are a Great Place for Working Moms", but if a start-up is not an ideal fit for you, then here is another suggestion that may help you find a job at a "mom-friendly" company.

Simply Hired, the world's largest search engine for jobs, has more than 6MM jobs in their database that you can search on at no cost based on geography, occupation, industry, etc.  They recently launched a set of "specialty filters" to allow job seekers to search on the type of company that best fits their lifestyle. These filters include "dog-friendly" companies which is a list of companies that allow you to bring your pet to work with you. They also have eco-friendly companies, GBLT companies, and of course my favorite, "Working Mom Friendly Companies". This list identifies the top 100 companies in America that go out of their way to provide extra support and resources, such as job sharing and onsite childcare facilities, that cater to the working mom's hectic lifestyle.

If you are a busy mom and have to work, why not find a job at a company that understands your needs and supports your family lifestyle?

What are you waiting for - Check it out today and let me know what you find!

Good Luck,

Julie
aka: Mom