Parenting Survival Tips

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

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

 

Play Games to Help Your Kids Progress in Math

Hi,

A friend called me the other day asking for advice on how to help her kids with their math development this summer (in particular with the counting of money).  I think every parent knows it is a dead end trying to have your child sit at a table and do math worksheets for an hour if they do not like the subject, so I have found that playing games is a super way to enhance their math skills while having fun!

Two of our favorite games that involve math are Monopoly and Store. I thought it would be difficult for a 5 or 6 year old to play the real Monopoly, but I was pleasantly surprised that he was able to keep up and in fact now he requests it as his favorite game on game night! Let the kids take turns as the banker and you will be impressed with how fast their counting skills and change giving skills improve. Since this game can take days to play we have found it easier to leave a card table out with a running game of Monopoly on it and we dedicate 1 hour maximum a day to playing the game. This game also helps with their reading skills as they check out the  property and chance card details. It also helps with their decision-making, negotiating skills, and entrepreneurial spirit! After playing the game on and off for the past year, I am impressed with my kids' ability to understand the value of each property and to memorize the mortgage rates for each property! Look out Trump and I hope that some day I will be able to work in one of my son's Park Place hotels! :-)

The second math game we enjoy is to set up a store and let the kids take turns running the store and shopping. We have set up a grocery store and use old food boxes, containers etc. or we set up a toy store. The toy store is fun because with two or more children I am sure you have encountered the phenomenon that they always want what the other child has so this is a great solution. Have one child select 5-10 items from their room/toy box that they are willing to part with and then let them set the price for each item based on the parameters you provide for them. Encourage them to set the price using dollars and cents so that the kids get the maximum value out of counting change.  Let the store owner set up the store, display the items and make signs for their door and create pricing stickers for each item. Ask them to stay in character the entire time the customers are in the store. If you do not have a toy cash register then improvise with a shoe box. We typically give the customer(s) $1,000 to spend using a variety of Monopoly money along with plastic coins that you can buy in a bag from the Dollar Store or Wal-Mart. Let the kids decide if they want the customers to really be able to keep the toys they buy (remind them they will also get to keep the toys they buy when they are the customer) or they can shop and then give back the items at the end of the game. My kids love playing this game and by actually swapping toys they stay interested and engaged the entire time and they want to play it over and over again. You could even do this as an afternoon game for your kids and invite their friends over to participate as well and you will be surprised at how excited the kids will be to find some great buys without actually going to ToysRUs!

I would love to hear your comments if you have other games that you play with your kids to help them with their math skills!

Enjoy!

Julie
aka: Mom

      

Enjoy the Wait!

Ok Parents -

Raise your hand if you enjoy waiting in line or waiting at the Drs. office?

I am guessing that most hands are down but I am also guessing that most of us have experienced a wait of more than 15 minutes within the past week. Today, we live in a hyper busy world that seems to be moving faster and faster and if we can't "microwave it" the value declines! If we have to wait in line at the Post Office or wait in the Drs. office for more than 10 minutes our blood pressure starts to rise and the complaint letters are underway. Now add a few kids along side of us during this wait and the temperature can quickly rise to boiling.

I recently returned from a trip to Disneyland with my 2 young boys and oh yes - I am sure you will agree that Disneyland is the line-waiting capital of the world!  Even with a Fast Pass you can expect your wait time to exceed 15 minutes, so I hope that you will print this Post out TODAY and tuck it into your bag TODAY so that anytime - anywhere you encounter a line with your children you are prepared to keep this experience enjoyable instead of stressful (the best part is this list is all you will need and you don't have to worry about having special props or other materials to enjoy your wait). Instead you can use this time to bond with your children while setting an example about the lifelong gift of patience.

Tips to Enjoy the Wait! - Part 1 (check back soon for more fun while you wait tips!)

1) I SPY - 1 person choses a item they can visually see and then provide 1 clue and allow the other peope to guess what item you chose.

2) Sing-a-Long - take turns selecting favorite songs to sing together or take turns teaching each other new songs.

3) Ink Pink - Oh - one of my absolute favorite games that I play with a group of kids that may be getting wrestless as we wait for our turn to march in the parade or waiting for our turn to go on stage etc. You select 2 words that rhyme and then provide 1 clue for each word to the kids to see if they can guess the 2 rhyming words. Ex: The first word is a color and the second word is something you wear. Answer: Blue Shoe

4) Twenty Questions - I am sure everyone has played this game but you think of 1 object and then the kids get a total of twenty questions that must be "yes" or "no" questions to guess the correct object you are thinking of.

5) Alphabet Soup - Take turns drawing a letter or for older kids spelling out an entire word on a person's back and see if they can guess the letter or word within 3 guesses. This was a lifesaver as we waited for 45 minutes in The Aladin Show!

6) The Magnificent Story Teller - One person starts a story by making up the location, the characters, and plot and then turns it over to another person to add to it until the last person who gets to make up the ending. If the kids are younger, the adult can ask them questions to help bring the story along.

7) Blink - Whoever looks away or talks first gets 2nd place (notice there are never winners and losers when working with children)

8) Follow-the-Leader - If there is enough room (great for the Dr. office wait if they are feeling up to it or while waiting with a group for the team photos), take turns making up an exercise that the others have to follow and you repeat 10 times, such as arm circles, hop on 1 foot, neck rolls, etc.

9) Nursery Rhyme or Super Hero Game - Describe a character with 3 clues and let the others guess who you are or what Nursery Rhyme you belong to. Ex: 1) I'm oval 2) I like to sit on walls 3) I have a great fall. Who am I?

10) The Letter Game - Pick a letter and ask the other people to find 10 items that you can all see that begin with that letter. Ex: Letter B, the kids start to guess "boy", "baby", "bridge"...but they have to be items that you all can see.

I hope you find a few of these tips useful and be sure to check back for more tips that are coming soon to help you and your family enjoy the wait!

Julie
a.k.a. Mom