Important reminder, moms of South King County, WA!
For Girls Only is coming to Federal Way on May 29th and June 6th. This fun and educational program is for moms and daughters to attend together. Grab your 10-12 year-old and sign up today!
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Parenting
May 16, 2012
May 02, 2012
April 21, 2012
April 06, 2012
Digital time-out
At a recent fundraiser, I saw a little boy bugging his mom to bid on the basket I had donated. Filled with small card games, Farkle, and a couple of pieces of chocolate as a nod to the theme, it sat among other baskets filled with flowers, chocolate, toys, and tea.
"It would be perfect for digital time-out," he said excitedly. I looked at his mom. She said, "Digital time-out. Every Sunday afternoon, we go home and unplug. No TV, no computer, no hand held or video games. Digital time-out."
What a smart mom. What a cool tradition for the entire family. Here's how to make your own family digital time out:
- Parents play too. Take this time to unplug yourself, as well as your kids.
- Set aside a specific time frame each day and/or week. It might be after a certain time each night, or like this family, one afternoon each week.
- Substitute relationship and tradition-building activities. You could take turns deciding what to do, play board games, plant a garden, read together, bake something, or go on a field trip. Whatever you do, get any online reserach done before it's time for your time-out.
- See what happens. Notice if the tussles over electronics lessen over time, now that you have a designated time to do stuff without them. Notice if you are uncomfortable, too, leaving your cell phone off for a few hours.
- Adjust as needed. Maybe you're a family who needs digital time-out some of every day, maybe once a week--or maybe both. Adjust to your family's needs.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go take a time-out.....
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March 28, 2012
Making time for you
Every day has 24 hours. We all get the same amount of time, every single day.
Every week has 168 hours. We all get the same amount of time, every single week.
How much do you spend replenishing?
If you're like many parents I know, you don't even get enough sleep.
I challenge you to find two hours a week that are just for you to replenish. You can spend the other 166 hours working, taking care of the house, the kids, the committees, etc. When I put it that way, it doesn't seem like too much to ask.
Perhaps this means you sleep in at least one day a week. Or you go out with friends one time a week. You could read something enjoyable for 30 minutes every day. Maybe you take a yoga class or a fun zumba class every week. Maybe you go to the library and sit by yourself and look at gardening magazines.
Here are the rules:
1. It must be something that replenishes you--something you don't usually take time for right now that would make your heart sing a little bit.
2. You need to schedule it. I've never met a parent yet who had left over time. Not only that, but you need to put it in your calendar first and schedule all that other stuff that's never gonna go away around your time for you.
3. It can't be kid-related. No scrapbooking, or shopping for them or making stuff for them.
4. No TV or internet. Television is a zone out activity. It doesn't relax you or rejuvenate you. Different brain activity involved with watching TV or surfing the net.
5. If you schedule over it because the doctor you've been trying to get in to see for 6 months can only schedule you at the time you have set aside, you have to put it back in your calendar in the same week.
Think of it as an experiment. How will taking care of mommy's or daddy's need to replenish affect the family? How will prioritizing that over someone else's "wants" change things in our family?
Do it for a month and chart the pros and cons.
Your children deserve parents whose needs are met. And that's your job.
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March 14, 2012
February 16, 2012
October 31, 2011
Let's Talk--about parenting teens who may be sexually active
Can you make a difference?
How can you help your child make good decisions about his or her relationships?
How can you help them understand what impact their current behavior may have on their future?
For information on these questions and more, click here.
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