Food & Home
¡Yo Quiero Spaghetti Tacos!
Anyone who has tweenage children is not surprised by the mention of Spaghetti Tacos. Read on for the recipe.
Big Kid
Teaching Kids How to Handle Life’s Disappointments
It is inevitable. We all face disappointments in our lives, many times out of our direct control. How we handle those disappointments is up to us. Teaching our children to weather setbacks and failures is one of the more important jobs we face as parents.
Parenting
Getting Rid of the Shoulds
Let’s make a pact to remove this word from our vocabularies. Shoulds make you feel like a failure and get in the way of you appreciating what you actually do.
Big Kid
Your Child Says Their Teacher Is Mean, What Do You Do?
It is the time of year when you begin to hear complaints from the kids about their teachers. “My teacher hates me!” Do you step in or let them work it out?
Education
Make Back-to-School Week The Easiest Ever
It is possible to make the first week back to school go off without a hitch! Make the first week back to school easier for everyone by following these tips.
Young Child
How to Raise a Spoiled Brat to Adulthood in 18 Easy Steps
I have done some of these things. Some I have done more often than others. Haven’t we all? Because we are human and flawed and sometimes want to take the easy way out of a situation. Or because we really don’t want to make our children upset. Or because we are just weary.
Parenting
To Get A Second Dog, or Not to Get a Second Dog (A Real Family Drama, in Two Acts)
To me it isn’t even a question.We aren’t getting another dog. It is not going to happen. Nope. Never. Not getting a second dog. No thank you.
Activities
Summer Craft: How to Make Terrariums with Kids
Terrariums are perfect projects for those without green thumbs and as an introductory gardening project and summer activity for kids. Here are some smart tips and a tutorial on how to make a terrarium.
Baby
Alpha Mom Book Club: The Whole-Brain Child Book Review & Discussion
We’re discussing The Whole-Brain Child for our parenting book club this month. It’s an engaging and informative read on how the brain develops and offers practical solutions for the most typical misbehaving issues, while explaining what is most likely going on in their brains that’s causing them to “lose their mind.”
Big Kid
To My Daughter
You’re nothing like me, in all the best ways possible. Where I am shy, you are confident. Where I am weak, you are strong. Where I am laid back, you are fierce.
Home
11 Tips For Living Clutter-Free With Children
Summer is the perfect time to establish some new habits and cleaning routines that will free you up to have more time for doing things you enjoy.
Young Child
Family Experiment: Motivating Children to Save for the Family Vacation
A family of seven kids tries to make small changes to save up for a family beach vacation. Learn how they are doing it.
Big Kid
Letter To My Son On His High School Graduation Day
Tomorrow afternoon you are to going stand in an auditorium with a thousand other kids your age. People will speak. Some parents will dab tears. Others will be elbowing their way to a prime position in order to take a photo with their zoom lens. I don’t need to tell you which group I will be in.
Holidays
Year-End Gifts Your Children’s Teachers Really Want
I have begun shopping for teachers’ gifts. What sort of gifts do you give the people to whom you entrusted your children for the entire year? I find it difficult to find gifts that truly show how much I really appreciate all that they have done for my child.
Resources
Vote on Our June Alpha Mom Parenting Book Club Pick
Vote between “Daring Greatly,” “The Whole-Brain Child” and “Sticks and Stones” for our next Alpha Mom parenting book selection.
Baby
Lessons You Learn From Motherhood
Motherhood is full of opportunities to learn important, and not so important, lessons. You might as well laugh through them all.
Baby
Alpha Mom Book Club: Minimalist Parenting
I like to do less and wouldn’t we all like to enjoy our lives more? But what exactly do the authors mean by minimalist parenting, was a question that I wondered. Do they advocate living like Tibetan monks? Eschewing possessions and leaving our children to play with sticks? Does it mean letting your kids run wild with minimal parental interference? Is it hands off parenting?
Turns out it was none of those things.
Young Child
Be The Helpers
I believe that most of our children’s character is not something that is taught but that they learn how to react and interact in the world by watching us.
Big Kid
When Your Child Is A Perfectionist
My nine year old daughter is a perfectionist.
This past six week marking period she got her first ever B. She stomped up to her room and slammed the door. It hadn’t occurred to me before this that perhaps being a perfectionist had a negative side.
Resources
April’s Parenting Book Club Pick: Minimalist Parenting
We’re making a special exception this month and have chosen Minimalist Parenting as our next parenting book club choice.