Tips from Todd / Wake Up Call

As I celebrate my daughters 9th birthday it reminds me of why I wanted to start a family in the first place. We so often get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life that we as parents forget the number one reason why we wanted to start a family. NO not to clean the house and yard. (Good luck if that's your reason). To be part of something larger than your own life, to enjoy their laughter and unconditional love all while watching them grow into productive adults. With that in mind, try working on this tip and see how things go.

By the end of the day we are sometimes spent and become easily frustrated. Starting tomorrow begin every day forward this way. Wake up with a positive attitude. START FRESH, Greet each member of your family as they wake up with a smile, a hug and a Huge Good Morning Greeting. Continue throughout the day to display extra ordinary respect to everyone you come in contact with.

Children learn by example. Be sure you are thier postive example. I'm sure if surveyed 100 out of 100 adults would not like to raise a grumpy child.

It is so hard to be upset or grumpy at someone who is so nice. Make that nice person you. It will only brighten your life as well as the wonderful children you are raising.

Please post any great ideas you have below.

To a great day,
Todd

Grab Bag on the Go

For families with children in various activities throughout the week try this great idea to keep your children occupied while your on the go.

Find an old book bag around your home. Pack it with items that will keep your children entertained for a period of time. (My families is packed with coloring books, crayons, notebooks, pens, a puzzle, comic books and other reading literature). Other ideas include: sporting equipment, musical instruments, travel size board games etc. etc.

It is best if you keep this bag in your car so it is always with you when needed.
The key is to keep it simple and fun.

A few places you may find useful to use your bag: Sporting events, long car rides, if you had to bring your child to work, laundry facilities and my favorite out to dinner.

Share some of the places you would find useful for a Grab Bag on the Go.

Todd

Cut the Clutter / Have More Time

As a father of four I found myself acting more like a maid then a father. I would clean a room and before I could even finish cleaning the kids would have another one destroyed. The house just could not keep up with the excessive amount of toys, clothes, sporting equipment etc etc that we had accumulated over the years. That is when my wife and I decided to downsize our belongings. Over the last couple of years we only hold on to things that we use fairly regularly. If toys have not been used lately we donate them. If clothes are too stained or holey to pass down we throw them out and once they are used by our fourth we donate them to goodwill.
The point is that instead of picking up items that just seem to be tossed from place to place and never used we eliminated them. With each item that mysteriously disappeared came less clean up. We found that our clean up time was cut in half. Over the next few weekends try to tackle a room a weekend until you find yourself clutter free. If you don't use it, TOSS IT!!!

HOW CAN YOU SIMPLIFY YOUR HOUSE, FAMILY?? QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? GET INVOLVED BELOW!

Preventitive Actions

Time Out vs. Time Away.

I think it is fair to say that most parents know what a time out is. But in case, by definition a time out involves temporarily separation a child from an environment where inappropriate behavior has occurred, and is intended to give an over excited child time to calm down.

Time away, like a time out is removing a child from an environment. The difference being, that time away is a a tool used by adults in the early stage of recognizing a problem may be brewing. The goal of a time away is to prevent an inappropriate behavior from occurring. If presented correctly:
1. You will prevent a negative situation from occurring. Saving you as the adult a lot of stress and aggravation.
2. You will also be teaching your child a coping skill that they may use for the rest of their life.

So, what does time away sound like?

Imagine your children of any age are watching television and all sounds ok. A few minutes later they begin to argue over what show they are going to watch. You hear your older child starting to get really mad about the content of the programming. As a parent our first reaction may be to run in and yell & scream, turn off the show off and kick everyone out of the room. INSTEAD, you will start off by calmly saying "You are not in trouble". This technique will immediately take them off the defense. Then you will follow up by "However, I need you to go to your room for a few minutes to cool off, I will be right behind you to find out what happened". After a few minutes you will visit your child and make sure they are calm enough to reenter the activity. With a little practice and consistency it will go smooth and prevent many outbursts down the road.

REMEMBER: The goal is not to punish, but to prevent an inappropriate behavior from occurring. You may also need to explain the difference to your child the first couple of attempts. especially if you are a regular time out user.

Best of luck and please post feedback on your experiences.

Todd