Eco Parents

How Your Child Can Be Eco Friendly

Preparing your child to head off to school is a big step. However, throughout his school years, he can take steps to improve the overall health of his surroundings. By teaching your daughter to be eco friendly, you teach others to do the same. How can kids make a difference in the world? It may be easier than you think.

Tips for Getting Kids Involved

Finding ways for kids to become more environmentally friendly is important. Take a look around in their world. Chances are good you will find numerous ways that kids are exposed to unhealthy environments. They can make a change.

Encourage healthy eating from the start. Other kids will fall into line. Allow your kids to help you to plant an organic garden and to work with you to raise it.
Recycling is a big deal. Make it your child’s job to recycle. You can do this in various ways, including with plastics and glasses. Kids understand this concept sometimes better than adults do.
Reusing items is also important. For kids, this means using up those crayons and using the same backpack until it cannot be useful anymore. Encourage your children to find ways to reuse items throughout their lives.

By taking steps to teach your child, you are able to create a situation in which they are helping you to be eco friendly. Many kids love this type of experience. For those who are just new to it, consider a few helpful books from the library to help you to explain why you do it.

Filed Under: Best Green Practices for Kids, Environmental Awareness Tagged With: Business and Economy, Environmentally friendly, Niche

Keeping Siblings on the Same Page

One of the most important things parents do is to show their children how much they love them. You may spend a lot of your time helping your children, teaching them and giving them information they need. Sometimes, though, it becomes easier to deal with one child more so than another. How can this be?

Finding Balance

When it comes down to it, each of the children you have is a very different person from the other. It is up to you, then, to create a scenario where your children are healthy and happy and able to be themselves. There are a few ways you can ensure that there is no favoritism happening.

Set rules. Create a set of family rules. These are rules that you will be able to go back to whenever there is a question about what was wrong.
Spend time with each child individually. Sometimes, kids just need time with mom and dad on their own. That can help to boost self confidence and help to show you care about the child’s specific needs.
Encourage siblings to do things together even if they do not like to. It helps to build their relationship. You may have to ensure no fighting happens, but over time it will matter.

Creating healthy bonds in the family unit can be a struggle when people do not mesh well with others. However, it is something you can and should do. Finding ways to get everyone onto the same page is important as it affects everyone in the home.

Filed Under: Best Green Practices for Kids, Eco Family Benefits Tagged With: Family, Parent, Sibling

4 Fun Costume Ideas For Expectant Mothers

It’s a tedious expectation, a certainty of dull hours and duller rewards: Halloween is creeping ever closer but seems impossible to enjoy. Pregnancy defies the season, you’re certain — it will leave you without a costume to claim or candy to search for.

The truth is far kinder, however.

You can share in the thrills (and treats) of the holidays. You simply must first find the perfect style:

The Baker Beauty

Expectant mothers understand the importance of laughter (it helps to compensate for the hormonal havoc that’s constantly wrought). No greater giggles will be achieved than with the pregnant baker costume. This ensemble celebrates the power of the pun, with women able to mention their little buns in the oven. The costume offers kitchen-worthy pieces: white hat, jacket and pants. These all boast flexible seams, which allow individuals to adjust the fabric accordingly. Lycra fibers ensure comfort.

Beaches, Bellies and Bouncing Balls

Pregnancy isn’t to be a solemn thing, with an ever-changing figure meant to be hidden from the world, deemed too unfamiliar to offer. A celebration is instead required, and the beach ball costume makes such a celebration simple. This is a style for the bold. Individuals must dress themselves first in a bikini (a maternity suit is recommended for the appropriate waist accommodations).

The bare span of a belly must then be painted to resemble a beach ball. Reds, yellows and blues should be smeared across the skin and will summon all attention. This costume should only be worn in warm conditions, however. Outdoor events should be approached with caution.

Bowling for Laughs

Confidence can often wilt in the wake of pregnancy. Soon-to-be mothers may find themselves unsure of their new silhouettes. However, Halloween isn’t to be forgotten with this burst of uncertainty — it’s instead to be embraced with a costume that can compensate. Gain smiles with the bowling ball design.

This simple ensemble will allow women to focus on their evenings instead of their worries. A black foam pad is worn, with strategic cut-outs offered for arms and legs. Across the pad is a collection of dots that resemble finger-holes. The design is basic but the reward is undeniable: uniqueness that doesn’t demand an excess of skin.

Bare Bones Approach

October is the month of ghouls and goblins, the wailing ghosts. A costume should therefore allow individuals to mimic all of that monster madness. Those with a flair for the dramatic (and the mildly macabre) should indulge in the season; and a skeleton suit allows that to be easy.

This piece is crafted from breathable black cotton. Across the front is a rendering of bones, with the inner-workings of the body exposed from head to toe — and even the belly. Women can prove their pregnancy by painting an image of their children within the design. It’s an unexpected humor that is certain to delight.

Halloween isn’t to be denied — it’s instead to be experienced with your child. Are you ready for excitement?

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: bowling ball pregnancy costume, costumes for pregnancy, inside out pregnancy costume

Getting Through the Teen Years

For the parents of teens you have either two types; the introverted lone wolf or the popular, cocky rebel and either one of these two will result in a headache for the parents. If you’re fortunate enough to have a well-rounded teen, congratulations, you’ve done your job as a parent. However, if you’re having troubles with your teen, here’s some advice to help you on your quest.

Talk to your teen as if they’re an adult. Granted, they’re not, but they think they are. Your job is to make sure they get to adulthood and can function as adults. If you treat them like kids they will often continue to act like one and do the opposite of what you tell them to do. They are growing into adults and you can still teach them amid the eye rolls and long suffering sighs by treating like what they are trying to become.

Image by Nik_Doof via Flickr

Your teenager will do things that you did when you were a teen, and maybe go a little further. Of course you’re worried about them every parent will be. They are acting like normal teens and this is how your teen learns. You did things your parents didn’t know about or you thought they didn’t know your kids will too. Don’t overreact by hacking phones, computers and ransacking rooms. Give your teen the illusion of privacy and if things get out of hand they will be more likely to come to you.

Give your teen responsibilities they need them. If they can’t wash their clothes, fix themselves food, or manage money then you will be, well into adulthood.

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Adolescence, Parent, Youth

When to Explain the Facts of Life

At some point in a child’s life the dreaded questions will come in regards to babies, sex and where did I come from? Depending on the age of the child and what is going on in his or her life will depend on the questions. If you or a family member is expecting soon then a question of, “Where do babies come from?” will probably be asked.

Information is abundant these days. Look online and you can find answers to just about anything you want to know about. Kids will also hear things from school and older children. Kids are also nosey by nature and will hear and see things that you might not think that have heard or seen. Wouldn’t you rather their information comes from you, the parent? That any question that your child might have is asked of you? Of course, that is what all parents want.

Image via Wikipedia

The best thing for you to do when questions come up is to answer them as soon as they are asked. Don’t delay or the child will only become more curious and seek the answer elsewhere and possibly getting wrong information. Questions are perfectly natural all kids ask them. The trick is to make your answer as simplistic as possible according to the age of the child. The younger the child the more simple the answer should be. There is no need to elaborate or go into detail unless there are more questions. Usually younger children will only ask one question at a time and are generally satisfied with a simple answer. Don’t be embarrassed to answer the questions.

Filed Under: Green Parenting Tagged With: Child, Question, Where Did I Come From?