children

How to Throw Your Teen their Dream Sweet 16 Party

Sweet 16 parties used to simply consist of cake, gifts and maybe a giggly sleepover complete with chick flicks and prank calls to cute high school boys. But thanks to reality television and our celebrity-obsessed culture, today’s Sweet 16 parties look more like miniature, alcohol-free wedding celebrations, right down to costly party preparations, dress fittings and celebrity-inspired DJs and live performances.

All those added expenses are enough to keep a cash-conscious parent awake at night, especially in our currently shaky economic environment. Fortunately, there are plenty of budget-savvy ways to throw your little prince or princess his or her dream Sweet 16 party without dipping into your retirement account, or you child’s hard-earned college fund. To generate some extra cash in a pinch, visit plaingreenloans.com to avoid a potentially dangerous loan from a family member or friend. Once you’ve safely secured a party fund, follow these money-saving steps to throw your baby the best birthday on a smart budget!

Utilize Your Friendors

When your child gets married, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to drop huge chunks of cash on everything from a world-famous catering company to a celebrity cake baker, so why spend big on their birthday?
Save the budget for their future wedding, and utilize your favorite friendors! A friendor is a friend or family member that will happily cook, bake or snap photos pro bono. Always loved Aunt Kathy’s cupcakes? Commission her to create the perfect birthday cake in lieu of a pricey venue-provided one. Never see Cousin Anthony without his camera? Ask if he’d like to serve as official paparazzi for your child’s big day, and let him bring a friend as payment instead of dropping tons of money on a professional.

Let the Birthday Boy or Girl Shine

We’ve all seen examples of parents chasing down the hottest R&B artist or celebrity DJ to perform at their child’s extravagant Sweet 16. But A-list acts are a surefire budget buster, so leave the famous talent to the celebrities, and let your son or daughter take center stage!
Does your daughter love to sing? Hand her the mic during her party and let her belt out her best Lady Gaga. Is your son the best break-dancer in town? Let him showcase his talent on stage in front of all his friends!

Forgo Transportation

Instead of a lavish stretch limo or fancy party bus, drive the shuttle yourself in your trusty Dodge Grand Caravan or Honda CR-V. Decorate the windows in the birthday boy or girl’s favorite colors, and save big on transportation.
Keep these ideas in mind when planning that big birthday bash. You’ll be relieved to still have money in the bank, and your son or daughter will never know you managed such a great event on a wallet-friendly budget! Do you think we left anything off the list?

Filed Under: Best Green Practices for Kids, Environmental Awareness, Green Parenting Tagged With: children, Parenting, Party, Sweet 16

New Parents: What to Expect

: Image via Wikipedia

When many couples find out they are expecting their first child they are ecstatic – especially if they were trying for a baby. However, as the initial excitement wears off and the due date gets closer and closer, many of these parents begin to get anxious because they don’t know exactly what to expect when the little one arrives. All they know is that their lives will be forever changed. Below a few changes you should expect to happen when the baby arrives. You will also find tips for how to deal with these changes.

Lack of Sleep: Since your little one has been inside the womb for nine months, his sense of time will most likely be off. In addition to that, your little one will need to eat every 2-3 hours, which will make for some long nights. This is why it’s important that you take advantage of the times that the baby is asleep. Don’t use this time to do housework or laundry. Instead, use it to sleep!

Routine Changes: Of course the baby’s sleeping habits will affect your daily routine, but you will also notice that every routine you have will be affected by the baby. For example, you will need to adjust how much time you need in the morning to get ready to leave the house, when you schedule doctor’s appointments, how you go about grocery shopping and a host of other things. The key to this is to be flexible with your schedule and understand it won’t be this way forever.

Relationship Changes: It’s amazing that a baby can change so much. The relationship you have with your partner will change along with everything else. You will both be tired and trying to get used to your new routines and that will have an impact on your relationship. This is why it’s important that you and your partner continue to reserve time to spend alone together.

Filed Under: Green Parenting Tagged With: Baby, children, Family, Infant, Parent, Shopping, Sleep, Sleep deprivation

Why Parents Should Read to Young Children

: Image via Wikipedia

Many parents know they should be reading to their children when they’re young but they don’t understand why. After all, infants have no idea what’s going on when someone reads them a book, and a lot of toddlers don’t even have the attention span to finish a book. This is why many parents don’t bother reading to their kids when they’re this young. However, this is the perfect time to read to your kids!

Studies have shown that children between the ages of one and three learn a lot from books. While they may not have the attention span to sit through an entire story, they can learn a variety of other things from books. For example, you can take this time to point to different things on the pages and tell your little one what they are. Young kids enjoy learning new things and being able to show what they know. Therefore, after you’ve pointed out objects in a particular book several times, begin to quiz your child about where the different objects are. This is great for teaching children the proper names for things such as fruits, animals, shapes and many other objects.

Another thing that reading to young children helps develop is their language skills. It’s a well-known fact that kids learn to talk before they can read. Therefore, they learn their language skills from what they hear. When you spend time reading to your child on a regular basis, he or she will begin to learn new words and what they mean. Once that happens and your child reaches the age of three, you can begin to work with him or her on basic sight words.

Finally, reading to your child at a young age will help instill a love of reading in your child. As you know, reading comprehension is crucial for school so why not give your child a head start? Even five minutes of reading daily will help!

Filed Under: Green Parenting Tagged With: Arts, Book, Child, children, Education, Language Arts, Learning, Read

Buying New Baby Clothing and Enjoying Hand Me Downs

: Image via Wikipedia

One part of being in a large family is having a large number of hand me downs. Kids grow at such a rapid rate that the minute you buy them a specific item of clothing, they are practically growing out of it before you get it on them.

This is especially true when it comes to baby clothing. Babies grow at a rapid rate during their first year of life. That means that keeping them in clothes that fit can seem like an impossible task. With the speed babies grow and the price of baby clothing, hand me downs are a huge benefit to parents who are struggling to afford clothes for their baby.

Hand me downs can save money by supplying large amounts of clothing to parents when they need it. The money that’s saved by clothing your kids in hand me downs can be spent on other necessary items for your child.

Some parents who do not have family members with children often decide to get together and form their own hand me down circles. These parents will meet regularly and share clothing items so that they can help each other save money and get in on the fun of sharing hand me down clothing.

The best hand me down items look as if they have never been worn. When they hear the term hand me downs, many parents often worry about having their child walk around in clothing that has rips, tears and huge stains, but that isn’t usually the case. In fact, if you didn’t tell a person that the clothing item was a hand me down, they would never have guessed that it was.

Consider saving money when it comes to baby clothing and start a hand me down circle. When your child grows out clothes, there’s always a parent waiting to welcome it into their child’s clothing collection.

Filed Under: Best Green Practices for Kids Tagged With: children, Clothing, Infant, Used good

When Should I Potty Train?

: Image by bombhead via Flickr

There aren’t any hard or fast rules when it comes to potty training your child. The truth is, you should begin the potty training process when your child is developmentally ready, and when you are ready to do the teaching. The potty training process can certainly be a learning experience for everyone involved, and can help you bond with your child as well. There are some considerations to make when it comes to beginning this process.

There are a number of signs of readiness that your child should show when he or she is ready to begin potty training. Your child should be on a fairly stable and predictable routine, not only in terms of elimination, but eating and sleeping as well. Your child should be able to remain dry after naps and for at least two hours at a time when awake. If your child is capable of following directions and is in a generally cooperative phase, then this is probably a good time for you to begin potty training. Your child should be able to tell you simple expressions like “potty” to indicate when he or she has to use the restroom. Your child should also be able to sit quietly and patiently on the toilet without fidgeting or getting upset.

Your child should be capable of walking to the bathroom and sitting on the toilet on his or her own. If your child cannot climb onto the regular toilet, purchase a training toilet or a stepping stool. If your child is eager to help you change him or her, and is asking to wear pull-ups or underwear in place of diapers, this is a good sign that he or she is ready for potty training. These are all signs of developmental readiness for the learning process associated with potty training.

Above all else, your child should be interested in the performance-reward system associated with potty training. If your child wants to earn rewards through positive actions, and is excited about the process involved, then both you and your child are probably ready for the potty training process.

Filed Under: Best Green Practices for Kids Tagged With: children, Diaper, Toilet, Toilet training