Creating Family Holiday Traditions
I’m always on the lookout for meaningful topics to post about. With the holidays upon us, I have been thinking about traditions that my family had when I was growing up, such as our Christmas Eve tradition of each getting to open one gift. Another one was that we used to all sit and string popcorn for the tree and then after Christmas we would hang it outside for the birds. I had come across a families.com post that piqued my interest further. So I’ve been looking around online to see what other family traditions are out there.
As my own children are growing, we’ve been slowly adding little traditions into our lives as well. We make a dinner of all of our favorite foods on Christmas Eve each year. On New Year’s Eve we put a folding table in our family room and load it with all of our favorite snacks and we play Wii Sports and other games all night long until the ball drops.
Our traditions are not all centered around holidays though. The kids have come up with a few traditions of their own. They have named the first Saturday or October as “Role-Switching Day”. The kids play the parents and the parents play the kids on this Saturday. It has been pretty funny so far.
I’d love to hear your family traditions, not only around the holidays, but all year long. Don’t be shy, let’s hear them all…..
Kids & Healthy Eating During the Holidays
As a parent, one of my biggest challenges is getting my kids to eat a wide variety of foods that are healthy. With this comes a lot of guilt at some times. I like giving my kids treats here and there, but then I feel guilty. This becomes especially difficult during this time of the year. It starts with Halloween and then goes downhill until around the start of the New Year. We are around candy, cookies, pies, cakes, treats and all sorts of delicious confections.
My kids tend to like their veggies uncooked, so that is the way I serve them most of the time. I also add a fruit to their lunch bags and to the dinner table. I am lucky that my kids do like many fruits and veggies. But, not every child is so accepting.
I recently came across this great article about hiding veggies in your kids’ meals. I LOVE it. I’ve done it a few times, but love the great ideas at ParentDish.com. To think that adding just a few pureed veggies to your typical meal could lower their calorie intake and almost doubled their total vegetable intake! That is fantastic!
I have added fruits to various things as well, such as mashed banana to boxed muffin mix. Simple things like this can make your kids’ eating habits a little healthier. What are some things that you do to add veggies and fruits to your child’s diet? I’d love to hear your stories and perhaps other parents can get a great tip from you too.
Sun Safety for Kids
Friday, May 27th is officially “Don’t Fry Day” according to The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention. This is something we should all start to take seriously.
Things are different now…different than when we adults were children. There is more knowledge about the effects of the sun on our bodies, and as most of us know the ozone is being depleted causing less filtering of the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. That being said, we and our kids need more protection from these harmful rays.
How to protect our kids
- Do not allow skin to burn – this increases risk of future skin cancers
- Avoid tanning & tanning beds
- Generously apply sunscreen – it is recommended that you apply sunscreen 20 minutes before exposure to the sun. Also, choose a minimum of 15 SPF protection. Make sure it protects from both UVA & UVB rays. Reapply every two hours even if it is cloudy outside, especially when children are sweating & swimming.
- Choose protective clothing. There are lots of choices out there now that actually provide UVA & UVB protection in the clothing.
- Stay in the shade.
- Make sure you are consuming enough vitamin D, which often times can be low due to the lack of sun exposure that we are allowed to have.
- Babies that are 6 months old or younger should be kept out of the sun completely.
- Pay attention to the expiration date on the sunscreen.
How to choose sunscreens
- Choose broad-spectrum or multi-spectrum protection for both UVA & UVB rays.
- Look for ingredients such as benzophenones (oxybenzone), cinnamates (octylmethyl cinnamate and cinoxate), sulisobenzone, salicylates, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, avobenzone (Parsol 1789) and ecamsule (Mexoryl SX).
- SPF 15 is typically sufficient. If you have fair skin or a family history of cancer you should increase this to SPF 30 or more for added protection.
- If you plan to sweat a lot or are going to be in the water, buy sunscreen that is meant for that.
Sunscreens for children
- Buy a sunscreen designated for children.
- Avoid sunscreens with para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and benzephenones like dioxybenzone, oxybenzone, or sulisobenzone, as these may irritate young skin.
- For sensitive skin, look for titanium dioxide or zinc oxide instead of chemicals like para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), dioxybenzone, oxybenzone, or sulisobenzone. Also avoid sunscreens with alcohol, fragrances, or preservatives.
As always, enjoy the warm weather but be safe!
Gardening with Your Kids
I love to write about gardening with your kids each summer, especially because I am a self-proclaimed gardening addict. I always try to involve my whole family in this tradition. I’ve also been doing a lot of surfing online about the topic to see if there is something knew that I can learn. This year, I am incorporating some organic vegetables into my array of veggies.
You’ll find some tips about composting, growing tomatoes and ways to involve your children on a previous post titled “Summer Gardening with Your Kids”.
Gardening Resources
This topic is almost endless when looking online, but I’ll mention the resources that I enjoy. Some are related to organic gardening, including sites where you can order organic plants online.
- Burpee.com is a wonderful resource for almost every aspect of gardening…buying plants, seeds, gardening tips & tools, advice and videos. This includes both veggie and flower gardening, organic and not. I LOVE this site.
- The Natural Gardening Company is the oldest certified organic nursery in the USA. You can purchase your seeds and plants online for shipping at the appropriate planting time for your zone.
- Ed Hume Seeds has a great resource for what to grow for a family of four. They offer a seed planting chart. This has been a great help to me.
- If space is an issue, check out How to Grow a Vertical Garden in Raised beds.
- If you live in an area like me, you’ll need to consider a fence to keep the critters out. I found some great tips at OrganicGardening.com. They offer tips for do-it-yourself fencing.
I’ve also found a fantastic blog called “5 Minutes for Mom” and they are giving away Love Your Veggies Books & Garden Supplies. All you need to do is go to the blog and make a comment. How easy is that.
I hope I’ve helped you a bit. It is so important to make gardening a family oriented tradition. We have a great time with it and my boys really love getting dirty.
Let me know if you have any great tips, ideas or other input….even if you have a question, I’d love to hear from you and find you the answer you are looking for.
Thanks and happy gardening!
Rae Lynn @ Kidz Comfort
The Inevitable: My Boys Don’t Want to Kiss Me Anymore
How old were your kids when they didn’t want to snuggle with you on the couch, hold hands in public any longer or kiss you goodbye and goodnight?
My boys are 6 and 7 years old, and fortunately they are still willing to snuggle. The public displays of affection are decreasing, but they will still kiss me goodbye when I drop them off at school (albeit a quick smooch) and they will hug and kiss me goodnight, good morning, etc…
So why does this happen to so many families? Many experts believe that there is an association with public displays of affection between child and parent that is somewhat stereotyped as being for babies by the child. This is much more prevalent with boys and their mothers.
Parenting consultant Barbara F. Meltz suggests making light of your child’s wishes to not hug or kiss by joking around with your child, perhaps suggesting another way of saying goodbye or goodnight that is less “childish” in their eyes. You can also create a “house rule” such as “bedtime requires a kiss from Mommy & Daddy”, but forgo kissing at other times.
There are always exceptions to this typical scenario of kids wanting less public affection from their parents as they age. I’d love to hear your story.
For more good reading about raising a son, Meltz suggests:
Win a Parenting Magazine Subscription
While March has an enormous number of “observances” to help people become more aware of what’s going on in the world, we thought we would focus on a few parent / child related observances. For example, March is “Sing with Your Child Month”.
March also includes the following:
- March 5th – Potty Dance Day
- March 7th – Daughters’ and Sons’ Day
- March 12th – Girl Scout Day
- March 17th – Absolutely Incredible Kid Day
- March 18th – Forgive Mom & Dad Day
To encourage reading with and about your children, we thought we would have a contest. Sign up for our newsletter and you’ll be entered to win a one-year subscription to one of the following “Top 10” Parenting Magazines:
1. Family Fun Magazine
2. Parent & Child
3. Parenting – Early Years
4. Parenting – School Years
5. Parents Magazine
Just subscribe to our free newsletter before March 31st and you’ll be entered to win! It’s as easy as that.
Good Luck!
-Rae Lynn @ Kidz Comfort
Sibling Rivalry
My oldest son who is 7-years old keeps a mental scorecard. If his younger brother (who is 6) gets 10 M&M’s, then he 
had better get a minimum of 10. If his younger brother gets a reward sticker on his chore chart, then he had better get at least one. The list is endless in terms of the competition between my two boys.
This is not an uncommon story. More often than not are siblings competing in one way or another. If it’s not for attention, then it is for recognition, an item or something else. Sometimes it can be healthy such as wanting to have as many reward stickers on a chore chart as a sibling, but it can also lead to anger and resentment within a family if it crosses a line. It can make a family game night very tense and not fun at all.
I recently read an article about minimizing competition between kids that I thought was meaningful and relevant. It touches on five of the ways that you can help to eliminate competition between your own kids.
Do your kids show jealousy of each other? Read more about Jealousy: 5 Ways to Minimize Competition Between Kids.
Sleep Well!
Rae @ Kidz Comfort
Importance of Bedtime Routines
I’ve written about it over and over, and I cannot stress enough how important a bedtime routine is for children. But, it’s not always possible to achieve a true “routine” before bed. We experience issues on evenings when one or both of my sons’ have a sports practice or game especially. All within a matter of 4-5 hours, you have to cram in a snack or two, dinner, homework, practice or game if they’re in sports, a bath, and if you’re lucky a book. This can be quite a challenge.
As told in the Parenting.com article on “14 Happy Bedtime Rituals” there is no one-size-fits-all bedtime routine when it comes to your own child. Some of these ideas work and some may not. It all depends on your child’s personality and what their needs are. What is important is that you do try some of these suggestions. It will make your child sleep more soundly and wake up refreshed and ready for a new day.
Some suggestions are:
- Bath
- Read a book (this is a must)
- Lullaby – Music has been known to calm & soothe the most distraught child…Read More About Music HERE
- Snuggle (which I am a big fan of!)
You can also read more about bedtime routines on my blog. Just creating a routine each night will help your family have a calm evening together.
Good luck and sleep well!
Rae Lynn @ Kidz Comfort
How Can I Get My Child to Stop Sucking His Thumb?!
When my boys were born, it was so cute (and often helpful) to see them sucking on a pacifier or their thumb. My first son always used a pacifier, or binky as we called it. We spent some time worrying about his teeth and how we were going to get him to stop using his binky, and much to our surprise, he ended up doing it on his own. He threw his last one away when he was around three years old.
Then baby boy two came along. We were so relieved when he didn’t want a binky. What a relief…no struggle to get him to stop sucking on a binky in our future. But, what he did start doing was sucking on his thumb. Little did we realize that this cute little action would be a harder challenge for all of us.
Here we are, our youngest is going to be five and we cannot get him to stop sucking his thumb. It is obvious in his teeth that he is a thumb sucker. They are already starting to “move”. So, I do what I love to do…research and find out how we can help him to stop sucking his thumb, in a non-traumatic way, and possibly preventing future dental work.
I came across an article in the May issue of Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine. It gave some great tips on ways to handle thumb-sucking. Like most other obstacles with children, we should be using positive reinforcement and distraction rather than admonishing him for sucking his thumb. It recommends occupying his hands at times when he sucks his thumb. Boredom can be a big cause, so try to keep their hands busy and their minds occupied.
Shari Green, C.O.M., I.A.O.M, Certified Orofacial Myologist, and more easily termed “the Thumb Lady” of ThumbLady.com, states “Over 85% of children who suck their fingers and thumbs past age 4-5 may develop speech problems, tongue thrust swallows, and have flaccid weak tongues and lips.” She offers a program on her site that is based on behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
Babies begin sucking their thumbs because it is comforting and natural from the time they are born. If a child continues sucking his thumb, Shari Green states that “Childhood thumbsucking beyond age 5 is a HABIT — nothing more, nothing less. There comes a point in time when children truly want to stop, but often the habit has persisted for so long and is so ingrained, they cannot stop on their own.”
I would love to hear about your challenges and successes with thumb sucking. Leave a post…it may just help another parent!
raelynn @ Kidz Comfort
Why Children Lie and What You can do About it
One time or another, all children lie. It’s just a fact.
What made me research this topic is that my 5-year old son began kicking it up a notch with the lies. I can easily understand why he is lying about certain things, but what was more curious to me is how did he actually learn to lie.
Is it a trait that humans are born with? Or, is it something they actually get exposed to and learn to do from others.
Susan Epstein, Parent Coach at ParentingPowers.com says “Children lie for a number of reasons.”
Susan adds “The most common reason is for fear of getting in trouble and disappointing parents or feeling shame. They took something they shouldn’t have. The parent finds out and gets angry. Best response: ” What you did is wrong..but we all make mistakes. Please don’t do this again.” In other words…if you don’t shame your child but correct the behavior instead it isn’t scary or humiliating when they do make a mistake and lie about it. Children also lie because they want something very badly. For instance, “I went to Disney Land” from a 5 year old…could mean “I wish very much I could go to Disney Land.” The best response a parent could say would be: “I know you wish you had gone”…in other words teach the child the difference between wish and truth.”
Children are not Naturally Deceitful
As stated above by Parent Coach, Susan Epstein, “The most common reason is fear of getting in trouble and disappointing parents or feeling shame.” Creating excessive fear in a child may actually reinforce their desire to lie rather than solve the problem. To avoid this issue, create an environment where your child feels comfortable telling the truth. Make sure your expectations are not unrealistically high for their age.
Dr. Benjamin Spock says that “When a child lies regularly, it may mean that she is under too much pressure of some kind.” As a parent, your job is to work with others that are close to your child such as their teacher, to find out what is wrong. Begin by saying something like “You don’t have to lie to me. Tell me what the trouble is and we’ll see what we can do.” Your child may not even know the answer to this question right away, but be patient and it will pay off in the end.
Is Lying Related to the Intelligence of Your Child?
More recent studies show that lying is related to intelligence. Lying demands both cognitive development and social skills that honesty simply doesn’t require. If your child is already starting to tell little white lies at a very early age, such as by the time they are 2 or 3, it could actually mean that your child is very intelligent.
By the age of 4 most children will have lied to avoid punishment of some kind. Many books and other resources will even advise that you should just let the lies go at this age because they will grow out of it. The opposite is actually true…the truth is they’ll grow into it if allowed. Make sure you are explaining why it is important to tell the truth and not lie.
As they age, not only will they lie to avoid punishment, but also to increase their “power”, their sense of control, and as a way of getting more attention. Many older children will actually make up stories about who they’ve met or things they’ve done, just so others will be impressed by them.
When Should You be Concerned About Your Child Lying
If your child has a sudden dramatic increase in lying, it can be a danger sign of other more serious concerns. Excessive lying is often a symptom of other underlying issues.
Children who don’t feel good about themselves often lie much more. We should be trying to determine what the issue may be without expressing anger at the dishonesty. It is important to make sure our children don’t have low self-esteem. Low self-esteem can be the root of many other future concerns.
Another reason that children begin to increase their dishonesty is because their parents may be too intrusive. As children get older, their desire for privacy also increases. They maintain privacy, individuality and control by controlling the amount of information that they share with their parents. Too much “where were you”, “what did you do”, “who were you with” will eventually lead to dishonesty.
Children often react by lying when they know or sense that there is an issue in the family. If parents are fighting, divorcing or if there are other issues within their family, this may be the way they vie for attention and work at getting the fighting parties to work together again.
Acting out can be a cry for help.
Conclusion
Children may lie at all different ages and for all different reasons. Do your research and pay attention so that their lying is not a red flag for more concern. Get involved, but do not smother them. You may even make your family bond stronger.
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