Give them something to do with the new friend.  Asking another child to play in the sprinklers is less intimidating than just asking them to play.  Your child will not have to worry about thinking of something to do when the friend comes over. 

Find instances when your child can talk to other children.  When you go to the park, help your child say hi and be friendly to other kids.  This will help them get over the shyness that can come when talking to someone they don’t know.

Make friends with the parents of new neighbors, and invite them and their children over.  This can be less stressful for your kids and give them the confidence they need.  You are close by, and they can watch you make new friends as well.  Your example can teach them.

Start out by having cousins come play if possible.  If your child hasn’t played with a lot of children, this can be an easy way to learn the social skills to get along with others.  Family members are easier because you already know them, and they are less forgiving if your child decides to bite their child. 

Helping your child learn to make new friends is a great way to give them the confidence they need in school and throughout life.  Using these tips and others can help make finding new friends easier.

Monitor how many snacks your children eat in a day.  The rule at our house is a snack at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.  I don’t have whiny kids wanting treats all day, because they know when they can have them.  However, if they want something healthy like an apple, a bagel, or some fruit, they can have it without asking. 

Add more vegetables to the dinner table.  Try a variety of vegetables, and keep trying them even when your kids say they don’t like them.  Taste buds change over time.  Have them try one bite each time you serve something they don’t like.

Make food more fun.  Serving dinner that your kids can adapt to their own tastes makes dinner more fun, and gets them to eat better.  Try taco soup with a base to include tomatoes and pinto beans and let them add their own ingredients: cheese, sour cream, chips, olives, corn, etc.  They probably won’t notice that there were tomatoes in there. 

Healthy eating takes time but is worth it in the end.  Your kids will adjust and eventually won’t miss the candy and chips that they used to munch on.  And everyone will benefit from the change.

What healthy eating habits have you integrated into your household that have worked for your family?  Let us know in the comments below.  If you are reading this from a feed, don’t foget to click over to MyNewDaycare.com/Blog and let us know what you think!

Not all children are the same, and this applies to children in the same family.  Using time out for one child may not work for another.  It’s important to understand this and not try to force the same discipline on a child that it won’t work for.  

A friend of mine has a child who defies all the rules of discipline and parenting.  He had a problem biting and she asked me for advice.  I told her every method I have ever heard of to stop a child from biting, and she had tried them all.  She had to take the time to understand him and find out what works for him.

Disciplining children is important.  They need to understand that there are rules, and when they break the rules, there are consequences.  However, understandably, the discipline should not use force that could be harmful to the child. 

When properly disciplined, a child will learn tools that will help them throughout their lives.  

The discipline should also relate to the act.  If a child colors all over a wall, they should have to clean up the mess.  If they are too small, give them some time to try alone and then help them.  Make sure it isn’t a game to them, they need to understand that they are in trouble.  

Understanding your child and finding out what discipline works for them will help them become well adjusted as they get older, and help your household to run smoother.

Start collecting objects that can be reused.  Small baby food containers, empty toilet rolls, twist ties from bread bags, small cardboard boxes, and old birthday cards are some ideas.  Put them in a box with some markers, glue, scissors, and heavy cardstock and let your child’s imagination flow.

Teach them about volcanoes and then make a volcano from clay or playdough.  You can make a playdough that you can dry, or simply reuse when finished.  Or get some paint and paper and create a volcano through painting.  Volcanoes are just one idea; you could use any subject to teach through crafts.

Scrapbooking is a fun activity with kids and can be really simple.  Find some items that they can add to a scrapbook, like the confetti from their birthday party, the cards they received, and a balloon.  Use these objects to decorate the scrapbook page and include the pictures from their party.  Show them how to journal to help them record their thoughts from that event.

Make a craft box with different types of crafts they can use.  Include paper, markers, crayons, paints, glues, tape, wood sticks, and other items.  Back to school sales are a great time to stock up on some of these supplies.

Allowing your kids to create with crafts gives them an outlet for the creativity that we want to bloom inside.  Make sure you marvel at their creation, and they will love you for it.

First, help your children understand that seeing something on the internet doesn’t make it real.  Friends that they meet might not really be children.  Help them to understand how the internet makes everyone anonymous.  Anyone can create a web site and make their information appear as fact.

Help them set up an email account that you can control.  Limit the emails they send out, make sure that you know the friends that they know.  Set up an email filter so that unwanted email isn’t viewable to them.  Decide on rules regarding registering for things on web sites, you may not want them doing this.

Set a limit on computer time.  Experts advise that children have no more than two hours of television, electronic games, or computer use in a day.  Monitor their time on the computer to try to keep within these guidelines.

Show them how to search for things they are looking for.  There are several great search engines for kids.  Some popular search engines that cater to children include www.yahooligans.com and www.ajkids.com.  If you allow them to search for information through a search engine, monitor their web browsing to make sure they don’t end up where you don’t want them.

The internet can be a great tool for children, and provided a wealth of information, games, and other fun activities.  Monitor their computer time, and watch where they are surfing.  Always make sure that your kids are following safety rules when on the internet.

Each child is different and what works with one will not work with another.  Some children don’t need help in this area, this article is written for the ones that do. 

Rewards and punishments work for some children, but not for others.  Some children look at a messy room and have no idea how to begin cleaning it.  For kids that are just completely overwhelmed, here are some ideas for helping them.

• Break down the job into different areas.  For example, have your child pick up all the books in the room.  When that is done, have them put all the clothes in a pile.  Breaking down the mess into small messes helps make the job more manageable. 
• Make a game out of cleaning.  Set a time limit for different items and see what they can clean up the fastest.  Write down the times and find out which items was the easiest to clean.
• Pull everything together in one big pile.  Have your child pick out the biggest item from the pile and put that away first.  Or find everything that is the color red and put that away.  Sometimes just cleaning up in a different way is all it takes to get the job done.

Setting rewards and punishments can work sometimes, but helping your child learn how to manage the mess and get it cleaned timely is the key to success every time.  Teaching them how to clean their room saves you from harassing them every day to get it cleaned.  And it can give your child a great sense of accomplishment once they are done. 

Let us know what works in your house in the comment section below.  We’d be very curious to hear some other ideas that work for you.

Assigning chores with children is a great way to teach them the value of work and belonging to a family.  In the summer when school is out, we give our children an allowance with the chores and a chore chart with specific jobs each day.  During the school year, we take away the chore chart and the allowance, but they are still required to help out around the house when asked.  We explain that helping out with the house is part of being a family.

Other families handle chores in different ways.  Each family is different, and the children in the family are different as well.  It is important to find a system that works with you and your kids, and is easy to manage.  No one wants to spend all day harassing their kids to get their work done.  And in the real work, a boss wouldn’t do this either, they would lose their job.

Starting chores is a good way to prepare your children for life.  It gives them a sense of purpose and accomplishment, shows the importance of working together as a family, and teaches them that work can be rewarding.  Kids are never too young to start with age appropriate jobs.

 Have your children invite their friends to play at your house.  This gives you a chance to see how they play together and how they interact with other members of your family.  Become acquainted with their parents also, and you will find that this will help you understand their family situation.  Help your child to understand what your values are and to recognize the same values in friends that they make.

Teach your kids values that are important to you, like being honest, and make sure they understand that it applies to friends too.  A friend had a daughter who came to her because a friend wanted her to lie to my friend about going to the mall.  She told her what she really wanted to do, and what her friend thought she should say.  After her friend went home that day, they talked about what makes a good friend.  She decided that she didn’t want a friend that was going to try to get her to lie. 

Realize that all children are different.  You might have a child that has fifteen friends and makes new friends easily.  Then you might have another child who only has one or two friends, but has a closer friendship with them.  Recognize what works for your child and help them develop the relationships that fit with their own personality. 

Helping your child understand how to be a good friend will help them recognize good friends also.  It is so much easier to influence your children while they are young.  Take advantage of these opportunities while you can.

Most of the friends I know that camp with their kids have a trailer to sleep in.  They have found that this is the easiest route to take.  Turning on a generator to run your blow dryer is not my idea of camping.  So how can you “rough it” with kids?

This is another great teaching opportunity.  Survival.  Necessity.  Make a list of what you must take to survive your camping trip.  Talk to your kids about what is a necessary item.  Have them pack these first.  Then talk about what they would like to make camping more fun or easier.  See if there is room to pack some of these things.  

Know that food is half the battle.  Figure out how you are going to cook your food, and plan accordingly.  You don’t want to spend all day cooking, and you don’t want to be sitting around the fire at 8:00 at night waiting for that chicken to cook. 

Don’t get caught up in “what are we going to do”.  You are out in nature!  Explore it.  Go for walks, find a place to camp by a river or lake, watch the stars, dig in the dirt.  Show your children that entertainment can be found in the simple things.  

Keeping it simple will make your camping trip more fun and less work for you.  With a little pre-planning, you can have a great time camping with your kids.

It’s never too early to start teaching your children about money.  A great way to begin this is by giving them an allowance.  There are several ways to do this, and I’ll talk about a few of them.

You can give allowance based on chores with specific money amounts.  For example, you can decide to pay $2.00 for setting the dinner table, $10.00 for keeping their bedroom clean all week.  You decide the chores you would like your child to do, and then show them how to do the work correctly.  Let them know ahead of time how much they get for each job, and keep track.  Decide how often they will receive the money they have earned.

Another option is to have a set amount of allowance based on their age.  For example, a five year old gets $2.50 a week.  In order to earn their allowance, they have to keep their room clean, do an assigned job each day, and help out with other things that you might need.  When they don’t do jobs or keep their room clean, they lose part of their allowance for the week.

Some parents give their children money without requiring the child to earn it.  I don’t like this option because I like giving a value to the money.  When children have to earn it, it means more to them.  However, if you don’t like the idea of putting your kids to work, you can still teach them about money.  I would still suggest assigning a requirement to the money, such as good grades or good behavior.

Whatever option you chose, starying an allowance with your children will teach them about working, how to spend money, and how to save it as well. 

We hope you enjoyed today’s article!  Please leave any comments or allowance ideas of your own below.  Come back tomorrow for another tip!