Here are a few tips for showing your child affection: Eye contact across a crowded room, smiles, winks, and thumbs-up. Hugs in the morning, hugs at noon, hugs at night (yes, even those smelly 10-year-olds, yes, especially those gawky adolescents). Hold hands walking down the street. Kiss your kid good-bye and hello. Model an affectionate relationship with your partner. Appropriate and Inappropriate Affection Kids don’t always want physical affection, nor is it always appropriate....

On the positive side, parents who exhibit healthy money behaviors communicate strong values to their children. When parents talk openly and constructively about financial issues, avoid engaging in frequent money battles and use their financial resources to help the disadvantaged, children learn lessons about respect, love and giving. On the negative side, “bad” money behaviors can inadvertently distort the values parents want to communicate; they also make their children tremendously unhappy....

There are three skill areas that form the foundation for reading. Kids who develop strong skills in these areas have greater success learning to read: Why kids have trouble Why do so many children experience problems learning to read? Many simply do not have enough experiences with language, books, and print. They need more time at home and in their early childhood programs devoted to helping them develop the skills that lead to reading....

It can be an inexpensive way to entertain a group of teens for hours. Of course, you’ll need to take safety issues into consideration when swimming is involved, but a pool party might be the best way to celebrate your teen’s next birthday. Finding a Pool Of course, if you have a pool in your backyard, the venue is already taken care of. But, even if you don’t have a pool, you can still host a pool party....

For this reason, it is vital that students, especially freshmen, know how to stay safe while away attending college. From safely using Uber after a night out, to keeping their belongings safe, and using a buddy system when going out, parents need to talk with their college students about how to be aware of their surroundings and stay safe. Here are some essential safety skills that parents need to instill in their college students before they leave home....

1 Cup Serving Size 1 cup of fruit can come in the form of: 1 cup chopped or sliced pieces of any fruit (fresh, frozen, cooked or canned) like apples, bananas, cantaloupe, grapes, grapefruit, fruit cocktail, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapple, plums, strawberries, or watermelon1 cup of 100 percent fruit juice1/2 large apple1 small apple1 cup applesauce1 large banana32 seedless grapes1 large orange1 large peach2 canned peach halves3 medium plums2 large plums8 large strawberries1 1-inch thick wedge of watermelon1/2 cup dried fruit like raisins, prunes or apricots...

It can be a challenge to buy birthday gifts for teens as they leave the world of toys and play behind. Teens like to make their own choices, and self-expression is a priority for them. It is helpful to buy gifts that support their newly learned independence and their desire to make the world feel like their own. Teen birthday gifts that focus on the gifts of experience, personalization, and passions will show the teen in your life that you respect who she is and love seeing her grow as a person....

Identify body parts with your child: knees, elbows, neck, fingers, toes, wrist, ankles, and nose. Choose a part and then try to touch another body part with it; hand to heel, nose to knee, or heel to bottom. Do this activity together. Touch a body part of yours with one of your child’s; head to back, elbow to elbow, ear to shoulder. Enjoy the touching, twisting, and learning.

For many moms, choosing an educational model for their children is a new decision. Most children attend their local public schools. Of course, there have always been private schools to consider and homeschooling as options, but these decisions most likely did not carry the weight of the decision that parents are facing this fall. More: 8 Reasons Why I Plan to Homeschool Even After the Pandemic As moms navigate the educational decisions of this unprecedented time, there is one thing that we can and should follow to make the best decision for our families, and that is our mom gut....

Why Twins Are Often Born Early There are a variety of reasons why twins are often born before they are full term at 39 weeks. The risk of preterm labor and premature birth are heightened when there is more than one baby in the womb. Other conditions such as preeclampsia, placental dysfunction, and twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome are more prevalent in twin pregnancy and increase the risk of an early delivery....

Determining Who Is to Blame Society is partly to blame for Mom’s dilemma here. Motherhood is undervalued in the media and the butt of jokes. Professions that use skills akin to those of mothers are paid less and mother’s work garners a low fee when it comes to divorce cases. Caplan, author of The New Don’t Blame Mother, says, “the less a group is valued or respected, the easier it is to target them for ills....

PLOP should be conducted each year and include a detailed description of your child’s current abilities and skills, with attention given to their weaknesses and strengths and how these characteristics will impact their education. In addition to academic concerns or intellectual functioning, PLOP also looks at a child’s current physical condition, including their mobility status and any disabilities they may have. Social performance is also evaluated, including your child’s relationships with other adults and children....

This information is most useful to someone trying to plan a birth for a certain date range. The calculator offers an idea of when to have sex in order to achieve a particular due date. Why Use a Reverse Due Date Calculator? A reverse due date calculator might be useful for a variety of reasons. As noted above, If you want to have your baby in, say, early summer, the reverse due date calculator gives you a window in which you would need to conceive to target that prospective due date....

The pros and cons of using Pull-Ups (and other brand name disposable training pants like Easy Ups by Pampers) will depend on your child’s age and personality as well as the situation (Are they in daycare? Do you need them to be trained for school soon? etc.) and your own ability to manage accidents. You may not actually know which option is best until you get started with toilet training....

Level: Moderately easy Time involved: Two to three hours, including drying time Materials: Newspaper or plastic 24 1-inch wood hearts Red and white craft paints Paintbrushes Black fine-tipped marker Clear acrylic finish spray Checker board If you don’t want to bother with paints but would like to play this game of favors, try using pre-cut heart-shaped foam pieces as the checker pieces.

Comfort vs. Frustration in Learning When work is easy, learners can do the work on their own without any help. It is their “comfort zone.” If all the work a learner is asked to do is always in the comfort zone, no learning will take place. In fact, a learner will eventually lose interest. When the work is too hard, on the other hand, the learner becomes frustrated. Even with help, learners in the “frustration zone” are likely to give up....

Materials Glue Liquid tempera paint or food coloring Paintbrush Wax paper Colorful leaves Directions

While it’s important for you to be aware of the implications if you’re fortunate enough to work for a company with a maternity leave policy, you should also understand your legal rights under state and federal laws in this area. Federal regulations do not guarantee your right to a maternity leave under certain qualifications, and state regulations are not consistent throughout the United States. What is guaranteed is your right to a disability leave if your company has disability leave for other medical situations....

“Immediately, in most women, you’re going to have some kind of bonding to that positive pregnancy test,” explains G. Thomas Ruiz, MD, OB/GYN lead at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center. “Once they learn that this is a nonviable pregnancy, they’re going to go into all of those emotions that are associated with the loss of a loved one. There’s going to be tearfulness, sadness, [and] there may be mild depression....