Cutting Grocery Costs without Cutting Nutrition

Simple, healthy, and affordable ways to weather the rising price of food

Karen Collins, R.D., American Institute of Cancer Research

Grocery prices are projected to increase again in 2008 – that’s following 2007’s highest annual increase in 17 years. But surviving these tough economic times doesn’t have to mean sacrificing good nutrition. Some simple strategies can help you cut food costs and eat more healthfully, too.

Kid of the Month

Nicholas is Kid of the Month

8 Ways to Connect with Your Teenager

By Sandra Magsamen

...Hug, sing, dance and tell your child you love them. Even if your teen acts as if they can't stand it, she promises you it's something they love and need. Use these other suggestions as ways to connect with your teenager...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

by Jeff Kinney

It’s summer vacation, the weather’s great, and all the kids are having fun outside. So where’s Greg Heffley? Inside his house, playing video games with the shades drawn...

Make the most of your weekend

by Charlotte Latvala

• Too much free time can be just as nerve-racking as an overload of scheduled events

• If you run errands over the weekend, make them enjoyable with silly games

• Put your children to sleep at their weekday bedtime

• Have a sitter take the kids while you enjoy an afternoon alone in your own home

It’s playtime! The best of big outdoor toys

Get active! These fun toys will appeal to both parents and kids this summer

by Stephanie Oppenheim - TODAYShow.com contributor

What was your family’s favorite summertime game? For my less-than-athletic family, it was badminton. While we probably weren’t very good at it, I can still hear the laughter and it remains one of those happy “every summer” childhood memories.

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Consumer: parenting news

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Click here to join the SingleMom.com forums. Share your tips, resources and experience with other single mothers. Post your own story in the Amazing Mom forum for your chance to win a gift card.

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Parenting Advice

Learn the Signs. Act Early.

It's time to change how we view a child's growth.

We naturally think of a child's growth as height and weight, but from birth to 5 years, your child should reach milestones in how he plays, learns, speaks and acts. A delay in any of these areas could be a sign of a developmental problem, even autism. The good news is, the earlier it’s recognized the more you can do to help your child reach her full potential.

Developmental Milestones

Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving "bye bye" are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (crawling, walking, etc.). Babies develop at their own pace, so it's impossible to tell exactly when your child will learn a given skill. The developmental milestones listed below will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect, but don't be alarmed if your own baby's development takes a slightly different course.

3 months

• Begins to develop a social smile

• Raises head and chest when lying on stomach

• Watches faces intently

• smiles at the sound of your voice

7 months

• Enjoy social play

• Transfers objects from hand to hand

• Ability to track moving objects improves

• Responds to own name

• Finds partially hidden objects

12 months

• Enjoy imitating people in his play

• Reaches sitting position without assistance

• Bangs two objects together

• Responds to simple verbal requests

24 months

• Walks alone

• Points to object or picture when it's named for him

• Begins name-believe play

• Demonstrated increasing independence

36months

• Climbs well

• Turns book pages one at a time

• Uses 4-5 word sentences

• Sorts objects by shape and color

48 months

• Goes upstairs and downstairs without support

• Draws circles and squares

• Tells stories

• Cooperates with other children

60 months

• Swings, climbs, hops, somersaults

• Says name and address

• Can count 10 or more objects

• Likes to sing, dance and act

Interactive Milestones Chart

This interactive tool allows you to view how a developmental milestone category (social and emotional, cognitive, or language) changes as a child grows.

When to Call the Baby’s Doctor

One of the toughest and most nerve-racking things for new moms is figuring out when to call the doctor. As a general rule of thumb, trust your instincts. If you suspect something is not right, you should always call the doctor. Even small changes in eating, sleeping, and crying can be signs of serious problems for newborns.

Top 10 Parenting Tips

Does “Good Parenting” Really Exist? - Good parenting does exist, but it is, unfortunately, not the norm.

Normally, well-meaning parents struggle with their children's common behavior problems using discipline techniques that deliver inconsistent results and fail to teach children how to learn from their mistakes. Many commonly used forms of discipline and punishment actually lead to more misbehavior and only teach children to not get caught next time!

For me (and the moms I counsel), good parenting is about bringing out the very best in your children using techniques that teach them respect, responsibility and compassion.

Parenting Secrets, Dr. Michele Borba

A big parenting mistake is not sticking to a behavior plan long enough.

The result: No behavior change. Changing behavior is a gradual process requiring commitment and repetition. In fact, learning a new habit takes around 21 days of consistent work. By faithfully using the "Rule of 21" you're more likely to get the desired behavior result.

MVParents.com - Most Valuable Parents

Involved Parents are the Real Heroes

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Parenting Matters: Positive Strategies for Parenting Challenges

Get positive, proactive, and down-to-earth guidance on how to respond to the changes and challenges of parenting in positive, healthy ways. Topics include underage drinking, family volunteering, curfews, school success, juggling work and family, and much more.

Developmental Assets

Grounded in scientific research, Developmental Assets are 40 essential building blocks of healthy development. Think of assets as the “good stuff” that young people need in their lives to help them grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. As a parent, you play a vital role in building these assets—both in how you relate to your child and how you connect your child with other caring people and places in your family and community.

Idea Bank

Search through articles: valuable parenting tips and advice. read more...

Child Safety Tips

Your Just-in-Case Emergency Plan

Exchange this information with someone you trust who will be there when you can't.

by RealSimple

Who do you call if you can't make it home in time to meet the kids' bus? Who do you trust to take in your mail when you're on vacation? Who do you trust with the extra set of keys to your house? Fill out these Emergency Plan Worksheets with your family's information on it, and put it in the hands of a family member, a friend, or a neighbor, and keep a backup for yourself, too.

Your information: Name, home address, home phone, cell phone, medical-insurance ID number, primary-care physician phone, work address, work phone, work e-mail, home e-mail, drug allergies, blood type, and medications and schedules.

Spouse/significant other information: Name, home address, home phone, cell phone, medical-insurance ID number, primary-care physician phone, work address, work phone, work e-mail, home e-mail, drug allergies, blood type, and medications and schedules.

Alarm information: Alarm-system company phone, password, and location of extra keys.

Child information: Name, birth date, any secret passwords one might need to know if she, say, has to pick your daughter up from school, medical-insurance ID number, pediatrician phone, food and drug allergies, blood type, medications and schedules, dentist phone, orthodontist phone, baby-sitter phone, school phone, school nurse phone, teacher phone, and location and time of school-bus arrival and departure.

Parent or Elder information: Name, birth date, medical-insurance ID number, primary-care physician phone, specialist phone, food and drug allergies, blood type, medications and schedules, and pharmacist phone.

Pet information: Name, feeding schedule, and veterinarian phone.

Car Seat Safety

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Child Carseat Safety FAQ

Why should I have my child in a child restraint? Why do I need a seatbelt?
How long should children be in a carseat? In their seatbelts?
What is the safest carseat?
How can I find out if my carseat has been recalled?
Should I buy a carseat with a harness or a shield?
Which other features are important?
... Find answers to your questions about carseats and carseat safety.

Beach Safety

What You Need to Know - Children ages 5 to 14 most often drown at open-water sites (rivers, lakes and oceans). In fact, 29 % of drownings involving children ages 5 to 14 occur in open bodies of water. Lifeguards are not enough! One in five parents believes that when lifeguards are present, the lifeguard is the main person responsible for supervising children in the water. Don't let a beach day turn into a bad day – follow these tips around open water. Remember active supervision is the best way to keep your kids safe!

Never Leave Your Child Alone

How Does A Hot Car Affect Kids? From 1996 through 2000, more than 120 children – most of them three and younger – died from heat stroke after being trapped in a vehicle’s passenger compartment. Research conducted by General Motors revealed that these children were left behind in a closed, parked car by parents or caregivers, or that they gained access to the car on their own and could not get out. This is a serious public health issue, and one that is entirely preventable. General Motors and the National SAFE KIDS Campaign want to end these needless deaths by reminding parents and caregivers about the dangers of leaving children in, or allowing them to play around cars.

Questions & Answers on Child Safety

What are the most important things a parent should know & tell when talking to a child about this issue? What is the biggest myth surrounding this issue? What advice would you offer a parent who wanted to talk to their child about this issue?

Darkness to Light – Child Sexual Abuse Prevention

Darkness to Light: our programs will raise awareness of the prevalence and consequences of child sexual abuse by educating adults about the steps they can take to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to the reality of child sexual abuse.

New Study Shows Car Seat Clinics Are Effective, according to Safet Kids Worldwide. Based on data from car seat checkup events conducted in 29 states in February 2005, Safe Kids found that parents successfully changed their behavior and retained their child passenger safety knowledge six weeks after receiving hands-on instruction. At a second child safety seat checkup, 45% more seats were properly installed by the parents than at the first instructional event. Families with older children were also significantly underrepresented in the research. Children who attended checkup events tended to be young—ages 4 and under — even though Safe Kids Worldwide recommends that kids who have outgrown car seats ride on booster seats until they are about 4 feet, 9 inches tall and 80 to 100 pounds. Most children reach this height and weight between the ages of 8 and 12.

Home Water Safety

Children can drown in as little as one inch of water and are therefore at risk of drowning in bathtubs, buckets, diaper pails, toilets, and other places where there may be some water accumulated. Keep bath time safe! More than half of drownings among infants (under age 1) occur in bathtubs and many of these occur in the absence of adult supervision.

Pool and Hot Tub Safety

Most young children who drown in swimming pools were last seen in the home, had been missing from sight for less than five minutes and were in the care of one orboth parents at the time of the drowning. Don’t be one of the 66 % of parents who have little or no awareness about entrapment risks. Find out how to protect your children in pools and hot tubs.

Boating Safety Tips

It is estimated that 85% of boating-related drownings could have been prevented if the victim had been wearing a life jacket. Make your children wear a life jacket … it may be the law! Forty-five states have enacted laws that require children to wear life jackets while participating in recreational boating. These laws vary in age requirements, exemptions and enforcement procedures.

Internet Safety Tips

Undercover in a Kid's Online World

By Sharon Duke Estroff

What one mom learned in her journey through kiddie cyberspace - and what every concerned parent needs to know

Realistically, we can't raise Internet-free kids, nor should we.
But here's what I've learned about helping your child find a balance between virtual worlds and the real one.

• Be his copilot. Understanding your kid's virtual world is a must, even if it means going undercover yourself. Then go online with him as he explores the site. "You wouldn't put your child in a car, hand him the keys, and say 'See ya,'" says Perle. "Don't do it with the Internet."

• Teach her how to act. Provide your kid with clear behavior guidelines for the virtual world, just as you do for the real one. "Before letting your child access a site, discuss how to be a good online friend," says Patricia Agatston, Ph.D., coauthor of Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age. And make sure she knows how to recognize inappropriate behavior from others (like flirtation, questions about age, bullying) and will tell you if it happens so that you can report the offender to site authorities.

• Use parental controls and monitoring software. Protect your child while giving him the appropriate level of independence with Website parental controls (Club Penguin offers some excellent ones that allow parents to control when and for how long kids can use the site) and monitoring software (like those listed in the searchable database at getnetwise.org). Be up-front with kids from the start about keeping an eye on them.

• Say when (and mean it). Common Sense Media recommends waiting until your child's eighth birthday before letting her join a social network. Once you do, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises limiting kids to no more than two hours a day of any kind of screen time. And balance it out with real face time with friends: These sites were never meant to replace going outside and playing.

Teens need to know about the Internet

The Internet is an amazing way to exchange information. On it there are libraries, universities, museums, places to have fun, and plenty of opportunities to meet wonderful people from all walks of life. But, like any community, there are also some people and areas to stay away from and others you should learn more about before you visit. Millions of teenagers go online every day, and most are safe. The way to stay safer is to understand the dangers and follow some simple rules to help you steer clear of trouble. By following these rules you’ll minimize the risks and have more fun.

SURF SAFER

The most important thing to remember is that when you’re online in any kind of a public forum, anyone can read what you post. You should also remember that people you first “meet” online may not be who they seem to be.

For Parents and Guardians

Whatever your age, the Internet is a great place to hang out. It’s not only fun, but it lets you keep in touch with friends and family and provides an enormous amount of information. There are lots of great educational sites as well as places to keep up with your favorite hobbies, music, sports, and much more. If you’re the parent or guardian of a teenager, you may feel teens don’t need the same restrictions and controls as younger kids. Teenagers are actually more likely to get into trouble online than younger children. Teens are more likely to explore; they’re more likely to reach out to others besides their peers; and, sadly, they’re more often preyed upon as victims by child molesters and other exploiters.

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Tight Pockets - Optimize Your Auto Insurance Rates Today

9 Cash-Saving Tips That Pay Big Bucks

complaintsboard.com

The expression "a penny saved is a penny earned" doesn't cut it these days. But saving a few dollars here and there can add up...

Get Matched to an Online School

Create a festive Thanksgiving table on a budget...

Try out these Thanksgiving recipes... from tasteofhome

Short-term Payday Loans

econ4u.org

...Which are more expensive, late fees or short-term loans?...
A short-term payday loan can be a better option than overdraft fees, reconnect fees, late payment fees or a damaged credit rating when the loan is repaid promptly. However, these loans are not suited for longer repayment periods... Being realistic about budgeting can help avoid the need for short-term borrowing.

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Suze Orman's Recession Rescue Plan - helps you survive in times of financial crisis

OPRAH.com

Do you know what your family would do if you lost your job - or worse, your home? Financial expert Suze Orman is ready to help you devise a recession rescue plan to survive - and possibly thrive - during this deepening financial crisis...

Could fat babies mean fat toddlers?

A new study from Harvard Medical School found that babies who gained weight quickly had a sharply higher risk of obesity. The study followed close to 600 babies and found those in the top quarter of weight for their length at 6 months had a 40 percent higher risk of obesity by age 3 than smaller babies.

The 10-Ingredient Shopping Trip

By Tara Parker-Pope and Mark Bittman

... In his latest “How to Cook Everything” segment on the Today Show, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman makes it surprisingly easy to cook a week’s worth of dinners with just a 10-ingredient shopping trip.

Finding last-minute tuition money

There's still time to find funds for this semester's college tuition. But you'll have to move quickly.

By Gerri Willis

It's only a couple of weeks or even days until school begins. And if you don't think you'll be able to get a handle on your college tuition bill, here with your guide to last minute money.

Health insurance doesn't have to cost a fortune. Click here for quote.

Your Just-in-Case Emergency Plan

by RealSimple

Who do you call if you can't make it home in time to meet the kids' bus? Who do you trust to take in your mail when you're on vacation? Who do you trust with the extra set of keys to your house?

How to save $10,000 in 2009

By Liz Pulliam Weston

If you were hoping for a list of small tweaks you could make in your spending to save $10,000 a year, sorry. The reality is that $10,000 is a lot of money. And saving big money usually means making big changes in the areas where we spend the most, such as: Housing, Transportation, Food.

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The Super, Sexy, Single Mom on a Budget

by Renee Rayles

A quick reference guide designed for the busy, single mom who has

little time to read while running the mom taxi, cooking dinner, helping with homework, and trying to fit in a date night every now and then.

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32 and Counting? Finding Your Happily Ever After Today

by Gi Gi

The author talks about the struggles a single mom goes through and the discovery that you can have HEAT (Happily Ever After Today) just as you are, being single, taking care of your kids...

Single Mothers &
Male Role-Models / Mentors

Single mothers carry an enormous load of responsibility, especially those having sole and/or primary custody of minor children. They nourish, they nurture, they teach, they discipline, they shelter, they protect, and they provide… all without the assistance of another equally-invested adult.

Tight Pockets - Optimize Your Auto Insurance Rates Today

Your 5-minute guide to protecting your identity

20 steps to protect yourself from identity theft, and seven ways to clean up things if you become a victim.

TheOnlineMom.com offers parents and consumers a guide to the top-rated, age-appropriate, kid-tested and parent-approved tech toys and gifts.

Colorful Ceramic
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Online Education Advantages: Explore the online experience with us in a real online classroom. Hear from former students and experts about online education. Learn the value of a distance learning degree.

What they play: Kids and video games

Parents, are you left in the dark? Arm yourself with these three tips

by John Davison, WhatTheyPlay.com

Call it a generation gap or a digital divide, if you're a parent who is a little clueless about what video games are appropriate for your child, you are not alone. John Davison, one of the founders of What They Play, offers tips that help take the mystery out of the video games your children are playing.

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How to answer six of kids' toughest questions

When kids stump you with one of these six questions, you can rely on these answers.

Questions, such as: Why didn't I get invited to that party? Where do people go when they die? How do thunder and lightning work? Where do rainbows come from? Why do we have to move?...

Is it harder to raise boys or girls?

by Paula Spencer

• Boys may not listen as well as girls because their hearing isn't as good from birth

• Girls are rigged to be people-oriented, while boys are more action-oriented

• Girls tend to grow up less confident and more insecure than boys

• Boys are harder to raise early on, but girls become more difficult as preteens

My Story as a Single Mom

by Gail Showalter

Author Gail Showalter is looking for stories from single mothers to use as examples in a book that will reveal how personalities affect the different ways we handle difficulties. This submission should tell of a situation that you found yourself in as a single mother. It should tell what you did and relate that to your own personality and temperament. In other words, why you did what you did when another person of a different temperament probably would have done it entirely differently given the same circumstances. To find out more about the submission, CLICK HERE.

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