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Cutting Grocery Costs without Cutting Nutrition

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

by 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.

Kids of the Month

Jason & Sarah are Kids of the Month

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

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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Amazing Mom

Post your Amazing Mom story, comment on other stories. Winner receives a gift card. Winning story is posted here.

Freelance Home Writer Job - Looking For Qualified Applicants

Discover your personality type and what careers are best suited for you

Parenting Resources

Freelance Home Writer Job - Looking For Qualified Applicants

Home Schooling - Educator’s Reference Desk

• Search Lesson Plans by Subject

This collection contains more than 2000 unique lesson plans which were written and submitted by teachers from all over the United States and the world. These lesson plans are also included in GEM

• www.thegateway.org

Links to over 40,000 online education resources

• Resource Collection

Links to over 3000 resources on a variety of educational issues. This collection includes: Counseling, General Education, Education Levels, Education Management, Education Technology, Evaluation, Family Life, etc.

• Question Archive

A collection of over 200 responses to popular questions on the practice, theory, and research of education. These responses may include citations from the ERIC database, Internet sites, discussion groups, and/or print resource information.

NewsforParents.org

Debbie Glasser, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and past Chair of the National Parenting Education Network. A nationally recognized authority on parenting and child development, Dr. Glasser has been interviewed by numerous magazines, newspapers, television and radio shows including Parenting, Redbook, USA Today, South Florida Parenting, Child, CNN.com, San Antonio Express-News, Balanced Living, San Jose Mercury News, Herald-Mail, The Copley News Service, Digital Hour, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Parents, Baby Talk, Nick Jr. Magazine, First for Women, Scholastic, and PBS Public Television. She also served as the on-air parenting expert for Fox WSVN News, hosting Parent to Parent, a weekly segment.

You're busy – but you want to be informed.

• NewsForParents.org, named "Best of the Web" by New York Public Library, is the online destination for busy parents like you. Updated daily, we provide clear, concise, jargon-free news and information related to children’s health, development and education.

• What’s the latest research on helping kids cope with bullies?

• Are cellular phones potentially harmful for children?

• Is learning enhanced when kids can simultaneouly see and hear new information?

• Do sleep-deprived women have longer labors?

• These are some of the questions answered on NewsForParents.org.

What is your advice for the best self-defense tactic if someone enters your home threatening harm while you are at home with your children? Should you always run when an attacker has a gun?
I want to know the difference between Tae Kwon Do and Karate. What are the benefits to both? What should I look for when researching where to enroll my kids?
With self-defense, such as a home burglar or a home invasion, what is legally defined as self-defense in this case and not assault?
I heard about a pepper spray that would shoot 15-20 feet that was recommended for women to keep in their home (i.e. rather than a gun). What do you recommend and where do I buy it? Thanks!
... Kathy Olevsky, self-defense expert, answers questions about self-defence.

Parenting Resources, USA.gov

• Education Issues for Parents

• Youth Employment

• Safety & Crime Prevention

Bullying

Bullying is when a person or group repeatedly tries to harm someone who is weaker. Sometimes it involves direct attacks such as hitting, name calling, teasing or taunting. Sometimes it is indirect, such as spreading rumors or trying to make others reject someone.

Often people dismiss bullying among kids as a normal part of growing up. But bullying is harmful. It can lead children and teenagers to feel tense and afraid. It may lead them to avoid school. In severe cases, teens who are bullied may feel they need to take drastic measures or react violently. Others even consider suicide. For some, the effects of bullying last a lifetime.

Building A Healthy Future

Great research and advice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

FAMILY Home

Learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy activities and practice making decisions, solving problems, and following rules. The topic areas below are designed to help parents and caregivers teach preschoolers how to make positive, healthy choices

GOOD TALKING, GOOD LISTENING

Effective communication with children is essential for maintaining a happy and smoothly run family life. The articles below include active listening activities for both parents and children and will help families hone their communication skills. Parent-child communication is one of the most important protective factors against risky behavior in children.

Communications activities: Conversation Starters

TIME WITH YOUR KIDS

Parent involvement is fundamental for children's mental health and well-being. The family activities suggested in this section are designed to help you spend, with ease, enough quality family time during your day to ensure that you're involved in every aspect of your preschooler's life. Even the most ordinary events can turn into opportunities for bonding, communicating, and learning!

Play Day in the Park (Easy Reader for 3- to 4-year-olds) - encourages children to play outside and exercise and discover the world around them. Use this oversized, colorful book to engage young children in reading and counting, problem-solving, and making healthy decisions.

Look What I Can Do! (Easy Reader for 5- to 6-year-olds) - encourages children to play outside and exercise, eat healthy meals and snacks, and discover the world around them. Activities throughout the book let children show all of the things that they can do, too! Use this oversized, colorful book to engage young children in reading, problem-solving, and making healthy decisions.

LIVING WITH RULES

Positive reinforcement is one of the best ways to encourage positive child behavior and enforce family rules. The articles in this section help parents learn how to make clear rules and enforce them with consistency and appropriate consequences.

WALK THE WALK

Young children need positive role models in their lives so that they grow up making healthy decisions. The articles below can help parents recognize and practice positive role modeling to instill and encourage healthy child behavior.

KIDS WITH KIDS

Making friends is an important part of childhood. But, first, children have to learn how to choose friends wisely. Parents can help young children learn how to make friends by teaching them concepts such as sharing, compassion, and conflict resolution and how to choose good friends and resist negative influences. The articles below offer parenting tips on teaching social skills.

SHOW AND TELL

Parent involvement in their child’s activities and interests can have a positive impact on child behavior and health. The articles below offer suggestions and parenting advice on keeping track of the life events that could affect a child’s mental health and well-being.

• FAMILY Activities

• Quizzes for Parents

• Conversation Starters

• Guide for Parents

Family Guide:

Building Blocks for a Healthy Future is here to support parents set aside time to share with your children. Talk and play with them, and learn about them. Let them know you love them. Be involved now and you and your children will find it easier to talk about alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs as they get older. Studies have found that parents who talk to their children about alcohol, tobacco, and drugs help them avoid substance abuse.

This Building Blocks for a Healthy Future Guide is designed for parents and caregivers of children ages 3 to 6. It is organized around six main topics to help you help your child learn how to make positive, healthy choices.

• 1. Good talking, good listening: Establish and maintain good communication with your child. ;

• 2. Time with your kids: Get involved and stay involved in your child’s life. ;

• 3. Living with rules: Make clear rules and enforce them with consistency and appropriate consequences. ;

• 4. Walk the walk: Be a positive role model. ;

• 5. Kids with kids: Teach your child to choose friends wisely. ;

• 6. Show and tell: Monitor your child’s activities.

Activity Book

Games, puzzles, and fun, plus information to help promote a healthy lifestyle and positive self-image for children ages 3 to 6. All they will need are pencils, markers or crayons, and scissors. Their imaginations will do the rest.

Smile at Your Neighbor

• Lyrics

• Sing Along

Know Kit Cards

The Building Blocks Know Kit Cards provide discussion topics that are excellent tools for parents and caregivers to use as they talk to children about their world, body, and mind. Age-appropriate questions help children expand their thinking and practice making their own decisions. The cards also offer suggestions for activities related to the questions.

• For 3- to 4-year-olds

• For 5- to 6-year-olds

• Share your tips, resources and information with other moms

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How to deal with economic stress

Stressed about the economy? You certainly aren’t alone. According to a recent survey from the American Psychological Association, 74% of Americans say work or money cause them stress and anxiety. The thing is, stress has a huge impact on your body. It can cause headaches, impair your immune system, disrupt your digestive system and can even affect heart function. Here are some stress-busters you can start today to help curb your symptoms.

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...

Get Discovered. Free Entry! Winning Models Viewed by Millions.

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.

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

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.

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Discover your personality type and what careers are best suited for you

What they play: Kids and video games

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

by John Davison - Co-founder of 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 6 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

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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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