Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com » Parenting Tips http://neenmachine.com Parenting Tips for Busy Moms and Families Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:18:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en http://neenmachine.com http://neenmachine.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/jrettshoptherapy_828.jpg Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com Kids Fighting http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/22/kids-fighting/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/22/kids-fighting/#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:43:06 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=510 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/22/kids-fighting/.
Here is one area in which I could use parenting advice - Kids Fighting.

And, I am not talking about my children and other kids. Luckily, they get along well with all of their friends! :)

No, I am talking about my kids and my kids. Yep - sibling rivalry at it’s worst.

In fact, my job as parent would be a lot easier if everyone just got along - all the time.

I hate hearing that whine, “MOOOOOOOOOOM, he did this or he did that.”

And how about the lovely question, “How come he gets to do so and so, and I don’t. It’s not fair!”

I have tried everything from punishment, to reward, to ignoring, to yelling. And it is probably my lack of consistency that keeps the children’s arguments alive.

I have narrowed it down to the following 10 Parenting Tips to Stop Kids Fighting (from a mom at her wit’s end):

  1. Your siblings are your best friends. If you can’t treat them well, then you can’t have playdates with other friends. Sounds fair enough don’t you think?
  2. You must try to work through your differences before involving me - mom. This must be done without yelling or physical contact.
  3. Be flexible and open to each others suggestions. LISTEN to each other.
  4. If you do call me in on the matter, then what I say goes - and you may not like my decision.
  5. No teasing is allowed, under any circumstances - provoked or otherwise.
  6. Remember that you are not all the same age. Behavior that is ok for a five year old may not be ok for a twelve year old, and vice versa.
  7. Same as number 4, except privileges that are granted to a twelve year old may not be appropriate for a five year old.
  8. Respect the decisions of your parents for rules 4 and 5. Do argue the matter and do not harbor resentment towards your siblings for those decisions.
  9. If you are willing to share a toy, snack, etc. with a friend - you should also be willing to share the same with a sibling.
  10. Love and respect each other - your siblings will always be there for you.

I hope this will put an end to the bickering! Let me know what works in your home.

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]]> http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/22/kids-fighting/feed/ Free Carvel Ice Cream http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/19/free-carvel-ice-cream/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/19/free-carvel-ice-cream/#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:37:18 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=509 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/19/free-carvel-ice-cream/.
Kids love ice cream. And parents love cheap ice cream.

Honestly, taking the family out for ice cream treat has become a major investment as of late. A trip to Baskin & Robbins, Ben & Jerry’s or Carvel can easily run over twenty dollars. And forget about toppings.

Here is a little bit of advice for parents: It is a far better deal to get a tub from the grocery store and scoop it yourself. Even after you buy bags of candy, bottles of chocolate syrup, and anything else you need for an awesome sundae bar - you still come out ahead.

I know, sometimes the family just wants to go out. Well, this Saturday is the day to do it.  You can grab the children and head on down to your local Carvel for their customer appreciation day. Small soft serve cones are just 59 cents between 12 pm and 5 pm. And everyone gets a free Lil’ Rounder ice cream sandwich just for coming in.

Not a bad deal.

And thanks to Heather at Freebies 4 Mom for the info!

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]]> http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/19/free-carvel-ice-cream/feed/ Britax Car Seats on Sale http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/13/britax-car-seats-on-sale/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/13/britax-car-seats-on-sale/#comments Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:33:57 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=507 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/13/britax-car-seats-on-sale/.
A new friend of mine on Twitter - firemom, of the fine blog Stop Drop and Blog, was looking for Britax car seats on sale.

I figured she wasn’t the only one that would be looking for Britax booster seats at a good price. So when I came across this sale to today I decided to share it here (instead of on my coupon codes and sales site - I Love A Good Sale):

Huge Britax Sale!!! Hot Prices - Limited Time Only!

This sale is at Baby Age and runs from today through Saturday September 21, 2008 or while supplies last.

Be sure and report back with any good deals and steals that you find there.

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]]> http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/13/britax-car-seats-on-sale/feed/ What Will You Do With All That Time? http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/13/what-will-you-do-with-all-that-time/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/13/what-will-you-do-with-all-that-time/#comments Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:25:32 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=506 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/13/what-will-you-do-with-all-that-time/.
This is the first year in about twelve that I have not had a little one home with me, or a preschool run to make.

Yup, my youngest started kindergarten.

And no, contrary to popular belief, I am not drowning my tears in my morning coffee.

Sure, I miss having the kids around - but the extra time thing is pure fiction.

Let’s see. Eleven days in school so far. And what did I do?

  • 3 separate days of PTA meetings.
  • 5 days of house guests
  • 1 far away doctor’s appointment

And that leaves me with two days of “free time” to clean, cook, run errands and get my fledgling internet business aspirations off the ground.

Not to mention all of those projects that I have left for “someday when the kids are all in school”.

So, if you were worried about me, don’t fret. I have more to do now than ever before.

Stay tuned for parenting tips for moms that have too much to do!

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]]> http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/13/what-will-you-do-with-all-that-time/feed/ Chore Ideas for Kids http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/03/chore-ideas-for-kids/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/03/chore-ideas-for-kids/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:05:57 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=505 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/03/chore-ideas-for-kids/.
A while back, I posted some parenting tips about chore ideas for kids - 20 ideas in fact. Now that the school year has started, I need to get more organized as far as household chores go, or I will end up doing all of the work myself.

My children are busy little people - much busier than I was at their ages. Between school, homework, and activities they have precious little time to spare. So, while I do not want to burden them down with added work, I think the responsibilities of maintaining a home offer valuable life lessons that kids need to learn.

The key is to offer up manageable tasks. A few chores that I have delegated to the kids are

  • Bringing their dirty laundry to the laundry room and putting away their, clean, folded clothes.
  • Setting the dinner table - everything from  napkins to cups filled with milk or water.
  • Clearing the table.
  • Cleaning up the playroom.
  • Taking out the garbage.
  • Unloading the dishwasher on occasion - when they happen to have a little extra time in the morning.

The weekends are a different story because they are so unstructured. As a family, we often tackle a different area of the house or the yard as a group.

Now don’t get me wrong, this post makes us sound a bit like the Brady Bunch minus Alice. But I assure you, there is a fair amount of complaining and bickering going on - it just wouldn’t be normal any other way. “How come he gets to do that?”, “How come I have to put that away when I didn’t take it out” - and many more similar outbursts are common.

What chore ideas for kids do you have now that the school year has begun? I would love to hear them!

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]]> http://neenmachine.com/2008/09/03/chore-ideas-for-kids/feed/ Hottest Female Blogger Contest http://neenmachine.com/2008/08/31/hottest-female-blogger-contest/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/08/31/hottest-female-blogger-contest/#comments Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:16:01 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=498 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/08/31/hottest-female-blogger-contest/.
My blogger friend - Katja at Skimbaco.com is in the running for the Hottest Female Blogger - 12 winners will become part of the Hot Blogger Calendar.

But it’s still anyone’s contest - so she needs a little help. Vote here for your for your favorite Hot Blogger or head over to Katja’s site at Skimbaco.com, get to know her, and then cast your vote there.

I was tempted to add my own name to the list - but considering that the only mug that I’ve posted on the internet so far is a bunch of flowers, well I probably didn’t have a chance against the rest of the blogging beauties

You may recognize some other names on the list. I know several of my other blogger friends are in the running as well - check them out as well (sorry if I miss someone!):

  • Lori at A Cowboy’s Wife
  • Alli at Mrs. Fussypants
  • Jessica at Jessica Knows
  • Amy at Taste Like Crazy
  • the domestic diva
  • The Redneck Mommy
  • Dawn at Dawn and Jimmy
  • Lotus at Sarcastic Mom
  • Cindi at Moomettesgram’s Musings
  • Chic Shopper Chic

    • Interestingly, I have met many of these blogger friends recently on Twitter - the profile that I use is ILoveAGoodSale. Click over and follow me there.

    Now I belatedly realize that I may have opened up a can of worms by writing this post. Apparently, some parts of cyberspace have gotten a little ugly over this contest. But I told Katja I would write it up and if I make a promise, I keep my word. Just keep in mind that one of the parenting tips that we teach our children is to be a good sport. So, remember that it is all in good fun. The pure fact that there is such a thing as a Hot Blogger Calendar shows how far blogging has come!

    Kudos and good luck to all of the contestants in the running for the Hottest Female Blogger!

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    ]]> http://neenmachine.com/2008/08/31/hottest-female-blogger-contest/feed/ Family Vacation Planning http://neenmachine.com/2008/08/24/family-vacation-planning/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/08/24/family-vacation-planning/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:06:50 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=496 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/08/24/family-vacation-planning/.
    Family Vacation Planning: Parenting Tips for Choosing the Right Hotel

    I’m back from a weeklong, interesting, but not particularly relaxing vacation with the kids.

    We ventured all the way out to San Francisco to visit my sister and her family. This was the first time that three of our children have made it out to the Bay Area, so of course, we tried to do a bit of sightseeing as well.

    I have read all kinds of parenting tips about traveling with children. I have done it often enough that I could actually write a manual on family vacation planning. But theory and practice are always two different things. And no matter how much you try, you just can’t plan everything.

    This vacation was clear across the country for us - and since we were combining visiting and sightseeing we decided to go for one week - Saturday to Saturday. I don’t usually like to take vacations that are longer than four or five days. It is just too long for our family. Eating out every day is expensive, not very nutritious and just like at home, it is hard to please everyone. One of our children has multiple food allergies and that makes it even more difficult.

    Choose a Suite with Kitchenette Instead of a Standard Room
    We took a step in the right direction by staying at a Marriott Residence Inn (they really rock!). In theory, the full kitchen and complimentary breakfast and weekday snack/happy hour should help with mealtime hassles.

    In reality, the breakfast was fantastic and took care of one meal a day for us. And while the full kitchen was useful for reheating take out and late night snacks, we were out for most of the day. Without the proper utensils and spices/condiments and with no time to prepare meals - cooking was not a true option. Also, because we were out for most of the day, we never made it back to the hotel for the evening snack hour.

    But all in all I would still go for a room with a kitchen or a kitchenette. We did save some money on breakfasts and snacks.

    Choosing a Suite
    Our family of six is a rather large crew. Generally we do not fit in one room when we travel. A two bedroom suite will often sleep six with two people in each bedroom and two on a sofa bed. Happily, I was able to snag a two bedroom suite on this trip. In theory, it would have been great.

    The reality was that our suite was billed as a “penthouse” suite. Wow, penthouse sounded awesome - pretty luxurious, in fact. In actuality, the suite was called “penthouse” because it was a two level unit. The downstairs had one bedroom with a common sitting area (sofa bed) and kitchen. The upstairs was a loft that housed the second bed. This loft area was open to the floor below.

    Thankfully, our children are old enough to respect the “power of the loft” and did not really pay much attention to the open to the floor below part. But a wiggly toddler, like my nephew, may just want to run upstairs, climb on the bed and hang over the edge while waving to mommy below. Not a good idea. Also, surprisingly, our entire unit was located on the second floor - with no handicapped access. Read, no stroller access either. Luckily, we are beyond the stroller phase as well.

    One thing that the best of planning cannot eliminate are sibling squabbles. And even though each of the kids had a bed, they didn’t necessarily want to share it with a particular other sibling. So, many arguments erupted over who would sleep where. They just don’t tell you about this in Parenting 101. When we summon up the courage to tackle another family vacation (or when enough time passes that we forget about the bickering), I will make up a schedule before we leave home about who will sleep where. The younger kids each wanted to have a “sleepover” with mom and dad and to accommodate everyone, we needed the children to be a bit flexible about sleeping arrangements. We did not foresee this to be a problem. But it was.

    Pool Required!
    I found that a pool is still number one among parenting tips when planning a trip with kids, no matter what their ages. Our kids frolicked in the pool every night after a full day of visiting and sightseeing. Ask them about the best part of the vacation, and they will tell you it was the pool. No matter that we needn’t have traveled the length of the United States to go swimming.

    Location, Location, Location
    Our hotel was a bit off the beaten path so to speak. It was closer to my sister’s place but not near the sights. And driving everyday became a bit tedious (again, the sibling bickering). I don’t know if I would do it differently by splitting up the sightseeing portion of our trip and the visiting portion but it is something to consider.

    And now, I have one cranky, jet lagged child demanding my attention. More nuggets of parenting advice from the trip to follow ….

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    ]]>     http://neenmachine.com/2008/08/24/family-vacation-planning/feed/     Abba Mama Mia http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/29/abba-mama-mia/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/29/abba-mama-mia/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:54:23 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=492 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/29/abba-mama-mia/.
    I am an Abba fan. And for years I have been trying to catch the Mama Mia musical to no avail.

    It’s been a little hard to find the time.

    But, lucky me, now there is a movie - which I hear is fantastic. But have not yet seen.

    It’s been a little hard to find the time.

    In the meantime, I came across this excellent article about Abba. Lots of interesting trivia about a band that has endured the times. And if you want to see what they look like now (or at least a few years ago) … there is a pic as well.

    Have you seen the movie?

    Have you taken the kids? It is PG-13. Is this show appropriate for kids younger than that?

    Give me your parenting tips.

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    ]]>     http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/29/abba-mama-mia/feed/     Creative Parenting Tips http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/02/creative-parenting-tips/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/02/creative-parenting-tips/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:21:09 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=484 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/02/creative-parenting-tips/.
    If you missed my post yesterday on Beach Bag Parenting Tips - basically it is about giving your old diaper bag new life by using it as a beach bag.

    One of my readers, All Adither, wrote:

    Personally, I don’t ever want to see another diaper bag again as long as I live. Or a diaper.

    Yeah - I hear you, especially the diaper part.

    But it reminded me that diapers are actually pretty useful when it comes to nosebleeds.

    A few weeks ago at my son’s soccer game - he got bonked in the nose with the soccer ball. His nose immediately became a human version of Old Faithful.

    And, of course, no one could produce paper towels or tissues quickly enough.

    But one mom on the sidelines offered up a disposable diaper - a CLEAN one.

    Getting an eight year old to agree to press a diaper on his nose is a different issue. But he did. And let me tell you, I just might run out and buy some diapers for the occasion of bloody noses only.

    Those super absorbent wonders took care of all the mess - much better than your run of the mill paper towels.

    Those well intentioned men coaches, my husband included, kept coming over with tissues that they conjured up a bit too late. But I had to refuse. They just didn’t GET it - the diaper was all I needed for this job.

    And there you have it - creative parenting tips for nosebleeds direct from the soccer field.

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    ]]>     http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/02/creative-parenting-tips/feed/     Beach Bag Parenting Tips http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/01/beach-bag-parenting-tips/ http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/01/beach-bag-parenting-tips/#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:14:25 +0000 Neena http://neenmachine.com/?p=483 Copyright © 2008 Parenting Tips at NeenMachine.com. Visit the original article at http://neenmachine.com/2008/07/01/beach-bag-parenting-tips/.
    Here is another one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” parenting tips.

    Arriving into my RSS reader, as Murphy would have it, right after I donated my old and last diaper bag to Goodwill.

    One of Parent Hacks readers (I love that site!) wrote in about how old diaper bags make wonderful beach bags. Lots of compartments for stuff - and my favorite feature - a waterproof compartment for wet bathing suits.

    Groan! Will I find myself shopping for a diaper bag yet again? If I run to the Goodwill, maybe I can buy my old one back.

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