Value Bookshop's Reading Notes

Is it enough for your child to only learn the fundamental skills of reading, writing, math, and science needed to be competitive in the high-tech workforce of 21st century? While these skills are essentials, they may not prepare a child to face the complex and evolving society of tomorrow when they enter their adult life.

At home, you need to teach your child skills that they must acquire as they step into adulthood and begin their life independently. You can teach these skills by setting examples, by talking to them, and giving your child some freedom to practice these skills even if they fail initially. So, what are these skills?

Social skills like compassion, love, listening, etc. are difficult tasks for many children. One of the most difficult tasks is listening and we find lots of adults lack this skill because they were not taught how to listen to others when they were young.

Teach your child the importance of listening and trying to understand what others are saying before she speaks out. Set yourself as an example by not interrupting your child when she is telling you something.

As kids, we learn how to be competitive and we carry those competitive instincts in to our adulthood by resorting to back-stabbing, undercutting and feelings of resentment. Instead, let your child learn that there is room for many people to be successful as a group.

Encourage your child to participate in group sports and games like baseball, volleyball, etc. where the success of the team depends on the cooperation among team members. This will instill in your child the sense of helping each other to be successful.

Teach your child how to manage failure. Childhood is filled with ups and downs. Many parents resort to bad examples when their child fails in an endeavor. Don’t set examples that will be interpreted as “failure is bad” by your child.

Instead, help them develop can-do-attitude by setting examples for your and child’s failures. Encourage them to move on and learn lessons from their failure so that they can apply those lessons to succeed the next time.

Many parents avoid asking their children to do household chores because they think that their children are not ready yet. The same is also true for giving the financial responsibilities to a child. But parents should teach the concept of responsibilities to their kids from their early ages.

Give your child small age-appropriate jobs to accomplish within a time frame. There should be age appropriate reward and punishment components to the job. You should also teach your child the concept of saving, budgeting, paying your bills on time, living within one’s means, and other personal finance matters.

Some mothers say Dr. Scharenberg is God-sent because he successfully relieved their baby from colic. They can now have a peaceful nights sleep and their baby is no longer crying in pain. Here is a video on Dr. Scharenberg as featured on KSN Channel 3 news on May 22, 2009.

Some parents are still apprehensive about taking their baby to a chiropractor for colic help. If you want to know what else you can do to stop baby from crying, click here for a comprehensive list of COLIC BABY REMEDIES.

There’s research to show that pro-biotic drops can help reduce baby colic. However, experts are saying that the idea is still new, so they are holding back the recommendations for now. If you want to try this baby colic remedy, it s safe BUT consult with your doctor beforehand. To discover what others have tried for colic, click this: HOW TO STOP BABY CRYING

Do you cringe every time you think of all that candy your kids will be ingesting this Halloween? If you’re a parent who works hard to get your kids to eat healthy, Halloween can be a nightmare. But you know what? You can actually make Halloween healthy for your kids (and other people’s kids). You can opt for all natural and organic candy. These candies are free of trans fats, GMOs, corn syrup, gluten, artificial colors and flavors.

Check out this webpage for some fun, healthy Halloween treats. No, I’m not affiliated to them or being compensated in any way. They’ve even a free download called Green Halloween Party Guide. One of the ways they listed to be green this Halloween is to decorate your home with painted pumpkins.

Have a wonderful “Green” Halloween!

School is starting soon. For many families, that means early morning scrambles, after-school tizzies and ragged nerves at dinnertime. It’s still possible to have pleasant family mealtimes even after school has begun. Check out these back-to-school dinner tips for busy Moms:

1. Have a meal plan.
The most important key to having relaxed family dinners even on school nights is having a meal plan. This will simplify both food shopping and meal preparation, and help you save money to boot.

If you need help, check out Dine Without Whine’s meal and grocery planning service.

2. Try freezer meals.
Cut down on cooking time by cooking large batches and then freezing them for future use.

3. Simplify your schedule.
With school comes extracurricular activities that could have you running – or driving around – like a headless chicken. Keep things to a minimum. Overloading children with too many after-school activities is not good for them. They need downtime too.

4. Get the kids involved in cooking.
Get some help by mobilizing your own troops – your husband and children – as your kitchen helpers. Cooking is an important life skill and now it’s bonding time as well.

5. Have an emergency plan.
No matter how well you plan in advance, something always comes up. Plan for that as well. Always have emergency supplies in the pantry so you can throw together a home-cooked meal at a moment’s notice. It could be a frozen dinner you prepared during the weekend. An example would be pasta, a can of tomato sauce and whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator.

6. Post your family schedule.
Keep a large calendar on the wall where you can see every family member’s schedule at a glance. It will also help you plan activities around your family dinner times.

7. Set a routine.
Decide on an earlier dinner time, bedtime and wake up time and start following them a few days before school officially begins. This way, everybody’s adjusted when the real thing comes.

8. Stay flexible.
Sometimes you just can’t afford disruptions to your meal times. An occasional missed family dinner is no big deal – when you know you’ll have more throughout the week.

9. Consider school schedules.
Take note of school events and other activities in your family calendar – so you can plan your family dinners with them in mind.

10. Cook once, eat twice.
Every so often, cook a double batch of meals that can easily be transformed into another entree or side dish. For example, roast 2 chickens. Have one for tonight’s dinner. Chop up the other for chicken salad for later in the week.

11. Organize your kitchen.
If you haven’t done so yet, now’s the time to take stock of your kitchen. Make sure the items you use most often are accessible from your food prep area. Replace the tools that are broken, and get those gadgets that will help you get dinner ready faster.

12. Have a special meal.
Make Friday night Teen’s night – which means they plan and prepare the meal. That is, if you have teens or any child old enough to prepare meals. They’ll learn how to cook, you get the night off (from cooking), and everybody has fun. The only condition is: everybody has to eat what’s prepared.

13. Make it educational.
This idea is for preschool-age kids. Make or buy a special placemat with letter or numbers. Laminate it with Con-Tact paper so it becomes a wipe-off board. Use it only for dinner times.

14. More mealtime learning opportunities.
Plan some meals to coincide with specific topics your child is studying in school. For example, on the night after a field trip to a pioneer town, have a pioneer-style meal.

15. Celebrate school successes at dinner.
Celebrate school successes with a special family meal. Prepare the child’s favorite meal and prepare a nice dessert. It’s more important to have a meal that’s relaxed and delicious, than one that tool hours to prepare.

16. Nurture school relationships.
Get to know your children’s closest school friends by inviting them to dinner once in a while.

Follow these tips to make family mealtimes simpler, easier and more fun. For meal planning and grocery shopping help, go to Dine Without Whine.

Your monthly subscription includes a weekly meal plan with recipes for main dishes, side dishes, 2 desserts and 2 brunches.

You’ll also get a weekly grocery shopping list of everything you need to create the recipes. The list is categorized according to grocery sections, so your shopping will be easier and faster.

For a limited time, you can try Dine Without Whine for a penny. Click here to find out how.

Have a new baby at home and need help to stop the crying? This book may be the answer to your prayers. Dr. Harvey Karp advocates a method he calls the 5 “S’s” to calm fussy, crying babies especially during the first 3 months. This book has had both good and bad reviews, mainly good ones. Some parents may not agree with his method especially the part about giving baby a pacifier to suck. However, if you are desperate enough, this book may be what you are looking for.

Content:
Introduction: How I Rediscovered the Ancient Secrets for Calming Crying Babies
Part One –

• Look Who’s Squawking: Why Babies Cry — And Why Some Cry So Much At Last There’s Hope: An Easy Way to Calm Crying Babies
• Crying: Our Babies’ Ancient Survival Tool
• The Dreaded Colic: A “CRYsis” for the Whole Family
• The Top Five Theories of Colic and Why They Aren’t Right
• The True Cause of Colic: The Missing Fourth Trimester

Part Two -

• Learning the Ancient Art of Soothing a Baby The Woman Who Mistook Her Baby for a Horse: Modern Parents Who Forgot About the Fourth Trimester
• Your Baby’s Off Switch for Crying: The Calming Reflex and the 5 “S’s”
• The 1st “S”: Swaddling — A Feeling of Pure “Wrap”ture
• The 2nd “S”: Side (or Stomach) — Your Baby’s Feel-Good Position
• The 3rd “S”: Shhhh — Your Baby’s Favorite Soothing Sound
• The 4th “S”: Swinging — Moving in Rhythm with Your Baby’s Needs
• The 5th “S”: Sucking — The Icing on the Cake
• The Cuddle Cure: Combining the 5 “S’s” into a Perfect Recipe for Your Baby’s Bliss
• Other Colic Remedies: From Massage and Feeing Problem Cures to Old Wives’ Tales
• The Magical 6th “S”: Sweet Dreams!

Conclusion: The Rainbow at the End of the Tunnel

The book is easy to read with many subheadings, diagrams, bullet points, and parents sharing their experiences. If you want to get the book, click the picture at the beginning of this post. For a DVD & CD combo, click the link below (yes, they are all affiliate links):
The Happiest Baby on the Block Combo (The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer DVD + “Super-Soothing” Sleep Sounds CD) by Dr. Harvey Karp