This week’s kids tip is a marvelous book for preschoolers that helps teach numbers, colors and, believe it or not, about bullying. It has solid 5 star reviews on Amazon from parents and teachers alike. [NOTE: Any purchases made through the link on this page and Amazon pays me a commission, and that seems fair to me!]

This week January 23 – 27 has been designated “No Name Calling Week” in schools across the country, so this is the perfect time to bring up this nasty subject. A subject that’s gotten a lot of attention of late with recent young suicide victims so sadly spurring the conversation.

While it’s great that the nations schools are stepping up to the discussion, the first line of defense lies with us parents. And as Signe Whitson, author, child and adolescent therapist points out in the 1/20/12 Huffington Post, there are books about bullying out there to help us get the message through to our kids. Ms. Whitson has several recommendations for books targeting middle schoolers and tweens, which is of course the age when bullying often becomes a serious problem. But like most serious issues, I believe it’s often best to start the conversations with our kids about important subjects when they’re as young as possible, and that’s what attracts me to this specific book.

Using watercolor color splashes as personas, this deceptively simple book teaches those colors and counting yet turns it all into a lesson about bullying that young minds can grasp. The message about bullying is so well delivered in this book that many reviewers recommend it for older children as well as pre-readers.

Get One by Kathryn Otoshi on your bookshelf and consider giving it as a birthday party gift to other young children, and you’ll be giving them way more than just a bed time story. We all benefit when our children learn at an early age to stand up to bullies and to treat others with respect. So pass this kids tip along to others with this book as a toddler’s birthday party gift.

Those of us blessed with healthy, fully functioning children still need an understanding of the difficulties and challenges faced by many other people. As parents, it’s our job to instill that understanding and sensitivity toward the ‘disabled’ into our kids.

The autism statistics are staggering, so most of us know or know of a family with an autistic child, and the incredible challenges those families face every day. Many of our kids are in contact with autistic children in their schools. The better we all understand this disability, the more supportive we can all be, and that includes our kids and the way they perceive these different children.

This video provides an incredible glimpse into the world of an autistic child. And blows all our preconceptions out of the water. Given the ‘tool’ of a laptop keyboard, this young girl is able to very precisely articulate her thoughts and her feelings, demonstrating remarkable intelligence despite her inability to speak and her autistic behavior. The message to me is certainly that there is way more going on in that brain than is evident and that we onlookers give credit for. And that’s my point here.

Her very short explanation in this video of what her body feels that results in the behaviors we all now associate with autism is stunning. Again, my take away is that there really is a physical cause rather than a mental deficiency, so it’s important that those afflicted with autism be treated as intelligent and mentally capable.

If we parents have a better understanding of and sensitivity toward this very difficult disability, then we can pass it along to our children, and in a very small way create a better world for these highly challenged people. And if your child does know someone with autism and is old enough, I highly recommend showing them this video.

Please forgive this off-topic blog post, but I felt it important to pass this along as ‘kids tips‘ to all the parents who read this birthday party blog.

Sorry to say it, but this holiday season is also a teachable moment that we parents shouldn’t let go to waste. Teaching our kids about money and financial responsibility isn’t easy, so the sooner we start the better it is for all concerned.

Our economy makes it pretty clear that an awful lot of people don’t have sufficient financial responsibility, but that’s not a good reason to pass the curse along to our kids. Perhaps some allowances can be made for adults who didn’t really grow up with easy access to credit, so never learned about it as kids. But we owe it to our children to teach them what we’ve all learned from our mistakes.

And the Holiday’s “I Want…” time is the perfect place to start. USA Today had a great article with practical tips for using the holidays to begin teaching about money and financial responsibility.

The kids tip I like the most is the idea that giving some money as a gift is a good teaching tool. It puts the child in the position of actually experiencing the trade-offs between high or over priced goods and more reasonably priced items that don’t take all the money. A very valuable lesson, to be sure. Combined with a family charitable gift during this season of giving, a gift in which all participate and give up a little something, and a whole lot has been taught.

There’s also a piggy bank with sections for spending, saving, charity and investment that is a terrific teaching tool and potentially a good holiday present as well.

So while giving your kids a great holiday season this year, give them a little extra by teaching about money and being financially smart. This is a great kids tip for parents to keep in mind over the holidays.

Kudos to the MotherNatureNetwork for reminding us of this rainy day or snow day or just plain slow day activity for our kids that actually helps us parents keep order. Wish I’d though of this one back in the day.

Give the kids something fun and then get something back in return when everybody’s stuck inside on a weather day, – the reverse order usually works better with kids. Before you take them sledding down the big hill or outside with their buddies for a big snowball fight followed by hot chocolate, get an hour of cleaning out time from your kids.

You participate with them in the sorting, and make it fun so it doesn’t feel like punishment. Turn up the music and sing and dance while you sort out. Go through the toy box one day, the bookshelf another, the stuffed animals on yet a another day. Then there’s the movies and dvd’s and video game shelf. Maybe you’re even up to tackling some dresser drawers, but that’s pushing it with the kids.

Just as Mother Nature Network suggests, make 3 piles- garbage, donate and keep. Then turn it all into a real lesson in giving some afternoon shortly thereafter and take them with you to actually donate the stuff. They’ll feel good about that, and it might even make them more willing to repeat this cleaning out process next time .

There’s nothing wrong with a little bargaining where you get some help keeping the house in order when you give them a fun afternoon that could have been all boring. In fact, you can use any of our suggested kids activities as a bargaining chip!

Messy stuff is FUN for kids, and whether they’re playing or crafting at home on a rainy afternoon or it’s part of your birthday party activities, you need to contain the mess without spoiling the fun. And, without breaking the bank buying some fancy shmancy messy mat that’s going to get, well, messy, anyways.

So here’s a shout out to thepinkapronblog.com for coming up with a good and cheap idea for messy mats. She’s using it for an under the highchair mess catcher, but the conecpt works for older kids making bigger messes.

Cheap shower curtain liners are relatively sturdy plastic and come in all kinds of colors. Duct tape several together for a great big messy mat for a group of kids, like at your birthday party. Use colorful duct tape and it will even look interesting! Combine different colors for even more effect.

For at  home use where the mess is smaller, cut out interesting shapes from the shower curtain liners and stash them in the craft drawer or cupboard for easy access. The Pink Apron used a plate to trace a big flower shape on the liner, then cut it out. Keep one or more liners intact to put on the floor under the mess table so nothing escapes.

Got a terrific but messy craft at your party that the kids are going to want to do at home? Make personalized messy mats in pretty colors and shapes for their take-home party favor. Get out your big fat marker and personalize each with “Susie’s Messy Mat” in your best script.

So thanks again to thepinkapronblog.com for a great kids tip.

BTW- HALLOWEEN!!!

I feel compelled to take a time out from kids birthday parties to pass along a blog post honoring Steve Jobs and the life lessons and parenting ideas we can all take from his far too short but incredible life.

We all know the ‘story’ of Apple and its rise from a California garage to one of the most highly valued companies on the planet (perhaps THE most highly valued, but I’m not exactly sure). But if you look at these 21 life lessons to understand better how it all came to be, there’s wisdom here for ourselves and for our kids.

Perhaps when roadblocks are put in our kids path, we can remember some of these and use this wisdom to guide our kids. How change is really new opportunities to do new things. How the unexpected can open new doors and new ideas. The simple fact that everybody fails. Perhaps some of these little Steve Jobs ‘stories’ will make a difference to our kids if told to them at the right time.

Our kids all admire the Apple products, so his stories will have an impact: having the right  messenger can help, especially with teens.

So the next time your child gets ‘hit in the head with a brick’, to borrow from these 21 Life Lessons, think of Steve Jobs as you apply your parenting skills and figure out how to guide your child through the rough patches.

Here’s a kids tips article that can help you re-claim your relaxation time on the weekends: Take Back your Weekend” in the 8-28-11 issue of parade.com. With school started back up, fall sports and music lessons etc. etc. back in full swing, it’s a good idea to review these tips so you actually get a chance to breathe on your two non-work days.

Back before soccer games meant crossing state lines and blue laws kept the stores closed on Sundays, it was easier to really get some R&R, even with the kids home from school. Now, it takes more planning, and this article gives you 11 different ways to attack the problem, and I encourage you to read it.

Here are a few of the ways suggested to get your time off back under control:

• Minimize your weekend cleaning/straightening time by scheduling in a little bit of the same every day or evening, and get everybody in on it: even little hands can empty waste baskets and carry small laundry baskets.
• research shows that your mood will improve if you get time outside doing something you love.
• schedule your weekend activities ahead of time, as a family, with input from all
• before making this schedule, decide what it is that is really important for you to get out of your weekend- don’t settle for what you always do unless that’s what really does it for you.

School’s back in session, and on hectic weekday mornings we all know how hard it can be to get a good breakfast in them before they head out the door. Having learned a lot about good nutrition as I try to lose some accumulated pounds, I’ve found a good solution to this problem I want to share with parents.

Protein is a key component of human nutrition and it’s the one most responsible for keeping us feeling full. It’s also the toughest to get at breakfast unless your making ham and eggs for your crowd every morning. The carbohydrates in cereal, especially the sugared up ones in kids cereal, are not a good replacement for the protein, and the sugar’s just a bad deal.

But a protein powder based smoothie gets them what they need to get to lunch without being distracted by hunger pangs. Protein powder is generally dairy based, so it’s not for the lactose intolerant. It’s not cheap, but then again the sugared up cereal is exorbitant in price, so it’s a very fair trade. Personally, I use ProGrade Workout protein powder (internet only), but you can find other brands at health food stores and Whole Foods.

Here’s the recipe I find has tons of taste and keeps the hunger away for hours. Follow the protein powder directions for the powder and the liquid, but cut the liquid back a bit- say from 1 cup if that’s what the manufacturer recommends to 3/4 of a cup. If your child doesn’t really need the extra calories in milk, go with water instead, and fill the measuring cup with ice up to your chosen amount, then add the water or milk. The more ice and the less liquid, the thicker the smoothie. Add 2 large or 3 small strawberries and 1/2 a peeled kiwi and blend it up good in your blender. It’s quite delicious.

You can whip this up in just a few short minutes in the morning, especially if you’ve cut up the berries and kiwi the night before. They can drink it while they get dressed, while they fuss in front of the mirror, while they gather up their homework- so it gets into them.

When I find good kids tips that can be helpful to parents as I’m searching the web for birthday party ideas, I feel compelled to pass them along.

I’m old enough to remember the loss of all the other members of the ’27 club’, and I naively didn’t expect to see it again. But Amy Winehouse’s death makes it pretty clear that the threat is still there for our kids and we parents need to be vigilant. Thanks to www.communities.washingtontimes.com for the slap upside the head to remind all us parents that the addiction danger is still out there and to provide some tips for watching out for signs that our kids might be vulnerable.

Perhaps the most obvious tip for parents, but still worth repeating, is being involved and knowing who your kids are hanging out with. The article suggests making it a point to see who they hang out with in school as well as who they might bring home- the two might be completely different. It’s always good to be involved in the school, and this is yet another reason to do so when you can.

Also obvious is keeping them busy and engaged, with less time to get themselves in trouble or hanging out with the wrong people. The natural endorphins and physical fitness produced by sports makes sports a good pick, but if sports just aren’t in the cards, any activity that engages the child is good- in moderation.

Moderation is key- limits on the amount of time spent doing any one thing. Not only do such limits reduce the possiblity of any addiction, switching focus to different things is a skill everybody needs to develop.

Its obvious when you think about it- any obsessive behavior may be a sign of future addictive behavior. To quote from the article:

Watch for early signs that a child exhibits obsessive behavior or an unnatural or excessive craving and desire for one activity or object (e.g. to play video games, eat, watch tv) and shows extreme reaction of being deprived of that activity or object.

This last tip is a toughie- your teens’ privacy or your right to know and protect them from self-destructive behavior.  When you read that Amy Winehouse’s parents had prepared her obituary 4 years ago, that privacy wall starts to get some pretty big holes in it.

Not a pleasant kids tip, but this sad death can at least remind everyone to put a parental eye on the lookout for obsessive or addictive behavior that perhaps can be treated early and overcome.

Teaching our kids about money is a tough but very important thing, so when I see something that can help I need to pass it along to you. This lousy economy has passed along some painful lessons, but this is a fun way to teach the subject instead.

The brokerage firm T. Rowe Price has created these money teaching tools and made them free for anyone to use- Thank You!! These tools are also available at all T. Rowe Price Investor Centers and there’s a hands-on interactive exhibit at Epcot at Disney World in Florida that you should partake of if you’re there.

Findings from the firms’ family money survey apparently led to their creation of these learning tools. There’s both an on-line game and a downloadable activity book that together makes it fun to start learning the tough concepts of value, budgeting, etc. that go into smart money thinking. It’s truly never to early to learn, but boy, it sure can be too late. Just take a look at my daughters’ credit card bills!!!

Follow up the on-line learning these tools provide with grocery store budgeting, conversations over check cashing at the bank or ATM, and you’ll be on your way to raising a money savvy kid. Don’t make it a chore- make it fun and it will pay off in the end.

Many of us adults would have been far better served had we had some financial education in our growing up years, so let’s give it to our kids. You don’t see many lists of kids tips for parents that include financial education, but you should.