ML Interest Tag: involve

“PAW Patrol” Fans Rejoice: The Official Movie Sneak Peek Is Here

by Sarah Shebek

PAW Patrol, we’re on a roll! Fans of the popular Nick Jr. TV show are in for a treat—a movie based on the series is coming soon. And we’ve got your first look at what to expect with a new trailer, including a new original song from Adam Levine!

PAW PATROL: THE MOVIE opens in theaters on August 20 and is rated G for general audiences. With summer winding down around the release date, consider it one more treat for the kids before they head back to school.

Adventure City is in big trouble when the pups’ biggest rival, Humdinger, becomes the mayor. Ryder and his fellow rescue dogs leap into action to save the day. After meeting a new ally, a dachshund named Liberty, the PAW Patrol fights to save the citizens of the city! Of course, there’s plenty of exciting new gadgets and gear involved to keep your kids enthralled.

Delores in PAW Patrol Movie
Delores (voiced by Kim Kardashian West)

The movie features members from the original series’ cast and a number of celebrity voices, including Kim Kardashian West, Dax Shepard, Iain Armitage, Tyler Perry and Jimmy Kimmel.

L-R: Liberty (voiced by Marsai Martin), Ruben (voiced by Dax Shepard), and Butch (voiced by Randall Park)

Your little PAW Patrol fans are undoubtedly excited for this one! Save the date and plan your return trip to your local theater on August 20.

––Sarah Shebek

All images courtesy of Spin Master

 

RELATED STORIES

A “PAW Patrol” Movie Is in the Works for Summer 2021

Why Nickelodeon’s “PAW Patrol” Is Your Preschooler’s Favorite Show

Meet Mighty Express, Netflix’s New Original Series from the Creators of PAW Patrol!

 

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

8 Tips for Helping Your Blended Family Thrive

By Kara Reynolds

Photo: Storyblocks

In many ways, blended families are just like any “traditional” family. There are conflicts, chaos, understanding and a whole lot of love to go along with it. While there are many different definitions of a blended family, a blended family is any family in which there are people who aren’t traditionally or biologically related to each other. Whether that means an extended tree of relatives involved in your nuclear family, step-moms and step-dads, half-siblings—you name it! But no matter how your family is blended, the most important part of the phrase isn’t the blending—it’s the family.

Whether your blended family is newer or you’re simply looking for techniques to help your already existing family thrive, there are so many ways to improve your family’s function. Really, helping a blended family thrive has a lot in common with what you’d do to help any family thrive. While, of course, every family is unique, blended families are a part of that idea. There are so many ways you can ensure that you’re doing the best for your family and that they’re all participating in seeing your family thrive. Here are a few ways you can make that happen.

1. Be Patient
If your blended family is a more recent introduction to everyone’s lives, patience can be a virtue for everyone. A shift in your family can be a lot to adjust to, no matter how old you are, especially if you don’t have much of a say in the matter. Be patient with everyone who is spending some time and energy adjusting, and be patient with yourself, too.

2. Set Boundaries
Different families have different standards for boundaries, and when you enter a new family situation, it’s important to re-establish boundaries and communicate what makes everyone feel the most comfortable. Especially when it comes to kids living with new people while they begin to understand their autonomy, they should know that they have the right and responsibility to set the boundaries they need.

3. Work on Communication
Working on open communication is crucial in any family, but especially in a blended family, where people have different backgrounds, experiences, ideas and boundaries. You don’t always know how the different members of your family are used to talking about things, so it can be highly beneficial to talk about your feelings as a group and make sure everyone is comfortable and taken care of.

4. Have Family Meetings
One of the best venues for communication is the family meeting. Especially if you have a larger family, a meeting could be a great way to get everyone together in one place so everybody can be involved in communication and decision-making. Family meetings are some of the best places to talk about everything from big to small.

5. Give Space When Necessary
Families are close, but that doesn’t mean you always need to be on top of each other all the time. Whether you’re dealing with kids’ feelings, yours or your partners, space can sometimes be the answer to a lot of the anxieties and overwhelming situations that can come with a new family. Of course, families stick together through thick and thin, but people need space to process things, too.

6. Practice Autonomy
From bodily autonomy to setting boundaries, this one can be especially important for kids in a new environment. Even if you know everyone around you is safe and well-intentioned, it’s important to make sure your kids know they always have a say in what happens to them and that they can set the boundaries they need to feel comfortable.

7. Be Realistic
One great thing to keep in mind about blending a family is that not everyone will get along swimmingly all the time right away. Some siblings will fight like siblings, there might be disputes here and there and there might be some awkwardness. Blending doesn’t always mean that things are peachy. Families have rough patches, and it’s important to be realistic and not expect perfection.

8. Start New Traditions Together
One of the best ways to get families to connect is through traditions. This is a place where you can really have fun with things. You can take your traditions in any direction you want—from family game nights to camping trips, to special holiday activities. Traditions are a way for everyone to have fun together, and what could be more special than that?

Helping Your Blended Family Thrive
Helping your blended family thrive is a lot like you’d help any family thrive—with a whole lot of love, effort and communication. And while it might not always be easy, it’ll always be worthwhile when you see everyone connecting and building new relationships together. Whether you place emphasis on family meetings, new traditions or setting boundaries, there are so many ways you can build your family up, together.

Kara Reynolds is the Editor-in-Chief and founder of Momish Magazine.  A mom of four and matriarch to her big blended family, Kara wants nothing more than to normalize differences in family structures.  She enjoys peeing alone, pancakes, and pinot noir - but not at the same time. 

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

I Was in a Dark Place & This Became My Lifeline

By Melissa Bernstein

Having built a toy company over three decades with my best friend and husband, Doug, and experiencing the joy of unleashing the imaginations of children through open-ended play, most would think that my life was all fun and games. After all, we had achieved the very definition of “The American Dream” with every shiny bauble to show for it. And along the way, Doug and I also created six beautiful children who were the very essence of the boisterous family I had always imagined. I had absolutely no reason to be unhappy, I truly had it all.

But the truth was, that for as long as I could remember, I suffered a crisis of meaning that I learned to hide from the world. This sense of futility was so overwhelming, that the only way I could survive was by disassociating from all feelings and denying who I was. And since I would never fit in as myself, I turned to validation through achieving academic perfection to attain the acceptance I so deeply craved. I became who I thought the world wanted me to be to the point where I didn’t even know who I truly was.

As I reached middle age, I finally learned that my lifelong anguish had a name: existential depression. And furthermore, those experiencing existential depression were often highly creative and had intense levels of reactivity in their central nervous systems called over-excitabilities. And this realization was life-changing, because for the first time in my life, I saw I wasn’t alone and there were actually others just like me. I knew that the only way I would access peace was to stop racing outside myself for answers and embark on a journey inward to self-acceptance. That journey was so profound and revelatory, that I knew my purpose was to help others find their pathways out of despair in transforming darkness into light. Here are some of the steps that brought me to writing my memoir LifeLines: An Inspirational Journey from Profound Darkness to Radiant Light, and creating our LifeLines ecosystem to offer community and impactful content to others!

1. Embrace Yourself in Totality
Society tells us to dry our tears and “be strong.” But when we do, we are denying who we are and what we feel. And that prevents us from living authentically.  Once we come to see that this facade we adopt ultimately leaves us bereft and bitter, we begin to shed that pretension and access the space necessary to truly grow.

2. Accept That We All Need Lifelines
Once I completed my journey and accepted myself in totality, I realized that every day wouldn’t be an easy ride. In fact, many days would be on the dark side of the emotional spectrum! I, therefore, needed a practice to keep me “safe and sane” when I began to plunge below the line of equanimity.

3. Lifelines Are Essential in Three Different Areas
My personal practice of engaging LifeLines involved three distinct areas: self-care, tools, and passions/play. Self-care LifeLines involve the deliberate intention to take care of our minds and bodies. These may seem obvious to many, but for me required making a choice every single day to stay strong. They include eating nourishing food, sleeping 7 hours a night, and exercising in nature. Tools for me include reciting mantras, going to therapy, being mindful in everything I do, and offering myself compassion when my head starts to berate me. The activities and hobbies that bring us joy are the essence of life and move us squarely into our hearts. For me they include writing verses, crafting, photographing nature, listening to music, and drinking tea.

4. Engage in a Deliberate Practice 
Just like a diabetic takes insulin to remain healthy, I must also commit to engaging my LifeLines each and every day to remain steadfast. And that means EVERY SINGLE DAY. If we don’t have our practice fully honed during our more contented times, then it won’t be routine when the journey becomes arduous. A practice MUST be practiced no matter the weather, your mood or your circumstances.

5. Find a Community That Supports You
We created LifeLines.com to build a community showing others that “they are not alone.” When we construct a supportive structure around us, we are better able to shine our light and live authentically. We learn from others’ experiences, embrace our uniqueness, and develop the tenacity to keep forging ahead when life throws us curveballs. The community we have forged has already become a lifeline to so many, including me. I am so grateful to have discovered no higher purpose than supporting others to channel their darkness into light and find meaning. And the more our community can help others heal themselves and share their truth, then the more they will do the same for others and make this world a more loving place.

 

Melissa Bernstein, Co-Founder of Melissa & Doug Toys and mother of six, shared her lifelong battle with existential depression and anxiety in her memoir, LifeLines. She and her husband Doug have developed LifeLines.com, a digital ecosystem to support others on their own inward journeys. Melissa lives in Connecticut with Doug and their children. 

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

8 Ways Parents Can Plan For Their Child’s Future

By Kara Reynolds

Whether you’re a brand new parent, you’ve been a parent for a while or you’re looking to plan for your future child’s future, there are so many ways you can plan for your child to have a great life both in your care and as they grow and learn about the world around them. While you might be thinking about financial planning, life planning or some other form of planning, you can form a well-rounded plan that covers all of the necessary bases to set your child up for success.

While of course, you can’t plan out your child’s entire life while they’re still young, eventually they’ll grow up to become their own person, and your job as a parent is to guide them towards that future. By showing them along the way how to care for themselves, making the preparations you need to help them while building a positive home environment, you can prepare and plan for your child’s future in all the ways that truly count. From the financial to the emotional, here are 8 unique ways you can plan for your child’s future.

1. Get Involved in Their Education
One of the best ways to give your child a good future is to ensure that they’re learning to their highest potential. From teaching them to read when they’re younger to helping them with their homework and class selection as they get older, getting involved in their education can help your child make the most of every opportunity. When the time comes to look at colleges and decide what they want with their future, they’ll be able to go at it fully prepared and ready, thanks to you.

2. Build Positive Communication Skills
Part of growing into a positive life is learning to have positive relationships with others, and that all begins at home. As a parent, teaching your children about effective communication skills can set them up for success in all areas of their lives going forward.

3. Start Financial Planning
Everyone talks about how kids can be expensive, and planning for that fact can be one of the best ways for you to prepare yourself and provide for your children as best as possible. Specifically, learning how to budget and setting financial goals for the future can help you set up for your kids financially, whether you want to put them through college, help them into adulthood or anything they might need.

4. Build a Support Network
It takes a village to raise a child, and in order to do that, you need to build that village. You want your children to be surrounded by supportive people who love and care for them, and the best way to start them on that path is to involve great people in raising them. That way, they’ll always have someone to turn to when they need, even if that person isn’t you.

5. Start Forming Your Will
While planning for the day you might not be here anymore isn’t a fun activity, it’s a part of being responsible in the care of your child. If you don’t have a will, making one should be your top priority when you have children. Naming a guardian you trust, deciding what happens to your assets and planning for any possible scenario is what needs to happen when you have kids in the picture.

6. Open a College Fund
Similar to saving and forming your will, another way you can financially prepare for your child’s future is by opening up a college fund. While you don’t need a huge amount of money to open an account, even small sums can grow over time. It’s never too early to start thinking about how you want to provide an education for your kids.

7. Engage in Extracurricular Activities
But what about helping them figure out what they want to do when they grow up, learning hobbies and passions and skills? That’s where activities come in. While, of course, extracurricular activities aren’t the end-all-be-all of planning for your child’s future, they can help your child figure out what they like and remind them to work hard and stay committed to their goals.

8. Show Them Self Care Strategies
Self care is an important life skill that your child can take with them everywhere they go. When you instill those values into your children from a young age, they’ll be more likely to grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults one day.

There are so many ways to ensure that your child has a bright future ahead of them. From preparing financially to getting involved in their education and teaching them life skills, you can truly set your kids up for success from the day they’re born. Your kids deserve the amazing future you have the power to give them.

Kara Reynolds is the Editor-in-Chief and founder of Momish Magazine.  A mom of four and matriarch to her big blended family, Kara wants nothing more than to normalize differences in family structures.  She enjoys peeing alone, pancakes, and pinot noir - but not at the same time. 

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

5 Thoughtful Ways to Empower Your Kids to Achieve Success

By Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP

We all want our kids to be successful—to be a leap ahead. Not ahead of every other kid, necessarily, but to their full potential.

So, how do we do it? And how do we achieve it (even more importantly) without making them stressed-out and overwhelmed in the process?

First, get a grip on your parenting goals and philosophy.

Is my goal to have my daughters be doctors like me? Why? Because that sounds successful? Not a good enough reason. Is my number one focus for them to be accepted into some highly-acclaimed academic institution? For what purpose? I have to check in with myself about my own motivations.

Instead, I try to make it my goal to raise daughters who 1) are well-adjusted, self-sufficient, confident adults; 2) who love what they do-no matter what that is; and 3) who understand that they have to work hard to achieve their dreams. That is the REAL measure of success.

Allow time for imaginative play to foster a love of learning.

Just because I’m not gunning for Ivy-League admittance for my kids (not that it would be bad if they ended up there, it just isn’t my focus), it doesn’t mean I don’t look for educational opportunities every day. In fact, I do a lot of that. 

But my main goal with the activities is that my kids totally nerd out on whatever it is that THEY think is really cool, even if it’s not in my interest area. I also make sure that they have plenty of free time to play without structure.

For example, my almost-four-year-old is on a Julia Child kick these days. We stumbled upon some old In Julia’s Kitchen With Master Chefs episodes and she was hooked after one show. I noticed that, soon after she started watching, she asked me to pull out ingredients from the cupboard and began making little concoctions with them. 

At first, I asked if she was interested in an Easy Bake Oven, or some other way to actually cook food but she looked at me, appalled, when I suggested it. “Mommy, these are experiments, NOT meals.”

No problem, kiddo.

She then proceeded to narrate her addition of the baking soda to the vinegar (“Ooh, look how it bubbles! It’s making a frothy foam”) and every single other ingredient she added in. She sounded like she was a cooking show host but, apparently, she imagined she was the star of a fancy chemistry presentation.

The counters were a mess. We probably wasted $20 in flour and salt, but she was so content as her little imagination soared. The next time we were at the library, she wanted to know if there were books about other types of mixtures—paints, dirt and water, other types of foods. It was a little magical.

Provide age-appropriate learning opportunities that allow kids to build competence and confidence—but don’t overdo it. 

I care about keeping my priorities straight but I also care about stimulating my daughters’ little neural pathways. In the process of fostering a love of learning, I have to make sure to simplify so we don’t get too overwhelmed.

Why? I’ve seen the effect of over-scheduling kids over and over in my office. The kids are so frantic and so are their parents.

Instead, I recommend focusing on one or two weekly non-school activities per kid per season (3 max!).

Mix it up while they are young, if possible, unless they find something THEY love that they want to stick with. If you can, find one active activity and one more “academic” or community option (think music class, art class). 

For older kids, let THEM choose from a handful of options, versus demanding that they are involved in a specific activity you really care about. If the coach/teacher is a bad fit, that’s one thing but, if at all possible, try to stick with whichever activity you choose through the season, then switch it up if it’s not working out so you can help foster a little perseverance and commitment.

Model resilience and a growth mindset. 

Allow your kids to see you fail and to rebound from your failures. Use family dinner times to talk about the best parts of your day but also about the challenges you faced and the ways you overcame them. 

Have your kids, when they are old enough, share their “Rose and Thorn of the Day” as well. Work on letting them figure things out on their own, waiting to jump in with help until they ask you for it and, even then, assisting mostly by helping them to problem-solve the situation for themselves.

“Well, let’s see, how could you get your book back without yelling if your sister takes it?”

“I could give her another toy and ask if I could trade her.”

“I love that idea! Nice problem-solving.”

In your own work, look for ways you can adjust your attitude to consider yourself a “learner.” When you don’t do as well as you want to do, use it as an opportunity to grow as opposed to looking at each mini failure as a sign of ineptitude.

Approach your kids’ failures in the same way. “I can’t do that” is usually met with a “yet” in my house. “Did you try your best? Ok, then you did a great job!”

Aim for goodness of fit.

When you get involved in activities or make choices on which schools/educational programs are best, look first at how it fits with the personality of your child. Does your child need a warm, supportive environment to thrive, even if it’s not seemingly as rigorous as another option? 

It might just serve you better in the long run. Does your kid need more structure and accountability? An educational program that fits that model may work better. The temperament of your child will often determine their needs and their ability to work well within the system where they go to learn every day,

A leap ahead—that’s my focus for my kids and I bet it is for you, too.  A leap to wherever they want to go. To whatever they want to be. To an understanding that success in life and work is not about fulfilling expectations, it’s about finding the things that ultimately bring them joy and fulfillment.

Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP
Tinybeans Voices Contributor

I'm a pediatrician and a mama mindset expert. I host The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast, and am a mom to two young girls in Portland, Oregon. I'm also author of The New Baby Blueprint and The Working Mom Blueprint from the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

7 Toddler Gardening Activities Guaranteed to Keep Them Busy

By Hillary Swetz

Spring is in the air, and that means it’s time to introduce my favorite toddler gardening activities! Gardening is great for kids ages 2-5 because it builds skills, gets them away from screens, and connects them with the big, wide world. Especially now, when there are fewer opportunities to get out and involved in the community, gardening can be another link in their social chain.

While it might sound exhausting to some moms, gardening with toddlers can be a lot of fun if you manage your expectations. Let’s be clear: there will be no Better Homes & Gardens cover images from your backyard. Your toddler will need to learn what they can and can’t do in the garden, and will probably make some mistakes along the way. But you’ll have something better than a pristine backyard: an occupied toddler!

Here are 7 concrete ways to get your toddler gardening that will keep them busy for at least fifteen minutes.

1. Planting
If you’re sowing plants with big seeds, call up the toddler troops. Pea, bean, squash, and sunflower seeds are the perfect sizes for little hands with limited coordination.

Start by grabbing a muffin tin and pressing it into the ground. This makes perfectly spaced indentations as a guide for your child. Have them poke one hole in each indentation (or one hole per pot if you’re gardening with containers). This will be about half the length of their pointer finger. Then they can practice putting one seed in each hole and covering it. In a few days, they’ll be rewarded with adorable green sprouts.

2. Watering
You know your kids best, so you can judge what exactly they can handle. Some toddlers might be able to use a partially filled adult-sized watering can. Others might be better suited to a toy watering can, or holding the hose with you. You can also make homemade watering cans using a milk jug with holes poked in the side. Finally, you might have a very young toddler whose best bet is a measuring cup filled and emptied over and over on some very sturdy plants.

3. Bug checks
One of the best ways to keep your garden pest-free is regularly picking bugs off your plants by hand. This is the perfect job for toddlers in the garden, especially those who love creepy-crawlies. I know my toddler just loves this job. (Well actually, she might just enjoy eating beetles.)

Teach your little one to identify good bugs like spiders, ladybugs, praying mantises. Then, learn what common bad bugs look like, including tomato hornworms, Japanese beetles, squash bugs. When you go out, bring a bucket of warm, soapy water around your garden. Every time they find one, have them drop it in the bucket.

4. Weeding
Of all the toddler gardening activities, this is the most dubious. After all, you don’t want your prized, heirloom tomato seedlings yanked up by an eager three-year-old!

I suggest only letting toddlers join your weeding team in July or later. Your veggies should be quite large by then, and the weeds are (hopefully) much smaller. Most older toddlers can follow a simple rule of “only pull the little ones.”

The other challenge with letting toddlers help weed is that they’re unlikely to have great technique. Instead of digging in and pulling weeds out by the roots, they’re likely to only yank aboveground leaves. If you’re making weeding a regular part of your daily schedule (or even just once or twice a week) this will be fine. Pulling weeds often is what prevents them from taking over.

5. Loading wheelbarrows 
Sometimes, you just want to do all the weeding yourself. That’s okay, because kids can still get involved by loading up wheelbarrows. Have them follow behind you, gleefully chucking little handfuls of weeds into the wheelbarrow.

Warning: some handfuls will probably end up on you, the toddler, or other passing siblings.

6. Harvesting
Is there anything more rewarding than picking your fruits and vegetables after weeks of hard work? Get your little guys used to that joy and excitement by letting them help with the fun stuff, not just the work.

Obviously, some plants are less-suited to toddler harvesting than others. Plants that could be damaged by rough pulling are probably not a good bet for independent gathering. Toddlers should also be supervised to make sure they only pick ripe fruits.

7. Fall clean up
When the summer has passed and all that’s left of your garden is dried vines and stalks, it’s time to put your beds to bed. Toddlers are easily amused by the idea that gardens go “nighty night” for the winter and need to be tucked in, so let them help.

Have them wear those cute little gardening gloves (or snow mittens, if that’s easier) and yank up all non-perennial plants. I recommend using gloves because some common plants like squashes, cucumbers, and pumpkins, have very prickly vines.

Once everything’s out of the ground, have them help put compost on the beds. Fall is a great time to add nutrients to your garden because weeds won’t immediately grow and deplete them. Plus, the cold weather gives your compost time to fully break down and mix into the soil.

Have your little tike help you shovel 2-3 inches of fresh compost onto your beds. This job is ideal for toddlers because it requires no accuracy, serious muscles, or dexterity. If your kid can chuck their dinner off the table, they’ll do just fine with compost.

As a bonus, they get messy! (Ok, maybe that’s not a selling point…)

This post originally appeared on Homegrown Hillary.

Hillary is a former high school teacher who went rogue and became a freelance writer. She's also a certified doula and yes, she'd love to hear your birth story. When not offering support and advice to families, she tends to her garden, two tiny humans, husband, and cat.

   

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

Strategies to Encourage Your Kids to Eat Their Lunch

By Alexandra Gabalda

Lunch boxes coming back home full can create a lot of frustration and frictions at home, especially if you are the parent of a child who doesn’t enjoy a wide array of food. The good news is that there are easy strategies that you can use to encourage kids to eat their school lunch.

Mathilde Cerioli, Positive Discipline Educator for Little Dragon, has 4 easy steps to teaching our kids how to be responsible for their lunchbox. This is an efficient first step towards a healthier relationship with their lunch. Read them all, and don’t forget to download your FREE printable before your leave!

1. Put the Kids in Charge of Their Lunchbox. Encourage your child to carry their lunchbox to and back from school. Whether you’re taking the car or walking to school, their lunchbox can be their responsibility. They can start doing so at a really young age, it will help them take some responsibility for their lunch. As they get older, you can also encourage them to empty their lunch bag and wash their containers (or place them in the dishwasher) when they get home.

2. Involve Children in Making the Menu. The first step to teach your child how to make their own lunch is to talk with them about what constitutes a proper lunch. You can introduce them to the different foods they will need and give them options to choose from. By giving choices, it is not up to them whether or not they get vegetables for instance, but they get to decide between carrots or cucumber, broccoli, or peas. You can also plan a trip to the grocery store and let them pick a new fruit or veggie they are ready to try. See useful resources below to help you start the conversation.

Remember, the main goal of lunch is that they get the fuel they need to learn, focus, and stay active all day. So, if you have a broccoli hater on your hands, the lunchbox is probably not the right place to convince them to try some. Prefer a moment during the week when they will be more relaxed and will have more time to make new experiments.

3. Teach Them How to Prepare Their Lunch. Did you notice how easier it is to throw away leftover pizzas you ordered, rather than food you spent 45 minutes cooking? That’s because you know the energy that went into making it. So, why not make the kids take part in the process the same way?

Children can start being involved in making their lunchbox early on. Younger children can help put the food in the container, while older ones can start peeling and cutting food. It is more time consuming to cook with children, so it does not have to be something you do every day. But, you could decide together on a day when children help. However, do not expect your child to know how to do things, use a positive parenting tool ‘Climb the Ladder’ to do so! First, you start doing it and they watch, then you do it together, then they can do it by themselves. This will take several days for some skills.

4. Ask Them about Their Lunchtime. Invite problem-solving when the lunchbox comes home mostly untouched. Children might not eat as well for many different reasons, some they might have not even identified themselves yet. Is lunch too long to eat and they don’t get enough time to play? Do they have a wiggly tooth and carrots are too hard to eat? Is there a food item in their friend’s lunchbox that they would like to try? Then, talk with them about how to change whatever is keeping them from eating. Maybe pack something more nutritious that is faster to eat? Maybe cut the carrots a different shape so they are not bothered by their wiggly tooth?

Resources to Help You Get Started:

Lunchbox Packing Tips: 5 Basics you need to know before you get started with lunch packing.

Teaching Kids: 4 Easy steps to teaching your child to be responsible for their lunchbox.

Get inspired. Visit Teuko.com and see what other kids actually eat.

This post originally appeared on Teuko Blog.

Teuko is the first platform that empowers families to simplify lunch packing. Using Teuko, they can find and share kid-approved lunchbox ideas, recipes, and tips, all in one place. Teuko is transforming the lunch packing experience by boosting inspiration and motivation week after week. 

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

Why Raising Generous Kids Just Might Save Us All

by Beth Shea

Raising caring and kind kids in a day and age where just about anything can be ordered and delivered with the click of a button (or a command) is no easy feat. After all, Alexa might seem generous and all, but she’s not where kids need to look for parental guidance. To help you out, we listed a few tips and tricks that’ll help you turn materialistic tendencies into reflective mindfulness––(really!)—because the earlier you teach your kids to be less self-involved and more generous, the better. Keep reading to see them all.

Plant the Seeds of Generosity at Home

Sarah Jane via Pexels

1. Volunteer. Volunteering teaches your kids that giving to others is an act rather than a concept. There are plenty of actions kids can take to aid in causes such as eliminating world hunger. We even have 12 ways kids can give back without leaving the house. There is always a way to be generous that will improve the lives of others.

2. Read books/watch films that teach kids about other people's experiences. Use bedtime stories to make your kids more aware of the plight of fellow humans. These 11 books will teach kids compassion and empathy while inspiring them to change the world for the better.

3. Share stories about the generosity your family has been shown. This theory suggests that you can teach children to give by telling them how much your family has been given. Explain how the generosity of others has helped you, or how someone's generous spirit has helped your child. Doing so will instill a desire to pay it forward.

4. Write it down. When you record daily gratitude, kids will learn to look for it everywhere, and in turn, share it with others. UC Berkeley's Greater Good magazine suggests having kids "think about three instances from their day—a person, an experience, an event—for which they feel thankful. Tell them to write about the details of what happened and who was involved."

Your Kids Are Watching ... So Lead By Example

Derek Thomson via Unsplash

5. Be generous with your words/kindness/good deeds daily. Every parent knows, our kids imitate our actions. So let them see you help their teacher in the classroom, ask your grocery checker how their day is going, buy the coffee for the person in front of you in line ... there are so many ways to be generous with your spirit––and your kids will grow up wanting to do the same.

6. Set the tone and lead by example.
Kids also study their parents closely to see how mom and dad cope with not getting what they want. Take disappointments and setbacks in stride and be the model of a good example by buying less non-essential items. Shift the focus from material possessions to intangible forms of fulfillment. If you fuss at not getting what you want, or you always have to be on to the next purchase instead of enjoying what you have, that attitude will trickle down to your kids.

7. Broaden their perspective of the world.
Parents tend to protect their young kids in a bubble … and rightly so to an extent. But we can get them beyond their limited perspective by teaching them about people in need, and get them involved by donating time or goods to others. Make soup to deliver to an elderly neighbor. Have them select toys and books they no longer use to donate to kids in shelters. Take a new teddy bear to the local children’s hospital for a suffering child, make no-sew blankets for the homeless. No act of charity is too small.

Curb the Gimmes

Anne Spratt via Unsplash

8. Just say NO, and don’t back down.
Prep your kids in the car before a trip to Target or your shopping destination that you will not be buying them ANY toys or trinkets. Even if they clutch that dollar section gizmo in the cart the entire time, they must put it back before checkout time … tantrum or not. When kids know you stand by your word and you front-load them with this information before your outings, it will help to stop begging and pleading on the fly.

9. Or … hit the pause button on purchases.
If there’s something your kid really wants that will benefit them, then try delayed gratification––a practice that has been proven to make people more successful overall in life. Read about The Marshmallow Experiment conducted on kids in relation to delayed gratification here. Some purchases like a new bicycle or a great book could provide life-changing experiences for kids, but if they’re able to wait to buy these items, even for a short amount of time, the payoff will be greater, and they’ll also learn a valuable life skill.

Limit Consumerism

Sunbae Legacy via Pexels

10. Ask: “Is it a need or a want?”
When your kiddo is having a “gimme” moment, ask him if he “needs” the item in questions or if he “wants” it? He’ll most likely instantly know the difference if you explain that you “need” something to survive. If the item is a want, and you’re okay with buying it, consider saving it for the next holiday gift or having your kid spend their piggy bank money to purchase it.

11. Help kids realize the “rush” of getting new stuff is short-lived.
It’s an epidemic among humans to want more and to experience the temporary excitement of buying new items. But, buying too much stuff doesn’t lead to long-term happiness—in fact, it may have the opposite effect, as clutter and keeping up with the Joneses lead to an endless purchase cycle. Give your kid examples of things they’ve bought that are now relegated to a dark corner of the closet or lost under their bed. A light bulb might go on in their head the next time you mention this during one of their “gimme” moments.

Spend More Time Than Money on Your Kids

Jon Flobrant via Unsplash

12. Spend more time than money on your kids.
Prioritize love, laughter and shared positive experiences over acquiring belongings. It’s a fact that family vacations can boost a child’s happiness; consider putting the money you’d spend on frivolous purchases into a vacation fund jar instead. If traveling is a stretch, you can also opt for tickets to a concert or play or a trip to get ice cream.

13. Teach kids to split their piggy bank savings in three ways.
Find a three-way piggy bank that has compartments labeled: save, spend and share. When your kids earn chore money or receive birthday or holiday gift money, have them divide it––however it’s fairly agreed upon between parent and kiddo––into the save, spend and share categories. This allows them to be generous with their own “share” money to give to a cause that moves them (ie: buying dog food for shelter animals) or any way they want to help others. Saving money will teach them goal-setting and the value of a dollar, and the money they have left to spend will mean more to them after this division.

Be Mindful of Media Exposure

Ken Teegardin via flickr

14. Monitor, limit and explain media exposure.
Kids are bombarded by advertisements from morning to night. YouTube videos of kids reviewing the latest “must-have” toys, TV commercials, pop-up ads online, social media ads, even branding by sponsors of school-related events. Explain to your kids that ads serve the sole purpose of making you want to buy things, and then don’t let them fall into that trap. Fast forward/skip commercials when possible too.

15. Make thank you cards a habit.
Handwritten thank you notes have become a lost art, which is unfortunate. When kids take a few minutes to reflect upon and acknowledge the kind deed of someone selecting, buying, wrapping and giving them a gift––it teaches them the full circle process of being both a giver and a gracious recipient. It’s hard for a ‘gimme’ attitude to co-exist with a child who has learned to be gracious. You can discover creative ways to say thank you by clicking here.

––Beth Shea

RELATED STORIES:

10 Simple Ways to Teach Kids Gratitude

Easy Chores Your Kids Can Totally Master

The BEST Chore Charts for Kids

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

Study Finds Moms Are Sleep Deprived for the First 6 Years of Parenthood

by Shahrzad Warkentin

It doesn’t take an expert to tell you that having a baby means losing some sleep, but exactly how long does it take until you can sleep like a baby again? Research reveals that the sleep deprivation of moms can last for years—yes, years plural—beyond those newborn days.

A study published in the journal Sleep found that while the peak of sleep deprivation occurred within the first three months after a new baby’s birth, sleep quality and quantity did not return to pre-baby levels until up to six years after birth. The study was conducted with 2,500 women and almost 2,200 men. It involved annual face-to-face interviews with participants in which they were asked to rank their sleep quality on a scale of 1 to 10, as well as report the number of hours they slept daily.

Not surprisingly, the study also found that moms reported losing more sleep than dads, especially during the first few months. Women reported losing an hour of sleep per night during the first three months after childbirth and 40 minutes on average for the first year. Dads, on the other hand, only reported losing an average of 13 minutes of sleep by the same three-month mark. Moms were still reporting an average loss of about 25 minutes from four to six years after birth.

And what about multiple kids? The study showed that having more than one child didn’t make the sleep loss worse, but after those first three months, sleep loss sleep patterns only recovered to the same quality and length that they were prior to the subsequent pregnancy.

We’re honestly amazed you’re even awake right now to read this.

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement