We have been checking out these color-coded after school routine clocks on Pinterest for quite a while. Similar to an alarm clock, these clocks are designed to keep the kids’ activities organized and kids on track with minimal reminders. The new year seemed like the perfect opportunity to create a back-to-school routine and add structure to the afternoon and evening.
While not particularly crafty, we found the instructions pretty straight forward. You can even get the kids involved!
Supplies
White Wall Clock (Amazon has a large selection from $7.99 – $15.99)
Paint or Colored Markers
Ruler
Paper
STEP 1:
Take the plastic cover off the clock and use a ruler to outline your after school schedule. For us, it is
3-5 pm Playtime
5-6 pm Homework
6-7 pm Dinner
7-8 pm Reading / Quiet Time
8-8:30 pm Pajamas, Brush Teeth and Lights Out
STEP 2:
Paint in the outlined portions of the clock.
STEP 3:
Print off your list of activities and match the color to correspond with the colored section on the clock.
STEP 4: Find a place to hang the clock that is easy for kids to see. Tape your schedule below (or put in a picture from and set on the table). Now kick back and relax!
––video, photos and copy courtesy of Corrinne and Briana Van Dorpe
One thing you quickly learn as a parent is that you can’t always be there to protect your teens. As they grow into independent young adults, teens need the freedom to explore and discover their world. It’s inevitable that they’ll be exposed to different dangers and probably find themselves in all kinds of risky situations.
I learned that all I can really do is prepare my teens and have a plan on hand in case things go awry. This lesson was driven home one evening when my teen daughter, Delila, came back home noticeably upset. After getting her to calm down, she finally disclosed that she’d been hanging out at her friend’s house and someone had brought out some alcohol, daring them to drink.
Luckily, the parents walked in just in time to ruin their fun. On asking her why she didn’t just walk out, Delila said that she couldn’t leave because was worried her friends would tease her relentlessly.
I get what she was going through. As a teen, I too had found myself in numerous uncomfortable positions and I’d stuck around because I felt I had no way out. I couldn’t escape without inviting ridicule from my peers.
Coming Up With The Plan
I didn’t want my teens to go through life like that so I went hunting for a solution. I came across this brilliant idea by Bert Fulks, a youth minister and educator, and decided to implement it in my own home.
A parent and teen had come up with an “X Plan” or a way for teens to reach out and easily get help out of a sticky situation. Here’s the gist of it:
Let’s say that Delila is invited to another party or goes out with her friends. Something happens that makes her uncomfortable- it could be drugs, alcohol, bullying, or unwanted sexual advances. All she has to do is get her phone and text the letter “X” to either her mother or I. Whichever one of us receives the text calls Delila’s phone within minutes and tells her that something has come up and they are coming to get her.
The script is very simple and goes something like this:
Delia: “Hello?”
Parent: “Hi, Delila. Something’s just come up and I’m on my way to pick you up.”
Delia: “Why? What’s happened?”
Parent: “I can’t tell you right now but I’m on my way. I’ll be there in about 5 minutes and I’ll tell you then.”
This gives my teen an easy way out of whatever sticky situation she’d found herself in. She can save face by simply telling her friends that something’s happened at home and her parents are coming to get her. She’ll then leave with minimal fuss.
Benefits Of The “X Plan”
The “X Plan” empowers my teens and gives them a way of escaping suffocating situations without affecting their social standing. Furthermore, I explained that they were under no obligation to explain what the “tricky situation” was unless they felt they needed to- or unless someone’s life was in danger.
Surprisingly, instead of becoming more secretive, my kids have opened up and have started conversations on what might be called difficult topics. It also helped us build trust with our teenagers that goes both ways: they trust that we’re a text away and we will offer our unconditional support and in return, we trust them to behave responsibly.
Of course, families are different and what works for one might not be ideal for another. However, I encourage parents to implement a form of the “X Plan” that fits in with their unique family characteristics and situation.
Tyler Jacobson is a happy husband, father of three, writer and outreach specialist with experience with organizations that help troubled teens and parents. His areas of focus include: parenting, social media, addiction, mental illness, and issues facing teenagers today.
At long last there’s no reason to cry over dumped milk. Breastmilk, that is. If you’re a pumping mom that’s enjoyed a glass of wine or two, then chances are you’ve been faced with that heartbreaking moment when you poured a bottle of liquid gold down the drain. However, scientific evidence says there’s no good reason to pump and dump. Read on to find out how you can safely drink and pump or nurse instead.
photo: Miles For Milk
Despite what you’ve heard in movies and mommy groups, there is no legitimate reason to pump and dump when you have a drink or two. Studies have shown that although consuming alcohol can temporarily decrease your milk supply, drinking occasionally while breastfeeding has not been linked to any adverse effects on nursing babies. The amount of alcohol present in breastmilk is approximately 5-6 percent of the mother’s weight-adjusted dose. In other words a very minimal amount. In fact, some research has shown that there is actually a higher concentration of alcohol in some fruit juices than in the breastmilk of a woman who has consumed a few drinks.
So what do you do if you want avoid any alcohol content in your breastmilk? Simply wait it out. Alcohol concentrations in breastmilk are the same as in blood and accordingly they behave the same way, peaking 30 minutes to an hour after you had a drink and disappearing entirely once you are completely sober. How long that takes exactly depends on several factors, like your weight and how much you’ve had to drink. On average your breastmilk should be booze-free 2-3 hours after you had a drink. Giving you just enough time to get home from your date night and let your head hit the pillow before your baby inevitably wakes up crying.
While a college style bender is not recommended, the occasional glass of wine with dinner is perfectly safe, so spare yourself the pain of dumping such a precious commodity. The next time this myth creeps up in conversation be sure to share the knowledge. After all, friends don’t let friends drink and dump.
Does this surprise you, or will you let it change your behavior? Tell us in the comments!
If it’s still to early in the season to fire up your grill or you don’t own one, you can still enjoy BBQ flavored ribs. The secret? Your slow cooker. With minimal prep work and ribs that fall off the bone, this recipe is a great weeknight go-to meal. Just be sure to pack your table with napkins—you’ve been warned.
Ingredients
3 1/2 pounds pork loin back ribs
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspon pepper
3 tablespoons liquid smoke
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup cola
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce
Method
1. Spray the inside of 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Remove inner skin from ribs. Mix brown sugar, pepper, liquid smoke, garlic and slat; rub mixture into ribs. Cut ribs into about 4-inch pieces. Layer ribs and onion in slow cooker. Pour cola over ribs.
3. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 9 hours or until ribs are tender. Remove ribs from cooker. Drain liquid from cooker and discard.
4. Pour barbecue sauce into shallow bowl. Dip ribs into sauce. Place ribs in cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over ribs. Cover and cook on low heat setting for one hour.
Have you tried this recipe?
recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker’s Slow Cooker Cookbook
photo courtesy of Hexidecimal
Your enthusiasm at the farmers market got the best of you and you’ve returned home with heaps of peaches, tomatoes and zucchini that were just too good to pass up. Easily transform your seasonal haul to kid-friendly eats with these ideas from some of our favorite food bloggers. They dished to us about their choice farmers market finds and seasonal recipe picks. Flip through the photo gallery and get cooking.
Catherine's widely popular website and her two cookbooks focus on quick and simple recipes that use fresh minimal ingredients. So it should come as no surprise that her favorite peach recipes are incredibly simple to make and take advantage of California's long peach season. She tells us, "Peaches are in season in California until November at our farmers market. We love making Fruit Leather, Peach Cake or even these Crostini."
For the peach fruit leather recipe click here and visit Weelicous.com for more kid-friendly recipe inspiration.
What’s your favorite farmers market find? And, do you have a great recipe that goes along with your seasonal produce pick?
Out tots love using their hands and mouths to explore the world, and with these 11 all-natural DIY projects (perfect for kids as young as 4-6 months) created by Asia of Fun at Home with Kids, we say let them! Using minimal, easy to find ingredients, encourage your kiddo’s inquisitive nature with edible glow-in-the-dark water beads, bottled-up marine exhibits, tasty natural-dye paint and more—all natural, of course. Click through the gallery to find out more.
Edible Gluten Free No Cook Playdough
Edible dough? Yum! But need a gluten-free option for those sensitive tummies? Made from four easy ingredients from your kitchen, this colorful playdough's fun-life will last for several days in the fridge. Click here to find out how to make some for your artistic tot.
Did you try any of these projects at home? Let us know how much fun your kids had in the comment below!
A former classroom teacher turned full time mom, Asia chronicles her adventures with her two little ones, S and X, on her blog Fun At Home With Kids. Drawing on her background in education, Asia features a wealth of activities for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers daily, many of which can be done right in your own home. Head over to her site and check it out, and follow Fun At Home With Kids on Facebook and Pinterest!
Red Tricycle, a leading local parenting website & newsletter, is seeking an Editorial Intern to work with our Managing Editor in our Sausalito office. Red Tricycle internships are structured to give the interns maximum exposure to online editorial strategy. Our goal is to provide our interns with solid experience that will quickly help them find paid work.
The position revolves primarily around copy and content editing of website content, so a keen eye for detail and knowledge of grammar a must. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills (both written and verbal), be highly organized, totally in-tune with the digital media parenting space (what’s new, what’s cool, what’s so last year) and possess a keen desire to learn about digital media.
Oh, and did we mention that we love to have fun? We can’t wait to hear from fun-loving, hard-working candidates who love discovery and adventure as much as we do!
Responsibilities may include but are not limited to:
* Creating and editing content
* Fact checking
* Editorial research
* Writing
Qualifications and Expectations:
* Minimum commitment of 15-20 hours per week
* Excellent research, writing and communications skills, and firm grasp of grammar
* Excellent interpersonal skills & Independent work style requiring minimal supervision
* Proficiency in computers with working knowledge of Microsoft Word, as well as Internet research. Experience with WordPress a plus
* Interest in and knowledge of local parenting news from classes, activities, events and local retail stores
You must be available to come into our Sausalito office
Send resume, cover letter, and writing sample to the erin (at) tinybeans.go-vip.net with “Editorial Intern” in the subject line.
About Red Tricycle:
Red Tricycle (www.tinybeans.go-vip.net) is the largest online city guide for parents with kids ages 0-10. We provide five fresh picks a week for fun things to see, eat, make, and do with kids around your neighborhood. We currently serve over 250,000 parents through our newsletter. We’re pedaling ahead to new markets in 2013 after recently securing $1.5 million from venture capitalist funding.
