Sugar, Sugar Everywhere!

Linda Miner RNC, CHN, CMTA www.MyHealthyBalance.com When I was a young girl, I can only remember one boy in elementary school who was overweight.  Actually he was obese.  Poor Robert, he really stuck out because it was just so unusual.  I remember feeling really sorry for him and wondering why he was fat when no [...]

Values Are More Than Words: Driving Your Discipline Style

I generally think of values as nouns, often single words that say a lot: integrity, honesty, responsibility, education, athleticism, kindness and respect.  I imagine you are teaching your children values each day. What words come to your mind? Out of a conversation of values, the two I hear most often are love and respect. Your [...]

Understanding Skill Deficits and Willful Non-Compliance

This might sound familiar, “I said, go to your room!” If that’s what happens in your home consider this. Many parents focus on punishment, calling it discipline. But discipline is something you teach your children not something you do to them. You may agree, but now you wonder, “Well how do I do it differently?” [...]

Four Ways to Raise Financially Responsible Kids

Allowances are a great tool when used properly to teach kids how to manage money. Its critical to set allowances up as an ongoing process for earning money, not as a method to demonstrate love or to reward kids for actions that are naturally expected in a family unit. Here are some guidelines to help [...]

7 Tips for Hiring a Babysitter

You’ve heard the advice. “Take some time for yourselves. Create a date night. Hire a babysitter and spend quality quiet time together.” Your friends have told you that. So have your closest relatives. Perhaps a counselor has recommended the same thing. So you’re convinced and ready to proceed. Get out the phone book and call [...]

Traveling on a budget with kids…

We are very lucky..we live in California so we don’t necessarily need to hop on a plane to get to a world-class, kid-friendly destination. Normally we include Southern California in our summer plans but with the economy being what it is, we needed to look for other options. We decided on the Central Coast. A [...]

Now Aren’t You The Prettiest Little Thing?: Helping Your Children Find Beauty from the Inside Out

Erik Fisher, PhD. AKA Dr. E… Author of The Art of Empowered Parenting I picked up my 2 and a half year-old daughter from our caregiver’s home and to my shock her caregiver said, “Show Daddy your pretty nails.” My daughter then showed me her painted nails. They had a nail painting party that day. [...]

Cliques, Peer Pressure and Fitting In…

I’ve done the math…there are 6,570 days in my daughter’s lives from the day they are born to the day they turn 18. Many of those days will be filled with so much joy….but others will be filled with heartache and frustration. It is a great feeling to be able to help my kids learn [...]