It is allergy season indeed and if your kids – or even you and your spouse – have seasonal allergies, then you know how difficult this time of the year can be. I ran across a really old article on ABCNews detailing some common misconceptions about allergies. I was surprised to read a couple myths that I thought were actually true!

Air purifiers help – I really thought they did! After all, if the air inside the house is clean, it would lessen allergy attacks, right? Based on that article, pollen is NOT removed by air purifiers. I honestly didn’t know that. So if anyone at home is allergic to pollen, having an air purifier will not do much good.

Another myth that I re-discovered is that cold medication helps. Deep in my mind I know that in a sense they really do help alleviate the symptoms but also that they do not really address the issue. No matter how many different types of cold medication you take, if you are allergic to something and you are not dealing with the source of allergy, then guess what, the cold will be there for quite some time!

Some people may take allergies lightly but as parents, this is one thing that we cannot afford to do. There have been studies highlighting the negative impact of allergic reactions on children. More than the physical aspect, chronic allergic reactions could have adverse psychological effects on children as well.

What do you do to deal with your child’s allergies?

If you remember my last entry, I was musing on the fact that children should be taught how to help out at home. In my point of view, it is never too early to teach children how to handle responsibility. More4kids, a blog on parenting, has an entry on various chores you can start your children on and I agree with almost all of them. Let’s talk about a few that I think are the most feasible and productive.

I think that at the toddler stage, it would be perfect to start teaching our kids responsibility. More4kids outlines various chores such as:

I personally like the first one best. Children these days have tons of playthings. Making it a point to have them clean up and put away whatever they play with is a very good start in instilling a sense of responsibility in our children. Learning at this early stage would make it easier for them to take on larger tasks as they grow older.

So when they get out of the toddler stage, what other activities can they start doing? I think that making their own beds is a must. Tidying up their own rooms should be another “have to.” Also, I think watering the plants and helping out in the garden (if you have one) should start at this age as the activity would be more suitable for older kids. Walking the dog (perhaps with an adult) is also a good way to get kids outdoors. Of course, doing the dishes and setting the table should be thrown in there as well (I know, I really don’t like these chores).

How about you? How are you teaching your children responsibility through house chores?

“My tummy hurts!” That was my perpetual excuse from my childhood years to my teenage years. This usually happened right after we had lunch or dinner together as a family. What triggered it? I didn’t want to do the dishes.

It is a bit humorous when I think about it but now that I am no longer a child, I realize the importance of teaching our children how to do basic house chores. We were not rich but we were comfortable. Our parents taught us everything around the house – from doing the dishes to doing the laundry and even basic plumbing and electrical work!

Today, I realize that not many children know how to do even the most basic of household work. I was talking to a friend of mine about this and he said that he does not care whether or not his children help out at home as long as they did well in school – that was their job. I do see where he is coming from but I also know that I prefer my children to know how to take care of themselves in the house.

I was reading this blog post on Mum-Mum, a web site dedicated to kids and parenting, which aggregates blog posts from all over the web (yep, they do link to our posts, too – thanks!). I like how the writer outlined different chores that children of all ages could do at home. Maybe I’ll talk more about specific chores for kids in the next post.

This morning, when I got back home from dropping N at kindergarten, I came home to find Jennyfer, our nanny, suddenly scream out and start weeping.

We rushed to her, only to find that she had received word from her sister, that her baby neice had died today. Tragic and sad, but whats worse is that the same sister had a four-year old who also passed away a few years ago, and the most likely reason for both deaths was poverty.

When I spoke to Jennyfer and asked her what had brought this tragedy about, she simply said that her sister and family simply did not have enough money to see a doctor, to buy medicine, and in recent weeks did not even have enough for rice.

I was mortified, asking her why didn’t she ask us for help? That of course we would help her family if only she has told us. In between sobs she just looked shyly at me, obviously grief-stricken and even a little ashamed.

Jennyfer’s family, you see, live in the province of Leyte in the Philippines, and she supports her 9 siblings and parents, being the only one with a job at 22 years of age. Jobs and affordable or free medical help are rare in the area, and sadly, many children and infants die an early death.

On the upside, infant mortality rates in the Philippines have declined a little, by around 2% since 2003 - with 22.81 deaths for every 1,000 births. Nevertheless, it was with a heavy heart that I gave her some money to send back to her sister this morning, money for the funeral and some rice, wishing that we could have somehow helped save this child’s life.

What is it about germs that make them spread like wildfire, especially with kids? While we were at hospital Dr.J warned me to try and refrain from getting too close to O, and not kissing him or sharing drinks, food and so on. Was she insane? Did she think I would stay at an arm’s length of my son who was in hospital for the first time? Bring on the outbreak and let me kiss my baby.

By the next morning, O had started to recover fast. After finishing his bowl of clear soup, he moved on to some white bread (I made the exception because of the circumstances), and by lunchtime, he was up and about, roaming the pediatric ward while I held his I.V. drip.

Big sis came to visit with Grandma, and despite more stay-away warnings from Dr.J, she promptly jumped into the hospital bed with her little brother (to his delight!) snuggeling to watch the Playhouse Disney channel, which we don’t get at home. Being the affectionate (well, sometime) bis sister that she is, I think she felt sorry for her little brother (with a needle and tube stuck on his hand, no less) and wouldn’t stop hugging and kissing him. When it was time for Grandma to take her to lunch at the mall she refused to leave and eventually was persuaded to go downstairs to the hospital cafeteria.

By the following day, you can guess what happened. O was nearly back to his old cheery self, my daughter was vomiting and I had diarrhea.

[tags]outbreak, hospital, virus[/tags]

Here is a wonderful Christmas Story on the meaning of Christmas from the eyes of one little girl and her family.

A very Christmas to you and your families!!

A Christmas Story

It was the year 1968. That year was an exceptionally hard year in every way. Pop was laid off due to too much snow in the woods. He was a logger. Roads were impassable and snow lay thick in the mountains. We knew there would be no Christmas. Mom had told us there simply was no money. Times were tough. We didn’t have money even for our very basic needs.

That was the year the guy from the fire department brought my sick baby brother some medicine in his four wheel drive. That was the year the snow piled up relentlessly night and day. The wind blew it under the window sills. We slept each night downstairs by the fireplace
trying to stay warm. The entire house was closed off by blankets in doorways and masking tape on all the windows. Rugs were shoved under loose fitting doors so not a breath of cold air could get in.

That was also the year that food was scarce for man and beast. Earlier in the fall, the cold and scarcity of food drove the bear into our orchard to eat any remaining plums and apples that we hadn’t canned or processed in some way. We trapped those bears, tanned their hides to use for rugs, and ate the meat to fill our bellies. Christmas dinner that year was going to be Bear Roast. There were nine of us kids, and food was scarce.

The fires were kept burning night and day. My baby brothers were set on the lids to the warming ovens above the kitchen stove and held there while they dangled there feet over the old Home Comfort. Its cheery warmth not only heated our kitchen, but it also kept their tiny
toes warm.

That was also the winter that mom ran out of formula for the baby. Not knowing what to do, we prayed that God would send our baby formula. He was allergic to milk and too young to . That day a man handed
mom an envelope of gospel tracts. There hidden in the tracts was a five dollar bill. God had answered our prayers. The baby would now get his formula.

I had only one wish that Christmas. I had seen a beautiful doll bed in the department store window. I wanted it so badly, but I knew it was way too much to ask. I could dream though, and dream I did. Mom knew how badly I yearned for a doll bed, so one day shortly before
Christmas she set about to make me that coveted gift. Taking two cardboard boxes she turned the one upside down and set the other on top. She fastened them to each other then lined them with fabric and made a little pleated skirt to cover the cardboard box underneath. She knew that on Christmas morning I would be the happiest child for miles around.

The air was filled with secrecy that Christmas, as we all tried to make each other gifts. Buttons were strung onto strings, small jars were filled with filberts to rattle at the babies, nuts piled high behind the stove in gunny sacks were cracked and sugared for treats. Once again Bear meat was on the dinner menu. But once again God had other plans.

The day before Christmas a big red truck lumbered down the lane to our house. It was the Fire Chief! Whatever was happening? Why had they come? They had chained up the vehicle to get up the snowy roads. Maybe they were bringing medicine. One year the fire department brought aspirin to all the babies on the mountain because families couldn’t get into town. But no! Wait! There were other men with him. We watched as the firemen jumped down and began unloading gifts from the truck. They piled them on to the front porch while we watched from the window. There were lots of boxes. The excitement was more than we
could bear. Beautifully wrapped gifts with sparkly bows were lined up on the porch.

Mom opened the front door to ask what this was all about. A fireman filled her arms with a box overflowing with food. “Merry Christmas,” he called over his shoulder as he stomped back through the snow for more things. My sisters and I were squealing and excitedly running from window to window in the hopes of seeing better. The babies peeked out from behind mom’s skirt.

Finally the last box was unloaded and our porch was filled with food and gifts. Everything we needed for a complete Christmas dinner was brought by that fire department. Mom was crying as she thanked the men. At eight-years-old I didn’t see what there was to cry about. I
mean one minute there was no Christmas, the next we all had gifts and a Christmas dinner! At the time I knew nothing of what lies in a mother’s heart when God so completely and wonderfully answers her prayers for Christmas for her babies.

But the firemen weren’t done. They had gone back to the truck, and now they were pulling out a huge box with a candy cane striped swing-set inside. Our joy was beyond imagination. We had spent many hours swinging in homemade swings in the apple trees, but we had never seen or dreamed of anything as lovely as this red and white swing set. Our
little hearts could hold no more.

That year was the best Christmas we ever had. The turkey from the fire department filled the place with mouthwatering smells. Gifts were opened and nowhere was there greater joy than that which was found in the old farmhouse that day.

That night, as the snow continued to blow across the dark hills, nine children lay tucked in their beds on the dining room floor. The fire gave the room a soft glow. Over in the old green chair mama rocked the baby and fed him warm formula while Pop made his bedtime rounds,
stoking the fire and checking windows and doors for any loose masking tape that would let the cold east wind inside.

That was the night that the firemen brought Christmas to little children on a cold mountain. That was the night a new doll, brought from the fire department, slept all snuggly warm in its cardboard box beside a little girl who had prayed for a Christmas.

That was the night the heavens bent low.

That was the night the angels sang.

I will forever be grateful to the men who sacrificed their time that cold Christmas Eve. I have never forgotten their labor of love and the joy they brought to our hearts. Thank you so much for bringing Christmas to our house that year. You will never know what that meant to all of us! May God bless you all!

[tags]Christmas, Holidays, Christmas dinner, Christmas Story[/tags]

Aside from filling their stocking with goodies and the presents from my husband and I, Santa also bring my two children something from their “lists”(please don’t mention the word spoiled). For my nearly-2 boy, the choice was easy - a wooden Thomas the Tank Engine set, his current obsession. For my preschooler, it wasnt as easy as every month she’d come up with something new she wanted. A few months ago it was a My Little Pony house/castle, then it was the Superman Matchbox activity game, then the Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses doll (which her classmate had, of course).

By the time Christmas rolled around, it had changed to several other highly-commercialized, overpriced toys which would probably keep her interest for a week tops, but there are kids for you. So I held off her “Santa Present” for as long as I could until I finally got my husband to the mall and told him to deal with it. In true male-style, he led me to the nearest Sports shop, asked the shop assistant for kid roller skates and voila- she had her present.

Its the strangest thing, but despite her not mentioning skates at all in her Christmas desires, when we went to that Email Santa website, it was what she mentioned FIRST in her letter!!! I don’t know how my husband knew, but the moral of the story is that sometimes, just sometimes, we Moms have to let Daddies work their own magic with the kids.

[tags]Christmas, Holidays, Christmas presents[/tags]

Here it is, heart-wrenching and hilarious - what kids around the world have been emailing Santa about:

I just wish that the parents of a friend of mine really loved him (which they don’t),as he now lives in an Aid Center for kids and I want him to get out of there !
- Diana, 14, Arad, Romania.

my dad is on disability my mommy can’t work because of my sister and mommy says we not to expect much for chirstmas. but my sister needs a new bed and new clothes. and a new bike. but mommy says we have each other and that is what is important.
- Toni, 8, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Santa I am hearing impaired and had a dog named kip that would let me know if doorbell was to ring, wake me up when the alarm goes off, and much more. We were told that he was not doing everything he was supposed to do so hedaquarters in Michigan took him to help train him more. If he does not do good he will never come back to me. He have been very good up there so far and I hope and wish for him to come back. I would like for us to spend Christmas together because he had made a difference in my life. I know this may be asking too much, but I thought with hope and faith my dog may come back home. Thank you
- Annie, 18, Pensacola, Florida.

You said you might not have enough room in your sled for all the toys….I asked my mommy to get you a new-bigger sled for your Christmas present. I hope she gets it to you before Christmas!
- Alex, 4, Volga City, Iowa.

Gee it’s hard being six. I hope seven is easier?
- Damian, 6, Adelaide, Australia.

Santa, I do not have an email address of my own so I am using my brother’s email address. Please don�t get our presents mixed up though
- Lorna, 7, Essexville, Michigan.

Please bring something special for my Marmo. This is her first Christmas in heaven. We will miss her jello at Christmas dinner.
- Elizabeth, 6, Belfast, United Kingdom.

Santa, please be careful bringing my puppy down the chimney, if she doesn’t fit please make other arrangements to get her to me, do you have special helpers for precious pet deliveries?
- Scotty, 8, Fresno, California.

Santa, my computer is missing. For christmas I asked for some new computer things like what my daddy has and I was hoping that maybe your elves just borrowed it to add that new stuff to make it run gooder but if they didn’t maybe somebody stole it and you could bring me a new one?
- Matthew, 8, Franklin, New Hampshire.

I hope that you get every house in the whole Unavicers.Maybe your wife should do the work for you.
- Jessica, 8, DeWitt, New York.

[tags]Christmas, Holidays, Letters, Santa[/tags]

Lately nearly every place we go to is adorned with Christmas decorations - poinsettias, wreaths, garlands, lights, santas, snowmen, and yes, styrofoam balls covered in glitter, ribbon, rhinestones and so on.

At our local Gymboree, where my son and I attend twice-a-week lessons (which he LOVES by the way), there are lots of the homemade variety, of balls in different sizes, simply decorated with multicoloured glitter. Many had impressively had Gymbo the clown too.

My daughter thought that these balls were just “beautiful!”, and asked if we could make some at home too. As Christmas is coming, I thought I’d don my SuperMom cape for the holidays and get down to some serious Yuletide styro-ball-ornament making. You have to love the styro ball. Its cheap, easy to find, and easy to decorate for little kids.

Heres’ how to do it:

Styrofoam Ball Ornaments

*styrofoam ball (about 2 1/2 inches)
*glue
*paper clips
*paint
*craft items - glitter, jewels, ribbons, etc

Put some glue on one end of a paper clip and push it into ball, this will be the hanger. Paint and decorate as desired.
You can also paint with glitter paint, glue on “jewels” & tiny shells and ribbons as below.

Ribbon Covered Balls

* Styrofoam ball
* 1/4″ satin ribbon
* Dressmaker pins
* Christmas cording
* Ribbon for a bow
* Pearls, beads or other decorations
* Hot glue

Take a large pen and poke a hole all the way through the center of the ball. Secure the ribbon with dressmaker pins at one end and basically just wrap the ribbon around the ball through the hole. At each end of the hole, secure the ribbon with a pin. Then after you cover the whole ball, you can push some pretty cording through the hole and tie a knot at the bottom and make a bow or something like that at the top for a loop to hang on tree. You can also use a hot glue gun to add other baubles like beads, pearls or small crystals.

[tags]Christmas, Holidays, Christmas ornaments, styrofoam balls[/tags]

Christmas starts early in our family. I know its barely December, but we’ve had our tree and decorations out for a couple of weeks now, and its Christmas songs that play in the family stereo - from the trad carols, to Jackson 5, or perhaps the Rat Pack.

The stockings and Advent calendar were hung, the “Countdown blackboard” which says “__ Days Till Christmas” has been dutily filled in (to complaints of “but thats sooooo long!”), and just yesterday, the first presents were laid beneath the waiting tree. They were presents from my daughter’s Godmother, who is moving house next week and was in a panic to get them out of her place before the move, which worked well for us as N was already complaining as to when the presents were coming (yes, 4 year-olds complain a lot- at least mine does!!). Within 10 seconds, O ripped off the ribbon and tag from his present, was scolded by his big sister, so proceeded to pull his favourite star-shaped ornaments off the tree. Sigh.

As for the man in the big red suit, we emailed him ages ago to tell him what N wanted for Christmas - a shiny new scooter. She has her heart set on it, but the terrible thing is that I havent found the “perfect one” anywhere. Help! So begins the Christmas rush.

[tags]Christmas, kids Christmas, Santa[/tags]