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Five Ways To Add More Culture Into Your Child’s Life

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When it comes to being a parent you want to give your child everything they need, from raising them right to making sure that they have everything they want. You want them to be respectable, you want them to be knowledgeable, but in order to do all of that you need to work to raise a well rounded child.

Raising a well rounded child also has something to do with their experiences. A child that spends most of their time at home, playing games, will be less social. If you want your child to learn history, art, culture, and be more social, here are some ways to add more culture to their lives that will help with just that.

family visiting a museum
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5 Best Educational Board Games for the Family

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Board games have been around for a long time and they have brought fun entertainment to kids, adults and families. When asked about the best or perhaps the most popular board game, many would surely pop on your mind such as the Monopoly, Sorry and Life among others.

It’s a fact that the traditional board games for adults and kids are still around but many have also been introduced in the market. But it’s not all about edging out the old ones because the benefit here is that people now have more choices when it comes to selecting the form of entertainment they prefer.

Games played using a board and pieces vary in the number and ages of players, themes and time allowed. Some require only two players while the others can be played by two or more people.

Blokus

blokus-board-game

Blokus is an abstract strategy game that uses colored pieces in the shape of a Tetris. The goal is for all players to use all their pieces to the board but only touching corners of the colors assigned to them. [Read more…] about 5 Best Educational Board Games for the Family

Tools You Can Use to Child-Proof Your Cable TV

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These days, cable TV content covers a wide range of shows in different genres ranging from the child-friendly to the adult-oriented programs. But if you are a parent with small children, you surely would want to avoid certain programs not fit for kids.

family watching cable TV

Fortunately, you can take steps to do this. There are various tools parents can use today to ensure that they subscribe only to cable channels airing programs ideal for families and children.

The first most important step you can take is to choose a package with limited channels. Many cable TV providers offer different packages that include various channels. Normally, the less number of channels involved, the lower the monthly fee.

Family packages usually include educational channels with a few adult-oriented content. Some popular channels covered here are Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel.
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Fireworks Safety

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Once a year, the warm sun shines down onto my skin while the smells of grilled food fill the air with that savory BBQ aroma. I can hear my family cheer during the bean-bag-toss as I run through the sprinklers with my daughter. I smell of bug spray and sun block. We all begin to settle down in the evening as the sun sets and we huddle together to light them. After all, nothing says July 4th in America like fireworks!

Fireworks are extremely accessible on the 4th of July; they are literally everywhere. Every year the fireworks get bigger, louder and more expensive. Moreover, while fireworks can be fun, we have to remember they are extremely dangerous. When celebrating this year, try to keep these safety tips in mind: [Read more…] about Fireworks Safety

Best Toys for Babies

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For mental growth and development of your babies, giving them toys is a great idea. It helps sharpens their minds at the same time giving them so much enjoyment. However, as parents you need to very careful about the toys you give your babies, make sure that they are safe to play with and your babies like them. Babies are attracted to bright colors and to different sounds. There are some educational toys for babies that can make different sound of the alphabet. These toys will surely help them get ready to talk.

Bright colors like red, blue, yellow and green attracts most babies. You might want to buy some that comes in different shapes of even large puzzle pieces to incorporate cognitive development at an early age. But your baby might just probably throw them away or bite on them. This is fine babies love to bite especially when teething. So you have to be very picky when it comes to the texture of the toys, they should never come with small parts or a string. These are hazardous especially to babies, since they love biting on the toys, they might choke accidentally on those tiny parts.

Building blocks are great toys for babies especially those that come in varying bright colors. This will help them develop the hand and eye coordination. You may want to teach them how to build blocks at first and then gradually introduce how to make big blocks out of them. These safe and developmental baby toys are great your child.

The Size Difference

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Large doll houses have entirely changed the playing landscape of children. No longer limited by the confines of the truly miniaturized versions of houses, the larger versions ensure more playing opportunities with playmates. The bigger size not only makes it possible to have more features that can hold a child’s attention, it also allows playmates to play simultaneously in different areas of the doll house.

Opting for large doll houses necessitate minor assembly work as it is not practical for manufacturers to have them packed fully assembled because of their size. The expected joy derived from having an excellent doll house choice more than makes up for the little extra work. The size also permits the inclusion of more furniture and accessories which are of course, such a delight to young children.

Large doll houses also offer more flexibility in personalizing doll houses while providing more opportunities to highlight a child’s creativity. The small hands of children may not yet be up to the care required by smaller versions of doll houses. The semblance of realism in a child’s point of view is much better achieved in the doll house’s advantageous size.

The size of large doll houses likewise allow for more extra details such as turrets, balconies, surprise rooms, and drawbridges. It also facilitates a wider range of interactive activity such as rearranging rooms and furniture to produce an entirely new look for the house. They are also much sturdier and can handle maximized play of children. Many models are provided in fun designs and colors to make imaginative play more exciting. A custom-made doll house can be as large as a young girl wants it to be.

Expecting Mums: Games To Keep You Busy

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This post is dedicated to our reader, Betty, who is expecting her baby next month. For many mothers-to-be, the last month or so of pregnancy can be the hardest period for many reasons. If you are a working mother, and you get to stay at home during the last couple of months (or even the last month) of pregnancy, the respite from work is very much welcome. After a while, though, you might find yourself wanting to do something – anything – to help you kill time. Even if you’re a stay at home mom (and maybe even more so), you might be interested in alternative ways to bide your time while you wait for your bundle of joy to arrive.

Here are some web sites that you might like if you’re the type who would want to spend some time on the computer playing games.

Fupa.com is a web site that features tons of flash games. They have a parenting section, which has many alternatives to choose from. Some of the more interesting ones that I saw are Childs Play Word Search Game and Parenting Word Search Game, which I think are perfect if you’re the kind that likes word games – and I sure do. There are also games for little kids, which are pretty safe for your tiny ones. You do, however, have to register for FREE. It’s like an online community of its own, with some benefits.

Another fun site that I discovered is BabyYum.com. There is just one game – Baby Yum. It’s a pretty easy flash game, where you can practice your multi-tasking skills. I love the stork, which is actually your character. For some reason, the game reminded me of that old Game & Watch game where you caught eggs that fell off the shelves, which you can find left and right. Maybe it’s the set up of the graphics. In any case, I think this is a great game to play when you have some free time.

Of course, there are other countless games that you can play online – not necessarily parenting games, but still games that are worth your while. And, if you’re on Facebook (I know very few people who aren’t), you can have all the games that you want to keep yourself busy. If you like cooking, go for Restaurant City and Café World. If you’re into fantasy, try Castle Age.

For you mums who are not into games, what do you suggest?

Book In Focus: Parenting Well In A Media Age

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We cannot deny it: we are living in a media age. Think back to when you were growing up. It might be that you didn’t have television, or perhaps if you did, your viewing time was limited. The chances are that you didn’t have Internet access. After all, the Internet didn’t really become widely used till the last decade or so.

Today, however, our children are bombarded with information from all sorts of media: TV, radio, and the Internet. There is no way that we can shelter them from these, is there?

One question enters my mind: is it really necessary to shelter children from the information available to them? After all, we cannot overlook the fact that there is a lot of useful information to be had. I suppose the trick lies in us knowing how to handle the amount and quality of information that our children access.

This is where this book, Parenting Well In A Media Age, comes into the picture. I haven’t had the chance to read the whole book, but I came across it on Amazon; and the title was enough to catch my attention. The product description reads:

This illuminating investigation takes a fresh look at the role of media in children’s lives. An overview of the formidable challenges parents face and creative ways to overcome them are included, as are strategies for turning a home environment from “high-tech” to “high-touch.” Moving beyond demonizing the media, this work, like none before it, articulates the difficulties of parenting in our depersonalized society. It offers hopeful alternatives for all parents wanting to protect children from, and teach children about, media’s impact.

I like the way the contents were described – it does not pinpoint media as “bad” in general. Instead, it highlights the fact that our society can become depersonalized even more because of the way information is presented. I am sure that no one will disagree when I say that parenting is a highly personalized job!

Then again, due to our busy schedules, it is quite easy to fall into the trap of providing our children with entertainment alternatives more than we ought to.

Go watch this education DVD while I make dinner. Go play with your PS3 or Xbox360 while I finish some paperwork. Go on the Internet to find the answer to your question.

These are some common “commands” some parents give their children too often. Perhaps in this book, we might find ways to handle various situations better. I am quite interested in getting my hands on a copy.

Has anyone read the book? Or maybe, you have your own pointers on how to become a good parent in this media age.

Disney – Fantasies Galore

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disney1All kids love Disney whom we have all been witness to has grown from one theme park to a huge corporation that all kids see as the place where dreams are made of. Another fact about Disney, we as parents know that stuff we see, hear and read about that comes form them are wholesome and educational for all ages(even you parents).
We might have outgrown our love for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck but they are part of kid’s fantasies and pop culture that they are forever part of history as some of the most recognizable cartoon characters of all time. Thinking of a gift for your child? Why not consider getting some of the best Disney tshirts around to suit their choice of favorite characters from the cartoon classics as Snow White to Wall-E the robot who has caused many a tear with his unexplainable emotion hard to imagine from a robot who falls in love.