Parenting Advices

1. Unleash The Inner Fashionista. At stardoll.com, your kids create virtual dolls (customize skin color, face shape, hair, etc.) then choose from a wide variety of clothes and accessories.

2. Train A Pet. When your kids get Mushabelly Stuffed Toys they receive a special ID number that enrolls them (and the virtual version of their toy) in the online world of Mushabelly University. Here, their pet advances up different skill levels, as they participate in games that develop typing, math, and hand-eye coordination, earning points in the process. Best for kids 6 and up.

A similar online game is ActionJetz that also sells airplane toys in toy stores.

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Making Tie-Dye shirts with your kids is a fun way for your family to bond! Below is how to make a Tie-Dye shirt:

Materials:

• White tee shirt
• 2-3 colors powdered dye
• 2 rubber bands
• Rubber cloves to protect your hands from the dye.
• Old pots or buckets – used to mix the dye. It should be able to hold 3-5 gallons.
• Old long-handled spoon or tongs to stir the dye.
• Plastic Bag
• Newspaper and garbage bag to protect your work area.
• Rags, paper towels, cleanser for quick clean up.

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1. Pick the right restaurant. It’s kid-friendly when the restaurant staff immediately puts crayons with paper on the table. It also likely means they are prepared for situations when kids mess up the table with sauces or throw a tantrum.

2. Choose those with pictures of dishes in the menu. Then let the kids choose what they want. It can be a fun process and gives kids a sense of independence. If they can’t choose, go for appetizers first, which can be served fast and ease hunger pangs easily.

3. Bring one or two toys with you. It will come in handy also once your child starts to show signs of boredom, usually after a meal.

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No more teacher, no more books! Give the nanny a break with these quality-time things to do in the season of sun and fun.

1. Alumni homecoming, here we come. Take your child to your old high school or college and show them your old classrooms, library, etc. Your kids will love to hear stories about how you were as a student and it is also a great opportunity for you to teach them valuable lessons. Treat them to a meal at the old cafeteria or the nearest fast food.

2. Figure a puzzle. Take home one of those giat jigsaw puzzles that contain 500 to over a thousand pieces and make it a family project for the summer. Delegate a special table where you can leave the puzzle and where everyone can gather around every night for some cozy before-bedtime bonding. Have some mugs of hot chocolate or bags of popcorn handy to complete the picture.

3. Attend toddler classes. Bond with your young ones by signing up for music and movement classes.

4. Pack the picnic basket and go to the park. You can take your family to a picnic in the nearest park, or maybe somewhere out of town. That way, you can spend some time in a park that you’d visit for the first time. Your children would surely enjoy interacting with other kids while you can have a sweet bonding time with your spouse.

5. Enjoy car wash day. Take out the garden hose, pails, sponges, tire brush and soap and have a fun morning washing the family car. Children will love getting themselves wet and will relish pointing the hose at mom and dad. Sure, you can pay someone else 50 bucks to wash the car but it wouldn’t be as fun as getting the family soaked on a hot summer day.

6. Have a family project. A bird-feeling platform, a tree-house or a hand-crafted toy — let your family’s creativity flow with a project that you can all do together. My husband and I recently finished making a sandbox for our daughter. Not only did it save us a lot of money, but it also gave our three-year-old a sense of accomplishment as she helped us paint and pour the sand into her box.

7. Think green. What better way to teach your child about the environment than by actually experiencing it. Try boating at the lagoon or swimming at the salt water pool for starters then stroll along the park while learning about the different plants.

8. Home Theater. Microwave popcorn, ice-cold sodas, snuggling on the bed in tattered pajamas — you can’t beat family bonding while watching films in the comfort of your own home. Renting DVD movies is a great cheap thrill and we recommend getting these family-bonding flicks:

• Father of the Bride, starring Steve Martin as an aging dad who can’t quite let go of his recently engaged daughter, this film is both touching and hilarious as it follows the misadventures of a family planning its first wedding.
• Freaky Friday. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan star as a mom and daughter who can’t get along. When they switch bodies one freaky Friday, they are forced to adapt living each other’s lives for a day.
• Back to the Future. Michael J. Fox during his ’80’s heyday, this film is a classic comedy. What would it be like to meet your parents in their teens? Parents will love the retro feel of the film while kids will be encouraged to imagine, what if we can go back in time?

9. History lives. Give your children a historical lesson they’ll truly remember by taking them to where history actually happened.

10. Enjoy the pool. Don’t feel like driving out of town to take the kids swimming? Enjoy first-class pool facilities at hotels in the city that have fitness centers where mom and dad can relax or use the gym. Of course, you can bring your own picnic basket but at least you can forget about cooking for a day as you enjoy the hotel’s yummy meals and first-rate service.

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