This peppermint bark is a staple at the holidays. It's super easy to make and if you're looking for an inexpensive but pretty gift, you can wrap up the bark …[Read More...]
You Don’t Want To Miss…
10 Rules To Empower and Protect Young Children From Potential Abuse
Who’s afraid of the big, bad wolf? How about the boogeyman? Okay, good -- so we’ve got those two covered! But how about the ice cream man, or the next door neighbor, or the after-school sports coach? Now, before you get mad at me for picking on those three, let me just say I have nothing against any of these community members! In fact, my daughter and I buy Fudgsicles from …[Read More...]
7 Questions Every Parent Should Ask Before A Play Date
I’m embarrassed to ask that…what will they think of me? This is what many parents tell us when we discuss the importance of asking “safety questions” of another parent/friend /adult before sending their kids to a play date, sleep over, or off to sports practice. With all of the stories in the media lately about seemingly "trusted" adults in children’s lives who have …[Read More...]
How to Set Healthy Screen Time Limits for Your Kids
Parents primary technology concern used to be with the amount of time children spent in front of the TV, but now smartphones and portable devices make the amount of time your child spends in front of technology virtually limitless. Even though these devices can be very stimulating and engaging for your child, they may cause serious problems within your household. For …[Read More...]
9 Tips That’ll Help You Survive New Motherhood (+ Amazon $50 gift card giveaway)
The following post is in partnership with Mirum Agency. Life as a new mother is exciting, but let’s be honest, it’s also scary, stressful and intimidating. Here we are caring for an itty bitty person we love more than ourselves, and we don’t know what to do, it’s frightening! But, being a new mom doesn’t mean you can’t handle it like a pro. Here are a few tips from moms …[Read More...]
8 Tips For Raising Girls with Confidence
I grew up in a picturesque suburb of New York City. By all outside appearances, I had it together: confident, carefree, and a natural leader. I went to college, built a high profile career in the media industry, got married, and had children. Then I had a daughter. The second I heard “it’s a girl,” I knew that I had to build a better me because of her. I realized then …[Read More...]
Five Questions To Ask Yourself About Your Child’s Engagement With Tech
When I started to write this article I thought about safety; all of the important things you need to know about how to keep your children safe in this digital age; how to protect from negativity, etc, etc. Then I thought, NO! We need to think about how we as parents engage with our kids about technology, engage in technology and how YOU are the most important innovation in …[Read More...]
Brooke Burke: I Dare You To Take This Test (ModernMom Report Card)
Are you making the grade? Are you willing to be held accountable for your actions? In honor of back to school, let’s give our children credit for developing new responsibilities and buckling down. We expect a lot from our children and rewards and consequences are a common topic of discussion. As we define our expectations of our children, have you ever considered …[Read More...]
15 Things You Should Give Up to Be a Happy Parent
You want to be a happy parent—but your countless responsibilities make this goal challenging! Don’t lose hope just yet. I have a list of 15 things that keep you from happy parenting. Read through them. Be honest with yourself. Then let them go. Allow yourself to be a happy parent for your child—and yourself! Here’s a list of 15 things you should give up—and then watch …[Read More...]
10 Things Happy Moms Do Differently
"Today's feminism isn't about women doing it all. It's about women NOT having to do it all." - Gloria Steinem I began buying into the myth of "doing it all" at an early age. In my 20s, I had my checklist life in mind: start a lucrative career right after college, meet someone and fall in love, get married by age 30, get my career to a successful enough point that I …[Read More...]
It’s Ok To Let Our Kids Settle For “Good Enough”
When it comes to my kids, one of the things that stresses me out is this whole idea of “specializing.” Since my daughter was four or five, I've watched as many of her friends have streamlined their focus on piano or guitar, on club soccer or volleyball teams, on ice skating or acting or singing or swimming or tennis or dance. The stakes seem to get really high really …[Read More...]
Learning About Strangers – Educating Our Children Without Scaring Them
What provoked this “talking to strangers” conversation with my children? It was months ago when a high risk pedophile moved about a mile from our family. The man charged had kidnapped a child and harmed him. As a community we were scared and upset. We started petitions to help tighten Vermont laws that allowed these offenders into our state and neighborhoods. They …[Read More...]
Back to School Safety Tips for Younger Kids
TGIS – Thank Goodness It’s (almost) September! Parents rejoice, children groan. No matter how you feel about the end of summer va-cay, it’s definitely time to start gearing up for the start of a new school year. So, in between shopping for endless supplies (do I really need to buy more glue sticks?!) and the latest must-have fashions, take a few minutes to review some back …[Read More...]
What My Special Needs Nephew Has Taught Me About Confidence
This post is sponsored by Mirum, but opinions expressed are my own. My nephew is one of the most inspirational kids I know. Well, actually, the most inspirational young man I know (he's 16). I only met Brandon 4 years ago when I reconnected with my birth family after 34 years. The day I met him I knew he was special. Unique in his own way, the fact that he is special …[Read More...]
10 Ways To Help Your Child Become A Better Writer
If your kids are like mine, they don't take well to their parents giving them advice on much of anything -- academics, athletics, you name it. In many ways, I am thankful for this. My kids are independent and have learned to do their homework on their own. But writing is a different story. But I had to step in recently to help my middle-schooler with a term paper that …[Read More...]
‘Digital Heroin’ and Kids: A Problem With Manageable Solutions
The Problem: Sitting on my friend’s porch this past weekend, I was thrilled my kids (ages 3.5 and 5) were playing outside soaking it up with a group of new kids. Since mine were the youngest of the bunch, I kept a safe distance until I saw a commotion. When I walked over to see why all ten kids were clambering up the play set, I noticed the two fourth grade girls had …[Read More...]