Wednesday December 23, 2009
Did you see the story about a Carrollton, Ohio mom who called the police because she caught her 6-year-old daughter stealing some stickers at local drug store?
My initial reaction was disbelief. Did a 6-year-old making a mistake like this really warrant a phone call to the police? Couldn't she have taught her right from wrong in some other, less drastic way -- say, by having the little girl take the stickers to the store manager and apologizing and admitting what she did?
But then I thought, I wasn't there. Maybe the store manager didn't take the theft seriously enough and the mom wanted to make sure her daughter learned a lesson. Or maybe the child had done something like this before and the mom wanted to break the habit once and for all.
Still, I can't imagine the thought of having the police come and take my child in their car, which they apparently did in this case to scare the little girl who committed the theft. In fact, I can't imagine calling the police at all, unless my child was a hardened criminal and incorrigible thief at the age of 6.
What do you think? Can you relate to what this mom did?
Wednesday December 23, 2009
There's nothing like Christmas music to set the mood for the holidays. For this tenth day of Christmas, I'm going to play some kids' Christmas music for my child.
On the tenth day of Christmas, my mama gave to me
Ten songs a-playing
Nine Christmas specials
Eight mommy kisses
Seven mini-marshmallows (in hot chocolate)
Six hours of "us" time
Five awesome books
Four favorite friends
Three love notes
Two chocolates
And a special cookie just for me
We'll have the tunes playing while we bake cookies, wrap presents, and get everything ready for our holiday celebration with our family. And for the drive to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas day, we have some great kids' CDs all lined up. It's gonna be a very melodious Christmas!
Twelve Days of Christmas Blogs from Parenting & Family Guides:
The Twelve Days of Christmas Printable Tags by Sherri Osborn, Family Crafts
The Twelve Days of Christmas for Babies by Jennifer White, Baby's First Year
The Twelve Days of Kindness by Jennifer Wolf, Single Parents
The Twelve Days of Finals by Jackie Burrell, Young Adults
The Twelve Days of Christmas Preparations by Carrie Craft, About Adoption & Foster Care
The Twelve Days of Christmas Coloring by Beverly Hernandez, About Homeschooling
Twelve Days of Christmas Blogs from Other Channel Guides:
The Twelve Days of Christmas Decorations by Lisa Hallett Taylor, About Pool & Patio
The Twelve Laundry Stains of Christmas by Mary Marlowe Leverette, About Laundry
The Twelve Trees and Shrubs of Christmas by Vanessa Richins, About Trees and Shrubs
The Twelve Fishy Sightings by Shirlie Sharpe, About Freshwater Aquariums
The Twelve Cats of Christmas by Franny Syufy, About Cats
Related Article:
Children's Book Review: The Twelve Days of Christmas by Elizabeth Kennedy, About Children's Books
Tuesday December 22, 2009
When I was a kid, the holidays meant we would get to see Christmas specials we'd been waiting for all year like Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Some other favorites were Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.
For the ninth day of Christmas, I'm going to share these Christmas TV specials from my childhood with my son (not all in one sitting, of course!). He's seen these DVDs before, but he sees something different in them every year as he grows and his perspective of the world changes along with his cognitive and emotional development. For example, he used to be terrified of the snow monster in Rudolph when he was a kindergartener. Now that he's in third grade, he laughs at how very un-scary the abominable snow monster really is.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my mama gave to me
Nine Christmas specials
Eight mommy kisses
Seven mini-marshmallows (in hot chocolate)
Six hours of "us" time
Five awesome books
Four favorite friends
Three love notes
Two chocolates
And a special cookie just for me
What are your family's favorite Christmas specials or other holiday movies and shows?
Twelve Days of Christmas Blogs from Parenting & Family Guides:
The Twelve Days of Christmas Printable Tags by Sherri Osborn, Family Crafts
The Twelve Days of Christmas for Babies by Jennifer White, Baby's First Year
The Twelve Days of Kindness by Jennifer Wolf, Single Parents
The Twelve Days of Finals by Jackie Burrell, Young Adults
The Twelve Days of Christmas Preparations by Carrie Craft, About Adoption & Foster Care
The Twelve Days of Christmas Coloring by Beverly Hernandez, About Homeschooling
Twelve Days of Christmas Blogs from Other Channel Guides:
The Twelve Days of Christmas Decorations by Lisa Hallett Taylor, About Pool & Patio
The Twelve Laundry Stains of Christmas by Mary Marlowe Leverette, About Laundry
The Twelve Trees and Shrubs of Christmas by Vanessa Richins, About Trees and Shrubs
The Twelve Fishy Sightings by Shirlie Sharpe, About Freshwater Aquariums
The Twelve Cats of Christmas by Franny Syufy, About Cats
Related Article:
Children's Book Review: The Twelve Days of Christmas by Elizabeth Kennedy, About Children's Books
Monday December 21, 2009
This is about the time of year when holiday cheer goes hand in hand with holiday stress. If you're feeling the effects of too many obligations, financial worries, fatigue, and other common holiday stress factors, find out what you can do to manage your stress and anxiety this holiday season.