Today's Parent | Parenting Resources… Articles, Advice, Help & Tips

Reading is a fundamental skill that children develop over time. It requires on-going practice, hence the saying, “children learn to read by reading.” This summer, it should be of utmost importance that you provide opportunities for your child to read.

Learn more about your child’s interests.

It becomes imperative therefore, that as a parent you get to know your child’s interests and have your child select books that sparks his/her interest. Is your child interested in mysteries, comics, or poetry? Maybe your child would like to learn more about taking a care of a new pet, or how to play a new sport. Make reading fun. Even the most reluctant reader will read if you target his/her interests. It becomes necessary to provide your child with a variety of books.

Become engaged with your child in the reading process.

While your child is reading, ask questions to see if your child comprehends what is being read. Who, what, where, when, and why are some key questions to ask. A reading activity and discussion about the book your child is reading may tell you whether or not your child understood what was read. Read More

Every year, more than 4 million women give birth in the United States. That’s more than 10,000 every day, which leaves many new mothers — and their babies —feeling lost in the crowd.

In order to find a more “boutique” approach to prenatal and primary health care, a growing number of women are turning to midwives. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2005, midwives attended more than 300,000 U.S. births — and more women are seeing midwives for family planning, annual exams and for help navigating normal life transitions.

“When you decide to visit a midwife, you can expect a special kind of care. Some midwives spend up to an hour with first-time patients, and most midwives stay with women through the entire birth process,” says Cathy Collins Fulea, a certified nurse-midwife and midwife expert at www.RealSavvyMoms.com.

Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) are independent providers who care for women through all stages of life and are trained through graduate-level education to handle the majority of complications that may arise during pregnancy and birth. Most CNMs and CMs attend deliveries in hospitals, and with low rates of induction, cesarean section and episiotomy, midwives maintain an impressive safety record for both mothers and babies. Read More

Whether trekking to the grocery store, tackling laundry or racing to a meeting, today’s parents are busier than ever. As the frenzied pace of daily life becomes the acceptable norm, parents feel it is increasingly difficult to spend quality time with their children, especially infants. However, according to child development expert Dr. Karen Hill Scott, by rethinking their daily routines, parents can transform their “to do” list into quality time with their baby.

“Many parents don’t realize that mundane tasks — like changing diapers, cleaning, or running errands-can be turned into meaningful time together,” says Dr. Hill Scott. “Parent-child interaction is a key building block for the development of a healthy, happy baby. If we rethink how we approach everyday tasks, parents will likely discover that ‘must do’ items can become a chance to interact with baby in a very enjoyable way.”

To help parents identify easy ways to turn everyday moments into moments of discovery, Dr. Hill Scott shares the following tips:

Mealtime

Mealtime with babies is often an exercise in patience. It’s hard to imagine that it takes a half hour to drink a bottle or to nurse, but enjoy this time by playing soft music, singing or talking as you hold your baby. Make mealtime fun for older infants eating solids by talking about the food and commenting on the color and shape; or enlist the support of a puppet and play a game where the food on the spoon is an airplane coming in for a landing in baby’s mouth. Read More

1. Pack light: Bring only the essentials. The more you bring, the more you have to keep up with and the heavier the bags. Kids can require a lot of stuff: car seats, strollers, cribs, and high chairs. Check out http://www.babysaway.com/ where you can rent gear instead of packing it all. Some car rental companies also rent child safety seats and some hotels offer childproof rooms or cribs upon request. Call ahead and find out which items you can cut from your packing list.

2. Expect the unexpected: Not to contradict tip #1, but make sure you have plenty of what you need in your carry-on: diapers, wipes (which are great for a multitude of things), medications, change of clothes, snacks, and a secret coloring book.

3. Bring toys and games – quiet ones: Be sure to bring something to keep everyone entertained, but leave the singing Barneys and beeping video games at home. You and everyone else will be glad you did. Backpacks for each child: Toddler or teen – give each child his own backpack to carry with their chosen toys/books/etc. The catch is if they pack it, they carry it. Trust me, one heavy backpack experience and they’ll learn just how much to take to Grandma’s.

** Parents Note: check the backpacks to make sure there are not any toys with water elements (ex. a toy train car) or Play-Doh (TSA considers this a potential explosive device.), as they will be confiscated. Read More

As President and Mrs. Obama send their daughter to summer camp, they may be wondering what activities will fill her day. Depending on interests and camp offerings, a day at camp can vary greatly — including so many exciting experiences and opportunities to learn something new. Every summer, happy campers return home after their time at camp with newfound skills, greater confidence, and a sense of community that can only be found at camp.

Some camps offer a little bit of everything, and campers have the option to participate in a buffet of activities — including swimming, horseback riding, archery, canoeing, ropes courses, art, drama, and many, many more. Other camps may specialize in one or two activities, such as academics, the arts, or soccer. There are other activities – such as campfires, family-style meals, and quiet moments in nature — that are as much a part of the camp experience as the zip line or high ropes course.

The camp community is wide-ranging, and there truly is a camp suited for every child. Whether families are looking for an all-around experience, or one that focuses more on one or two activities, The American Camp Association® (ACA) encourages families to find the camp that meets their children’s needs. Read More

Paying for college can be intimidating. Financial aid has its own language, including an alphabet soup of acronyms like FAFSA and EFC. It changes rapidly, with new programs and tweaks to old programs occurring every year. College tuition also continues to increase faster than the consumer inflation rate. Even financial aid professionals have trouble keeping track of it all. So what can a parent do to save money on college costs and avoid making a mistake that will ruin their child’s future?

Mark Kantrowitz, a nationally-recognized expert on student financial aid, student loans, scholarships and paying for college, provides ten tips about the most important steps parents should take to cut college costs. Mr. Kantrowitz is also the publisher of FinAid.org, the most popular free web site for clear and unbiased student aid information, advice and tools, and Fastweb.com, the largest and most frequently updated free scholarship matching web site.

1.  Save money in a 529 college savings plan. Start saving as soon as possible because your greatest asset is time. If you start saving at birth, about one third of your college savings goal will come from earnings, not contributions. If you wait until your child enters high school to start saving, about ten percent of the savings goal will come from earnings.

You can invest in any state’s 529 college savings plan, but 32 states and the District of Columbia provide a state income tax deduction for contributions to the state’s 529 plan. That’s like getting a discount on tuition equal to your marginal tax rate. (Some states require that you keep the money invested for a year before taking a distribution, since the state income tax deduction is based on contributions net of deductions.) If you start saving when your child is young, however, you should focus on the state 529 plan with the lowest fees. These are usually the 529 plans that are managed by Vanguard, TIAA-CREF and Fidelity. Also invest in the direct-sold version of the plan, not the adviser-sold version, as the fees are much lower. Use the age-based asset allocation within the 529 plan, as this will reduce the risk of losses as college approaches.

It is also cheaper to save than to borrow. If you save $200 a month for 10 years at 6.8% interest, you’ll accumulate about $34,400. If instead of saving, you borrow this amount, you’ll pay $396 a month for 10 years at 6.8% interest. The difference is that when you save, the interest is paid to you, while when you borrow, you pay the interest. So you can pay less after college by saving more money before college. Every penny helps. Read More

The science of healing is changing. We can participate in it. And so can our children.

The latest research demonstrates that not only do our relationships with our children have a physiologic impact on their emotional and intellectual development; but that our conversations with them—our words—can change the way they heal.

Verbal First Aid was a concept put forth in The Worst is Over (2002), a book for first responders treating people in emergency situations. With Verbal First Aid: Help Your Kids Heal From Fear and Pain—and Come Out Strong (Penguin/Berkley, 2010), the authors, Judith Simon Prager, PhD and Judith Acosta, LISW, continue that work by addressing the unique needs of children and teaching parents simple but effective protocols for using words to help their children through crises both big and small. And as the studies indicate, the sooner we reach out to our children using Verbal First Aid and the earlier the enrichment, the better.

Words do more than make us “feel good” or “feel bad.” They directly impact physiology.  Paramedics have reported heart rates of patients with fibrillations spontaneously regulating in the ambulance when they’ve said “Looks like he’s going to make it,” in front of the patient.  With kids, it’s even more direct.  The child falls, hurts his knee, you kiss it, you say “all better,” the knee works again and he runs off smiling. Read More

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Many schools have reduced or eliminated the junk food they used to offer students. That’s good news, since about a third of American children are overweight, a rate three times greater than a generation ago.

Now, experts say, it’s time for schools to take the next step by offering more nutritious foods.

“It is great that many schools are pulling junk food from vending machines, cafeteria lines and school stores,” says Rob Bisceglie, executive director of Action for Healthy Kids, a nonprofit organization that works to improve school health practices. “But switching from fried to baked chips is only part of the solution. Schools need to offer more nutritious foods.” Read More

Secondary infertility, the inability to conceive after having one or more biological children, touches the lives of more than 3 million Americans each year.

Unfortunately, many people have no idea it could affect them or their loved ones, leaving those struggling with it feeling isolated. The Centers for Disease Control states that over half of women of reproductive age who experience infertility already have one child. Alyssa S. of Kentucky experienced firsthand the fear and frustration of not being able to conceive for the second time: “Several months after the birth of our first beautiful daughter, my husband and I decided that we wanted to have another child. After a year and a half of many costly fertility treatments, we had run out of options. Flipping through a parenting magazine, I came across an inexpensive treatment that didn’t involve surgery or drugs. I ordered the Conception Kit and we became pregnant on the first try.”

In the U.S. today, several factors can affect fertility, including having children at a later age and chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity. Dr. Charles Barker, a family practice physician in Michigan, explains: “Secondary infertility is more common than many people think — previous births and cesarean sections can affect the position of the woman’s cervix, making it more difficult to conceive later on. In many cases, couples can improve their chance of conceiving again by following some basic nutritional and behavioral advice. Living a healthy and fertile lifestyle in combination with the use of a simple at-home conception kit can help you get pregnant.” Read More