I wrote this a few years ago for my children.  I love it and  I want to share it with you.

Some days are so busy my love doesn’t show.
That’s why tonight I’m telling you so.

I love your eyes.  I love your style.
Your bubbly laugh always makes me smile.

I love your ears.  I love your cheeks.
Wouldn’t it be funny if we both had beaks?

I love you all over; I want you to know.
From the top of your head, to the tip of your toe.

I’ll hold you close for a great big hug
Now climb under the covers, all cozy and snug.

It’s getting late and it’s time to sleep
Here’s a big kiss for you to keep

You are so precious and for you I do care
Now close your eyes and snore like a bear.

Good night…I love you.

One of my favorite posts is How to say “I love you” in sign language.

I hope you enjoyed this and if you did, please share it with others!

I want to share the 90/10 principle with you because discovering the 90/10 principle will change how you react to situations and it will positively change your life. The example provided is perfect for parenting.

This principle is written by Stephen Covey.

What is this principle?

10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react. What does this mean?

We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%.

How? By your reaction. You cannot control a red light. However, you can control your reaction; you can control how you react.

Let us use an example: You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just happened. What happens next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over.

She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work.

You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit zone. After a 15-minute delay and throwing away $60 on a traffic fine, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye.

After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terribly. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home. When you arrive home, you find a small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.
Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?

A. Did the coffee cause it?
B. Did your daughter cause it?
C. Did the policeman cause it?
D. Did you cause it?

The answer is “D”.

You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day. Here is what could have and should have happened.

Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, “Its ok honey, you just need to be more careful next time.” Grabbing a towel, you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early to work and cheerfully greet the staff.

Notice the difference? Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended differently.

Why? Because of how you REACTED. You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% is determined by your reaction.

90/10 Principle by Steven Covey

Understanding and applying the 90/10 principle WILL change your life!

If you like this article, please share it with someone you love.

Isn’t it amazing how our perspective of life can differ so greatly from our children’s perspective?  I was fortunate enough to have this piece sent to me and I want to share it.

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family..

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son , “How was the trip?”

“It was great , Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah, ” said the son.

“So, tell me , what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered:

“I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.”

I am not sure who wrote this so I can’t give anyone the credit but I think it shows the we should be more thankful for the things we do have in life and if we don’t like what we have, maybe we should ask for a child’s perspective!  That would open a whole new world for us.

Does your child need a boost in being positive?  Here are 10 examples of very simple affirmations your child can read and then repeat daily.  If getting your child to read affirmations isn’t realistic, here are some other ideas you can implement. 

1. Print affirmations out individually and tape them to a mirror that your child uses every morning.  Make them look fun, pretty, or tough; whatever will interest your child.
2. Tape the printed affirmations to a piece of paper and put them in a waterproof, ziplock baggie and hang them in the shower at shoulder level. 
3. You can say them in a different tense to your child such as “It is so much fun to get good grades” or “You are such a good friend to____” or “You are so much fun to be around.”   

Examples of simple affirmations for children:

• I enjoy school.
• I am fun to be around.
• I am a great friend.
• I have fun and work hard during school time.
• I do my best on my homework.
• I like doing extra credit.
• I strive to good grades.
• It is fun to get good grades.
• I am kind.
• I help others whenever I can.

Create your own that is specific to your child’s area of need.  The power of affirmations is incredible.  Find a way to put them in your child’s life.

Keep up the great parenting!  It is so much fun to see your children grow!

Links on positive articles in this site:  20 POSITIVE WORDS FOR KIDS AND POSITIVE WORDS FOR SCHOOL

For an excellent way to stay connected with your children and teens visit www.conversationjar.com This is a family friendly game where you get to ask thought provoking questions to each other.    Using the conversation jar makes staying connected with children, family and friends fun and easy.

We always want to be aware of where our children are to keep them safe.  Sometimes it only takes turning our back for 30 seconds or letting your child go into a restroom alone.   We need to teach our kids what strangers are while teaching them in a manner where they won’t be scared of the world.

There are a lot of good people, who are strangers, who can help them in an emergency situation and we don’t want to remove that option for our children.

Here are some ideas you can go over for Stranger Danger:

• Be sure your child knows their phone number and home address.
• Never accept anything from a stranger including candy and gifts.
• Use the Buddy System whenever possible.  The bigger the group, the better.
• If they feel they are being followed, run for help immediately.  This is where they may have to seek help from a stranger. 
• If someone tries to pull you into their car, Scream, Kick, Bite and Claw.  Call out STRANGER  and/or THIS IS NOT MY DAD (OR MOM).
• Get a description of a car, person, or license plate only if they can without putting their safety at risk.
• Have a code word and review it regularly.   Review the rules of the word which, in our family are:  (1) Don’t tell anyone our password.  (2) If someone says they are a friend’s Dad they must have the password.  (3) If a policeman doesn’t have the code word, he may not be a policeman.  Mom or Dad will give a policeman the password if we sent them for you.

Go over these and/or other methods you employ regularly with your children.  A frequent reminder of stranger danger is important.

Since Halloween is coming soon, I thought I would post some basic safety tips. 

Costume Safety

• Choose a costume that is a safe length so tripping will not occur.
  

  Scary Halloween Costumes

   

• Be sure to have an adequate size of eye opening if your child is wearing a mask.  Non-toxic and hypoallergenic make up is a better choice than a mask.
• If you child’s custom has a hat, be sure it fits properly and does not fall over the eyes.
• Be sure your child is does not carry any sharp or dangerous objects that may be a part of their costume for their own safety and the safety of others.
• Most pumpkins are lit up with a live flame so be sure your child’s costume is flame retardant and just in case there is an emergency, refresh or teach your child the stop, drop, and roll technique.

 

Santa Costumes

 

Trick or Treating Safety

• Always have an adult accompany younger children.
• Have a flashlight for each child so they can watch their footing. 
• Only trick or treat in neighborhoods you know well.
• Remind your children to always look before they cross a street.
• Talk about stranger danger if your child will not be with you and be sure they are with a group.

• Know the route your children are taking before they leave.

• Remind your children not to eat anything until you have checked the treats.

 

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Looking for some positive words to use on your children when looking over tests and school assignments for the upcoming year?  I put together a list because I think it’s fun to use different expressions when complementing children on a job done well.   Here they are:

1. A+ student                    
2. Brainy
3. Bravo
4. Bright
5. Capable
6. Clever
7. Creative
8. Efficient
9. Glowing with knowledge
10. Honorable
11. Imaginative
12. Intellectual
13. Intelligent
14. Knowledgeable
15. Noteworthy
16. On the ball
17. On your toes
18. Picture Perfect
19. Quick
20. Resourceful
21. Right On
22. Shining Star
23. Study Bug
24. Top tester
25. Witty

For more positive words go to my older post 20 Positive Words for Kids.

Would you like a free and easy to read reference guide filled with ideas on how to save money? I have put one together that I hope will be helpful. The ebook is only 19 pages but is packed with listed ideas, not lengthy paragraphs. Here is the table of contents showing what you will find in this ebook:

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ways to Lower Your Home Monthly Expenses
     Kitchen
     Laundry Room
     Heating your Home
     Cooling your Home
     Bathroom
     Throughout the Home
     Outside
Optional Services
Plan and Save While Shopping
Ways to Save on Transportation
Banking and Insurance
Miscellaneous Personal Savings
Ways to Prepare for Unknown Circumstances
Have a Savings Account
Ways to Save Your Money
Ways to Make Money
Set Life Changing Goals

Enjoy! Click here for Simple Ways to Save Money

Please feel free to pass this free ebook along to friends and family. If you have some great tips, please leave a comment and share your idea other readers.

Want a fun learning idea?  Choose table topics that are fun and interesting. 

Here’s a great idea to keep your children learning throughout the year and it’s a fantastic way to keep the knowledge fresh your children’s minds during the summer break.

Pick a meal of the day that you are most likely to sit with your children around the table.  Then pick topics that interest your children.  Make it a fun activity so your children are excited to be involved.

Here is an example of what you can do:

• Mondays:        Geography.  Use maps and world globes and ask your children to find a specific capital, state, country, ocean, river, etc
• Tuesdays:        English or whatever language is native to you.  Pick some fun words from a dictionary and have your children try to figure out the meaning by breaking them down and/or you can use them in sentences for your children.
• Wednesdays:   History.  Talk about a person who did something inspiring or brave.  You can pick people who were part of events your children enjoy.
• Thursdays:       National events.  Talk about what is going on in your nation that you feel your children should know about.  This could be things like the Olympics, sports events, elections, unusual weather, etc.  
• Fridays:            Gratitude night.  Have your children tell you about an experience from the week that they are thankful for, or maybe talk about a lesson they learned.

Other topics:   Foreign language, history, social studies, local events, world events, politics, sports or music.

For another great way to stay connected with your children, visit www.conversationjar.com