Vine has become extremely popular with adults and kids alike, however is it safe for kids?

If you aren’t familiar with Vine, it’s time to get your education on.  Vine, launched by Twitter,  is the mobile app that allows you to create, share and watch 6 second or less looping videos. It seems kind of harmless right?  Well with all good things come a few drawbacks.

Read More »

There is a lot of pressure in packing a school lunch. Everyone is frantically searching for ideas for their child’s lunch box, as am I, because this school year I am taking the challenge to provide my children with healthy school lunches from home.  Crazy I know, however towards the end of the last school year I became a Vegetarian and have been feeding my children in a totally different manner all summer long.  Their taste buds have changed and while they will still eat meat on occasion, I am determined to provide them with a much better alternative.  I recall paying all this money last year to the school cafeteria only to find out my kids were getting their lunch plates and then tossing the food in the garbage, complaining that it tasted nasty or looked disturbing.  No more wasted money, no more wasted food for this mom!

10 ideas for healthy school lunches to get you started:

Read More »

A new trend on Instagram is enough to make some parents want to barricade the doors, disconnect their child’s cell phones, and scream at the top of their lungs.    Thousands of girls, (20,401 when I hashtagged hotornot) some no older than 12 or 13, are submitting photographs of themselves for other Instagram users to vote on.

Read More »

In the United States before you are allowed to leave the hospital with your newborn baby you must first fasten your infant into an appropriate car safety seat.  However, once you leave the hospital there is no instruction manual telling you what to do once your child outgrows that first car seat.  Many parents are left guessing and then improperly securing their children from about 2 years of age.

Read More »

Free-spirited, strong willed, high strung – regardless of what word we chose to use, we knew our daughter was different the moment she started walking and getting into everything.   It wasn’t the normal toddler stage of exploring; it was full speed ahead and off the charts.

Read More »

My 16-year-old daughter brought Omegle to my attention a few months ago.  She spent the night with a friend of hers and this friend had the app on her cell phone and started randomly having conversations with strangers.  Omegle is used for talking to strangers with video chat.  Is Omegle safe? Are you okay with your kids talking to strangers?  I’m not, and I’m going to guess you probably aren’t either.  After all, it’s the exact opposite of everything we were taught not to do when we were little and the very thing that we, as parents, prohibit our children to do today.

Read More »

In our house, we have learned the art of mindful parenting.

The other night at the dinner table, our 5-year-old daughter started pitching fits as we had sat down to enjoy a peaceful dinner together.

Read More »

Yes, you could say I am a  crunchy mom!  We practice natural family planning, extended breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and attachment parenting.

Read More »

You either like it or you don’t.  It’s like the ultimate open-ended sandbox game, with no definite goals.

Read More »

             My two oldest girls have an Instagram account and are complete social butterflies.  They take pictures of themselves, their friends, and food; you name it and they share it with their friends.  I’m able to monitor their accounts because I see every picture they post so it never really dawned on me of the dangers that lurked on what seemed like a fun and innocent enough app.  After all, I also share my life, on occasion, through pictures via the site.

Read More »

The latest craze with my teen and tween daughters is the smartphone app that’s become a runaway hit among many of their peers: Snapchat. With this free app, they share a photo or video with a desired friend and it will disappear within seconds after being viewed.  Warning, this app is addicting!

Read More »

My 16-year-old daughter has an uncanny ability to make light of any situation.  So it was of no surprise last week when I picked her up from school and she dropped a bomb on me.  She nonchalantly asked me if the school had called. Not thinking anything of it because she is such a “good” child, I told her no but asked why, thinking it was because I might owe some school fees or something simple like that.

Read More »