At the earlier stages it is impossible to anticipate what the child has contracted, whether a mere cold or measles or pneumonia, and it is therefore always a wise and safe precaution to keep the child at home, give it rest, a warm bath, and a careful diet. If possible the child should be isolated in a room by itself and watched carefully. An enema to clear the bowels should be a routine measure. Let the child drink as much water as it wishes.

Fever.

If the face is flushed and the skin hot, dry, and red, the temperature should be taken with a clinical thermometer and the pulse and respiration counted. A rise of temperature, even though small, should be looked upon with keen suspicion, and a child with a fever should under no circumstances be sent to school or allowed to play with other children. If the temperature is above 100° Fahr. the family physician should be sent for promptly to see the child and to give the necessary advice as to what precautions to take. As a rule the higher the temperature is the more dangerous the attack from which the child is threatened.

Eruptions and Rashes.

Children are very susceptible to ephemeral rashes such as hives, herpes and urticaria. These temporary rashes may be due to some article of diet or the irritation of heat or coarse or rough underclothing or irritating dust. Look for the cause and try to remove it. It is not difficult as a rule to distinguish between these temporary rashes and those associated with infectious diseases such as measles and scarlet fever. Unfortunately measles is not very often detected until the rash is present and then there is ample opportunity to infect the whole neighbourhood if the child has been allowed to go about.

Loss of Appetite.

Loss of appetite in a child is by no means always a sign of approaching disease, but it is, nevertheless, a matter that requires investigation. Too often now a-days children are pampered in various ways and encouraged or allowed to overeat, or eat between meals, or commit other dietetic indiscretions. In the majority of cases it is not wise to urge a child to eat, but rather to encourage the child to skip a meal, and then offer plain but wholesome and easily digested food. Tempting the appetite of an overfed child with dainties and tidbits of various kinds is a pernicious practice, which sooner or later upsets digestion and paves the way for dyspepsia.

But we must not forget that the loss of appetite may be a sign of threatening illness, and if there is evidence that the child is not taking sufficient food, careful inquiries should be made, and the counsel of the family physician should be taken Notice the condition of the tongue, whether it is coated or furred, and also the breath, as well as the state of the teeth. A foul breath, a bad taste, or a furred tongue, usually points to some digestive disorder.

An unnatural craving for sweets and dainties is itself a symptom of some disturbance of the digestive organs. The same is true of a capricious or fickle appetite, which is sometimes noticeable in growing children. These conditions can usually be traced to an unwise dietary.

Constipation.

Loss of appetite is not infrequently accompanied by constipation, a very common disturbance in children as well as in adults.

• http://www.cureyourself.net/2011/10/buy-echinacea.html
• http://www.cureyourself.net/2011/10/how-can-you-cure-cold.html

By Samuel Albert Kadyakale

Teen age girls and boys are in a world all their own. While adult in some ways, it is of paramount importance to remember that they have only lived to experience life between thirteen to nineteen years. While experience is not everything, it is needed many times to decipher for one's self what is true and what is not as well as what works for them, and what does not.

Keeping this in mind, it is important for the adults in their influential realm to not "over guard them" even with the best of intentions. It is almost for certain that the adolescent will view it as lack of trust in their ability to make sound judgment and just plain ol', "cramping their style." Their need to prove their independence to their peers is of utmost importance. In short, the more an adult tries to get close to the typical teenager, the more they will want to run in the opposite direction. Fast. So, how does an adult behave with an adolescent boy or girl?

Though the average adult is knowledgeable to guide a teen in the right direction given most circumstances, the adult must proceed with caution on how to relay their wisdom upon the most mature and immature teenage girl or boy. In other words, it's not what the adult knows, but the avenue chosen in which to convey those words of wisdom to an adolescent. Without being purposefully manipulative for one's own gain, maneuver the situation in such a way that it almost appears that the teenager has come up with the solution on their own.

Here is an example:

A fifteen year old sophomore girl has been asked to the Senior Prom by a sexually experienced seventeen or eighteen year old popular senior boy. The parents of the teenage girl is very concerned about the situation, but recognizes how excited their daughter is about being asked to the Senior Prom by a, "happening and hot," high school senior boy. Both parents know that to forbid the girl to go will most likely cause rebellion to raise its' ugly head in the girls reaction. On the other hand, to give their blessings for the date could lead to potential disaster by way of the girl losing her virginity at a very early age or, at the very least, be put in a rather uncomfortable or compromising position with the high school senior adolescent boy in several facets. So, what to do?

Assuming that the parents have an open relationship with their daughter (and desire to keep it that way), they may ask the girl to consider a few things before accepting or declining the boy's invitation such as: 1) If he wants to intimately kiss you or more, are you ready for that? 2) If he brings you to a party where they are drinking alcohol illegally, are you prepared to deal with the ramifications of either being the, "odd ball out," or even having the party getting busted by the police? 3) How well do you know this boy before going with him to his Senior Prom? 4) Why do you suppose this popular teenage boy asked a fifteen year old sophomore girl to the prom instead of a sixteen or seventeen year old Senior? 5) Do you think he would ask to have a date with you and just spend time at your house with your parents present? If not, why not? If yes, set a date and get that boy over to your house! Here is your chance to get a feel of what this
boy is all about without alienating your daughter from the parents.

While this situation may be a bit exaggerated, it does exemplify the way an adult needs to treat an adolescent with respect in allowing them to make educated choices for their lives while still guiding them in a beneficial direction. This will help to keep a healthy and open relationship between the adult and the teen. Hopefully, the teenager will feel safe to come to the adult when they feel they may be in over their head in a future situation, or simply need guidance. They will not go to anyone that they feel already views them as a child not capable of making any decisions for themselves.

It is crucial for the adult to remember that they were once teenagers themselves. Going through adolescence can be a trying time. Help lighten their load as much as possible. Try to recall how it felt to be a child wrapped in a maturing body, and eager for everyone to view them as a responsible adult. The world of a teenager is truly a place all its' own and it's very hard for any non-teenagers to join. However, if we are wise, we may be invited in every now and again.

By Donna Doss

Circle Game
Determine the tightest diameter that a child can ride with his scooter. Use chalk to mark a circle on the ground that is a little bit larger than the given diameter. Have a competition to see how many consecutive circles the each rider can complete without going outside the circle or jumping off the scooter. This game can be played by several children even if there is only one scooter. The kids can all take turns riding it in circles.

The Longest Line
Using a line as a starting point, riders get one push-off from the beginning point. The child who glides the longest without putting his foot down wins the game. This game can be played with several kids' scooters with each child on his own scooter. An alternative is for the children to share the same scooter.

Scooting Race
Perhaps the most traditional of scooter games, this race has a designated starting and ending point. Riders begin at the same time from the starting line. The first one to cross the finish line wins the race. The finish line can be farther away for older children for more excitement. If there are too many participants to comfortably fit in the width of the race area, they can compete in heats, or groups, with the winners advancing to a second stage.

Slalom
A slalom course is set up on a flat riding surface. Use cones or plastic jugs spaced several feet apart, with a line drawn at the end. Each rider is timed with a stopwatch or clock to see who is the fastest.

Relay Race
The group is divided up into teams with equal riders. There is a starting line and a cone set up for each team at an equal distance from the starting line. When the race starts, each team sends out one rider at a time on the scooter. The rider must go around the cone and come back to relay the next rider. The team that finishes first wins the race.

Author writes about a variety of topics. If you would like to learn more about kids scooters, visit http://www.kettlerusa.com/.

By Christine M Harrell

Writing skills are essential to academic, social, and career success, yet are apparently sorely missing in today's students. A quick glance at the results on the writing portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress-aka "the nation's report card"-- tells the story:

· Only about 33% of 8th graders scored at or above the proficient level;

· Only about 25% of 12th graders scored at or above the proficient level.

That leaves a majority of the 14,000 8th graders and 28,000 seniors who took the test unable to satisfactorily compose two 25-minute essays that are either informative, persuasive, or narrative in nature. Hence, a day devoted to writing.

It was established on October 20th by the National Council of Teachers of English in order to...

· "Point to the importance of writing instruction and practice at every grade level, for every student and in every subject area from preschool through university;

· Emphasize the lifelong process of learning to write and composing for different audiences, purposes, and occasions; and

· Encourage Americans to write and enjoy and learn from the writing of others."

The case for improving writing skills can't be overstated. One form common to most kids is, of course, texting, but that is contrived and confining. True writing, on the other hand, is exploratory, expansive, and so much better than LOL and OMG. So what can you do to hook your kid on writing? Here are a few tips:

1. Provide a "writer's notebook"-any kind of notebook will do-for recording bits of interesting conversation, quotes, and cool facts, such as a 15-mile line can be drawn with an ordinary pencil. These notations then serve as a valuable writing resource.

2. Make sure there's a dictionary and thesaurus in the house, along with How to Spell It if spelling is an issue. The book offers up how a word might typically be misspelled along with the correct spelling, such as numonia/pneumonia. Now your child is ready for both writing and spelling.

3. Engage your child in "copy-change" writing-using her or his own words but imitating the form and structure of another writer. This activity improves writing fluency and style.

4. Encourage "free writing" to combat writer's block-writing for 5 minutes about a favorite person, place, thing, or event and then switching gears to the distasteful, such as dentist drills. This warm-up activity gets the creative juices flowing.

5. Promote "brainstorming" a topic before the actual writing. A list of associated facts, ideas, and details is then ready for possible inclusion in the piece.

6. Insist on the burial of good, nice, and great. Used so often, they've lost their impact and meaning. For instance, it's hard to know what nice really means.

7. Recommend limiting the use of excessive adjectives and adverbs. They clutter rather than clarify. For instance, use blissful instead of so really, really happy. One word can do it all.

8. Persuade your child to rely on strong action verbs and nouns. They are more effective descriptors than adjectives and adverbs. Instead of "Sam drank his soda very quickly," have him gulp, chug, guzzle, or inhale his Pepsi.

9. Recommend removing linking and helping verbs to increase the writing's impact. Say, for instance, "We relaxed by the pool," instead of "We had been relaxing by the pool."

10. Insist that your child read the essay/report out loud several times, hearing what the eyes so often miss. This independently ensures that the writing makes sense, is well-organized, and correctly spelled and punctuated.

Meanwhile, if you've a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader in your house, here's a writing opportunity like no other. That's because the winner of the Casey and Bella Story Contest will have his/her story published as the next adventure in the Casey and Bella book series. There's no fee to enter; no purchase necessary either.

Entries are judged on their creativity and the originality of the title, the adventure, and the introduction of three new characters. Plus, there should be a moral or lesson taught.

The deadline is April 15, 2012, with the top 10 finalists notified by May 1st. The winner is then recognized in front of their school with a plaque and a $500 reward. Plus, the following school year, the student gets to celebrate the launch of his/her book at a book signing at Barnes and Noble with the real Casey and Bella--two dogs.

And it just doesn't get any better than that, so get out the paper, pencils, and pens and start your child crafting story after story-and reading every day, too.

Carol is a learning specialist who worked with middle school children and their parents at the Methacton School District in Pennsylvania for more than 25 years and now supervises student teachers at Gwynedd-Mercy College. Along with the booklet, 149 Parenting School-Wise Tips: Intermediate Grades & Up, and numerous articles in such publications as Teaching Pre-K-8 and Curious Parents, she has authored three successful learning guidebooks: Getting School-Wise: A Student Guidebook, Other-Wise and School-Wise: A Parent Guidebook, and ESL Activities for Every Month of the School Year. Carol also writes for examiner.com; find her articles at http://www.examiner.com/x-6261-Montgomery-County-Wise-Parenting-Examiner For more information, go to http://www.schoolwisebooks.com or contact Carol at carol@schoolwisebooks.com.

By Carol Josel

Keep Personal Details Private
One of the key elements to staying safe online is keeping your personal details private. Make sure that you tell your kids and teenagers not to give out their personal details online. They should never give out email addresses, phones numbers, which school they attended, sport clubs or any planned trips or their home address to people they have only ever had online relationships with. If they give out these personal details they are opening themselves up to a number of potential problems.

Junk is Junk
Educate your children about spam texts and emails. Point out the signs and signals that flag something up as spam. If they receive spam show them how to delete and quarantine the material and explain that they should never reply to spam or use any of the tools that might come with the spam email.
You should never open emails from people you don't know and you should teaching you children the same thing. It could contain a computer virus or worse an inappropriate image or video.

The Internet is not private
It is important to stress to your children that the internet is not a closed private space. They should not post videos, photos or comments online that they would feel uncomfortable with you as a parent seeing. Teenagers often feel that they can take risks online that they wouldn't take in daily life as no one will find out. This is not the case and placing risky material online can leave them open to cyber bullying or blackmail.

Don't befriend people you don't know
One of the really important things to educate you children about is that they should never start friendships with people online that they don't know offline. This is difficult but comes down to the old maxim of not talking to strangers. Your children need to be aware that it is very easy for people to create fake profiles and not be who they appear to be online. Friendship requests on social networking sites such as Facebook & Bebo should only be accepted from people they know offline in the real world.

If you discuss these points with your children and talk openly about the dangerous nature of some activities on the internet then it should be easier to keep them safe online. Internet safety in many cases appears to be basic common sense to adults but you need to make sure your children and teenagers are informed about the basics of internet safety.

I'm a father of four (nearly five) kids and an internet professional. I think its important to keep your kids safe online. Visit Know the Net for more information about internet safety and How to use the internet.--> http://www.knowthenet.org.uk/knowledge-centre

By Antony Heywood

We as parents of course have the welfare of our children at heart. We want them to be safe, healthy, not to get in trouble and in that mindset, continue to make decisions for them.

What is wrong with that? Here are the disadvantages:

• 1. Your children may resent your control nature.
• 2. They may not know the consequences of making a decision and having to live with it.
• 3. They may suffer ridicule from others who see your children as mama's or daddy's kid.
• 4. Their personality will get stunted and not develop fully.
• 5. They will not be a good role model for their children.
• 6. If they have to step into the real world, they will not be prepared and will feel the shock.
• 7. They may not develop good instincts and judgement.

It is essential that you allow your children to develop fully in terms of personality, decision making and accepting responsibility for their actions. Here are a few tips on how to do that.

    * Generally, at age 15, children are old enough to know right from wrong. From then on, treat them as a trusted friend, not as a kid.

    * Make them aware of choices. When they "demand" something, let them know that it is not possible to have what they demand, Instead, they can make a choice and accept something close, or nothing at all.

    * Communicate your position fully and make sure they listen.

    * However tempting, do not make a decision or a choice for your children. They may make a mistake, but that is how they will learn. Just be sure they do not make serious mistakes.

    * Even if you have to step in, let it be their choice. Many children, when faced with a tough choice will think it out and then turn to you for advice. In many cases you may be able to turn this into a teaching moment.

    * Do not second guess your children's decisions. As I said, they may not make a decision you like, but that does not mean that they are wrong. They are simply looking at it from their perspective.

    * Make sure you have a follow up conversation with them.

    * Praise them and encourage them when they make decisions or take actions.

Good luck.

By Shyam A Sunder

To choose the right children's covers you have to consider your child's tastes and preferences. There are also many choices of fabrics, prints, trimmings and color. Durability and quality should also be considered. While it can be a wonderful feeling for adults to wake up in white or cream-colored sheets, which blend with almost any kind of décor or color scheme, white duvet covers for children is not a good idea for obvious reasons. The duvet cover color should be darker than the comforter or duvet it is intended to cover. If the fabric of the cover is not opaque, the color or pattern of the comforter will show through.

Beading and intricate details are wonderful adornments to look at but they are not practical features for children's covers. Children tend to thrash about during the night and adornments which might get entangled or cause marks on the skin are not good for children's beds. Parents should make sure that they buy duvet covers that can be washed at home. It could be a strain on the budget to get the cover dry cleaned frequently and this may happen if your child has friends regularly staying over necessitating more regular cleaning.

Well-chosen children's double duvet covers will recreate the feel and look of your child's room. Together with accessories of his choice, it can make his room his special sanctuary, aptly and attractively fitted to suit his personality. The cover protects the comforter and makes it possible to change the color of the room, coordinate a more pleasing color scheme and alter and transform a child's bedroom. While not all mothers will feel pleased to change the style of the cover too often, the guest rooms or children's rooms with double beds will look fresh and inviting every time the covers are replaced with different color combinations.

Children's double duvet covers showing images of favorite scenes or characters are now very popular because of their ability to transform a dull and lifeless room into a place of fantasy for the child, where he can have fun playing surrounded by his favorite characters and prints. Winnie the Pooh, Garfield, Robots, Ben Tin, Dora the Explorer and many other fantasy characters will keep your child amused and occupied for hours on end. He will also look forward to sleeping snuggled under his duvet cover.

Bedding collections including children's double duvet covers usually come with two matching pillow shams. Some of them may also include a dust ruffle or a bed skirt to match. Sometimes there are matching pillows available but they are sold separately and not included in the package price. The modern double duvet cover sets may also come with matching bed accessories like sheets, throw blankets, throw pillows and curtains. In some cases, there are even color coordinated bathroom accessories that are available to buy.

When buying children's double duvet covers for your home, remember to choose fabrics that are easy to clean. There are various fabrics available but some are dry clean only, for example silk which would not be a very suitable fabric for a children's double duvet cover. However, most fabrics, especially for children's duvet covers are machine washable and the cover can be removed from the comforter it is protecting and washed in the washing machine. Keep in mind that covers with intricate trimmings like lace, tassels, fringes or beading should be dry cleaned only.

Are you looking to add some colour to the spare room or is the baby now a growing toddler and needing new bedding? Expert author Sandra Stiles is always looking for innovating ideas to brighten up the home. When it comes to choosing the duvet covers for girls or a boys bedroom nothing will please them more than a snug duvet with their favourite colourful or themed cover.To get more great ideas visit http://www.cotbedduvetcover.net/index.html

By Sandra Stiles

Is there anything that you can do to protect your child? Tragically, there is no simple answer to this question. So let's look at the down side first. No, there is nothing you can do that will guarantee that your child will not be a victim of, or at least be exposed to brutality during their youth. Why?

In many cities having large populations kids die every week in "drive-by-shootings" and as collateral damage in drug and gang wars. Are these things preventable? Perhaps, but not by individual parents in most situations.

But the good news is that in most other instances there are steps that can help protect your child and even prevent the violence.

Here are the recommended steps:

• Limit their introduction
• Limit their risk
• Limit their vulnerability
• Let's take them in reverse order.

How do you limit vulnerability?

Two ways: Situational Awareness and Self Defense Skills. Expect the best, but be prepared for the worst. Too many people become victims simply because they do not pay enough attention to what is going on around them. September 11, 2001 and three airliners taken over with nothing but box cutters taught us a lot about that.

In the Self Defense arena: recent studies have shown our former beliefs that resisting during a crime will cause things to be worse were totally wrong. Here is one example: (PRWEB) July 16, 2005 "Recently the Florida State University department of Criminology released a study indicating that people who employed self protection strategies reduced their likelihood of injury when compared to nonresistance."

Take a Self Defense course with your child. Encourage them to take up wrestling, boxing or martial arts. In a society that often protects the guilty from consequences we must teach our children to protect themselves. If you opt for Karate or another Martial Art, go see either version of The Karate Kid movie first.

You want to pick a teacher/school that discourages fighting. I was taught that if given options your preferred choices in a fight are:

• First - avoid it any way possible
• Second - hurt rather than maim
• Third - maim rather than kill
• Fourth - kill rather than be killed
• The school I attended would kick you out if you were involved in a fight for any reason other than being attacked by surprise.

How do you limit risk?

Help your child develop "street smarts." What is that really? At the top of the list is situational awareness and self-awareness. How many teens have put themselves in a bad situation simply by reacting to something with a sarcastic comment? Teach your young ones to not go looking for trouble. At some point it may find them anyway, so a little caution can save a lot of pain and heartache.

In one sense 'street smarts' just means making the choice to not be a victim by being aware. When you are aware of postures and obvious emotions you can usually see trouble coming. That does not mean expecting trouble; it simply means being observant all the time. Notice people, watch attitudes, observe exits, fire alarms and telephones. This is not about planning for anything it is simply about paying attention to your surroundings.

How can you limit their introduction to violence?

The three main sources of childhood exposure to cruelty & assault are: media (TV, video games, & movies) bullying, and domestic violence. Bullying and domestic violence are beyond the scope of this article. But I have listed others in the order of the amount of exposure kids have to them. Unsurprisingly, television ranks as the number one place kids witness violence simply because of the sheer volume of hours spent in front of it.

As any advertising executive will tell you, it's all about repetition. The American Medical Association has found that in homes with premium cable channels, or a VCR or DVD, "children typically witness 32,000 murders and 40,000 attempted murders by the time they reach the age of 18." And what about the over 200,000 other acts of violence they see there? If you think there is no impact you have not been paying attention.

If you can honestly say that video games do not trivialize evil & criminal behavior, you haven't played many. Most interestingly the video games and movies, and even the music theses days all have rating systems. It takes almost no effort to discover what your child should not be exposed to. But it does take an effort to limit their exposure. You have to step up and be responsible. It is part of what being a parent means.

Our society has buried our children in a culture of constant violence. It occurs so often that it has become acceptable. How can we expect kids to avoid fighting when parents at children sporting events attack coaches & each other? When the sports stars and music 'idols' portray brutality in word and deed?

There is really only one sure cure to what is happening all around us. We need to end it. To stop 'letting it happen' and prevent our children from coming up in a culture where it is taken for granted. Do you accept for one moment that if we all decided to bring an end to any aspect of violence in our society that we could not do it? Really?

You take care of your circle of influence and I'll take care of mine.

Christopher Stephenson has been Owner/Operator of several successful businesses, both online and brick & mortar. A popular author and speaker on positive attitude for success, he is retired from active business and committed to helping others.

Raising children while working and building a business simultaneously Christopher & his bride learned all there is to know about parenting - the hard way, it's called experience. An avid reader and 'consumer' of training seminars, personal coaching, private counseling and continuing education he has been led to help others by mentoring from personal experience.

This article and the report at http://RaiseYourChildRight.com have been prepared as an expression of that goal.

By Christopher Stephenson

Gangs are like substitute families for uprooted young people. Many gangs today, are made up exclusively of girls, although they are not as many as boy gangs.

Street gangs are full of children who did not have a safe transition from adolescence into adulthood. Most gang members were raised up in homes, that do not deserve the name «home», with parents who were either abusive or totally absent. Many gang members lacked healthy relationships in their homes and the encouragement to become competent adults.

In addition to coming from dysfunctional families, members of street gangs become disillusioned with society. Not only have their homes destroyed much of their self-esteem but structures in society are also not to their advantage.

In many nations, lower class youth and racial and ethnic minorities risk being marginalised in almost every sphere of society and have to struggle to improve their opportunities for education, training and employment. These youth become frustrated over restricted opportunities and assert themselves in gangs to cope with their profound socio-economic hardship. Violent youth crime is a classic expression of a sense of worthlessness and a futile future.

In today's world, the public is reacting to violent youth crime by demanding action. There is a life principle based on the Scriptures that says that "prevention is better than cure" All efforts at combating crime and youth violence must begin with the family because it is easier to build boys and girls than to repair men and women.

Empowering Families and Caregivers

Three key components of a healthy parent-child relationship are companionship, acceptance and identification. Companionship means spending quality time with children, acceptance entails accepting children the way they are and loving them unconditionally and identification involves identifying with children's problems and being understanding. When these needs are not met, children fill that void with something else.

The overarching concern is to allow vulnerable families to build and sustain healthy families and relationships.

The structure of the "traditional" family has undergone significant changes over the years. Today's families take on many different structures: married nuclear, single-parents, joint custody, single-parents, step-families, grandparent-led families, cohabitation and foster and group-home families. Effective empowerment strategies must address the different types of families existing in society today.

Family empowerment could be achieved by providing parents with family life and parenting skills to meet the demands of parenthood; encouraging parents to seek help, advice, or support from family, friends, and community resources; enhancing dialogue between teenagers and parents and modelling responsible fatherhood character and skills to both teenagers and young adult fathers.

The idea of giving a hungry man a fish or a fishing pole could apply to work with families. If support is given to families in identifying and accessing resources, they will acquire the skills and confidence needed to secure resources over time.

Empowered families provide security, love, shelter, stability, self-esteem and fulfilment and are the basis for a safe, vibrant and healthy community.

Bunmi Awoyinfa's experience working with children in distress in Africa and Europe inspired the creation of House of Mercy Children's Home (HOM) http://www.homchildrenshome.org a non-profit organisation that reaches out to child street beggars and homeless street children. She is particularly interested in contemporary issues and struggles affecting children worldwide.

By Bunmi Awoyinfa

This first of its kind acrylic crib from Nurseryworks is made entirely of acrylic! The clean lines will let you see your baby without any obstruction. It has beautifully curved edges and since it is a pioneer in design, this Vetro crib has a special laser-etched unique numbers. This is made from non-toxic and recyclable lucite and will be a breeze to keep clean. This is one sophisticated crib for your baby to sleep on. But sophistication aside, the mattress can be adjusted to three different heights which makes it really flexible and convenient. Awesome, right? If you're the type who loves it when style, sophistication and safety come together, then this is a great choice for you.

Now, if it's nice for a room to have a view, your little one can have his very own version of a crib with a view. The Spot on Square Roh Crib marries a traditional walnut frame with an eco-friendly and nontoxic acrylic side. Its innovative design is sure to be a conversation piece in a modern nursery. If you can't get enough of this crib, the good news is that you can add a toddler conversion kit and this can be enjoyed in your kid's room for many years! Not only does this modern crib look great, it's the perfect piece of furniture in your modern nursery.

Now your baby's nursery will fit just right in your modern home. It's a good thing that there modern cribs that will make a sophisticated design statement in the nursery. Surely even if you're a traditional crib lover, you will be delighted by the designs of today's modern cribs. All that time spent preparing for your baby will definitely pay off when you get him or her the perfect crib. You will get a kick from looking at your baby sleeping in these sleek cribs. Once he's awake, he will enjoy looking back at your through his clear, acrylic walls. It gives a new literal meaning to the line "Here's looking at you, kid."

By Coy Roberts

If your kids have ever played with Nerf toy guns before like the awesome N-strike, they will surely love this new toy from Nerf -- the Stampede. The Nerf Stampede will surely captivate the hearts of your young ones, while they run around around with their friends having loads of fun. This new product from Nerf is a machine toy gun that only costs forty dollars. It is pretty easy to dominate your opponent with this gun because it can quickly shoot and reload the foam darts that come with it. It can accommodate up to sixty darts because its three extended clips that are included in the package can accommodate eighteen each. This gun can be used as a bonding activity for the whole family because you can afford to buy for each member of your family. Hunting down each other with this five pound toy can make you sweat a lot. It is like working out in a gym but this is much more fun, and even for kids who don't really like to exercise much, it is a great workout.

If you do not approve of toy guns in your household, then here is a more peaceful toy: Why not try a musical instrument like a kids guitar, drums or a keyboard? Your kid can spend quality time learning how to play one of these instruments, which is a great skill to have. You can just spend the whole afternoon singing and dancing. To make the bonding experience more fun, prepare your video cam or handy cam and record some of the music that they play. Upload it in YouTube and share it with your friends and other relatives in Facebook. You can also create your own composition and songs and record it in either online or burn it onto a CD. Some electronic keyboards have this function. It is like having your own recording studio right in your home. Kids piano and keyboards also have pre-recorded dance songs, which make it a lot easier to play great sounding tunes. They will surely enjoy twist, waltz, rumba, disco and rock. Just start the tunes and play along with the rhythm.

Playing with your kids is so much fun. Your kid will look forward to your bonding time and play time. Make the most of his childhood. Create good childhood memories by playing with him. Buy toys that you can both use and enjoy.

If you are a caring, concerned parent, make sure you check out (http://planetparents.com/) Planet Parents, a great resource for smart, thinking parents who want to raise conscientious kids.

By Jerry Hendrickson

If you're a pillow loving person who loves to play around and experiment with cool, unique, funky designs, then why not look around online? Sometimes, all a room needs is a change of accessories. You don't have to spend so much on redecorating and one of the ways you can give a room a fresh new look is with pillows! If, say, you're thinking of giving your child's bedroom a new look, then check out some pillows we recommend.

The k studio Crying Pillow for example has this really cool design. It looks like a chic rendition of a child's sketch of a crying girl. The chicness comes from the simplicity of the design and it can be used in children's or adult's rooms. And because k studio believes in taking care of our environment, this pillow has a 100% organic cotton case. You don't need a tearful night to hug this pillow but if you do, the cute design is sure to make you smile.

Another fun pillow from k studio is their Rain Pillow. The delightful design is handmade in black stitch and white opaque applique. Again, it is made of organic cotton and just like the other pillows from k studio, it is filled with feather/down insert for that cushy softness. This pillow is just too cute for words.

I just can't over the designs of the k studio pillows. They have other choices and all of them have that fun, quirky designs which are really appealing. Pillows are always nice to have around because of the comfort factor, but those with really unique designs are sure to become favorites.

These fun and quirky children's pillows are so unique that you might want to have them for your own too! We're pretty sure mommies will like these quirky pillows. Grab a couple for your kids and a few more for you. They will perk up any room as well as your mood. It doesn't hurt either that these are made from organic materials. What a way to marry style and social responsibility.

By Coy Roberts

How Did We Get Here?

1. Our world has adopted an "at least I am better than them" philosophy which has endured for years. If we pay attention to history, many of the world's leaders rose to power by convincing entire populations that there were a part because of their physical characteristics or their willingness to abandon other human beings around a single idea.

2. In modern day America, our political system encourages the "at least I am better than them" mentality but in a more subtle way. During Barack Obama's run for the US presidency, we saw visions of monkeys, nooses and racial stereotypes. For the mother of a bi-racial child that was awed by the possibility of his presidency, explaining the painful images was hurtful for him and made him aware that people were capable of judging another human on something other than their character and integrity. This week we saw a student battling with sexuality kill himself because we as a society have judgment something that we do not understand and made him feel that he did not have a place in "our" society.

3. In modern day American politics, the culture is disturbing. People hold onto "at least I am better than them" in the voting booth and vote against their own interest often because of this desire to be better than someone. Whilst it may feel fashionable or socially acceptable to judge or condemn welfare recipients, those people are still a child's parents. How does a child translate that they should have never been born? How does the child translate that their parent, their one source of care, is a total loser in this culture? Does this then put the child in defensive mode? Does it foster an environment where a child understands the wrong and right or does it cause anger about a government and society so hell bent on hating their family? Whether this is rational or not does not matter as we are talking about the process of the infant mind.

How Do We Fix It?

1. We have to start encouraging our children to talk and to allow them to have their own feelings without our judgment. What if our child is battling with sexual identity? Do we immediately tell that this behavior is wrong and they are going to hell or do we truly listen to their feelings?

2. We, as parents, have to teach our children to love others. Parents have to acknowledge that despite their feelings about races, cultures or lifestyle differences, our children live in a different world. It is only going to hurt our children if we perpetuate hate. The voice for hate is becoming less and less.

3. We as parents have to stop judging other children and know that often bad behavior at an early age is a cry for help. Embrace that child that engages in behavior that is not typically acceptable and talk to them and try to find out the cause of the problem and extend your hand to a child.

4. Educate your community and be an advocate for our children. Intervene when you see that parent telling their child that they can no longer play with Johnny because he said a curse word. Try to help Johnny and help the judging parent to try and help Johnny.

5. Encourage conversation. Listen to children without judgment. Judgment stops conversation and causes the child to keep their concerns bottled on the inside which subconsciously manifests in bad behaviors. Listen to our children before talking.

Dena Sisk Foman is an attorney and advocate for children's mental health issues. She is the author of Only I Can Define Me: Releasing Shame and Growing Into My Adult Self and is the child survivor of a dysfunctional upbringing. Ms. Foman founded The Let's Talk Initiative, Inc which aims to bring attention to mental health and to encourage parents and children to talk about subjects society deems shameful. She is a strong advocate for talking and encourages all to join her movement to talk freely without fear of judgment. You can connect with Dena Sisk Foman at http://www.releasingshame.com.

By Dena Sisk Foman

Participation in a sport provides excellent exercise and improves physical development. However, all programs should include goals that focus on character building as well. A coach or instructor should not focus only on the game's outcome. A program that does not teach principles of behavior that help build good character is not a complete program.

The Principles Themselves

In a team sport, children should play unselfishly, care about the team, help teammates, show good sportsmanship-win or lose, and set a good example for others. A child athlete should also respect authority, practice self-discipline and display self-control. These principles must be taught and reinforced repeatedly.

Before each season, those who plan and advance athletic activities should meet and identify principles and establish goals that advance such principles. A method of measuring results should also be discussed. Then those principles and goals ought to be communicated to children and parents-and reinforced several times during the season. Keys to such efforts are the attitude and practices of the coaches-and the support and buy-in of the parents.

Good character development is a topic that has received a much attention in schools and community sports programs. The importance and need for sportsmanship becomes apparent with bad behavior. School handbooks are filled with rules that identify bad behavior and the consequences to students when such behavior is practiced. Community programs not only communicate rules that regulate the athlete's play, but there are not many that govern spectator behaviors. Common sense and maturity is not a given when it comes to adults watching children in sports. In addition to warning off bad behaviors, positive behaviors must be taught and reinforced to children in sports programs.

There are many organizations that are good sources of information on principles of behavior and those character traits that should be taught to our young athletes. Yet, it is easy to understand that in our hyper-competitive world that efforts outside the win and loss column can get overlooked. That is why sports program goals need to be explicit when it comes to character-building and everyone involved needs to focus on them. A school sports program may state in the school handbook: "Our sports programs will provide the student athlete with quality instruction and friendly competition, stressing the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship." But at some level, the student athlete must be exposed to much more specific instruction. These instructions need to be woven into the fabric of our sports programs, taught explicitly by our coaches, and supported completely by parents.

Importance of the Season Postmortem

After each season, those in charge of the sports program ought to take time to have a season post mortem and look at what worked and what didn't work-how expectations were met and what needs to be done next season to improve the program. It is important to spend as much time reviewing these outcomes as one might review the team's win-loss record, the team's most valuable player and next year's schedule. If a coach consistently produces players who are recognized as having good character in a winning program, that is a coach who should be rewarded and recognized as an example for other coaches. If we want children to build character and grow emotionally in sports, we need to be sure that plenty of time and attention is given such objectives.

Larry Norris, President of Sporting Chance Press ( http://www.sportingchancepress.com ) and publisher of Chicago Bears Senior Director Patrick McCaskey's "Sports and Faith: Stories of the Devoted and the Devout," J. D. Thorne's "The 10 Commandments of Baseball: An Affectionate Look at Joe McCarthy's Principles for Success in Baseball (and Life)," Mike Cameron's "Public Bonehead, Private Hero: The Real Legacy of Baseball's Fred Merkle," and Nicolette House's "Maddie Takes the Ice."

By Larry M Norris

Teens also have different levels of all of the emotion/feel good hormones and neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin which makes them very impulsive. In fact, teenagers can be so volatile at times that they could easily be diagnosed with a variety of psychological/personality disorders- like bi-polar, or borderline personality!

Any counselor worth his salt will hold off and be slow to diagnose a teenager, because their hormones really do make them act nuts! Their neurons are still developing connections and their decision making circuits are not fully developed yet.

As a result, living with a teen can be quite a roller coaster ride- where they move from stress to distress, make poor judgments, and have a difficult time communicating.

This can sometimes cause us to misbehave as well. We become defensive, combative, anxious, overprotective, or sometimes become a doormat out of fear of volatile sometimes violent confrontation.

It is difficult to stop and think about the best way to communicate in these volatile situations-but if we want to re-connect in more positive ways, it is possible for us to learn new ways or techniques when these situations arise.

One of the best methods that I have found is from Dr. Mark Goulston's book Just Listen. It may take some rehearsal, but if you can start to react and speak differently in conflict, your chances for having situations spin completely out of control will decrease!

Try this method for calming the crazy brain of a teenager to see if you can re- connect with your teen:

1. Plan a time when you will be in the car together (captive audience!)

2. And then ask these questions:
-What's the most frustrated you have ever felt with your mom/dad or me?
-"How bad was it for you?"
-What did it make you want to do?"
-"What did you do?"

3. Let your child answer and then say:
-"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was so bad"

Don't be surprised if your child sheds tears and then opens up to you in what may be followed by the firsts non-confrontational talk that you have had in a long time. This process has brought that strange, impulsive, moody brain under control- at least for a few minutes!

Parenting teens can be a stressful undertaking. By employing some of these questioning techniques, you can give yourself and your teen some needed stress relief! To learn more about other innovative stress solutions, go to http://www.RealStressSolutions.com

Angela Bussio is a best selling author, coach, and founder of Real Stress Solutions.com, and inbox magazine. Real Stress Solutions provides state-of-the-art stress reduction and management techniques to help people find the balance they need. She is also the innovator of upcoming online program,"Turn Stress to Success" featuring the "5 minute Stress Solution" phone APP.

By Angela W Bussio

The events of our world culture have shaped the members of Generation "Y". Just as the development of the motor vehicle changed the world in the 20's and the "Great Depression" shaped the morals of individuals born in the 30's, digital technology has immersed Generation "Y." They have grown up being able to exchange information all the time and in all locations. Social networking is a standard form of communication and thus open sharing of information, photographs and other personal information gives the concept of "open lines of communication" a whole new meaning. Other historical events that have shaped their views and values. During the lifetime of this generation they have known a nation that has been at war, they have witnessed multiple terriost attacks to their country and their people, with the Twin Towers being the most notable memory of destruction. They strongly value safety and security.

Millennials are often seen as sheltered and over-indulged. As children they experienced an era that came with a great deal of encouragement and positive reinforcement. They have received trophies, ribbons and accolades for their efforts in sports, music, academics and often not just for winning, but for simple participation. This generation was enrolled in organized groups at a very young age, often beginning soccer, baseball, tumbling and dance at ages as young as 4 years old.

How do all these life shaping experiences play out for Gen Y?

Strengths: Confident, multitaskers, team-oriented and prefer to work in groups, techno-savvy, they want a challenge (but not responsibility.) They easily embrace change, possibly even thrive on it. Value civic duties, acceptance of diversity and able to be empathetic. They want to work, but don't want work to be their life.

Weaknesses: Struggle with processing failure and criticism, commitment phobia- don't tend to stick to any one job or any one assignment for too long, their focus is more on making a difference, having fun and learning as they go.

Predictions for this generation are they will truly strive for a balance of work and family. A focus on personal time and pleasure will drive their choices more so than career building. Remember there isn't the "corporate ladder" for this generation. They aren't afraid to take chances. They are ambitious and eager to learn new skills. Trial and error is a common learning tool for these young minds.

Are you feeling a generation gap with a young person in your life? I know I have. In dealing with the young people in my life, I have had to adjust to a cell phone bill that arrives in the mail looking somewhat like a book from Amazon.com. Seeing the number of texts that can transpire in a 30 day period can be mind boggling. Parenting concerns of my generation about whether "girls should call boys" is obsolete. Generation Y lives in the age of massive, continual communication and gender boundaries do not register for them at all. There are positives in these broken barriers and there are also new challenges for parents and for the members of this new generation.

As you work through issues related to the generation gap keep these points in mind. Appeal to their strengths of valuing teamwork, striving for input and affirmation from others. Challenge their sense of curiosity and their ability to embrace change.

As with all generations there are strengths and weaknesses. From these unique characteristics have come great marks in history. Each era has built upon the previous era for the betterment of society as a whole. This current generation will be no different. Their mark in history will be uniquely theirs and future generations will strive to learn from them as well as, create their own uniqueness. Good luck and oh, may I suggest you request "paperless billing" for the cell phone bill.

Christy Billings, M.S., LPC is a licensed professional counselor. To see more articles and resources about parenting issues, relationship struggles, spiritual growth, and/or grief visit http://www.cbcmckinney.com.

You may also can contact Christy direct at christybillings@sbcglobal.net.

By Christy L Billings