Holiday Stress and How to Renew, Relax and Rejuvenate

Posted on November 6, 2011 by viviankirkfield

'Windows Into the World', United States, New Y...

Image by WanderingtheWorld (www.LostManProject.com) via Flickr

Life can be very stressful, especially for parents.

Juggling work, home and family responsibilities can rob us of our peace of mind.

Add to that the upcoming gift-giving holidays and you increase the stress level exponentially. Our expectations of what the holidays should be often conflict with our finances and our available time and energy and we are doomed to disappointment. Letting go of the past can definitely help. For more information and great tips from Deepak Chopra, read a recent post from a great blogger, Nancy at Spirit Lights the Way.

Stress is a factor in many health-related conditions…and parents who are under a lot of stress can over-react when their children misbehave…for some of these parents, a crying baby or a toddler who wets his training pants can elicit rage and inappropriate punishment resulting in physical or emotional harm to the child.

How can we relieve stress in our lives?

Recognize that you are feeling stressed.
Make a list of the stress factors in your life.
Find solutions to each of these problems…when my children were younger and didn’t have much money to buy gifts for me, I told them to write a love letter or draw a picture…those letters and pictures are still dear to me and I treasured them more than the sweater or scarf they couldn’t buy. Want to have a family get-together but can’t afford to buy all the food and trimmings? Have a family pot-luck, with every member of the family bringing a casserole, side-dish or dessert! No time to make those “from scratch” holiday cookies or don’t like to bake? It’s true I encourage parents to spend time in the kitchen with their children, making nutritious meals and snacks…and my book, Show Me How!, provides 100 healthful, child-friendly recipes…but you can buy the refrigerated cookie dough rolls and just slice them, bake them and decorate with edible gel. Maybe you have a friend who LOVES to bake holiday cookies…how about offering to watch her children while she bakes. Perhaps you love to shop and she doesn’t…be her personal shopper in exchange for several dozen cookies. There are always options for every situation.
Ask for help…if you have a friend or two who are in the same situation, plan to watch their children while they have a free morning, afternoon or evening to relax or shop or cook or bake or clean together without kids tagging along…and then rotate so that each parent gets a chance to have this special time.
Carve out some time for yourself every day…while your children are in school or napping, take a bubble bath, read a chapter in a good book, dance to your favorite music, exercise to a great DVD, walk in a park and listen to the birds. I love watching a classic movie in the evening and munching on a bowl of air-popped popcorn…each person has to find what works for them to relieve the stress that is part of life.
Check out online shopping deals…this can save you time and money…and you won’t have to drag the kids along. Many bloggers have holiday gift guides this year…a really nice one is from Jenny at MyLittleMe.
Start some simple family traditions…your children will remember them even when they are grown and on their own. For a wonderful list of fun and frugal holiday possibilities, please go to this post by Prerna, The Mom Writes.

Wondering what to get the young children on your list? How about picture books and arts and crafts supplies? Reading with young children and participating positively with them in arts and crafts activities builds self-esteem, develops pre-literacy skills and strengthens the parent-child connection. Visit your local library…you can borrow the books for FREE and many libraries have an area where they sell discarded library books or donated books VERY CHEAPLY…sometimes for only 10 cents a book!

If you are looking for some guidance as to which books to choose, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking is the answer. Please visit my website for an online special that can’t be beat…only $19.95 per copy! This ultimate resource of picture book suggestions, EASY eco-friendly craft projects and QUICK child-friendly healthful recipes is also the perfect gift for any parents, grandparents, preschool and kindergarten teachers, daycare providers, babysitters or nannies on your gift list!

“THIS IS A MUST-HAVE FOR ALL PARENTS AND CARETAKERS OF YOUNG CHILDREN!” – Lori Calabrese, Children’s Book Examiner

Wordless Picture Books (wplkids.wordpress.com)
Children and Art Activities: Some Observations (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)
The Day No One Played Together: A Story About Compromise Gets a 5-Star Review (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)

Photo of Christmas on Fifth Avenue: WanderingtheWorld

Small Investment = Big Rewards

Posted on July 23, 2011 by viviankirkfield

I just finished reading a classic in self-help literature – One Minute for Myself – by Dr. Spencer Johnson.

The book was published in 1985, but the simple underlying truths put forth are as relevant today as they were then.

According to Dr. Johnson, the one minute you spend taking care of yourself is a small investment with a big reward.

In the same way, the 15 minutes a day you spend participating positively with your child is also a small investment with very big rewards.

THE INVESTMENT

Read a picture book story with your child.
Do an arts and crafts project with your child.
Prepare a recipe together.

THE REWARDS

Build your child’s self-esteem.
Develop your child’s pre-literacy skills.
Improve your child’s school readiness.
Create a life-long parent-child bond.

Do you feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of parenthood?

Take a minute (or a few minutes) for yourself – refresh, rejuvenate, relax.

And then spend 15 minutes with your child – reading, crafting or cooking.

Visit my website to find out more about Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. Buying a copy of this award-winning book is a very small investment with a very big reward. If you have a Kindle, you can make an even smaller investment…just $9.99 at Amazon’s Kindle Store.

Just 15 minutes is enough time to read a classic picture book story.

Just 15 minutes is enough time to make one of the easy craft projects.

Just 15 minutes is enough time to prepare one of the simple recipes together.

Looking for something to do with your young children on Saturday, August 6^th?

If you are local to Colorado Springs, please stop by the Family Christian Store at 7560 N. Academy. I’ll be there from 11am to 1:30pm and there will be two identical presentations for parents and children. From 11:30 to 12 and from 12:30 to 1pm, I’ll be reading a picture book story that will help young children deal with school anxieties. Then we will be doing a simple craft that each child will be able to take home. There will also be a free hand-out for parents on Five Steps to a Smoother School Year. Parents will also have the opportunity to fill out an entry form to win a craft kit for their preschoolers.

We all want our children to have the best school year ever…whether they are in daycare, nursery or preschool, kindergarten or first grade. This will be a fun-filled experience for all! Please spread the word!!

Watch The Sweets This Summer: What Are The Alternatives?

Posted on July 7, 2011 by viviankirkfield

Image via Wikipedia

We are a nation that loves sweet things.

If you read the ingredient label of almost every boxed or packaged food (we’re all reading the labels, aren’t we?), you’ll find that sugar, or some sugar substitute, has been added.

Cereals, breads, macaroni and cheese, beverages, frozen dinners…the list is endless and I’m not even talking about “sweet” treats like cookies, candies and ice cream.

“Today, (beet and cane) sugar has become a devastating American habit; it is quite impossible to find a commercial or canned food of any kind that does not contain it. In a lifetime, the average American eats three tons of sugar. Sugar injures the heart, causes overweight, decays teeth and creates diabetes, yet once upon a time it had no place at all in the American diet. When sweetening was confined to honey and maple syrup, the American was indeed a healthier being.”

This quote is from Eric Sloane’s Once Upon A Time: The Way America Was. It was published in 1982 and the sugar situation has not gotten better…it has gotten worse and many of the artificial sugar substitutes turned out to be worse than the product they were replacing.

Parents have an obligation to “raise up their children as they would have them go on” in life. The time to set the parameters of what is good to eat and what is not is when children are young.

How can we help our children avoid too much sugar and develop good eating habits?

Read the ingredient labels and put back a product that has unnecessary sugar.
Know that “sugar” comes in many forms and is called by many different names: glucose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, maltose, crystalline fructose, polysaccharide, monosaccharide, galactose, dextrose, corn syrup…you get the picture.
Try making at least some of your menu items from “scratch” because then you will know exactly what you are putting into the food your family is eating.
Get into the habit of offering water when children are thirsty…flavored beverages and soda are FULL of sugar…empty calories and no nutrition. 100% juice has lots of “natural” sugar as well…try using ½ juice with ½ water…you will have a healthier, cheaper and more thirst-quenching drink. Pour this mixture into ice-pop molds and you will have inexpensive and refreshing pops.
Put a limit on the number of “sweet” treats…keep cut up carrot and cucumber sticks in the fridge.
Be a good role model…does your child see you having a donut with your coffee, spooning sugar on your morning cereal, eating a chocolate covered ice-cream pop after lunch and then sitting down with a piece of cake after dinner?

If you are looking for some simple healthful recipes that your child can help you prepare in the kitchen, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking provides 100 of them. Head over to my website and buy a copy of this award-winning book at 50% off the cover price. You won’t be wondering what to do with your little ones this summer because there are also 100 arts and crafts activities and summaries of the 100 picture books every young child should hear.