December 29, 2007
Should You Get A Nanny Cam?
The alarm clock on the left is an example of a hidden Nanny Cam.
It is every parents nightmare. Police in Cherokee Country, GA say parents caught Nanny abusing their 13th month old child. In recent news, a woman who was hired through a national childcare service from the internet was discovered to be abusive towards a child of just a little over one year old that she was caring for. The family that employed this woman installed nanny cams once they began to notice behavioral changes in their child. The first day, in which the woman cared for the child under the supervision of the nanny cams, she was caught being abusive. The evidence portrays this individual slapping the young child in the face, pushing the child, and even pinching! Should you get a nanny cam? Stories like this seem to suggest “yes”.
You can read more of this story by visiting the following link: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14938393/detail.html . Reading this story sent mixed emotions through me. I felt anger, sadness, and shock all at the same time. Having small kids myself made this story really touch home. The rest of this report will discuss signs of child abuse and questions you should ask your Nanny or babysitter before you hire them.
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Wow, 2007 is almost over and 2008 is upon us. Now is the time for New Years resolutions. Now is the time to make resolutions that will help build a stronger, happier, and healthier family. For me there was so much I wanted to do with my family that I did not. However, it is not important to dwell about the past but look to 2008 with optimism and excitement. If you failed on resolutions in the past, make smaller ones that can be easily accomplished and build on those successes. Keep a list of your resolutions and small steps you will take to make them happen. Talk about your resolutions with your family, and have your spouse or kids help hold you accountable to those resolutions! In fact, everyone in the family should participate and hold each other accountable. For me there is nothing more powerful then my five year old looking at me in the eyes and reminding me what I had promised to do! Here are some resolutions for mom and dad to think about, and if your kids are old enough have them join in and come up with some New Years resolutions on their own. 
Sexual education is becoming a very how parenting topic on the internet these days, but how do you break the ice with your kids? For as many times as I have had to have “The Talk” with children including my own, I have not struggled as much as I have with this article for parents. My intent here is not to offend anyone but to help you be able to talk with your children about sex. I know it is an uncomfortable topic, it is hard enough as adults to talk about it and it is worse as a parent. Trust me when I tell you though, that in most cases, for all the freaking out you are going through it is nothing compared to how your child feels when they think about having to talk to you about sex.
Kids learn from their parents, so if their parents grumble and complain their kids will too. Are you tired of hearing all the grumbling and complaining around your house? Do you ever find yourself just feeling down for no reason? Maybe it’s time the family has a positive attitude adjustment. It may take some time to get everyone in the swing of things, but before you know it everyone will be enjoying life more.
"Are we there YET?" You’ve heard this for the thirteenth time in three minutes and you’re nerves are about to shatter. "No, honey – we’re a lot closer now than we were." Then you get the whines and the moans from the back seat. This is something that a lot of people have had to deal with during a vacation or other family trip. Long hours in cars and on airplanes do not mix with small children! They have short attention spans and their little brains are programmed to run, jump and climb like monkeys. They have no desire to sit for several more hours until you reach your destination. 
There is no denying the fact that our children today are faced with more diversity then we parents were at their age. America is the “melting pot” of the world and that is a good characteristic. It is here in America you can experience the different cultures of the world without leaving this country and for many with out leaving their state or city. All of the diversity raises a very good question though, how as parents we teach our children about cultural diversity and tolerance. 
“Mom, can I play on the computer?” I’m sure I hear that at least once a day from each of my children. Fortunately, there really is a lot of good internet content for kids. Here is the More4kids list of what we think are some of the best websites for kids, whether you want craft projects, educational content, or just plain fun.
A young mom was talking with her 8-year-old daughter about her day at school when the daughter revealed she had a boyfriend. Mom, in her infinite wisdom said, “You are really too young to have a boyfriend. You should have lots of boys as friends at your age.” The little girl sighed and said, “I know, but when I am 14, I will be old enough to date.” Somewhat surprised by the comment, the mother asked her daughter what you do on a date. With no hesitation, the daughter said, “You have sex.” With all kinds of thoughts reeling through her head, the mother asked, “Where did you hear that?” The little girl told her mother she had heard it at school from her friends who heard it from their older siblings.
, teaching to set goals is an important part of child development for when they get older, and comes with some added benefits. Setting and achieving those goals helps in our children to build motivation and self-esteem. Plus, getting into the habit of setting goals and seeing them through at a young age will help them continue to do so into adulthood. Part of parenting is helping our kids learn the value of setting goals so that when they do grow up they will be prepared for the challenges of life when we may not be around to help them. 
Childhood is a great time to teach our children goal setting. If we can get the idea in our kids’ heads while they are still young, it could stay with them into adulthood. But if we are to be successful in teaching our children the value of goals, we must make sure that they find them worthwhile.
You have probably seen teenagers on television or on the street dressed all in black, sporting green hair with perhaps a facial piercing or two and said to yourself, "not MY kid!" only to go home and see that your own teen is sporting a Mohawk. Don’t worry, it happen to the best of us. While not all kids experiment with their appearance to an extreme, some do. It has nothing to do with the way they were raised and is certainly not an indication, in and of itself, of drugs, alcohol or the "wrong crowd." Kids go through stages where they search for their own individuality. They may begin to act differently, dress differently and wear their hair differently. 
Teens are complex creatures with a lot different things going on inside them. While you feel that, as an adult, you carry all of the stress, you can be assured that teens face a good deal of stress as well. Kids aren’t the way that they were when we parents were their age. Times have changed and the kids of today face a lot more pressures and a lot more scary things than their parents did. With that being said, it is easy for a teen to stray from what he or she has been taught and fall in with the wrong crowd or go down the wrong path. However, knowing how to talk to your teen can make all the difference. These five tips will help you open the lines of communication with your teen and keep them on the right path. 
Family is important for all children, and even more so for the child with ADD/ADHD. What happens at home and how they are treated and interacted with will carry over into other aspects of their life at school, later on with work and it will help them build relationships. I know first hand that parenting a child with ADD/ADHD can be overwhelming and at times take its toll on the family. Frustration and chaos do not have to be a way of life for you, your child or your family. Here are things that you can do to make sure that the entire family is involved and the needs of everyone are being met. 
