by Stephanie Partridge
Great Family Experience: Hiking and Climbing together
For my son's 18th birthday, one of the presents I gave him was tickets to a concert featuring several of his favorite artists. For my daughter's 13th birthday, one of her presents was a local dog parade and Louisiana State University Veterinarian School open house. There have been many times that I have given my kids "experience gifts" instead of the traditional present. These gifts are more than new clothing or a new CD, they are creating memories. Kids can take photos or buy souvenirs to remember the event or experience, but the main present is the experience such as a concert or special show. Try one of these experience gifts for your child's next birthday or special occasion.
1. Concerts
Older kids love concerts. Before you choose a concert and purchase tickets, though, check out the band and fond out about as much of the show as possible to make sure that is appropriate for your child. For younger teens, you can go with them to the show. Older teens can usually do OK attending independently with a couple of friends. If you want to give them something to remember the event, purchase a souvenir t-shirt or some other item that they can keep and be reminded of their special day.
2. Play
A stage play is an excellent gift for the thespian in your family. If you are in an area that has local playhouses, you can easily find plays there just about any time. If plays tour to your city, you can find a good one that will be near you and take your child. Keep a program from the event and the ticket stub if you can. That way, they can have a keepsake from the event. The key with experience gifts is to get a keepsake to commemorate the event.
3. Touring Show
A touring show such as The Wiggles, Icecapades or a wrestling event can also be a great experience gift. Watch your newspapers and sign up for sites like Eventful and Ticketmaster to keep up with what shows are coming to your area. READ More on Giving More Experiences Instead of Toys
![[Post to Twitter]](http://www.more4kids.info/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter-big2.png){kind=icon}
![[Post to Yahoo Buzz]](http://www.more4kids.info/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-buzz-big2.png){kind=icon}
![[Post to StumbleUpon]](http://www.more4kids.info/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-su-big2.png){kind=icon}
15 Low Cost or No Cost Ideas for Spending Time with your Teenager
by Stephanie Partridge
You don't have to spend a fortune to have fun with your family. You can spend quality time together without shelling out lots of money. Too many people think that they have to coordinate a big trip and they focus on saving money for it and planning it, but often that big trip never happens. If it does, the pace is usually so hectic that the family does not really get to spend the quality time together that they had intended. It doesn't have to be that way though. You can start tonight spending quality time with your teen and creating a bond that will last forever. You can start with just the money in your pocket, even if you don't have two dimes to rub together. Try some of these ideas and see if they don't make a difference in your family.
1. Play "Ten Good Things"
Cost: $0
This is a game that my youngest son came up with and it has become a favorite with our family. Each person takes a turn saying ten good things about someone else. For instance, my son may say ten good things about his sister, then she may say ten good things about me and I would say ten good things about my son. What usually happens is that everyone starts jumping in helping to make "the list" of ten good things. It is fun and often surprising when you actually hear the good qualities that others see in you. My kids have told me many things about myself that I did not even realize. Family friends come over to play this with us as well. It is just a fun, wholesome, feel-good game where everyone is a winner.
READ More on Bond with your Teen Tonight
Filed under Activities, News, Parenting, Teenagers by More4kids
by Shakeel Shaique
What is inspiration and what does it mean? It really is a result of an involuntary or sudden reaction to something that motivates or stimulates a personal reaction in the form of encouragement to do something out of the ordinary and having an everlasting affect on the witnessing person.
Bringing a child into the world in itself is an inspiration shared by couples that generates love, new stimulations for advancements, expected gratification and is in itself experiencing the miracle of life. Even before a child is born, the couple starts to plan for the short and the long term. This brings in new subjects of communication, decision making, sharing of ideas and above all a new level of excitement. The buzz in the house is all about the baby to come. Family and friends get involved and the celebration begins.
Now the kids grow up and start to take in and get exposed to their surroundings and all this time they are learning new things. As we all know, children adapt to the environment and events much quicker then adults, and some of their reactions turn out inspirational to people around them. I will write a few of my personal and family stories that I hope will serve as good inspirational examples. READ More on How Kids Inspire Parents and the Rest of Us
From all of us here at More4kids, Happy 4th of July. The Fourth of July celebrates the birth of the United States of America. Founded July 4th 1776, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, America is celebrating its 232nd birthday this year (2008).
It is a time for families and friends not only to come together and have fun, but also a time to honor our Veterans and men and women who are putting their lives in danger every day for us, and those who have made the biggest sacrifice for our freedom with their lives. Try to throw your politics aside, and let us all take a moment to think about, and be grateful to all who wear the American uniform, and to our police and firefighters who protect us day in and out. They all deserve our recognition and thanx, more than we can put in words. And don't forget the spouses and families of those in uniform. It takes very special people to be part of a military family, and our hearts, thanx, and recognition should go out to them too.
No matter whether you travel across the country to celebrate our nation’s birthday, or decide to stay at home in your own backyard, there are many different ways to make this a very special holiday.
All that is needed for a fantastic Fourth are three key ingredients:
1. A Plan
2. Preparation
3. and much, much Enthusiasm.
We’ll provide the plan to get you started!
Ready? Set?
Not lets get the ball on the road and get going!
READ More on Fourth of July Festivities for the Entire Family
Filed under Activities, Family, Holidays by More4kids
Summer is here already and before we know it, it will be gone. The kids will be back to school and life will go back to "normal." Why not take the time to make the most of the summer months with your kids. As parents, we have so much to do, and while yes quality time is more important then quantity, summer offers us the chance to give our kids both of those things.
I am not saying that you have to plan an elaborate get away. You don't even have to spend thousands of dollars. This week's tips are all about planning the perfect family vacation, the perfect vacation for your family that is.
Tip One: Pick a Destination Together
This is a great idea no matter how old your kids are. I think that part of the reason that so many families are holding back from going on vacation is because we as parents think that we have to make the trip to Cancun or to Disney or some other big name place. Talk to your kids, and your spouse. You may be surprised to find out that really all they want is a few days at the log cabin at their favorite beach. READ More on Creating the Perfect Family Vacation
by Stephanie Partridge
The story is unfortunately all too common. A 13 year old boy commits suicide after a cyberbully torments him relentlessly. An 18 year old girl kills herself after a "sexting" incident that put nude photos of her, meant only for her boyfriend, in the hands of many other people, some in the very school she attended. It seems to be reaching epidemic proportions, cyberbullying and sexting. It seems that the online world has gone out of control, populated with perverts and bullies. So, how can parents keep their children safe without taking the internet away from them completely? What can a parent do to protect their children from what at times is a very cruel world?
So, what can parents do to protect their children from cyberbullies and prevent them from sexting? Well, you could take away cell phones and set the parental controls on the internet so that the only page they can access is Disney.com, but that isn't very realistic. Also, when you get right down to it, you can't spend your life shielding your children from things that may hurt them. If you do, you are doing them a great disservice. The best thing that you can do is teach them how to protect themselves and how to make smart, sound decisions. READ More on What Parents can do about Cyber Bullying and Sexting
Kids love playing with toys, but what if they're playing with something dangerous? As a parent you want to make sure that you only allow your children to have toys that are safe. For this reason it is important that you keep up with the recent toy recalls, and already in 2009 there have been quite a few. Here we are going to update you with some of the newest toy recalls for 2009 and also provide you with some safety tips for toys that will help you choose only the safest toys for your children.
Tupperware Toy Maracas
Just a couple of weeks ago Tupperware did a voluntary recall on their toy maracas. There are small parts inside of the maracas and if the toy breaks, it poses a choking hazard to smaller children. The handle also may possibly be a hazard that may cause suffocation in small children as well. Both the blue and the red maracas that have yellow handles have been recalled. The company will provide you a gift certificate or refund if you simply return them to the company.
Good Neigh Bears
State Farm had some cute Good Neigh Bears that they were giving out through their State Farm agents. However, they have recently done a voluntary recall on these bears. There have been problems with the eyes coming off the bears, which can be a chocking hazard. If you received one of these bears, you'll want to get rid of them if you have smaller children. You can get more info by visiting State Farms website: www.statefarm.com.
Infantino Toys Recalled
Several toys from Infantino have been recalled on a voluntary basis. The Infantino Lil' Chef Set, the Infantino Tag Along Chime Trio, and the Activity Stacker have all been recalled. They have metallic fabric on them which has been reported to come off posing a threat to children. These toys have been sold at Wal-Mart, Babies "R" Us, Meijer, Target, and similar stores. If you have these toys, they should be taken away from your kids. You can call Infantino and they'll give you a replacement product from the company.
READ More on Toy Recalls 2009 - Important Toy Recalls You Need to Know About
I am a firm believer in the fact that there is no such thing as failure, only an opportunity to do better next time. This is something that I have done everything possible to instill in my children since they were in the womb. Even with my best efforts we have still run into times when our children have had a fear of failure. I know this is something that most children experience, and it is our job as parents to help them overcome this fear.
Many times that is easier said than done. Let's face it, there isn't a person in the world that sets out to accomplish something and throws a party when things don't goes as they wanted or planned. For children though, the very thought of not being able to succeed is enough to stop them from trying at all. So how then, as a parent, do you help them break free of their fear and take a risk to see what they can achieve?
Society is not easy on kids today. While they may not have had to grow up without video games and cable like we did, they do have a lot of peer pressure and societal pressure placed on them. If you don't believe me walk through your child's school, flip through a few magazines or watch your child's favorite show with them. The fear of not measuring up can cause your child to simply not try. After all, you can't fail if you don't try.
READ More on Helping Kids Overcome Fear of Failure
If there is one lesson that no parent enjoys teaching their child it is the art of getting over disappointment. This is partly because no one likes to be disappointed, have their hopes shattered, but it is a raw and honest part of life. Figuring out how to teach our children this can be difficult though, you don’t want them to give up or lose heart. It is important that as we teach our children to cope with disappointment, how important it is to keep trying.
Here are a few to help you teach your child how to cope with, how to overcome disappointments in life, and to grow from experience.
• Offer Love and Support
Think about how you feel when things do not go the way you expected or wanted. You feel down and depressed. Your child feels the same way, what they need to know is that they are not alone, that even though they feel down and sad, they are not alone. Offer them a hug, listen to them as they tell you what has happened. DO NOT judge, or blow off what they are saying.
READ More on Tips to Help Your Child Overcome Disappointment
With winter just around the corner you can’t take your kids outside or to the park as often as you would like. We don’t want our kids sitting around the TV or playing computer games all day. Preschoolers and those just starting school have more energy than most parents. It's just a natural fact. To help occupy them you may want to find games they can play indoors.
If you’re like most parents, you remember playing board games with your brothers and sisters, maybe even your parents. Back when I was a kid there were no computers. This was before nights where families played games together became known as “Family Fun Night” or “Family Game Night”. You may remember hours spent playing Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Boggle, or Sorry. Maybe your family had Operation for when you got older, then you most likely graduated to games like Monopoly, Scrabble, or Trivial Pursuit.
Those games are still around if you want to share them with your children, but you may also want to find newer games to play with them. Here are a few of the best games for preschoolers or those just beginning school that are recommended by experts and parents alike:
READ More on What are the Best Preschool Games?
Filed under Activities by More4kids
