Presentsforchildren.com

I was talking about activities for St Patrick’s Day with a friend who teaches in an elementary school. She was looking for something a little different to do with her students in her third grade. In addition to needing to plan for her school children, her own children are having a party this weekend. Her children are 6, 8, 11 and 12. Turns out they all saved some reward stickers they earned and have pooled them to have a holiday party. Each child is allowed 4 friends so that means she needs to plan activities for 20 children with a range of ages.

With unpredictable weather this time of year that might have been tricky but I have the perfect solution for her. Last year I discovered Printable Games for Holidays and Parties! which has birthday party games, games for bridal shower and baby shower as well as games for Christmas, New Years, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine’s and St Patrick’s Day. With these you have immediate access to games and activities to print out on your computer. I’ve used their printable games for several ocassions and I am quite impressed.

You can either choose the complete year of holiday games, just a couple games or one theme such as the set of St. Patrick’s Day Printable Games. With one simple purchase you have immediate access to games and activities to print out. There are a variety of games to suit different ages and they are fun. You can print as many copies of the games as you like.

If you are looking for more party games for St Patrick’s Day, another fun activity for a party is decorating cookies. Simply make up a batch of sugar cookies the day before, either circle or shamrock shape is fine. Either buy or make up a batch of plain vanilla icing. Leave half the icing plain and turn the other half green (just add a couple drops green food coloring to the plain icing). Be sure to have assorted sprinkles and small candies like Skittles and M&M available. During the party let the children decorate a cookie anyway they want with icing, sprinkles and candies. It might be a good idea to make sure table top is covered by a plastic sheet, it makes clean up a lot easier. You can do the same thing with cupcakes instead of cookies. Add a little theme music and of course teach everyone how to a jig or try Irish step dancing.

Between the printable games, the cookie decorating, the dancing and some snacks you have a complete party that can take place indoors or out depending on the weather. If you have different age groups like my friend divide the children into age groups and have them each do a different activity. If parents or older children are attending they can also play the St Patrick’s Day games along with the children.

Play dough is fun for children of all ages and can be very relaxing. Many adults also enjoy working with play dough. My children love when we make our own playdough, they love to make their very own colors. Here’s a simple recipe for play dough that uses ingredients you probably have right in your kitchen. This is a great arts and craft activity.

Play Dough Ingredients

For each ball of play dough you will need:

• Food coloring - assorted colors
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 cup flour

Mix salt, cream of tartar and flour in a small pot. Into your cup of water add the vegetable oil and what ever color food coloring. Just a couple drops of food coloring, mix colors if desired. Slowly pour the water/oil/food coloring into the pot with the flour mix stirring as you pour. Mix until smooth. Now slowly heat the mix until it forms a ball. Remove from heat and let cool. Once it has cooled knead it until it is very soft. Your playdough is now ready!

Store the playdough in a small container. I like to reuse small deli containers. The play dough will keep about 3 months or so.

When you hear high blood pressure you may think it’s an adult disease but it is becoming more common among children of all ages. It is important to make sure your child’s doctor is monitoring your child’s blood pressure at each visit. Talk with your pediatrician about your child’s blood pressure. The normal blood pressure of a child is very different than that of an adult. A doctor must take into account the child’s age, sex and height in order to evaluate whether a child has high blood pressure. Untreated, hypertension can cause serious side effects

Although a family history of hypertension is a factor, another major cause of hypertension in children is the rise in obesity among children. Being overweight increases the risks of developing hypertension. To help reduce the risk for your child be sure to offer healthy snacks. Try to limit salt and fats.

Make sure your child is getting enough exercise. Turn off the television and video games and get your child moving. It is important to remember that someone does not need to be overweight to have hypertension, even someone of healthy average weight can have high blood pressure.

Other conditions may cause or be related to hypertension in children so it is important to know the risks. For example, a child with Neurofibromatosis may be at an increased risk for high blood pressure. It is important know your child’s risks and talk with your children’s doctors. Take an active role and also set an example for your child by taking care of your own health.

If your or your child have high blood pressure it is a good idea to have a medical alert tag. The tags should be engraved with the condition and medications taken. Also list emergency contact information or carry a card in wallet or pocket with this information. Read more about Medical alert tags for children and
adults.

My ten year old daughter and I went to see the movie “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Concert 3D Movie”. We were one of those that went on the first weekend of it’s release, back when it was a “limited engagement”. I never for a moment thought it would only show for a week but my daughter really wanted to go and was worried we’d miss it. All it took was one “What if you’re wrong mom?”  to convince me to go at 8 am on Sunday morning for double the usual ticket price.

It was a good movie - I enjoyed it and my daughter and all the other tweeners, teens and younger girls loved it. It would havebeen nice if there was another song or two, but all in all a good movie.

Over the past week or so there has been a lot of airtime devoted to discussing how Miley Cyrus and her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, did not wear their seatbelts. Personally I don’t even remember the scene with them in the Range Rover. I asked my daughter if she remembers anything about Miley and her father not wearing seatbelts. She replied that she did not pay attention to whether they put on a seatbelt. According to my daughter it is an automatic thing that when you get in a car you put it on.

We have always had the rule that everyone puts on a seatbelt. When my children were young enough and small enough for car seats and booster seats they used them. They know we will not move the car unless everyone is buckled up properly. My children know when they get in a car, any car, they buckle up. As my daughter said, it does not matter what we see someone else do, the rule is “Buckle Up!”. She went on to say “I don’t care what they did, it was just acting in a movie. I know right from wrong.” I am happy to know that she thinks like this. We once spent 15 minutes digging out
a seatbelt in my father-in-law’s car so it is definitely a habit.

I have always instilled in my children the importance of wearing seatbelts. I share the story of my car accident many years ago, long before they were born. The force of the impact in that car accident was enough to rip the front seat from the floor of the car. I stayed buckled to the seat which got stuck by the dashboard. My life was saved because I was wearing a seatbelt.

Perhaps she is influenced by a hazy memory of a car accident we were in. She was almost 2 years old and I was in my final days of pregnancy with my son when we were in an accident. She was safely buckled in her car seat and I was wearing a seatbelt. She did not even suffer a scratch or bump. I also escaped injury although I did have labor pains and put quite a scare into many. The fire department and other emergency personnel credited her lack of injuries to her being properly buckled up in a car seat. A month or so earlier we had stopped by a car seat check that was operated by a AAA and they had made sure our car seats were properly installed.

I can understand the disappointment many have with Miley and her dad not wearing a seatbelt, but I tend to think most did not even notice the lack of seatbelts. I wish the Disney company had put a little more effort into ensuring that the movie encouraged good habits. Having said that, I think the emphasis is still on parents to make sure their children automatically buckle up. If they’ve been doing it since they were born it will be automatic. Besides it’s the law in most areas.

All in all Miley Cyrus seems to be a postive role model. Everyone makes a mistake. I am sure they will correct the scene before it’s released on dvd so this will all be a distant memory, that is if the children even noticed in the first place.

My last thought on the Hannah Montana movie is not really about the movie. What I still wonder is - why in the world were most of the people in the packed theater eating nachos with cheese, popcorn and hotdogs at 8 o’clock in the morning?

Arts and craft activities are great ways to not only fill the hours of both child and parent, they can result in long lasting keepsakes. Making pet rocks or paperweights is a simple activity to chase away boredom. The paperweights make a great gift for parent or grandparent. It is a simple arts and craft for toddlers thru young teens.

Materials needed are simple - some rocks, Tacky glue, paint and items to decorate the rocks. Some good items are scraps of yarn, scraps of foam, small pom poms, google eyes and other similar materials. Flat rocks work best for younger children. Let your child decorate the rock as they want. If they are stuck for ideas on what to do, give them some suggestions. A rock can be made to resemble a person or a pet. Paint the rock what ever color is desired then decorate with hair, eyes, mouth and so on. We have rocks that have foam hats and bow ties.

Older children can probably handle making a stand up pet rock and you can help them by gluing a small round head onto a slightly larger round body. To make a stand up pet rock first paint the head and body if desired. Since it is often easier to do the bulk of the decorating before gluing the head and body together your child should now use Tacky glue to attach eyes, hair and other features. If desired small arms or feet can be made of foam. When done with most of the decorating, you should consider using a glue gun to glue the head and body together after most of the decorating is done.

The petrocks or paperweights can either be simple or very detailed. Let your child’s imagination be your guide. As we mentioned we have pet rocks with hats and ties, a superhero rock that wears a cape, a gardener that holds a small flower and even a pet rock with a dog on a yarn leash.

Many preschoolers believe there are monsters in the bedroom. Martha recently emailed me asking how to help her four year old son John overcome his fear of monsters at night. She had tried showing her son that there were no monsters under the bed or in the closet but he still screamed at bedtime the moment the lights were out. Martha read through the section The Importance of Bedtime Routine with Children but still had questions so she emailed us for suggestions. The subject of her email was “Help! My child is afraid of monsters!”

We can sympathize with Martha and with John. For him the threat of monsters is quite real and he is scared. For Martha, it is frustrating trying to find a way that everyone can get some sleep. it may help to know that a common sleep problem in toddlers and young children is fear of monsters. There are several things to do to rid the bedroom of the monsters.

The first thing to do is make sure the bedroom is comfortable. Then, either decide on a night light for the bedroom, or leave a light on in hallway. After deciding on the nightlight or hallway light, make sure that there are no scary shadows. Sit in their room or lay on their bed while it is dark to see what your child sees.  Large stuffed animals in the room may look cute during in the daylight but at nightfall they get scary! When my daughter was a toddler she loved the Teletubbies but at night, a Tinky Winky doll terrified her. Either move the toys at night or just keep them in the playroom. If there is a streetlight or porch-light outside the bedroom window, consider light filtering shades to prevent scary shadows. Also consider that car headlights may have the same effect if they can be seen in child’s window at night. Be sure your child’s room is quiet enough and free of spooky noises. A radio on low might also help in case it is noises he is hearing.

The next step is to empower your child. Instead of trying to convince him the monsters are not real, rid the room of monsters. Take a small spray bottle and decorate the bottle with a label that says “Monster Spray” or “Monster Gone”. Fill the bottle with water. A drop or two of scented oil added to the spray can add a little more power to the spray. Lavendar makes a nice choice since it is a soothing and relaxing scent.  Each night, make spraying the room part of the bedtime routine.  It might also help if your child has a special stuffed animal for comfort and company.

You should also examine the shows your child is watching on television, especially those in late afternoon and evening hours. Video games are also another cause of  fears and bad dreams at night. Even an older child may have television shows and video games adversely affect their sleep. It is very important that children wind down at end of day. Reading to them before bedtime is a great way to not only relax but to improve reading skills and foster a love of reading.

The problem of monsters in the bedroom is common but be sure to discuss it with your child’s doctor if you are concerned or it becomes extreme.

This stage, like all the others your child has gone thru, will pass. You are not alone.  If you need more suggestions let us know!

This is an easy no cook recipe that is great to make with children of all ages. Change the decorating ingredient and you change from Squirrel Nut Nests to Jelly bean Bird’s Nest. My children have called it “Squirrel’s Nest” ever since a squirrel moved into a hole in a tree near my house, they see all the things the squirrel drags in for his nest.

Children of all ages can do all the steps in this child friendly recipe. We do suggest they wear an apron or oversized teeshirt to help keep the fluff off their clothes. Remind them to wash before and after making the nests.
Ingredients for Nests:

• About 3 cups dry Chow Mein Noodles
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 - 7 ounce jar marshmallow fluff
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• items for “eggs” - raisins, mini jelly beans, M&M\’s, shelled peanuts, chocolate or yogurt covered raisins
• Mixing bowl, spoon and wax paper

Mix the first four ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix until it is smooth. Younger children might need help getting it mixed. Chill in refrigerator about 2 hours. Remove from refrigerator and take about 1/4-1/3 cup and mold into nest shapes. It is best to do this on wax paper. Allow each nest to set about 1/2 hour. Now fill each nest with the “eggs”. Use whatever you want - nuts for a squirrel’s nest, jelly beans or M&M’s for bird’s nest and so on.

It is a nice snack and a change of pace from traditional krispies treats.

It seems like almost everyday I receive emails asking for a blog to be added to PresentsforChildren.com. Many visitors have told me that it would be much easier to keep up with PresentsforChildren if it had a blog so here it is.

My plans are quite simple. Like the main sections of my website I will talk about parenting advice, children’s health issues, news, recalls, new products, timely activities and so on. I will also answer questions and comments sent to me by visitors. My visitors are parents, grandparents, guardians and teachers.

PresentsforChildren.com grows to meet the needs of their visitors. We began with a few pages, some for shopping, some for advice some for information. We added advice for new parents who were unsure about many things that seasoned parents take for granted. New parents sometimes want to know how many crib sheets do they really need or do they really need a changing table. Parents of special needs children wanted not only advice, they need to know they are not alone. We also incorporate gift suggestions for a child with challenges. We added articles many subjects on many subjects including health, education, potty training and shopping. We share advice, from one parent to another. We grew even further by adding additional sections and a forum. Now we have added a blog.

With all the changes one thing remains the same- our philosophy. The best PresentsforChildren are those that come from the heart. Children are a blessing and a gift - through good times and rough times, whether they’re healthy and happy or not feeling well or sad. Every child is a gift.

If you haven’t already done so please visit our main site PresentsforChildren.com Enjoy your visit with us.

Have a great day!!