Browsing Tag

parenting advice

10 ways to save money at Disney parks

Posted on August 8, 2014
Nearly every kid dreams of going to one of the Disney theme parks during their childhood years, but parents are usually a little more hesitant to book the trip because of the hefty price tag that accompanies it. If you are thinking about taking a trip to a Disney park and are looking to save money, check out the following ways to save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on your trip.  Keep in mind that Disney would like you to think that buying their packages is the best way to save money, but often you can save more by buying things separately.
  1.     Stay off the Disney campus.  Surrounding hotels have lower pricing to entice travelers away from staying at Disney.  Keep in mind that you will need to have a way to travel back and forth from Disney if you stay off campus.
  2.     Book your trip during the off season.  Disney has many seasons ranging from “Value” to “Peak”.  Unfortunately there isn’t a 3 month period that is considered to be the off season.  Weekdays during the fall months are cheaper, and the period after Thanksgiving and before December 21st, when “Holiday Season” starts, is cheaper to book as well.
  3.     Book a hotel that includes breakfast.  While breakfast is one of the least expensive meals to eat out, it can save you a surprising amount of money by eating at the hotel.  Before heading back to your room, grab some extra fruit for a snack later in the day.
  4.     Bring along a soft sided cooler.  You are allowed to bring in soft sided coolers to the park, and the ones that will fit in a backpack or are a backpack are ideal.  This allows you to bring in both snacks and lunch.  Plan to stop at a discount store or a grocery store to stock up on some food to take in for when family members start to get hungry.
  5.     Plan to eat your evening meal outside of the park.  By dinner time you’ve spent the majority of the day at Disney and everyone is probably ready for a break.  Take this opportunity to head back to your hotel and let everyone rest a bit and freshen up.  Then, before going back to the park, stop and eat something.
  6.     Bring a refillable water bottle and flavored packets.  There are water sources around the park that you can fill up a water bottle with, but it’s well water and doesn’t taste very good, so plan on bringing some flavored packets to sweeten up the water.  Staying hydrated at the park is very important since you will be outside much of the time.
  7.     Check out local ticket hubs for discounted tickets.  Disney wants you to think that you can’t buy tickets anywhere except through Disney and their affiliates, but this isn’t true.  Keep your eyes open for ongoing deals.  Sometimes you can make a donation to an Orlando hospital and the hospital will give you tickets to Disney for your family.  Different programs like this pop up all year long so keep your eyes open for deals.  Local ticket hubs can save you 5 to 10%, which may not seem like much, but once you do the math it starts to add up.
  8.     Join the Cirque club to receive 35% off of tickets.  Joining the club is free and you must buy your tickets 30 days in advance to receive the discount.  The discount is only offered for the Cirque de Soleil performances that are during the Tuesday through Saturday shows.  Check the online club for applicable dates.
  9.     Go to Disney Quest for half price.  If you’d like to check out Disney Quest (a virtual-reality theme park in downtown Disney) you can check for a manager’s special.  Often if you go within 2 hours or less of closing you can save half off the ticket price.  It would be something different to do and if you can go for half price it might be worth it.  This discount isn’t always offered so check while you are there.
  10.     When renting a car don’t get stuck on size.  If you plan on renting a car once you reach Disney make sure to check rental sites often, because specials do change.  Rebooking your reservation could save you a bundle.  Compact cars tend to rent out first so check the next size up; you can still end up saving because the rental companies may have a bunch of bigger cars they need to rent out and as such will give you a free upgrade.
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7 Tips for Helping You Go Back to School After having a Baby

Posted on August 8, 2014
You don’t have to let the fact that you had a baby before or in the middle of college deter you from returning or starting. Despite all the obstacles and challenges associated with returning to school after a baby, if you put in a plan, you certainly can do it and findAnanny.com wants you to use these beneficial suggestions to get it done. 
  1. Build a Support System – The most important thing for a student mom to have in place is a strong and reliable support system. Not only will you need help with childcare and managing the needs of your new baby while keeping up with your studies, you’ll also need a shoulder or two you can cry on when things get difficult. Finishing school as a parent will be a challenge, and having a few people in your corner can make all the difference.
  2. Create a Routine That Works For Your Family – There is no hard-and-fast rule about how you have to structure your household routine, especially when your little one is still an infant. Find a schedule that works for you and build around it. If online classes are more conducive to learning and completing assignments than a traditional classroom setting, that’s the best solution for you. On the other hand, getting out of the house and interacting with your classmates may help you manage the demands of parenthood more easily. Whatever works for you is the best solution, regardless of how well it would work for someone else.
  3. Set Realistic Goals -You may have planned to take on a full course load before your pregnancy, but that may not be realistic after the birth of a child. Rather than setting goals that aren’t feasible and being disappointed when they prove to be a bit more than you’re ready to handle, take your time and make a plan that you can actually adhere to. Celebrate each milestone along the way and stay focused on each smaller goal as they approach.
  4. Work Out a Reasonable Timeline– Finishing school on the standard time table may be out of the cards for you as a new mom, and that’s okay. The goal is to finish, so take the time to figure out when you can realistically complete your studies. You may have to shoulder a lighter burden in terms of classes and finish later than some of your peers, but you’ll still leave with a diploma, which is better than trying to take on too much only to end up burned out and frustrated enough to quit school altogether. You may also have ideas of returning to school days after the birth of your child, however, that may not be possible. Finding the right time to return to school after you recover from delivery and have bonded with your new baby may be a bit more complicated than simply returning as soon as you’re discharged from the hospital.
  5. Find a Caregiver You Trust – Your child will have to be cared for while you’re at school since you won’t be able to take her to class with you. To make the transition into school after becoming a new parent, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve found a childcare provider you absolutely trust and have no qualms about leaving her with. If you’re distracted and worried about your child’s safety while you’re in class, your academic performance probably won’t reflect your actual abilities.
  6. Prepare for a Bit of Separation Anxiety -Regardless of how excited you are to get back into school after your maternity leave ends, you will feel at least a little bit of separation anxiety until you adjust to the idea of no longer spending the entirety of each day with the fascinating little person you’ve created. If you’re prepared for the stress of leaving your child in someone else’s care and understand that it’s just temporary, it can lessen the sting and help to make that pain a bit more manageable.
  7. Don’t Be Scared to Adjust Your Schedule – As a new mom and a student, your schedule may have to be adjusted a few times until you find the one that works for you. Making adjustments is not the same as admitting defeat, so don’t be afraid to finagle things until you find the methods that work best for you and your new family.

Good luck to you all! 

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10 tips to make a road trip with the Kids smoother

Posted on August 3, 2014
Summer is a time that families pack the kids in the car and head out for a road trip to visit family away. If the trip takes longer than an hour or two to get to the final destination, many parents know it could be a challenge to keep the kids busy. “Are we there yet?” is a common question parents can expect to hear at least once during the trip. 
To ease the anxiousness and impatience from our kids, my husband I usually aim to leave at night when they are ready to go to bed. That way they sleep for most of the trip because it is during their normal sleep hours anyway. If the trip takes more than a few hours, when they wake, we make at least one pit stop so they can stretch their legs and get some fresh air and then pepper the remaining hours with car games. Here are 9 other ways we pass time while on a road trip from a past post:

  1. License Plates – A time-honored road trip classic, kids can compete to see who can spot license plates from the most different states. An alternative version involves scouting for unusual numbers or for a particular letter. This game has been known to last through several states’ worth of driving.
  2.     Road Trip Bingo – You can find cards for this game online with symbols of objects, vehicles, and road signs printed on them for the kids to scout out during family road trips. Play it just like traditional Bingo, marking off each item that’s spotted on the journey, until someone fills a line or the whole card.
  3.     I Spy – A more traditional, low-tech version of Road Trip Bingo, this one requires nothing more than sharp eyes. Kids can call out, “I spy a …” and others compete to identify the “target” first. It’s also a good way for the kids to appreciate the scenery as it goes by their windows.
  4.     iPod – Of course a good supply of personal tunes can go a long way in keeping the older kids pre-occupied. An mp3 player or cell phone can be just the ticket to make the long stretches on the road go by more quickly.
  5.     Unusual Attractions – Whenever and wherever possible, it helps to incorporate some interesting tourist attractions as part of your scheduled route, which will help break up the drive a bit. When planning your trip, check for any roadside oddities along the way that make for fun photo ops, like giant cow sculptures or donut-shaped donut shops.
  6.     Video Games – Parents know all too well how much time a kid can kill on those game consoles. Bring along a hand-held device or two to keep them busy. There’s an excellent chance that you won’t hear a peep out of them while driving clear across the country.
  7.     DVDs – If the family vehicle is equipped with a DVD player, you’re way ahead in the battle against boredom. Stock up with a selection of family favorites for viewing on the road and you can kill hours at a time.
  8.     Keep a Travel Journal – Encourage the kids to bring along a journal and document their adventures while on vacation. It will do much more than keep them busy, it will preserve some valuable memories for posterity too.
  9.     Read – Bring a good book assortment – either the paper or e-book variety – and let your kids get lost in some good literature. Suggest that everyone unplug for a stretch of your trip and just read quietly. Who knows, it could become a habit that extends into everyday life.

What else? Do you have any road trip advice to share? 

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Back to School: 5 tips for helping kids struggling with homework

Posted on July 29, 2014

Though some progressive schools around the country have taken steps to eliminate homework, it still remains a fixture in the lives of most students. Homework can also be the source of much household suffering, either due to a refusal to complete assignments that ultimately affects academic performance or a difficulty completing the work. Before you throw in the towel altogether, give these five suggestions a try in order to get the students in your family back on track.

  1. Nip Excuses in the Bud – Kids will come up with remarkably creative excuses to get out of doing their homework, especially if they’re having trouble with the work or are eager to pursue activities that they enjoy. Refusing to accept excuses and establishing a routine of completing homework on a set schedule can make a noticeable difference in homework struggles that are built around kids’ efforts to evade homework. When your child knows that his efforts to avoid his homework will not be effective, he’s more likely to direct his energy elsewhere.
  2. Verify Kids’ Claims – Two of the most popular ways of getting out of homework is to claim that it was completed during free time or that there was none assigned. While actively showing distrust for your kids’ claims can be detrimental to their self-esteem, it’s still a good idea to make sure that you establish a system of verifying their claims in regard to homework. Making it routine to go over assignment planners or to check homework together can help you ascertain just how much homework your child has without actively accusing him of being dishonest.
  3. Work on an Incentive Plan – For many kids, homework just doesn’t seem to serve much of a point. There’s no tangible payoff for the time invested in filling out those worksheets or writing assigned papers, so it can understandably seem like a waste of time to them. There’s a fine line between creating an incentive plan and bribing your child to do the things he’s supposed to do, but it is possible. When your child is able to connect his hard work and all the effort he’s putting into his homework with actual, tangible results, he may change his tune. Making sure that your child understands how his grades are connected to the effort he puts in and that there are rewards for doing his very best in school is important.
  4. Establish a Line of Communication with Teachers – Whether you’re looking for verification of assignments or looking for the best way to help a child that’s having trouble with his schoolwork, it’s important to make sure that you’ve established and are actively maintaining an open line of communication with your child’s teacher. Kids that want to do their best in school, but find it difficult to grasp the work, can easily become frustrated and lose their interest in academia altogether. Working with his teacher to find the best way of helping him overcome his difficulties is essential, especially if your child’s frustration is reaching a level that’s difficult to manage.
  5. Get to the Root of the Problem – The most effective way of helping your child overcome a homework struggle is to find the root of the problem and address it directly. If he’s having trouble focusing or grasping the material and is avoiding it because he feels that it’s above his skill level, work with him until he’s feeling more confident. It’s also important to swallow your pride and ask for help yourself if you need to. Not only have teaching methods changed since your own school days, but skills that you haven’t used in decades can become rusty. When you’re able to work with your child one on one to determine his individual learning style and needs, you’ll be able to tailor your approach to homework help accordingly.

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The Ultimate Lux Babymoon Destination: The Soneva Fushi

Posted on July 26, 2014
Yesterday, I shared my picks for the best babymoon destinations and now today, I’m sharing my fantasy pick for where I would love to go if money was no object. I’d head to the original resort island desert hideaway, the award-winning luxury Soneva Fushi in the Maldives.
For about $1500 for a villa with a private pool per night at the unspoiled island locale, parents-to-be can truly get away and relax in a secluded getaway before baby.  Here are some pics from the resort to gawk at and at least temporarily be whisked away there even if it is for the brief moment you’re perusing through this site. 
aaaaah! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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No really…do you have a Favorite Child?

Posted on July 25, 2014

Attorney and Blogger Darcy Shapiro penned a recent HuffPo piece titled, “I Have a Favorite Child. Admit it, So do you” that a friend recently sent me.
From the clickbait headline, I assumed she would be sharing the fact that she preferred or liked one of her kids over her others and was challenging other parents to admit that they too have a fave kid.
Some of us, like me, who watch reality TV a lot, may recall a somewhat cringe-worthy moment when Kris Jenner proudly announced that her daughter Kim was her favorite. Way to go to confirm any insecurities or self-doubt those other five kids you gave birth to may feel about there mom! Sheesh!
Anyway, the HuffPo piece wasn’t what I expected. Rather, it was Shapiro explaining how through the ups and down of her day, she had an appreciation and love for one child’s positive behavior while maybe  was frustrated over another, but that shifted throughout the day and everyday. 
Good for her, but come on. Let’s be really, real!
Many of us have that one kid we always boast about to our friends, or whose photo we share more in social media than the others. Clearly, to others who know we have more than one child, it must appear that we have a preference. 
And in real life, among friends, we may unknowingly complain more about our troubles or frustration with one kid, while only sharing laudatory news about another kid. We may lean into one child more at events or put an arm around that one child more. 
If you recognize that you may be guilty of showing favoritism, here is a way to confirm it: ask a close friend if they think you have a favorite based on that friend’s observation of you and your children’s interactions. Listen and get their honest opinion. The answer may surprise you. 
Then if it turns out that you appear to favor one kid over another to the outside world, chances are the kids pick up on your cues and think so too. That is not cool and you may want to give yourself a gut check and then shift your behavior, tone, language and decisions to adjust. 
I know I do and like Shapiro, try to tell each kid they are my favorite 9 year old or daughter (when I only have one daughter). I also try to have one-on-one mommy and me time or dates. I shower them with random compliments, periodically, and tell them I love them often so they don’t ever have a chance to doubt…um you know, to off balance those many other times when they’re driving me up the wall and may say something crazy like, “Quit driving me crazy! Do you want your mom to end up in an insane asylum?!”  (ha!)
Many adults grow resenting a parent because they may have felt that parent did not like them as much as a sibling. It’s the stuff that emboldens intense sibling rivalry or resentment. 
Further, Subconscious awareness about parental bias can have an impact on a child’s relationships and behavior as they grow. They may act out with more outrageous negative behavior to at least get noticed or may do the opposite: be reclusive and choose not to share or be open and honest with that parent. None of that is good. 
Just something to think about, parents as we go about this challenging process of trying to raise good kids.
Your thoughts?

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Tips for Monitoring Kids’ Digital Devices (INFOGRAPHIC)

Posted on July 18, 2014

According to a recent Nielsen survey, 70 percent of teens aged 13 – 17 now use smartphones.  Monitoring the smartphones, tablets, laptops, game consoles and other devices can be a struggle for parents. 
The makers of the device management app MORE have tried to solve the problem by creating platform which allows parents to remotely access, control and monitor all of their family’s devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones, iPads, etc.). MORE founders state their app is perfect for those who use their devices for both work and home.

Check out this infographic they’ve assembled to help frame the dilemma:

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10 Tips for Staying Cool During a Heat Wave

Posted on July 16, 2014
Many areas in the country are currently suffering under a heat wave. Thank goodness for the nanny.net tips for staying cool during a heatwave. Phew! You too should keep these tips in mind if you find yourself living in a heat advisory this summer:

If you’re facing a heat wave, consider these 10 things:

1. Avoid the heat. Stay out of the sun, especially during the hottest parts of the day. If you do venture out, be sure everyone has sunscreen and hats on.

2. Turn on the AC. Air conditioning can be a real lifesaver for those facing a heat wave. If you don’t have air conditioning, fill a pan with ice, put a box fan in front of it, and sit in front of the cool air.

3. Stay hydrated. During a heat wave it is essential that everyone stays adequately hydrated. Be sure to drink and offer lots of water and fruit juice. Adults should avoid anything with caffeine or alcohol, as both are considered diuretics.

4. Wear loose clothing. Light, breathable clothing will help keep you cool during hot and humid weather. Remember, the looser the fabric weave, the less protection it offers from the sun.

5. Shut the windows and draw the shades if it’s hotter outside than it is inside. If it is cooler inside than it is outside, keep it that way by closing the windows and shades. Light colored drapes may be more effective at keeping the heat out than darker or metallic colored ones.

6. Take cool baths or showers. Don’t underestimate the power of a cool bath or shower. A cool bath or shower can offer a refreshing break to the heat.

7.  Avoid strenuous activity. Don’t overdo it during a heat wave. During a heat wave, you’ll want to skip yours and the kids exercise routine and keep active outdoor activity to a minimum.

8. Create indoor fun. From playing board games to doing arts and crafts, there are lots of fun things you can do inside with the kids during a heat wave. Older kids may enjoy playing card games and younger kids may enjoy coloring, cutting, and pasting to make their own artful creations. Watching movies together is another way to beat the heat.

9. Eliminate additional sources of heat.  Incandescent light bulbs, appliances, and computers can throw off heat. Shut off and unplug all nonessential electronics during a heat wave to minimize the extra heat that is added to the environment. Instead of turning the oven on to cook, opt for simple suppers like cereal, sandwiches, or other items that don’t require using the oven or stove.

10. Head out for cooler fun.  If the kids get cabin fever, consider heading out for an indoor adventure. Head to a family movie, go for a walk around the mall, take a swim at an indoor pool, or visit other family-friendly, air conditioned venues for something fun to do.

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Summer: 10 Fun Activities to do At Home

Posted on July 15, 2014
This summer, finding fun things to do to keep the kids entertained and busy and off electronic devices can be a challenge. Courtney DeFeo, author of “In This House, We Will Giggle: Making Virtues, Love, and Laughter a Daily Part of Your Family Life” , offers parents a practical approach of how to instill virtues in their children through laughter, rather than lecture.

  1. Joke Telling. Grab a pretend microphone and host an open joke night.
  2. Game Night. Gather the entire family and choose one family friendly board game.
  3. Movie Time. Each person acts out a scene from your favorite movie.
  4. Swim Indoors. Fill up a bathtub, slip into your swimsuits, and pretend you’re at beach!
  5. Design a Fort. Build a fort with sheets and dining chairs.
  6. Best Costume Contest. Kids dress up in their parents’ clothes and accessories.
  7. Daddy Disco. Play an old ’80s tune and pull out your craziest dance moves for the kids.
  8. Mom’s Soprano Solo. Sing the menu for the evening in an operatic style.
  9. Hide-n-Seek. Play a daytime game in the house—or at nighttime using flashlights.
  10. Balancing Act. Find things to balance on your head, nose, toe, etc.
Have Fun!

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