“Positive Parenting Tips” newsletter April

Inspiring Parenting Quotes:

I never met a kid I liked.
(W.C. Fields)

Anyone who hates children and animals can't be all bad.
(W.C. Fields)

Kids Activities:

Alligator Fun

Let the children pretend to be alligators in a swamp. Call "Alligators Go!" and "Alligators Stop!" at random. When the Alligators are all going, they make the short sound of the letter "A".

When they are stopped, they are very quiet. Anyone who makes a sound when they're stopped is "eaten" and is out.

Who Am I?

Give the children clues about an animal, and let them guess which animal you are describing.

Where Do I Belong?

Mount pictures of animals on a tag board or felt board.

Have the children sort the pictures into farm, pet or zoo categories.

Visit for our Free Kids Games & Activities from A to Z

Easy Kids Recipe:

Easter Mints Kids Can Make

1/3 c Soft butter
1/3 c Light corn syrup
1/2 ts Salt
1 ts Flavoring
3 1/2 c ( 1 lb ) sifted confectioner's (icing) sugar
Large bowl
Wooden spoon
Paper plates
Pencils

This is a no-cook recipe the children can mix with their hands.

Flavor it with any of the liquid flavorings in the supermarket, such as strawberry and lemon.

If you want, you can instead divide it into three portions and add a few drops of food coloring to tint it yellow, red, and green.

The knead a small amount of flavoring into each one. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 lbs of candy.

Help the children measure all the ingredients into the large bowl.

They can take turns stirring it with the wooden spoon until it becomes too stiff.

Then they can knead it with their hands. They should continue kneading until the dough is smooth.

Give each child a paper plate and a pencil.

Tell them to turn their plates OVER and write their names on the Bottom to prevent pencil lead from getting on their mints.

Help them hold their pencils correctly. Make sure they use upper and lower case letters.

Give each child a portion of dough on his or her plate. The children can pinch off pieces, roll them into balls, and press them lightly with a fork to make a fancy butter mint.

Children who cannot roll the candy into balls can make snakes, cut the snakes into pieces, and press the pieces with a fork.

They might eat the pieces with the fork, but that's ok too.

Leave the mints on the plates and refrigerate them for 30 minutes, until they become firm.

Easter Mints taste even better the second day, if you can keep everyone from eating them all on the first day.

Cover with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator.

Child Arts & Crafts Activities:

Picture on a Wooden Board

For the picture on the wooden board the materials needed are a small wooden board about 15cm in a square and 1cm thick, short nails (about 1.5-2cm long), colorful threads (wool or cotton), paint, varnish and brushes.

Let your child draw a simple drawing on a piece of paper that they want to use as the design, using just pencil and simple straight lines. Make the paper the same size as the wooden board so it will fit.

Then let your child paint a background on the wooden board, something like a blue sky and hills, or a sandy beach. Then varnish the wood 2 - 3 times.

After the wood is completely dry, place the drawing on top of the board, and nail in a nail at every corner or rounded place letting 1cm of the nail stick out.

After placing a nail at all the corners and following the lines on the drawing (the drawing should be very simple!) the paper can be taken off the wood.

Now the string can be wound around the nails, following the pattern of the drawing, and tied together where the ends meet.

There is now a beautiful lasting print of your child's painting which you can hang for everyone to see.

At the back you can fasten a picture hanger so that the picture can be hung more effectively.

Easter Craft ideas for kids

Children love to show their love through things made especially by them with a certain person in mind. This Easter, why not ask your children whom they would like to shower with love. Then decide on what gifts each child could make, according to their age level.

Children under five can make some pretty nifty chocolate spoons. Simply lick them for chocolate “lollypops”, serve your desserts with a chocolate coated spoon, or stir your Coffee with one for a Gourmet Coffee.

All one would need is a microwave or fondue maker to keep the chocolate liquid, some pretty plastic spoons, some plastic cling wrap and a few ribbon pieces. As each child dips the spoon, they can then place them face up on a sheet of wax paper for cooling.

Once the spoons are cooled, the children can wrap them up and place them in a pretty mug they purchased at the nearest 99 Cents Only Store.

What would make this project more festive would be to purchase white chocolate and mix in some food coloring.

You could even put a scoop of filling like peanut butter or caramel into the spoon cup first, then dip in chocolate.

Children ages six through nine can usually come up with some pretty creative ways to use their surroundings for gift ideas. They are also just the right age to use the hot glue gun.

Why not take a large paper mache egg or basket, some plastic grass, a few miniature eggs, some yellow baby chicks, and some paint and make a center piece for the Easter meal. Have the children paint the paper mache egg or basket with bright Easter colors.

Once dried, take the hot glue gun and glue the grass to the inside of the egg (or basket). Then take the miniature eggs and baby chicks and glue them on top of the grass. In less than one half hour, you have a beautiful center piece for your Easter meal.

As children get older, they begin to think that they are too cool for such arts ‘n crafts, yet they love to draw or write poems. Why not take their natural talents and flow with them. Find out what they would like to do that would be cool.

They may like composing a few poems, printing them on fancy paper and framing them for each of their recipients. Or they may enjoy drawing or painting something then either laminating them for placemats, framing them as pictures, or turning them into invitations for the festivities at hand.

You can quickly “laminate” a creation by placing it between two sheets of clear contact.

Some kids play musical instruments and compose songs, they can offer a small concert during the Easter gathering. Other kids are comedians by nature and could offer a restless crowd a few good laughs.

The most important thing is to let them know that their handmade and personal items are a reflection of one man’s gifts to each of us. It’s a way to remember the important things in life. It’s a way to rekindle the magic of the season as well as share in the rebirthing of souls.

Positive Parenting Resources:

“What to do when your child starts Destroying Property”

There is quite a difference between imaginative play and destructive play, the only thing is, preschoolers toddlers and kinder children don’t come equipped with boundaries pre programmed so they don’t know where the line is drawn until we teach them and they understand fully.

The best time to do this is before the first birthday. Teach and show your child what he can and can’t drag through the mud or the paper he can rip into confetti, and not the expensive encyclopaedia collection handed down from generations.

The last thing you want is your budding artist drawing a new screen saver with the inkpad he found in your desk draw while sorting your files.

We need to teach our children that we look after our belongings and proud to keep in an orderly fashion, this will eventually teach your children the same, praise how neatly he has kept his toy box, how much nicer it looks, and how much easier it is to find what he is looking for.

Teaching your child to care about his own things will also help him learn to respect his own surroundings and others. It may take a little time as it’s not an over night cure but it is a start, and the sooner the better results.

Preventing The Problems:

Provide Tough Toys

You must admit, when you were young you wanted to take toys apart and reassemble them, even though they were not meant for this type of play.

If that is the sort of nature your child exhibits then there are particular toys you can get that are built for this, to keep your child interested, toys that can be stacked up, knocked down, pulled to bits and rebuilt, toys that don’t do nothing to activate your child’s imagination, the way activity toys do.

Plenty Of Wear And Tear:

We must expect the wear and tear in the clothes our children play in, as they crawl in the dirt mud and grass, making mud pies run through puddles and other messy games, not to mention climbing the trees and ripping there clothes.

Therefore it pays to have out side gear ready when they are, this will prevent every pair of pants or jumper having a hole or a stain you have trouble removing, and less pressure on you both for you will be organized for their out side adventures.

Be Specific With the Rules About Caring For Things and surroundings:

Children don’t automatically know if they are playing with some item of value or something cheap, or how everything is suppose to be played with accordingly. So the best thing we can do is teach them, or show them.

Pencils and crayons are used in coloring books and for drawing on paper, not on walls or their older brother or sister’s schoolbooks.

Have them understand by telling them, “you will only get your pencils, paints or crayons if you can use them in the right way.”

Same goes if they want to cut out pictures let them know you are happy to have them cut out pictures, but just not out of anything they want.

Tell them you “would like to help them by finding an old magazine or paper they cut out of.”

Gentle Reminders About Caring:

To help minimize the destruction level of things around the house, a little praise goes a long way and quite rewarding to your child, telling your child when he’s doing a good job taking care of his things and others helps him feel good about his behavior and himself as well as feeling proud of his possessions.

Solving The Problem:

The Do’s…
Over correcting the mess.

Say for example, your son has just done a little redecorating on the wall in his bed room, tell him he must now must clean the mess off the wall, but, not only does he have to clean up his own mess, he now can clean the other walls as well.

The over correcting not only teaches your child to fix any wrong doing it also teaches him to have respect for his surroundings, and to be proud.

Reprimands For The Under 2’s…

If your child has not yet reached two years old, the best way to handle to little one is a stern but brief warning, telling him what he did wrong, what he should have done and why it was wrong, to help him get the idea of what’s right and what’s wrong.

Time Out…

If your child continues to repeat his actions, Time Out, would be recommended after of course setting your child straight about his actions.

The Don’ts ….
Don’t over react or over punish.

If your children break something or tear up your important paper work, there is absolutely no sense in you throwing a tantrum.

That only displays to your children that if someone breaks something that belongs to them that they can do the same.

Just have your children understand the disappointment you feel in their behavior for the lack of respect for destroying others property.

There is also no need to march them in front of the firing squad. Have the punishment fit the crime and don’t just “fly off the handle” in anger for the small genuine accidents.

Article contributed by Theresea Hughes, creator of
http://free-toddlers-activity-and-discipline-guide.com a site dedicated to providing parenting resource articles for toddlers activity & child discipline with positive parenting tips, free kids games, recipes, arts & crafts, including articles about potty training, temper tantrums, kids sleep problems, parent tips for fussy eaters, including free child development toddlers activity and toddlers discipline parenting resources.

This article may be used in its entirety by websites and ezines as long as an active link to our site is included

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Editor’s notes & humour:

Not exactly entertainment, but entertaining none the less, is a supermarket sweep.

When you are out doing your shopping, shout out the items you need and the kids can grab them off the shelves and pop them in your basket.

I can assure you, your shopping will be completed in record time!

Life Lessons

Remember: A friend will come bail you out of jail....
But a true friend will be sitting next to you saying ... “WE sure messed up!”
(or… “Boy that was fun!”)

I've learned....That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned....That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned....That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned....That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned...That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned....That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I've learned....That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned...That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned...That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned....That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned...That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned....That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned...That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned....That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned...That I wish I could have told those I cared about that I love them one more time before they passed away.

I've learned....That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned....That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned....That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned....That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness, and growth happen while you're climbing it.

I've learned....That the less time I have to work, the more things I get done.

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Thank you for joining us this month, I hope that you have found some extra motivation and inspiration for your positive parenting.

Visit today for latest Toddlers Activity & Child Discipline Guide articles.
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Your Editor,
Theresea Hughes.
http://free-toddlers-activity-and-discipline-guide.com

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