Healthy Kids from Teeth to Feet: Kids & Health By Peg Rosen for Healthy Kids from Teeth to Feet A good night’s sleep for grade-schoolers and teens means at least 10 hours of solid shut-eye, according to the National Institutes of Health. For preschoolers, it’s 11-12 hours, and for babies it’s up to 18….
These days, preschool teachers to college professors know that children are becoming more and more materialistic. The typical “poor college student” who lives on Ramen noodles and garage sale clothes now has access to daddy’s credit card, which leads to a fashionable wardrobe and plenty of nights on the town. The problem with this type…
U.S. children aged 2 to 11 spend an average of 117 hours per month watching television. I think that’s a staggering statistic, and one that bears repeating: kids in the U.S. aged 2 to 11 spend an average of 117 hours out of every month watching TV. That’s 29 hours per week! To put it…
Have you ever wondered how your mindset affects your child? That’s right; even what goes on in your head may make a huge impact on your child’s development, helping to shape them into the person that they will become. This article explains four ways that your mindset maybe affecting your child and how you can…
I am obsessed with using sign language with babies and young children. I admit it. I will probably talk the ears off of anyone who asks me about it. It is my passion. When I think back to how it all started I realize now it was a slow process. Don’t get me wrong, I…
You’re all worthless and weak. Every single one of you claim that you love your children and your families so much that you would do anything for them – you would protect them, advocate for them, even die for them. But you won’t lift a finger to protect one of their most precious resources: clean…
One of the beautiful mysteries of parenting is how different our kids can be from each other. One child can spend hours playing independently, and another wants constant engagement with others. One child tends to be mellow and adaptable, the other is easily excitable and highly energetic. It’s beautiful, yet also has the potential to…
For busy families, fitting one more thing into your day might seem impossible, but adding something extra every day will actually revitalize and refresh you. After fighting his way home through traffic, an exhausted dad arrives at home ready to put his feet up. At the door, he meets the also exhausted mom holding a…
Parenting is a great test of our mettle, as being a parent puts us into some challenging situations. Not a day goes by without a lesson learned, and some of our best teachers are those right nearby. Such as our cats. Yes, indeedy, cats can teach us a lot about parenting (and about ourselves), even…
“We’ve been there, too. Being a new dad is awesome & crazy & overwhelming & humbling & frustrating all at the same time. There hasn’t been one dad in the history of dadkind that hasn’t been ‘figuring it out along the way.” To help you jump up that learning curve a little faster, here are…
New research by a Notre Dame psychology professor indicates that emotional nurturing from, and attachment to, parents during a child’s early years result in higher intelligence, better mental health, and greater empathy. “Ever meet a kindergartener who seemed naturally compassionate and cared about others’ feelings? Who was cooperative and didn’t demand his own way? Chances…
I was a guest on an internet radio show last week, in an episode titled “A Dad’s Eye View”, in which I give my two cents about fatherhood, pregnancy and childbirth, and parenting from a dad’s perspective: “Ever wonder how men view pregnancy, childbirth and fatherhood? With a focus on understanding the emotional impact of…
For this week’s Two-fer Tuesday, a couple of dads sound off on two separate topics: bullies, and when mom’s away. They’re both worth a read, and a comment if you feel so moved.
My apologies for missing a week of posts, including Two-fer Tuesdays, last week. Natural Papa was hit not once, but twice, by hackers, and it was a major deal to clean all of the code out of the site. (If you’re on GoDaddy hosting, you might want to check yours as well. See this post…
[This is a guest post from Alison Kerr.] Reading. It’s the thing that almost everyone recognizes as critical for educational success, but it’s also part mystery. When it comes to raising a kid who is a good reader, or raising reading scores in a school system, we’re left wondering whether anyone has the answers.
