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author of Mommy-CEO: Five Golden Rules
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 About Jodie Lynn
Jodie Lynn Internationally syndicated parenting/family columnist of Parent to Parent, author and Parent/Family Educator.
Jodie's outlook is that parents are the 'real' experts and they get a platform in her Parent to Parent column. Her latest book is , REVISED EDITION.
Lynn originated the term Mom CEO™ and Mommy CEO™ (and CEO MOM™) in 1989, and all implications in honoring "balance in the life of moms/women" in print since 1996 as the real CEO of Household™.
ALL MOMS ARE WORKING MOMS and have earned the CEO title long before anyone else!
is just funny enough to make parenting a little easier. It contains real tips from real parents throughout America. Each and every Mommy is the CEO of her household! There's plenty of dads that have piped up their own tips as well!
There's plenty of dads that have piped up their own tips as well!
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Jodie Lynn's Articles |
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By Jodie Lynn
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By Jodie Lynn
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Holiday Toy Safety Tips
By Jodie Lynn
www.parenttoparent.com
When it comes to purchasing toys and games for the Holiday season, well meaning parents and relatives go crazy when it comes to buying “cute” or “hot” items for their kids. With all of the excitement surrounding the holidays, many disregard basic safety guidelines in age appropriate gifts for infants and toddlers.
Each toy or game will have a suggested age range listed on the item. This label contains two pieces of safety information. One is if the item can and should be utilized by a specific age due to developmental and intellectual ability, and the other is for possible health hazards.
Parents think that their child should be able to play with a toy based on their developmental ability. However, if the toy or game clearly displays a choking hazard label, and your child puts everything in their mouth, do not buy it.Choking is the most common cause of toy-related deaths. Avoid toys or games with small detachable parts.
Take the toy or game out of the box. Look for safe construction: well-sewn seams on dolls and stuffed animals, and tightly secured parts, including eyes, arms and legs. Be sure that nothing can be broken off or easily removed, including small clothing pieces and accessories. Close your eyes and touch all of the edges to be sure that they are not sharp or pointed.
Many times, balls and balloons are given to babies and toddlers thinking that they will be safe toys when in fact they can pop or get caught in the throat. As a test, put small balls through a paper towel roll. If it can fit inside, keep it away from babies and small children. Pieces of popped balloons can completely block the airway and are never safe for children younger than four.
Children’s ears are very sensitive. If it hurts your ears, then you can bet it will harm a baby or toddler.
If a toy, doll or mobile has strings or ribbons, measure them to be sure that they are no longer than five inches.
For children younger than age three, there is always a potential fire or shock hazard in electronic toys. Due to the lack of coordination in the manual dexterity of the fine motor skills in the fingertips of young children, they have very little patience for learning how an electronic toy works. Frustration can lead to throwing or banging on the toy, which could result in harmful splintered pieces or an electric shock.
Younger kids will sit and push or hold a "pull" toy just as often as trying to pull it. While they are popular toys based on the thought that the interaction might possibility motivate soon-to-be walkers to actually get up and walk, kids are just as happy to hold a colorful item and push it around.
Be sure your child is not allergic to toys made of plastic or latex. If you see a rash appear around the mouth, hands or eyes after your child plays with a certain toy, ask your pediatrician about the possibility of your child being allergic. In some children, it can lead to breathing difficulties.
Check for toy recalls on a regular basis to be sure that your kids’ toys are safe.
Keep the Holidays simple, fun and safe by following these guidelines. Share them with family and friends for a wonderful season.
© 2005 Jodie Lynn
Jodie Lynn is an award-winning internationally syndicated family/health columnist and radio personality. Her syndicated column Parent to Parent (parenttoparent.com) has been successful for over 10 years and appears in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and throughout the Internet. She is a regular contributor to several sites including eDiets.com, MommiesMagazine.com, ParentingBookmark.com, and is the Residential Mom Expert for BabyUniverse.com. Lynn has written two books and contributed to two others, one of which was on Oprah and has appeared on NBC in a three month parenting segment. Her latest best-selling parenting/family book is Mommy-CEO, revised edition. Preorder Lynn's new book, "Mom CEO: Avoiding the Distressed Housewife Syndrome and Winning at Motherhood," online or from any bookstore in mid 2006. See for more details. |
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"Michelle, why are you still coloring your face with the red marker?" asked Mrs. Johnson. "We are lining up to go to lunch, didn't you hear the instructions?"
Ask any teacher what their number one complaint is and I'm pretty sure it will be the stress associated with the lack of listening skills in their students. It isn't anything new. Nevertheless, it seems to be getting worse. The lack of listening skills is a major challenge in the classroom as well as in the home. It is the cornerstone for developing interpersonal relationships and yet it is one of the most neglected language skills in teaching environments. It is the other half of good verbal skills, it completes the cycle of communication, and it begins as early as two years of age.
Your two, three, four and five-year-old may have just started some type of education program, or even a new activity, for the very first time -- maybe returning as a semi-pro. Either way, practice a few things to do in class now that will help them get off on the right foot. More importantly, you can watch as you teach your child these things and you will see them gain confidence in honing this new skill.
Teach them how to listen and demonstrate why it is necessary for good communication with others. Make it fun and try a new game: tell them to talk, sit down and be quiet. Talk, sit down and be quiet. Talk, sit down and be quiet. Do it with them with about five seconds in between. Move it to 10 seconds and then 15. Giggles are allowed! It's repetition for this age group that helps them to learn a skill.
Make another game out of it using a favorite doll or action figure. Storytelling is one of the very best ways to practice this skill. Let the doll or action figure tell a story. Then let the child practice by holding the item and let them tell a story. When you talk, show them how to pay attention and listen. When they talk, show them how you are quiet and pay attention. Take turns repeating the story to each other to test their skills -- keep it fun.
Read to your child. This interaction teaches how to listen and helps practice the process while ensuring the child has an amusing experience. Before you begin, tell the child that you are going to zip their lips and then pretend to do it. Tell them you are going to lock the zipper and throw away the key. When they want to say something, get the pretend key and unlock the pretend lock and unzip the pretend zipper and let them talk. Of course, to be sure that they get it; they will want to zip and lock your mouth, and then unlock and unzip it too.
Encourage good listening skills by doing some of the following:
a. establish a purpose for the communication
b. always have good eye contact by getting down on their level while talking
c. try to speak about an interesting or favorite topic
d. try not to stop what is being said for interruptions unless there is a question about it
e. offer nonverbal and verbal responses
f. divide listening and talking roles
g. pay close attention to what is being said and offer an opinion on it
h. ask the child to repeat what you have already talked about but do so without drilling
i. don't forget to be attentive when they are talking as well
Even if your child is not entering school or childcare, begin teaching them listening skills anyway. It's a good idea to get started on this as soon as possible. If you do, interaction and communication in playgroups, on play dates, in school, and in many other places will be less stressful and more productive in the end. Childcare providers, camp directors, teachers, coaches and other parents will love you for it, guaranteed.
© 2005 Jodie Lynn
Jodie Lynn is an award-winning internationally syndicated family/health columnist and radio personality. Parent to Parent is now going into its tenth year and appears in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and throughout the Internet. She is a regular contributor to several sites including eDiets.com, MommiesMagazine.com and is the Residential Mom Expert for BabyUniverse.com. Lynn has written two books and contributed to two others, one of which was on Oprah and has appeared on NBC in a three month parenting segment. Her latest best-selling parenting/family book is .
Preorder Lynn's new book, "Mom CEO: Avoiding the Distressed Housewife Syndrome and Winning at Motherhood," online or from any bookstore in early 2006. See for more details. |
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Getting kids to learn how to enjoy reading, can be quite stressful and frustrating for a parent. Here are some tips to utilize that seem to work well for those reluctant readers.
As soon as he is old enough, let him get his own card. It is very exciting for kids to have their own card and make their own choices in reading material.
Let your child make the choice on what to read. It might not be the book you would have picked out. In fact, it might even be a comic book, the back of a cereal box or a bubble gum wrapper. As long as your child picks up something and begins to read, it doesn't really matter.
Laugh aloud and show them what it is that you are laughing about. Open the book to that specific page or picture and point to the words and read them to your child. Say, "Books can really be funny!"
In the beginning, it might only be three times a week, then every other day and eventually move forward to each day. It almost always works best if you will take turns reading.
Don't do this with every page. Children know exactly what you are trying to do. Indeed, it works much better if you make a statement like, "Wait -- I don't understand why Jordan did not like the large red truck -- do you?"
If your child loves Fairy Tales, shoot for that topic to begin. Alternatively, let them choose a wide variety of mixed topics, some of which you might was to roll your eyes -- but just stay calm and smile.
If you have a reading time scheduled and he just does not want to do it, go with the flow. It's important to show your child that reading is fun and is not a chore, test or quiz. You can always catch up later.
Nothing is funnier as taping a reading session. Parents can get much farther with kids if they will let down their guard every once in a while and act silly. Play back the tape and your child will hear themselves reading and then hear your part where you acted silly. Maybe by changing your voice.
When reading with your child, point out a similar instance in real life. For example, if a character in the book falls down and drops a glass of milk, you could say, "That happened to me when I was seven." Or, "That's just like the time when you fell down after tripping over the dog...remember."
If you will read signs, instructions, even the weather forecast off the TV and etc., aloud, your child will hear words and make a connection. He will see and hear how words are powerful, fun and descriptive while building his vocabulary and enjoyment for reading.
Remember, don’t punish your child if they are not catching on to the joy of reading as quickly as you would like for them to -- it’ll all work out as long as you stay calm.
Jodie Lynn is an award-winning internationally syndicated family/health columnist and radio personality. Parent to Parent (http://www.ParentToParent.com) is now going into its tenth year and appears in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and throughout the Internet. Lynn has a regular family segment on radio programs, one of which is syndicated to over 20 stations. She has written two books and contributed to two others, one of which was on Oprah and has appeared on NBC in a three month parenting segment. Her latest best-selling parenting/family book is , revised edition http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/096591254X/ref=ase_parenttopar0b-20/103-1701637-4895064?v=glance&s=books.
Preorder Lynn's new book, "Mom CEO: Avoiding the Distressed Housewife Syndrome and Winning at Motherhood," online or from any bookstore. See for more details. |
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Parents can get pretty busy. Our world is a whirlwind filled with schedules and constant deadlines. Make sure you are taking time out for a simple but important pleasure with your kids: PLAYING. This doesn't mean you have to always entertain them or even have company over for them everyday or even signing them up for every single thing possible to enrich their whole being of a “perfect child.” Take a breather here and there to monitor their playtime and implement unscheduled time for them to just be a "kid".
If you are wondering if it’s OK for your child to be perfectly happy playing with play dough by herself, don’t fret. It’s not a big deal. In fact, it’s perfectly normal to stand back and watch others interact. Most toddlers aren’t into social behavior until the age of two or three. Check out this handy checklist and relax.
- Repetition play helps the child to learn about her world. Dropping an object is one of the most common games. Even a six-month old will drop something and watch to see if someone will pick it up. If it does get picked up, it delivers pure delight when she gets to drop it over and over until someone stops picking it up. While it may drive many of us nuts, it is an excellent way to help the child gain control over her immediate environment while mastering a new skill.
- Observing others but not participating is often referred to as the onlooker stage. This is common among all children. Playing by themselves is called solitary play. Here they just play by themselves. While older kids do this as well, it is not as popular as actually engaging in activities unless the child is reserved (which most parents refer to as being “shy.") Whether observing or playing, both helps the child learn how to get along with others, building social skills while exposing them to language.
- Most older toddlers play side by side but are not really playing. This is called parallel play. There may not be any real interaction but it still provides a perfect chance to begin learning what belongs to whom...but mostly “mine.“ As they watch others and maybe dress up while pretending to pour and serve a drink, they are experiencing their first taste to role-playing. All of this helps develop gross motor skills as well as some fine motor skills.
- This age group displays very unstructured organized play called associative play. An example of this would be when children are all sharing a box of action figures, but may all be playing different things with their own figures. Another example would be where children decide to play with a common aspiration in mind, like entertaining each other by singing a song for a pretend audience. The more interaction children have with other children, the better understood the rules of getting along will become. Playing with others teaches how to share, encourages language and the introduction of being fair. This age group can become quite creative and gain great self-esteem (especially if parents let go of the perfect child syndrome).
- Here is when things begin to turn into clear competition. While younger children often feel frustrated with rules of winning, the positive side is that games and rules offer the chance to build character and close friends with a couple of others. As they grow older, they will enjoy being part of a group (some like large groups while others prefer small groups) which will help them become aware of different children and different ideas.
All in all, if your child is not into other kids, don‘t push too hard. She will come around when she is ready. For now, give her the space she may need to become more independent while still being there when she needs you.
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is an award-winning internationally syndicated family/health columnist and radio personality. Parent to Parent is now going into its tenth year and appears in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and throughout the Internet. She is a regular contributor to many sites including eDiets.com and is the Mom to Mom Expert for BabyCenter.com and has a regular family segment on four radio programs, one of which is syndicated to over 20 stations.
She has written two books and contributed to two others, one of which was on Oprah and has appeared on NBC in a three month parenting segment. Her latest best-selling parenting/family book is Mommy CEO, revised edition http://www.amazon.com. Preorder Lynn's new book, "," online or from any bookstore.
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