Common Threads Archive

After school activities

Who has children who like to know what's going on at every minute of every day, right? And they figure that once they're home from school, the rest of the afternoon is theirs until homework time. Well, what if they forgot about one of their after school activities, a dentist appointment, an unavoidable shopping trip... you get the picture. Meltdown imminent.

One parent mentioned that she now writes all after school activities in her son's planner so that he can see what's going on after school on any given day. There will always be unexpected adventures, but anytime we can cut down on the drama, it's good to jump at the chance.

Dinner Disasters

Another parent spoke of her oldest, who doesn't eat enough fruit and vegetables and her youngest, who doesn't eat enough meat. Dinner time always ends with one plate of unfinished corn or beans, etc. and one plate of unfinished chicken or roast.

The solution? First and foremost - make sure those kids are really hungry before dinner. That means no snacking at least one hour before dinner. She stopped filling her children's plates with every food group at once. Her oldest gets his veggies or fruit first - and nothing else. Her youngest gets her meat first - and nothing else. Then, neither of the kids get their favorite part of the meal until enough of the "starter" food group has been finished. ;o)

Click here to send one of your own ideas. We can all use some help sometimes. Give us a holler!