Category Archives: Family

tips & tricks

Strawberry Hemangioma on Infants

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Seeing a strawberry hemangioma on infants when you have a newborn baby can be alarming, but for many parents it is nothing for any major cause of concern. Sometimes also called a strawberry birthmark, they are actually very common. My daughter was born with one on her stomach right above her belly button, which made me interested in learning more about them. (Once the doctor wrote down and spell out the word “hemangioma” for me of course!) As she gets older we have already noticed it has started to fade away considerably, and expect it to be completely gone before she reaches her third or fourth birthday.

What is a Strawberry Hemangioma?
Basically a hemagioma is an abnormal cluster of blood vessels that collect in one spot that causes a red patch on the baby’s skin. They can appear just about anywhere – on the head, face, arms, stomach, legs, feet, etc. Most of them first show up within the first few days or weeks though it can be a few months and then progressively get a little larger for another few months. Typically by the time the baby reaches his or her first birthday the hemagioma will not get any larger and will actually start doing the reverse of fading away and shrinking.

The causes of this condition is relatively unknown still, though it is common. It is slightly more common in fair skinned girl infants and premature babies, though there seems to be no link to genetics or actions that the mother did during pregnancy.

What is the treatment?
For most infants, no treatment is necessary whatsoever. If the strawberry birthmark is in a place that it does not affect their normal development, the doctor will likely take a look at it when they have their periodic check-ups, but often will advise that no treatment is needed. There are a few cases however when a hemangioma must be treated, such as when it poses a threat to the baby growing and developing. For example, if the mark is extremely large in size it may be necessary to shrink it, especially if it is being scratched or risks becoming infected. Others that appear in places such as the ears, eyes, throat, or internally can be a cause for concern for both parents and doctors alike.

Fortunately, there are many different options available for treatment if it is believed to be necessary. Steroids, either taken orally or injected into the birthmark directly can often reduce the size and swelling without the need to surgically remove them. If this is unsuccessful, then laser surgery may be needed to remove or reduce the size of it. If your child needs treatment, speaking to your doctor will help you understand the best way to remove it as well as discuss the benefits and risks to the different ways to treat it.

Now you know everything you need to know about a strawberry hemangioma on infants! If you have a story to share about your kids, feel free to leave it in the comments below.

Free Handwriting Fonts for PreSchool

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If you like making things on the computer for your toddlers, you’ll love these free handwriting fonts for preschool aged children. You can make all kinds of different crafts with them, ranging from unique printables to signs for your home or even cut them out for large letters they can play with. They can also be great for your scrapbooking projects as well. All of the fonts are 100% free, you just need to follow the link to the site that has them to download.

To install the fonts on Windows Vista, all you need to do is download it, unzip the file, then right click on it and choose “Install” – your computer will guide you through the rest.

I have only included sites where I regularly download fonts myself, so I am pretty sure they are all spyware free, but please check just in case – I cannot take any responsibility for any damage you do to your computer when installing these fonts.

My Favorite Free Handwriting Fonts for Preschool:

Angelina is a light, fun style perfect for your preschool girl. You can learn more about it and download here.

Anmari is a fun, cartoon style handwriting font that has a bit of playfulness to it. You can download it here.

The name of this font may be Catholic School Girls, but you certainly don’t need to be Catholic or a school girl to appreciate the nice curved letters and how well this one could work for preschool applications as well! Available here.

Child’s play looks and feels exactly like the name sounds and is perfect for any early childhood learning printing project. You can learn more about it and download here.

Everyone knows that crayon is the writing utensil of choice for young children, preschoolers, and moms who can’t find a pen anywhere to save their life. This font wonderfully captures the look and feel of writing in crayon. Available Here.

Dad Hand goes to show that not just moms are involved. It also has the playful and lightweight handwritten style that might be great for your kid’s projects. Also, this fun font is easy to read. Get it Here.

Dear Teacher looks as if it has been written by someone who is just learning to write, which makes it great for just about any craft or project related to early learning. Download Here.

Pencil Pete is a great font that looks as if had been written with a pencil and would be fun in different colors and sizes. You can learn more about it and download here.

These are all great fonts for using for your school, scrapbooking, craft projects and will give you that pre-school handwriting look pretty easily and professionally. Be sure when downloading the fonts that you take special attention to the licensing and usage terms and conditions of each font – some may be restricted for personal or non commercial use only.

Do you have any favorite free handwriting fonts for preschool or know of any other good sources for getting free fonts? Share them in the comments below.

I Want to Buy a Rock Tumbler

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If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, it’s “I want to buy a rock tumbler!”

A rock tumbler is a piece of equipment that takes stones and polishes them to look absolutely stunning for use in arts, crafts, decoration, and more. There are many things you can do with a rock tumbler. You can make things such as jewelry, decorative art, mosaic work, gifts, precious stones collections, and much more! It also has scientific educational value – kids can see the rocks transform from seemingly ugly and rough into beautiful smooth stones suitable for displaying and collecting. They can also learn their minerals through the use of rock tumbler and watch the transformation.

Rock Tumblers can range in prices from $35 to $500, depending on features and anticipated use. Below is the Discovery Exclusive Next Generation Rock Tumbler which is suitable for students and child use:

For specs and features, Click here to learn more.

More heavy duty rock tumblers include this Lortone QT12 Rock Tumbler

For more details click here to learn more.

You can also find a wide variety of rock tumblers and supplies for sale on sites such as ebay. Take a look at their most current listings below:

As you can see, there are many choices on deciding which rock tumblers to buy! The possibilities just seem so endless with a rock tumbler I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t say I want to buy a rock tumbler!

Can’t Trust My Teenager!

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Many parents unfortunately deal with the issue of not being able to trust their teenager. If you’re one of the parents exclaiming “I Can’t Trust My Teenager” don’t worry – you’re not alone and there are many things you can do in order to have better success with trusting your teenager.

Typically the reason most parents feel that they can’t trust their teenager is because they have done things in the past that have betrayed your trust or make you wary of their ability to make good decisions or handle responsibility. Maybe they have broken curfew several times, for other parents dealing with things such as lying and deception are a regular thing. Perhaps you have found they are experimenting with drugs and alcohol and you are concerned about addiction.

So if you can’t trust your teenager, what can you do? Here are some tips:

1. Talk with You Teenager: Talking with teenagers is no easy task, but its one positive step in making a change in your relationship with one another and helping you establish trust in him or her. Explain that you would like to be able to trust them, but you have your concerns and why you are reserved. Ask them if they know of any thing they could do that could help you trust them more. Brainstorm for ideas together and listen to your child. It could be that they need help with being more organized, or maybe something else is bothering them that is causing them to make poor decisions.

2. Determine if Your Teenager Can Be Trusted: It’s easy to give a teenager trust, but its equally as easy for that teenager to take total advantage of that trust and then do explicitly the opposite of what you would expect and hope for them. If your teenager does not deserve your trust, then you should not give it to them right away. Trust needs to be earned. Instead it helps to focus on things they can do to make you trust them and feel confident they will make the right decisions.

3. Give Your Teenager Opportunities to Be Trusted: There are many things you can do initially to begin to build trust within your relationship. You can ask your teen to do something simple, such as to turn on the oven at 4:00 to start dinner. You could also ask them to do other things that would create an opportunity for you to trust them. You will learn quickly if you can trust them for more important things or if you still need to work on the ability to trust them.

4. Deal With Punishment Appropriately: Many parents either will discipline a teen with over-punishment or under punishment when a teenager does something to break their trust. If your punishment is too severe, it will likely only encourage them to continue to act negatively. Likewise, if the consequence is insignificant, they will not really learn from the experience. Punishments need to be appropriate for the behavior. Sometimes natural consequences can be enough. (You didn’t make dinner, so now you don’t eat dinner)

5. Seek Counseling if the Problem Persists: If your teenager continues to display signs that you can’t trust them, going to family counseling sessions can be an excellent way to work out the reasons you cannot trust them and to help them learn how to manage their behavior better. You will learn some excellent tips to be a good parent, and they will learn how to act responsibly.

6. Be Involved: Many times teenagers and parents don’t spend enough time together. Get involved with your teenager’s life by scheduling fun activities to do together (with and without their friends), volunteer and participate in school functions, and keep communication lines between teachers and other school staff open. The more involved you are in your teens life the more you will get to know you teen better and build a stronger relationship with them.

It’s not easy when you’re a parent who is saying I can’t trust my teenager. Creating opportunities to build trust and by dealing with broken trust appropriately can help immensely. If all else fails, speaking to a professional can give you helpful insight into your teenager’s behavior and help you survive the teenage years as a parent.

Preventing Toddler Biting

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Biting can be a big source of frustration for parents and caregivers of toddlers. Naturally, preventing toddler biting is the best solution, since most children between the ages 2-4 are not going to respond well to saying no or possibly even time out. (Though some children do respond well to time-out, it doesn’t work for every kid.)

Toddler biting is actually “normal” behavior, but of course this doesn’t make it any more acceptable by parents or day care centers. Toddlers are not able to really understand that when they bite it hurts someone – they actually reason that biting feels good to them, so it must feel good to the other person also.

Here are some tips for preventing toddler biting:

1. Identify the Cause of the Biting: It can be difficult to understand why your toddler is biting others, especially if he or she is in a day care setting when most of the biting takes place. If you can, ask if you can visit the daycare center to observe your child if they are the ones complaining the most about the biting. When at home or with other children, see if you can recognize any patterns. Is the child sleepy? Hungry? Seeking attention? Just saying “hi”? The more you observe your child, the more you will be able to see what is triggering the problem. Once you identify the triggers you will then be able to do things that would prevent the trigger from causing the toddler to bite.

2. Supervise Closely: When your child is playing with others or you think biting is likely to happen, be only a few inches away from your child so that if need be you can pull him or her away in time before he or she bites. You may also try putting your hand over his or her mouth gently yet firmly saying, “No, we don’t bite people.” Then quickly redirect the child to something else.

3. Demonstrate that Biting Hurts: For some kids, showing bite marks or someone crying can help them understand that biting hurts and that they shouldn’t do it. Naturally of course though there will be kids who understand it hurts but continue to do it anyway. While it’s tough to reason with a two or three year old, at least showing them what happens when they bite will help them eventually realize it’s not a good thing. If they do bite someone, make sure you have them apologize or give it a kiss to make it better.  You may also consider using a stuffed animal or toy to demonstrate how biting hurts to them.

3. Redirect Them: The good thing about toddlers is they can sometimes be easily distracted (though just as easily fixated on something as well!) If you notice your child trying to bite someone, offer them something else to bite, such as a chew toy or a cracker. You could also try to get them to give kisses instead of bites. If you make kissing more fun, they may opt for that instead of biting.

4. Be Consistent: If you put a child in time out for biting one day, then just scold him another day, and the day after that remove them from the room for biting someone, you are likely just going to confuse the child and make the problem worse. Consistency is very important in toddler behavior – so whatever you decide to do be sure that you stick with it consistently for at least several weeks before trying a different technique.

If your toddler’s biting seems too difficult to handle, or you are experiencing additional problems with the child, don’t forget to speak to his or her pediatrician about it. They may be able to point you to toddler behavioral health specialists or offer additional practical advice on preventing toddler biting.

10 Tips of Positive Parenting Skills

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Parenting can be a tricky thing. Sometimes you think you know it all – and then in just another moment you will completely be questioning your parenting skills. Fortunately these tips of positive parenting skills can be a great help anytime you think you might be losing your cool.

First, one needs to answer the question: What are Positive Parenting Skills?

Positive parenting skills don’t mean you have to be super mom (or dad!) Instead it means to take a positive approach to parenting instead of a negative approach. It’s very easy for parents to fall into negative thinking traps – my kid’s always bad, he never listens, he won’t clean up…she is so mean! Often parents turn to negative methods of dealing with problems – time outs, taking away privileges, yelling, even spanking. The problem is negative attention is still attention, and in some cases kids can’t tell the difference between positive attention or negative attention, and by reacting negatively to your child’s behavior can actually make him or her behave worse!

Positive parenting skills instead involve looking on the positive side of things. Instead of thinking things like my kid is a total brat, you think things like “my kid is very independent”. Independence isn’t a bad thing – it just makes it very difficult for a parent to be able to tell a child what to do. Positive parenting also involves positive discipline – instead of reacting negatively when a child misbehaves, you instead over react positively when the child is good. If the child does misbehave, you simply ignore the child instead.

Now that we understand positive parenting, let’s take a look at a few tips of positive parenting skills we’ve collected:

1. Reward Good Behavior: It is easy to reward good behavior when you see your child doing something good or something you approve of. Sometimes saying “you really did such a great job” is just enough, for other kids making behavior charts and rewarding with stickers can be a good way to make your child feel proud. For older children, you can give him or her a special treat or privilege when they do something good. Rewarding good behavior is positive reinforcement to help them repeat the good behavior.

2. Ignore Bad Behavior: It’s hard as a parent to ignore bad behavior. However, for children who thrive on negative attention, losing it when they do something bad might actually be the response they are subconsciously seeking. While some behaviors won’t be able to be ignored for safety reasons (running out into a busy street for example) others such as temper tantrums or refusal to clean up toys can be ignored.

3. Be Involved: Parents are usually caught up with so many things, it can be easy to neglect your child’s emotional health in a quest just to make sure things like eating and bath time are accounted for. Take some time each day or week to do something together with your child. It can be as simple as watching a movie together, playing a game, or reading a book.

4. Give Kids a Chance to Talk: Kids often don’t have much say in anything. But if you give them a chance to talk you’ll be surprised by what they have to say. Instead of automatically judging them or saying “do this and that” you can ask open ended questions. Listen to what they are saying – are they tired? Scared? Nervous about something?

5. Give Your Child Control: Kids shouldn’t be in control. It’s a lot of responsibility that most kids cannot handle. But you can make them feel like they are in control by giving them choices. “You can take a bath before you watch tv or after you watch tv” or “would you like peas or carrots with dinner”, or “do you want a blue one or red one”. Giving kids choices works especially well with kids who often engage in power struggles with parents.

6. Stay Calm: When you’re a parent, its hard to stay calm all of the time. But it’s important you stay calm so you do not reinforce negative behavior. Sometimes counting to 10, locking yourself in a room until you calm down, or other stress relievers can help. Practice calming down techniques so that you can stay calm in any situation your child throws you in.

7. Be Patient: Being a positive parent won’t happen over night. There are chances that your positive parenting will all fly out the window on a few occasions. But if you continue to work at implementing these tips of positive parenting skills you can be more successful and see a difference of behavior in yourself and your child.

8. Set up a Routine: Having a routine can be great for kids. It gives them a sense of security and belonging, and it can also help you be a more organized parent. More organization typically means less stress, which means it much easier to remain positive in any situation.

9. Take a Break: Parents need to understand that they need time away from their children. Some parents may go weeks or months without spending more than an hour away from the kids. This can lead to a lot of frazzled nerves! Give yourself at least one “time-out” a week – and at least once a month do something that is truly nice for yourself that doesn’t involve the kids.

10. Teach Your Child Values: Children need to learn some basic values, and actually in Kindergarden classes they are becoming pretty important too. You will want to teach them things like sharing, consideration for others (how do you think that made him/her feel?), honesty, and any other values that are important to you and your family.

Now that you have these tips of positive parenting skills, you are well equipped to become a more positive parent! It takes some time, but you will start seeing a difference in your child’s behavior and your own mood if you continue to practice these skills. Have any other tips of positive parenting skills to share? Leave them in the comments below.

Free Baby Shower Games

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If you’re going to be the guest of honor at a baby shower, or hosting one for a friend or relative, you’ll love these easy to play free baby shower games we’ve thought of!

Baby Alphabet Game

Have each guest of a sheet of paper write down on a paper as many items as they think of that are baby related for each letter of the alphabet. Whoever gets the most baby terms wins!

Baby Word Scramble

With this easy free baby shower game, all you need to do is choose a few baby related words such as diapers, pacifier, bottle, crib bedding, baby wipes, burp cloth, formula, etc. and then scramble them up. You can award a prize to whoever gets them all right first. (or if no one gets them all, have a few for whoever gets the most)

Nursery Rhyme Game

Have guests write down the words to a few popular nursery rhymes. (Examples are Mary had a Little Lamb, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Where is Thumpkin, etc.) Whoever gets the most ones right wins.

Memory Game

Put 15-20 baby related items on a tray or table. Let each guest spend some time trying to memorize what is on it. Then, have them write each item down. The person to remember the most wins!

Pass the Parcel

In this free baby shower game you wrap a prize in several layers of wrapping paper. You will then have the guests sit in a circle and pass the parcel around while music is playing. When the music stops, the person holding the parcel has to start to unwrap it and they have to top as soon as the music starts again. (You will need somebody to man the music player to control the music turning on and off!) Whoever actually gets to the bottom of the present gets to keep it. You may want to have a few extras for several rounds just in case this game goes too fast.

Get Crafty

Your baby shower guests might enjoy doing some sort of craft together for the baby. You could have them each make a scrapbook page or decorate a baby onesie with fabric paint, etc. etc. You could also have each guest create a story book for the mom to read to the child.

Mad Libs

Create a story about the mom to be or the baby and then leave out some words to have the guests fill in – things like nouns, verbs, colors, place, person, etc. This can be really funny with the right crowd!

Hopefully these free baby shower games ideas will get you thinking of some other fun things you can do at a baby shower! Have any other free baby shower games you’d like to share? Leave them in the comments below.

10 Ways on How to Get Children to Live a Healthy Lifestyle

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If you’ve been wondering how to get children to live a healthy lifestyle, you’re not alone. Many parents wonder what they can do to get their kids to eat better, sleep better, and of course avoid as many trips to the doctor’s as possible.

So what can parents do to encourage their children to live a healthy lifestyle? Here are some tips:

1. Start Early: The sooner you introduce healthy lifestyle habits to your child, the less resistance you will get and the easier it will be for them to continue those healthy lifestyle habits throughout their childhood and into adulthood. Start introducing your child to healthy vegetables as soon as they start eating solid foods and try to limit added sugar and sweets. If you’re kids are past babyhood and toddlerhood though, don’t worry – just keep gradually trying new things until they find something they like.

2. Set a Good Example: Children will often want to do what they see adults doing. If you for example eat a lot of sweet snacks and don’t exercise on a regular basis, they will likely do the same. But if you get into a regular exercise routine, they will want to join in and it can become a fun regular activity the whole family can enjoy. Setting a good example by also not doing things such as smoking or drinking alcohol can also help your children not feel like you are saying “do as I say, not as I do”.

3. Have Them Drink More Water: Most kids don’t drink enough water each day, and this can cause them instead to overload on sugary soft drinks or fruit juices. Serve water or milk with meals. Some children might even like vegetable juice, depending on how much they’ve been exposed to sugary sweet drinks only.

4. Cook Healthier: It’s easy for parents to make a few simple changes in the food the serve at home. Using foods with no trans fat or reduced fat is one easy way to start cooking healthier. Another way to help children to live a healthy lifestyle is introduce them to whole grains instead of refined grains. Cutting out any added sugar, salt, and fat to your regular cooking can make a great beginning for healthy eating habits.

5. Make Family Exercise a Regular Thing: Exercising with the family can be a lot of fun. Turn on some great music and start dancing around, or start taking regular walks and bicycle rides if your children are old enough. It can be a great way to spend time together and do something healthy at the same time.

6. Establish a Normal Bed Time Routine: Many parents overlook bedtime routines, but having one can make a big difference in the cooperation you get from your child to do other healthy things and his or her overall well being. Getting enough sleep each night will help them be more resistant to colds and other contagious illnesses that pass through schools quickly. It will also put them in a much happier mood and make it easier for them to avoid unhealthy habits.

7. Reduce Stress: Stress can have many negative consequences on both parents and children. It can affect their mood, their sleep, and their eating habits. Some children may overeat when stressed while others may not eat enough. Others may be more likely to do things such as sit in front of the television for hours instead of more productive and healthier activities. It can be difficult for families to realize what is causing stress, but often it can be alleviated by reducing the number of unnecessary responsibilities or becoming more organized. For example, if mornings are always hectic at your house, try laying out clothes for school, taking baths, packing lunches, and maybe even have breakfast on the go ready all the night before. The more you do to become organized and develop a routine, the less stress you and your children will experience.

8. Encourage Healthy Decision Making: Most kids like to have the feeling that they are in control. One way to give them some control is to teach them about making healthy choices and letting them make choices. For example, you can ask them if they’d rather have green beans or carrots for dinner or go for a walk or play Frisbee. If you have older children, you will want to talk to them about how to make healthy choices amongst their peers, even if it’s not what everybody else is doing.

9. Exercise Their Minds: Kids might have a lot to do at school, but its also likely they are turning into mush sitting there day in and day out. Helping your child do well in subjects such as math or language or even just doing puzzles and playing games as a family can help keep their minds active and exercised. Reading to your children is also recommended – if they are older kids who can read on their own, encourage trips to the library and for them to tell you about the stories they read. Keeping children mentally healthy can have a big impact on their other health aspects.

10. Be Environmentally Conscious & Teach Safety: The environment can play a big part in your child’s health also. Teach them the basics and practice recycling, saving energy, and using things responsibly. While talking to your kids about things like poisons in the home such as bleach, gasoline or lead paint probably aren’t high on your to-do list, it’s important that kids know that these things can also be bad for them. You should also make sure your family has a fire safety plan, know what to do in an emergency, and other basic safety needs, such as wearing seat belts, street crossing, and wearing bike helmets. Many children each year are hospitalized and killed because of injuries – teaching good safety habits are another way to encourage children to live a healthy lifestyle.

We hope you enjoyed our tips on ways on how to get children to live a healthy lifestyle. If you have any other suggestions for parents or thoughts, feel free to share them in the comments below!

Setting Boundaries With Your Adult Children

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When your children have grown, it’s hard to know how to go about setting boundaries with your adult children. Some children may decide to test your boundaries by being too needy and lacking independence. They might do things like ask you for money or have no interest in ever moving out, becoming quite comfortable that mom and dad will always take care of them and foot the bill.

Other adult children may do the opposite to test boundaries – moving to another side of the country or world, never calling you, or being pretty much uninvolved.

It is up to you to decide what types of boundaries you should set with your adult children, but it’s very important that they do get established at some point or another.

Here are some tips to help with setting boundaries with your adult children:

1. Define What Your Limits Are: When your kids were younger, you put limits on them such as how much tv they could watch or when they could go out with friends. While the kids may be out of the house now, having a set of “house rules” is still a good idea. Define what limits you have – how much financial help you will offer or how much time you will give them.

2. Don’t Enable Them: Many parents have a hard time with letting go and watching their children struggle on their own. Struggling however is a part of life, and very few adult children will automatically walk right into the perfect situation. Don’t bail them out each and every time they need help – otherwise they will start to depend on you more and more. Take a look at their behaviors that are bothering you – then see if there is anything you can do which would help separate you from the situation. If you constantly enable them, they will only continue to repeat the behavior.

3. Listen: Sometimes all your kids really need is just someone to listen to them. Try not to make automatic judgement or decisions. If they are struggling with a problem, ask them questions – don’t be tempted to tell them what to do.

4. Talk to Them: Some adult children may be oblivious that you don’t want to watch the grand kids constantly or that they are even doing something that is bothering you. You shouldn’t be afraid to tell your kids how you feel and why you think something needs a change. Don’t be critical or angry – just calmly explaining your feelings might help them see your point of view and change their behavior.

5. Give It Time: While it might be nice to expect it to immediately change, chances are it will take some time for your adult children to learn the boundaries you expect for them. Stay firm on the boundaries and limits you have set and don’t be afraid to tell them no or give them no more chances. Eventually they will learn and you’ll be impressed with how well they’ve turned out.

It’s not easy to do any of these things, but hopefully with these tips you’ll be able to make worrying about setting boundaries with your adult children a thing of the past.

LoudMom.com Launched

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Today’s a very exiting day, because this is officially the first post of Loud Mom!.

We offer helpful articles on everything from pregnancy to parenting to the latest style and fashion for moms. We also offer practical articles on relationships, managing finances, and work advice for moms, whether they are looking to start a home based business or work in an office.

So welcome and we hope you enjoy what is going to be yet another great website for moms! (and dads too, if they want to join in the fun!) If you’re interested in becoming a contributing author, feel free to contact us and let us know why you’d like to be a loud mom too!