The Hip Mom's Guide to Homework

We all remember homework from when we were kids. Sometimes it was fun....like when we were buying the cool pens, notebooks and erasers. Most of the time, it was just plain hard work. Now that our kids have homework, we wonder how much we should help them. I mean, we had our days of homework, and we really don't want to revisit them! I have learned that the best thing that I can do for my kids is to provide a nice working environment, a healthy snack, plenty of rest and encouraging words. Beyond that, it's up to them. Sometimes, I want to jump in and do their work for them, because I really want them to succeed. Then, I need to remind myself that I'm not really helping them. I recall a story about a man walking through the woods. He noticed a butterfly fighting to get out of a cocoon. The man felt bad for the butterfly, so he broke the cocoon open. Unfortunately, the butterfly needed to fight against the cocoon in order to make it's wings strong enough to fly and ultimately to survive. So, the man's "help" ended up crippling the butterfly. In the same way, as much as we want to help our kids, we need to let them succeed and fail on their own, so that they will be ready to "fly" when they are older.

The Hip Mom's Guide to Traveling with Kids

Beaches, Beautiful Sights, Bed & Breakfasts.....

Bottles, Baby Backpacks, Bathroom Breaks....

How can we make traveling with kids fun and relaxing? The best advice I can give is to PLAN AHEAD!!
1. Pack a bag of surprises for the kids including items like coloring books, travel games, suckers and books.
2. Dress the kids in comfortable clothing - sweat pants and t-shirts are better for travel than darling little dresses and button-downs. Believe me, at the end of the day, both outfits will be a complete mess, so you might as well choose comfort!
3. Talk about appropriate behavior with children who are old enough to understand. Lay out your expectations and discuss consequences.

Do you have any travel tips? What has worked for your family?

The Hip Mom's Guide to Reading

Hello!

I love reading. I read on vacation. I read before bed. I read anything from romance to mystery to non-fiction parenting books. I simply love reading! So.... why is it that my kids didn't naturally inherit this? I have three kids ages 11, 10 and 5. They all love to be read to, but none of them prefer reading on their own...at least not any quality literature... they do like to read certain things like Sports Illustrated for Kids and the latest tween magazine. What I've had to do is MOTIVATE them to read good books. Last summer we had a reading challenge. A certain number of pages per kid equalled a one-day trip to an amusement park. Now, that worked! What are some things that have worked for you when it comes to encouraging your kids to read? We could all use ideas....