Bullying Stops Here

Bullying: The repeated exposure of an individual to negative attention by one or more other individuals. Bullying is often physical, but victims can also experience verbal or social bullying

Bullying has become a very serious issue in not only schools but even in the workplace. I've recently started to worry about bullying since Alex will be going into grade 1 and will now be going out for recess with the rest of the school. Although in kindergarten  Alex was very popular and a great leader, I fear because he's very outspoken and tends to gravitate toward older children that he might get picked on.

Bullying can affect a child's self esteem and scar them for life. Talking to your child about bullying and how to get help can prevent a serious problem.

Statistics on Bullying

• Experts estimate 1 in 5 children in an average classroom experience some form of bullying

• An estimated 30% of teenagers in the United States are involved in bullying either as a victim or a bully

• At least 10% of children in the United States are bullied on a regular basis

• In the United States, in one day up to 160,000 children may skip school to avoid bullies


• The effects of bullying are seen in the bully as well as the victim. Of middle school boys who bullied, 60% received criminal convictions by age 24

        PLEASE VISIT

 http://www.guidetohealthcareschools.com/library/bullying

 FOR MORE INFORMATION AND WHERE TO GET HELP

       

Broken Sleep Button On My Alarm Clock?

As Jack approaches the 16 month mark, I thought I'd be sleeping more. Boy was I wrong! Don't get  me wrong he can sleep up to 11 hours at night if I put him down at 7pm, but no matter what time I put him down he's up at 5ish. My older two aren't out till 10pm most nights (bed time is 8pm) and after some chores and a little peace to myself I always end up in bed after midnight. I work part time evenings and most nights don't get home till 1am so those nights I get about 3 hours of sleep.  Jack wakes up hungry for attention and when most mornings I can't give it to him.... Elmo on TV does.  As a mom of 3 and a bread winner husband....my schedule revolves around 4 other people.... Jack being at the top of the list.  If you're a mom of a toddler then you know a cranky toddler is a nightmare! So that means everything has to be scheduled around his nap. Sometimes Jack can take a nap for 30min refuse to sleep again and be cranky all day and sometimes sleep all afternoon (usually when I have a million errands). I've been struggling to put him on a regular nap time but with my work, driving my husband to work, picking up Alex from school, the gym and the boys swimming lessons, we're never at home at the same time. Jack is not  that baby you can easily transfer from car seat to crib without waking either so when he falls asleep in the car I aimlessly drive till he wakes up ( sometimes being stopped too long at a red light wakes him up).  All this sleep trouble makes me appreciated Alex who as a baby, was easily adjusted to our sleeping patterns and Eric  who was and is a great sleeper ( started to sleep through the night at 1 month and who sleeps in till 9am on most mornings). I just wish Jack would sleep in longer. I've tried everything...although getting the dark brown curtains did get me an average of maybe 30min extra... nothing is working.  So my dear friends,  if you have a trick to getting your toddler to sleep in longer..... PLEASE SHARE!

Spring Cleaning with Kijiji

I've been slowly attempting spring cleaning  my home. I'm hoping to be done by the end of summer. I've been tackling a closet a weekend. My BIGGEST challenge is our laundry/storage room.  So many toys and baby items I could hardly walk in.  I took pictures of our stuff and put it on Kijiji. Within 12 hours I had everything sold. What a great concept....people come pick up your unwanted items and pay you. I made more money for the items than if I sold it to a consignment store and I didn't even have to leave my home. Kijiji is also a great place to buy certain items.  You can even buy brand new items at great prices. One thing that truly annoys me is when people list something as being brand NEW only to learn they've used it a few times. Once you use something it is NOT new. Or when people charge retail prices for their new stuff. If you're going to charge me the same as a store you better give me a receipt and  have a return/ exchange policy.

Some people are just insane......I've seen a listing selling children's clothing and among them....used children's underwear! I wonder if they sell their used toothbrushes too.  Speaking of odd people, beware when selling or buying on Kijiji. There's  a lot of scams out there. Read Kijiji's safety tips before using the site. All in all I think it works better for me than having a yard sale and with any luck closer in getting my home clean and organized.

My Christmas Oath Revised

I posted my Christmas oath over a month ago. Here's how I did.

Even though I LOVE Christmas, I'm in Christmas denial every year up until a week or two into December.
Every year Christmas gets more and more stressful for me and every year I promise myself next year will be different.

Here I go again!

My Christmas Oath .....

1. I will not wait till the week of Christmas to START filling out Christmas cards. Send out a week before Christmas, so hopefully everyone gets them before Christmas for a change.

2. I will not wait till it's so close to Christmas that I'm fighting a parent for the LAST toy at the store my kid wants. Even though I tried to avoid this. A certain game my son wanted was nearly impossible to find. After searching forever at so many stores I came across the LAST one. There were UNHAPPY parents in line behind me.


3. I will get the kids to write a letter to Santa early enough to get a response BEFORE Christmas. Done! Even though my five year old insisted on e-mailing Santa this year. We got a response back but the kids weren't as excited since Santa sent a personalized video for them earlier.


4. I will get the kids Christmas photo done BEFORE Christmas so I can use them for the Christmas card. Actually got it done on Dec. 1 st so I was very happy with myself for this accomplishment.


5. I will not wait till the week of Christmas to START decorating the house. Even thought we didn't do a BIG tree this year because of our 10 month old I still got a little one on the fire place, which was done end of November!


6. I will buy extra batteries BEFORE Christmas so I'm not taking out batteries out of remotes for toys. Still need to pick some up.


7. I will HIDE some sweets and treats from my boys so I actually have something when I have visitors. My husbands must have x-ray vision for sweet stuff. So this one is probably mission impossible.


8. I will not gain 10lb this holiday season. With all the chocolate I've been eating that number is probably going to be slightly higher.


9. I will write a thoughtful list of what to buy early so I don't end up getting EVERYONE gift card on Christmas eve. Gifts have been bought for most however some people just prefer gift cards....who am I to argue that.




10. I will not wrap ANY gifts on Christmas Eve. Definitely will need a few more years to wrap early but right now all signs are pointing at wrapping on Christmas Eve but hey an improvement from buying gifts on Christmas Eve.

How To Get Kids To Do Their Chores

Oh how I love laundry....not in a million years! Once upon a time when it was just my laundry, it wasn't half bad. As came the man and three sons to follow it became less and less appealing. Single socks are my enemy! My kids have got to help out.

That's when the "Match the Sock" game got invented. Somewhere along the line I realized that chores can be done if the kids are having fun. Alex and Eric love the game. I dump the whole basket of single socks on the floor and the object is whoever makes the most pairs wins.  The kids have a ball and I get my chore done. Brilliant! I'm a believer in rewards and they work like a charm. The rewards are usually simple like stickers, a snack (that they were to have any way) or the first pick of a DVD or game.

Unless I win the lottery... the laundry and chores will have to get done so I might as well teach them early to help me out. I'm sure my future daughter-in-laws would appreciate it.

There is a few other tricks I've learned:

Turn on the TV

Sounds crazy I know, but this works every time for my kids. We choose a TV show we all love and have family TV time. The challenge is to see who can win by getting the most  chores done during the commercial breaks.  So much better than commercials brain washing your kids anyway.

Turn up the volume

The "I don't belong" game is great before dinner or expected company. I set a timer for 3 minutes, blast some tunes and we pick up as many things that don't belong and put them in their place. Singing and dancing through a chore actually makes it fun.

Never use as a punishment

If you use chores as a punishment that is what they will always be viewed as.