Family Fitness With Your Toddler

If we want to prevent future health problems in our children, then we need to be encouraging fitness while they are young. If they start off life with exercise and healthy eating, they are more likely to continue it into their adult years. So I am going to be writing a series on how you can incorporate family fitness into your home. And believe it or not, it starts with your toddlers. Once children start walking, they have the opportunity to begin a healthy lifestyle. That means allowing your child to walk, not always confining them to a stroller. If … Continue reading

Part 2: Should You Keep Your Child Home?

Wondering whether or not to send your child to school when she is feeling sick? It isn’t always a clear cut decision. This article is part two in a series that will help you make the right decision when it comes to whether or not you keep your child home from school for health complaints. Rash You wouldn’t think a rash could be cause for keeping a child home from school, but it can. Rashes that are severe or unusual could signal an underlying cause, and or it could be contagious. Many viruses and bacteria can causes rashes, and these … Continue reading

Insurance Blog Week In Review July 18-23, 2007

Insurance Term Of The Week: Homeowner Insurance Forms If you have read any of my guest blogs in the Adoption or Special Needs parenting sections or know about my personal life at all hopefully you can forgive my obvious lack of work the past several months. I love this gig but the responsibility of parenting a special needs child is overwhelming sometimes! Let’s hope I can stay back on track and writing about the exciting topic of Insurance. I wish I was not cursed with a mind that thinks Risk Management all the time, it makes it difficult to go … Continue reading

Children’s Picture Books about Losing Baby Teeth

Do you have a child who is getting ready to lose a tooth? These picture books will be just the ticket. Our first selection is “Tabitha’s Terrifically Tough Tooth.” Tabitha likes to eat an apple every morning after breakfast, but today, it hurt. Her tooth was wobbly! Her dad told her about the Tooth Fairy, and she got very excited. She just had to lose that tooth. She spent all day coming up with new and creative ways to jiggle it out. First she turns on the radio and tries to dance it loose. Then she ties a string to … Continue reading

Re-emphasizing Trampoline Safety

Previous articles here by myself and other writers have discussed trampoline safety (see articles listed below). When I wrote about it, I did take it seriously, but I realize just how important it is now that my daughter was injured. Trampolines can be fun but they can also be quite dangerous. My daughter now makes up one of those 100,000 per year emergency room statistics. My thirteen year old suffered a severely sprained ankle while jumping on the trampoline recently. We’re not just talking a twisted ankle that felt better a day or two later. She’s been on crutches and … Continue reading

Backyard Trampolines May Lead To Cancelled Homeowner Insurance

A trapeze artist named Du Trampoline created the first trampoline in the 19th century by using the safety net as propulsion and landing device according to circus lore. In 1936 George Nissen invented the trampoline as we know it today. During the 70-year history trampolines have been used for training of the U. S. Navy Flight School, astronauts and in several other valuable ways for training. Fitness experts, agree the trampoline can be a valuable part of a fitness program, because of the cardiovascular benefits, low impact, and for building muscle. The first trampoline gymnastics event made its Olympic debut … Continue reading

Summer Fun – Say Yes to a Trampoline

A funny thing happened to me today, I went to a website that featured an elephant on a trampoline. After I got done snorting my coffee up my nose and recovering from the following choke and laugh – that guffaw aside – I was doing research on trampolines. You remember the trampoline, right? The big round thing that you can bounce on like mad and your kids get a big giggle out of and you get even more in the way of laughter when their hair stands straight up from the generated static electricity? I thought you might. A trampoline … Continue reading

Avoiding Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is on the rise. It’s an epidemic of grand proportions (no pun intended). In this society that values looks and idolizes anorexic models, we simultaneously abuse our children’s bodies and stand by as they grow larger and larger and become more and more unfit. Childhood obesity has got to stop but the cycle begins at home. How do you know if your child is obese or at risk of becoming overweight? Knowing is half the battle. So many parents are in true denial, believing their children are simply “built big” or “sturdy” or retaining “baby fat”. It’s time … Continue reading

Happy Kids

Yesterday I was in a funk of a day. I had not gotten enough sleep the night before, which always leads to me dragging all day long. I find that I struggle more with my responsibilities as a mother when I feel this way. I want to be lazy, I am not as patient, I feel bad for not keeping my kids engaged in something worthwhile. Unfortunately, I like to believe that every mother has a day or two like this now and then. We are not perfect as mothers. Some days, our kids watch a lot of TV. That … Continue reading

Surviving Cabin Fever

That’s the view from my kitchen window. Okay, not really. Minus the whale and it comes pretty darn close. Winter in Wisconsin. Enough said. Still, weather experts keep harping on the fact that we’ve had a mild winter thus far. Of course, our neck of the woods often experiences wind chills in the -20 to -30 degree range (take note of the minus signs), so I suppose single digits, teens and 20s above zero is a virtual heat wave. But, I’m from Hawaii, so everything is relative. Regardless, when you have kids, winter can be a real drag even if … Continue reading