Happy Christmas Wishes

Happy Christmas Everyone!  Today is my last blogging day before I head off on my Christmas Travels.  I'm not leaving until Tuesday but I know I'm going to be super busy on Monday and I didn't want to miss saying Happy Christmas to you all.

I want to quickly mention my law of attraction blog http://loa4llife.blogspot.com/

All this week I've been adding posts about how to create your ideal Christmas. I really hope you'll drop by and take a look.  Even though I say so myself they really are great posts.

Christmas is a magical time of the year.  Decorations, celebrations, gifts, family gatherings and letters to Santa.  Children understand the magic of Christmas.  New toys will be opened and played with, food will be eaten but the thing your children will treasure the most is the time you spend with them.  In all the preparations that come with Christmas remember that the real magic is the love we share.

Have a magical Christmas

My love and blessings to all of you

Wendy x

Don't Worry About Your Kids So Much - They Don't Need It

It's a big dangerous world out there, full of nasty people and things to hurt our children. Why wouldn't we worry about them? After all they're inexperienced, vulnerable and defenceless.

Okay, there are times when you should worry but most of the time we worry for the sake of worrying.

Over-worried parents become over-protective parents and that's just going to restict your child and make them anxious.

Worrying to much about your children can actually be destructive. It can limit the development of the children and it can have a negative impact on the quality of the parenting you are able to provide.

From a law of attraction point of view (what we focus on we attract) the very thing that you worry about is in fact what you are attracting.

So if you worry that your child will fall if he climbs - you are giving it your focus = You are putting a strong message out to the universe to bring about a fall for your child.  This is NOT a result you would ever want for your child.

As you probably already know I'm a huge fan of hypnosis to help with all negative beliefs, thoughts, habits.
I particularly recommend hypnosis for this area as it really is vitally important we control our worrying so that we are not attracting the very things we are worrying about.

How hypnosis can transform your anxious fears into realism

Worry less about your children is an audio hypnosis session for parents or guardians. Using the latest psychological understandings and the transformative power of hypnosis, this session will get you relaxing in ways you would never have thought possible. You will physically experience the effects of reducing worry in your body and in your brain.

Regular listening to this powerful session will allow you to develop a wonderfully calm, clear and objective attitude to the risks and opportunities of life - for yourself as well as for your children. You will discover how being less concerned about them actually makes you better able to recognize the risks that your children will meet, and how to deal with them effectively.

To learn more about this particular hypnosis download and others Click Here!

I have personally used this download with amazing results.  I want the best for my kids and I know you do too.  I look back and I can see the things I worried about often ended up happening.  Now I am able to thing positively about situations I view things differently and focus on what I want to happen.

That's all from me for today.  I'm off in search of Jack's Nintendo charger.  1 week and 1 day until holidays and a very long flight, we need the charger!  So we're playing the CHARGER HUNT game instead of the BEAR HUNT game.  Well, we have to be creative or we'll never get it done.

Have fun

Wendy

Feel Good Christmas Movie

My little fella is feeling poorly, he's been off colour since Sunday.  When my mum phoned yesterday to check on him she insisted I give him the Advent present she'd sent for him a day early to cheer him up. 

The advent present she'd sent was the SANTA BUDDIES dvd .  We put it the film on immediately and it certainly made him feel better for a little while.  Jack loves the BUDDIES and he's got the whole collection now and they're all great.

I wanted to share this with you just because it's such a great feel good movie, focusing on the true meaning of Christmas.  I think sometimes we can all use this particular message.

Anyway, it's the 1st of December and I'm looking forward to Christmas with my lovely family.  We're heading to Florida again for Christmas so Christmas officially starts for us on the 15th.  We don't buy so many presents these days we focus on having a great time together and having fun. 

I want to wish you all an amazing, magical Christmas.

The Benefits of Kids Cooking In The Kitchen

Kids learning their way around the kitchen is about more than getting them to help you peel potatoes or stir the cake batter, although it is nice when they can help you out. Kids cooking is also about more than trying to keep them busy so they're not whiney and bored, although it does make for a fun time. The other benefits I'm thinking of are what they learn in math, science, literature, and art when they cook. Ssshh... most kids don't even realize they're learning school stuff while they're having a good time in the kitchen.

Math and Cooking

Anyone who can cook can do math. So much of what you do in the kitchen involves doing math and that's why children can learn through following simple recipes.



Take, for example, the subject of adding fractions. When kids have to learn fractions by looking at a bunch of numbers on a page, it doesn't always make sense. However, if you decide you're going to make a double batch of chocolate chip cookies and all of those ingredients (most of which are written as fractions) need to be doubled, your son or daughter can find great motivation in learning how to add those fractions together. After all, they wouldn't want to come up short on the chocolate chips.


Science and Cooking

If you've watched many cooking programs, you may have already become familiar with the magic of science that's at work daily in your kitchen. Helping your children notice the science and giving them permission to experiment with it can be a great learning experience. It will also make for fun lessons they won't soon forget.


For example, you could teach the children about the three stages of matter: gas, solids, and liquids. You could boil water and watch it evaporate, you could freeze water to make it into a solid, and you could use water in its liquid form as part of cooking. If you have several kids, ask them to predict how long it will take for an ice cube to become water vapor on the stove top.


You can design experiments that show what happens to cookies if you leave out the baking soda or the flour. My daughter got firsthand experience with this very thing last weekend when we ran out of flour. She found that pancake mix is not a good substitute.


Literature and Cooking

Another fun way to use cooking in your lessons is by incorporating it into your studies of literature. For many years, schools across the country have been serving green eggs and ham to celebrate the Dr. Seuss classic. Your child could prepare the same thing with a little bit of food coloring.

When your kids are reading stories about children in different lands, find recipes for the foods that kids eat in those countries. You can create a whole meal around a foreign country; and cooking up the native food is an educational winner.

Another idea is to set aside a certain part of the day for literature discussion. Your kids can prepare a snack while discussing the book they are reading. It's a good way to get them used to discussing books.


Art and Cooking

One of the other nice things about the kitchen is that it's a great place for kids to show off their creativity. Children can use traditional food items, such as uncooked macaroni, to create artwork. They can also make pancakes to look like butterflies or mice. Ask your kids to create a sugar cookie then decorate it so that it serves as a model of a human cell.


With kids cooking in the kitchen, the time can be both educational and fun. Help them explore new worlds through their kitchen at home!

Here's a link to cookin' kids Click Here!

Raise Happy Kids Report

Claim your copy of 'Raise Happy Kids' report when you subscribe to my positive parents and kids free news updates.  This is a fantastic report I am sure you'll enjoy reading.

To subscribe go to http://www.loaliving.com/NewsUpdates.html

It's almost time to go and collect JM from school.  He's a super tired boy and I think some quiet time with a special movie and a cuddle will go down well today. 

Have a wonderful weekend and have FUN!

Quick Tip - Remove Don't, Not No!

As a law of attraction coach one of the first things I talk to my clients about is DON'T, NOT and NO!

It's important to understand that we attract what we focus our attention on.  When we use these negative words we are focusing on what we don't want.

Here are a few examples:

Don't touch that, it's hot!

Don't shout!

Don't forget your homework!

That's not the way to behave!

NOT NOW!

No, you can't have sweets!

No, stop shouting!

No, No, No!

I feel drained just writing all that negative stuff down.  Can you see how using these words focuses on what you don't want.

How about using something like this instead.

Please be quiet.

Remember your homework.

Be nice.

I want you to come here now.

I'm busy right now.  When I am finished I would love to play with you.

You get the idea.  Every negative has a positive, you just have to give it a little thought.

Now this probably won't happen overnight.  Every time you catch yourself saying a negative Don't, Not, No, think about how you can turn it into a positive. 

Have fun with this and make it into a game.  Let all family members in on the game and catch each other out saying the dreaded Don't, Not, No's

Savvy Money Skills For Kids

Blow is an article written for me by the good people at 'How to raise financially savvy kids'.  Personally I think this is an essential part of childhood.  If your children can become financially savvy early on in life they are pretty much guaranteed financial success throughout their life.  However many grown ups are not fanancially savvy either, my parents, although wonderful people were NOT.  I intend to make sure my children have all the tools they need to be financially savvy.  I hope you find the article below interesting.

Happy Parenting

Wendy


Most parents realize teenagers need to know basic money management. But how young should you start teaching savvy money skills to your children?

Some may think preschool/kindergarten age children are too young for financial lessons, but this is a good time to begin laying down a strong financial foundation.

Children who are three to five years old are beginning to understand money gives them the power to buy stuff.

However, they do not have a clear idea of what money is worth or how much things cost: they may tell you a house costs 50 cents and a gumball costs a “million billion” dollars.

Identify money, both coins and bills If children are going to spend money responsibly, they need to be able to tell a penny from a dime and a quarter from a nickel. To help children learn to identify coins, let them play with some real coins, separating them into piles by color and size.

As they play, you can talk about how much each coin is worth and its name. You may not want to give your children real bills to play with, but you can buy play money that looks somewhat realistic. Your children will enjoy playing grocery store and bank with this play money. You can also play board games that use play money, such as Monopoly Junior.

Make good trades Children are learning that they can trade money for things. Help them make this connection by letting them pay for an item when you shop or putting coins in a vending machine.

You must also help your children make good trades. A youngster who enjoys baseball cards may decide to trade the neighbor boy $20 for his collection of worn cards. They may also be thrilled to trade a ripped-up five-dollar bill for a shiny new quarter. Make it a rule that a grown-up has to approve all trades.

Make choices Lessons of life started early last longer.

Children need to learn they can’t have everything they want and they must make choices. Give young children the opportunity to make simple choices, such as buying apples or oranges when you go to the grocery store. Explain that you aren’t choosing to spend the money to buy both.

Learning what a choice is and what to do if you discover the choice is wrong, or not the best choice, is one of the most important lessons of life. Start creating your financially savvy child today with these tips.

How To Raise Financially Savvy Kids offers more tips and strategies on giving your children money savvy skills.Click Here! and find out more ways to help your children now.

Do You Play With Your Kids?

By Winsome Coutts



In these busy times, when parents and children have schedules packed to the max, family closeness can fall by the wayside. Most of us have to make an effort to guarantee that work, school, sports, and chores don’t swallow up the very relationships that make those things important.

When is the last time you played or goofed around with your child? Can you remember back that far? Many parents can’t. Life has made us so serious, so focused, that we’ve lost the joy of the simple things, and play was one of the first to go.

But as any child instinctively knows, play is essential to life. It brightens the heart and lightens the spirit. For kids, who live closer than we do to nature, play is as spontaneous as breathing. Sadly, most grown-ups have lost that skill. Our children can be our refresher course.

Playing with your child brings you back to the present, reminds you of what matters, and slows you down long enough to smell the roses. It also connects you emotionally with your child, rebuilding the closeness that the fast-paced, boring routines of life are all too quick to strip away.

Playing together is even more important for your child than it is for you, because she needs to feel close to you to feel loved and happy. If you’ve neglected time together for long enough, it may appear that your child isn’t interested in your attentions. She may even tell you as much. But that’s just bluster, hiding the fear that you will disappoint her again if she lets herself wish for time alone with you. If you initiate playing together, and do it at frequent intervals, even the most aloof pre-teen will start to look forward to it and, in time, throw herself into the fun.


What kind of playing should you do? Pay attention to the activities your child engages in: his idea of enjoyment. If these things seem boring to you, try hanging out nearby, observing as he does them, with words that express your curiosity. You just may find you actually develop a genuine interest. If your child is a couch potato, take up your perch on the couch beside him, but after you’re allowed “in,” initiate some play that might be more pleasant than TV.


Think back to what you did as a child that was memorable, especially activities you did with your parents that stay with you still. Think about things that are free or cost little, that involve experiencing life together. Start a list of ideas as they come, and add any of the following that you resonate with:

Raking stacks of autumn leaves, then jumping or rolling in them

Taking a hike through the forest preserve

Skating at the roller rink together

Walking the dog, taking turns with the rope

Reading comics or joke books together (or books of poetry or stories)

Making cookies, pizza or a cake

Building a fort out of snow or chairs and blankets

Playing hide and seek, hide the thimble, cards or board games

Lying on a blanket looking up at the stars

Sitting in front of the wood stove in a dark room, telling stories

Making shadow figures on the wall with your hands and a flashlight

Having a treasure hunt

Roasting marshmallows over a fire

Watching a parade

Going to the aquarium, zoo or museum

Flying kites together

Building something

Making a scrapbook

Making up a silly poem or song

Watching a movie, with popcorn and no interruptions

Playing a memory game, like “I’m going to Grandma’s house, and in my suitcase I’m going to pack …”

Getting up early to watch the sunrise from a hill

Playing games of pretend

Going somewhere special, like the beach

Having a pancake picnic in the snow

Playing together is different than finding entertaining activities for your child. Play involves you, while entertainment excuses you from the picture. If you find yourself saying, “But my schedule is too busy for any of the things on that list,” consider whether your schedule needs some pruning. After all, who’s going to remember in 20 years if you stay late at work or not next Tuesday? But will your child ever forget the Tuesday you ride the rollercoaster together?

Closeness with a child cannot be taken for granted. Like any other relationship, it will slip away unless it’s made a priority. Nothing builds trust and bonding with a child like sharing a moment of silliness and laughter. Come together for light-hearted play, and you just may find your child opens up about serious subjects. The relaxed atmosphere of play helps us let our guard down and reveal more of ourselves.

When you play together, let your child feel like the most important person in your world. Give him your undivided attention: no cell phones, no interruptions, no slipping into your own private thoughts. Be present – body, mind and spirit. Then let yourself do whatever comes naturally, with the abandon you felt when you yourself were a child. Your instincts will be your guide.

Growing closer through play is easy. It just takes dedicated moments, given on a fairly regular basis, so your child begins to count on having time with you.

Let your child re-teach you the wonderful secrets of play. You both will feel more secure and peaceful – and a whole lot happier, as the reason you do it all for, starts to come back to you.

Feel Free To Use This Article in Your E-Zine or on Your Website

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Winsome Coutts holds a teacher’s certificate in education and has written hundreds of articles on self-development. She has studied with Bob Proctor and John Demartini, popular teachers featured on “The Secret” DVD. She is the passion behind the www.4lifehappykids.com and is a parent and grandparent.

Winsome is author of “Go for Your Goals” for kids – a set of downloadable e-books that guide your child through the joyful steps of learning visualization, goal-setting and the Law of Attraction. Simple language enhanced with beautiful illustrations and worksheets make these books appealing and motivating. To learn more  Click Here

Baby Sleep Aids - So Everyone Can Sleep Well

How many times in the last few weeks have you tried to get your baby to sleep but to no avail? Millions of families go through this every night and when all else fails, baby sleep aids can help you to get some of the sleep you deserve and crave for.

The problem is that there are many baby sleep aids available, so which one do you choose? Here are a few examples of baby sleep aids that are commonly used and that you may wish to try to see if they'll help to solve your baby's sleeping problem..

Firstly, how can you go wrong with the good old blanket? At some point, every single one of us has clung on to a blanket as babies. The comfort, security, and warmth will leave a baby feeling cozy and allow him to relax if he's having trouble sleeping. It's one of the best and most used baby sleep aids ever.

As a variation of this, you could use some other transitional object such as a teddy bear, or possibly mom's t-shirt, so that your baby can settle down with a smell that he or she is comfortable with.

Unfortunately though, there are times when a blanket or other transitional object just won't be enough, so you may wish to consider utilizing another baby sleep aid or baby sleep technique.

Night lights are also common baby sleep aids and can help make your child feel a little more comfortable in their dark surroundings. Although we may not know it, babies may often wake up and cry because they aren't used to being alone and they don't recognise their surroundings. A night light will give them security when they open their eyes. Being in familiar surroundings and being able to see the baby toys above the bed or stars on the ceiling will put them at ease.

Music or sounds are also great types of baby sleep aids you might want to try if you haven't already. Soft, carefree music such as classical musical at low volumes is very soothing for a baby's ears which can help get them to sleep. You could even leave this music playing through the entire night if it helped. Alternatively, white noise, which can sound horrible to adults, can be extremely soothing for a baby. A fan, having the television on, or even the sounds of nature .... birds, rain or whale sounds are very common. There are also white noise CD's you can buy with the sound of a vacuum cleaner or washing machine etc. Again, these sound rather strange but really can help.

Although all of these are all capable baby sleep aids and many parents will testify to their effectiveness, it is also possible that none of them may work for your child. No two children are the same and so there is unfortunately no single cure-all for baby sleeping problems. However, with some tried and tested baby sleep techniques, a good sleep routine and the odd baby sleep aid thrown in for good measure, you and your baby can soon be getting the full nights sleep that you richly deserve.

Chris Towland

For more details of Baby Sleep Aids and for an easy solution to your baby's sleeping problems Click Here!

What If Your Child Was Born A Genius?

What if you could show your child how to discover, unlock and develop their natural talents and creativity? Every parent has the right to know how they can be in the best position to help their children develop their unique gifts and talents. You can equip your young children with the knowledge and skills to become masters of their own learning. Not many people know that babies or young children can learn math at reading as young as a month-old. Yes, that’s right as young as a month old. With the right technique, young children can learn to develop

1. Individual gifts and talents

2. An effective and flexible learning strategy suitable for them

3. Independent thinking skills

4. Their own creativity

Learning to read early and learning math early in babies or young children is probably one of the most important skills that are essential for children development. It is equally important that parents spend some time teaching reading and math to their children early in life as part of child education.

Have you considered how an Einstein, da Vinci or Beethoven thought so creatively, learned their area of expertise and developed their talents to such a level? When I started my research, the first thing I noticed about the lives of past geniuses was that having the opportunities to learn new things early on in life and express their individual ideas had been an important factor in their development from childhood.

Today, school aged children are exposed to tests for basic skills and for just about everything else. Statistical inferences are used often to gauge the children’s abilities. Just think what past geniuses might make of all this if they were alive today. What if the manner in which we learn had become so basic-skills focused, so test oriented that if, say, Beethoven was in junior school he may not only be bored, but very frustrated with tests after tests, because it was as if his individual gifts, thinking and creativity were hampered at every corner? Likewise, a child need not be a Beethoven or an Einstein to feel the same way.

Traditionally, mass education systems were designed to prepare your child to pass examinations. Jobs and careers were for life. This is very rarely the case today, economies have become volatile and jobs and careers likely to change. Children of the next generation can expect to have a range of careers as new markets and technologies come out and more opportunities are created. The speed of communications technology will mean that new knowledge is being produced rapidly all the time.

The ability therefore not just to learn, but learn rapidly, and see learning as a life-long process rather than having ended in school, will be the norm. What edge can we give our children today, to help them get a brain that can learn fast and learn new concepts to prepare them for the world tomorrow? A brain that is as creative as it is flexible in its thinking, to identify new patterns to can be transferred in different areas?

Again, let’s consider what would Beethoven, Einstein or da Vinci thought about all this happening around them, if they were children, knowing how rapidly the world is changing around them, looking outside their classroom window and wondering what they would do when they left school?

To visit the Mighty Memory site Click Here!