Getting your young child to brush his or her teeth can be a struggle, especially with toddlers.  But of course, having good dental hygiene is important, so what should you do?

Find out if the problem stems from a behavior issue- a power struggle, or a sensitivity issue- it hurts.  If it is a sensitivity issue you will need talk to your childs dentist about a different way to brush your child’s teeth.

If it’s about a power struggle you will want to make the process more fun.  Here are a few ideas:

1. Let your child pick out several different toothbrushes.  Then each time he brushes his teeth he can pick a different toothbrush.
2. Brush your child’s teeth while she is brushing yours.

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3. Make it a part of your daily routine- always right after breakfast and again before bed time.  Or whatever times work for you.
4. Have your child make fun noises while you brush his teeth.  Roar like a lion, growl like a bear, etc.
5. Let her brush her teeth herself and praise her for doing a great job.
6. Offer stickers for rewards.
7. Don’t stress about it, your child knows when you’re getting tense or stressed and it only makes the situation worse.
8. Talk to your child’s pediatrician or dentist to get more advice.

I am starting to plan my daughter’s birthday party which will take place sometime in October.  So it’s time to buy some invitations for the party.  I think it might be easier to order something online so that I don’t have to hand-write all of the invitations.  So I was checking out 123print and all of the choices they have.  You can get custom business cards, postcards, calendars, stickers, etc.  There are tons of choices!  I am thinking about having postcards printed for birthday invitations.  Business cards are also really cheap so I might even use something like that- it’d be fun and different!

Are you taking a summer road trip to the Outer Banks?  We took a road trip with our toddler a little while ago.  We had thought it was going to be pretty bad but it actually ended up going very well.  A few things we did to keep from going insane:

1. Wrap up some new toys from the dollar store.  Give a new gift when the other one gets old.
2. Bring a DVD player and new DVDs to watch.  We borrowed some from the library, so it was free.
3. Have some favorite snacks packed.
4. Stop every couple of hours to get out of the car for a while.

I know there are lots of tips out there, but these are the ones that worked the best for us.

…but when I was in high school I helped out as a math tutor.  Now it wasn’t an official job.  Just a thing where I was available to help out in an empty classroom during a free period.  Other students could come in and get help with their math.  I always loved math and thought of it as fun and looked forward to doing my homework.  Weird?  I don’t know.

Anyhoo- Club Z! Tutoring services has special help available to those who need some tutoring in their math classes.  Check them out if this is something you need.  Maybe you’ll find your child can love math too.

Going away to college is an exciting time in the life of the student.  Probably pretty sad in the life of the parent as they send their child off to school, but exciting also to get to watch your child head out into the real world.  One of the main things to consider when your child goes to college is where to live.  Should your child live on the campus in the dorms or in student housing?  There are student accommodation leeds , UK- through Pickard Properties which was recently voted the number one landlord in Leeds, UK.

While it will most likely be difficult to leave your child at college- trust yourself that you did the best you could do raising your child.  He or she will probably make some mistakes (just like you did) and learn from those mistakes and go on to live a great life.

How are your child’s manners?  I think manners are very important and I think children who have good manners are much more likeable than children who do not use simple phrases like please and thank you.  I don’t mean kids who are outright rude- they are definitely not likeable.  But even kids who do not say please and thank you- it shows a reflection of their parents.

With my daughter I started right away teaching her please and thank you.  She could sign those words long before she could say anything at all.  And now that she talks she is very good about saying please and thank you.  I think setting an example and reminding our children to say please and thank you are very important in teaching manners.

What do you do to help your child grow up to be polite?

When I was teaching I had a lot of parents who thought their child might have ADHD.  Most of the time I thought the parents were really just searching for an answer to their child’s behavior problems.  Sometimes we just want some sort of label or reason to a child’s problems.  Honestly over the years I taught there was one child who I thought really did have ADHD.  All the rest of the kids just had/have behavior problems.  There are quite a few criteria that a child has to meet before being considered ADHD.  Here is a list from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DSM-IV Criteria for ADHD
I. Either A or B:

Six or more of the following symptoms of inattention have been present for at least 6 months to a point that is disruptive and inappropriate for developmental level:

Inattention

Often does not give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities.
Often has trouble keeping attention on tasks or play activities.
Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
Often does not follow instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions).
Often has trouble organizing activities.
Often avoids, dislikes, or doesn’t want to do things that take a lot of mental effort for a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework).
Often loses things needed for tasks and activities (e.g. toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools).
Is often easily distracted.
Is often forgetful in daily activities.

Six or more of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have been present for at least 6 months to an extent that is disruptive and inappropriate for developmental level:

Hyperactivity

Often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat.
Often gets up from seat when remaining in seat is expected.
Often runs about or climbs when and where it is not appropriate (adolescents or adults may feel very restless).
Often has trouble playing or enjoying leisure activities quietly.
Is often “on the go” or often acts as if “driven by a motor”.
Often talks excessively.
Impulsivity
Often blurts out answers before questions have been finished.
Often has trouble waiting one’s turn.
Often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games).
Some symptoms that cause impairment were present before age 7 years.
Some impairment from the symptoms is present in two or more settings (e.g. at school/work and at home).

There must be clear evidence of significant impairment in social, school, or work functioning.

The symptoms do not happen only during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorder. The symptoms are not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g. Mood Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Dissociative Disorder, or a Personality Disorder).

Based on these criteria, three types of ADHD are identified:

ADHD, Combined Type: if both criteria 1A and 1B are met for the past 6 months

ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Type: if criterion 1A is met but criterion 1B is not met for the past six months

ADHD, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type: if Criterion 1B is met but Criterion 1A is not met for the past six months.

If you believe your child could have ADHD be sure to talk to his/her pediatrician.

If you are a parent then you know the importance of selecting the right stroller.  You want your baby to be safe and comfortable, you want a place to keep all of your things, you want it to be easy to get in and out of the car, etc.  You also want to be able to afford the stroller.  Today I was looking at some Maclaren strollers at Baby Earth and there are quite a few choices.  Surely something to suit everyone.  And they are quite affordable.

So right now we have a bit of a dilemma.  My older daughter… she is actually my step-daughter- but I have always loved her as if she was my own, treated her as if she was my own and felt like she was my own.  Anyways, she has recently decided that she no longer wants to spend time at our house.  She wants to be with her mother full time.  This includes visits- she doesn’t even want to visit us anymore.  She is “too busy.”  Really, her mother has very few rules and to a teenager, being able to do what she wants when she wants sounds pretty great. 

So, the dilemma we have is this.  Our younger daughter is using the smallest bedroom in our house while our older daughter has the bigger bedroom.  It doesn’t seem fair to me that our older daughter have the bigger room when she doesn’t use it.  And this isn’t just a phase, it seems to be a permanent thing.  It has been going on for over a year and she hasn’t even been to our house at all since May.  So, I do not believe we are jumping into things with this.  Basically what we are doing is switching their rooms.  Our younger daughter will have the bigger room since she lives with us and is there all of the time.  Our older daughter will still have a room if she ever does come to see us.  But, we are also going to use her room as an office.  We are going to buy some office furniture to put in the room.  But we will still keep one dresser and her bed there.  For some reason I feel guilty about doing it, even though she doesn’t want to see us anymore.  I still think we’re making the right choice though.

If someone asked me that- my answer would be yes.  I have some major issues I am stressing like crazy about right now.  But overall, I am happy.  What can I do to be happier?  Here are a few ideas.

1. Talk to other moms.  Sometimes I feel like I am the only one going through what I am going through.  I am stressed and worried about stuff.  Turns out- other moms are too.  It doesn’t make my problems go away but at least I know I’m normal.
2. It’s okay to admit you are stressed.  I have a hard time with this one.  But, I’ve recently realized that if I just tell my hubby that I need a break- he will usually take over and let me have a little time to myself.  And I feel so much better afterwards.
3. Go on a date with your husband.  I need to follow this advice myself.  I don’t know when our last date was.  But, I know that right now I feel like I miss my husband.  I see him everyday, but I just feel like I miss him.
4. Remember how fast these years will go by.  You so often hear, “It seems like only yesterday…”  So while you feel like you have to rush here and there to get this and that done- you don’t.  The world will keep on moving if you don’t pick up the dry cleaning or vacuum your house today.  Take that time and spend it with your kids.