Playdate Success

497 words (can be trimmed to make a nice little sidebar for Forming Friendships)

A playdate can teach important skills like sharing, taking turns and navigating arguments … or it can quickly turn into an episode of “The Bad Girls Club.” So how do you go about finding decent playdate pals for your little one? This piece offers many tips from finding pals to play with to cleaning up after the playdate.

Please contact me at mommykerrie at yahoo dot com if you would be interested in purchasing this piece.

Forming Friendships from Toddler to Teen

1,191 words

As parents, we want our kids to make good friends … friends who they have fun with and can confide in. Of course, not all kids are social butterflies, so how do you encourage friendships at every stage of the game from toddler to teen? This piece is broken up into three parts: Toddlers and Preschoolers; Elementary Age Kids; Tweens and Teens and offers many helpful tips for helping kids make and keep friends.

Playdate Success would make a great sidebar for this piece.

Please contact me at mommykerrie at yahoo dot com if you would be interested in purchasing this piece.

How to Handle Halloween Hecklers

I know it’s not a holiday on par with the religious significance of Christmas or the historical importance of Memorial Day, but Halloween sure is a reason to celebrate in my house. This has a lot to do with the fact that I have a love affair with sugar, chocolate and any type of candy and have passed that on to my skinny kids. The sugar coupled with the opportunities for socialization for the kids and for me make this is the ultimate holiday. So why do Halloween hecklers want to spoil our fun? Over the years I’ve figured out how to handle all sorts of Halloween heckler tricks, and I’ll share these little knowledge treats with you …

703 words

Stocking Up On Meals Before (and After) Baby Comes

814 words, including Resources sidebar

I've found that one of the biggest time sucks after having a baby is preparing and cooking meals, so I set out to find some ways to get meals cooked and lined up BEFORE my next baby was born. This piece solves many problems a new mom faces with trying to cook meals, including suggestions such as (1) make a bunch of meals while you're still pregnant and freeze them, (2) set up a meal calendar so friends and family can bring meals after the baby is born, and (3) ways to NOT have to see the pizza delivery guy every night (which also packs on the pounds!).

Here's the first part of the article:

"Let’s get real here. Once your baby arrives, you won’t have time for basic hygiene, let alone cooking. Babies are on their own time schedule, which means when you’re ready to prepare a fabulous 5-course meal, your crying bundle of joy is ready to be held nonstop. And who wants to spend Baby’s future college fund on take-out? Besides, the goal is to lose the baby weight, not to pack on more pounds eating pizza day and night just because it’s a quick fix.

One solution is to stock up on meals before your new baby’s arrival; another is to keep meals coming after your baby comes home. Whether you’re a first-timer or already have a few kids under your belt, here’s how to secure all the food you’ll need to be the best new parent you can be:

Make meals in advance at home.
Have you ever been in the middle of cooking dinner, only to realize you were missing one crucial item? It’s a cinch pre-baby to stop cooking and run to the store for what you need, but with a new baby in the house that seemingly simple task is suddenly downright frightening. So once you hit the second trimester (or whenever you feel a burst of energy), grab a once-a-month cooking cookbook (see Resources) and make and freeze some meals. And forget about those bulky foil pans because you can freeze some meals in plastic storage bags or containers to save freezer space."

Please contact me if you would be interested in reprinting this article.

Only Isn't Lonely

941 words, including sidebar of Famous Only Children

Only children often get a bad rap for being spoiled, selfish and lonely, among other things. This piece busts some only-child myths with lots of quotes from parents of onlies.

According to www.abcnews.com, “A generation ago, only 10 percent of families had only children. Today that percentage has more than doubled.” These days, parents of more than three children are often asked, “Are you crazy?!” But parents of only one child are also judged and are often asked, “When are you going to have another?”

Nataly Kogan, creator of www.workitmom.com, says, “Like other parenting decisions — to breastfeed or not, to let kids cry it out or not, to go back to work or to stay home — figuring out how many kids to have is an extremely personal process, but it’s also one that causes others to share advice and opinions without much invitation.”

Some couples may long for more children but are unable to have them due to health problems or other factors. Some get a late start having a family. Some, like Tina Mowrey of Olathe, are simply sure they are done with one. She says, “I think it is to each their own. We love our life just the way it is!”

Read on to see seven Only Child Myths get busted.

Contact me at mommykerrie@yahoo.com for the rest of the article for your review and/or purchase.

Homeschooling 101

805 words, including sidebar of homeschooler myths. I also have a longer version, which is about 1,000 words.

The decision to homeschool can lead to some overwhelming questions like: How do you get started? What does a typical day look like? How do you keep toddlers from emptying the cabinets on a daily basis while you teach your older kids? What about socialization?

After researching the homeschool laws in your state, the first thing you need to know is that there is no “perfect” or “right” way to homeschool. Teaching supplies and methods are as different as the families actually doing the homeschooling. Homeschooling can range from super-structured to complete freedom.

To get started, some homeschoolers buy a packaged curriculum with lesson plans, which works well for parents who are unsure about what needs to be taught or where their child is on the academic spectrum. The choices can be overwhelming, so do Internet research, join online groups and find local homeschoolers to discuss what programs they are using and what they think of their packaged curriculum.

This piece contains quotes from real homeschoolers in the Kansas City area. Obviously, you can take out the city and leave the name and quote if you like.

Contact me at mommykerrie@yahoo.com for the rest of the article for your review and/or purchase.

Pregnancy Sleep Disruption Solutions

764 words, including sidebar of relaxation exercises to try before bed

What pregnant woman doesn’t enjoy her sleep being interrupted 12 times a night while she goes to the bathroom, sniffles through a stuffy nose and rubs out a few leg cramps? (yeah, right) While you may theoretically get 8 hours of sleep at night, the sleep disturbances of pregnancy (a good way to prepare you for caring for a newborn in the middle of the night) can leave you feeling quite groggy the next morning. Below is a problem-solving guide to hopefully gain you some longer stretches of sleep.

Problem: Insomnia
Solutions: Take a warm bath and do some relaxation exercises before bed. Try to stop worrying about things like what color to paint the nursery or who to invite to the baby shower. White noise from something like a fan may help. If your baby is squirming and kicking, try rocking back and forth in bed or rubbing your belly to get him to sleep. If you can’t sleep because you’re worried about labor, arm yourself during the day with information from books and the Internet (take a pass on any negative stories you may come across). Try listening to Dr. Frank Lawlis’s “Positive Birthing” CD. If insomnia becomes a chronic problem, speak to your doctor about taking Ambien or Tylenol P.M.

Contact me at mommykerrie@yahoo.com for the rest of the article for your review and/or purchase.