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Focus on the Candidates – Ted Cruz

This blog is part of the series that focuses on the candidates who are running for President of the United States in 2016. This blog focuses on Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to an American mother and a Cuban father. Ted Cruz has since renounced his Canadian citizenship. He was Solicitor General for the state of Texas from 2003-2008. Ted Cruz was first elected as a Texas Senator in 2012. You might recall him reading “Green Eggs and Ham” on CSPAN during the government shutdown of 2013. Health Care According to his Senate website, Ted … Continue reading →

Dads are Important, Too!

A few months ago, a book was released that emphasized the important role that dads have. It is possible that the book may have influenced some parents to take a moment and think about the importance of dads and whether society might need to update its idea of what dads can do. Let me begin by clearly stating that I think that both dads and moms are very important to their children. Each can have a very strong influence. Whether that influence is positive or negative depends largely on the individual choices each parent makes. A book called Do Fathers … Continue reading →

Is it Ever Ok to Bribe your Kids?

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How do you get your children to do what you want them to? What do you do to encourage them to do certain things and to refrain from doing other things? Many parents have, at least sometimes, resorted to bribing their children. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Is it ever ok to bribe your kids? New findings reveal some interesting answers to these questions. First, it would be helpful to figure out what a bribe is (and what it isn’t). Author Ellen Perry points out that there is a continuum to be aware of. Motivation is one one end, … Continue reading →

What to Know about the Glow

Glow sticks are extremely popular this time of year.  You can find kids sporting them at summer fireworks shows, evening baseball games, backyard barbeques and during bike rides at dusk.  My 8-year-old loves to bend them into bracelets, necklaces and headbands and wear them while we stroll along the beach after sunset. While I’m game for the glow, other parents are not as thrilled to see their kids playing with the popular, yet potentially poisonous neon sticks.  Many moms and dads question the contents of glow sticks.  After all, if the liquid inside the sticks can make plastic light up like … Continue reading →

Put Kids to Work

My parents were huge proponents of the idiom:  “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.” In other words, my mom and dad hated seeing their offspring sit around when there was work to be done.  And when you’re living in a home occupied by six people, there’s never a shortage of tasks to be completed. For me, summer meant tennis camp, swimming lessons and plenty of chores.  In my dad’s eyes, no job was too dirty for his little girl.  Looking back, I don’t begrudge my father for keeping me and my brothers busy during the dog days of summer.  In … Continue reading →

Splat Says Thank You!

How do you know if your child understands the true meaning of Thanksgiving? Before digging into their Turkey Day spread, many families go around the dinner table and share moments of gratitude. Kids are then put on the spot and forced to share one thing they are thankful for while a gaggle of extended guests stare them down. The end result: Typically, a long stretch of silence followed by a string of “ums,” “ers,” “ahs,” and more silence. If you are lucky, you’ll hear a barely audible, “toys” or a regurgitation of whatever the person ahead of your shy child … Continue reading →

Classroom Distractions

Forget about smartphones, cute football players and pretty cheerleaders, when it comes to classroom distractions, experts say parents should be more concerned with their kids’ empty stomachs. A recent study published in Childhood Obesity found that the snacks tweens and teens bring to school to satisfy their grumbling guts are failing to make the grade when it comes to nutrition. In fact, according to experts, the popularity of the following snack foods is the reason many students suffer from behavioral problems such as hyperactivity: Cheetos: No surprise here. One-ounce of the neon orange puffs contains 150 calories, 10 grams of … Continue reading →

How to Tell a Cold from an Allergy

The Fall weather is upon us, and Winter weather is on its way. This is the time of year when many children catch a cold. If your child has allergies, it might be difficult to figure out if their symptoms indicate that they have a cold, or, if they are having an allergic reaction. Here are some tips to help you to tell the difference. Is that sneeze due to a cold, or is it an allergy symptom? Parents of children who have allergies may have trouble differentiating between the two possible answers. Colds and allergies have some symptoms in … Continue reading →

Don’t Cry in My Cheetos

Thousands of tweens and teens across the country are choking up when they dig into a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and it’s not because the spicy snack burns on the way down. Rather, some school districts are banning the crunchy corn puffs, claiming the cheesy treat is hazardous to kids’ health. The news has brought some students to tears, while others are flamin’ mad that school administrators would make such a bold move. According to CBS News, the Cheetos brouhaha started when a health teacher from Lyndon B. Johnson Middle School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sent a note home … Continue reading →

Study Links Mercury Levels in Mom to ADHD in Child

A new study has connected the mercury levels in women shortly after they gave birth with an increased risk that their child would develop ADHD by the time he or she turned eight years old. We know that it is best that women who are pregnant avoid fish that contains mercury. This is another reason why. You have probably heard that women who are pregnant should avoid eating certain kinds of fish in order to avoid ingesting mercury during pregnancy. In general, this means avoiding swordfish, shark, tilefish, and king mackerel, because those are known to contain high mercury levels. … Continue reading →