How to Help Kids Reach Their Goals

Yesterday we talked about how to achieve our new years resolutions, or any goals we set before ourselves. But setting goals isn’t just for grown-ups. Learning to set and accomplish goals at a young age will help kids learn valuable qualities that will help them develop into well rounded children, adolescents and adults. Self-confidence is acquired and self-discipline is learned and the realization that they can make a difference when they put their mind to do something are priceless lessons to learn at a young age. How can you help your children set goals? Here are some tips.

How to reach your goals in 2013

The new year is less than a week away!! Are you making a new years resolution? What do you resolve to do? Below is a list of the top 10 new years resolutions. Is yours on there?

1. Eat Healthy Food
2. Get Fit
3. Lose Weight
4. Drink Less Alcohol
5. Manage Debt
6. Manage Stress
7. Quit Smoking
8. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
9. Save Money
10. Take a Trip

Did you know that every one of these resolutions is also on the top BROKEN new years resolutions list? So the big question is, what is the key to actually keeping your resolutions this year? How can this year be different?

Emma and Adrianna

Happy Holidays from Twiniversity and Safari Ltd.

Meet Emma and Adrianna

Nominated by : Their Mom Amy Taucher

Age: 4 yrs

Home State: IL

What makes your twins rock?

My twins rock because they are most amazing people I get to share my life with. They remind me daily that patience is so important, that a little imagination can go a long way on a very bad day and forgiveness can be easily given. They remind me to count my blessings more than once daily and it really doesn’t matter how small our house is, how old our car is or how much money we have (or don’t have!). They bring so much joy not only to our house, but the houses of others. They put on “dance shows” at the nursing home when we would visit my uncle….in the hallway with no shame and for all to see. They ask the most amazing questions that keep me on my toes. They rock because they’ve changed me. I look at the world differently. I look at my place in society differently. I am different because of them. And I love every minute of it through the smiles, frustration and tears.

Extending the Life of Your Holiday Gift

Written by: Kathleen Tirella Ecker

Christmas at my house looks like a red and green colorful bomb has exploded.  There are kids and presents everywhere.  Wrapping paper, tissue paper and bows everywhere too!  My four children have several Christmases.  We do the traditional Christmas morning at home with all of the presents from Santa.  Then we have a big Christmas Party with Grandma, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.  We start out orderly; passing out the presents until under the tree is bare.  Sometimes the piles are so high that my twins are hidden behind their stack!  My brother likes to go around the room and have each person open up a present one at a time, while the others are patiently waiting their turn.  This works fine for the adults and older kids, but for the eight and under crowd, they tear into their gifts like a pack of wild animals!  While this method is fine and fun for the kids, we have had gifts gone missing:  hockey tickets, store gift cards and even a gold charm.  We think that they have gotten thrown out with all the wrapping and trimmings.  We have learned from this and now all wrapping paper is screened and anything of value gets put up high on the mantle.  But, the kids are excited and have been known to open a present, murmur thank you, put it down and move on to the next gift.   I have made it my mission to make sure that no toy gets caste a side, that every relative is acknowledged with a hug and a genuine thank you.  But it’s difficult.  We do a few things in our house to make sure that every toy does get played with and every gift lasts beyond the first of the year!  Here are my top tested tips:

Cooking for an Army

Written by Twiniversity Member: Danielle Routon

Since having my twins eight months ago, in addition to a rambunctious two year old, I barely find time to shower. Cooking? Ha, ya right. So with the holidays approaching, I am already dreading the preparations. Because we would need a U-Haul to bring all of our baby gear to my in-laws, we will be having Thanksgiving at my house this year. As if our juggling act wasn’t great enough already.  I’ve found some easy and amazing recipes to satisfy our families and let’s be honest, our mother-in-laws too.

For the night before the big meal, when all the family had just arrived, I make something filling, tasty, and always super easy. If you’ve never explored your grocery stores frozen section, now is the time! I use bags of frozen meatballs for everything from birthday parties, Super Bowl blowouts, and regular weekly dinners. Here is my recipe for E-A-S-Y meatball subs:

Slide Safety 101

Don't do this with your child!

When we started taking our twin boys to the playground, it wasn’t long before they wanted to tackle the slide. Since they were little we would go down the slide with them. But then my husband noticed that when he went down with them he had to be extremely careful that their foot didn’t get caught on the slide; especially the enclosed slides. And even with extreme caution there was no way to prevent his foot getting stuck 100%. One time his foot got caught and he had to react quickly to not injure our son seriously. His leg hurt for a bit but walked it off. It was then we we decided not to go down the slide with the children anymore. Then with further research we found that we did have a  legitimate reason for concern and that doctors are taking notice at how common children are getting injured in this way.

At Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., there was a study of pediatric leg fractures over an 11-month period that found nearly 14 percent (8 of 58) of fractures involved toddlers (average age of 20.6 months) playing on the slide. Of those 8, ALL of them were sliding down with a parent. When a child slides down himself his foot can still get caught, but what breaks the child leg is the force of the adult’s weight when going down the slide. A leg fracture is a very painful injury and requires a child to wear a cast for 6 weeks. This is emotionally painful for the parent as well, knowing that they broke their child’s leg.

Kids are going to get hurt on the playground; we can’t protect our kids from every injury and nor should we. But we also need to be educated so that we don’t put our kids at elevated risk for injury, especially when we think we are adding protection. If the child is unable to use the slide independently, then you should encourage him to choose another activity.

I am glad that in our case our son was not seriously injured, and I hope that this warning will save other parents and children the pain of a serious injury of something so simple as sliding down a slide.

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Singleton parents never have to worry about___.

Raising twins raises unique challenges, challenges that parents of an only child, or children born at different times do not face. So we asked our Twiniversity parents the above question. Here is just a few things that set us apart as parents of multiples.

• Nursing two infants at once.
• A double stroller.
• Taking the bus alone with 2 infants.
• Buying 2 of everything at once.
• If they should sing happy birthday once or twice.
• Being asked by strangers, “Did you conceive those kids naturally?”
• Hearing “Double Trouble” a dozen times a week.
• Hearing “You’ve got you hand’s full” a dozen times a week.
• The shock of being told you’re having twins or more.
• Telling identical twins apart.
• Having a vaginal birth and a c-section within an hour of one another!
• Being asked if your b/g twins are identical.
• Being a spectacle everywhere you go.
• Their children being compared to each other all the time.
• Conflicting graduations.
• Potty training 2 at once.
• Twin escalation, one screams, the other has to scream louder, then back to the other again… on and on!
• 8 limbs kicking the crap out of your insides.

Twiniversity Tips: Potty Training

A Mother in Utah took potty training to a new level a couple weeks ago. How so? She took the potty training straight to the dining table… in the middle of a crowded deli. That’s right. She took along two potty chairs, one for each of her twin girls, undid their jumpsuits down to their ankles and let them sit on their potties while eating chicken nuggets. How are your children going to learn how to GO TO the potty, if they are not getting up and GOING TO the potty? Children need to learn that there is a time a place to go to the potty and to hold it long enough to make it to a bathroom.

I am potty training my twins at the moment so I know all too well how hard it is when you are in public and your child suddenly tells you “I have to go potty.” Especially if you are all alone with your multiples and there is no one to run interference with the other child/children; you have to drag everyone into the bathroom. Then you have to try to keep your other child/children from touching everything in the bathroom and from unlocking the stall door, all while you are trying to encourage your other child to do their business in this strange environment.  If they have previously experienced the loud noise of auto-flushing industrial toilets, they may get apprehensive and then not go after all. But potty training has its setbacks and you have to expect that they will happen. Just go with the flow, even if that flow doesn’t happen in the potty.

So today we will review some guidelines for potty training your kids:

Top Tips For Helping Your Twinnies Sleep

There is nothing sweeter than when your babies start sleeping though the night. A whole new world seems to open up as you start getting consecutive hours of sleep at a time! On average babies start sleeping though the night between 6-8 weeks but can take much longer in some instances. No worries though- here are some tips to encourage your babies to sleep through the night. And until they do, just roll with it and remember that one day they will be teenagers and you will have payback when they want to sleep till noon….lol

Routine- You‘ve probably heard this tip from other parents a million times! Why is routine so universally important? Following a predictable pattern before bedtime helps your babies know what is coming next and so they are relaxed and not surprised about bedtime. Ashlee T. says: “My #1 tip is routine, combined with knowing your babies’ signals. Adjust your expectations around how long it’s likely to take, it will all fall into place.” Yes, it will take some time to establish a routine. The key is to have quiet activities prior to bed time. So dim the lights and turn off the TV about an hour before it’s time for bed. Try reading a story, singing a song or talk about all the good things of the day. Your voice will not only sooth your babies but it will also help you relax to think of all the reasons you have to be thankful for your sweet bundles. Why not try to include some of the following your bedtime routine as well?

Sun Safety 101

Summer is in full swing and many of us will be spending these lazy days outside swimming, hiking, and soaking up the suns rays. The following are the top tips for protecting your skin this summer.

• According to Dr. Howard Murad you should, “Always look for a broad spectrum sunscreen that contains UVA and UVB protection. For each application, apply one ounce of sunscreen to the entire body and face daily, and reapply when out in the sun for long periods of time. If you plan on being in water, apply water resistant sunscreen every 40 minutes for optimal protection.”
• The ears, calves, back, and scalp are some of the highest risk areas where we forget to apply sunscreen. What many people don’t realize is that light reflects off surfaces, comes through building and car windows and penetrates through clothing. To protect the scalp, apply sunscreen just as you would everywhere else. For your hair, look for hair products that contain a broad spectrum SPF, like a leave-in spray conditioner. Hats and head scarves are also a stylish and smart way to shield your head, face and ears from the sun.