Why is Physical Fitness So Important for Kids?

Just how much kids exercise is enough? You should plan to spend a minimum of 30 minutes a day, three days a week, getting the family physically active.

Make sure you find physical activities appropriate to your child’s age. Young children can become bored with running but not if you turn it into a game of tag. Making exercise fun – for both you and your kids will ensure that you will both stick with it. Of course, another great way to get kids active is to encourage them to become involved in a sport. Determine what your child is most interested in – it might be a team sport like softball or she may be more of an individual athlete.

Knowing the right way to inspire kids to embrace exercise can be confusing but it doesn’t have to be. More than anything your children will model what they see you so. If you’re active and exercise regularly your children will be more willing to follow in your footsteps.

What are your favorite ways to get kids moving – let us know below:

St. Patrick's Day Lime Non-alcoholic Punch for Kids

Get Your Irish On and Prepare to Capture a leprechaun – this is perfect for the kids’ party at school, since there’s no alcohol.  Though we bet you could spike it with a bit of of something (vodka, tequila) for the grown up version.

Ingredients:

• ½ gallon lime sherbet, softened in fridge before using
• 2 liters Sprite or 7-up

Instructions:
With a hand mixer, blend softened sherbet and soda in a big punch bowl. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until party time.  Top of the mornin’ to you!

Make Reading Fun For Kids

Reading for Kids – Simple Ways to Make Reading fun for Kids

All parents know that reading is an important part of their child’s development.  But with some many other things competing for your child’s time and attention how to you make reading for kids fun?  And why should you?

Reading is a basic skill, that leads to better verbal and written communication.  Good readers also learn how to grasp complex concepts, solve puzzles and develop a genuine interest in learning for the sake of learning.    A good reader is a confident reader and will be a better test taker and student.

So what are some good reader strategies you can use to increase your child’s reading skills?  Here are some tips to get kids reading.

1. Read Daily - d reading on a daily basis reinforces basic literacy skills and cements the idea that reading is important – and a necessary part of life – just like brushing teeth and watching TV.
2. Go to Your Public Library  – Did you know that many children today have never visited a library outside the one at school?   An an outing to the library is one your child will respond positively too.  Help them sign up for their own library card and let them pick their own books to read.
3. Lead or Read by Example – If your kids see you reading from a young age, very likely they will want to model what mommy or daddy is doing.  Read for fun and pleasure and show your kids what you’re reading and explain why you like to read it – for the action, adventure, the information value.   Show that reading makes you a “better” person and they’ll be inspired to tr it for themselves
4. Start a book club – You can easily start this with a few other parents.  Set a weekly meeting time with a small group of children to discuss a new book.     Don’t be afraid to check out the books or publisher’s website for reading guides or asking the local children’s librarian for some picks.  And don’t forget to bring the treats – just like a grown up book club, there’s nothing like noshing and reading.
5. Read at Bedtime – Reading at bed time is a great thing for both children and parents.  It gives you both a chance to connect quietly at the end of the day.  You can share the story and discuss the characters or consider reading a chapter book with one or two chapters a night – your kids will look forward to what happens next.   You’ll both feel relaxes and ready for shuteye when you add reading to your bedtime ritual.

And finally – a bonus tip – Let them choose – reading tends to become less exciting as children grow, but you can counter that by providing a range of suitable materials from kid-friendly magazines on their favorite subject to variety of books.   Work together to find some of child’s favorite genres – whether it’s how-to non-fiction, history, mysteries or slice of life narratives.  Don’t forget to consider comic books and graphic novels.

It’s true that books today are competing with a variety of other things for your child’s attention. Raising a good reader may seem to be a lot harder job than it once was, but it’s not an impossible task.  By exposing your children to books from a young age, you’ll create an enthusiasm for reading.   Don’t forget to lead by example and you’ll be sure to raise a good future reader.

Win Noxicare Pain Cream

Noxicare and GirlMogulMom.com are teaming up to offer one lucky reader a free tube of Noxicare All Natural Pain relief. This unique, doctor-developed formula (Developed by Dr. Reza Ghorbani, a Harvard-trained physician board certified in pain management) combines all natural ingredients to effectively and safely fight pain in a simple to use cream. So why is Noxicare so different than what you’re used to?

Because it’s a proprietary blend of proven painkillers in precise amounts that:
• enable each ingredient to effectively alleviate a specific type of pain on its own
AND
• cause each ingredient to act as a catalyst to the others, actually BOOSTING the effectiveness of the ingredients as a whole.
The result is an extraordinarily potent, natural pain relief formula that relieves all 3 common types of pain: inflammation, muscle aches and nerve pain.

Ok, so want to try Noxicare out?- then to enter to win, post a comment below – tell us your happy place – whether it’s the sun-drenched beach, skiing in the mountain, chilling with the family, or an escape to Starbucks – let us know where you like to go to relax….
We’ll pick on random, lucky winner and send her (or him) one container of Noxicare.
*Sorry – this giveaway is for US based residents only!

Giveaway ends 3/15/2010!

You can read more about Noxicare here: http://www.noxicare.com/about/index.php

The Summer Camp Dilmena
by Christine Duval

Summer Camp - to go or no?

I think the hardest thing I’m facing right now is weighing the desire for my daughter to experience sleep-away camp (or as they call them now, residential camp) versus the part of me that isn’t ready to let go. So, the guilty side of me that feels like maybe I’m holding her back has become obsessed with finding the perfect day camp. That way, she won’t notice if she’s home all summer. She’ll be having so much fun, she won’t think about it.
Or I won’t, at least…until next year.