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Category: home/living

Parenting Simply: Welcome Little Helpers

Parenting Simply: Welcome Little Helpers

[ 2 ] 3.8.2012 |

My daughters are two and four, and even at these young ages I see how much they welcome some responsibility around the house, and how proud they are when they can accomplish “grown up” tasks. Household chores provide a wonderful way for little ones to learn and practice new skills. Parents may also find that they come to appreciate the task in a new way, as you start to view it as a learning tool.

In my home, I’ve noticed how much smoother mealtimes are when I invite the children to help with some preparation and some clean up afterward. In the morning, as I put their breakfasts on the table, I fill the sink with warm soapy water and set up a sturdy stool.

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Top Five Things You Should Say to a New Mom

Top Five Things You Should Say to a New Mom

[ 1 ] 3.7.2012 |

Through my own experience as a new mom (three times!), work as a postpartum doula, and exchanges with countless new moms via Rhode Island New Moms Connection, I have heard some of the craziest things…that people say to new moms. Women are often made to feel uncomfortable by others they encounter on the street, at the grocery store, at restaurants – and even in their own home! Sometimes we need to just say nothing-at-all and show our support by doing things that help a new mom: cook her a meal, carry her bags, pick up the item she dropped, hold the door, give her a smile…and leave it at that. But, if we must say something, why not say something like this:

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Family Matters: Easy DIY Birthday Cakes – just add toys

Family Matters: Easy DIY Birthday Cakes – just add toys

[ 0 ] 3.2.2012 |

Here is one from the Kidoinfo archives:

I consider myself an artist but NOT when it comes to baking or cake decorating. And I will leave decorating with fondant to my friend Kristin who out-Marthas Martha every year with her kid’s birthday cake masterpieces. I used pre-made sheets of fondant to cover my sons’ pirate cakes one year (see below) and although they looked fine, everyone had to peel the icing off because it was so sugary sweet.

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Act locally: Save Chocolateville

Act locally: Save Chocolateville

[ 0 ] 2.29.2012 |

We love chocolate. Knowing that it’s made locally and supports a good cause — even better.

Chocolateville, as it was known in colonial times, was once a thriving community that combined the best of entrepreneurship, employment, and productivity. Known today as Central Falls, this economically depressed city is home to over 19,000 residents living in one square mile of Rhode Island.

Years of financial and social struggle led to bankruptcy, making Central Falls the epitome of the failing American industrial city. Now Mike Ritz, head of Leadership Rhode Island, and others are trying to help save Central Falls — one chocolate bar at a time.

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This I Believe: How Do I Raise Community-Minded Kids?

This I Believe: How Do I Raise Community-Minded Kids?

[ 1 ] 2.27.2012 |

My topics for Kidoinfo conversations stem from my own quest for answers and a curiosity of how other parents make their choices and find inspiration around a certain topic. Last spring I started with the question: How do we raise our children to be thinkers, doers and to care about the world around them?

I first thought and wrote about what I believe and then invited people to share their ideas and invited Kidoinfo readers and members of the community to join in the conversation on May 25, 2011. While planning for the event, I submitted my thoughts in the form of an essay to the This I Believe website. I was honored to learn last week that my essay, How Do I Raise Community-Minded Kids?, was accepted in the “This I Believe” online database. Read the full essay…

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