Wise Observer

If you had to spend 4 or 5 hours in a snug car seat with even snugger straps and nothing to do, you might not be a huge road trip fan either. Road trips are getting more fun for the younger set as portable and built-in DVD players become more and more common, but sometimes even watching videos gets old.

When it’s time to resort to good old fashioned road trip entertainment, we’ve got the time-tested, mother approved activities for you:

Trip Bag. At the beginning of the trip, surprise your kids with a Trip Bag, filled with goodies you’ve selected for them ahead of time, like activity books, small toys, books, snacks and more.

Music. Listening to CDs of your child’s favorite songs and singing along will help the time pass faster. Choose song collections with finger games and verses your child will know, like Itsy Bitsy Spider, BINGO and This Old Man.

Electric Reading Books. The popular learn-to-read “books” like My First LeapPad by LeapFrog or the Power Touch Learning System by Fisher Price will engage your child’s interest with words, stories and games featuring favorite characters, Thomas the Train, Strawberry Shortcake and Arthur.

Game Boy Advance. We usually pack this for the adults, but now it’s also great to share with our toddlers thanks to the kids videos that are now available. We love the Dora The Explorer: Game Boy Advance Video Vol. 1 featuring 3 Little Piggies and Big River.

I Spy. The classic game that kids from 2 to 12 can enjoy! The person who’s turn it is picks out something everyone can see and says, ” I spy something…” and then describes the color, shape size or location to give clues. She answers “yes” or “no” to questions. The correct guesser becomes the next spy.

Scavenger Hunt. Make a list of things you may see on a road trip and as you find them on your travels, check them off. For toddlers, find, print and laminate pictures of things on our scavenger hunt list to make the game visual. This game is also easily adaptable to older kids, who can check items off on the list. Try making the activity competitive, and allow only the first person who sees the item to check it off. Click here for a starter list for your road trip scavenger hunt!

Car Bingo. This is a variation of the travel scavenger hunt, fun for older toddlers and young children. Make bingo cards using the items listed above in our road trip scavenger hunt, using four squares up and four across. Cover the squares of things like police cards, stop signs and bicycles as you find them on your travels. Click here to visit Sesame Street for a set of bingo cards you can print!

Lap Desk. Make or buy a lap desk to make activities easier for kids traveling in the back seat. A good traveling lap desk will have a cushy bottom to conform to your child’s legs and help keep the top stable. Some models have zipper pockets or containers to hold crayons and pens.

About the Author

For more great information about expecting and parenting, visit MomRecommended.com, a site for moms by moms. Annie Valle is a freelance writer, web designer and a mom. You’ll find product reviews, recipes, baby names, free projects and more, when you visit http://www.momrecommended.com.

Women that are pregnant will find that their current clothes are not fitting them in the same places anymore. When this problem starts to happen, they will have to find the right maternity clothes for their body. There are so many different styles of fashion in maternity clothes these days. You do not have to look frumpy and depressing anymore when you pregnant.

When a woman is pregnant they do not want to look bigger than what they really are. They will want to look as slim and beautiful as they can in all of the clothes that they wear. The nice thing about choosing maternity clothes these days is that they are designed to have the same great style and fashion as all the other women are wearing. There is no need to change the way you dress just because you are having a baby and your body is changing.

There are beautiful and elegant clothes for women that are pregnant. It will be possible for the women to wear fancy clothes out to dinner or a night on the town and be stunning. Women can also look good in many of the fashions for everyday. There are jeans and sweaters that are going to flatter the figure of any women and still allow them to be comfortable. These clothes are not only made for the appearance, they also keep in mind that a women needs to have room to expand and that is another feature these clothing manufactures have kept in mind.

The maternity clothes of today are made in many different colors and designs. Women do not have to just wear black anymore. They can expand their wardrobe and bring some life into their everyday look. When a women that is pregnant is wearing maternity clothes that fun and exciting, they will feel better physically and emotionally as well. Wearing beautiful and attractive clothing when pregnant will make women feel good about their body, which in turn will give them a better outlook in life. This is not only better for the mother, but also the unborn child as well.

Finding these hip maternity clothes is easier than ever. There are so many stores that are located everywhere that stock this awesome style of clothing. Many of the stores will have all kinds of styles for women. It is up to the women to decide what style is best for them and what they will feel most comfortable in. There are dresses; pants, skirts, and even lingerie that will make any women feel more confident and happier with their body when they are pregnant.

With the new and improved styles in maternity clothes today, a women that is pregnant may even turn a head or two now and then. The new styles of clothes today will make it nearly impossible for anyone to even tell what month of pregnancy a woman is in.
You can find more about maternity clothes on http://www.all-about-maternity-clothes.com/

Kenneth Langlet is the owner of the site www.all-about-maternity-clothes.com/
where you can find more about maternity clothes.

Often, the struggle at dinnertime with your picky eater is not
so much about food as it is about control. As children become
more independent, conflicts can arise as they carefully
scrutinize what goes into their mouths. The more you push, the
more they resist with the outcome resulting in tears and
frustration.

During one of these scenarios, it is not surprising to see picky
eater dissolve into hysterics when faced with a tiny lima bean
or hear unpleasant gagging sounds after your seven-year-old
sniffs the aromatic lemon sauce poured over the baked fish.
Then, as the parents become upset, blowing things out of
proportion, generally things become worse.

Instead, you will need to learn on finding a common ground with
your picky eater, one by which you all can live. Try to
remember that not all battles are worth fighting. Therefore,
you will need to decide which ones are the most important in
your house. Hopefully, food will not be one of them because it
could potentially turn the pleasure of eating into a control
issue that can last a lifetime.

Your primary concerns should be whether your picky eater child
is getting the requisite amount of calories he or she needs to
grow, and if he or she has a proper balance of nutrients to
remain healthy. The answer is most likely “yes.” Even if your
picky eater child were on a macaroni and cheese kick for the
next two weeks, protein, dairy, and other vitamins are still
included in the diet.

Be realistic in your expectations. Children (not just picky
eater children) up to age ten still use their fingers quite a
lot in ways that adults don’t, like pushing peas onto a spoon
and picking up pieces of meat. They still have some trouble
chewing and swallowing tough or dry or fibrous foods, like steak
or chops. Part of the problem might be that they don’t have the
jaw strength to chew up the meat.

Another part is that up until about age eight their swallow is
immature. They swallow with their cheeks, as if they were
suckling from a straw, not using their tongue like you or I do.
Children this age still have a limited number of foods they
readily accept. Do not despair. The number of accepted foods
will gradually increase, as they get older. The numbers will
increase — that is, provided you don’t make a big issue about
it. Often times making a big deal can cause and decrease in
food acceptance rather then an increase.

To learn more about picky eater children and get some quick and
easy picky eater recipes visit http://www.mypickyeater.com

Learn step-by-step how to successfully cope with Picky Eaters with Help There is a Picky Eater in The House! Full of Proven Strategies and Great Picky Eater Recipes that are Guaranteed to Help. Get Effective Picky Eater Help Now!

Several years ago there was a commercial for Dodge trucks that had two rams on a mountain banging their heads together. The slogan was “Dodge trucks are ram tough.”

Even though the rams had horns on their heads to bang together, it sure did look like it hurt a lot.

It was a good metaphor for what happens when parents and teens get into ongoing power struggles. They bang their heads together and it hurts.

Once you enter into a power struggle with a teen, you have already lost it.

When parents and teens get caught up in a power struggle, no one wins.

Now that does not mean that as a parent you back off completely and let them do whatever they want.

You do have to pick your battles however. One of the things that contributes to an atmosphere ripe for power struggles is turing every issue into a battle.

For parents, not every issues needs to be a battle for control. For teens, not every issue needs to be a battle for independence.

It’s the parents job to not get hooked into each and every power struggle.

Remember the closing line of the movie War Games:

“Interesting game . . . the only winning move is not to play.”

Visit ParentingYourTeenager.com for tips and tools for thriving during the teen years. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 5 day e-program on The Top 5 Things to Never Say to Your Teenager, from parenting coach and expert Jeff Herring.