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IN THIS ISSUE:
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1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Course Schedule for Winter/Spring 2012: (see home page)
2. The Happy Secret
3. Cling Less, Enjoy More
4. Woman with a Mission
5. The Homework Debate
6. One of Us
7. Handling “Everyone Else Has One”
8. What Teachers Really Want to Tell Parents
9. How to Transform What is Draining You
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
For information and registration please call Deborah at 713-840-8663

2. The Happy Secret
In this fast-moving and entertaining talk from TEDxBloomington, psychologist Shawn Achor explains that happiness actually inspires productivity rather than productivity inspiring happiness. He also suggests ways to switch the way we focus to create greater happiness.
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3. Cling Less, Enjoy More
The Dalai Lama said, “Most of our troubles are due to our passionate desire for and attachment to things that we misapprehend as enduring entities.” Lori Deschene of Tiny Buddha explores how clinging less can lead to greater happiness and joy.
CLICK HERE for More

4. Woman with a Mission
In this episode of Your Life Calling, Jane Pauley interviews Jenny Bowen, a former Hollywood filmmaker, who found her life calling through the formation of Half the Sky Foundation which nurtures and cares for children in Chinese orphanages.
CLICK HERE for More

5. The Homework Debate
Tween Parent checks in on the homework debate – how much homework is too much homework and homework tips for your family.
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6. One of Us
By Wes Hopper
Margaret Cho said, “Try to love someone who you want to hate, because they are just like you, somewhere inside, in a way you may never expect, in a way that resounds so deeply within you that you cannot believe it.” One of the persistent plots that we find in fiction – books, movies, TV – is the character that seems to be one thing early in the story, usually not very nice, but who is revealed to be much nicer or sympathetic later on. There’s a good reason why writers use this plot device a lot. It’s because it happens in real life all the time. Usually not quite so dramatically, but it happens. We get to know someone and we find that behind their public persona is a genuine human being.

It’s true of everyone, of course, but some folks are so wounded by life that they never let it show, and they die with the music still in them. So the challenge for us, if we are spiritually aware, is found in our quote. Can we look at these others, in all their dysfunction, and see them as just like us? Human beings, doing the best they can with the hand they’ve been dealt?

It’s easier to see when we remember that the difference between us is a matter of degree, not of substance. Somewhere in the inner part of them, and us, we are alike. It comes from our common spiritual heritage. As songwriter Eric Brazilian wrote: “What if God was one of us? Just the same as one of us, trying to make His way home.” That’s me, that’s you, and that’s the difficult person in front of you.

If you can see the Oneness instead of being drawn into conflict, you have made the world a better place. I’m grateful for that.
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7. Handling “Everyone Else Has One!”
Whether it is requesting a cell phone, being on FaceBook or going to the mall with friends, parents may hear “everyone else has one” or “everyone else gets to do it” when their child’s request is denied. Maggie Macaulay of Whole Hearted Parenting offers tips for parents to effectively and peacefully handle “everyone else has one.”
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8. What Teachers Really Want to Tell Parents
Ron Clark, author of The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck – 101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers and Disney’s American Teacher of the Year, writes, “This summer, I met a principal who was recently named as the administrator of the year in her state. She was loved and adored by all, but she told me she was leaving the profession.” Find out why she was leaving and what teachers would really like parents to know.
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9. How to Transform What’s Draining You
Dr. Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting says, “The bad news is, life is not perfect. The good news is, you can have a perfectly wonderful life, even with all these imperfections. The secret is in your attitude.” In this article, the last segment of her series Nurturing Yourself While Raising Your Child, she addresses five ways to transform what is draining you so that you can have an even more wonderful family life.
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10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“I work with preschoolers. They sort colored beads, sequence a story they just heard, make elaborate designs with pattern blocks, and figure out how to equitably divide cars with their friends. We know they are learning important math concepts. They call it playing.” Kathleen Klofft
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Course Schedule for Winter/Spring 2012
2. Four Ways to Raise Children with Social Intelligence
3. Relearning How to Play
4. Shyness and Introversion are Different
5. Building Strong Brains: Schools Need Environmental Education
6. Top of the Roller Coaster
7. Fostering Literacy Through Art
8. Connecting with Older Kids
9. Jamie Oliver Wins: McDonald’s Changes Recipe
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week

2. Four Ways to Raise Children with Social Intelligence
Janet Lansbury of Elevating Child Care says, “Of all the skills we encourage our children to develop, social intelligence may be the most essential for predicting a fulfilling, successful life. It’s also the aspect of development parents influence most profoundly, and it’s crucial that we’re aware of that, because our every word, move and gesture are being studied.” Read Janet’s four suggestions for raising children with social intelligence.
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3. Relearning How to Play
Children’s play is threatened, say experts who advise that kids – from toddlers to tweens – should be relearning how to play. Roughhousing and fantasy feed development.
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4. Shyness and Introversion are Different
Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, advises us not to call introverted children ‘shy’. The two are very different. Society rewards extroverts, but quiet types have a hidden strength all their own.
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5. Building Strong Brains: Schools Need Environmental Education
Ricky Akerly, author of The Genius in Children, advocates for children playing and learning in nature – one of the oldest and best educational activities – because it promotes full brain development. This article from a long-time educator is well worth the read.
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6. Top of the Roller Coaster
By Wes Hopper
Friedrich Nietzsche said, “Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!” One of the most important life lessons that we learn as kids is how totally thrilling it is to scare ourselves with some new experience, and then survive. The first swim in the deep water. The first ride on the roller coaster. The first jump off the high dive. Do you remember what that felt like? To face your fears in public and survive? To not be a scared little kid anymore?

We have this same reaction to new experiences as adults but we’re much too old to admit it. Your first speech at a networking group. Your first time asking a customer for the order. Your first Power Point presentation to the executive staff. As our quote proclaims, our greatest enjoyments in life come from living dangerously. We feel fully alive in the moment, and we don’t die.

That’s how we live our dreams, too. By stepping out into the unknown, taking a risk, feeling vulnerable and exposed. Then doing it again, and again. After all, your dreams don’t live in the safe and known, they’re at the top of the roller coaster waiting for you. Enjoy the ride!
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7. Fostering Literacy Through Art
In this delightful interview with Mary Ann Kohl, author of thirty children’s art books, the admiration that Tinkerlab’s Rachelle Doorley has for the author is palpable. You will be inspired!
CLICK HERE for More

8. Connecting with Older Kids
Kate Fairlie of Picklebums says of her relationship with her children, “As toddlers the physical connection between us was still strong. They often sought a hand to hold or arms to pick them up. These days, my big kids are getting more and more independent. As they have grown, the innate, easy, every day physical closeness has lessened and changed.” Kate offers ways to stay connected with your older children who may not readily seek out that hug or physical closeness that they once did.
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9. Jamie Oliver Wins: McDonald’s Changes Recipe
McDonald’s restaurants have changed the recipe for their hamburgers after TV chef Jamie Oliver pressured the fast food giant to remove a processed food ingredient, ammonia hydroxide, that he called “pink slime.”
CLICK HERE for More

10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“Work can provide the opportunity for spiritual and personal growth as well as financial growth. If it doesn’t, we’re wasting far too much of our lives on it.”
James Autry

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Thank you for being a member of the Kids “R” the Future Community.
Please forward this newsletter to parents, teachers, family and friends who might
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Course Schedule for Winter/Spring 2012 (see home page)
2. The Most Important Thing You are Teaching Your Child
3. Miss Representation
4. School ADD is not Homeschool ADD
5. Growing Veggie Lovers
6. Getting in the Mood
7. Painting with Light
8. Nine Essential Tips to Face Fear and Live a Bold Life
9. Seven Key Ingredients for Fool-Proof Parenting
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week

2. The Most Important Thing You are Teaching Your Child
Dr. Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting says, “Most parents take their job as teachers very seriously. We teach our kids colors. ABCs. Sharing. Right from wrong. But sometimes we don’t even notice a much more important lesson we’re imparting to our children: how to manage themselves and their feelings. This is the basis of emotional intelligence (EQ), which will determine their quality of life much more fundamentally than their IQ.”
CLICK HERE for More

3. Miss Representation
The documentary Miss Representation, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and aired on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in October.
The film explores how the media’s misrepresentations of women have led to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence. View the trailer by clicking below then visit the website here.
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4. School ADD is not Homeschool ADD
Laura Grace Weldon, author of Free Range Learning, has a beautiful post detailing her experience with how her young son learns. This is a must read for parents and teachers.
CLICK HERE for More

5. Growing Veggie Lovers
Zina from Let’s Lasso the Moon gives five tips for not only getting your kids to eat veggies but to actually like them.
CLICK HERE for More

6. Getting in the Mood
By Wes Hopper
Pearl Buck said, “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know that it has got to get down to work.” We have an infinite supply of excuses for not doing what we know we should do, don’t we? Not the routine work that we can do with our eyes closed, but the important work, the creative work. The work where we have to think! There’s always something to do first. Check the email, balance the checkbook, get more coffee.

I read the blogs of a number of successful writers, and they all say essentially the same thing: if you wait for the right mood to strike you, you’ll never write anything. The way to get in a writing mood is to start writing, and keep at it for as long as you need to in order to get it done. In other words, you challenge the mood – “I’m going to write for an hour and I’m going to do it with or without you!”

It’s the same for any kind of creative work. You cannot afford to wait for the right mood! The best gift you can give yourself is the commitment to do your work whether you feel like it or not. You’ll be surprised at how good you feel, and how good your work is, even though you “weren’t in the mood.”

You’ll probably also be surprised at how much you get done.
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7. Painting with Light
Houston photographer Angie Dornier shares the details on how to paint with light, just like Pablo Picasso. This is a fun indoor creative project that needs only a flashlight, camera and participants!
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8. Nine Essential Tips to Face Fear and Live a Bold Life
On the Tiny Buddha blog, Tess Marshall writes of the experience of her daughter lives a bold life even having been born without a right hand. Tess says, “Are you willing to begin now, to dig for the courage to do all the things you were meant to do, but haven’t yet begun? If the answer is yes, read on!”
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9. Seven Key Ingredients for Fool-Proof Parenting
In response to a parent who says there is no single way to effectively raise all children because they are unique, Janet Lansbury of Elevating Child Care says, “Although I couldn’t agree more about each child being unique, I disagree about there not being a universal, one-size-fits-all child care approach — because I know one. It’s summed up perfectly by RIE Associate Elizabeth Memel when she welcomes new parents to her Parent/Infant Guidance Classes: “I’m not your teacher — your child is your teacher.” (Wish I’d said that.).” Read Janet’s seven ingredients for fool-proof parenting.
CLICK HERE for More

10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Thank you for being a member of the Kids “R” the Future Community.
Please forward this newsletter to parents, teachers, family and friends who might
find the tips, links, and information valuable. Consider it community service!
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Course Schedule Winter/Spring 2012 (see home page)
2. 100 Ideas for Creating a More Peaceful World
3. Twelve Really Stupid Things I Never Want to Do Again
4. If Your Kids Could Make the Rules of Divorce
5. Let Kids Create
6. Take the Step
7. Inside the Baby Mind
8. Child Safety is More than a Slogan
9. Buying Your Pre-Teen Her First Bra
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week

2. 100 Ideas for Creating a More Peaceful World
Dr. Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting said in her recent blog post, “In honor of the new year, I want to wish you peace – in your family, your world, and your heart. But peace isn’t just something that happens to us, peace is something we create. David Krieger, founder of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (the mission of which is to support worldwide efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, strengthen international law and institutions, and to inspire and empower a new generation of peace leaders) offers this wonderful little list called 100 Ideas for Creating a More Peaceful World.”
CLICK HERE for More

3. Twelve Really Stupid Things I Never Want to Do Again
Rev. James Martin – a Jesuit priest, culture editor of America and author of Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor and Laughter are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life – wrote in a recent post about the New Year, “Last year I listed 12 things I knew at age 50 that I wish I had known at 25. Now I’m a year older. And if I’m not wiser, at least I’m a bit more experienced. So here are 12 really stupid things I’ve done that I never want to do again. Maybe you’ve done some of them, too. But I’ll bet we’d both be happier if we didn’t.”
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4. If Your Kids Could Make the Rules of Divorce
Kara Bishop writes a beautiful article on the ten rules that children wish for in the divorce of their parents. There is also a video on the eye-opening exercise that Kara conducted to derive the ten rules and to create her book on this very topic.
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5. Let Kids Create
Brooke of Let Kids Create shares her children’s favorite creative activity from 2011 along with a blog hop to over one hundred blogs with creative activities for your family.
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6. Take the Step
By Wes Hopper
R. Buckminster Fuller said, “You can rest assured that if you devote your time and attention to the highest advantage of others, the Universe will support you, always and only in the nick of time.” It’s always interesting when support for great truths is found in unlikely places. I realized while studying today’s quote that I had seen an example of this principle recently – in a scene from the #3 Indiana Jones movie!

In the process of searching for the magical Holy Grail, our hero is presented with a serious problem. Carefully following dangerous and deceptive clues through a series of caves and tunnels, he comes out on a narrow ledge on the side of a cliff. On the other side of the sheer chasm he can see the door to his goal, but there’s no sign of any way to get across the canyon. Kind of like running your own business, isn’t it?

So our hero thinks, “Wait a minute! I outsmarted a whole gang of Nazis, found the secret path, avoided all the booby traps, and got to this cliff. There has to be a way across!” And then he remembers Bucky Fuller’s quote: “the Universe will always support you…in the nick of time.” Or something like it. So he takes a deep breath, and walks off the ledge toward the door! And the bridge appears under his feet.

That’s the way our life seems at times. It asks us to take a step of faith into the great unknown. If we’re dedicated to serving others, the Universe is there to support us. Not to do our work for us, but to build the impossible bridges for us. When we need them. You have to take the step.
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7. Inside the Baby Mind
What it is like to be a baby? For centuries, this question would have seemed absurd: behind that adorable facade was a mostly empty head. A baby, after all, is missing most of the capabilities that define the human mind, such as language and the ability to reason. Modern science has largely agreed, spending decades outlining all the things that babies couldn’t do because their brains had yet to develop. Now, however, scientists have begun to dramatically revise their concept of a baby’s mind. By using new research techniques and tools, they’ve revealed that the baby brain is abuzz with activity, capable of learning astonishing amounts of information in a relatively short time.
CLICK HERE for More

8. Child Safety is More than a Slogan
Nancy A. McBride, National Safety Director of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® writes, ““Stranger danger” — the phrase is so pervasive in our culture it has become part of the lexicon. The media and other professionals often use this phrase as a slogan to try to educate children about how to avoid dangerous situations and individuals. When well-intentioned professionals and parents or guardians use the phrase “stranger danger” it may mistakenly convey only strangers harm children. The message of “never talk to strangers” does not fully educate children about how to stay safer.” Read what comprises an effective safety message for your children.
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9. Buying Your Pre-Teen Her First Bra
Tween Parent offers up when, what and where to purchase your pre-teen’s first bra as well as recognizing how to be sensitive to the way in which your daughter desires to handle this moment in her life – as a celebrated rite of passage or something done more privately.
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10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“An exaggeration is a truth that has lost its temper.” Kahlil Gibran

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Thank you for being a member of the “Kids R the Future” Community.
Please forward this newsletter to parents, teachers, family and friends who might
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Course Schedule for Winter/Spring 2012: see home page
2. Ten Things Parents Can Learn from Grandparents
3. Your Unique Holiday Signature
4. Fame and Accomplishment
5. Educators are Going Back to Basics
6. The Face in the Mirror
7. Letters to Santa
8. Replacing Stigma with Best Practices
9. A Jolly Toddler Holiday
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week

2. Ten Things Parents Can Learn from Grandparents
Dr. Laura Markham of Aha Parenting! lists ten terrific things that parents can learn from grandparents.
CLICK HERE for More

3. Your Unique Holiday Signature
Maggie Macaulay of Whole Hearted Parenting writes, “Much like the summer vacation – anticipated with visions of family fun that somehow spirals into fighting children and exhausted parents – the holidays may not always look like what we initially envision. The cultural pressure to create a Norman Rockwell event can be daunting.” Here are three suggestions for making the holiday season successful with your own family signature.
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4. Fame and Accomplishment
Biographer Yona Zeldis McDonough said, “Andy Warhol (famously) said that in the future, everyone would be famous for fifteen minutes. Well, he was wrong: the future seems to be a time when everyone is famous for fifteen seconds. Or less. Never has fame, and its handmaiden, celebrity, been so important, so sought after.” Yona discusses teaching children the difference between fame and accomplishment in this post for Tween Parent.
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5. Educators are Going Back to Basics
Educators are going back to basics in the use of building blocks, and one school director explains that blocks are “an antidote to fine-motor-skill deficits and difficulty with unstructured activity, problems that they blame on too much time in front of screens and overly academic preschools.” Read more on this swing in the educational pendulum in this New York Times article.
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6. The Face in the Mirror
By Wes Hopper

Raymond Charles Barker said, “No one can love you until you love yourself, and you cannot love anyone else, until you love yourself.” There was a time in my life when my relationships with others were a real mess. Everything was a struggle, and I wondered what was wrong with everyone. Nothing changed until the day that I realized that in every disaster there was one person always at the scene of the crime. Me! That was when my real work began, and it continues to this day. And as our quote suggests, the focus of that work is to love and accept myself.

It’s funny, but as I learned to love and accept myself, the people around me did, too. Some people left, new people showed up, relationships changed in amazing ways. It’s very humbling to look at the past disasters and conflicts in your life and realize, “Gosh, all this time the problem was me!”

How do you talk to yourself about yourself? Does your talk sound loving and supportive, or is it critical and condemning? Would you hang around with someone who talked about you the way you do? If the answer is no, then change the way you talk until the answer is yes.

Post today’s quote up where you can see it. Put a little mirror next to it. Love the person in the mirror.
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7. Letters to Santa
Letters to Santa are the topic in Childhood 101’s Literacy Spot.
CLICK HERE for More

8. Replacing Stigma with Best Practices
In his recent post entitled Children are the Winners When We Replace Stigma with Best Practices for Gay and Lesbian Parents, Adam Pertman wrote, “News flash: Today, in every state in America, gay fathers and lesbian mothers are raising children. For a range of reasons, not everyone in our country likes or wants to accept this reality, but it is a reality nevertheless. And it is also true that adoption – primarily of “waiting” children and youth from foster care – is one of the reasons for this growing phenomenon.” Read more in Adam’s article.
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9. A Jolly Toddler Holiday
Janet Lansbury of Elevating Child Care addresses talking to young children about Santa as well as three ways to enrich a toddler’s enjoyment of the holidays.
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10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.” James Allen
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Thank you for being a member of the Kids “R” the Future Community.
Please forward this newsletter to parents, teachers, family and friends who might
find the tips, links, and information valuable. Consider it community service!
If you wish to unsubscribe, please reply and put “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

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IN THIS ISSUE:
==========

1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Course Schedule Winter/Spring 2012 (see home page)
2. Very Few Things are More Important than This
3. Felt Food Fun
4. Does Your Child Know Who’s Boss?
5. Immigration and ‘Shattered Families’
6. Beware the Borg
7. Highlights® Hidden Pictures Online
8. What Overprotective Parents and GPS Have in Common
9. Make Ups Make a Difference
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week

2. Very Few Things are More Important than This
Kathryn Kvols deems this so important that it is in the first chapter of her book, Redirecting Children’s Behavior. Learn what it is and why it is so important for parents.
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3. Felt Food Fun
These ideas for homemade felt food for children’s play are delightful!
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4. Does Your Child Know Who’s Boss?
Dr. Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting says, “Most of us wish our kids would obey our every request without a fuss. But that would mean we were raising automatons who weren’t thinking for themselves. There will be many times in your child’s teen years where having practiced saying ‘No!’ could save her life. Your child isn’t wrong to say ‘No!’; she has a reason. It may not be what you consider a good reason, but she certainly thinks it is.” Discover what Dr. Markham calls a parent’s “most potent motivator” in this article.
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5. Immigration and ‘Shattered Families’
Adam Pertman, author of Adoption Nation and Executive Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, addresses a recent report from the Applied Research Center which “documents how thousands of children are removed from the custody of detained or deported undocumented workers in this country, and are placed in foster care.”
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6. Beware the Borg
By Wes Hopper

Byron Katie said, “All the stress we feel is caused by arguing with what is.” How much time do we waste thinking about what has already happened, or what already is, and wishing we could change it? Most of us would be embarrassed to add up the hours, days and weeks we’ve spent like that. A substantial part of our lives. We think, “Oh, if only I hadn’t done that, or if I had only done this other thing instead!” Has anything ever changed for the better because of that kind of thinking? Or have you just sunk into impotent depression?

As our quote says, we can never win an argument with what is. It seems that people, events and circumstances are the way they are regardless of how we want them to be. Arguing with things being the way they are is called resistance. If you’re a Star Trek fan, you know that “resistance is futile” and it doesn’t just apply to the Borg.

We cannot change the way things are. What we can do is choose the way we respond to what life serves up for us. We have no power at all over the past, but we have lots of power over the future. Put it to work!

You’ll be very glad you did.
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7. Highlights® Hidden Pictures Online
Your children can now play Highlights® hidden pictures games online. It is interactive, free and fun!
CLICK HERE for More

8. What Overprotective Parents and GPS Have in Common
The comparison between overprotective parents and a GPS device provides food for thought on how we may be limiting our children in learning to navigate the world.
CLICK HERE for More

9. Make Ups Make a Difference
Parents and teachers participating in the Redirecting Children’s Behavior Course sometimes get a little rattled when we suggest that they not request that their child or student say “I’m sorry.” Maggie Macaulay of Whole Hearted Parenting discusses what we suggest children do instead and why this solution is so powerful for building meaningful relationships and for children learning to take responsibility.
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10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“Perfection never exists in reality, but only in our dreams and, if we are foolish enough to think so, in the past.” Rudolf Dreikurs

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Thank you for being a member of the Kids “R” the Future Community.
Please forward this newsletter to parents, teachers, family and friends who might
find the tips, links, and information valuable. Consider it community service!
If you wish to unsubscribe, please reply and put “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

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IN THIS ISSUE:
==========

1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Fall Schedule 2011 (see home page)
2. An Exquisite Parenting Moment
3. Screen Time and Young Hearts
4. Back to School
5. Why Boredom is Good for Your Child
6. Material Things
7. Eight Steps to Marital Harmony
8. Healthy Food for Less
9. Measuring Your Child’s Temperature Correctly
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week

2. An Exquisite Parenting Moment
Dr. Claudia Gold reports on an exquisite parenting moment she observed in the grocery store check-out line. It displayed all of the elements of Dr. Gold’s concept of holding a child in mind including understanding a child’s behavior from the perspective of his stage of development, empathizing with a child’s feelings, containing and regulating both the feeling and behavior, and perhaps most difficult, staying present with a child without letting one’s own distress get in the way.
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3. Screen Time and Young Hearts
Naomi Cook, RN, wrote, “A recent study has shown that children who spend hours watching television every day are prone to developing narrowed arteries in the eyes. According to researchers in Sydney, this may signify an increased chance of developing cardiovascular disease in the future.” Read more about this study and the impact of living a sedentary lifestyle on your child’s health, both present and future.
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4. Back to School
Maggie Macaulay of Whole Hearted Parenting writes “After shifting into the glorious groove of summer, it is time to line up the uniforms, repack the backpack, dig out the lunch box and begin the daily routine of school. Here are some tips for making a smooth switch from summer to school.”
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5. Why Boredom is Good for Your Child
Most moms feel responsible for solving the issue when they hear, “Mom, I’m bored.” Dr. Laura Markham responds with details on why unstructured time is valuable for children, why “I’m bored” might become a constant refrain with children, and how parents can respond when they hear those words.
CLICK HERE for More

6. Material Things
By Wes Hopper

Wallace Wattles said, “It’s in the use of material things that a person finds full life for the body, develops the mind and unfolds the soul.” Continuing our series on the writings of Wallace Wattles, we see that he is pointing out that it’s an error to think that material things, like money, are not spiritual.

We need things to nurture and comfort our body, engage and stimulate our mind, and feed our soul. Poverty makes this difficult. But, look carefully. He says the “use” of material things is necessary. This choice of words is to make it clear that the acquisition of lots of stuff is not the point. The point is to be able to fully express our body, mind and soul. To do that we need to use “stuff” and it’s not important whether we own it or just have access to it.

But living in poverty and thinking it’s spiritual is an error. Poverty goes with lack, and spirituality goes with abundance. We should never settle for doing without something we need to fully express our gifts and nurture our body, mind and soul.

In order to do that we need to have a healthy relationship with money. And the biggest block for many people is thinking that money and spirituality don’t go together.

They will, if you let them.
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7. Eight Steps to Marital Harmony
Nancy Wasson, Ph. D., says, “The formula for marital harmony and success is not a mysterious secret. It’s actually very straightforward. The “behind the scenes” part is the constant work that’s required to keep the channels of love and communication clear from obstruction.” Read Nancy’s eight steps to marital harmony and put them into practice.
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8. Healthy Food for Less
Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, MD, writes, “Increasing food prices have more and more shoppers looking for ways to save money at the grocery store without sacrificing nutrition. For those of you who fall into this category, you’ll be happy to know that eating healthier foods can actually save you money. Savings can come from reducing portion sizes and from buying fewer of the high-calorie foods that tend to increase the amount spent at the grocery store.” Read Dr. Dolgoff’s suggestions for eating healthy for less.
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9. Measuring Your Child’s Temperature Correctly
In explaining how to measure your child’s temperature correctly, Dr. Chad Rudnick says, “Millions of pediatricians and emergency rooms are visited every year by parents with their child because of fever. Fever is one of the most concerning symptoms to parents because of its association with illness as well as overall poor feeling by the child.” Learn the key to measuring it correctly.
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10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“For a relationship to succeed, the frequency of positive comments has to outweigh negative remarks by about five to one. In other words, it takes five instances of agreement and support to undo the harm caused by a single criticism.” Richard Wiseman
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Course Schedule for Fall 2011 (see home page)
2. Setting Limits with Grandparents
3. Dirt Kitchen
4. The New Three R’s for Childhood
5. A Tough Pill to Swallow
6. Self-Confidence
7. The Food Desert
8. Being Detached when a Teen is Demanding
9. Ten Things that are More Important than Discipline
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week

2. Setting Limits with Grandparents
Kathryn Kvols, author of Redirecting Children’s Behavior and founder of The International Network for Children and Families, says, “Have you ever felt like your parents give your children too much “stuff?” Check out one mom’s solution and a clue from Kathryn on how to know when your boundaries are being disrespected in her latest blog post.
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3. Dirt Kitchen
Squiggle Mum writes about creating a dirt kitchen for her children in the back yard. This article is full of great photos showing the project’s stages, with her children painting and arranging items. This is a great summer project!
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4. The New Three R’s for Childhood
Christie Burnett of Childhood 101 writes, “Reading, writing and arithmetic were once the cornerstones of childhood learning but (for the most part) our parents and grandparents still found time to play. Newcastle based Mum of three, Lenora Newcombe, believes that our children are missing out on the good old fashioned fun of childhood thanks to the pressures of a downward push within our education system, over-scheduling, sexualisation and commercialism. If Lenora has her way, parents will find their way to a whole new set of R’s for their children – real food, real play and real life.” Read more about the new three R’s in this article.
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5. A Tough Pill to Swallow
Janet Lansbury of Elevating Childhood addresses the difference between “soft rules” and “insist upon rules” when it comes to going against your toddler’s will.
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6. Self-Confidence
By Wes Hopper

What exactly is self-confidence? Is it some kind of arrogance that makes us think we’re better than other folks? Well, some people make act that way, but arrogance isn’t self-confidence. In fact, psychologists would suggest that it’s often the opposite! People will act arrogantly to cover up their insecurities. They feel good by trying to make others feel bad. We all know people like that.

Self-confidence starts with a joyful acceptance of the fact that we’re not perfect. This is very important! If it’s OK to not be perfect (and it is, because none of us are) then when we make a mistake (and we will) it doesn’t make us feel like a total failure. We learn and go on. If we think we have to be perfect, mistakes are devastating. Don’t do that to yourself.

From that we build our self-confidence formula. We think and act boldly, we learn from mistakes, we know that we can learn and accomplish anything we want.

So we fail our way to success. This is the secret that all top achievers know and it’s how they become successful.
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7. The Food Desert
Daniel Hernandez writes in a recent issue of the Los Angeles Times, “Changing people’s eating habits is difficult. One reason is money. Healthful foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and dairy, can often be pricey. For the cost of a couple of peaches, a person can get a full meal on the dollar menu at a fast-food outlet.” Read about the programs that are in place to help shift eating habits and make wholesome food more accessible.
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8. Being Detached when a Teen is Demanding
Maggie Macaulay of Whole Hearted Parenting writes about learning to detach from the power struggles as her daughter traverses the teen years. What we are telling ourselves about what our teen is doing is key.
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9. Ten Things that are More Important than Discipline
Positive Parenting: Toddlers and Beyond writes, “Parenting is a very complex task. If we’re not careful, we will become too focused on one aspect and let the others fall by the wayside. Many times, I see parents who are intently focused on discipline, and I’m talking about the traditional use of the word here with regard to modifying behavior. Sometimes we get very caught up in “What do I do when…” or “How do I get my kid to…” and we lose sight of the bigger picture. The truth is that there are many things that are more important in shaping our children than the methods and techniques we use to modify their behavior.”
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10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“Self-confidence is a kind of psychological credit card and is of far greater value than any other we can carry.” Earl Nightingale
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Thank you for being a member of the Kids “R” the Future Community.
Please forward this newsletter to parents, teachers, family and friends who might
find the tips, links, and information valuable. Consider it community service!
If you wish to unsubscribe, please reply and put “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

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==========
IN THIS ISSUE:
==========

1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Fall Schedule 2011 (see home page)
2. Handling Conflict in Families
3. The Science of Play, Part 1
4. Bribes Don’t Change Behaviors
5. The Linguistic Genius of Babies
6. Path or Destination?
7. Good Grades: Only Part of the Equation
8. Don’t Believe Facebook: You Only Have 150 Friends
9. Aggression and Sleep Problems
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week

2. Handling Conflict in Families
Last week Heather Remer, of the International Network for Children and Families, wrote about “building trust in families and how that was an important part of creating an atmosphere of teamwork in your home. In this post, we will talk a little bit about another crucial part of creating a team – being ok with conflict.”
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3. The Science of Play, Part 1
This is a terrific article – part 1 in a multi-part series – “on the importance of purposeless, consuming, imaginative play.”
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4. Bribes Don’t Change Behaviors
Stephannie Kennedy, Professional Development Coordinator of 4C for Children wrote, “Have you noticed that while bribes and threats may give short-term results with children, their behavior changes never seem to last? I have discovered this with my own children – it’s easy to look for a quick fix when a challenging behavior rears its ugly head, but sometimes a quick fix can turn on you.” Read about her solutions, which are in alignment with the concepts in Redirecting Children’s Behavior™.
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5. The Linguistic Genius of Babies
Patricia Kuhl shares astonishing findings in this TED video about how babies learn one language over another by listening to the humans around them and “taking statistics” on the sounds they need to know. Clever lab experiments (and brain scans) show how 6-month-old babies use sophisticated reasoning to understand their world.
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6. Path or Destination
By Wes Hopper

When I graduated from high school, I thought I knew what I wanted to be. I enjoyed technology – fixing TVs and radios, building audio systems. So I went to college and became an engineer. I learned in a 25 year corporate career that I enjoyed creating new stuff, and that routine stuff bored me to tears. My happiest time was a five year period when we radically changed aircraft cockpits from the old dial instruments to electronic TV-like displays. It was revolutionary!

That was my biggest clue to what I really wanted to be. When I look back now I can see the truth. I wanted to a person who changed the world! I was happy when I was doing that, and bored stiff otherwise. Engineering was just a path, not the destination.

When I decided to teach Bob Proctor’s material (without knowing if he would let me do it) I was choosing a different path. Same goal – be someone who changed the world.

So my question to you is – what do you think you want to be? Is that it, or is it just a path? If you’re not being what you want to be, the world is poorer for it. Come on, get with it, we need you!

You’ll be very glad you did!
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7. Good Grades: Only Part of the Equation
The Study Gurus take a look at the big picture and “the pivotal importance of ‘soft skills’ in determining a high school student’s higher academic achievement and earnings in adult life.”
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8. Don’t Believe Facebook: You Only Have 150 Friends
Facebook and GORE-TEX – the company that makes wetsuits, hiking boots and ponchos – share something in common. This common factor also influences you and your community.
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9. Aggression and Sleep Problems
Science Daily reports that “Children who are bullies or have conduct problems at school are more likely to be sleepy during the day according to University of Michigan Medical School researchers.” Research found that there was “a two-fold higher risk for symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing, particularly daytime sleepiness among these students.”
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10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“One of the greatest things in life is that no one has the authority to tell you what you want to be. You’re the one who’ll decide what you want to be.” … Jaime Escalante
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*******************************************************************
Thank you for being a member of the Kids “R” the Future Community.
Please forward this newsletter to parents, teachers, family and friends who might
find the tips, links, and information valuable. Consider it community service!
If you wish to unsubscribe, please reply and put “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

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==========
IN THIS ISSUE:
==========

1. Redirecting Children’s Behavior Teaching Schedule Summer (LAST ENROLLMENT OPPORTUNITY UNTIL FALL 2011)
2. Is My Family Normal
3. How to Love a Diaper Change
4. Is McDonald’s Betraying Our Kids?
5. Friendship: Helping Children Learn to be Inclusive
6. Pure Potential
7. Sparrow Road
8. Seven Shortcuts to Daily Bliss
9. How and When to Negotiate with Kids
10. Inspirational Quote of the Week

Redirecting Children’s Behavior:
The Gentle Art of Parenting
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This six week, fifteen hour course teaches parents how to help children grow in a way that enhances self-esteem, teaches responsibility and promotes cooperation and self mastery. At the completion, you will be able to:
* Discipline without yelling * Interact to build self-esteem
* Reduce sibling rivalry * Develop a sense of responsibility
* Redirect mistaken goals * Create an encouraging family
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Course fee: $225 for one; $325 per couple

One-on-one Parent Coaching or Gentle Sleep Coaching: $110/hr or discount for 4 prepaid hours/ $395
www.deborah-fry.com
www.incaf.com
www.thesleeplady.com

The courses listed above will be taught by Deborah Fry Ph.D.; C.P.E. and Gentle Sleep Coach trained and certified by Kim West, The Sleep Lady
For information and registration please call Deborah at 713-840-8663

2. Is My Family Normal?
Kathryn Kvols, author of Redirecting Children’s Behavior, writes in her blog “Parents can’t help but ask themselves if they are doing a good job. All of us at times falter. Life just gets in the way and some times you need to just step back, look at things holistically and check in where you are at with things. Here is a link from the American Academy of Pediatrics that gives a quick and easy spot check for parents by outlining some of the characteristics that make up a healthy family.”
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3. How to Love a Diaper Change
Janet Landsbury of Elevating Child Care says, “Diaper changes are built for intimacy. And all we need to turn diapering from a difficult, dreaded chore into a mutually gratifying experience is to change our perception, to appreciate the moment as an opportunity for developing a closer partnership with our child.” Read Janet’s suggestions on how to love a diaper change and create closeness with your child.
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4. Is McDonald’s Betraying Our Kids?
Author and visionary John Robbins writes, “We worry so much about the many dangers to our children, like drugs and pedophiles and violence. But we often take for granted what might very well be the largest danger of all to our kids: the hundreds of billions of dollars spent each year on ads designed to get them hooked on junk food.”
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5. Friendship: Helping Children Learn to be Inclusive
Christie Burnett of Childhood 101 has solid suggestions for assisting your child, even as early as two and three years of age, to become more inclusive. She provides dialogue that challenges stereotypes and builds sensitivity.
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6. Pure Potential
By Wes Hopper

There’s a problem with thinking that we need to find ourselves. The problem is – if we think that we need to find ourselves in order to achieve our dreams and goals in life, we’ll likely fail. Why will we fail? Because there’s nothing to find.

What you are is pure potential. You have the ability to be anything that you want badly enough. But pure unrealized potential is hard to see. It’s undefined, shadowy, ghost-like. Your job is not to find it, your job is to turn it into form.

The way you do that is to decide what you want, to choose the path that makes your heart sing – even if you don’t think that you have any natural talents for it. You may be surprised to find that you’re wrong about the talents. All that unrealized potential may have more stored up in it than you think.

You’ll never know until you put away the voices that say, “Who are you to think you can do that?” Choose a new voice that says, “Who am I to think I can’t do that?” Then you can get to work creating yourself. Build the skills as you go. Turn that potential into the person that you need to be to live your dream.

We’re all waiting, and cheering you on!
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7. Sparrow Road
Cindy Hudson of Mother Daughter Book Club reviews Sparrow Road, a book she recommends for girls ages 9 to 14. Cindy writes, “Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor is a beautifully told coming of age story that I found myself savoring as I read. Raine is at an age where she resists changes to her way of life, but she’s also open to new possibilities. Her city life was insulated, and in the quiet safety of Sparrow Road, we see her blossom.”
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8. Seven Shortcuts to Daily Bliss
Meryl Davids Landau, author of Downward Dog, Upward Fog, suggests seven ways to brighten your day and generate some bliss.
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9. How and When to Negotiate with Kids
Author Karen Deerwester writes, “Negotiation teaches children important communication and problem solving skills. Even so, there’s a time and place. If everything is open to negotiation, every decision will involve tedious and time consuming discussions.” Read Karen’s suggestions on when and how to negotiate with your children.
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10. Inspirational Quote of the Week
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” … George Bernard Shaw
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