Family and Parenting Articles

We have compiled articles that we think you'll find interesting and useful! Browse below and find something interesting to read!

Food

• Fall Feet First into Cupcake Fun!
  Break the mold on regular cupcakes. Create whimsy and charm with new silicone baking cups, perfect for everything from kid-friendly get-togethers to fun-filled birthday parties.

• Spring Into Summer With Crunch and Munch Family Dinners
  Involving the entire family at meal time will help transform dinnertime into family-time where everyone is invited to help prepare the recipes.

• Old Fashioned Mac and Cheese
  Growing bodies need calcium. Kids love macaroni and cheese. See an equation here?

• Making Kids' Lunchtime Veggie--Licious
  When packing school lunches, parents often struggle to provide their kids with nutritious meals, but also something that won’t get tossed away in the lunchroom.

• Family Meals Provide Layers of Benefits
  Children and teens who enjoy frequent family meals are more likely to have positive peer relationships, better grades in school and healthier eating habits.

Health & Safety

• Stop Hot Water Burns
  When getting into a shower or bath, we rarely think about getting burned. In fact, more than 75 percent of adults have little or no concern about hot tap water as a home danger, according to research conducted by Kelton on behalf of the national nonprofit Home Safety Council® and HotStop.
• Parents' Healthier Habits Lead to Healthier Kids
  We all know that a diet laden with fats and sugar coupled with little or no regular exercise can lead to major health problems like diabetes and heart attacks in adults. But did you know that the beginnings of heart disease — the buildup of plaque in arteries — can also show up in kids with these same bad health habits?

• Great Tips for a Green Education
  Gardening gets children in touch with where food comes from and helps develop healthy eating habits. Bring the kids into the kitchen with their backyard bounty and help them whip up a simple dish for mom on Mother’s Day.

• Protect Your Family During Mosquito Season
  Just one is all it takes. One mosquito bite can transmit West Nile virus or other diseases. One tick bite can result in Lyme disease.

• Where did my Allergy Decongestant go?
  Got allergies? Unfortunately, even with itchy, watery eyes, sneezing and a runny nose, reading the box is essential. New laws have required that some allergy medications be put behind the pharmacy counter. The good news is that consumers can still purchase many allergy medications without a prescription.

• Sleep Safe and Sound
  Bedrooms are the second most common location of home fire origin after the kitchen. Each year, 20,800 fires are attributed to mattresses and bedding. However, a new flame resistant mattress cover prevents mattress flashover, which allows more time to escape from a home fire or to extinguish the blaze.

Holidays

• Score Big With Dad This Father's Day!
  Bring the ballgame home this Father’s Day with a big league dinner combining two of Dad’s favorite things – baseball and eating. Instead of Runs Batted In, Dad will cheer for Red onions, Broccoflower and Iceberg lettuce.

• Spice Up Dad's Day with a Giant Chocolate Cookie
  Surprise dad with a deliciously decadent cookie that has a spicy secret ingredient – chipotle chili pepper powder. Baked in a giant cookie pan, with its unique flavor and colossal presentation, is a cookie like no other.

• Make Memories for Mom
  Celebrate Mother’s Day with a fun gathering that gets your entire family together —brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews — and honors every mom.

Activities

• Read On! 10 Ways to Encourage Your Kids to Read
  Reading is the key to unlocking untold worlds for your child, from scholastic and professional success to personal enrichment. The challenge is figuring out ways to create a thirst for reading that will serve your children throughout their lives.

• Gardening with Kids
  Something almost magical happens when children garden. For example, educators everywhere report that kids’ self-esteem, social skills and attitudes about the environment improve.

• 5 Great Family Activites
  Feel like each day runs into the next? It's so easy to get caught up in the same 'ol rut, but we've got some great ideas to get everyone up off the couch and spending some quality time together.

• 8 Cheap Activities To Do With Your Kids
  8 inexpensive (or free!) crafts and activities that you can do with your kids!

• Fun, Games and Math
  For a fun new way to learn math, try math games. This site includes many game adaptations, along with new games that will have you understanding math before you even realized that you were learning anything.

• Kids Love Backyard Play Centers
  We all have memories of swinging in our backyards as kids, and today's kids have a huge selection of play structures to choose from. Shop around and become familiar with what's available and the type of activities that your children will enjoy.

• Online Activities of Children and Parental Responsibility
  In order to prevent children from exposure to online porn, gambling, sex, and to possible addiction to online video games or to any other online activity, parents need to supervise, manage, and monitor what their children view and do online.

• How Much TV Is Too Much For Kids?
  Remember the days when there was no TV? Well plenty of us don't. Today television is the norm for all families and it's really cut into 'family time' in a big way. Talk is to a minimum as everyone stares at the screen. Set up a few rules and regulations and you can prevent your whole family from becoming strangers in their own home.

• Beyond the ABCs : Nurturing a Love of Reading
  Simple strategies parents can use during read alouds to improve comprehension and thinking skills, while also nurturing a love of reading. (For parents with preschool and elementary age children)

• How To Reduce Childcare Costs
  Next to rent or mortgage payments, childcare often ranks as the second-highest expenditure in a household budget. But a little inventive planning can save you money without compromising the quality of care. Get some helpful hints from this article.