Your Parenting Info - Raising Great Kids

Has Your Child Written to Santa Yet?

by Margot F. December 4th, 2013 | Big Kids, Elementary, School

Has your child written a letter to Santa yet? Yes, it is that time of year when everyone rushes around looking for the perfect gift, attends school concerts and plans the family dinner on top of all the other tasks in the day. How can there be time to help your child keep up with reading?

For children age five to eight, learning to read is an important goal in school. Learning letter sounds, how the sounds fit together to form words, and how those words combine to make sentences is a huge challenge. December is a perfect time to

Helping Preschoolers Through Disappointment

by T Akery December 3rd, 2013 | Behavior, Little Ones, Preschool

Unfortunately, there are events that are impossible to predict and they often interfere with the things your preschooler is looking forward to doing. During these times, your preschooler may be disappointed because they didn't get to attend an event in preschool or missed a field trip with their class. The letdown after such an event is huge especially if their classmates are discussing every detail of the fun that they had. There are some things that you can do to help alleviate some of the disappointment they feel.

One of the things that you can do is plan a replacement

Quitting Smoking While You’re Pregnant

by Jane Wangersky December 2nd, 2013 | Planning, Pregnancy

If you’re pregnant and a smoker, you know that may be harmful for your baby -- but you may think it would be too tough to quit right now. Quitting’s always tough, of course, and with the other stresses of pregnancy it may just seem like too much. But here are a few facts to consider.

It’s never too late, even if you’re months into the pregnancy. When you quit, your baby will start getting more oxygen -- and a better chance of avoiding lung problems and other physical issues.

Withdrawal symptoms, though they can drive you up the wall, won’t