Especially with the holidays upon us, this is the perfect time to reiterate to your child, the value and importance of proper communication. This is a time of family. If yours is akin to the typical one, you will be spending at least a portion of your time with relatives, some of whom you only
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3 Ways to Bond Over Family Dinner
by Joe Lawrence November 24th, 2025 | Preschool, SeasonalFamily dinners are one of the best, if not the best, ways to bond. There is something about sitting down as a collective group that brings us all closer together. However, when you have a preschoolers or toddlers, it does not always feel like bonding as much as it does a survival exercise. There are a couple of things we can do to introduce some sanity to the process.
Look at one another
The family dinner has been a study interest for social
5 Cooking Tasks to Assign to Your Toddler
by Marnie Bii November 17th, 2025 | Infants/Toddlers, Seasonal
Toddlers love to be included in the fun of cooking meals and desserts for the family. Cooking teaches your toddler a number of important skills, including counting, measuring, and fine motor control. Mixing up meals and desserts can even have an impact on picky eaters. You may notice that your toddler quickly gobbles down food he or she helps prepare. You will need to start slowly when assigning tasks your toddler can complete. From there, you can add on new tasks as your toddler's motor skills and understanding increases.
Cooking with the Family
by Sam P. November 10th, 2025 | Seasonal, Teens
I love cooking with my family. I think it is such a fun experience and a great bonding opportunity. Whether it is just baking a batch of cookies with your mom or a full course meal with your stepdad, it is always a fun and loving time. Even if you aren't a great cook or if the food burns, it doesn't really matter in the end because the experience was such a great time. I grew up cooking with my mom so I may be a bit biased, but I
How to Make Cooking Fun: Tweens
by Lori Sciame November 3rd, 2025 | Tweens
"Food, glorious food, hot sausage and mustard!" These words from the musical, Oliver, certainly convey a child's love affair with food. For children, eating is usually viewed as the fun part, while cooking the meal can seem like drudgery. A good parent knows, however, that children must learn how to cook in preparation for adulthood.
Set a goal to begin cooking with your tween in order to promote this important life skill. You will find in addition to spending quality time together, it
Alternatives to Trick or Treating
by Lori Sciame October 27th, 2025 | Elementary
Many young children have active imaginations. Because of this, Halloween may be an especially scary time for them. Some little ones love to dress up and head out on Halloween night with mom and/or dad to go trick or treating. But for those who sometimes mix reality with fantasy, walking out into the night may be too overwhelming. For these children, parents must find trick or treating alternatives.
Community Sponsored Parties
One alternative would be to find a community organization that sponsors
Fall Fun with Your Preschooler
by Lori Sciame October 20th, 2025 | Preschool
Fall offers lots of opportunities to bond with your preschooler while having both an enjoyable and educational adventure. From apple orchards to local museums, there's plenty to do - just you two! Don't underestimate the value of one-on-one time with
4 Toddler Friendly Halloween Events to Enjoy
by Marnie Bii October 13th, 2025 | Infants/Toddlers, Seasonal
Halloween can be an overwhelming holiday for the littlest kids in the group. The dark atmosphere, scary costumes, and long walks all tend to keep toddlers from truly enjoying this awesome holiday. You can reinvent the holiday by embracing a month of fun activities that are geared toward the younger set. Here are some fun toddler friendly Halloween activities to enjoy.
Hayride
Before you head down to the pumpkin patch to pick your future jack o' lanterns, try to find a location
Managing a Busy Schedule: From the Teen’s View
by Jacob P. October 6th, 2025 | Teen Perspective, Teens
As an involved teenager, my life has always been exceptionally busy. This past month or so, though, my life has become even busier than ever before. Currently, I am heavily involved in school (where I am taking four AP classes, in the middle of a high school football season, applying to colleges, and trying to balance a social life and a girlfriend in there). This fast-paced lifestyle has been hectic, but there are also some major upsides to it.
Time management
The first
Morning Routines: Keep Tweens on Track
by YPI Editors September 29th, 2025 | Seasonal, TweensTween years usually mark the start of middle school. Many middle schools have a start time that is earlier than elementary school, which equals an even earlier start to the day. Depending on your child's sleep pattern, an earlier start also may equal a grouchier start. However, once the earlier start becomes routine, it will be easier.
By middle school, your tween's morning routine should be established. He's been following a school routine for many a year now, so it should be rote. Also,
4 Easy Ways to Increase a Child’s Sociability
by Lori Sciame September 22nd, 2025 | Elementary, Social
Being able to relate to others is a skill set all children must develop. Basically, being sociable will enhance a child's life in many ways, including performing better in school. All parents, then, should assist their children with developing people skills. Read this post to learn four easy ways to increase a child's sociability.
Set the Stage - the 4 Ps
Teaching social skills may seem difficult, but it doesn't have to be if you follow specific steps.
4 Ways To Help Preschoolers Eat Food Safely
by Marnie Bii September 15th, 2025 | Preschool, Safety
As kids reach their preschool years, they have the teeth and ability required to chew up their food into smaller pieces before swallowing. Kids also develop stronger tongue muscles for increased dexterity needed to push food into range of their teeth. As a result, you can start introducing foods that were previously off limits for being a serious choking hazard. Despite their improved physical abilities,
4 Unexpected Movements in Your Baby’s 1st Year
by Marnie Bii September 8th, 2025 | Development, Infants/Toddlers
As you eagerly await your baby's first movements, you may be surprised at the way the learning process transpires. Your child may throw you a curveball by inventing his or her own interesting ways to move
Teen’s Perspective on Back to School Behavior
by Sam P. September 1st, 2025 | School, Teens
School is here, but no one wants to go. It seems to be this way every year. Of course, I am eager to go back. I start my senior year, but I am also dreading it. The thought of being a senior is exhilarating, but also terrifying. I feel as though I am not ready to apply to colleges, decide what I want to major in, or choose where I want to live for the next four years of my life. I do know one thing though, you need a
3 Steps to Effective Written Communication
by Lori Sciame August 25th, 2025 | Communication, Tweens
As a college English teacher, I often work with students who have trouble communicating through the written word. Most of these students have magnetic personalities, and they are highly verbal. However, they just can't seem to organize their thoughts into an effective essay. Why does this happen? From experience, I have learned that most of these students "dislike" reading and writing. They simply have no value for the written word - other than what is found on social media.
As the parent of a tween, you still have
Build Elementary Communication Skills
by Joe Lawrence August 18th, 2025 | Communication, Elementary
Communication is the biggest problem in any organization. Elementary-aged children and parents are no exception to this. With some simple guidelines, you can eliminate most communication barriers.
Ask any CEO or General and they will tell the importance of communication and the dangers of barriers to communication. In our workplaces we see this all the time. Someone sends an email that the recipient misunderstands, and tempers begin to flare. We have the
Tweens: Get Them Biking
by Michele August 11th, 2025 | Seasonal, TweensPerhaps the title of this article should be, "How to Get Them Biking?" Many kids enjoy biking when they are elementary aged. It gives them a small amount of independence whether it is riding up and down the driveway, to the end of the street and back, or all the way to a friend's house. However, the middle school years arrive, and it seems that it isn't as fun to ride bikes. What's a parent to
Battling Through Sickness: From the Teen’s View
by Jacob P. August 4th, 2025 | Teen Perspective, Teens
Right now, I'm one week into football practices and dealing with a major cold at the same time. (When I say major cold, I'm not exaggerating. This might be the worst cold I've ever had.) This combination, while not tragic, is still
4 Super Social Activities for Tweens
by Lori Sciame July 28th, 2025 | Social, Tweens
Study after study tells parents that children spend too much time on electronic devices. The ramifications of doing so are many, including decreased social development. This summer, work with your tween to improve his or her social skills by moving away from the computer, and into the real world. Check out the following four super activity suggestions; they will surely work to enhance your child's social skills.
1. Swimming with Friends
Take your tween and a few of his friends to the
How to Prevent Sunburns in Children
Lori Sciame July 21st, 2025 | Elementary, Safety
A day at the beach can be blissful...the crashing waves, the cool water, the endless sunshine...what could go wrong? A parent's first thought may be drowning. I agree. Children should be monitored at all times to prevent this from happening. However, another safety issue should be on one's mind: the possibility of sunburn.
The tricky thing about sunburn