Summer Camp Care Packages
Every summer our daughter goes to summer camp. She looks forward
to it every year. I can't believe next summer will be her last
opportunity to go to camp before she goes off to college. Our daughter started going to summer camp when she was in middle
school and has gone every year since. She finally graduated from
camper and kitchen help to camp counselor this year. Every year I
send her a care package with candy and other treats and she
always looks forward to receiving it. Our daughter just returned from spending two weeks on a ministry
trip to Honduras, was home for one day, and then is going off to
church camp for a week. I knew we wouldn't have much time to talk
between trips, so I decided to write letters to her to send to
her at camp. I wrote to her about some of my day-to-day activities and about
what she was missing in the news. I wrote about Hurricane Dennis
and how worried I was for her so far away from home. I told her
she was always in my prayers and how much I missed her. Just in the two weeks she was gone she missed her baby brother's
hair falling out and her brothers' first colds. I knew she missed
her baby brothers very much and missed their baby hugs and
kisses. I told her about what they were doing and that they
missed her too. Because we like to spend a lot of time talking about our
spiritual lives, I shared with her what I had been learning in my
daily devotions and shared what my prayers were for her. I wrote three letters to my daughter to open on different days
and included pictures of her brothers that she likes to carry
around with her wherever she goes. I packaged up the letters with
some candy and sent her care package off to her today. If you decide to write to your child at camp, here are a few
tips: * If your children are young and this is their first time away
from home, make sure to send several letters to let them know
you're thinking about them and that you miss them. * Have other family members write to your child also. Kids love
to receive mail. * If you have a child who would be embarrassed by letters from
home, just send a care package with some of their favorite candy
or other small items. One year I sent my daughter a pair of
Sponge Bob boxer briefs, and they were the hit of the camp. * Be creative with your packing. You can use a 2-liter pop bottle
as a mailing container. Cut a slit in the side to place items in
it and then tape over the slit. The kids will get a kick out of
seeing what's in the bottle. * Depending on how long it takes the mail to get to the camp or
how long your child will be gone, you may have to mail the
package the day your child leaves, or even before they leave. * If you know any of the other kids at camp, like your child's
closest friends, don't be afraid to send them a note or treat
too. I often send thinking-of-you cards to some of my daughter's
friends, and I know they love receiving mail from people other
than their parents. In this day and age, letter writing is becoming a dying art. If
my daughter keeps the letters I wrote her someday they will be a
special keepsake for her, capturing an exciting time in her life. We don't always take the time to do little things for our kids or
tell them how we feel about them. Writing to them at camp is a
great way to keep in touch with them while also sending them a
welcome treat. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For more
inspirational articles and tips for everyday living, visit her
web sites at http://www.creativehomemaking.com and
http://www.christian-parent.com
Related News
Farah Hospital hosts Jordan’s Pioneering Parenting Program - Al-Bawaba
Sarah Palin's Feminists for Life Membership Points to Pro-Woman ... - LifeNews.com
Successful co-parenting after a divorce - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
For mothers in prison, children can be key to rehabilitation, with ... - Boston Globe
PBJ poll: Drink up, teens - Bizjournals.com
The Observer - Sarnia Observer
Struggles of single parenting - Waseca County News
Waseca County News |
Struggles of single parentingWaseca County News, MN -3 hours agoBjerklie’s parents, who live in Bjerklie’s hometown of Fergus Falls, Minn., have a tight-knit relationship with Hannah, and Bjerklie also has brothers who ... |
Parish needs more foster parents - Natchez Democrat
Parish needs more foster parentsNatchez Democrat, MS -8 minutes agoIn that same region, there are approximately 200 foster parents. In Concordia Parish, there are only 10 foster parents, but there are 30 foster children in ... |
Parents need to grow up - NEWS.com.au
Parents need to grow upNEWS.com.au, Australia -Aug 28, 2008By Susie O'Brien PARENTS need to grow up if they want to raise their kids successfully, a new book says. Well-known Melbourne psychologist John Cheetham ... |
What it takes to be a good parent in today’s culture - The Prairie Star
|
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Nail Biting Basics
Nail biting in all its various forms is problematic behavior beset by peculiarity and contradiction. Technically speaking, the correct word for nail biting is ANONYCHOPHAGIA.
Nail biting typically begins between the ages of five and 10 and is common among children as well as adults. As many as one in three Americans bite their nails.
One of the more noteworthy and generally surprising things about nail biting is its high instance. It crosses every social and economic barrier. Prevalence figures for children are much higher than for adults.
Results of nail biting can result in short, ragged nails. It may also lead to damaged cuticles as well as bleeding around the edges of the nails. Infections can also develop if nails are not properly attended to.
Most relevant studies have found that nail biting tends to peak out around puberty.
A study by Malon and Massmer studied the behavior in the Chicago school systems and reported that nail biting is prevalent in about 60 percent of children age eight to eleven.
Most people agree it is a learned habit, perhaps picked up by watching a parent or someone else biting their nails.
Nail biting is an extremely tough habit to break and treatment for it varies.
One possible solution is identifying the reason for nail biting. Avoidance or modification of these situations can be beneficial to the eventual elimination of the habit.
Improving self-esteem is also helpful when attempting to break the habit.
Products such as CONTROL-IT are available on the market and are designed to aid nail biters in breaking their habit. According to www.stopbitingnails.com , CONTROL-IT is a gentle and natural alternative to help prevent biting. A mild unpleasant taste helps to remind users to stop biting their nails.
A host of research efforts both in America and Europe sought to ascertain if in fact nail biting was linked to mental illness in one form or another. Most people would have anticipated they found a high prevalence of nail biting among the mentally disordered; however, they found that nail biting, in and of itself, is not systematic of any form of mental disorder or maladjustment.
Nail biting crosses all national borders, genders, and both social and economic lines and may also originate from a primal need for self-grooming. It affects both the nails and the cuticles; with greater potential harm caused via infection to the cuticle and nail biting tends to be a private affair, and is a relatively isolated form of self-indulgence.
Nail biting may be treated addressing symptom rather than cause; it is a habit, not a disease.
Top 50 Mom Quotations
Just Average
What do you mean average? Not good? Just doing good enough?
Parenting Your Teenager: 8 Things You Need to Be Doing
Get into their world. The world that teens are growing up in is not the world in which we grew up. In case you ever doubt that, here is what author and speaker Josh McDowell has said on the subject: "The average teenage boy is exposed to more sexual stimulation on the way to school than his grandfather was on Saturday night when he was looking for it." The next four suggestions are more specific ways to get into their world:
Ten Ways To Become Your Teenagers Best Friend
Best friends! It may seem impossible to believe, but today's teens do want to consider their parents as friends, even though they think we could never understand the realities of their world. They are also interested in what it was like being a teenager during the Stone Age. Life without cell phones or the Internet must have been unimaginable!
From Childrens Stories to Study Skills: Help Your Children Succeed in School
Introduction
Anti Scooter Media Frenzy
An estimated five million scooters will be sold this year and according to the U.S. Product Safety Commission 26,000 scooter-related injuries were reported before the end of December 2000! 90 percent of those injuries were to children 14 and under. The Consumer Product Safety Counsel also received reports of two deaths tied to scooter injuries. Several elementary schools are discussing ways to ban kids from riding scooters to school. Newspapers across the country headline that "Scooters Lead to ER Visits"!
15 New Years and Holiday Resolutions For Parents
Have you made your usual New Year resolutions? You know the resolutions where you turn over a new leaf to get fit, steer away from junk food and start a savings plan. While you are reflecting on past bad habits and setting new directions for your personal life consider taking stock of your parenting as well.
The Effects of Televised Sexual Content on Adolescents
According to a September 2004 study by the RAND Corporation,
"Adolescents who watch large amounts of television containing sexual
content are twice as likely to begin engaging in sexual intercourse in
the following year as their peers who watch little such TV." In
addition, the National Institutes of Health-funded study found that
these children's sexual behavior was akin to those adolescents who were
9 to 17 months older, but who watched only average amounts of TV with
sexual content. "Television habits predicted whether
adolescents went to 'second or third base,' as well as whether they had
sex for the first time," said Rebecca Collins, a RAND psychologist who
led the study. "The 12-year-olds who watched a lot of television with
sexual content behaved like the 14- or 15-years-olds who watched the
least amount of sexual television. The advancement in sexual behavior we
saw among kids who watched a lot of sexual television was striking."
This alarming trend occurs within the context of ever-increasing
amounts of implicit and over sexual content on television. As reported
by the Parents Television Council, "In a sample of programming from the
2001-2002 TV season, sexual content appeared in 64% of all TV programs.
Those programs with sexually related material had an average of 4.4
scenes per hour. Talk of sex is more frequent (61%) vs. overt portrayals
(32%). One out of every 7 programs includes a portrayal of sexual
intercourse." According to the RAND study, talk of sex had just as much
of an effect on adolescent sexual behavior as overt behaviors.
Sexual behavior among U.S. teens is on the rise. According to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 46% of all high school
students have had sexual intercourse. The National Institutes of Health
has found that, each year, one of every four sexual active teens
contracts a sexually transmitted disease. Teen pregnancy in the U.S. is
also the highest among industrialized nations. Now, more than
ever, parents need to be concerned about what their children are
watching on television. The first step parents need to take is to
monitor the content of the shows their adolescents watch. According to
RAND researcher Collins, "The impact of television viewing is so large
that even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV
watching could have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior."
Other important steps you can take to curb or mitigate your
children's exposure to sexual content on television include:
Watch TV with your children and discuss your beliefs about sex and about the sexual behaviors portrayed on TV.
Develop TV-watching guidelines for your children and enforce them.
Limit the amount of time your children watch TV. Instead, use family movie reviews to rent movies with appropriate content.
Encourage and reward your children for reading instead of watching TV.
Encourage your children to find and develop non-television related hobbies and interests.
By taking these simple steps, you can help to ensure that your
adolescents' attitudes and beliefs about sex more closely mirror your
own, and that their sexual initiation is delayed.
Parenting Your Teenager: But everyone else gets to do it!
Q. We are getting to the stage with our kids where they are becoming teen-agers and are asking for more and more privileges. When we believe we need to say ``no,'' our daughter says, ``But everyone else gets to do it. Why can't I?'' We get stuck. We don't want to be too strict or too lenient. How do we handle this stage?
Should We Apologize To Our Children?
An apology is a sign of strength, not weakness. Sometimes we may believe that if we apologize to our children we weaken ourselves and the rules we are trying to keep. We may also believe it will make our children think their behavior was okay. It is important to understand that this is not the case. I have found myself at times reacting negatively to my daughter's occasional inattention to her daily diabetes care. Not just negatively but loudly. What I discovered was that I could apologize for how I responded to her behavior, without condoning what she did. (Or didn't do) Apologizing in this manner makes it clear that I am not relaxing the rules. It does not undermine my authority or my ability to make the rules and expect compliance. I found it does set a good example and encourages her to be open and apologize when she has done wrong. Apologizing shows empathy for what I may have done to her feelings and respect for her right to be treated fairly.
Parenting Your Teenager: How to Say NO!
Q: Whenever we tell my daughter "no," she just bugs and pesters until we give in. I know it's wrong to give in, but she makes things so unpleasant that we give in just to make peace. How can we turn this situation around?
The Truth About Motherhood
What is the mystery of motherhood? I know that when I was pregnant, experienced mothers could not stop giving me advice on taking care of newborns, delivery expectations and child care solutions. Yet, no mother ever told me how dreadful post partum depression could be, how much my world would change, how one person can bring so much to my life. I am taking this opportunity to share with expectant and first time mothers the truth about motherhood:
The Value of Play
Isn't it ironic that a country whose constitution allows for the pursuit of happiness now feels a collective guilt about the very idea of anything fun? How did this happen? When did we begin placing so much priority on productivity and so little on leisure or on having a good time? Even given the Puritan work ethic, life in America has become so unbalanced that one side of the seesaw is pretty much grounded.
Book Review: The Ring Bear Depicts Turmoil of Becoming A Stepchild
In "The Ring Bear," a picture book by Tigard resident David Michael Slater (Flashlight Press, 2004), a single mother and her son, Westley, love to play rascally pirates. Like many single parents and their kids, it's clear the mom and her son are incredibly close: They've created their own fantasy world about Westley the Wicked and Mom the Mean.
Elephants and Teenagers
Something eerily familiar happened in KwaZulu-Natal's Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park in Africa recently.
Eating Disorders in Children
If I had a dollar for every time I persuaded a girl of 8 or 9 that they were not, in fact, fat, I'd be considerably richer. When my older daughter was about that age, their mothers were putting a lot of her friends on diets. It drove me absolutely crazy to see these poor little girls, worrying about their "tummies" or "fat" that wasn't even evident, except to a mother who was hoping for a super model-skinny pre-pubescent child, which is ridiculous. When they were at my house, they ate well, I wouldn't allow them to drink or eat anything diet and I encouraged them to eat healthy food that would strengthen their bodies and bones. I also tried to assure them that they were not fat; that they would grow into their bodies and they were absolutely beautiful just the way they were. With that came some nutritional education about eating a healthy combination of foods that would not make them fat, but strong and naturally slender.
Time, Stress, and a Baby
The main thing we noticed since having a baby is that time is a more valuable good. We do not have enough time for many things or time is really tight to accomplish certain tasks before the next feeding time has come. Think about feeding. The little one needs to be fed every 3 hours. Take approx. 15 minutes for the preparation, diaper change, cuddling, etc. before the actual feeding. Now take 30 minutes for the actual feeding, burping, holding and interacting with the baby. This really leaves you with approx. 2 hours and 15 minutes (if all goes well, the baby goes to sleep and does not wake up, etc.)
Saving Money on Preschool: Readiness Skills Needed for Kindergarten
As a mom of 4 who's youngest child is about to start Kindergarten this Fall, I'd like to share with you some things I've learned about Preschool over the last ten years, along with a list of readiness skills every child can be learning at home - whether attending Preschool or not.
Toilet Terrors And Other Potty Training Fears
Potty training fears, often called toilet terrors, are common among toddlers and small children. Look at things from your child's perspective. He is giving up the security of a diaper for a big, cold thing with a giant hole that might swallow him. Up until this point, your child has been able to go in his diaper. He didn't have to control himself until a potty was available. He could go anytime and anywhere, knowing that someone would always be there to change his diaper. The idea of having to go to a specific location means he will have to stop what he's doing to use the potty. To top it all off, he looses the warmth of his diaper and must now go potty naked where other people might be watching!
|
