All it needs is Atlantic City….
Click on the comic above to see it all!
Are your children overweight?
Here's what I'm doing about it!
Luckily, my kids aren't vastly overweight, or even really overweight at all. HS2, however, did inherit my metabolism…the one that causes me to easily gain unless I either exercise, eat healthy, or both.
Recently, I've noticed a definite pudginess around HS2's face. Realizing this is the beginning of the road to Bad Decisions, I told him (and HD2 as well) the following.
"Kids, the plain fact is….along with my utter godlike brains and beauty, you also inherited my utterly lousy metabolism. And the fact is….we're all starting to put on weight.
So! It's time to revisit eating healthy and exercising once again! But you do need to know – HD1 and HS1 take after Dad, so they don't have the same issues. Thus, they might get more desserts than we do…these things happen."
And you know what they said when they learned their siblings wouldn't have to work as hard?
Whew!
I think the fact I included meself in the buckling-down health-wise had a hugely positive impact as well.
Which brings me to the point of this post!
And if this means you yourself have to be deprived….that's fine!
It's what parents *do*.
I'm happy to announce the 3 of us are already seeing results!
Every day, we do Dance Dance Revolution for 45 minutes or so, and I either indoors bike or lift weights etc. The kids really enjoy seeing their DDR ability improve; it's truly a tremendous thing to see how they all get along together.
Want some tips about helping your kid get fit? Check out:
They'll thank you in the future.
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
ps – speaking about Dance Dance, have you seen:
I have to admit, I truly love my guardian angel sometimes….because the most brilliant lessons are gleaned from the utterly horrible experiences through which I go.
With that as a spine-tinglingly enticing way to start today's post, let me explain.
This morning, I dashed myself awake at 4am (yay! Getting back into effective working, woot!) and continued my overall planning and actions. At 6am, it was time to rouse my clan of Magnificent Ling Kids, and start their day as well.
Well! And what did I spy with my little eye?
Yes indeed, it was the laundry room existing in a state more disaster-prone than NJ baseball fields after Hurricane Irene.
ie, something like….this.
Imagine that in your laundry room….and you'll comprehend a wee bit of the emotions that flooded thru my very being.
And afterwards, I idly commented to HS1,
You know, it would be soo much easier if I was the kind of parent who screamed my head off.
He responded,
Yep, it would be so much easier too if I was the kind of kid who screamed my head off in response, too!
I had to smile!
My husband came up shortly afterwards, and we all indulged in a rather awesome breakfast:
I explained to my Better Half the discussion that had erupted earlier, and he….told…me…..
"The thing about getting and staying mad at yourself is that you're depriving yourself of the ability to move ahead.
When you dwell, you root yourself in the past, but the thing is, you can never change that! It's over, it's done, and all you can ask yourself is, "Sure it's a painful experience, but what have I learned?"
He then returned to eating while our son and I looked at each other.
Now, true, his philosophy is very similar to mine (I always view making mistakes as our guardian angels' way of bashing us in the head and saying, "Yo! Learn this lesson!") but I will confess…
Apply this now to your children, aye?
Have you ever seen them so focused on regret or anger or what have you….that they become immobilized and unable to move forward?
That's not good *at all!*
When we as parents allow our kids to imitate The Dreaded Sunken Mushroom Of Doom and Despair for more than a few minutes, we're witnessing them wasting their future.
In other words,
Always model the way you want your children to grow!
It will greatly help their self-confidence indeed.
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
ps – speaking about self-confidence, have you seen:
Sometimes, our kids just don't plain….*think*.
It's normal, I suppose….kids, not having adult responsibilities, tend to look for the moment instead of the long term goals.
Thus, today….tell your child that there's a reason for that large roundish object that sits on top of their neck.
In other words,
Be proactive….and think.
They might be surprised at what they discover.
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
ps – speaking of brains, have you seen:
Enjoy my marketing posts of today.
Ever wonder what are the bestselling Black and Decker Food processors? And ever want to make money from that? Wonder no more! Below, enjoy today's bestselling Black and Decker Food Processors, and notice how my Amazon.com affiliate ID is embedded in each entry! This page took less than 30 seconds to create…and at the end…
Have you ever had such a blindingly painful failure that you feel it will take you at 324 years to recover? Yep. Me too. It's hell… Or is it? After what I've gone thru…I think not. Let me invite you to sit back, relax, start chanting "…
Although I
…
Sometimes, we take a big huge chance. And sometimes, it ends up causing us to crash in a molten, fiery heap of good intentions taken extremely the wrong way. But you know something?…
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
ps – speaking about business, have you seen:
From the mailbag:
"Dear MamaBear,
My teen will soon be driving. Can you give me some tips on how to make sure she never makes the mistake of texting and driving?
Thanks a lot,
Jen"
Dear J,
Can I ever.
There are two videos I always recommend to my readers:
Make no mistake about it…
Watch the above with your teen…and then *talk about it*.
Communication rocks…and it can save lives.
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
ps – speaking about teen driving, have you seen:
Self-confidence.
It rocks.
If so, ever wonder just from where your lack of self-confidence arose?
Yep….chances are, it has a huge heapin' amount to do with your upbringing.
And now that *you're* a parent, you probably want to ensure your child exude self-confidence instead of apologizing for the stray air molecules they waste, aye?
oOo what I said.
With that as a dramatically luscious introduction, let me now delve deep, deep deep into the horrifying ways *you* can destroy your child's self-confidence….and then make a promise to yourself you'll never fall prey to them.
When your child approaches you to talk, ensue you act as though you'd far prefer watching mold sprout on your left toenail compared to actually listening to the issue at hand.
After all, you do want to communicate how important the child's ideas are!
This way, you can ensure your kid immediately takes ownership of guilt guilt guilt, even if there's no reason for such a blatantly incorrect feeling.
And then some.
Does your child look out for others….but is also less neat than an explosion in a spaghetti factory?
This will ensure she starts to look down on herself with no help from you!
After all, there's *always* something your child could have done a fraction of a millimeter of a nanosecond earlier, wouldn't you agree?
He brings home an A?
She is inducted into National Honor Society?
Do this often enough, and Bobs your uncle your child will eventually stop even trying to succeed. Lack of success equals increase lack of self-confidence – bingo!
A smile indicates approval.
Which obviously, you never want your child to feel.
When your child feels worthless, any self-confidence left will run screaming for the hills.
Success!
* * * * *
Obviously, the above article is a wee bit tongue in cheek…being an adult with zero self-confidence just plain sucks, y'know?
It will be the springboard from which their future success will emerge.
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
ps – speaking about confidence, have you seen:
'course, the challenge is, *they* don't recognize that; to them, they're just being normal.
But to their peers, they're viewed as *abnormal*.
Just sayin' .
Now, while I'm all for being unique and standing out from the crowd and all that jazz, quite often unless your child is supremely self-confident and couldn't care less what other people think, they need to fit in with their peers.
And their good intentions will be received extremely negatively indeed.
Thus, tell your child today to always be alert as to how they're perceived. If it's not positive, *tone it down*.
Maturity will hopefully cause their peers to appreciate their zaniness or helpfulness, or proactiveness in the future, but for now….
Tone it down.
It might help prevent them from being targets of bullies in the future.
Parent powerfully,
MamaBear
ps – speaking about bullying, have you seen: