All it needs is Atlantic City….
Click on the comic above to see it all!
Deflating Children
Are your children overweight?
If so, just what are you doing about it?
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?
"That's fine Mom, we understand."
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!
If your children are ballooning up, you owe it to them to rein them in and help them learn food self-control.
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:
Remember, children have no incentive generally to eat well and stay strong, so it's up to you to make it so.
They'll thank you in the future.
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
ps – speaking about Dance Dance, have you seen:
1 Blindingly Simple Way Your Child Can Selfishly Waste The Future
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.
As I had mentioned yesterday, I happily failed more spectacularly than the blazing sons of over-indulged Hollywood children….and I was earlobe deep into reinventing how I do business online.
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.
But! Instead of screaming my head off, which I never do…I instead spoke very quietly to my children about their lack of wisdom.
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…..
THIS.
"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…
I never really did consider the "rooted in the past" aspect.
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.
True, every person should have the ability to mourn their loss…but…. (and stay with me here, this is critical), they also need to learn how to "let go."
In other words,
- Do *your* kids know how to let go?
- Do your kids witness you letting go?
- Do your kids understand how the excessive beating of oneself up can really do massive damage to their future self-confidence?
If not, that's one lesson you truly *want* to embed into your kids so indelibly that when they dream about their failures, they dream of the future successes that will come from them.
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:
Tell Your Child – An Awe-Inspiring Head
Sometimes, our kids just don't plain….*think*.
And sometimes, they look to others to solve their own issues.
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,
Use their awe-inspiring head when encountering challenges!
Be proactive….and think.
They might be surprised at what they discover.
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
ps – speaking of brains, have you seen:
Can’t wait for Back To School?
Here's a truckload of patience now!
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
Hell Weather
Must have been a cousin of Hurricane Irene…
Click on the comic above to see it all!
Today’s Imposing Marketing Posts 08/30/11
As well as being MamaBear, I'm also a veteran Internet marketer for the past 14 years!
Enjoy my marketing posts of today.
Bestselling Black & Decker Food Processors Affiliate Marketing Sales
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…
How To Brilliantly Turn Failure Into Money for 2012 – Pillar
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 "…
Some Ideas Don’t Transport Well (Ling Marketing Law!)
Although I
…
Tell Yourself Today – It’s OK To Fail
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:
“Teen Texting and Teen Driving”
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…
Texting and driving is a deadly, deadly, *deadly* combination.
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:
RANT – 5 Methodical Ways To Horrifyingly Obliterate Your Child’s Self-Confidence
Self-confidence.
It rocks.
Unless, of course, you possess less of it than the inoperative tear-duct of a microscopic dwarf ant, that is.
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.
Way #1.) Never listen to your kid.
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.
It helps if you pull out your cell phone so you can constantly check the time as well.
After all, you do want to communicate how important the child's ideas are!
Way #2.) Never apologize when you're obviously wrong.
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.
Do this often enough, and guaranteed, self-confidence will seep out faster than Hurricane Irene ate NJ.
And then some.
Way #3.) Focus solely on what your kid does wrong, and *never* show approval when your kid does right.
Does your child look out for others….but is also less neat than an explosion in a spaghetti factory?
If so, concentrate on the mess she makes, and stay utterly silent on how her friends know they can always count on her.
This will ensure she starts to look down on herself with no help from you!
Way #4.) Never give 100% approval.
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?
- Why not 3 As?
She is inducted into National Honor Society?
- Whatever happened to the Rhodes Scholarship?
No matter what, you can always find something to complain about…something that could have been done better.
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!
Way #5.) Never smile at your child.
A smile indicates approval.
Which obviously, you never want your child to feel.
Thus, always make certain your interactions are laden with as much negative emotion as possible!
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?
Always make sure you provide the ultimate of affirmation in your child's greatness.
It will be the springboard from which their future success will emerge.
Parent powerfully,
— MamaBear
ps – speaking about confidence, have you seen:
Tell Your Child Today – Tone It Down
Sometimes our kids can get…. a wee bit….too intense.
'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.
It could be that what's normal for them….is too extreme for the rest of the world.
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: