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How to Cope with an Empty Nest

Your “baby” has grown up, started college, and moved away to live in a dorm or apartment. This experience can leave parents with a mix of strong emotions. It also requires adjustments in how you and your college student relate to each other, and alters what your day-to-day life is like. Here are some ways to cope with an Empty Nest. Allow Yourself to Feel Whatever Emotions Appear A national survey done in 2013 by Clark University of over 1,000 parents found that 84% missed their kids once they moved out. 60% of parents said they were glad to have … Continue reading →

More Young Adults are Living With Their Parents

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Years ago, when the “Baby Boomer” generation was young, it was expected that they would graduate, get married, and start having children in their early 20’s. Today, for the first time in more than 130 years, Americans who are between the ages of 18-34 are more likely to live with their parents than any other living situation. A Pew Research Center analysis gathered data about Americans who are between the ages of 18-34. They found that 32.1% are still living in their parents’ homes. Another 31.6% have moved out of their parents’ homes and are currently living in their own … Continue reading →

Nibble + Squeak Welcomes Toddlers

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Many families consider dining out to be a relaxing treat. The experience might not be so easy for parents of toddlers. There is reason to be concerned that your toddler might throw a loud tantrum that causes other people in the restaurant to complain. Fortunately, there is a dining club that is actively welcoming toddlers (and their families). Nibble + Squeak describes itself as: a unique dining club for “parents with pipsqueaks”. It hosts food events for babies and toddlers and their caretakers (parents, grandparents, and more) at its restaurants. Right now, there is a Nibble + Squeak dining club … Continue reading →

Dads are Important, Too!

A few months ago, a book was released that emphasized the important role that dads have. It is possible that the book may have influenced some parents to take a moment and think about the importance of dads and whether society might need to update its idea of what dads can do. Let me begin by clearly stating that I think that both dads and moms are very important to their children. Each can have a very strong influence. Whether that influence is positive or negative depends largely on the individual choices each parent makes. A book called Do Fathers … Continue reading →

Frugal Ways to Entertain Your Kids this Summer

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Summer vacation is a time that most children excitedly look forward to. It is easy to see why. They get a whole lot of free time! Parents are going to need some frugal ideas for fun activities that will entertain their children. Here are a few ideas to try. Bubbles Little kids cannot get enough of bubbles! You can pick up small bottles of bubbles, complete with bubble wand, from a dollar store. Check the dollar racks at Target, too. Parents can sit down outdoors and blow bubbles that their toddlers will chase. Older kids can blow bubbles on their … Continue reading →

How to Save Money on School Supplies

Tis the season for back to school supplies. Parents everywhere are facing this time with a mixture of joy and dread. The summer will soon be over, and how on earth will they pay for all of the stuff that there kids need? If they are smart, budget-conscious consumers, they may try using the following strategies to bring the cost of needed school supplies down to just pennies on the dollar. Shop Multiple Stores Retail stores are fighting hard to get your back to school dollar, but not all sales are created equal. That is why if you want to … Continue reading →

Riding the Bus

They’ve spent years singing about its wheels going round and round, but now the day has come for your little one to take his first ride on a big yellow school bus. More and more parents of preschoolers are opting to have their kids use a bus as the primary vehicle to get to class.  Depending on the location of your child’s preschool, older siblings might be able to ride alongside their younger sister or brother. Regardless of whether or not all of your children ride the same bus, now is the time to prep your preschooler on the rules associated with … Continue reading →

Cultural Lessons on the Cost of Child Rearing

Heeled sneakers are all the rage with hip moms in France right now. While I will happily pass on the Sneakletto craze; I’m not opposed to employing practical techniques parents in Paris and other parts of the world have mastered in order save cash while raising young children. Less is more:  Surveys show the average American household spends $200 per child for birthday parties and gifts.  That means forking over nearly $1,000 per year if you have three or four kids.  Compare that to most French parents who typically celebrate their children’s birthdays with a simple home-cooked meal.  In Japan, … Continue reading →

The Sugar Rush Cometh

It’s Halloween in spring; otherwise known as Easter. Only, instead of going door-to-door to collect sweet treats, kids run around like decapitated chickens hunting for plastic eggs filled with chocolate goodness under bushes, in trees and behind rocks. If parents are lucky, their children will actually make it back to the hunt’s home base with at least a few pieces of uneaten candy to show for their efforts.  The unlucky moms and dads are left to pluck their kids from wherever it is they decide to plant their tiny tushes mid-hunt and picnic from a basket bulging with marshmallow chicks, … Continue reading →

Some Thoughts on Strollers and Baby Carriers

Over the weekend, we had some very nice weather. Even though the dirt road that we live on is muddy and full of deep ruts, I really wanted to take the boys out for a walk. Dylan really wanted me to take the double stroller out so that he could ride with his baby brother for part of our walk. I thought that it might be fun to see whether our beat up double jogging stroller (which we got from the thrift store last year) was up to the challenge. We enjoyed a wonderful walk, and since the stroller is … Continue reading →