Bringing Home Baby
When it’s finally time to take your little bundle of joy home...
Life Skills for Can-Do Kids
All kids, no matter their age, want to be independent...
Handling Your Child's...GULP...FIRST CRUSH
Learn how to navigate your child’s heart strings when Cupid strikes...
Sweet Delights!
Think outside of the heart-shaped box this Valentine's Day...
Tooth Talk
Don’t be blasé about your child’s teeth...
19th Annual Our Kids Soup Sunday
Soup Sunday Serves Our Kids...
Clip This:
Faithful Provisions' Kelly Hancock explains how to Save with Coupons...
Dinner 2 Night
Serves 12.
Ingredients
1 cup white cornmeal
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, undrained
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
In a saucepan, bring water to boil and add the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Slowly add the cornmeal and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Pour 2/3 of the hot cornmeal mush into a 2 quart casserole dish. Using the spoon, bring it up the sides as far as it will reach. If mush is too thick to spread, add a little boiling water.
In a large frying pan, cook, but don't brown, the ground beef, breaking it up into crumbs as it cooks. Add onion and green pepper and cook 5 minutes longer.
Add corn (with its liquid), chili powder, salt and tomato sauce, heat until very hot and pour mixture into the casserole dish lined with cornmeal mush.
Spoon remaining cornmeal mush over top. Again, it should be thin enough to spread, but certainly not watery.
Top with grated cheese and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned.
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One-Minute Parent
"Griffin, you have 10 minutes!" the smart parent will say when it's time to transition a happily playing young child to something else he needs to do like go on an appointment or head to sports practice. Rather than briskly demanding, "Time to go to practice, let's get a move on!" (and risk a miserable child who puts up a fight), give him a few minutes to shift gears. And it's not just little kids who need time to switch gears. Older kids need a "10 minute" transition warning and so do teens and adults says Harvey Karp, M.D., creator of The Happiest Toddler on the Block DVD and book. Try it the next time you need your child on the ball. Just remember to build in that extra time when you are preparing to go somewhere.
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This JUST IN!
A report from U.S. researchers says more than 1 in 5 high school students and middle schoolers ride in cars while others are smoking. Secondhand smoke exposure has been linked with breathing problems and allergy symptoms, and more restrictions are needed to prevent it, the report says.
Anti-smoking advocates have zeroed in on cars because of research showing they're potentially more dangerous than smoke-filled bars and other less confined areas.
The research, from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was released online Monday in Pediatrics.
The study is based on national surveys done at public and private high schools and middle schools. Students were asked how often they rode in cars while someone was smoking within the past week. The most common answer was one or two days. The smoker could mean other kids or parents; the study didn't specify.
A CDC fact sheet suggests even small amounts of secondhand smoke can be risky.
"There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke," the CDC says.
Overall, 22 percent of teens and pre-teens were exposed to secondhand smoke in cars in 2009, the latest data available. That figure declined gradually during the decade, from 40 percent in 2000, the study found. But still, the numbers of kids still facing the risks "is certainly problematic," said CDC researcher Brian King, the study's lead author.
But what about young children who ride in cars with parents who smoke? Certainly younger children are even more at-risk.
Being exposed to someone that smokes, even if they just smoke outside the home, is thought to increase a child's chance of having ear infections, allergies, asthma, wheezing, pneumonia and frequent upper respiratory tract infections.
Smoke can trigger asthma attacks in many children and they are often worse than in children who aren't exposed to someone that smokes.
And infants who are exposed to a caregiver that smokes, or a mother that smoked while she was pregnant, are up to 4 times more likely to die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
So improve your own and your child's health by getting some help quitting smoking.
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Don't Miss Events
Best bets for your family this week.
Tuesday, Feb. 7Predators Hockey Cheer for the Nashville Predators when they challenge the Vancouver Canucks. Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway, Nashville; 7 p.m.; $30 - $205; 770-7825 or http://predators.nhl.com.South Pacific This Broadway touring show opens today at TPAC’s Jackson Hall. Please see “On Stage,” for details.Tuesdays for Tots: Tissue Topiaries Preschoolers and their parents can stop by the studio to build their own sculpted topiary. Cheekwood, 1200 Forrest Park Drive, Nashville; 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.; free with gate admission ($12 adults, free ages 5 and younger); 356-8000 or cheekwood.org.Thursday, Feb. 9SunTrust Classical Series: Dr. Atomic & Mr. Haydn Pianist Jonathan Biss joins the Nashville Symphony for an evening of music by Haydn, Brahms and John Adams. Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 1 Symphony Place, Nashville; Thu 7 p.m., Fri - Sat 8 p.m.; $39 - $109; 687-6400 or nashvillesymphony.org.Friday, Feb. 1022nd Annual Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville Get ideas for around your home, inside and out, with more than 150 antique and horticultural booths as well as landscaped gardens. You may also participate in lectures and workshops (for additional fees). Nashville Convention Center, 615 Commerce St., Nashville; Fri - Sat 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sun 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; $15 at the door/$12 in advance, $30 run of show; antiquesandgardenshow.com.Monster Jam All ages can enjoy a live motorsport event featuring monster trucks. Bridgestone Arena, 500 Broadway, Nashville; Fri - Sat 7:30 p.m.; $25 - $50; 770-2000 or bridgestonearena.com.SunTrust Classical Series: Dr. Atomic & Mr. Haydn Please see Thursday, Feb. 9 listing.Saturday, Feb. 1122nd Annual Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville Please see Friday, Feb. 10 listing.Monster Jam Please see Friday, Feb. 10 listing.FREE Nashville Opera On Tour Nashville Opera presents a children’s opera, Sid the Serpent Who Wanted to Sing, for all ages. Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 222 Fifth Ave. S., Nashville; 10 a.m.; and at the Edmonson Library, 5501 Edmonson Pike, Nashville; 2 p.m.; nashvilleopera.org/in_your_community.Peter and the Wolf This Nashville Ballet production for families takes place today at TPAC’s Polk Theater. Please see “On Stage” for details.SunTrust Classical Series: Dr. Atomic & Mr. Haydn Please see Thursday, Feb. 9 listing.Sunday, Feb. 1222nd Annual Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville Please see Friday, Feb. 10 listing.
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Get Crafty
A Valentine's Day Special: Craft 3
Here's a craft for kids that is simple, fun and helps decorate your home for Valentine's Day. String My Heart Along is a garland that you can hang just about anywhere — mantles, doorways, candlestick to candlestick, etc.
What You NeedRed or Pink Felt (or both)ScissorsThin White Ribbon
What You Do
Cut out a square out of the felt in any size you want, but not too big.
Fold the square in half and cut out a heart like you would if you were using paper.
Now, take your scissors and cut a 1/8" vertical line about 1/4" in from the top point of one side of the the heart and again on the other side — leaving two slots at the top of the heart.
Cut a piece of white ribbon long enough to hang where you are going to place it.
Slide the ribbon through the slots along the top of the heart.
Repeat steps 1 - 3 with hearts varying in sizes and enough to fill the length of your ribbon.
Now, your String My Heart Along garland is ready to be hung.
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Get Crafty
A Valentine's Day Special: Craft 2
Here's a craft for kids that will require some help from Mom or Dad. Wrap Suckers with Love turns ordinary suckers into a special Valentine's Day treat.
What You NeedRed or Pink FeltMarkerScissorsHot GlueValentine's Day Stick-on SayingsThin White RibbonSuckers
What You Do
Take a sucker and lay it on the felt and mark two dots on the felt on both sides of the sucker's widest width and straight across from one another. Then put a mark at the top of the sucker to let you know how far upward to draw your heart.
From one dot, draw your heart upwards and connect to the other dot — you will not have a pointed end — and be sure to go above the top dot.
From one dot, draw a skirt like design downward and connect to the other dot — this acts as the wrappers opening. Now, cut the heart design out.
With your scissors, cut a 1/8" vertical line about 1/4" in from the point where the heart and skirt connect — where the dots were. Do this to both sides.
Now, take this heart and lay it on another piece of felt, trace and cut that one out.
Then, repeat step 4 to that heart. This will leave you with two identical heart pieces; one for the front and one for the back.
Take your hot glue and glue around the edges of the heart side, not the skirt end. Set aside to dry.
Once dry, slide your sucker in.
Cut a piece of ribbon, slide it through the little vertical slots that you made on one side, loop it around the back, slide it through the vertical slots on the other side and tie in the front.
Pick out one of your stick-on Valentine's Day sayings and stick it on. I got a package of 85 stickers for $1 at Target in the dollar section. Or, you can use fabric puff paint and write whatever you like on them.
These special little treats are great for school Valentine's Day hand-outs, or just to make for your own family.
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One-Minute Parent
Yelling at your kids never fails to turn them off so why do so many parents do it? Because sometimes they just lose it. If you're one of those parents who gives way to stress and anger and explodes on your children, here are some quick tips that can help you simmer down when you start to feel a boil coming on:
1) BE AWARE OF WHEN YOU ARE STARTING TO RAISE YOUR VOICE. This may be the best time to actually leave the scene and cool down in another private place.
2) FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO GET YOUR POINTS ACROSS Maybe you can stand on a chair to get your kids' attention instead of yelling at them. Maybe your can start singing or something ... find out what ELSE you can do in a heated moment. This requires that you think of what you can do BEFORE an incident occurs.
3) MAKE AN ANGER COPING KIT JUST FOR YOU: Discover different calming methods that work for you. Count to ten, do some deep breathing. Perhaps some kind of destressing activity will make you better prepared for your family stresses. Yoga, pilates, dance ... there are many outlets that parents can employ.
4) EXAMINE WHY YOU GET ANGRY: Ultimately you need to decide why it's happening and confront it so you can either deal with it or let it go.
Learning how to stop yelling at your children is difficult but it will be better for your entire family if you can stop.
SOURCE: Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids By Keeping Your Cool by Hal Edward Runkel.
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Well Child Tips
Approximately 144,000 kids ages 18 and younger are treated each year in a U.S. hospital for a
concussion, according to recent analysis in the Journal of Pediatrics. Nearly a third of these
injuries occur while kids are playing organized sports with forty percent of pediatric
concussions involving high school students and 42 percent involving younger children injured
while playing football, ice hockey, soccer, wrestling and other sports.
Scientists don't have a full understanding of what happens to a child’s brain when it's slammed up against the inside of the skull during a blow to the head ... and how it affects neurological development, but one thing is clear: As participation in sports continues to grow (1.5 million youngsters now play on football teams in the U.S.), more head injuries are inevitable, making pediatric concussions an emerging public health crisis. Doctors, parents and just about everyone involved in sports are concerned about the effect of repeat concussions on an athlete, especially if a repeat occurs before the brain has had a chance to heal from a prior impact.
More research on how concussions affect younger brains is urgently needed. In addition, coaches, parents and school officials need to pay closer attention to what is already known about the hazards of concussions and how best to prevent permanent damage. (Visit www.cdc.gov/concussion for comprehensive information, including videos, on the topic.)
Most people assume, for instance, that loss of consciousness is the defining feature of all concussions. Yet “seeing stars,” headache, nausea, dizziness, confusion, irritability, and an inability to remember events before or after the injury are the most common symptoms. Because people don’t recognize these warning signs, however, youngsters may continue to play when they should not.
Similarly, because the most obvious symptoms usually disappear within a few minutes to hours, children often return to normal activities too quickly, which overtaxes their injured brain. Depending on age and symptoms, children should not take part in intense physical activity for several weeks to months after a concussion. Even the added neural exertion from mental activities like reading and video games can interfere with the cerebrum’s ability to heal—particularly in the first 24 hours after injury.
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Hot Products
 It's time to eat and your toddler is hungry ... NOW! Have you ever had this problem? An impatient, hungry little one that is crying at your heels becuase your are just not fast enough getting food prepared for him.
Well, with The Dog Dicer, you can cut prep time in half ... or more. This handy little slicer cuts hot dogs into just the right size for little mouths and even helps prevent choking. But, what if your toddler is not into hot dogs? Don't worry, it also slices cooked carrots, bananas (that are not too ripe), grapes or anything else that is soft and fits into the crevice.
We tried it out on the hot dog first, of course, and it worked like a charm. Then it came time to try it on carrots, because my little guy absolutely loves them! We cooked several whole carrots and diced them up to just the right size for him.
Bananas, now there's another option, but be sure you don't have over-ripe ones. The ones that are just ripe enough to eat and still have more firmness are just right for this slicer. It gets a little messy, but it works just fine. Grapes are messy, too, but now you don't have to worry about him choking on them if he decides to toss a whole one into his mouth.
It's also dishwasher safe! Which is great because sometimes the food gets stuck between the edges and it difficult to get out.
For a limited time, you can get TWO for $19.95 at getdogdicer.com.
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