Shop with MyCoupons.com
When you’re shopping online, doesn’t it make sense to know the best deals prior to going to a retailer’s website? Most sites have sale items on the home page, but what about additional discounts. Are you familiar with the coupon codes section in the checkout? That is the place for an online promotional code for some kind of a discount. So, now you ask, where do I get these? Answer is MyCoupons.com. They are the nation’s oldest coupon site and they have hundreds of coupons for all the top retailers. For example, need some new household items, try Dillards Coupons. They have great links for exclusive and most popular coupons to help in your search. Best thing is that all you have to do is find the deal you like, click on the link and you are directed right to the retailers site. Check it out and let us know what you find!
Posted in Announcements on June 21st, 2011 by admin | | 0 Comments
New Web Site – Homemade Dog Treat Recipes!
We love our dogs and we love to pamper them and keep them healthy! Do something fun for you and your dog and make some special doggie treats for him.
DoggieTreatRecipes.com has yummy and easy to make homemade dog treat recipes. Whether it be dog biscuits, dog cookies, home made dog meals or other fun dog snacks – you’ll find a wide variety of easy dog treat recipes you and your canine friend will enjoy.
*More than 130 recipes for dog treats, meals & supplements.
*Fun dog videos for the family to enjoy
*Dog food warnings
*Training tips & help
*How to Start Your Own Dog Treat Business
Stop by DoggieTreatRecipes.comand grab your favorite homemade dog treat recipes today!
Posted in Announcements on June 14th, 2011 by admin | | 0 Comments
Summer Activities for Kids
BALTIMORE, MD — Come summertime, kids are always looking for something fun, lucrative, or rewarding to do. After all, there are only so many TV reruns to watch and video games to play before their cries of “I’m bored!” begin. With summer just around the corner, parents still have time to encourage their kids to do something special—and maybe even a little different—this year.
Dr. Rick Bavaria, Senior Vice President of Education Outreach for Sylvan, suggests ways to inspire some memorable fun this summer and keep children learning in the process. Sylvan Learning is North America’s leading provider of in-center and live, online tutoring at home to students of all ages, grades, and skill levels.
Put on a play or concert and enhance creativity. Kids love to show off their talents. If you have an aspiring actor or musician in the family, suggest she get together with other performer-friends to entertain families or neighbors. Kids can write their own short plays from their favorite books—Amelia Bedelia books make for fun, silly plots—or Google “short plays for kids” for other ideas. If your kids are musicians, they can choose their favorite selections or write their own songs. If they’re really lucky, they can do both, and put on a musical!
Help a neighbor and develop caring and responsible values. Many neighbors in your community would greatly appreciate some help around the house, in the yard, with the shopping, walking pets, washing cars, or with errands. An hour or two a week allows your child to be helpful and gives your neighbor some assistance and company.
Start a book club and sharpen reading skills. If your kids have been given a summer reading list, they’ll have an easier time of it if they work with study buddies. Invite their friends over for reading and discussion followed by pizza, swimming, or a movie. For a list of recommended summer reading, visit www.SylvanLearning.com.
Start a new sports team and learn research skills. Kids are always interested in the new and unusual. Find a safe sport that isn’t on your school’s physical education curriculum—windsurfing, sailing, bocce—and help your kids learn about it, try it, and have fun with it.
Hike a hundred miles and teach perseverance and writing skills. What says summer more than trekking through the woods? Set a distance goal, and go for it! Even if you’re not near nature trails or green forests, measure a few routes around your neighborhood and hike away a couple of times a week. An inexpensive pedometer and a “hiking journal” let you keep track of your progress. Include descriptions of new things you discovered, whom you walked with, what you talked about, what songs you sang, and maybe even some clever drawings.
Make a movie and sharpen writing and leadership skills. It’s easier to become a “junior filmmaker” these days, thanks to inexpensive cameras and computer programs that help develop creativity and imagination. Kids can write their own scripts, rewrite scenes from favorite movies, create new endings for those films, or dramatize episodes from favorite books.
Do some gardening and learn geometry, botany, and working within a budget. Organize a small plot of yard for flowers, plants, or vegetables. At the library or online, help kids research gardens and gardening techniques. Give them an allowance for seeds. Help them design the plot, nurture it, and reap the benefits.
Exhibit paintings or photographs and boost creativity, writing and social skills. Every child has an artistic streak. Encourage kids to draw, use pastels, watercolor, or paint. Or take photos of friends, games, pets, flowers, neighbors, events, or hikes. Put the photos in a hard-copy album or post online to share with others. Add captions: “My friends and I had a great time at the pool on the Fourth of July. Here we are swimming, having a barbecue, and watching the fireworks. It was awesome!”
Play marathon board games and encourage logical thinking. Once or twice a summer, it’s fun to have a game marathon. Choose your game: Monopoly®, Scrabble®, Clue®, cribbage. Invite friends over, serve snacks, laugh a lot. Take a few pictures for the summer journal.
There are so many other ideas, adds Dr. Bavaria. Your main purpose, of course, is to keep your kids’ minds and bodies active, their social skills keen, and their summer enjoyment high. Memories are made this way!
Parents looking for additional resources can visit the Parent Resources section at www.SylvanLearning.com.
Posted in Family on June 10th, 2011 by admin | | 0 Comments
Modern, Hip, and Stylish Photo Cards are Here!
Now is the time to get modern invites and greeting cards! Keeping Me Posted can help you create some unique designs after a few clicks of your mouse. The cutting-edge photo personalization tools can upload your top photos from Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, and SmugMug. Hundreds of chic designs are now available to choose from. Personalization tools can be used for so many things like changing the font color, style, and size.
These tools also can be used to change photos from color to black and white or sepia. Preview your masterpiece free of charge before you buy it. However, if you need your very own design, contact Keeping Me Posted. A personalized design can easily be done for you at no extra cost. The cards are printed on one of the thickest matte papers using HP Indigo printing presses. All cards are carefully reviewed during the design and printing stages in order to get a top-quality product.
So stop by Keeping Me Posted today at www.keepingmeposted.com for that special card of your choice.
Posted in Cool Products on May 24th, 2011 by admin | | 0 Comments
Daily Deals in Your Home Town – Why Haven’t You Joined Groupon Yet?
Groupon has been around for awhile, and proves to still be one of the best programs online for finding deals in your area.
Simply enter your zip code and you will be shown all the special for that day. Most are 50 – 90% off. You can’t beat that!
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Posted in Family, Free Stuff on May 22nd, 2011 by admin | | 0 Comments
5 Tips About Summer Camp Sexual Abuse
1. Start Young
When teaching your child the names of body parts, use the proper terms for penis, scrotum, vagina and anus. The use of euphemisms can jeopardize your child’s credibility should they someday need to report abuse. Explain that these parts of their body are very private, and that no one should be touching them there unless that person has a legitimate reason (e.g., a pediatrician or early child care provider).
Because everychild molester asks their victims to keep the abuse between the two of them, teach your child that it’s never OK to keep a secret (unless it has an ‘expiration’ date, such as a surprise party) and that if someone touches their private parts they need to tell you or another adult (many camps forbid cell phones) immediately. And to keep telling until they get help. Even if someone just makes them feel uncomfortable when they’re nearby, they need to report that, too. Make it clear that no matter what another child or adult may tell them, they will never get into trouble for reporting.
Lastly, move heaven and earth to make sure that no adult is ever allowed to be alone and out of public view with your child. The only way abusers can do what they do is by having uninterrupted, private access to a child.
2. Screening the Camp: Questions to Ask
Are criminal reference checks done on all personnel? How many references do you require, and how do you check them?
What training do staff members receive about child sexual abuse?
How are campers made aware of what to do if they feel unsafe?
Under what circumstances are staff members allowed to be alone with a camper? (The answer needs to be: NONE!)
How does the camp monitor behavior of older campers with their younger peers?
Are at least two adult counselors assigned to sleep in each cabin?
Who is responsible for enforcing camp rules and regulations?
3. Characteristics of Potential Abusers
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2005 that 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually assaulted before the age of 18. The vast majority of abusers, 90%, are male, and 71% of the time, the abuser is acquainted with the victim.
Whenever someone seems to be overly interested in your child, beware. Camps routinely forbid their counselors to babysit or spend time with campers outside camp precisely because a counselor who has had the opportunity to develop a close relationship with your child is in a position to have an undue amount of influence. Sexual predators tend to be masters at “grooming” their victims by insinuating themselves into their victim’s life and becoming someone the child likes and trusts.
What many parents don’t realize is that almost a third of sexually abused children are victimized by an older child. That’s why it’s important to know what the camp’s policies are regarding how much contact is permitted between different age groups and how well supervised the groups are.
4. Warning Signs of Sexual Abuse in Young Children
Trouble walking or sitting
Precocious awareness of sexual topics
Seductive behavior
Unprecedented shyness about getting undressed
Avoiding a specific individual for no apparent reason
Sleep disturbances
Bedwetting or soiling
Expressing concern about genitalia
Reluctance to go back to camp
Warning Signs of Sexual Abuse in Older Children
Unusual interest in or avoidance of sexual topics
Depression or suicidal thoughts
Self isolation, emotional aloofness
Hostility or aggressive behavior
Secretiveness
Seductive behavior
Sleep disturbances
Substance abuse
Reluctance to go back to camp
5. What to Do if You Suspect Your Child Has Been Abused
First and foremost, keep your true feelings hidden and remain calm and collected. It’s the most courageous and kindest thing you can do for your child. Research shows that the single most important factor in a child’s doing well after being abused is the steady emotional support of their parents.
Many times victims of child sexual abuse will wait years or decades before revealing what happened, and even then it’s usually only to their therapist. When asked why they never reported the abuse as a child, patients admit that sometimes the sexual stimulation of their genitalia was pleasurable and they always believed this meant the abuse was partially their own fault. That’s why it’s critically important to explain to a child that the abuse is never, ever their fault, not even a little tiny bit, no matter what.
Some children never report because they fear they won’t be believed, especially when the abuser is known and trusted by the family. Tell your child you believe them; children rarely lie about having been sexually abused. Acting as though you might doubt your child will only compound the psychological damage sustained from having been abused.
After your child has finished telling you what happened, praise them for confiding in you and let them know you realize it couldn’t have been easy. Then immediately notify the local authorities or call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1.800.4.A.CHILD (1.800.422.4453)
Conclusion
Child molesters are adept at manipulating their victims into believing that the abuse is the child’s fault, that they won’t be believed if it’s reported, and that they or someone they love will get hurt if abuse gets reported. By letting your child know their private parts are off limits to others and that they will never get in trouble for reporting, that it’s never OK for someone to ask them to keep a “forever” secret, and by not allowing any adult to be alone with your child, you’re making your child far less vulnerable to predators who know how to exploit the naivete of children.
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Dr. Jackie Humans is a graduate of the Workplace Bullying Institute, the only organization in the United States that trains individuals how to present anti-bullying programs for bullying in the workplace. She also works with Child Abuse Prevention Services (CAPS), a nonprofit organization that sends volunteers into schools to present programs about keeping kids safe. She is a well-known speaker and program leader on subjects such as bully prevention, Internet safety, sexual harassment, date rape and child abuse. She is the author of 15 Ways to ZAP a Bully!
Posted in Blogs by Guests, Family on May 15th, 2011 by admin | | 0 Comments
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