Even if you're most comfortable with long stretches of work, parenthood often means learning to do more with small bouts of fast work. That's just how kids are. You have to work hard, work fast and hope they're feeling cooperative.
Here are some basic activities your kids may enjoy:
1. Having a friend over.
Believe it or not, once they're used to each other this can really work. An extra child in your house can make it easier because the kids focus on playing with each other, not on trying to get your attention.
Work this one right and you can also earn trades with another stay at home parent. You take their kids, they take yours. Lots of fun for the kids and free quiet time for mom!
2. Water play.
Kids love water. I give my kids a plastic container full of water with some sponges and they take it outside and start scrubbing. This works best with some dish soap added so they have bubbles to enjoy as well.
Water painting can also work. Take a bowl of water, some paintbrushes, and some of the non-glossy ads you get in the mail or your newspaper. You can also use just plain newsprint. Young children love seeing the color change as the paper gets wet.
If the weather is warm enough you can also just set up sprinklers and work on things where you can still supervise as necessary.
3. Paper and scissors.
Get some child safe scissors, give your child some paper, and let him or her at it.
You may have to watch things a little, as these are sharper than the ones we had as children, and experimentation will inevitably happen. But if you make the consequences good enough for any cutting of hair, clothing or other unauthorized objects the interest in cutting random stuff up goes way down.
The negative can be the cleanup. My kids can get paper just about down to confetti levels when they're in the mood.
4. Mother's helper.
I haven't often used this one, but if a neighborhood child who isn't quite old enough to babysit wants to earn a little money, this is a great way to let them help you. They just play with the kids and come to you with problems such as diapers, snack time or injuries.
5. Forts.
Kids love to make forts or tents. You can drape a sheet over the table, across some chairs, make it out of couch cushions, whatever works. It's great for the imagination.
If you have a closet under the stairs you can also have what my family calls Narnia. You could refer to Harry Potter if that's what your kids prefer, of course. They just play in the very back, doing whatever it is they want to imagine.
This is particularly fun if you are lucky enough to have an under stairway closet that has a turn in it. Kids love places that feel secret.
Some worrisome statistics strongly suggest we need to change how and when we present the facts about alcohol to our kids – it's a lot more dangerous than most people think, and we need start telling them about it a lot younger. Too many kids are trying alcohol at the middle school level, and researchers say alcohol is dangerous to developing brains. It also makes it more likely they'll become alcohol abusers later in life and wind up needing alcohol rehab.
Some of these statistics are alarming:
•By the eighth grade, about 40 percent of American students say they've had some alcohol
•About 10 percent of fourth-graders and 29 percent of sixth-graders say they've already tried alcohol
•Roughly 47 percent – nearly half – of people who began drinking before age 14 became dependent on alcohol later in their lives. Which means that if you allow alcohol before that age, there's a 47 percent chance they'll need alcohol rehab.
•Only 9 percent of those who began drinking at age 21 or older became dependent on alcohol.
•35 percent of Texas sixth-graders had drunk alcohol at least once
•18 percent of fourth-graders surveyed in Texas had drunk alcohol at least once
•9 percent of 9- to 12-year-olds in a national survey said they'd had more than a few sips of alcohol
•4 percent of sixth-graders in a national survey reported that they had drunk alcohol in the past month
•In the U.S. today, there are nearly 18 million people who need alcohol rehab and it's likely that at least half of them began drinking when they were under 21 – probably way under 21.
These are only a few of the statistics that are driving an ongoing study on children's use of alcohol by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center professor John Donovan. His findings that link alcohol dependency to the age one starts drinking agree with many other researchers. And he has found that kids are trying alcohol a lot younger than most people think, which may be even more likely to lead to alcohol addiction and the need for alcohol rehab in their later teens or 20s.
"Parents should know that even when they give children alcohol in family contexts, there is still a risk that their children would be more likely to be involved in problematic use later on," Donovan said.
Parents need to talk to their kids and make sure they understand the dangers. In a statement last March announcing the "National Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking," Acting Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu said that kids who start drinking before age 15 "are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life."
He also said new research indicates that alcohol harms the developing adolescent brain. Just imagine what it's doing to an 8 or 10-year-old's brain. And liver disease, a consequence of alcoholism historically seen only among middle-aged people, has begun to appear in young adults in their 20s.
It's time for parents to take action: the consequences of not doing so could result in your kid becoming alcohol dependant or addicted and needing alcohol rehab. Parents with young children should use the following topics as a guide to talk to their kids about alcohol:
1.Explain what "dependency" means. Get some examples.
2.Explain that the younger someone starts drinking alcohol, the more likely they are to become dependent on it. It's an addictive substance.
3.Explain that alcohol is actually poison (look it up if you don't believe me). Young bodies need food, water and fresh air, not poison, or they will not develop properly.
4.Give examples of what alcohol addiction can do to behavior, robbing people of the desire and ability to achieve their goals. Don't sugar coat it, but don't scare them into nightmares, either.
5.Tell them that people with a real alcohol dependency can almost never stop drinking on their own, and that they'll ruin their lives and the lives of everyone around them, even people they love, unless they can get through an alcohol rehab program that helps them recover their senses.
Kids whose parents talk to them about drugs and alcohol are less likely to become alcoholics. Talk to them now, and you could avoid having to get them into an alcohol rehab program later.
Both Stephanie Foster & Rod Mactaggart are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Stephanie Foster has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Shopping and Pets. Stephanie Foster blogs at about being a stay at home mom. Stephanie Foster's top article generates over 823000 views. to your Favourites.
Rod Mactaggart has sinced written about articles on various topics from Addictions, Alcohol Treatment and Keyboard Synthesizer. Rod is a freelance writer that contributes articles on health.. Rod Mactaggart's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.