The Happy Mommy Handbook is Only $.99 for 2 days!

The Happy Mommy Handbook is on sale May 30th & 31st for only $.99! Currently, it is Number 1 in Parenting on Amazon. You can also purchase it from Barnes & Noble and Kobo. The ebook price will be $3.99 after that. Print copies are $9.95 and make wonderful gifts for parents and teachers of preschoolers.

Do you need answers to these questions?

• Why can't my kids just play by themselves occasionally?
• How can I help my children learn in fun ways?
• What can I do to help my child be ready for school?

Children's Service Projects - Random Acts of Kindness

These items cost less than $25.00

During this rushed season of shopping frenzy, do you wonder if there is a way to feel more gratitude and peace? Doing service will bring you a feeling of contentment and enrichment. You will feel connected to others of similar spirits and understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Best FREE Children's Ebooks Daily and Free App

Today, my special guest is Bethany from the kid lit and play blog No Twiddle Twaddle. One of her most popular features is the almost daily list of the best free kids' eBooks available on Amazon:

Parents Make Halloween Happen on Google Hangouts

October 8th - 12th, 2012

Monday

• Join +Angelique Felix and guest +Cerys Parker at 2:15 PM CST for a Witches story and cupcakes

Tuesday 

• Join +Angelique Felix and guest +Cerys Parker at 2:15 PM CST for a Monster song and craft
• Join +Susan Case and +Rachelle Doorley at 5:30 PM CST for HOW TO MAKE SLIME - Now available below:

eReaders or Real Books for Preschoolers?

I asked Katie, Mommy with Selective Memory, if she would take a picture of Little Munchkin using the iPad. Munchkin loves to wear pretty dresses and was happy to oblige. But Katie told me she did not stay with the iPad very long after the picture was taken.

Technology is a wonderful tool and I LOVE my Kindle - but I believe creating a love of reading with beginning readers is best done on the lap of a parent with a real book, conversation and interaction. A parent’s voice is soothing to a young child and can be full of expression. Sharing books together forms a comforting bond as a child turns pages, touches the illustrations, and actively participates in the reading process.

Young children learn using their five senses and movement. They will engage in a book more if they are interacting with a book that has flaps, movable gadgets and interesting textures. Reading is more than learning letters sounds and putting the sounds together to form words. Reading is a magical adventure. Communication with a parent or teacher enhances the experience and adds to comprehension, language development, and vocabulary. Questions can be asked and answered.

 

CONS OF eREADERS

• Research concludes that children who are exposed to too much electronic reading have a lower vocabulary and delayed language development
  E-reading tends to be more of a solitaire experience and may even become a babysitter
•  Comprehension is lower perhaps because children are distracted by the lighting, ways to move around the book, and options for playing games. Deep focusing is inhibited.
• Young children need large print and interesting illustrations.
• Heat can destroy an eReader if left in a hot car and they need to be re-charged  
•  Going to the library and picking out books cannot be experienced by using an eReader. Owning a collection of books that are re-read numerous times creates a feeling of ownership and comfort
• The lights and movement on eReaders can be stimulating and keep children awake after bedtime. 

PROS OF eREADERS

• May be more engaging to reluctant readers and children with special needs
• Can supplement reading skills through repetition
• Saves on book expenses and trees (I love garage sale books)
• Easily available on long car rides or doctor appointments when child needs more to do
• May give parents a much needed and deserved break!
• For recommended FREE ebooks, see No Twiddle Twaddle

photo by Glittering Muffins

Children crave and need a parent’s nearness for bonding, creating a love of reading, and comprehension of what was read - whether using a flat screen or a paper book. As with everything in life, finding a healthy balance is desirable.

Resources:
Why the Real World is Better for Children than an iPad, Psychology Today
Sesame's Best Practice Guide for Children's App Development
Parents Urged to Limit TV for Youngest, The New York Times

Would you like inexpensive ideas, activities, and games to teach your child through play? Mommy with Selective Memory and I can help save your sanity, one project at a time, with The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn. Or you might like a glimpse into Kindergarten - for parents and teachers. Both bestsellers are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Does your child prefer real books or eReaders?

Can You Raise "Free-Range Kids" or Are You a Helicopter Mom?

The title of Lenore Skenazy's book, Free-Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Kids (Without Going Nuts with Worry) peaked my interest because we have free-range chickens - and because I worry that children do not play outside enough today. Skenazy's book is about how children can thrive, and survive, if we give them more freedom - the freedoms we enjoyed as children..

Skenazy is a journalist who wrote a column in the New York Sun about allowing her 9-year-old son to take a subway ride home alone in New York City in 2008. Television shows were asking her to be their guest and she innocently went to be interviewed and was deemed as "America's Worst Mom." But she and her husband had made a very well thought-out decision, due to her son's persistence and capabilities, that he should be allowed to ride the subway alone. Skenazy's defends her decision in this well-documented book. It is full of statistics, but also humor. I laughed out loud many times at my own helicopter parenting.

When I asked Lenore what parents are told to be fearful of today, her answer was:  "creeps, kidnapping, germs, grades, flashers, frustration, baby snatchers, bugs, bullies, men, sleepovers, Ivy League rejection letters and/or the perils of a non-organic grape."

Skenazy reminds us of the media, lawyers and "child safety" enthusiasts who bombard us with "the worse-case scenario...And the result is a lot of people so busy preparing for the hideous and unpredictable future that they think nothing of trampling the safe and happy present."

Can you give your chicks a little more freedom?

"Forty years ago, the majority of U.S. children walked or biked to school. Today, about 10 percent do. Meantime, 70 percent of today's moms say they played outside as kids. But only 31 percent of their kids do." Lenore's answer is that there are risks if you give your child more freedom, but there are risks if you don't. If you let your child play outside, there is a very small risk that he will be abducted or hit by a meteor. But if you bring him inside all the time, there is a large risk that he will stare at flat screens for long periods which can cause obesity and an undeveloped mind. Your child won't have the opportunities to reach their full potential in the following areas:

• independence
• creativity
• social skills for coping, negotiating, communicating
• problem-solving skills
• exploration and discovery
• sense of community 
• and to just have fun being a kid

Of course, WE MUST USE COMMON SENSE. But I loved Free Range Kids for the confidence it will give parents to let their child have some more freedom without keeping them inside depleting their bodies of Vitamin D, their minds of adventure, and their bodies of exercise. I, myself, am a hovering helicopter mom and my daughter is 21. But she has special needs so I have always been very protective of her. This book made me realize that I could let go some and it has been good for both of us. This book is for those who have a "sneaking suspicion that you don't have to be quite as worried about quite as much." I wholeheartedly recommend Free Range Kids and look forward to her next book.

You can visit and comment on Lenore's interesting and entertaining blog Free Range Kids. If you click on her book below you can view Lenore's wonderful book trailer and have a glimpse into her book.

You might enjoy my post Back to the Basics: Play Outside or my books Kindergarten: Tattle-Tales, Tools, Tactics, Triumphs and Tasty Treats for Teachers and Parents and currently no. 2 in Motherhood on Amazon: The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn, co-written with Mommy with Selective Memory and full of playful ideas.

What are some ways we can give children more of their childhood?