Hey Dad…remember…
… you are both parents when you have your kids…you are the teacher, the IT guy, the friend and so on….stay abreast of trends, help with homework, shop, cook, do any and everything you can to be the best role model you can be.
Emergency Reference
Emergency Contact Sheet
Establish a relationship with your local pharmacy. Know the meds your kids take, keep records and keep them current. Your child’s doctor can assist you. Some pharmacies offer an on line history which can be very useful.
Medical Information
Having a medical information form completed and on hand will help speed up things in the unfortunate event of an emergency.
Your form should include:
- Medical history, past surgeries or major problems
- Current medical conditions
- Doctors and their phone numbers
- Medications
- Immunizations
- Allergies
- Insurance Information
It is important to have the form(s) available for your babysitters or anyone who might have to bring your child to the hospital or other medical facility.
Fire Escape Route
In the event of a fire, the enemy isn’t always the flames, it may be the lack of having an escape plan in place. Every second counts and having an escape plan gets you out of your house quickly.
- Practice your escape plan about every month.
- Practice opening windows, taking on/off screens and using ladders
- Plan two ways out of each room.
- Immediately leave your home when a fire occurs.
- Don’t try to save personal material things
- Never open doors that are hot to the touch.
- Don’t look for family members in the house
- Designate a meeting location away from your home.
- Go to a neighbor’s house to call 911
- Once you’re out, stay out!
Grocery Shopping List
Do you dread grocery shopping? Do you put it off till the last minute? Do you wander aimlessly through the store trying to figure out what you want to get? — then always buy the wrong items or forget something. Well do I have some tips for you..
First, plan out a menu of the meals you want to prepare during the week. Then use this handy dandy grocery shopping list to mark down the items you need. I use to use this years ago and have gotten away from it. — But now I’m adding it back into my weekly routine. It’s a great way to simplify my life, make sure I’m not spending money on things I don’t need and it helps me to remember everything on my list.
I found this template on Keep and Share.com — not only does it have a great variety of foods listed, it also has a section for price comparision and items not on your list. I love it and I hope this works for you too
Christmas Fires
Click on the link above for an article I found from the US Fire Administration regarding fires at Christmas time. The holiday’s are suppose to be a special time with family, please take every precaution to ensure that it is.
Saving your Kids Artwork
Here are great ways to save your kids’s artwork:
- Frame it! The obvious choice, but sometime it’s too big a hassle, especially when the art is coming in by the bagful at the end of every week. Another option is wall appliqués which make it easy to “frame” art on the wall and change it out depending on your feeling.
- Use iPhoto or animoto.com to make a musical slideshow you can send around to folks by email.
- Create a binder (larger than 8 X 10) to store flat art that you can organize by year. Or, take photos of the art and use services like Apples iPhoto or Inkubook.com to make pro-looking art books featuring your child’s masterpieces.
- Take a trip down to the local hardware store and get the artwork laminated. Laminated art makes for fine family placemats so everyone can enjoy them.
- Take photos of the art and make it into a calendar to give away this holiday season. KodakGallery.com and all the other photo sites have calendar options.
Whatever you do, don’t throw it all away OR store it in boxes waiting for some day. The longer it sits unframed, the better chance it will eventually end up at the bottom of a landfill anyway.
Article from GreatDad.com
Tooth Fairy
The tooth fairy is a fairy that gives your child money and/or gifts in exchange for their baby tooth that has fallen out. Typically children place the tooth under their pillow at night. The fairy comes to take the tooth from under the pillow and replace it with money once they have fallen asleep.
Above is a certicifate that you can ready for the Tooth Fairy to fill out and leave for your child.
Traveling
Whether you are traveling for spring, summer, fall or winter break, it is important to be prepared and organized. You don’t get to spend as much time with your kids as you’d like to, so you need to make the most out of it. Find your rhythm, and that will get you through the traveling experience. Below are some traveling tips that you might find helpful.
We thought it would also be helpful to include some travel games for the trip
The object of the License Plate game is to see how many different license plates you can find on your trip and check them off your list. Work as a team in the car, or individually. Whoever gets the most wins — You can decide on the prize (maybe something special from the place you are going)
Or How about playing Bingo? You can decide if you want it to be vertical, horizontal, 4 corners or full card BINGO — and you can offer a small prize to the winner. Below is a Bingo Card
Communicating with your Teen
What your Teen Isn’t Telling you
Being a single parent is hard, and the teenage years can make the communication process a bit more trying. This is especially true today with the advent of social media, email, texting and other forms of communicating that did not exist just a few years back, which can make the “generation gap” even wider.
So, one must learn to deal with not only the emotions associated with being a teen, but do so without trying to over-do it. Check out this article with the following link.
Choosing the Right Backpack
It’s hard to believe that it is that time of year again, but in less than 4 weeks you will be sending your kids back to school. You have probably already seen the school supplies in the stores and in the ads, so please start your shopping early to ensure that you get everything your child needs.
One of the most important things you can get for your child, from preschool to collage, is their backpack. Selecting the proper bag is not always easy, they might want to select a bag based on certain characters, colors or style but that might not always be the safest choice for them.
Check out the following tips below to guarantee you select the proper bag for your child:
- Lightweight backpack to carry their supplies and books – you don’t want your child complaining about back pain, suffering from headaches, or have posture problems because their bag is stuffed to heavy
- Look for a backpack with wide, padded straps – this will help to distribute the weight evenly
- Make sure the backpack fits properly. The straps should not be so tight that the pack goes above the collar line or is wider than the shoulders. It also should be adjusted tightly enough so it does not hang more than 4 inches below the belt line.
- The weight of the loaded backpack should not be more than 15% of the child body weight. Kids tend to pack everything but the kitchen sink in their backpacks. Make sure they pack the heaviest items first so they are carried lower and closer to the body.
- Try not to have them sling the backpack over one shoulder. Messenger-style bags, which get slung over one shoulder, should be avoided. This will force your child to lean to one side to offset the weight ( I know I’m guilty of this with carrying my gym bag)
The Sock Monster
How many times have you loaded the washer…. then the dryer? It seems like a pretty seamless process, right? Wrong! Because when it comes to folding the laundry, you realize that you have somehow lost a sock in the process. You retrack your steps, scope out the washer and dryer — nothing –there empty.
Where did the sock go? How does this happen all the time? I’ll tell you — there is a sock monster that lives in the machines, scoping out helpless socks and snatches them for play. I wish I know what his obcession was with only playing with one sock. Why not take them both?
Then the kicker is when you have given up all hope of finding the sock and throw it away after several weeks of faithful searching — it somehow magically reappears. It’s like the sock monster senses this and the fun of playing hide and seek is over, so he returns the mate.
Well, I think I have devised the perfect plan to outsmart the sock monster. Mesh Laundry Bags!! Simply give each of your kids their own mesh bag (they come in a variety of colors) and make them responsible for putting their socks (and underware) in the bag. That way it goes straight from their room, right to the washer / dryer and back to their room. Not only does it stop the sock monster, it also teaches your kids organizational skills and responsibility.
You can get your mesh bags at The Container Store for $5.99/each
Click on — MESH LAUNDRY BAGS for more information
Being A Dad After Divorce
Many fathers who go through divorce end up separated from their children. Learn steps that can be taken to ensure the children stay close to their dads….
Check out this article this great article regarding being a great dad after your divorce
Click here:
Dad After Divorce