Mormon Bloggers

It was August 2008, and it was hot. We were in need of a serious diversion. At just over 8 months pregnant, I was tired and maybe more than a little bit ornery. Sport had just started Kindergarten and we had spent the afternoon filming a little play that he had come up with for the Reflections contest. Reflections is a program sponsored by the PTA. To encourage creativity, they come up with a

If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that I love working with the scouts! I have been a Girl Scout leader for 18 years (with no end in sight…). I figure I can retire from scouts the same time my sweetie retires from his job unless I have some granddaughters by then who happen to need a leader.

I’ve told you a bunch of our adventures this year including our trip to the zoo.

I promised you a broken bones story, but I’m gonna have to keep you in suspense until tomorrow. I forgot about Shell’s new linky that I wanted to join. She is asking us all to write an essay on “What I Did for Summer Vacation…” OK, not really, but she is suggesting we link up some of the fun pics we took with our families this summer. So here we go.

(Oh yeah, and if I want to win prizes, I have

Not Baby Doll’s actual piano
I am NOT a natural klutz although today somebody might want to argue that point. A couple of days ago I was gathering my purse and talking to my sweetie on the phone. I had a couple of errands to run and I was focusing on them. Not paying attention, I caught the toe of my shoe on Baby Doll’s toy piano. It totally laid me out! At least I didn’t land on anybody on the

Yeah, been there, done that. Five times. Now we are enjoying the point of our lives where the FOMLs will reverently sit through sacrament meeting, only interrupted by the sound of fingernails on the backs of white shirts.  It was a long road. Mind you, our kids were really quite good, so I have no room to complain. I am grateful that the Lord sent relatively peaceful kids to our union.

Unlike some of the kids at church today. Yikes! Don’t get me wrong – I’m not a tyrant about crying kids. I completely understand that it happens. What I don’t understand is why the parent doesn’t eventually take the kid out of the meeting. Do they keep thinking “almost there, almost there”? Let me reassure you: You are not “almost there”. You have lost this one. Go out, regroup, and try again later.

I don’t say this out of harsh judgement, or out of spite. Which is how I would have said it in my younger years. As I have grown older, and much, much wiser, I have had opportunity to sit on the stand and watch the baby battles unfold from the front. I have watched as parents frantically try to stop a baby from crying right in the middle of the sacrament with binkies, bottles, breasts and Cheerios – all to no avail. I have watched the worried glances and mouthed conversations as the panicked parents pass the baby back and forth, hoping one can accomplish what the other can’t. I have watched the sheepish/embarrassed/apologetic/angry expressions as one of the parents stumbles out of the pew with the victorious babe in arms. More than feeling irritated by the drama, I just grin, remember the days, and offer up a prayer of gratitude that it isn’t me.

To those people who get bent out of shape when a baby cries, I would offer this gentle counsel: Repent you jerks.

I have learned this:  Mom & Dad – Relax! It is not that big of a deal. Babies cry. Toddlers have blow-outs. Kids need “to go”. Life happens. Even especially during church meetings. I fear that the tension conveyed by the frantic parents only compounds the baby’s stress, making it even less likely to calm things down.

Relax. Take a deep breath.

Here are a couple of quotes to think about:

This one is attributed to Brigham Young, but I can’t find a reference for it…

Living in Utah has certain advantages…like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (I saw them in concert last night and it was amazing!). We have the Great Salt Lake, which is beautiful, even if you wouldn’t want to swim in it. We also have Zion’s National Park, Moab, Capitol Reef…hundreds of square miles of beautiful country (if you can avoid the road construction to get there…). But one of the coolest

I know I hardly ever do any of those linky things, but when Shell on Things I Can’t Say, suggested the Baby Bumps first and now the actual babies, I didn’t want to miss a chance to show off all my cute little ones! My friends tell me you can always tell one of our babies because they all basically look the same. What do you think? I’m thinking similar in looks, but very different in personality.

As any parent will tell you, nighttime is one of the most difficult times for new parents. After a day full of baby bottles, blowouts, and tantrums a busy parent desires only a smooth and easy trip to bed. One of the best ways to make bedtime run more smoothly is by establishing a consistent routine when your child is young. Of course, because a bedtime routine is one of the most important aspects of your baby’s day-to-day life, it is also one of the most difficult things to establish and execute properly. Furthermore, because oftentimes a mother will stay at home for the first few months of the baby’s life while the father works, some of the childcare can become skewed. It is important to develop a bedtime routine that involves both parents equally. These three activities will help new parents establish a healthy bedtime routine they can both participate in with their new bundles.

Take a Soak
One of the most popular things to incorporate into a child’s bedtime routine is an evening bath. Laying a child or toddler down in a warm bath can help relax them and ease them into bed. Turn the lights on low and draw a warm bath. Gently wash your child in the warm water and allow both of you to really relax and prepare for rest. Bathing can be a great opportunity for dad to participate in childcare. If mom is breastfeeding, dad has little to do with the child’s feeding process. Let dad take care of bath time because mom does the feeding. This is a great opportunity for dad to spend some quality time with his child when they are both relaxed and happy.

Play a Quiet Game
Burning off some extra steam can also be an important part of a successful bedtime routine. While this may not work for every family, for some it may really help a child (and parent) sleep through the night. Play a quiet game in the living room or baby’s bedroom before bedtime. Something as simple as peek-a-boo can do the trick. However, if your baby has some pent up energy before bedtime, if can be a good idea to get some of it out before you both lay down to rest. Try dancing to your favorite song, bouncing, or playing “horsey”. Of course, this technique may not work for all families. If your child seems to become energized by more active games before bedtime, it may be a better idea to leave this out.

Talk about the Day
Having a chat before your child goes to sleep can be a great way to bond with your child and relax before sleeping. While this may seem silly before your baby is old enough to talk, you can still have a narrative about your day with them without their replying. Because new mom’s typically spend much of the day with their kids, having dad talk to their baby as part of the bedtime routine can give dad a chance to share his day with his child. The consistency and comfort of dad’s voice can help sing your child to sleep and help dad relax after a long day. Books can also be a part of this, especially as your child ages.

These three bedtime tips are great activities for fathers or mothers to take part in. Setting a consistent bedtime routine for your baby can really save a lot of stress and a lot of sleep for both child and parents. Set a routine and try to stick with it, but don’t be too strict about things. If your baby or toddler does not want to take a bath or play a game that night, there is no need to force things. Let the routine run smoothly and allow yourself and your child to relax during it. Getting on a regular schedule will help your baby learn when it is time to rest, encouraging them to sleep throughout the night.

What is your bedtime routine? How do you, fathers, get involved with your children during bedtime?

Author Bio:
This guest post is contributed by Leslie Johnson, who writes about health, green living, and parenting related articles at masters in health administration.

Image Citation: mentafredda

With these 100 degree Texas temperatures and a family beach vacation next week water safety has been on my mind a lot lately. As the temperatures heat up and children get out of school for the summer, many families will be heading to the pool, lake, and beach or filling up the backyard inflatable pool. These water-filled times bring many laughs and family memories, but water safety is a must in order to make the experience both fun and safe for children of all ages.

There are some eye-opening statistics when it comes to children and water activities:

• Approximately 3800 US children younger than 20 years visited a hospital emergency department for a nonfatal drowning event in 2008; more than 60% of those children were hospitalized.
• Approximately 1100 US children younger than 20 years died from drowning in 2006.
• Drowning is the number 2 leading cause of accidental death in children.
• Two-thirds of deaths occur from May through August.
• 282 US boys ages 15-19 died from accidental drowning in 2006.
• Only 10% of children were completely unsupervised at the time of the drowning.
• There is no evidence that drowning risk is higher in poor swimmers.
• 76% of drowning occurred when there was no pool fencing or fencing was broken.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Swim Lesson Recommendations
Experts generally recommend that multiple “layers of protection” be used to prevent drowning, because no single strategy is likely to prevent all submersion deaths and injuries. Such layers might include environmental and personal measures such as:

• Adult supervision, particularly “touch supervision”
• Pool fencing
• Pool covers (only if used properly & can hold the weight of children)
• Water-entry alarms
• Lifeguards
• CPR training (Additional CPR information and courses for parents and caregivers is available through the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross).
• Using a “designated water watcher”
• Swimming and survival skills training
• Use of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs)

Should my young child take swim lessons?
Parents may feel that swim lessons for young children can help prevent drownings, but there is little evidence that this is true. Parents may also feel pressure to enroll their young children in swim lessons because friends and neighbors may have very young swimmers. But, unfortunately many of us have witnessed our young children screaming or crying through very expensive swim lessons. How do we balance our desire to keep our children water safe and not put them (and us) through a traumatic experience? The age at which to teach water-survival skills or initiate swimming lessons must be individualized on the basis of a variety of factors such as a child’s frequency of exposure to water, health concerns related directly to the child (chemical exposure, asthma, skin allergies), water quality available, emotional maturity, and physical limitations.

In 2010 the AAP updated its previous recommendations on swim lessons in children under 4 years of age. The AAP no longer warns against swim lessons for children under 4, but does not feel there is enough evidence to recommend them either. Parents wondering what they should do may want to consider some pros and cons of early swim lessons.

Early Swim Lessons: Pros

• All children should eventually learn to swim.
• One 8- to 12-week training course for preschool-aged (24–42 months) children showed were able to develop the water-safety skills necessary to survive a fall into a home swimming pool. With training, the young children could stand and recover when dropped into 2 ft of water, kick propulsively, and get to the side of the pool after jumping in or being released in the pool by an adult.
• Some children love swim lessons and don’t experience the stress other children may exhibit.

Early Swim Lessons: Cons

• swim lessons could cause parents to develop a false sense of security leading to inadequate supervision around water.
• swimming programs might reduce a child’s fear of water and unwittingly encourage him or her to enter the water without supervision.
• some children will protest swim lessons creating a stressful, unhappy, and even fearful experience for both children and parents.

What are good swim lessons?
If you choose to enroll your young child in swim lessons, the World Aquatic Infants and Children Network has published guidelines for the operation of aquatic programs for children younger than 3 years. The guidelines address (1) required parental involvement, (2) a fun atmosphere with 1-on-1 teaching, (3) qualified teachers, (4) warm water, (5) maintenance of water purity, and (6) a limited number of submersions to prevent water ingestion and hyponatremia (an electrolyte imbalance that causes dizziness and vomiting).

Can parents make swim lessons go more smoothly?
Here are some tips parents can consider that might help make swim lessons an easier experience for you and your child. Considering some basics may help improve your experience.

Time of day: Ensure that the time you schedule lessons is generally a good time of day for your child. Some children are slow to wake up in the morning or early risers may be worn out by the time they have an afternoon lesson.

Snack: Swimming burns a lot of calories. Providing a healthy protein-rich snack (hummus, cheese cubes, nut butters) before a scheduled swim lesson may provide your child fuel to make it through swim lessons and having a snack ready for after the lesson may help avoid a meltdown on the way home. Try to avoid foods that might cause a spike and drop in blood sugars (foods high in carbs and low in fiber and protein).

Let your child “be the instructor”: Let your child give their doll or favorite superhero swim lessons in bathtub or in the backyard in a bucket before they ever begin lessons and then particularly if you are noticing they aren’t enjoying lessons. Children learn through play and are often most apt to be able to express their emotions through play. As you listen to their dialog you may get tremendous insight into any fears they have about swim lessons. This process also allows your child to feel they have some control in an adult centered situation. When your child is the “instructor” you may become informed about their opinions on the temperature of the water or how the swim instructor talks to the children in your child’s actual lessons. You can also visit a pool with your child and let them give you a lesson…just be sure to keep your head above water so you can keep your eyes on them at all times.

Let your child warm up to people: Consider your child’s temperament when deciding the lessons in which to enroll them. Ask to meet the swim instructor before your child has the first lesson and allow them a chance to meet them outside of the pool first. A chance for children to acclimate to a new caregiver is common practice in enrolling children in preschool.

Let your child warm up to the water: You may not be able to adjust the temperature of the water unless lessons are at your own house, but try to provide your children lessons in water that is a comfortable (warm) temperature for your child.

Is your child ready? Your child may not be emotionally, physically, or behaviorally ready for swim lessons this year. That is o.k. Emotionally he/she may not generally comfortable with other adults. Physically there is a lot of coordination involved in learning to swim. There are also many directions to follow and behavioral expectations with swim lessons, especially small group lessons requiring children to sit on the ledge and wait.

Are you ready? If you are not comfortable in the water or with your child being in the water with someone other than you, your child may sense that fear. If your child (or you) isn’t ready, wait and try again soon.

What can parents do?
As parents, we do so much to keep our children happy and safe. If our children are brave enough to make it through swim lessons we can put down our magazines, smart phones, and favorite summer readings to ensure we are closely watching them. We can get in the water with them and be at arms reach of young children. We can learn CPR and when we remember to pack snacks, and goggles, and sunscreen, we need to also remember to have a charged phone handy in case there is an emergency. We can check for proper pool drain covers and pool fences. We can talk to our teenagers about the dangers of horseplay and other water risks and especially that alcohol and water fun does not mix.

Remember water safety is a multi-layer approach and providing children swim lessons is only one step that may help prevent a water accident. There are links below for additional useful water safety information. I particularly like coastguard, Mario Vittone’s website (http://www.mariovittone.com/ ) and his article, Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning, which provides excellent parent friendly insight for water safety.

Hope you have a fun-filled summer and stay water safe.

What have you decided about swim lessons for your child?