Polls and Tips for Raising Kids

If there are six apples and you take away four, how many apples do you have? Four.

The more you take away from me, the bigger I get. What am I? A hole.

We've tried setting hourly limits by day, which the kids can (generally) use whenever they want during the day. For example, 1 hour a day on Saturday and Sunday, and 3 hours a day on weekdays (when we are working). This can be hard to monitor, though, and we often find ourselves needing to make exceptions to the general rule. If your kids are old/responsible enough, there are timers you can give them to track their own hours (or just have them do it manually, or on their phone's timer function, if they have one).

Try to keep them outdoors as much possible. I try to take my kids to a local libray, outdoor park to play at. Also look up for any family friendly events that are free or vey low cost to keep them busy and less on screens!

Spa card. If at a kid friendly salon, younger recipients could get manicures with cute art designs, chocolate facials, temporary hair chalk, etc.

museum membership

What did the shark say when it ate the clown fish? Tastes funny.

Why does a duck have feathers? To cover his butt quack

Pick up things with kitchen tongs. Our kids have so much fun using tongs to pick up socks on the floor, toys, or anything else that needs tidying up!

This probably depends on the kid, but when my kids were little I would give them a task/goal such as "we can go to the park as soon as your shoes are on and I finish one quick chore" and then walk away to do my own chore somewhere close by, like emptying the dishwasher. I found that they would figure out how to do things for themselves when I wasn't standing over them and tempted to help or looking at the clock. Be sure to do this a looong time before you have to be out the door.

Pass the Parcel! We'd never heard of this one until we saw the Bluey episode about Lucky's Dad's Rules (best. episode. ever.), and now my kids want to play it ALL the time. Similar to Hot Potato, kids pass around a wrapped gift while music is playing. When the music stops, whoever is holding the gift gets to unwrap it. According to the Bluey episode, the original way to play is to wrap a single gift in various layers of wrapping paper, so you go through several rounds before a child actually opens the gift, which they get to keep. Another version of the game includes small prizes within each layer of paper, and strategically stopping the music to make sure every child gets a prize.

Hot potato. We just had a birthday party for a five-year-old, and ended up playing hot potato along with pass the parcel. Though I’ve loved pass the parcel since we discovered it on Bluey, think the kids enjoyed hot potato even more, as they were able to toss the “potato” (we used a small plushy) to each other out of order, which made the game more active and the kids more engaged. When the music stopped, whoever was holding the plushy got out, and the last person in got the prize. This kept the kids from slow passing, too, since the goal was NOT to get caught with the plushy!

I put together little gifts (think Dollar bin) wrapped up in bags with a time on them. My kids look forward to these gifts and it helps to pass the time on long trips!

During a gas station break, we always let the kids pick out a special snack or two to enjoy in the car. They love getting the freedom to pick whatever they want.

The Chinese soft-shelled turtle pees from its mouth.

Belugas are the only whales that can turn their heads.

How were you kind to someone today?

If you were an Olympic gold-medal athlete, which sporting event would you want it to be in?

First day of school photos on our front steps, and couple more in front of the school too.

My husband and I will usually take the day off work (when we can) so we can be there for drop off and pick up on the first day, which makes it feel extra special for all of us.

Sit around backyard campire (firepit); toast up s'mores; catch and release lighting bugs; stargaze

Take a tour of a local firehouse. Many offer free tours if you call ahead and ask.

My 6 year old loves his running program and I see a fair number of kids who don't love team sports there. They do individual activities, like quick sprints and longer jogs, and the coaches have them work together and build team spirit in other ways.

I am a huge fan of martial arts. I love that they provide great physical exercise, but also promote and support important life skills like discipline, confidence, and respect for self and others.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~Maya Angelou

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. ~Wayne Gretzky

"The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Do you understand?" – Pirates of the Caribbean

"When one can see no future, all one can do is the next right thing." – Frozen 2