It’s an everyday nursery rhyme, it’s simple to sing with your small child, and apparently this nursery rhyme about a little child watering her garden is watering your little child’s mind!

Early childhood educators have identified pre-reading skills that are necessary for the learning of reading and the mastery of language. They include phonological awareness, or the awareness of speech sounds and rhyme similarities, vocabulary or knowing lots of words, and the more a child loves the enjoyment and pleasure of using language, the more success they will have in reading and writing and academic studies. Nursery rhymes, with their words of imagery, rhymes and rhythm that children find so fun, have all these qualities!

Let’s look at other ways that you are probably already simply, instinctively and effectively watering your child’s mind, and what the researchers are now saying about it.

Let’s look at songs and music, activities that lots of caregivers instinctively share with their children. The National Network for Child Care at nncc.org/Series/good.time.music explains why songs, action songs, music and rhythm are important for children. They allow children to express their emotions, channel their energy creatively, gain confidence in themselves as they coordinate their minds and their bodies together, learn new words and ideas, and learn about themselves as they explore what they like, what they like when and what they can do. Learning these physical and emotional controls, ways of expression and self-knowledge are necessary for a happy life now in childhood and in their future adulthood. This is the real reason why we let our toddlers take out the pots, pans and wooden spoons and bang them, making a terrible ruckus.

How about even simpler, even more unassuming activities, such as having fun blowing a dandelion’s seeds into the air. The child development psychologists Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn in their book “Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love” explain that such a simple yet fun and stimulating activity will stimulate your baby’s brain development. The practical conclusion that these researchers draw from the latest research is that “If your baby is not having fun, it’s probably not worth doing”.

Thus, the conclusion we can draw is “If your small child is having fun, then it’s probably stimulating your child’s physical and mental development”. We already instinctively knew that, and so it’s wonderful to have researchers and experts confirming and encouraging this. Whenever my toddler pulls the toilet paper still on its roll and runs around the house redecorating it in toilet paper, I just tell myself that this is a fantastic activity for his brain, body and creative imagination.

Actually, small children are programmed to learn and to engage in activities that will develop their minds and bodies. It probably has not escaped your attention that kids will naturally invent a fun and interesting game (fun and interesting to the child) out of absolutely anything. The brain plasticity scientist Lise Eliot explains in “What’s Going On In There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life” that there are way too many connections in the brain and communications with the rest of the body - billions of neurons and a quadrillion synapses at last count - for it to be preprogrammed in genetic DNA material. Thus, babies and children are programmed to try things out and to repetitively practise them for days and weeks and months, so that brain circuitry will sprout in the first place and then solidify to become permanent. Actually, this is my own layperson’s description. Lise Eliot refers to it as neurogenesis, synaptogenesis and myelination. It’s the reason why babies kick in the womb, so that the connection between the leg-kicking part of the brain and the actual leg can be developed. It’s the reason why my newly mobile son never tires of playing with the toilet brush in the toilet bowl, developing and practising his hand-eye coordination and his understanding of the physical world, in this visual, audio and tactile activity of splashing water.

We all know that cuddling our babies and children is important for their emotional and psychological development. Lise Eliot gives examples in the chapter “The Importance of Touch” of how touch and physical contact increases physical and brain development. Studies show that premature babies that receive cuddling and massages thrive measurably more and do better on visual baby tests. Children with various medical problems had better clinical outcomes after receiving massage therapy. Perhaps you have seen the famous “Rescuing Hug” (such as at daurelia.com/spirit/rescue or snopes.com/glurge/hug), where the physical touch of her baby twin sister was responsible for the very survival of a premature baby.

Let’s talk about talking. The very experienced authority on early childhood development Dr Burton White gives the following advice. Allow your newly mobile child to explore your home. He’ll bring things back to show you and will have a need to be fulfilled when doing that. Stop, quickly look and see what that need is, and then respond to the need. Dr Burton White says that the secret to teaching language, whether it be verbal language or sign language, is to respond to that need with language and play on that need. Dr White is the author of “First Three Years of Life” and “Raising a Happy Unspoiled Child”, and you can see and hear him giving this advice in Joseph Garcia’s “Sign with your Baby” video. And in my house, you can see me having a conversation with a toddler about a wet toilet brush he has just brought me.

How to increase your child’s mathematics ability? Studies have shown that studying music statistically significantly increases children’s math skills and spatial-temporal reasoning abilities. The question now is why. A “Today’s Parent” article cites a brain-imaging “Mozart Effect” type of study that showed that the same parts of the brain were active when listening to Mozart as when doing puzzles and playing chess, suggesting that music is like warm-up exercises for the brain. Another study cited in that article goes much further, suggesting that music is more than just a cultural artifact; that our brains are actually structured for music, just like our brains are structured for speech and walking. Brain patterns were mapped and assigned musical tones to mark changes in neural activity. When played back, instead of sounding like a random sequence of notes, it almost sounded like a melody of a recognizable style of music!

“No!” - We hear it from those terrible-twos toddlers. Well, Lise Eliot in “What’s Going On In There?” presents a study about the effects of parents saying “No”, “Don’t” and “Stop it” on the development of their children. Research established that children that heard a larger proportion of this type of negative feedback had poorer language skills than children whose parents kept their negative responses to a minimum and instead gave encouraging, positive and dialog-inducing responses. The online games at www.KiddiesGames.com provide a fun model of this positive pattern of interaction. When the child playing a game gets something right, the friendly child character on the screen says “That’s right!” or congratulates the player. When the child playing a game clicks on the wrong thing, the upbeat child on the screen doesn’t actually say “No” or “Wrong”. Instead, it explains in the same positive tone what the child playing just did and what another possible (and correct) answer could have been. The feedback is accurate and positively and cheeringly encouraging. As far as I know, there have been no studies done on the effects that toddlers saying “No” to their parents have on those parents…

Can you remember all this information next time you’re interacting with your small child? Let’s summarize it all like the current Canadian CBS Television campaign slogan - “1) Comfort, 2) play with and 3) teach your child”, in that order. This is how you water your child’s mind, and you’re probably already doing it. So follow your instinct, let your child lead the way to play, go with the flow and enjoy playing with your small child. While the results of recent studies may be news to you, the recommended actions are just a reminder!

The author, Emma Rath, is the creator of free, fun, educational online computer games for babies and preschoolers at www.kiddiesgames.com. These games encourage caregivers to cuddle their children on their lap while participating in games of open-ended exploration that never say “No”, except for one fun game whose serious mission is to undo the instinctive child behavior of hiding in the case of a house fire.

Why Do We Celebrate On The 4th Of July?

The 4th of July has been an important holiday but today, more and more people do not know why we actually celebrate this day. If you are not up to date on your history of the United States, July 4th, 1776 is the day that the colonies decided to declare themselves independent of Britain. By writing a very detailed decree, they decided that they no longer would need to be governed by the Kings of England that had been so very unjust to the colonists in the years before. On July 4th, America was born. We call the 4th of July Independence Day because this day was the day they declared independence from Great Britain.

Today, we celebrate the fact that we are a free nation that is no under the rule of another. But, there is more to the celebration of independence than just the fact that this is the birthday of the United States. In fact, there are many goals and ideas that are represented in this celebration that until this day we fight for and protect around the world.

The Declaration of Independence, the actual decree in which was signed the independence of the United States, stands as a symbol for all of the things that we, as Americans, believe in. What are the symbols that it stands for?

The right to live with the freedoms of religion, without persecution and with the ability to think and do for yourself.

The courage it takes to protect freedom. It took the individuals that signed the Declaration a great deal of courage to do so as they could have been hung for treason. We use this symbol as a means to remind us that courage is often needed in times when our freedoms are threatened.

A symbol that people can live in a country that is governed by its people and that every person in that country is a very important person for its well being.

We celebrate the 4th of July for a number of reasons. We talk about how the United States of America was born and how many have died for that to happen. We celebrate the fact that we, as a nation, want all people to be free. And, we realize that without the courage and bravery of all those that came before us, we would not have the freedoms that we hold so very dear to us.
Additional Resource:
Potty Training Tips
Potty Training Advice and Tips From Moms & Dads Like You.

Nicola always enjoys celebrating Independence Day. She can help you salute Old Glory in style with 4th of July party tips and news, information and views at independence-day.your-holiday

The tradition of Halloween goes back to an ancient Celtic custom. As far back as the 5th century B.C. Celtic tribes in Ireland believed that the spirits of the dead were allowed to come back to earth once a year on
October 31st. The Celtic New Year began on November 1st and the belief was that, on the night before the border between the world of the living and that of the dead became blurred. The spirits of the dead would then be able to cross over for this one night into the world of the living.

People were afraid of what the spirits may do to them, so they started to
dress up to disguise themselves. They would roam the streets in these
disguises trying to fool the spirits into believing that they weren’t living
beings. Of course the costumes weren’t nearly as elaborate as they are
today, and were usually scary costumes. People would wear rags and smear
ashes on their faces to disguise themselves and keep the spirits of the dead
away.

The tradition of Halloween came to the United States in 1840, with the
arrival of a group of Irish immigrants. From there it slowly evolved into
our modern day version of Halloween, with kids dressing up as Dora the
Explorer T and Power Rangers T, pretending to be their favorite TV
characters.

While the spirit of Halloween and the meaning behind it have changed over
the centuries, it is still a holiday that allows us to pretend to be someone
else, by dressing down in rags and blackening our face to hide it, or by
wearing a fancy costume with a mask, or using face paint to disguise our
appearance.

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Homemade Halloween Costumes
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The Right Time To Start Potty Training

If you can successfully figure out when the right time to start potty training is then you have half of the battle won already. It is a very delicate matter and care should be taken in choosing the right time to start.

Most children are ready to begin potty training somewhere between 18 months and 36 months. If you start too early the child will get confused as it will be unable to control its own body movements. Trying to learn how to use the potty and not physically being able to will not only frustrate the child and yourself but will also make the task much more difficult in the long run. On the other hand, starting too late will also be a problem making it much more difficult to achieve as bad habits will have set in and will be difficult to break.

Your child should be giving you tell tale signs that they are ready to begin using the potty. They should be holding liquids and staying dry for periods of up to two hours or so, they should be at a development stage where they can understand you and follow up to 2 commands given at once, they should start showing a natural interest in the toilet and may even try to imitate other family members. All of these signs normally become apparent at around the 18 month - 2 year mark but can vary greatly from child to child. Each child will have their own time for beginning the process and should be giving you clear signals when the time is right.

Once you have established that the time is nearing and your child is ready to start potty training then first of all you should do a bit of research into the various methods and approaches that exist, choose one and try to stick to it. It will be counterproductive to go switching tactics each time there is a slight hiccup in the progress. If you are certain that your method isn’t working once embarked upon and you find another method more suitable then by all means change but it is not advisable to change between on method and another and then back again simply so as to not confuse the child. The key to success in potty training is to teach your child a routine. The child is young and may take time to adapt to that routine but as with any learning the key is in the repetition. The same actions time after time will eventually lead to assimilation of the idea and soon your child will be using the potty and the toilet as if they had been doing so for ever.

Once you have chosen a method you will follow you should start getting ready for the potty training or ‘pre-potty training’.

You should show the potty to your child, show them how to use it. (Maybe practice with a doll). When getting dressed or undressed you should make a point of trying to get the child to pull up or down their own pants (with your hands guiding theirs if necessary). Read them potty story books and / or show them potty story videos.

After a few days of ‘getting them used to the idea’ you can start the actual potty training itself.

First of all you should dress your child in loose fitting pants so that they will be able to pull them up and down easily themselves without your help. You should make a commitment to not use diapers any more, use pull ups or training pants and don’t be tempted to go back to the diapers as this will confuse the child. You may however want to carry on using diapers at night until the daytime training is well under way.

Give your child plenty of liquids at first so that they will need to go a little more often than usual. After about half an hour of so you can then run them through the process,

Let them know what you are about to do, tell them the words you want them to use when they need to go the potty so they can let you know, e.g. ‘pee pee’ or ‘potty’ or whatever you chose.

Say your chosen words to them then walk them (with a certain urgency) to their potty, have them pull down their pants sit them on the potty and wait for them to do something. If they don’t do anything then spend a short while waiting, read a book or sing to them. If this doesn’t work then have them pull up their pants and wash their hands anyway and try again in another half an hour.

If they do go then make a big fuss of them, tell them they are big and gown up now and that you’re proud of them or other words of encouragement. The encouragement will motivate any child no end and will make them want to repeat the process to please you again.

In the event of an accident you should take the child back to the ‘scene’ of the accident and then walk them to the toilet or the potty, have them pull down their pants and sit in the potty, even if they don’t go any more just so they will associate the potty with the accident. Clean them up and have them pull up their pants and wash their hands. It is important not to be cross or punish the child when they have an accident, simply tell them to tell you and do it in the potty next time.

The whole process of potty training can be a long and slow one but with a bit of patience and a lot of repetition then there will be positive lasting results.

At htpp://pottyaid.com there is lots more information and other articles similar to this one. There is also the 5 day email course you can sign up for free of charge - Potty Training made easy.

Sign up for the free Potty Training E-Course

Additional Resources:

The Potty Trainer
I can highly recommend the Potty Trainer Ebook. Johanne Cesar has done such a great job in putting a tremendous amount of hands on potty training information and advice in this ebook. You will get a step by step guide to potty training your child.

You know those days…It’s been pouring for hours (or even day) and the kids have the Rainy Day Blues. Here are some simple ways to cheer them up and keep them entertained until the weather clears up.

Make A Batch Of Cookies

What child doesn’t love to make - and of course eat - cookies. Whip up a batch of your favorite chocolate chip or sugar cookie dough. Make them special by adding some small candies like mini M&Ms. With sugar cookies, you can keep the kids busy even longer by letting them cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Bake the cookies, and then pour everyone a big glass of milk to serve with the warm baked treats.

Play A Board Game

Remember those boxes of board games that have been collecting dust in the closet? Dig one of them out and ask the kids to join you for a fun game of Candyland, Memory or The Game Of Life. Just grab one of your old favorites and share it with the kids. Card games also work well.

Go Play In The Rain

As long as it’s not too cold outside and of course only while there are no thunderstorms in the area, playing in the rain can be a lot of fun. Get everyone dressed in their rain gear (including boots) and go jump in some puddles. I bet you have forgotten how much fun that can be - and the kids won’t believe Mom is actually outside jumping around with them. What a great way to bond with your kids.

Watch A Movie Together

When was the last time you snuggled up on the couch with the kids and watched a movie together? Rainy days are perfect for this. Pop some popcorn and enjoy the show. Take it even further by reenacting scenes later, or making a craft that relates to the movie.

Build A Fort - Inside

What child doesn’t love to build a tent or fort? When it’s pouring outside, bring the fun inside. Throw a blanket over a few chairs for a quick tent hide away, or take the cushions off the couch and build a fort. Spread an old blanket or a towel out on the floor and serve the kids’ lunch in their tent or fort.

Play Dress Up

Playing dress up is another great way to spend a fun afternoon with the kids. Start by raiding your closet and any Halloween costumes you have been saving for next year. A white shirt will become a doctor’s white coat. Your prom dress or even a fancy blouse will turn your little girl into a princess or beauty queen. Make other props out of cardboard boxes, construction paper and anything else you can find around the house.

Get Out The Craft Box

Do you have a craft box? If not, just grab some construction paper, scissors, glue and some old magazines. The kids will be busy for hours making collages or creating storybooks. For younger kids keep a few coloring books and a box of crayons handy. A few tubs of playdough are also a welcome distraction when it’s raining outside.

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About To Launch - Weekly education activities for your preschooler. Give your child a head start on kindergarten. Subscribe to the notification list and get free report on pretend play.

With the weather finally starting to cool down, now is a great time to go outside and play with your kids. Not only is the sunshine and fresh air good for everyone in the family, but playing outside is also a great way to get some exercise. Here are some ideas for you and your kids.

Ride Bikes

When was the last time you took a bike ride through the neighbor hood? Riding bikes is a great way to spend some quality time with your kids outside after work. Dust off your old bike, put helmets on everyone and go out for a bike ride. You can also go on a longer ride on the weekends. Check with your local bike shop or the city’s parks and recreation department about trails that are family friendly. Pack a few sandwiches and fill up those water bottles and you are ready for a ride and a picnic.

Go On A Nature Walk

A nature walk is a fun way to spend some time with your child outside. It is also a perfect opportunity to teach him about nature, lifecycles, the climate and more. If you have binoculars, take them with you for a close up view of any wildlife you may come across. Even a squirrel becomes an interesting viewing object with binoculars. Take some small plastic or paper baggies with you to collect leafs, rocks or pinecones. When you get back home you and your child can make a leaf collage or use all objects to recreate a forest scene in an old shoebox.

Dig Out The Roller-skates

Do you remember how much fun you had roller-skating when you were a kid? Dig out the roller skates or roller blades and get out there. You can find a smooth sidewalk to ride, or consider visiting a skating ring with the whole family. Roller-skating is another great way for the entire family to spend some time outside together. You can push very young children around in a stroller or have your preschooler ride a tricycle while the rest of the family skates.

Explore A New Park Or Playground

Grab a map or make a call to your local park and recreation office and find a new park or playground you can all explore together. Spend an hour or two at the playground, go for a walk on the trails in of a new park, or pack a few sandwiches for an easy picnic in the park. You never know what you may have been missing until you start exploring all the different parks and playgrounds in your area.

We Recommend:
KidsActivityCalendar.com
About To Launch - Weekly education activities for your preschooler. Give your child a head start on kindergarten. Subscribe to the notification list and get free report on pretend play.

Empty nesters go through a dilemma when their children suddenly are gone. Even if the transition has taken many years to complete, suddenly they are alone. It’s time to redefine their life and who they are now. Maybe take up new hobbies they never had time for; reconnect with old friends or even make that big decision to move to a smaller house.

Whatever they are doing and however they are resolving the internal issues, it always comes back to family. Your mind is free to wonder and suddenly you are back in your child’s soccer years; or those hours spent at the ballet studio; or the hours you spent chauffeuring them to all the different activities, or the times you couldn’t make specific events because you had to work..

Then the questions start popping up; did you do enough; were you too busy; did they know how much you loved them back then? And then suddenly, after all the self doubting, living through memories you did not want to relive, you find you are going to become grandparent! Ah…this is why you have had all the memories. It’s time to pass them on to the next generation.

Now is the perfect time to tell your stories to your new grandchild. Search on the Internet, cruise your local book store and invest in a journal that best suits your needs. You’ll find hardbound, quilted, paperback and even software applications you can use on your computer. Some are made especially for recording grandparent memories.

Now all you have to worry about is how much you can fit into the journal before you decide it’s too much. Why not make the decision to create a keepsake journal for each grandchild that arrives so they each have their own grandparent journal? This way, they’ll all know how special they are and how giving you are to have shared your thoughts, feelings and your life stories with them.

We recommend:
Dine Without Whine
The family friendly menu mailer - Dinner recipes that you and your kids will love send to your inbox everyday. Christine will even create a grocery list for you. Fixing dinner every night couldn’t be easier. Give it a try!

Valentine’s Day Treats for School and Work
By Christine Steendahl

Are you as tired as I am of those little white heart-shaped candies with messages like “I like You” printed on them? Be a little creative this year and come up with some new Valentine’s Day treats to take to school and work. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Valentine’s Day Cookies

Make a batch of Sugar cookies or pick up some refrigerated dough at the grocery store. Cut them out with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and bake. Frost with a glaze of powdered sugar, water and a little red food coloring, or make it really simple and buy a container of pre-made frosting. Use some frosting pens to write messages or draw on the cookies. Add a few sprinkles and you’re set! Don’t forget to invite your kids to get involved in decorating any cookies they are taking to school. They will have a great time preparing these special treats.

Valentine’s Cup Cakes

Purchase a box of devil’s food cake mix (or your favorite flavor) and prepare according to package directions. Line muffin tins with paper liners and pour enough batter in each to fill to about 1/3 full. Top with 1 tbsp of fruit preserves (strawberry works great) then add more batter until the muffin tins are approximately ¾ filled. Bake according to cake mix directions. When they are cool, dust them with powdered sugar, or frost them and sprinkle with red-hot candy hearts.

Valentine’s Day Cake

Bake any flavor cake in a heart shaped cake form. Let cook and cut in half horizontally. Mix a few drops of red food coloring into a container of whipped topping, and spread some on the bottom layer of the cake. Add the top layer and frost the entire outside of the cake. Top with fresh berries.

Chocolate Lollipops

Get some heart-shaped lollipop molds. Melt milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate (quality chocolate chips work great). Pour the melted chocolate in the mold and add a lollipop stick. Let cool until hardened. Wrap in cellophane and tie with a little bow.
Use leftover chocolate and plastic spoons to create fancy coffee stirrers. Simply dip the plastic spoons in the melted chocolate. Let cool and repeat until you reach the desired thickness,
Both of these can be decorated by drizzling different types of melted chocolate over the finished product.

Have fun this year creating some wonderful Valentine’s Day treats. I’m sure you will come up with a delicious treat that will be a big hit in the office or the classroom.

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Dine Without Whine
The family friendly menu mailer - Dinner recipes that you and your kids will love send to your inbox everyday. Christine will even create a grocery list for you. Fixing dinner every night couldn’t be easier. Give it a try!

With Valentine’s Day approaching, you’ve decided to cook up something special for your spouse or partner. Creating a special dinner for your valentine can be achieved in the following way.

Decide on what type of dinner you are going to prepare. In other words, make up your Valentine dinner menu. His or her favorite dish is a great place to start. Set the mood by setting a table for two with a red plastic tablecloth under a white lace cloth. Or just use a pretty linen table cloth. Have red and white candles in the center, or a bouquet of red roses as a center piece. Take out your best china, as well as red napkins.

Choose a main dish that you can prepare ahead of time, so you can enjoy the evening. Prepare a simple dessert like cheesecake with a strawberry topping, or melt some dark chocolate in a fondue pot and dip assorted fruit in it. Open a bottle of red wine and your special Valentine’s Day dinner is ready.

Now it’s time to get dressed up. After all, this is a special occasion, so pick something pretty to wear and do your hair and makeup. Perhaps you bought a special dress for the occasion, or pick one of your old-time favorites. Great! Now just before your spouse or loved one comes home, light the candles; lower the lights, and play your favorite romantic music. Pour some of the red wine, and your romantic evening is about to begin.

The Valentine dinner menu doesn’t have to be fancy. Something simple will be appreciated. This is more about spending special alone time together than anything else. It is a time to rekindle the romance; remind each other how much you love each other; and live in the moment. You don’t need ambience to express how you feel. Just being with each other is enough. But, just in case you do intend to go all out; then by all means enjoy every bit of it. Remember, it’s the little pleasures in life that mean the most. “A rose by any other name, is still a rose.”

We recommend:
Dine Without Whine
The family friendly menu mailer - Dinner recipes that you and your kids will love send to your inbox everyday. Christine will even create a grocery list for you. Fixing dinner every night couldn’t be easier. Give it a try!

Traveling with children will be a memorable event - the question is “What kind?” Your chances of a lifetime memory you will cherish increase significantly with some advance communication and preparation.

The book, Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever, outlines a five-step process you can apply to organizing any area of your life - including traveling with children of any age. Make the children a part of the trip by letting them help you plan. Your children will enjoy the trip more if they feel they have some say about the agenda. Get books from the library, or do an Internet search, on the area you plan to visit. Give them some options of what to do and actually use some of their suggestions. Who knows? You may enjoy their suggestions more than you think.

Here is a guide to vacationing with children, using the 5 steps:

1. Design your vision.

The first step to happy memories is good communication. Start scheduling family meetings to plan - the earlier the better. At the first meeting, ask each member of the family to describe what he or she would like to have in order to have a wildly successful vacation. It’s a great idea to put some structure into this discussion. Use a flip chart and have family members take turns recording answers. Subsequent meetings can be used to work out each of the next steps.

2. Eliminate your obstacles.

Mark Twain is credited with saying “Progress starts with the truth.” Certainly that applies in this situation. For example, some teens simply do not think it’s “cool” to travel with mom and dad. If you want your teens to enjoy their travel experience, make sure you understand what they like and dislike. With young children, keep in mind “less is more.” A swim in the hotel pool may be a much better choice than another two hours at the theme park.

3. Commit your time.

There could be several issues here. If your teens are working, they may resent having to miss work - or they may be delighted. In either case, find out their preferences, and see what you can do to accommodate them without jeopardizing your own needs. One of the issues likely to come up is the daily travel schedule itself. Young children need naps, teens may want to sleep late, while parents relish the idea of “getting an early start.” Compromise is probably the best solution here.

4. Select your tools

Growing up on a farm in Nebraska, one of the things my daddy taught me was “Half of any job is having the right tool.” While you may think it’s ridiculous to think about “tools” for a vacation, it is really essential. For example, if it is impossible to reach a compromise about the music on the car CD player, headphones for individual players could be a godsend!

Tools can also include systems for the way you handle situations. One of the major keys to success in organizing any activity is focusing on individual strengths - if one child is particularly adept at photography, make them the official family photographer, while another might be a great navigator.

5. Maintain your success

At the end of each day, take a few minutes for a “Check-In” session. What was the best thing that happened that day? Why? How can we make sure we have more like it? What didn’t work? Why? How can we eliminate the situation in the future? Make sure you use this process at the end of the vacation - make some notes and put them in your GO System File (LINK HERE to http://productiveenvironment.com/index.asp?name= GO%5FSEMINARS&new=true&leftnav=true&lid=66) for next year’s planning.

Here are some general tips you can use to ensure a great vacation:

• Choose age appropriate destinations. This doesn’t mean every trip has to involve a theme park or sports event; it simply means keep the trip’s educational value at a level they can comprehend and appreciate. If your children’s ages span a wide range, have at least one activity geared to each child. Picking a hotel with a pool can make a big difference!

• Lay the ground rules early. Before you even leave the house, make sure your children know what is and isn’t acceptable behavior on the road. As elementary as this may seem, if you don’t tell your children what you expect, how can they oblige?

• Let the children pack their own suitcases as much as possible. Make sure each child has a small carry-on bag for which they are responsible. Include things they can do on the road or in the air–a walkman and tapes, comic books, handheld video games, etc.

• Decide ahead of time about seating arrangements and make contingency plans in case requested seats are not available.

• Establish a meeting place at each stop. Nothing could be worse that having a child get lost in an unfamiliar environment. Whenever you visit a location, identify a spot where the family can meet if you happen to get separated, or carry cell phones or pagers.

• Carry current photos of your children. That way others can help you locate your lost child. If your child can tell time, make sure they take a watch!

• Pack a first aid kit. Face it. Kids will be kids. That means scraped knees, bug bites, and cuts and bruises. When traveling with children, always keep a first aid kit handy.

• Check for children travel specials. Pre-planning can save you lots of money. Many airlines, restaurants, and hotels offer discounts for children, whether it’s a “kids stay or eat free” deal or a “half-off children’s rate.” Let Internet-savvy children put their mouse to work for a happier vacation.

The most important thing to remember - flexibility. Traveling with children of any age is always a challenge. Spend more time enjoying the precious memories you will be creating and less time fretting over what could go wrong. Keep your sense of humor in full swing and happy traveling.

© Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger’s Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com