School Has Started, Yeah!!! Help with those hundreds of lunches ahead! Jill Cooper www.LivingOnADime.com It#146;s that wonderful time of year that lightens your heart and fills your soul with peace tranquility. No, I#146;m not talking about Christmas! I#146;m talking about school starting!! Yes! Yes! Yes! It#146;s a bitter sweet time for most moms. Bitter because you#146;re back to hectic mornings, finding everyone#146;s books and papers and trying to get them out of the door on time... because you now have 180 lunches to make over the next 9 months if you have 1 child and 720 if you have 4 -- But hey, who#146;s counting? It is sweet because the peaceful quietness that penetrates the house is like gentle music to your ears and you can take a lovely relaxing bubble bath without what sounds like the whole US army trying to break down the bathroom door. Well, now that I think about it, I#146;ve not known many moms that had the luxury of a bubble bath in the middle of the day but I can dream can#146;t I? I can#146;t help you find time for that bubble bath but maybe I can help you with those 720 lunches. Here are a few lunch and snack ideas from Dining On A Dime Cookbook: Eat Better Spend Less that will satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. To keep drinks cold in lunch boxes, pour a small amount in the bottom of the container (not glass) and then set the cap loosely on top. Put it in the freezer overnight. The next day fill with the rest of the drink. The ice should slowly melt all day long, keeping the beverage cool. Have the kids pre-package chips and cookies in bags on the weekends. Store in a basket. Grab one out as needed for lunches. Make a large batch of puddings and gelatins on the weekends. Pour into individual containers and refrigerate. Save the catsup and mustard packets and napkins you don#146;t use from the fast food restaurants. Use them in lunch boxes. Puddings - sprinkle with marshmallows, coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips (for chocolate pudding) or berries (in vanilla pudding) Banana, pumpkin or zucchini bread Tuna, egg or chicken salad sandwich Tuna salad and crackers Sandwiches made from last night#146;s dinner meat (ie. roast beef, chicken ,turkey) Pickles Ants on a log-celery with peanut butter inside and raisins on the peanut butter Hot dogs Canned fruit Carrot sticks, celery sticks or radishes with Ranch dressing Homemade granola bars or cookies. Granola Bars 1 cup brown sugar frac14; cup sugar frac12; cup butter or margarine, softened 2 Tbsp. honey frac12; tsp. vanilla 1 egg 1 cup flour 1 tsp. cinnamon frac12; tsp. baking soda frac14; tsp. salt 1 frac12; cups rolled oats 1 frac14; cups crispy rice cereal frac12; cup wheat germ (optional) 1 cup chocolate chips* In a large bowl, cream sugars and butter until fluffy. Add honey, vanilla and egg. Mix well. Blend in flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir in remaining ingredients. Press firmly into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. To microwave: Press ingredients into a microwave safe dish. Microwave on medium power for 7-9 minutes. Rotate dish every three minutes. Bars will firm as they stand. Cool and cut into bars. Save the crumbs for yogurt or ice cream topping. Makes 24 bars *The following may be used in addition to or to replace chocolate chips 1 cup coconut frac12; cup creamy or chunky peanut butter frac12; cup nuts frac12;-1 cup raisins, dried apples, apricots frac12; cup fruit preserves Apple Oatmeal Bars 1 cup oatmeal frac12; tsp. salt frac12; cup butter 1 cup flour frac12; tsp. cinnamon 2 frac12; cups apples, chopped or frac34; cup apple butter (omit cinnamon) frac12; cup sugar Combine the first five ingredients, and pat half into an 8x8 inch pan. Layer apples and sugar. Crumble remaining mixture on top. Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Tawra Kellam is the author of Dining On A Dime Cookbook: Eat Better Spend Less (formerly Not Just Beans) with over 1200 recipes and tips. For more free tips and recipes visit her web site at www.LivingOnADime.com . In 5 years, Tawra and her husband paid off $20,000 personal debt on an average income of $22,000 per year. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

Today#146;s Family Man #147;Night of the Shrinking Bed#148; By Gregory Keer On a cold night last year, my wife and I endured a fifth straight evening of multiple wake-ups from our newborn. After two feedings, three walks around the house, and four false-alarm cries, Wendy and I trembled with exhaustion. This was compounded by the stress of having just moved to a new home, my starting a teaching gig, and our older sons kicking off a new school year. Finally, sleep came and, when it did, I went down hard. That was until I felt a #147;presence#148; hovering over me. Dog-tired, I kept snoring. Then I heard a faint wheezing. The wheezing turned to heavy breathing, which got louder and louder. High-pitched moaning pierced my eardrums and my eyes snapped open. A dark shape stood next to me, holding what looked like an axe! I screamed. #147;Ahhhhhh!!!!.#148; My wife jumped up and shrieked, #147;Where#146;s the baby?#148; The figure screamed back. #147;Dadddeee!!!#148; Bolting upright, I recognized the shape as my son, Benjamin. The axe I imagined was his tattered blanket. My son burst into tears and fell across me in the aftermath of what had been a twisted recreation of the movie scene in which Drew Barrymore sees E.T. for the first time. In this case, I was Drew Barrymore. #147;What were you doing standing over me like that?#148; I said breathlessly. #147;I #150; just #150; wanted #150; to #150; cuddle,#148; Benjamin blurted between sobs. And there it was. The dramatic comeuppance for two parents who had long struggled with the issue of a family bed. Before my wife and I had children, we swore we'd never let our kids sleep with us. We judged others who let their kids in the bed, thinking that kind of arrangement could only create intimacy problems for the couple and therapy sessions for the children. Sometime later, we found ourselves changing our tune. It began when Benjamin, then almost three and new to a #147;big boy#148; bed without rails, started sneaking into our room in the middle of the night. Due to fatigue and the sheer joy of cuddling, we let him snuggle with us for a few hours each night. This went on for a couple of years until Jacob got old enough to leave the crib and want his own time in Mommy and Daddy#146;s bed. So we started a campaign to keep the kids on their own mattresses. We told them that they could crawl in with us in the morning, when it was light outside. Jacob, always a deeper sleeper, was easier to keep to the new rule. But we had to experiment with all kinds of tricks to keep Benjamin in his room. Over time, we tried clocks, a sleeping bag on our bedroom floor, extra stuffed animals, a special pillow, and just plain begging with intermittent success. Then, there was the previously mentioned night of all that wheezing and screaming. After we all calmed down, I escorted Benjamin to his bed, reminding him of the house rules. A little later, he returned. I got crankier and he went away wailing again. This back-and-forth occurred every 10 minutes, as he tried to gain our sympathy and we used every tactic from yelling to listing all the playdates he was going to lose. Then, my son Jacob joined the fray, shouting out like a lost child that his pull-up needed to be changed. Jacob fell back asleep but he was replaced by the dog that scratched at the door to go outside and the cat that upchucked a fur ball on the bed. All the while, my wife and I bickered about how to handle the whole mess. I pleaded with our first-born. I even cried when he cried, asking for mercy on his exhausted father who had to wake up to teach cranky high-school sophomores in the morning. Finally, with Benjamin as worn out as I was, I found clarity #150; kind of like a Bugs Bunny horror spoof in which the rabbit realizes the way to stop the monster is by complimenting him (#147;Gee, Doc, you got really big muscles.#148;) So, I appealed to Benjamin#146;s desire to feel like the big boy he was. "You graduated from kindergarten and now you're a first grader,#148; I explained. #147;It's time to graduate to sleeping the whole night on your own. You can do this." I then promised him a reward chart that would track how many nights he could stay in his bed. Things have been much better ever since. Benjamin still crawls into bed with us at 6am or so, but he's proud of himself. He#146;s graduated to sleeping on his own and we have our bed back. Now, if we could only get our baby to stop kicking his crib like a T-Rex three times a night, we could actually get some sleep. copy; 2005 Gregory Keer. All rights reserved. Gregory Keer is a syndicated columnist, educator, and on-air expert on fatherhood. His Family ManTM column appears in publications across the country, including L.A. Parent, Boston Parents' Paper, Metro Augusta Parent, and Sydney's Child in Australia. Keer's parenting advice is found at his online magazine, www.familymanonline.com , which is the #1 ranked site for fathers, according to Amazon#146;s Alexa ratings. In addition to writing for Parenting magazine and the Parents' Choice Foundation, Keer contributes to USA Today, Pregnancy magazine, DrLaura.com, ParentingBookmark.com, Pregnancy.org, and CanadianParents.com. Keer is also a featured guest expert on television and radio and advisor to the Cartoon Network. He and his wife are the proud parents of three sons. Keer can be reached at his Web site, www.familymanonline.com . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Seven Ways to Protect Your Family from Internet Dangers By Steve Cross It#146;s the Wild West on the Internet, and as a parent you are responsible for keeping your kids safe #147;out there,#148; Even though #147;out there#148; may be two feet away from your kitchen while you are preparing dinner. Scammers, sexual predators, cyber bullies, and every type of hack are lurking on the Internet, in a very real and aggressive sense. If you are the parent of a girl, you probably think about what name she is using in chat rooms and for instant messaging (IM), and you are wise to be concerned. How can you protect your daughter if you are unaware what web sites she visits, what chat rooms, who she chats with, and the true identities of her online #147;friends?#148; If your teenager is a boy; what is he downloading? Are you going to be liable for illegal music downloads? Is he downloading porn, and the viruses that ride along? What sites does he visit, what does he look at there? It#146;s a parents right to know these things, and a parent#146;s responsibility if, heaven forbid, something goes terribly wrong. Boys are aggressive downloaders, according to studies and many of the most popular sites for illegal downloads of music and movies are infested with viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses (hacker software that sneaks in and lets the hackers use your machine later!). Many of these programs will seek out your personal data and then transmit it to the hackers. Whether it is just the theft of your credit card information or full fledged Identity Theft, you would be very wise to be alarmed by this possibility. Did you know that recent studies show that teenage girls spend even more time on the internet than boys? That#146;s interesting and alarming news, as teenage girls are more likely to be cyber bullied, or sexually harassed online than boys. Dr. Michele Borba, internationally renowned educational consultant and author of 20 books, wrote #147;There are some specific ways to protect kids from bullying both in cyberspace and on the playground. Parents today need a closer #147;electronic leash#148; on their kids and need to be more tuned into the cyberspace trend. This isn't about being controlling--this is good parenting.#148; To extend her point, the monitoring of your children#146;s activities on the internet is not about control, or infringing upon their privacy, it#146;s about protecting your children from very real threats. Some internet service providers (like AOL and MSN) have built in parental controls to #147;block out#148; certain types of web sites. However, none of these parental controls are foolproof, which means your kids are on the loose much of the time#151;and if you are a typical family, your kids probably know more about computers than you. You can#146;t look over their shoulder at all times, but you can do a number of very smart things. Here are seven ways to keep your kids safe when they use the Internet. Talk to them about the dangers of unrestricted use of the internet. Inform them about keeping passwords really secret, never sharing a credit card number with anyone, even their best friend. And please talk with them about cyber bullying, whether they are on the receiving end, or the giving end. If they are on the giving end of cyber bullying, you must take away their privileges immediately. You have liability here, both ethical and legal. If they are illegally downloading music and movies, make them stop. If the studios or record companies come after them, as their parent you have the legal responsibility of paying the fines. Talk to them about stalkers and predators on the internet that use false identities, and urge them to be careful in chat rooms. Use the parental controls that come with your internet service. Take the computer out of their rooms and place it in a common area in the house. Your kids are much less likely to do something inappropriate or dangerous if other people are around. Look into Internet Monitoring Software Steve Cross, author of the book "Changing Channels", is a former columnist for Newman Media, Channel Media, and the Gartner Group. Steve is a contributor to various jazz publications. Currently, Steve serves as the Steve is president of Guardian Software. http://www.guardiansoftware.com/monitor-pro.html Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

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Don#146;t Give Up -- Try Our Two Secrets to Success At Home Creativity Persistence By: Jill Hart Working from home can be a very rewarding decision. There are so many benefits including freedom to create your own schedule, choosing the type of business that you want to represent, and being able to raise your children yourself. However, running a business can also become a very stressful situation. It takes time to build a successful business and many entrepreneurs become discouraged if they don#146;t achieve immediate results. Often times they give up too soon and regret it later. This doesn#146;t have to happen to you. Let us share with you what we found to be two top secrets to help you achieve success at home. One important thing that many work-at-home moms do not recognize is that it can take six months to a year at minimum for your business to be successful financially. If you are aware of this going into the business and have planned accordingly, then you are already one step ahead of the game and won#146;t become unnecessarily discouraged. Also, be aware that the time frame it takes to start a business will vary depending on the type of business that you are starting. For example, for those that are starting in direct sales, you may be able to jump in, hold some home parties, and see an income right away. In this case, then you just need to focus on maintaining this income to keep it successful. However, if you are starting an Internet business selling your own products or services, it may take much longer to see the fruits of your labor. For some, it can take a year or even two to create a #147;presence#148; online and for people to recognize and seek out your products. You will find that the benefits are well worth the time and effort in the end, but it can be discouraging waiting to see a profit. So, how does a person make it in the work-at-home world? I think the two most important aspects of running your own business from home are creativity and persistence. Creativity#151;Be creative in how you market your products and/or services. Start by thinking of ways that you can reach customers that will make you stand out from others who offer similar types of products. Design contests, free offers and other types of marketing strategies that will bring customers to your website. Then, try to determine what your customers are looking for once they reach your website and offer the most popular products on your front page. Keep in mind that it#146;s important to keep your website fresh so consider changing the items or text on your website#146;s front page often. This will continue to pique the interest of your customers each time they visit and encourage them to come back. Persistence#151;This is key when you are running a business from home. Don#146;t start out strong marketing yourself in every way possible and then simply stop marketing because you haven#146;t seen many sales. Most profitable businesses must continually be marketing their services to keep it successful. Try to think of a successful business that does no advertising. Can they just sit back and let the sales roll in from their website? Not really. It just doesn#146;t work that way. EVERY business must continue to advertise in some way to stay successful. For example, we found at Christian Work At Home Moms ( CWHAM.com ) that those that achieve the most success are the consistent advertisers, the ones who advertise regularly and keep their businesses, banners, and other promotions in front of their potential clients. This does not mean that you must spend hundreds of dollars a month to advertise your home-based business. What it does mean is that you must be persistent in the advertising that you choose to do. Budget your advertising dollars in a way that you can do a small amount consistently. Get involved in groups online and ask advice from other successful moms. Whatever you do, don#146;t stop talking about your business! And most importantly, don#146;t give up. Success IS possible. Take the time to be creative in how you are marketing your business. Be persistent and don#146;t expect profits immediately. Set realistic goals for your business and be patient while your business grows into something you can be proud of. Soon you#146;ll be among the millions of work-at-home moms who are enjoying it all: Being home with the kids, financial freedom, and the pride of having their own home-based business. Jill Hart is the author of the e-book, 2 Weeks Devotional Journey for Christian Work at Home Moms , and the founder and editor of Christian Work at Home Moms CWHAM.com . This site is dedicated to providing work at home moms with opportunities to promote their businesses while at the same time providing them spiritual encouragement and articles. E-mail Jill at jill@cwahm.com for additional information or stop by her site at CWHAM.com . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. This article is free to reprint if the Author#146;s Bio remains in tact. For additional articles, please contact Jill Hart. More >>

#147;Hey Mom, there are lumps in my food!#148;: Introducing Food Textures By Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers Lumpier and chewier foods help develop your baby#146;s oral (mouth) skills and build muscle tone. This is an important developmental step for your baby as better oral skills can influence how well your baby eats, speaks and makes facial expressions. When your baby is eight to nine months old, you can begin introducing different textures into her food. You can begin with tiny, soft, unnoticeable lumps in your baby#146;s foods. At first, she may selectively spit out these lumps, but in time, she will master the ability to control these little lumps in her mouth and swallow them. Slowly, you can move on to introducing mashed, ground or chopped table foods. To introduce textures simply mix some textured foods into your baby#146;s smooth, pureed baby food. Examples of foods that can be mixed with baby food to add texture include: fork-mashed banana mashed avocado mashed tofu puffed rice iron-fortified baby cereal oatmeal cooked rice fork-mashed baked potato (no skin) fork-mashed baked sweet potato, butternut or acorn squash cooked pastina (or very small, mashed pieces of pasta) melted cheese (stirred into food and allowed to cool before serving) Continue to feed your baby softly, pureed baby foods for most of the meal, and transition to more textures over a six- to eight-month period. All children develop at a different pace, and many children are very sensitive to textures. If your baby is having a tough time, just take it slowly, and discuss the behavior with your child#146;s healthcare provider. To smooth the way for introducing textures, here are few tips that will help you out: Always feed your baby in a #147;seated position.#148; Don#146;t be in a rush. Introduce new food textures one at a time and slowly add different ones. Start with foods your baby likes. Introduce new textures with other #147;smooth#148; baby foods that you know your baby will eat. Alternate new textures with familiar ones, this may help keep your baby interested. Apple Carrot Casserole 2 tablespoons fresh apple puree (or baby food) 2 tablespoons fresh carrot puree (or baby food) 1 tablespoon cooked pastina or finely chopped spaghetti Directions: Mix all ingredients together. Warm slightly (optional) and serve. Makes one serving. Fruity Breakfast Cereal 2 tablespoons rice baby cereal 2 tablespoons peach puree (or baby food) 2 tablespoons pear puree (or baby food) 1 tablespoon fork mashed cooked rice 2-3 tablespoons of breast milk or formula Directions: Mix all ingredients together. Warm slightly (optional) and serve. Makes one serving. About the authors: Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers are sisters, the mothers of five children, and founders of Fresh Baby ( www.FreshBaby.com ). Raised by parents who love fresh foods and entertaining, their mom, a gourmet cook, ensured that they were well-equipped with extraordinary skills in the kitchen. Both with long track records of business success, they decided to combine their skills in the kitchen with their knowledge of healthy foods and children to create Fresh Baby. Cheryl and Joan put a modern twist on the conventional wisdom that when you make it yourself, you know it#146;s better. Their goal at Fresh Baby is to make the task of raising a healthy eater a little bit easier for all parents. Fresh Baby#146;s breastfeeding accessories and baby food making supplies provide parents with practical knowledge and innovative tools to support them in introducing their children to great tasting, all-natural foods #150; easily and conveniently. Visit them online at www.FreshBaby.com and subscribe to their Fresh Ideas newsletter to get monthly ideas, tips and activities for developing your family's healthy eating habits! Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

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Got Substance#133; With Your Child? by Lesley Spencer, MSc; Founder President HBWM.com Inc. http://www.HomeBasedWorkingMoms.com How would your child answer the question, #147;Who knows you better -- us or your friends?" We hope our children answer us, but would they? What about those deep conversations with your son or daughter that truly allow you into their world. Do you know the last time they cried or why they cried? Do they come to you with celebrations or things they are excited about? Or do they go to their friends? Where would they go in a crisis? Do they consider you a safe place to come if they needed help or guidance in their life? What about just to share a unique joy or something fun that happened during their day? Who would be the first person they would tell? If your kids would not come to you, perhaps now is the time to make that an appealing and natural option for them. What are some ways you can enter into your child's life and really become part of their world? Here are a few suggestions. The idea is to spend time with our children strengthening our relationship and opening the lines of communication with them. Parent / Child Date Night - This could be dinner out or simply asking your child what he or she would most want to do with you on your special night out. If possible, treat each child to his or her own date night with mom or dad. Boy#146;s / Girl#146;s Weekend Away #150; This could be an inexpensive camping trip or a hotel getaway for just the boys or just the girls. Family Game Night #150; A great way to get the family laughing and having fun. Interacting as a family strengthens your bond and opens the lines of communication. Dinner Time #150; Make it a point to eat dinner together every night if possible. Start a tradition of discussing the best thing that happened that day or what you are most thankful for that day #150; anything to get a positive conversation going with your family. Ice Cream Fun #150; Make your own or go out for ice cream and enjoy discussing events and people in your kid#146;s lives. Ask about their day. What was fun or what was hard about their day. Girl#146;s Manicure or Pedicure Fun #150; Most girls enjoy pampering so mom and daughters get out some nail polish and have some fun or head to a salon and get pampered. Boys and Balls. Get out the football, baseball or basketball and use this time to engage your son and enter into his world through the love of sports (or whatever hobby he or she may have). Mission Trips #150; My 10-year-old daughter and I participated in a mission trip to Mexico this year. It was a great bonding experience and a great way to more fully appreciate the many blessings in our lives. (You can learn about available mission trips by searching the Internet.) Family Camp #150; Probably the most powerful bonding experience I have had with my kids is family camp. This is our fourth year to go to family camp and it is the most anticipated and enjoyed event of the year for my kids. The camp we go to well balanced with focused time with God and Bible lessons, family time, couple or individual time and group fellowship time. There is no shortage of fun, adventure and relaxation. I can think of no better experience for families than to spend a week growing spiritually and bonding as a family. Lesley Spencer is founder and president of the HBWM.com, Inc. Network whichincludes: http://www.HomeBasedWorkingMoms.com , http://www.WorkAtHomeKit.com , http://www.edirectoryofhomebasedcareers.com , http://www.momsworkathomesite.com , http://www.HBWMconferences.com , http://www.HBWMcanada.com and http://www.HireMyMom.com (coming soon!). She has a Master's Degree in Public Relations and has been featured in numerous media outlets including CBS News, Forbes, Business Week, Parents, Wall Street Journal and USA Today. She has been working from home for over 10 years and has two children whom she absolutely adores! Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>

Character First; Designer Jeans Last By Anne Leedom Kids today are very fortunate. They have so many activities to choose from compared to what was available thirty years ago. However, parents might be cautioned to take a moment and decide#133;.is it really in your child#146;s best interest that she take on the next round of activities? Does your child need the expensive items? Do you really have your child#146;s best interest at heart? Let#146;s take a look at what the experts say. Research is very clear on this one. Kids who are taught the virtues of empathy, compassion and self-control#133;those are the kids that succeed. They succeed in relationships, academically, and financially. So, next time you are thinking of what to nurture in your child, think character first. These guidelines can help your child get the most of their activities without compromising the most important goals parents have#133;.teaching their kids to do the right thing. Set limitations in your household. It#146;s all too common to hear what other kids have or get to do. However, we each need to decide in our own homes what is appropriate and best and then stick to it. Have your children earn their own spending money. They will scale down their wish list to affordable quantities and bargains. Children will reason: #147;I can#146;t afford this, but I can afford that#133;#148; Life is about learning to make wise choices. Fill Kids Up From the Inside Out. Your children may be telling you that they feel empty inside, that they need artificial stimulation because they are hungry#151;hungry for you, the strong family unit. Talk to them more. Do activities together (not shopping). Make sure to have a family dinner hour to listen to them- try to listen more and only speak unless asked to. The best gift is yourself and your time. Do volunteer work with your children. Let them see the internal side of life, not merely the external, and how they can make a positive contribution Exercise with your children. Exercising will help children get rid of stress, raise their endorphins and make them happier. Encourage creative expression. This can be through writing, painting, music, sculpting, carving, cooking, etc. Original thinking will encourage children to become nonconformists, take the road less traveled by and therefore not need the validation of looking like everyone else. Fashion and materialism are expressions of personal style; encourage your children to develop their individual style. I will be the first to say that money is a nice thing to have. It#146;s a wonderful thing to provide well for your kids and enjoy the perks of life if you can. Just remember to incorporate a steady and consistent dose of gratitude and self-control, or the benefits you many be trying to give your child can actually come back to haunt them#133;and you. Anne Leedom is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of www.parentingbookmark.com . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>

Discipline, not Punishment By Anne Leedom It#146;s kind of tragic that just as we master the baby and toddler years we are thrown a whole new set of curves. Our kids grow and develop new and not always desirable behaviors and we now have to learn how to cope once again. So I set out to construct the perfect plan and I am proud to say it has stood the test, at least for now. Behavior battles seem to be at a minimum in our home. Based on information from a variety of experts, I have put into motion a strategy that should provide long term relief and a much happier and harmonious day. The Set Up Let#146;s face it. We just push our kids too far. We stray from the routine to the point where even the most accommodating child will break. It could be preventing them from getting their rest, letting them get too hungry, asking them to be overly patient while we do our errands, chores or work, or providing so much fun and stimulation that they simply go on overload. This is a critical element to watch, or you will have the perfect situation for the ultimate tantrum. Watch the Barometer Without warning kids can suddenly hit their limits and patience begins to wane rapidly. Too often parents try to dictate in this moment how they want their child to behave. Unfortunately, the barometer is rising and our wishes will almost certainly fall on deaf and increasingly angry ears. As soon as you notice the struggle, begin to take the child aside to a quiet location and try to reason with them. For example, #147;I don#146;t want to take a bath#148; can become a conversation about whether to take a bath or shower. In these crucial early moments, giving kids a small choice can go a long way toward preventing a potential meltdown. Change the Course Even the most prepared parent will encounter those horrid moments when kids are just going to wail. The key in this moment is to move past the moment as quickly and quietly as possible. Deciding to give them a bath in the morning instead of right at that moment or letting your child read in bed with the door closed for five more minutes will almost certainly restore harmony. Sure, you may not be able to expedite the plan you had in mind, but the goal is to work together. It#146;s not about giving your child control; it#146;s about giving your child some control. Disciplining your child is a team effort . You need to involve your child in the solution so they are more willing to cooperate. Parents who raise kids in this manner have kids who will cooperate more often than not. The battles are over before they begin and you will not be caught wondering what to do when those difficult moments arise. Keep in Mind No one reacts well to the word #147;no#148;. There are dozens of ways we can say no without over-using this word. Simply saying, #147;Gee, that#146;s a thought. I will think about that,#148; has a completely different sound to a child. Kids know when we mean no. But once again, they like to feel they are being considered in the process. A little tact is another key ingredient to raising kids with at least a few less tantrums. Ultimately, these strategies give parents something we all long for. We want to feel like we can actually overcome the battles and feel like we have won, but not at the expense of our kids#146; love and respect. Discipline that empowers the parent and the child is a winning formula for the long haul. Anne Leedom is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of www.parentingbookmark.com . Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>