* Start a homework routine. Set a certain schedule for your child to do homework every day. If there is no homework assigned for the day, encourage your child to study and review the week’s assignments. Constantly reviewing information helps to instill the knowledge in your child’s brain, thereby helping them to gain better insight into the lessons.

* Sleep is important because it allows your brain to recharge itself. If your child does not get enough sleep, it will affect their performance in school and out of school. Sleep is necessary for the body to function properly so make sure your child gets at least eight hours of sleep each night.

* Take an interest in your child’s academics. It may have been a long time since you were in school, but you should still be able to check your child’s homework and assist them when necessary. Reading with children is a good way to spark interest in learning; it is also a good way to spend quality time with your child in a low-key manner.

* Keep your child organized when it comes to school activities. Have your child carry a planner for teachers to record assignments in. Also, keep a wall calendar in your house with your child’s schedule and assignments. This will help to avoid any missing assignments and will also let you know how frequently your child studies.

Helping your child to succeed in school is one of your biggest jobs as a parent. Without establishing a routine in the household for both homework and bedtime, it can be very easy for a child to lose interest in school work. Not getting enough sleep and not being organized can affect your child’s function in school as well. By utilizing the top tips you are helping to establish your child’s academic success.

A proper diet is especially important for growing children. At this level, the children’s minds are still developing and their bodies are growing fast. Without proper nutrition, a child will lack the vitamins and minerals necessary to facilitate a normal growth.

It is important to feed your children a variety of healthy meals and snacks. Avoid feeding children junk food which will only contribute to obesity and malnutrition. The occasional treat will not hurt your child, but it is not healthy to make it a regular habit.

One way to ensure that your child eats healthy at school is to make a bag lunch for your child each day. Include healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables or a variety of nuts. Each of these snacks is high in vitamins and low in fat. They also provide your child with energy to keep their attention on school matters rather than drifting off to sleep.

Also pack a nutritious meal along with a juice box or milk box. Nutritious meals can include sandwiches along with soups. Be sure to pack your children’s meals in small portions as children tend to snack on several items at once. While there is no way to ensure that your child is not trading away their food, you are preventing them from buying school lunches which consist of mostly processed food.

Getting involved with the school can be beneficial. PTA meetings are held regularly for parents to voice their concerns with issues. This would be a good venue for bringing up the subject of healthier school lunches. More than likely, you are not the only parent who has concerns about the food being served in the cafeteria.

As children get older and graduate to junior high and high school, more unhealthy options are available in the lunch room such as ice cream machines and soda machines. Gather a bunch of nutrition-minded parents and create a plan to implement new options into the school cafeterias. While you may not see immediate results, if you keep up your campaigning and your research, eventually someone else’s kids will benefit from your hard work.

There are several ways to implement a healthy, nutritious diet in school-age children. Children need lots of minerals and vitamins in order to develop the tools necessary to facilitate healthy growth in both body and mind. Packing a bag lunch for your children is a great way to monitor what your child eats while at school. Another great solution is to get involved with the PTA and campaign for healthier school lunches. Results may not be immediate, but they will be beneficial.

Many families these days have allowed their schedules to dictate how and where they eat. Rather than spending dinner time together as a family around the table, there are meetings, sports practice, and other obligations to meet. As a result, they may be growing further and further apart.

One of the many benefits of sharing family dinner together is that it keeps the family connected. The children know they’ll have their parents’ undivided attention at that time. The family can talk about their lives, share concerns, and seek support and advice for dealing with problems.

For many people, as they were growing up, having dinner together as a family was one way to share their love for one another. There was time to communicate opinions without fear of reprisal, and few topics were off limits. For children, having their parents’ undivided attention was an expression of love.

Sharing meals is also a way for a family to develop trust among the members. The family dinner table was the place parents could teach their children to share their feelings, reinforce the family’s values, learn to take turns talking, and explain why family traditions are important.

Research has proven overwhelmingly that children who have meals with their family at least twice a week are less likely to try drugs or alcohol, less likely to become depressed, and more likely to make good grades. Who knew eating with your family around the dinner table could be so good for children and teens?

Another benefit of having a family dinner is helping your family develop good eating habits. When you’re eating at home, you’re less likely to be eating as much junk food. If you’re running from place to place, you’ll likely pick up fast food in between activities. That’s no way to eat on regular basis. Eating at home allows you to provide fruits and vegetables, control sweets, and control the fats your family eats.

Eating at home is also considerably cheaper than eating out. You have control over how much you spend, the serving sizes your family eats and the types of foods you buy. Since you’re at home, why not teach the children and teens in your family how to cook so they’ll have that skill when they move out?

It is possible someone in the family will have an activity or appointment that can’t be broken, and that’s okay. Having an occasional meal where the whole family can’t be present isn’t a problem. When you’re trying to create a nurturing tradition such as family dinner, it’s important to be flexible but not allow the interruptions to your family dinners become the norm.

* Make sure your child knows his or her teacher’s name. This will help ease the fears of not knowing where to go. If your child gets lost, another teacher can easily guide your child to the right place. If your child happens to forget their teacher’s name, they can still get help from another teacher who will likely guide them to the main office.

* Most schools send home a checklist of items that children will need to bring on their first day of school. Review the checklist and pack your child’s backpack a few days before school begins. You can double-check the backpack the night before to ensure your child has not removed any of the items.

* Sit down with your child and explain in simple terms what the first day of school is going to be like. While you may not be able to remember as far back as your first day of kindergarten, as a parent your child relies on you to ease any fears they may have. Allow your children to ask questions about their first day at school and answer them as best as you can.

* If possible, take your child to school on that first day of kindergarten. Your child may feel more at ease if he or she has you to direct them to the proper location. Be aware that your child may panic when you have to leave and the experience may be hard on you as well.

* Make sure your child has an emergency contact card to present to the teachers. This card is important because it will have all of the necessary information for your child’s school to contact you should they need to. Also ensure that your child knows or has your home phone number written down. This way they can contact you if the need arises.

It is very easy to get caught up in your child’s first day of school which can be a nerve-racking experience for both parents and children. You can help to ensure your child gets off to a great start by making sure they are prepared. If you cannot take your child to school on that first day, make sure they know their teacher’s name and where they will be going.

Fill out all emergency contact information and make sure the information reaches your child’s teacher. Also be sure that your children know their home phone number so they can contact you if the need arises. Be sure to congratulate your child on a job well done after they arrive home.

Even if you don’t think you have a lot of time, there’s still much you can do to get in better shape. In fact, some experts are saying that rather than spending hours working out, it is better to exercise twenty minutes three times a week. Do you have twenty minutes you can spare? If your day is full, making time for those twenty minutes could be the most important part of your day.

Before going any further, remember it’s important to take care of yourself. If you don’t take care of your own needs, including getting fit and healthy, you won’t feel well enough to do the things you need to do. Give yourself permission to do what’s best for you. Devoting time to your own health will benefit everyone involved: you, your family and your boss.

Make fitness a priority. Put your twenty minute exercise time on your calendar in the same way you would any other appointment. Instead of going to lunch three days a week with your friends or co-workers, take those days to walk during your lunch break. You can still eat a light lunch, spend twenty minutes walking, and then get back to work. Enlist your friends to join you and you could all feel better.

Get your family involved. Exercising as a family can do more than make you feel healthier. It can allow you time to reconnect when everyone has a busy schedule. Take a walk after dinner or ride bicycles. Does your family have a pool? Swimming is great exercise and can be so much fun.

It may have been a long time since you’ve done any exercising. Start out slow so you don’t injure yourself. Pace yourself and then work yourself up to twenty minutes of exercise. You can do some research to determine what your exercising heart rate should be to get the most benefit for the activity you’ve chosen.

Perhaps you are too busy even to take twenty minutes out of your day three times a week. Maybe your family is too busy as well. Why not sit down as a family and write down everything everyone does? Give everyone a color and create a calendar with everyone’s appointments or obligations for every day of the week. If you look at your calendar and there aren’t any down times except for when you sleep, it may be time to think about having everyone cut back a little.

Determine which activities are absolutely necessary. This would be going to school for children and going to work for working adults. Those are non-negotiable. You may also include regular religious services if your family attends them, medical and business appointments, as well as physically purchasing groceries so the family can eat.

Decide which activities can be cancelled so you can all take time to take care of yourselves, especially the working mom. If your family can cut out some activities, you might actually have twenty minutes three times a week to devote to getting fit.

Shopping at outlet stores can ease up on your budget without sacrificing your teen’s wants. There is also the opportunity to make your children’s clothing if you are handy with a sewing machine. Use these bargain tips to give your children a cool back to school wardrobe without breaking the bank.

Shopping at outlet stores such as TJ Maxx or Marshalls can help cut back the cost of buying designer clothes. Closeout stores such as these purchase the leftover products from designers at a lower price so they are able to pass the savings on to you, the consumer. In addition to designer clothes, backpacks can be found at decent prices at these outlet stores as well.

If you are handy with a sewing machine, it is possible to make your children’s clothes yourself. To make it a family activity, involve your children in picking out fabrics and designing them with rhinestones and such after they have been completed. Involving your children in the process will help them to be proud and enthusiastic about wearing their clothing. In addition, you can be sure your children’s clothes will be unique and not carbon copies of other children’s clothing.

Second-hand shops usually carry a good variety of clothing. Before shopping in outlet stores, check out any local second-hand shops in your area. Since most of the proceeds go to charity, you will be helping out local organizations and saving money at the same time. You cannot go wrong there.

You can also accept hand-me-downs from other family members who have children your age or older. Many times clothes are only worn a few times before children grow out of them and family members are happy to share them instead of throwing the clothing out. If you have nieces or nephews that have outgrown clothing, consider asking their parents if you could have the clothing instead of letting it go to waste.

One last option is to budget for school clothes; buy a little at a time instead of all at once. It is perfectly fine to start your child off with just a few outfits and then build up the wardrobe over the course of the school year. Save up money over the summer while your child is out of school and you will be prepared when the time to do school shopping approaches.

Shopping for cool school clothes does not have to be a wallet cruncher. There are many places you can shop around and find bargains on designer clothes. If you cannot afford to buy designer clothes, even at a discount, you can involve your children and make their clothes for them if you are savvy with a sewing machine. If you budget properly over the summer and build up your child’s wardrobe little by little, you will not break the bank in one shopping trip.

Try these nine family activities for an exciting end to your summer:

1. Make a memory book. Have everyone in the family get together and make a memory book or scrapbook. Collect photos from your summer or other scraps and artwork that would fit into a book of memories. This will give you a lasting memento of the good times you had over the summer.

2. Have a splashing good time. The summer usually means a good time around water. Throw a pool party or play around in the sprinklers. Have a water balloon fight with your family. Involve water while you still can, before the cold days of winter arrive.

3. Make summertime recipes. Pick out your favorite summertime recipes and make food and drinks with your family. Start with drinks like iced tea and lemonade, or pick another family favorite that you associate with summer. Then, make summer treats or throw a barbeque.

4. Throw a summer party. Get together with your family and throw an end of the summer bash for all of your friends. Your family can plan the party together, cook the food and make decorations. Take lots of photos of your party so you can remember the good time you had.

5. Go to the zoo. Summer is a great time to enjoy the zoo during your free time. Go to the zoo with your family one last time before school takes away much of that free time. It’s also a great way to learn about many different kinds of animals.

6. Play video games. Video games can be fun for the whole family. Some game consoles even have games that’ll get the whole family active. Choose a sports game, a family board game or a racing game and compete against your family for an exciting time together.

7. Go to the beach. The end of the summer might be one of your last opportunities to hit the beach this year. Wear sunscreen to protect your skin. Bring plenty of towels and beach toys. Build a sand castle with your kids. Bury one of your family members in the sand.

8. Get ready for school. Enjoy getting ready for the school year with your family. Find the fun in shopping for clothing and school supplies. Get the whole family involved. Allow your kids to make some of the clothing decisions and to pick out some of their favorite school supplies.

9. Relax at home. Enjoy some quiet time at home before the craziness of the school year starts. Order takeout and talk around the dinner table. Rent some family friendly movies to enjoy while you beat the heat together.

Pick one of these, or come up with your own end of summer activity ideas. The most important thing is that you take the time to enjoy your family. The end of summer can be an exciting time for your family to bond and experience priceless memories.

Start by finding out activities that everyone in your family is willing to participate in. This could be bowling, bicycling, hiking, running, or simply walking. Any activity you can decide upon that everyone will do is a good choice.

Once you’ve chosen the family fitness activity, you’ll want to make a fitness plan with the whole family. Look at everyone’s schedules and see what obligations the family has. Mark all of these activities on a calendar so you can see when everyone is available.

While it would be best if the entire family could do something together, that simply may not be possible. Perhaps one of the older children works after school. Another may play in the school band which requires them to practice every night. Mom or Dad may also have business obligations which keep them away from home more nights than not.

If everyone can’t do the same activity at the same time, you can have a competition of sorts among the family members. Consider measuring and weighing everyone to find out what their starting statistics are for the fitness challenge. This will be the baseline information to determine how everyone is doing.

Create a fitness journal for each person. You can find premade fitness journals online if you have the time to look for them or you can create one which meets your family’s needs. They don’t have to be complicated. The journal only needs a place for the date, a place to specify what activity was done, and several squares to mark off each 20 minutes of physical activity they did.

Set realistic fitness goals for each person based on their current age, health, and abilities. For instance, if one person in your family is very young, they’re obviously not going to be able to lift fifty pounds. Likewise, someone with health concerns isn’t going to be able run the same distance as someone who’s healthy. They may, however, be able to walk the same distance or at least work up to reaching that distance.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has indicated that people from 18-65 should participate in moderately-intense physical activity at least 30 minutes for five days a week. Or they can do vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for 20 minutes a day for three days each week. If the people in your family have been sedentary for a long time, you’ll want to work up to the guidelines from the AHA. It is also a good idea to check with your family doctor to ensure each person is able to become more physically active.

Once you have your family fitness challenge goals established, you’ll also want to determine some rewards for meeting those goals. Rather than giving food rewards, choose something everyone can enjoy that doesn’t relate to food. Perhaps you can plan a trip to the beach or the movies.

Remember the ultimate goal when trying to determine how to get your entire family fit. You want everyone to be healthy and happy. Create a fitness challenge everyone can participate in, set reasonable goals, and then celebrate each member’s successes with a family reward.

It’s not unusual for babies to go through a period of being shy as they’re beginning to speak, between the ages of 18 months and 3 years. The problem occurs when they don’t out grow that stage. Helping your child overcome shyness is best started whenever you realize they need help, so it’s never too late.

Attachment to a parent is one cause for shyness in babies and toddlers. Older children may be teased or criticized which leads them to shy away from social situations. While being shy may be good in that those shy children misbehave less, being shy means your child will likely have fewer friends, avoid situations where they’d be in the public eye, and often feel lonely. Shy children can also develop anxiety problems as teens as well as gastrointestinal issues.

Since children learn most by what they experience and by copying those around them, it’s always good to set a good example. How you respond or act in social situations can often determine how your child will act.

Initiate conversations rather than waiting for someone else to do it. Talk to and be friendly with the people you see at the grocery store. Introduce yourself when you meet new people. Although it’s wise to teach your child to not talk to strangers, help them realize that if you’re with them it’s alright to do so. Be willing to help people and join in social events.

Try to prepare your child for social situations such as birthday parties, family reunions, or visits to the doctor. Explain how there will be people who will want to speak with them and that you expect them to respond. Give them the opportunity to talk about their feelings to help ease their anxiety.

Give your child positive reinforcement. Tell them how much you appreciate a certain trait, that you’re glad they are your child, and give praise when they’ve had a success. Keep the lines of communication open and really listen to what your child has to say. They may find talking to you or another caring adult will make overcoming shyness easier.

Try to role play with your child if they’re going to be experiencing a new social situation. Pretend to be a stranger and start talking to them. Encourage them to ‘play along’ so they’ll have a chance to practice.

Avoid the inclination to answer for your child when they’re spoken to. In fact, allowing your child to do things for themselves in social situations will bolster their confidence even if they do stutter or stammer. Don’t allow their ‘shyness’ to be used as an excuse for getting out of situations they don’t like or doing things they don’t want to do.

You may know about how shyness can affect your life if you were shy as a child. Teach your child to be able to speak up. You can use some of these ideas or seek professional help. They know how to help your child overcome shyness but if you’re diligent to encourage them, they may be able to overcome it on their own.

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