Tips and Resources for Parents

One of the most difficult circumstances for parents is when their child has Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). ODD is defined as:

a psychiatric category listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders where it is described as an ongoing pattern of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behavior toward authority figures which goes beyond the bounds of normal childhood behavior.

ODD usually manifests itself in children who chronically lose their temper, argue with adults, refuse to comply with rules and requests, deliberately annoy people and blame other for their mistakes and misbehavior. Certainly, many children express these behaviors, but Oppositional Defiant Disorder means that this is the normal and constant behavior of the child, not something they do every now and then.

Fortunately, there is help, thanks to the resources created by Mark Hutten, M.A. Mark has created a parent education series called My Out-of-Control Child: Help for Parents with Oppositional Defiant Children. His series includes an online parent support group, audio recordings from his ongoing series, powerpoint presentations and videos, a bi-weekly newsletter and direct access to Mark if you have any questions.

You can learn more about his innovative program at http://www.myoutofcontrolteen.com.

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Researchers are encouraging parents to turn off the television when toddlers are in the room, particularly when it’s only being used as background noise.

Researchers observed 50 kids aged 1 to 3 at play in a room for an hour: half the time was television-free, and half the time the TV show “Jeopardy” was playing on a television in the room. Although the children in the room while the TV was on glanced up only occasionally, the researchers saw clear signs that the children had trouble concentrating.

And if you’re looking for even stricter rules, listen to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend not allow your children age three and under watch any television.

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Parenting.com had an interesting article on which gender is harder to raise, boys or girls. Highlights included:

• Boys may not listen as well as girls because their hearing isn’t as good from birth
• Girls are rigged to be people-oriented, while boys are more action-oriented
• Girls tend to grow up less confident and more insecure than boys
• Boys are harder to raise early on, but girls become more difficult as preteens

I’m thinking that it’s already hard with my 4-year-old daughter, but if it’s supposed to get worse with the onset of preteens, this should make for a very interesting and difficult future. I’m sure it’s all a part of the master plan of kicking them out the door at eighteen without looking back

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Summer is upon us! For parents with kids that are now out of school, their kids are now going to have 3 months of free time – plenty of time to get into trouble and also get hurt. Safe Parenting has a helpful list from the American Academy of Pediatrics that offers some excellent tips for keeping children safe this summer. Many of the tips are common sense, but they’re still good to review with your kids just in case.

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An interesting and important question that all parents will have to face one day (if they haven’t already). Safety for Children has an interesting article on when it’s okay to leave your children home alone. I’m curious to know how other parents have approached this and when they think it’s okay to start leaving your children home alone, even if it’s just to go to the grocery store.

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Times are tough, but coupons can really help you save money when money is tight. My wife has started using The Grocery Game to help us save a lot of money with grocery bills and we started getting the paper on the weekend to actually collect the coupons that are in it. There are also a lot of sites that collect and provide coupons (mainly online promo codes), but many of them are poorly organized and often fairly spammy. However, I just came across a coupon site that I’d never seen before called RetailMeNot.com.

RetailMeNot.com is a well organized, aesthetically pleasing and incredibly useful site for finding coupons for your favorite things at your favorite stores. I don’t think it’s a lot different under the hood compared to other popular coupon sites, but it’s certainly easier on the eyes and I think a lot easier to use than most.

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Although it would be nice to buy all organically grown fruits and vegetables, it’s usually too costly buy all organic fruits and vegetables. Fortunately, there are some fruits and vegetables that are relatively low in pesticides, making the purchase of some organic fruits and vegetables unnecessary. Below is a list from the Go organic; here’s how article I found in the Tennessean that can help you choose which fruits and vegetables you should buy organic and which ones you can forgo for conventional fruits and vegetables.

Best if Organic (Highest in Pesticides)

• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries

Okay if Conventional (Lowest in Pesticides)

• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Onions
• Papaya
• Pineapples
• Peas

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There’s been a lot of news lately about the toxicity of plastic bottles — particularly ones that are used for baby bottles and food. Bonna Johnson tries to bring some sense to it all in her article “Toxic bottle reports create eco-confusion.” She explains how to spot good and bad plastics.

Polycarbonate plastics are popular because they are strong, clear and shatterproof. They are labeled, usually on the bottom of the bottle, with a recycling symbol “7” and sometimes with the initials “pc.” If a plastic container is unlabeled but looks similar to glass, it likely contains the potentially harmful bisphenol A (BPA) chemical. The chemical tends to transfer from the plastic container into liquid if heated. Don’t microwave polycarbonate plastic food containers.

BPA is also found in epoxy resins, used to coat metal products such as food cans and bottle tops. When possible, opt for better choices, such as glass, stainless steel and porcelain containers, especially for hot food or liquids. Other alternatives include plastics marked with recycling symbol 2 or 5 or plastics labeled BPA-free. If you do decide to ditch your polycarbonate plastics, Metro Public Works accepts No. 7 plastics in its recycling program.

So, basically look for and stay away from anything that has the symbol “7″ on it. Typical plastic bottles, like the kind of bottles that are used for water and sodas are okay — they generally have the symbol “1″ on them.

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It’s always amazing what our children pick up from watching us — cooking is no different. The teacher in my daughter’s daycare class decided to gather up recipes from all of her students and this is what she got.

M’sketti

By Tyler D.

Put noodles in the m’sketti with sauce and meatballs. Cook it in oven takes like 20 minutes to get cookin’ — after you’re done you pour it in a thing in the sink to let the water out, then mix it with the sauce and meatballs. Eat it with a fork and butter.

Hotdogs and Sausage

By Asha H.

Cook the sausage in the microwave. Then you cook the red hotdogs in the microwave. Then you put them in a bowl for a snack.

Pizza

By Reid M.

Put hot tings on it to make it like it’s hot. Let it cool and you eat it.

Pizza

By Ella M.

Put cheese on the pizza and put bread on it — put it in the oven for a minute — then you eat it.

Cereal

By Parker M.

Put Cheerios and milk in a bowl and cook it. Put berries in it, and some ham. Put it in a bag, put cinnamon in it, carry it to your plate, dump it out on your plate and eat it.

Mac & Cheese

By Brook M.

Put stuff inside that is very good — and put salt and pepper in it — put cheese on top of the salt and pepper — put it in the oven, and then put it in the fire and then you eat it. Make a salad with peanut butter!

Macaroni & Cheese

By Camden P.

First, cook the macaroni, after it boils with water — then you drain it and add milk and butter — then you add the sauce — then you cook it for a minutes then it will be done — eat it on a plate.

Bacon

By Aydan S.

Put it up on the oven, not in the oven, but on top of the oven and you go somewhere — and you come back and flip it over and put it right back. Cook it for a little bit short time. Flip it over again, then flip it right back over. Eat it out of the pan.

Corn on the Cob

By Braxton A.

Get it in the oven and cook it. And then you get some things to hold it, and stick them in it and that’s all.

Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich

By Cade B.

Get 2 sandwiches and get 1 peanut butter and 1 jelly — Mix it up. Then give it to yourself — don’t give it to someone else, because they might get sick from it.

Rice and Beans

By Kitt H.

Put little seeds in a bowl. Get sugar and rice and mix it up. Put it in the oven and cook it for 10 hours. Then you eat it.

Popcorn

By Bobby L.

Put popcorn and oil in a pan, heat it for one minute on the stove. Let it pop and when it’s done popping, pour it in the bowl and then you eat it. Then when it’s time to go to bed, you just go to bed because you momma asked you to.

Pizza

By Charlotte M.

Put pepperoni on the pizza. Then you put cheese on it. Then you put it in the oven for 4 minutes or however minutes you need it — like 7 or 6 maybe. Open up the oven, take it out and everyone sits down and eats.

Crab Legs

By Henry M.

I catch them in a cage at the ocean — and I eat their legs. Then I hang them up on my wall.

Chicken Soup

By Theo M.

Put the chicken and tomato in and swirl it, and swirl it and swirl it up. Put it in the microwave. Cook it for 40 minutes and it will be ready. Eat it with a fork.

Macaroni & Cheese

By Parker W.

Put macaroni with the cheese and put water on top. Then it’s ready.

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