Tag Archives: kids

Kids feel entitled

Watch A Boy’s Amazing Reaction To A Horrible Birthday Present And What Comes Next

Not A Perfect Parent Series,

My son’s birthday is this Friday and we haven’t bought his gift(s) yet.  My husband and I will scramble to the stores Thursday while he’s at school I’m sure. Lucky for us, he doesn’t have a long wish list.  He’s turning 15 years old and I think he has realized in the last couple of years that anything new he acquires is something else he has to keep up with or keep clean and put away.   If only my husband would figure that out!  😉  For his 15th birthday, Sebastian would be happy with a hard shell case for his new Chromebook, a new longboarding helmet, and backpacking and camping gear.    He’s pretty easy.

That said, I’m not sure Sebastian would react so gracefully as the young boy below did, if we were to give him a chopping block for his birthday.  Watch the video to see what I’m talking about then read on.  If you don’t speak spanish, don’t worry about the language barrier, it’s the expressions that are important to watch.

 

It appears that the boy in the video below has been taught to be:

  • grateful
  • gracious
  • un-entitled
  • positive
  • easy going
See more posts in my Not a Perfect Parent series

Aren’t these qualities we’d all like to see in our children?

What’s the deal?

Why are our kids not growing up feeling grateful and positive but instead entitled?

Is it our fault?

Are we like that too and just don’t see it in ourselves?

I have so many questions because this is something that frustrates me a lot.

 

How would your child react if he/she got a chopping block for their birthday?

I’m pretty sure Madelyn would break down in tears on the spot.

Sebastian on the other hand, would probably try to make the best of it.  He’d carve something out of it.

Perhaps a wish list for next year’s birthday so he doesn’t get a chopping block again?

I am not a perfect parent, thus the title of this series, and I am well aware that my kids’ generation has grown up feeling entitled and ungrateful and I’d like for that to change.

Share your thoughts on this post and video in the comments below.

– Alicia

 

 

 

 

 

Wyler’s Light: Helping my kids make better choices in what they are drinking.

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Jel Sert. All opinions are 100% mine.

I drink lots and lots of water.  At least a gallon a day.  In the summertime its probably more like a gallon and a half to two gallons with all the time we spend outside. But I get so sick and tired of drinking just water!  Yeah, I have my two cups of coffee in the morning and then usually one soda in the afternoon.  I am really trying to cut down on my caffeine intake though.  So much water though just gets boring after a while.

Wyler’s Light, , a low–calorie (only 5 calories), sugar–free drink mix that helps me get through the day and not turn to that soda in the afternoon hours when I am looking for something to drink besides my tasteless water. Plus Wyler’s Light is helping my kids make better choices in what they are drinking.  Instead of drinking all that sugary soda and juices they turn to water and they put Wyler’s Light in their water to give it a great taste!  They like the Lemonade flavor.  My two favorite flavors are Raspberry Lemonade and Strawberry Lemonade. I can’t just choose one!

I love to mix my Raspberry Lemonade up, put it in the blender, add ice and blend and make it like a slushy.  It’s a great drink for when you’re sitting out by the pool on a hot humid day.

And Wyler’s light has a flavor for everyone! There are 17 flavor’s to choose from:

•Lemonade
•Pink Lemonade
•Raspberry Lemonade
•Strawberry Lemonade
•Strawberry
•Cool Raspberry
•Cherry
•Cherry Limeade
•Grape
•Fruit Punch
•Kiwi Strawberry
•Sunsplash Orange
•Iced Tea with Lemon
•Iced Tea with Peach
•Iced Tea with Raspberry
•Half Iced Tea and Half Lemonade

Plus a new flavor..Cherry Berry!

This summer check out Wyler’s Light and find your favorite flavor.

For more information you can like Wyler’s Light on Facebook.

Visit Sponsor's Site

Back-To-School Style With Tea Collection – Nordic Line Review

Age 3-5, Age 5-7, Age 7-10, Ages 10-13, Clothes - mom & dad, , , ,

We love travelling.. with Tea Collection.  So far we’ve experienced Bali and now we’re experiencing the fresh, clean, and modern look of Finland, Sweden, and Denmark through Tea Collection’s new Nordic Line.  You can learn more about Tea Collection’s destinations here.

My daughter started school this week and Tea Collection dominated her back-to-school wardrobe.  She loves her Tea Collection dresses of which she has several (because she loves them so much!) and now she has a couple of adorable t-shirts to pair with Tea’s whimsical Twirly Skirt and Skinny Stretch Leggings.

Tea Collection’s new Nordic line is made up of pieces with clean yet ‘fun-funky’ (a word my daughter made up) patterns.  My daughter’s favorite dress from the Noric Line is the Moderni Banded Dress while my favorite on her is the Life in the Trees Banded Dress.  I love the banded look on my daughter, although I think the Mod Colorblock a-line dress is very cute too.

Tea Collection Nordic Line
Top row: Mod Colorblock dress. Second row: Moderni Banded Dress

Her favorite play outfit is the Bluetail Robin Tee paired with the Twirly Skirt.  I could just go on and on with the pairings.  She wears the Mod Colorblock dress and the Moderni dress with the bouquet Skinny Stretch Leggings and the Bluetail Robin tee with the Twirly skirt, French Terry shorts, and Safari Paperback shorts.  There are so many possibilities with Tea Collection. The Nordic line is made up of pieces from the same color pallet so pieces are easily paired.

Fit and Comfort

Like most young kids, my daughter doesn’t like to wear anything snug around her waist.  No jeans or cordiroys yet.  I hope she’ll  get there sometime soon though.  That’s why Tea Collection’s peices are so great for kids. Most of their skirts, pants, and shorts are made of at least 70% cotton making them very soft and flexible which is exactly what kids love!

Tea Collection women's clothes
Tea Collection - Hassu Floral Exposed Zip Back blouse

Tea Collections offers clothes for boys and girls up to size 12 and they even have a women’s line!  We can’t leave out the moms!  Take a look at this beautiful blouse.  >

Follow Tea Collection on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest to get inspired and get great deals!

I received product from Tea Collection to facilitate this review.  All opinions are 100% my own. I was not told what or when to write.

Personal: How To Get My Daughter To *Want* To Give Hugs

Age 5-7, Personal, ,
She really is sweet!

I never thought that my daughter would be my less affectionate child.  I just assumed that girls are more affectionate and loving than boys.  That’s not the case with my daughter.  She’s not my affectionate child.  I love her dearly and am so blessed to have her in my life but it is strange to me that she doesn’t want to snuggle or give me hugs like my son did when he was her age.

I’m starting to believe that what comes around goes around.  When I was a pre-teen my mom bought me a book about hugging. I wasn’t a fan of hugging or affection in general and now I know how sad that made my mom.

Madelyn practically knocks Tim (my husband) down with huge hugs when he gets home from work.  Me?  I have to beg for hugs. At bedtime.  Before I leave for a business trip.  When I get home from a business trip.  Anytime.

I am not going to let her see that my feelings are hurt because I don’t want her to give me hugs just because she feels sorry for me but darn.. my feelings are hurt and I don’t know how to handle the situation.  I’m not going to force her to hug me although I practically beg (in a non-obvious way) some days.

She always wants me to play with her but when I ask her for a hug she acts shy like I’m invisible or I’m putting her out.

My son is my affectionate child and I am very grateful that he still gives me hugs and kisses.  He is twelve and I thought he would have grown out of giving me hugs and kisses but thank goodness, he hasn’t.  I don’t know what I’d do if neither of my kids wanted to hug me.

I’m on a press trip for work this week and when I left today it was nearly impossible to get a genuine hug out of Madelyn.  Meanwhile, Sebastian gave me a great big bear hug and a kiss and said “I love you mom”.

Do you have a young child who is not very affectionate? How do you handle it?

Alicia Hagan, Editor

My Road Trip Survival Guide – How I Survived 8 Hour Road Trips Alone with Two Kids

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My kids are 12 and 5 years old.  They love each other but aren’t the best of friends. I’m sure you understand if you have kids who are far apart in age.  My 12 year old hardly acknowledges that my 5 year old exists and when he does it’s often to correct her, poke at her, or ask her to do something for him.

Therefor, I was pretty nervous about driving the kids to Florida (from our home in Atlanta) alone as I’ve never driven the kids to Florida by myself before and I never know when they are going to be at each other’s throats. Well not really but you know what I mean.   My husband and parents didn’t want me to drive the kids by myself in case something happened with the car or the kids during the drive.  And me being the paranoid girl that I am, I think about the kids getting car sick (it’s happened before!), getting a flat tire, accidents, traffic, the rushed need for a restroom when there’s none around, etc and those thoughts usually consume me.  However, I didn’t let those thoughts consume me this time.  Mostly because I was consumed with the fact that my 5 year old and I had just gone to urgent care the day before our trip and I found out that I had a sinus infection requiring anti-biotics and steroids and she had something that required anti-biotics.  I was just hoping to get there and to feel better the next day.  Little did I know that 7 days later, I’d be fighting a different infection and working from bed.

Welcome to Florida

Here are a few things that I did to ensure that I and the kids had a fun, safe, happy, and successful 8 hour road trip to Florida and back last week:

Keep them Fed!

  • Packed lots of cups of water
  • Brought pre-portioned Snacks
  • Included fruits & veggies in their snack bags
  • Plastic plates and utensils

Keep things Fun!

  • Activity Tray for each child
  • DVD’s that they agreed on before hand
  • iPad – full charged with a few new apps installed
  • Blank paper to color and write on
  • Pencil box with crayons and colored pencils
  • Sticker books (for my 5 year old)
  • Nook Color (for my 12 year old)
  • Wireless headphones for kids

Keep the kids and car Clean!

  • Trash bag for each child to use
  • Paper towels
  • Tissues
  • Baby wipes
  • Hand towel for each child
  • Full size towel for each child (cover with while eating)
  • Toilet seat covers (a MUST for rest area and restaurant restrooms!)

Keep the kids Comfortable!

  • Pillow Pets
  • Sun Shades
  • Blankets
  • Dramamine (my daughter gets car sick)

 

Preparing for the trip:

A week before departure:

  • Had oil changed and tires rotated
  • I signed up for AAA
  • Made sure I had all necessary safety equipment and manuals in the car
  • Talked to my son about being responsible for his sister while I was driving and what that meant.  My son is a Boy Scout and prides himself on being able to handle many emergency situations (which he’s had to do in the past) so my family and I felt comfortable that he could help in the case of a flat tire or other minor vehicular emergency but I needed to make sure that he understood that I wouldn’t be able to stop when my daughter needed a drink, snack, or a toy and that he needed to help out with her while I was driving.
  • Bought sun shades for the kids windows
  • Bought activity trays for the kids to use during the trip

Two days before departure:

  • Pack clothes
  • Pack each child a bag with activities to do in the car
  • Washed and set out two cups for each of us to use during the trip
  • I chose and packed DVD’s for the kids to watch in the car
  • I downloaded podcasts (love Leo Laporte’s tech podcasts!) for me to listen to while the kids watched a movie (via their wireless headphones)
  • Pack medications
  • I packed a ‘throw up kit’ containing a tupperware bowl, extra clothes, and wipes.  My daughter gets car sick.

The night before departure:

  • Pack toiletries
  • Pack kid’s bedtime books
  • Put everything in the car
  • Programed our destination in my iPhone GPS app
  • Pack important daily medications
Morning of departure:
  • Put kid’s blankets and pillow pets in the car
  • I put a DVD in the player so I wouldn’t have to pull over to put one in
  • Filled one cup with ice and water for each of us
  • Filled the cooler with fruits, veggies, cheese strings, ice, and drinks
  • Packed chargers for phones, camera, and iPad

Off we went!

The trip started with a few games of I Spy and then we listened to some Kidz Bop.  The kids didn’t ask to watch a movie or play on the iPad for the first hour and half.. almost two hours.  Impressive for a road trip if you ask me.  To be hontest, I was just waiting for them to We stopped three times.  Twice at rest stops and once at a McDonalds.  I was bummed that I couldn’t find a Chick-Fil-A around lunchtime so next time I will plan our lunch stop before leaving the house.  My son slept on and off during the trip but my daughter who is not a fan of sleeping during road trips finally fell asleep about an hour from Orlando.  She played with her sticker books and watched quite a bit of Curious George but she was happy and I was able to drive safely and distraction free, getting us to our destination safely.

I hope my road trip survival guide helps you on your next road trip adventure whether you’re travelling alone or with a spouse with your kids.

Do you have any road trip tips to share with our readers?  Tell us in the comments below.

Alicia Hagan, Editor