If you are traveling abroad with your little one on a flight, you should be ready to go through a somewhat frustrating experience. It will be a nightmare for some of the parents. Toddler tantrums can be considered as the main reason why you will have to encounter frustration while you are traveling along with the little one. If you can avoid toddler tantrums, you will be able to experience a great relief throughout the journey.

Below mentioned are some effective and useful tips, which can help you with avoiding toddler tantrums.

1. Get a toy roll along suitcase to the toddler

If you can purchase a toy roll along suitcase for the toddler, you will be able to overcome tantrums in an effective manner. Once you give the suitcase, you can simply ask the little one to pull that along. It is possible for you to find many different types of such roll along suitcases in the market. Out of them, you can even go for a suitcase that has their favorite cartoon characters. Then you will be able to create excitement within your little one to pull the suitcase. After purchasing the suitcase, you will need to pack it with the favorite toys of your little one. In addition, you can also put the items that can cater the comfort needs of the little one on the go. The suitcase will provide plenty of space to store all the items. Then you will be able to keep the little one engaged with it and avoid the tantrums. If you are looking forward to spend such a fun roll along suitcase, you can click here.

2. Set the expectations before you travel 

If you can set up expectations in your little one before you travel, you can effectively avoid toddler tantrums during the journey. You need to do this on the night before you travel. You can simply let your little one know what you are expecting from him throughout the journey. For example, you can convince the little one that he will have to spend few hours on the flight, while keeping the seat belt on. When you set up the expectations early, you will find it as an easy task to overcome toddler tantrums.

3. Always stay prepared

You never know what you will have to experience when you are travelling with toddlers on the flight. Hence, you should plan accordingly and always stay prepared. This can be considered as one of the most convenient steps available for you to avoid frustration throughout the journey. You will often have to experience toddler tantrums when he is hungry. Hence, you are encouraged to take some snacks on the carryon. Likewise, you are encouraged to prepare for the worst during the journey. Then you will get the opportunity to keep peace of mind until you arrive at your destination.

4. Stay calm as much as possible

Staying calm can also be considered as one of the best methods that are available for you to get rid of toddler tantrums while you are on a flight. When the toddlers are throwing tantrums, the parents usually tend to freak out. This is one of the biggest mistakes that you will do as a parent. Hence, you need to learn how to be calm when your little one is throwing a tantrum. You shouldn’t scream too hard, or turn blue after you see that your little one is not behaving well in the flight.  In fact, your toddler will not be in a position to listen to you in such a situation as well. Hence, you should never threaten or yell at the toddler. If you do, you will be adding more fuel to the fire.

When you see that your toddler is throwing a tantrum, you just need to do that you are doing at your home. In other words, you just need to stay calm. If possible, you can simply get up and go for a walk. Or else, you can sing the favorite lullaby of the little one. It is even possible for you to distract the little one by giving his favorite snack or favorite toy.

You just need to figure out that the tantrum would not last forever. Hence, you need to make sure that you don’t do anything that can make the little one go upset. If you can stay calm, the rest is assured.

5. Focus on your little one

When you are traveling in a flight along with your little one, your attention should only be on the kid. In other words, you should not take a look at the other people around you. Then you will be able to make sure that you have successfully covered all your bases. In other words, you have taken necessary steps in order to overcome toddler tantrums as much as possible.

But even if you plan to focus only on the little one, things will not go as expected along with time. For example, your child will go for a full blown meltdown at times. In such a situation, you shouldn’t get stressed. During a toddler tantrum, the passengers around you will definitely take a look at you. It will be uncomfortable to face such a situation in front of the strangers. But you need to keep in mind that the passengers are also parents and they must have come across similar situations. Hence, you just need to concentrate on your little one. You shouldn’t let your brain to be dramatic in such a situation as well.

There are some of the most effective and successful tips available for you to avoid toddler tantrums while you are on a light. You just need to keep these tips in your mind and you will be provided with the opportunity to overcome frustration associated with toddler tantrums throughout the journey.

All parents who have baby girls tend to purchase dolls for the little ones. But when you go out to shop for baby dolls, you will often get confused due to the availability of different doll types. That’s why it is important to be equipped with a clear understanding on how to purchase the best baby dolls for the kids. Then you will get the chance to impress your little one as well.

Baby dolls available in the market

First of all, you need to keep in mind that availability of dolls in the market is driven by their popularity and demand. Some of the doll varieties are consistently popular in the market, when compared to others. Media, economic climate, general desire and timing are some of the factors that contribute towards the popularity of baby dolls.

Collection of dolls was extremely popular back in 1990. Even though we cannot find such a massive amount of doll collectors in today’s world, there is a high demand for these toys from all parts of the world. From a research conducted in 2014, it has been identified that dolls are one of the best-selling toys that you can find in today’s world.

What are the different types of dolls?

When you are looking forward to select the best baby dolls for the kids, you must pay special attention towards the different types that you can get your hands on. You need to take a look at the preferences of the little one while keeping an eye on these doll types. Then you will be able to understand what baby doll types match perfectly well with the preferences of your little one.

• China dolls – China dolls can be considered as one of the most popular types of baby dolls available in the market. These dolls are available for purchase in all parts of the world as well. These dolls are made out of glazed white porcelain. They were first introduced back in 18^th The popularity of China dolls still remain. If you are impressed with the unique qualities of China dolls, you can think about purchasing one of them for your little one to play with.
• Cloth dolls – Cloth dolls is another popular baby doll type that you can find in the market. These dolls are also named as rag dolls. That’s because the dolls are made out of fabric scraps. These can be considered as the oldest types of dolls that are available in the market as well. In other words, people have been producing cloth dolls from the time where they started using woven cloth. However, the mass production of cloth dolls took place only in the 19^th England and America were the most prominent mass producers of cloth dolls back in the day. But in today’s world, China can be considered as the biggest producer of cloth dolls into the market.
• Bisque dolls – Like China dolls, Bisque dolls can also be considered as a porcelain doll type. In fact, these dolls are made out of unglazed porcelain. Hence, you will get the opportunity to experience a premium look and feel from them. The colors of these dolls look amazing. That’s mainly because the color for these dolls is added before manufacturers start firing. Hence, Bisque dolls can be considered as a unique and a one of a kind doll type available for you to purchase from the market.
• Paper dolls – Paper dolls have received a lot of attention in the recent past. These dolls are flat printings or drawings of animal or human figures. Then they are cut out to make them look like dolls. To enhance the look and feel, these paper dolls are properly ornamented. These dolls are the cheapest in the market as well. If you are looking forward to let your child have a collection of dolls, this can be considered as one of the best options available to get started with. Your little one would absolutely love to have a collection of paper dolls. Due to the affordability of paper dolls, you can think about giving them to your little one without keeping any doubt in mind.
• Composition dolls – Composition dolls are specifically designed out of sawdust and mixed glue. These dolls were introduced to the market by German manufacturers. In fact, the first ever Composition doll came to the market during 1850s. The popularity of these dolls has remained throughout. The best thing about Composition dolls is their variety. You can simply take a look at the Composition dolls available for sale online and you will figure out that an excellent collection is available for you to get your hands on. Hence, it can also be considered as a great method to let your little one start having a collection dolls. You can make sure that she doesn’t get bored with the availability of dolls.
• Wooden dolls – Finally, you need to take a look at the wooden dolls. Wooden dolls were initially introduced to the market during 1680s. However, they are still popular among people for the unique characteristics and properties. Wooden dolls are also named as Queen Anne Dolls. Many different types of wood are also being used for the production of these dolls.

Now you have a clear understanding about the best baby dolls that are available for purchase in the market. As the next step, you should go ahead and take a look at the preferences of the little one.

If your little one is interested in having a collection of dolls, paper dolls and composition dolls is the best option available to move forward with. But if your child prefers elegance, you can go for the dolls that are made out of porcelain.

Likewise, you need to understand the unique differences of baby dolls and analyze the preferences of the child to settle down with the best available options in the market.

Source Pixabay 

Being a parent requires quite a unique set of skills and responsibilities. They are beyond counting and it’s hard to put them all on paper. New things keep arising as kids get older and it’s practically impossible to be ready for every situation that may come your way. However, like any other parent, you probably do have some priorities when it comes to your responsibilities. Of course, making sure your child is healthy, happy and genuinely a good, honest person that has an education which will enable them to have a decent life. However, once you set goals for your children, a new question arises: “How much can I meddle without causing a counter-effect?” This question is particularly important when it comes to education. Are you allowed to influence your child directly if you see they’re making a huge mistake, or should you just step aside and watch them hit a brick wall? Unfortunately, nobody knows the exact recipe as it’s not the same for each parent and child, but there are some aspects you can consider that can help you make a decision and ways to be an influence subtly and effectively.

Teach knowledge-thirst

The key is to start on time. It’s never too early to teach your child about learning and wanting to learn, especially since babies have a natural urge for wanting to know about the world around them. All you have to do is make sure to keep them interested in all sorts of things as they become older. If you’re wondering how to do this, there are a number of mind-stimulating games for children of all ages, puzzles, memory games, strategy games, and many others. However, you need to take part in these games, too, because your child needs to see the way they work and how much fun it actually is.

Source Pixabay

Pay attention to preferences

Parents have a nasty habit of wanting to pass their ambitions onto their children. Some of them are lucky enough that it turns out their children do have the same interests, while others can end up in tears as pushing your children too hard and in a direction they don’t want to take can lead to a complete disaster including dropping out and giving up on everything, as well as mental instability. However, there’s nothing wrong with having high hopes for your child. It’s just that you need to forget about your desires and focus on your child’s. Once you establish this, it’s absolutely OK to do your best to encourage your child to on their way to getting into Ivy League. This involves a lot of moral and financial support, but it’s definitely worth it.

Teach them how to learn

Some parents find it easier to cope with their child’s learning problem simply by doing it instead of them. This is a huge NO for all the parents out there. You need to help your child resolve the problem, not do it instead of them. Yes, it’s harder and it demands more time and effort, but it’s your own child, so you need to make time for this type of activity. Try to be there for all sorts of activities, observe and remember how your child learns. You need to see if your kid is a visual, auditory or a kinesthetic learner. After that, you should show them some learning methods accordingly. Many educational problems stem from one’s inability to learn or ignorance about which learning method is best for them.

Source Pixabay

Don’t overwhelm them

It is understandable to want the best for your child, but the hard part is to be able to look at your child objectively and determine their potential. It’s not easy, perhaps not even realistic, but once you make your peace with the fact that your child is not perfect and that’s OK, you’ll be able to see things more clearly. Under no circumstances should you push your child to the limit. This will only cause them to shut down completely and give up on everything. So, if you want your child to learn a new language, play sports and also play an instrument, perhaps you should consult them first and then introduce these activities gradually, just so you could keep up with how long they can run the gauntlet. If, on the other hand, your kid does have great potential and can work under all these conditions or, what’s more, finds them stimulating, go for it, just make sure to keep track of the situation at all times.

There are no 100% success rates when it comes to parenting or recipes for parenting. The general advice is to spend as much time with your children as you can and be observant and caring. Sure, you can and should consult people and books, do research, but in the end, you are the one that knows your child best and you should be the one who has the final say. After all, you’re the boss and you love your child the most, so we’re sure you’ll be able to make the best possible decision.

About the author

Claire is a personal and professional development expert who believes that a positive attitude is one of the keys to success. She enjoys life to the fullest in the healthiest way possible and loves to share her insights into the lifestyle, parenting, education, and entrepreneurship. Feel free to reach her on Facebook and Twitter.

Life can be unbelievably tough, with unfortunate events happening to even the luckiest of people. One of the most important lessons that we can teach our children is that of not giving up when things go wrong or start to become difficult. As parents, we always try to teach our children to be as proactive as possible to avoid problems. This simply is not always an option as unplanned bad things happen to everyone. The reaction of us as parents has a much larger impact than the event itself in many cases. The following are events and how to react to them to show teach your kids about resilience.

Fired from a Job

One of the worst feelings in the world is being fired or laid off, especially when you have a family to support. This can send a person into a deep depression where they feel helpless. Don’t be the parent who does not get out of their pajamas because of a setback. Get up early each day and start working on finding a new full-time gig. Your resume needs to be updated ASAP as sending this out a multitude of times will increase your likelihood of receiving an interview. Do not get discouraged if your first few interviews do not go as planned as they can be considered practice for other upcoming interviews. If you aren’t sure that your resume looks great, take a look online at a few resume examples for inspiration

Health Problems

Chronic health problems or injuries in the family can change the way the entire family lives. Dealing with injuries or disease can be extremely frustrating alone, but this compounds when you add the responsibilities of being a parent. If you are injured in some type of accident, it is important not to put off physical therapy. Show your children that even though you might be down, you certainly are not out. Toughness is something that many parents do not teach these days, but it is necessary to be a success in life. Constantly complaining about an injury or condition will teach your children that you are powerless against certain situations. Therapy might be needed for your children in these cases though as health problems can impact everyone’s lives.

Relationship Problems

Relationship problems, for the most part, should be kept from the children as it is a form of stress no child should have to deal with. Working on your communication skills can be a great way to show your kids that relationships are work. Healthy relationships do include fighting, but it is best to do this in private. Do not be ashamed if you have to go to family or relationship counseling as this shows you are working your hardest to remedy any problems. Fighting in the family can be very common, so it is important to take the time to try to mend these problems. Far too many families become disjointed due to members not being able to forgive or a grudge being held so long that now it would be uncomfortable to resume a relationship.

Financial Issues

Financial issues can lead to quite a bit of fighting even in the calmest of households. This is not the time to give up but rather the time to show your kids how hard you and your significant other can work. Picking up a second job is not as difficult as many people think it is especially freelancing thriving unlike ever before. A few hours a day of work can make a huge difference in a monthly budget. One job simply is not enough in many circumstances for people to live the lifestyle they desire. Use financial issues as a teaching point in order to teach your children fiscal responsibility. Far too many people are not taught to budget in a correct manner leading to them mismanaging their money.

As you can see these are just a few of the many situations where you can show your children not to give up. Resilience really is just the refusal to quit even though things might not be going well. Instilling this in your children not only will help them for life, but they can also teach these qualities to their friends as well.

By 6 months of age, a baby’s awareness has usually developed enough that he or she starts to notice when people- their parents, in particular- are gone. Once a baby has started to realize this, separation anxiety often starts from. Separation anxiety can appear in the form of clinginess- crying when you leave the room or are out of your baby’s sight. Sometimes, in extreme cases, the anxiety starts once your baby catches wind that you might be preparing to leave.

Typically, this clinginess is a phase. Regardless, however, it can be hard for parents to deal with as they feel guilty for leaving their child in such an upset state. If you’re stuck battling separation anxiety, have no fear! There are tips that you can use to help kick clinginess to the curb, and we’ve made a list of some of the best below.

Stay calm, cool, and collected.

It can be frustrating and stressful to deal with a fit of tears and rage each time you leave the room, go to work, or step away to use the washroom. Staying calm through times like this can be hard to do, but if you can manage it, it will prove to be effective in battling these upsetting episodes.

Keep yourself calm by taking long, deep breaths and by stopping and counting to 10 if you need a few more seconds to calm down. Don’t yell at your child or raise your voice- doing this will only make matters worse and make your child more upset, and in turn, stress you out more.

Reassure your child.

Before you leave, spend a few moments to reassure your child that you’ll be back and that they’ll be okay while you’re gone. Something as simple as saying “I’ll be back soon, I promise” can do wonders to put a child’s mind at ease.

Even if your child is at an age where they don’t understand what you’re saying, your voice can provide comfort and reassurance.

Make separation quick.

Like ripping off a band-aid, the longer you draw out the process of leaving, the more it hurts your child. When you must leave, and your child starts to get worked up, give them a hug and kiss, tell them you love them, and then promptly take your leave. Although the sounds of your child crying will follow you out the door, they’ll recover from the episode more easily because the event was done and over quickly.

If it’s a young baby with this problem, do the same thing as you would with an older child- a quick hug and kiss and then leave without lingering.

Come up with a goodbye routine.

To make goodbyes as easy as possible, come up with a short goodbye ritual. This can include a high five, a hug and kiss, or a rocket ship around the room, as long as it is quick (as mentioned above) and easy enough that you can be consistent with it each time you leave.

The ritual should be simple and fast enough that you can stick to it even when you’re in a rush. Once you come up with a good routine, be sure to stick to it faithfully- both you and your child will benefit from it. Goodbye routines give your child something to expect and make him not surprised when you leave.  

Practice time apart.

Practice having time apart from your child. Send him or her to a playdate, or to grandma and grandpa’s house, or allow a friend or relative to care for your child for a short amount of time so that your child can get used to being without you. It’s a good idea to practice this before your child starts preschool or daycare to avoid problems with dropping them off.

This can be used with babies, as well. Babies get used to being around their parents just as much as older children do, so allowing someone else to take care of them for even an hour can put a bit of healthy distance between the two of you.

Plan for slow introductions.

If you’re in need of a babysitter so that you can have a much-needed date night with your significant other, plan to have the babysitter arrive a few minutes before you need to leave. Spend these extra minutes engaging with both the sitter and your child. Doing this will allow the child to see the babysitter as less of a stranger and help him or her to feel more comfortable.

Your child might still cry when you leave, but they will be less likely to be inconsolable after you’re gone if they know the person they are left with.

Conclusion

Clinginess is babies and young children are nothing to be ashamed of. It’s normal for children to be reluctant to part with their caregivers. Even if your child suffers from this anxiety, using the above tips and tricks can help to ease the discomfort of it and make saying goodbye as simple as saying hello.

Author Bio

Nancy Shaw is the founder of HiFiveBaby where she writes about common problems encountered by parents and how to deal with them, motherhood in general and FAQs about babies, toddlers, and kids. She provides a scientific and medical basis and also her personal experience as a mom to a wonderful toddler. Now you can explore the joy of parenthood with ease!

A Guide for After-School Enrichment Coordinators

It is a great practice to bring wonderful before- and after-school enrichment programs to our children right at our schools. School is the most convenient place for such programs for both children and parents, removing the need for transportation. Many enrichment programs today (whether from third-party providers or from school teachers or parent volunteers) can be extremely fun, creative, inspirational, and eye-opening for kids. For example, we’ve seen programs on robotics, sewing, ceramics, programming, chess, public speaking, cooking, sports, carpentry, and foreign languages. These are precious opportunities for children to be exposed to a wide variety of topics and to learn through fun.

However, managing after-school programs is a complex operation including selecting providers and programs, coordinating with enrichment providers on programs and locations, interacting with parents for registration, managing class volunteers and granting scholarships, maintaining up-to-date rosters to be on top of our children’s whereabouts after school hours, and managing payment to enrichment providers. To significantly reduce this complexity and to contribute to our school communities, 6crickets donates its online enrichment registration and management platform to schools/PTAs, third-party enrichment providers, and parents at no cost (6crickets.com/afterschool). 6crickets has now worked with dozens of schools to manage their after-school enrichment programs and registrations. In this guide, we share with you the collective experience from working with these schools and give enrichment coordinators like you a roadmap and tools that you can leverage to significantly simplify the enrichment management process.

For the rest of this guide, we break down the enrichment management process into seven steps and describe what you need to do for each step in subsequent sections: (1) determine room and time availability for your school’s enrichment classes, (2) select enrichment providers and programs, (3) vet third-party enrichment providers, (4) finalize class details, (5) provide class listing and registration to parents, (6) organize parents volunteers for enrichment classes, (7) manage scholarships.

1. Determine room and time availabilities

First, you need to determine when and where enrichment classes could take place in your school. You will need to discuss with your school’s office managers who may in turn need to discuss with the principals or teachers on which class rooms can be made available for enrichment classes. After this discussion, you should know (1) the maximum number of classes that can be offered at your school, (2) the time period for each class, (3) the maximum number of students allowed for each class. With this information, you can now set off to look for suitable enrichment providers or teacher/parent volunteers to offer the classes.

2. Select enrichment providers and programs

It is often desirable to choose programs that are not taught in a regular school setting. Some key criteria are diversity, novelty, and learning through fun. Popular enrichment topics we have seen include sports, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), board games, foreign languages, and public speaking/drama. Sometimes, school teachers or parent volunteers may want to offer after-school enrichment classes. There are also many third-party enrichment providers near you. Here are some ways for you to gather enrichment provider candidates:

1. Do a Google (or Bing) search as well as Google Maps search on “after school enrichment”. Many choices should show up for your area. When searching on Maps, you can even see some review ratings.

2. Search on Yelp to also get provider ideas along with reviews.

3. You can look up a provider in Facebook to learn more about them including their reviews.

4. You can also outsource this part to 6crickets. 6crickets’s main service is 6crickets.com, a one-stop shop for children’s camps and classes. So, we have worked with hundreds of local providers, many of which have had reviews. 6crickets can help you compile a set of providers for your school based on your interests. For more details, please visit 6crickets.com/afterschool and email support@6crickets.com.

3. Vet third-party providers

It is common for school districts, schools or PTAs to vet a third-party provider candidate. Here is a list of forms that you may consider to ask them to submit to you, your school, or your school district for vetting and approval: state business license, city licenses, general liability insurance, certificate liability insurance for your school (they should be able to easily add a school to their liability insurance for free), each instructor’s driver’s license, state background check, fingerprint, adult sexual misconduct prevention certificate, volunteer agreement for your school, CPR first aid certificate, blood-borne pathogen certificate.

This can be a lot of tedious paper work. Nevertheless, you can leverage 6crickets’ free enrichment management platform to ask a provider to submit their vendor forms at 6crickets and grant you the permission to view and approve the forms online. This way, you can review all the forms of every provider online all on a single web page. No more paper waste and losing track of all this paperwork!

4. Finalize class details

Once you’ve vetted and approved a set of providers or lined up teacher or parent volunteers, you now need to work with them to finalize the class sessions to be offered at your school and assign time, day, and a room location for each session. At the end of this process, for each provider, you will obtain the following information (1) provider name and description (2) for each program this provider offers at your school, you should have program name and description, age or grade range. (3) the provider may offer the program for multiple sessions at different times and rooms; for each session, you should have the room number, days of the week, start and end time, start and end date, the minimum number of students required for the session to take place, and the maximum number of students allowed for the session.

If your school requires parent volunteers for enrichment classes or offers scholarships to low-income families, you will need to communicate your policies and practices with providers as well. Section 6 and 7 below present how you should handle these cases.

Now that you’ve finalized your after-school classes at our school, it is time to let the parents know and register for the classes.

5. Provide class listing and registration to parents

For this critical step, you should keep these important goals in mind for a smooth and efficient operation: (1) All classes should be listed clearly at one place for parents to find and choose. (2) Make it easy for parents to register any classes across different providers with just one registration form. The less paperwork, the more efficient it is for everyone. (3) Make payment distribution to providers as simple as possible to minimize your time spent here. (4) Efficiently maintain an up-to-date roster for all classes across different providers even in the face of cancellations and last minute registrations so that you as enrichment coordinators and school administrators will always know which student goes to which class.

The good news is that you can achieve all of these goals easily with 6crickets’ free, one-stop enrichment online registration platform (6crickets.com/afterschool).

You can email the class information you gathered from Step 4 to 6crickets’ support staff. They will then work with your providers and teacher/parent volunteers to set up their classes and create a one-stop online registration website portal dedicated for your school. You can then include a “Register After School Classes” hyperlink pointing to this portal in your school’s or PTA’s website or in your school’s newsletter to parents.

In more detail, here are the key time-saving features that this service offers:

1. One-stop enrichment online registration portal for the parents of your school: parents can come to a central page to see all the programs offered, free or not, and register for classes with a single login and registration form.

Parents no longer need to worry about scattering their logins and children’s information all over the place, but keep it centrally and safely at 6crickets. (Helen Wang, the founder of 6crickets, is a security and privacy expert and 6crickets gives the state-of-the-art protection for its users’ information.)

When a class fills up, parents will be able to sign up to receive notifications of new spots opening.

If a parent does not have a credit card, (s)he can pay the provider by check and be issued a discount code to register online at the school registration portal. If a parent has no online access, the student can also be added to the class roster online.

2. Automatic, instant payment to providers:When parents pay, 6crickets sends payment to enrichment providers instantly and automatically. So, you no longer need to deal with payment or manual invoicing with enrichment providers.

3. Central roster management: 6crickets offers a central page for enrichment coordinators or school administrators to view all the rosters from different providers in real-time. So, even if there are new last minute enrollment or cancellations, you will always have the up-to-date, accurate roster information for each class from every enrichment provider. The roster contains all the essential information about a student including parents’ contacts, emergency contacts, pick up contacts, medical information, etc. (you can find the registration form at 6crickets.com/kids). When a student needs to cancel a class, providers can issue a refund from their rosters online.

4. Flexible configurations: You can configure registration start and end time, waiver forms, custom questions for parents to answer during checkout.

5. Fund raising: You can configure to collect fees and donations in the enrichment registration process to raise funds for your school or PTA.

6. Live tech support: 6crickets has a full-time support team that can assist you with anything you need along the way. You can either chat with them online during work hours or email them at support@6crickets.com.

This service is part of 6crickets’ donation program to schools and the education community. So, it is completely free for parents, schools/PTAs, and providers. There is a standard credit card fee charged by the credit card payment processing company Stripe (2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction); typically such credit card fees are already included in the class pricing.

6. Organize parent volunteers for enrichment classes

Some schools have required or encouraged parent volunteers to chaperone at each enrichment class. We have seen schools do this in one of two ways.

In the first way, one parent signs up to chaperone every date of a program. This parent gets the class for free or at a highly discounted price for his/her child. In this case, you will send parents an email in advance seeking volunteers. You can then create a discount code at 6crickets for the parent volunteer to use at the checkout. You also need to inform the provider about this practice. Some schools require the provider to shoulder the cost of the volunteer. Other schools pay the remaining cost to the provider for the volunteer’s child. Please inform providers which volunteer will be present at the class.

The second way of organizing parent volunteers is to require every parent with a student in class to chaperone at least one date of the program in order for his/her child to participate.You can configure 6crickets to ask a question during checkout about which date the parent can volunteer and ask him/her to input the date in a parent volunteer Google Sheet collectively maintained by all the parents of the students of the class. Then, you can share the volunteer schedule spreadsheet with the provider. 6crickets Tech Support can easily assist with this process.

7. Manage scholarships

We highly recommend that you provide scholarship support to students from low-income families. Giving these students equal access to wonderful enrichment programming can change their lives. You can raise funds for scholarship purposes through the 6crickets registration process by charging parents fees or collecting donations (see Section 5 above).

To determine which families need help, you can leverage Google Forms to create a scholarship application form and distribute to your families. 6crickets can serve as the intermediary to approve applications based on your criteria so that family financial data is kept private from other school families including enrichment coordinators. 6crickets can then issue discount codes for low income families to register for enrichment classes for free or at a highly discounted rate.

Please be sure to coordinate with enrichment providers about payment for scholarship students and how many spots to allocate for these students in each class. You can open registrations for scholarship students first before announcing registrations to the rest of the families. You will need to send checks to providers to cover scholarships.

Concluding Remarks

You are doing your school’s children a great service by bringing wonderful enrichment programming to your school. The children will be exposed to a wide diversity of topics and learn through fun. It is a complex operation to manage after-school enrichment. Nevertheless, we hope this guide provides a clear roadmap for you. With the right process and the right set of tools, you can bring the best enrichment to your school with ease and at no additional cost.

6crickets’ mission is to bring the best enrichment programs to children through the best tools for parents, providers and schools. You can count on 6crickets to help you manage your school’s enrichment easily. Please email 6crickets’ Tech Support Team with any questions at support@6crickets.com.

The Author’s Biography:

Helen J. Wang Ph.D. is the CEO and cofounder of 6crickets which offers a one-stop shop for children’s camps and classes and supports enrichment providers and schools with free online registration platforms. Helen oversees the company’s strategic directions, product management, sales, marketing, and advanced research. 6crickets.com has supported more than 800 enrichment education businesses and served hundreds of thousands of parents. Prior to creating 6crickets, Helen was a world-renowned computer scientist conducting pioneering research in security, privacy and systems and transferring her inventions into real-world products impacting all Internet users. She published more than sixty research articles and spoke at numerous computer science conferences. She mentored more than thirty Ph.D. candidates for their research or dissertation, many of whom became professors at top universities and key leaders at high-tech companies. Helen received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley in 2001 and her Bachelors from UT Austin in 1994. Helen is the mom of Corlan (born in 2007) and Quincy (born in 2009) who gave her inspiration for her 6crickets endeavor. She is also an active PTA member at her sons’ school.

This article has originally been posted on 6crickets.com.

Featured image copyright: jovannig / 123RF Stock Photo

Image 1  – Source Pixabay

With Easter coming up, once again parents around the globe start thinking about the presents for their little (or not so little) ones. Traditionally, these presents should in some way be Easter-themed, meaning that they contain various types of bunnies, colorful eggs and, most importantly, a basket to put the present in. However, if you want to buy something your child something they’ll really like, use or play with, you might need to take a tiny step away from the tradition. Here are some cool ideas for you.

Coloring books

These are great for any child, no matter how old. This present can actually work even if you have a teenager since they are made to be appropriate for any age, even for adults. They come in every imaginable theme, so you just need to pick one that suits your child’s interests. Add a box of crayons, so that they can start coloring straight away, and there you have it, a cool gift for a cool kid.

Image 2 – Source Pixabay

An interesting toy

Again something that could be given to a child of any age, since we don’t just mean any toy, but the collectible ones. No matter what your kid’s favorite cartoon, TV show, film, or even computer game is, you can find the perfect Pop Vinyl collectible toy for them. You can get an actual figure for your kid, but also a keychain for yourself that matches your kid’s toy.

A backpack

This is another cool idea since your child can take it to school, soccer practice, a picnic or a school field trip. Choose the size that’s right for your child and the color or motifs they like. There are super cool kids’ animal-shaped backpacks, and even some dinosaur-looking ones with spikes, that your kids will love for their fun appearance. Plus, there are super modern anti-theft backpacks with a USB charging port for teenagers, so that they can charge their phones or tablet computers as they go.

Image 3 – Source Pixabay

A DIY kit

Whatever your kid may be interested in, there’s an ideal kit for them somewhere out there. You just need to find it. From making their own jewelry, model planes, cars or buildings to various science kits available, you’re bound to find something that your child will love. Bird watching kits, playdough kits, or even spy and detective kits, there’s no limit to what you can get nowadays. And let’s not forget the various Easter egg paint sets. So, inspire creativity in your child with this cool gift idea, they’ll be grateful.

A book

Some kids might say that this isn’t a very cool gift, but that’s not really true. It all comes down to picking the right book. So, if your child hasn’t read any of the Harry Potter books, now’s the time. Another good option is Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children trilogy. If not one of these, find out what your kid enjoys reading and go for that. There are the great detective and mystery novels for children and young adults, so learn what children are into these days and buy a cool book to get your child reading with pleasure.

Image 4 – Source Pixabay

A board game

Here’s a gift that can be a lot of fun for the whole family. There are many board games to choose from. Some of them are strategy games, others are educational, but whichever you opt for, you’ll encourage your kid to spend more time playing with their siblings and other kids. From classic games like Scrabble, Monopoly, and Risk, to some more modern ones, like Carcassonne, or even A Game of Thrones, you’ll find one suitable for your kid. Besides, if you don’t like any of these, you can always buy Uno cards or other card games, like Saboteur.

Anything with bunnies

Let’s not skip the obvious. Whatever you find that has a bunny on it, it’s good for your kid’s Easter basket. From lovely bunny mugs, various pouches and purses, to shirts and pajamas with bunnies, there’s no going wrong here. And if your kid loves playing, there are cute plush bunnies and bunny-shaped stacked toys you can get them.

So, find a lovely Easter basket and fill it with joy for your kid. Basically, you can buy almost anything if you put it in an Easter basket, throw in some candy eggs and a chocolate bunny or two. You just need to know what your child preferences are and you’re all set.

If you are expecting or preparing for twins, you may already know that the stuff that you may need will be different than what you would purchase for a single child.

For moms of multiple soon-to-be children, preparing for some essential products is significant. The items below might be the most useful accessories for twins, and will surely make your life as a mom as well as a dad a bit easier.

Double Frame Strollers

Frame strollers are essential for the first year, and it is lightweight and easy to manage. But for your twins, a double stroller may suit perfectly. If you want to go outside for grocery or exercise with your newborn, you will naturally need one car seat for each.

Double frame stroller lets you carry your twins with ease. These strollers come with an umbrella or peekaboo windows. Before purchasing, check first its size, adjustments and other features for your comfort. Some of its features may include non-flat tires, removable car seats, or quick fold systems.

Two Bouncy Chairs

Bouncy chairs can be a lifesaver for parents who need to get the chores done around the house. Babies will love the calming feeling of the bouncy chair and will make your babies satisfied with enough time. Ensure that you get two bouncy chairs, arrange them up the angle where twins can see each other, and don’t forget to keep your sight in them too.

Twin Carrier

Twin carrier is another invention dedicated to the mom of twins, which lets you carry two children together and designed to minimize discomfort while carrying in back and front position.

Some carriers can easily disconnect into separate carriers for situations when each parent wants to bring a twin on their own. Make sure to choose a carrier with pockets that are spacious enough to suit their diapers and other essentials.

Table for Two Feeding Pillow

Table for two feeding pillows might also be a lifesaver for parents of twins. This durable and secured twin feeder will save your time, energy, and makes every mealtime more convenient for you and your twins.

Say goodbye to struggles on how to position your twins when bottle-feeding them. These baby accessories usually come with a safety harness to hold your infants in place securely, and armrests to prevent strain from your arms, neck, and back when feeding your twins.

Comfortable Swaddles

Swaddling is a way of comfortably wrapping your baby in a blanket for security and warmth. It keeps your babies from other disturbance such as their startle reflex, helps your babies stay toasty and warm and even helps to calm your babies.

In preparing a swaddle, make sure to know how to perform it correctly. Wrapping your babies tightly or doing other improper swaddling strategies may cause damage to joints and soft cartilage of your infant’s hip sockets.

Crib for Twins

Traditional and most common cribs are usually measured around 52 by 28 inches, which can accommodate your twins for the first few months. But some parents might want to separate their twins to different cribs from the beginning.

However, if you want to put your twins in one crib, make sure not to lose your sight from them. When your twins start rolling over a lot and often kicking each other, you can put a separator between your twins, to avoid chances of injury for both of them.

If you think that you should not separate your twins, consider those cribs specially created for twins, though this crib may be hard to find.

Takeaway

Having twin children can be a combination of both fun and challenging work. If you are a soon-to-be parent of twins, prepare all the things and stuff you will need to raise your children comfortably. A lot of accessories are available online on sites such as Deal Wiki where they offer a lot of toys and other accessories.

The female fight for emancipation and equal employment rights has brought on many great things that our generations are deeply grateful for, but it has pushed new issues to the fore. As everything in life is about balance, women today (seems like more than ever) are struggling to balance their much desired successful careers and motherhood.

It’s a sad and slightly disturbing fact that in these modern times having a child can be a real career killer and over two thirds of employed women claim that having children hindered their career progress and that after returning to work, they were deemed “less employable”, or even felt their job was under threat.

For many families, being a stay-at-home mom simply isn’t feasible. There has been an enormous rise in “maternal breadwinning” as families today struggle to survive on a single income. However, women can only be competitive as well as productive and successful if they can have proper and reliable childcare in place.

Parental guilt 101

One of the biggest challenges that parents face when deciding to put their child into care is guilt. Naturally, there is the worry about whether you made the best choice regarding the care center and the fact that you will be separated from your child for a longer period of time. In addition, lots of mothers also feel guilty about putting their own professional ambitions before their child. However, this is all normal and just indicative of your deep emotional attachment and responsibility towards your child.

Handling that guilt is what will help you and your child successfully adapt to the change. You as a mother, need to learn to be happy and at peace with the choices you make and focus more on the positive outcomes: your child will be well taken care of and have many opportunities to learn and develop, and you will be able to focus more on your professional fulfillment.

If the mother guilt still continues, try to focus on the positive aspects and do your best to be proactive in the time that you do have to spend with your child, such as the weekends when you can ease up on the chores and do things with your child that you all love. Alternatively, create a more flexible working schedule and pick your child up earlier if possible and spend quality time together.

Source: Pixabay

Finding high-quality child care

Dealing with parental guilt is not an easy task, but child care centres take pride in the fact that they are able to create an environment that is nurturing to a child’s physical, emotional and intellectual growth, so leaving your child in such a place should be considered a positive choice, not a source of worry and guilt.

Finding a reliable and high-quality care center gives your child an opportunity to grow and thrive. Therefore, your final choice should be a facility that offers excellent programmes and activities, such as enrolling your child in Young Explorers Early Learning Centre. In this way, you’ll be able to take a sigh of relief knowing your child is in the right place.

Understandably, all this comes with a price. Besides the mortgage that most people pay first each month, child care payments come second on the list. If the price is too high, it means you’ll be forced to stay at home.

Losing affordable and reliable childcare is a loss in all aspects of life: you are denied the opportunity to finish your education, get a degree and work, your child misses out on the chance to develop in a stimulating environment, and if you’re in a two-income household, you may have to give up on one in order for one of you to stay at home and take care of the kids.

Source: Pixabay

The benefits

The benefits of investing in children and women go far beyond just societal benefits. When you take into consideration the possible future costs of crime, unemployment and poor health to the society, initial costs of child care per each child give a clear return on investment of about eight dollars.

In addition, studies show multiple benefits from having access to affordable child care: kids in high-quality programmes stayed in education longer and had better health and a slightly longer lifespan.

Benefits are even more obvious in poor families where high-quality child care programmes help both the children and mothers lead more successful and fulfilled lives. They all become active participants and contributors to the society, are more educated and have better skills, so what we can see here is a promotion of mobility across generations.

The time has definitely come to remove the negative connotations from the phrase “working mom”. We need to join forces and, as a society, find the best way to help them out. The corporate world needs to implement better and clearer maternity policies, with well-thought-out plans for returning to work, and society itself needs to stop frowning at people’s different choices when it comes to raising children. The most practical solution is to invest wisely into good quality early child care, affordable for all. It may be costly initially, but the long-term benefits to the overall well-being of the whole society will outweigh the short-term hits to the budget.

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