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Posts Tagged ‘kids’

We have all come to know that the world we live in is a dangerous place. It doe not have to be that way, but for some reason human beings in our modern societies cannot, or will not, learn to live with each other in peace and harmony. Murder, kidnappings, rape, and a host of other problems occur on a daily basis, touching lives irregardless of race, gender, or location. It does not happen to many people, but those who have to live with the aftermath of these terrible crimes suffer greatly.

The absolute worst is out there in people and we need to find ways to minimize the risk of such terrible and unthinkable things happening to us or to the people that we love. Deploy a kids gps device is one such way that we take back some of the safe feeling that has been taken from us by the evil that we know lurks in our cities. We want our children to be safe and sound, free to grow up a normal life in this world.

GPS cannot do it all alone, but it does have some useful features that can really assist a parent in helping their child navigate their environment with safety and ease. Because most child GPS device have many of the normal GPS features – the ability to calculate, track, and log position, direction, and speed information – they are great for helping a child see exactly where they are (if they have that feature enabled, like a few cell phone do).

In addition to these regular features, these devices also transmit this information to a central location where that information is processed and made available to you, the parent.

If a child is late in getting home all you need to do is run over to the computer to put to rest any fear that the child has become the victim of some deranged lunatic bent on the destruction of the life that is most precious to you. You will be able to clearly see that they are on their way home, walking at 2 mph and will be home in about 10 minutes because they are at the corner of Jefferson and Pine, just a few blocks away. If you were particularly interested in seeing your child you could even go out and meet them.

Now imagine the situation where you do find out the worst. Your child is late and you check in on your tracking information that is easily accessible on the internet. Your child is 5 miles from home at 1345 Conner Road and the signal is noticeably moving on your screen. You do a quick check of your child’s friends and see that no one you know lives there. You call your child’s cell and no one answers. In less than two minutes you are out the door with your web-enabled cell phone in hand on a B-line to 1345 Conner Road.

Your children are one of the most important things in the world, shouldn’t they be protected like there are?

Whatever your mode of travel, there will be special challenges if you take the kids along. The key to sanity is some careful planning – and a calm, unruffled approach.

Where Should we Stay?

If you are planning at stay at a bed and breakfast, do some research. Many bed and breakfasts are not suitable for children. However, you may be able to find a ‘farmstay’ – a bed and breakfast on a farm that allows your kids to interact with the animals. This can be an unequalled family experience – especially for city dwellers.

Staying in a hotel? Do they provide extra cots and/or cribs for children? Do they have a restaurant with a kids’ menu? Is there a playroom or playground on the premises? Are there children’s activities nearby?

What Should I Pack?

Use common sense. Every family is different. Check the following list and pack what is appropriate for your household:

Small first aid kit
Liquid anti-nausea medication
Liquid Tylenol
Individual-sized tissues
Moistened hand-wipes in individual packs
Paper towels
Photos of the kids and important details regarding medications
Telephone numbers of doctors (at home and at your destination)
Copies of passports, birth certificates, custody documentation
Decks of cards, favorite toys, children’s books
Coloring books, crayons, mechanical pencils, paper
Crossword puzzle books, erasable pens, highlighters
Windbreakers, slickers, umbrellas
Sunglasses, hats, sunscreen
Plastic bags from grocery store checkout (for storage and cleanup)

(Check with your airline first to see if liquid or gel-based items are allowed in carry-on luggage.)

Diaper Disposal

There are scented disposal bags available – or you might want to pack some small zip-lock bags. Plastic grocery bags or newspaper bags can also be used. The solid matter should be disposed of down the toilet. Next, roll the diaper up with the soiled area facing inwards so that you have a compact bundle with the plastic on the outside. Place the diaper in the zip-lock bag, seal most of the way, then press out as much air as possible while you complete the seal. Discard in a bathroom garbage container or outside garbage bin.

If you are outdoors and there are no outhouse or bathroom facilities nearby, you should carry the entire diaper contents with you, disposing of appropriately when you find a garbage bin or bathroom. DO NOT leave diapers or diaper contents behind. Besides polluting the environment, some animals are attracted to human waste. Protect the environment even more by making sure that you purchase biodegradable diapers (or switch to cloth).

If you must carry soiled diapers along with you for any length of time, you might want to consider packing a few deodorant disks or a baking-soda based scented deodorizer.

Snacks

If your children are finicky eaters, chances are you will encounter problems with airline and restaurant meals. Pack a few nutritious snacks. Snacks may include fresh fruit, granola bars, individual-size cereal boxes, cheese and crackers, raisins, unsalted peanuts – or snack-size containers of applesauce, puddings, and fruit cocktail.

Boredom

Boredom is always going to be a problem. Even a half-hour trip seems like a long time to a young child. The easiest and most accessible boredom solution is YOU. Use the time to interact with your kids. Ask them questions. Get them to tell you stories if they are old enough. You can keep young children entertained by telling them stories – complete with sound effects of animal noises, whistles, and whatever else you can invent.

Play guessing games like ‘I Spy’ with older kids, or get them involved in some children’s cards games. Although games like ‘Go Fish’ can be played with a regular deck of cards, there are many games with special, brightly-colored decks made just for children. Do an internet search for ‘card games for kids’ and you’ll find plenty of resources.

Inactivity

Sitting still for long periods of time is not a natural activity for children. If you’re on a plane, train, or bus, get up and take a walk down the aisle once every hour. When travelling by car, find an appropriate pullout and play frisbee or go for a short walk.

Relax – Lighten Up – Unwind

Treat every family trip as an opportunity to connect with your children. Relax, enjoy their unique personalities, and enjoy yourself!

©Copyright Kathy Steinemann: This article is free to publish only if this copyright notice, the byline, and the author’s note below (with active links) are included.

I’m sure you’re ready to find some money making ideas for kids! I mean they are already experts as spending money! But what if there were some ways kids could make money online? Wouldn’t that be great? Of course it depends on a child’s age and maturity level, but the rest depends only on your imagination.

First, let’s say your child is into video games, movies, books, sports, homework (just seeing if you were paying attention!), or whatever they are into. They are extremely knowledgeable about that subject. They could set up a free blog site and begin making comments daily about their interests. As they begin to get links, ranking and ultimately traffic, they could monetize this site with ads or a merchant’s product. This way they are getting paid for referring the customer to the merchant.

Second, many people grow tired of performing routine tasks related to their internet experience. For example, professional marketers will pay around $1 each for setting up accounts for them with various sites. So if a kid could sign up 25 times a day or week, that would be a $25 pay check! Also, writing articles, keyword research, link building, and content are all examples of services being utilized everyday online (and easy money making ideas for kids).

Third, have you ever seen an ad for paid surveys? Of course, some of these are scams, but not all. In fact, some legitimate paid surveys pay pretty well. So imagine if your child was able to complete a handful of surveys each day, without giving up study and family time. Wouldn’t that be great – instant allowance!

The main point is to have your child become active in something they enjoy already. Once they begin to earn even the smallest amount of money, it will become real to them. They can begin to take pride in their job, and learn to budget their earnings.

The most important consideration, of course, is your child’s safety. Their maturity and skill level will dictate their comfort zone. This should be fun, and something the entire family can work on together. These are just a few money making ideas for kids, by talking to your kids, see what others you can discover!

Here’s five ways kids can make money online starting right away. And there’s a big secret – you can too! I never could keep a secret! So don’t worry kids, we’re not talking about raking leaves, mowing yards or shoveling snow! We’re talking about having fun and learning how to make money online.

The first two ways deal with affiliate marketing. Simply put, it’s a way to refer sales to a merchant, via your internet link, and get paid a commission from the merchant. Cool? So here goes:

Five Ways Kids Can Make Money Online

1. Blog about things they like (or dislike). By posting daily, fresh, original content on their blog, the search engines will notice. With a little promotion of their blog, they will get traffic. In addition to providing content to their visitors, they may provide links to various products and services related to their site. When a visitor purchases the goods or services, the “kid” gets a commission. This is very popular and addicting for teens especially.
2. Actively post in a Forum related to their site. In nearly every forum a space is provided for their “signature”. This bit of text they add appears underneath every post they make. So by incorporating their “affiliate link” in their signature, another avenue is opened. If a forum visitor is engaged by your post, reads your signature containing your link, clicks through and purchases, again, another commission.
3. Make money selling items on eBay. With their expertise on certain subjects and related items, they are instant experts in many subjects. Things like video games, computers, movies, music, (and for me cell phones) are commonplace to most kids today. Let them use that expertise to find bargains, or promote the sell of these items.
4. Complete legitimate paid surveys. There are a lot of paid survey scams out there for sure, but there are also some legitimate companies who pay rather well for completed surveys. This is one of the traditional ways kids can make money online, and as a result, has many scammers. It’s important to know where to look on this one.
5. Sell their skills and services online. This is the easiest and yet most overlooked. There are thousands of people out there publishing online content. They don’t have time for routine, mundane tasks like setting up email accounts, researching key words, or forum posting. These services are paid for every day. So if a kid could perform these tasks, they could get paid every day as well.

Obviously, it’s very important to consider the age, maturity and skills of a child. As you well know, no two are alike! Safety is the first priority. Not only is this an opportunity to teach your child about responsibility and money management, but a way to work on something together! These are just 5 ways kids can make money online, but don’t forget the secret. You can too!

There are many methods to spy on your child’s Internet usage. Read on for one easy option that is free and produces immediate results.

The Issue

Today’s parents have to be vigilant about knowing what their children are doing online. There are many methods to prevent their children from viewing undesirable websites when they are online. Each way has its strengths and weaknesses, but one method stands out above all the rest for maximum effectiveness.

For adults who throw up their hands and say it is too hard to keep track of what their children are doing when they are connected to the Internet, I have a comparison that they should pay attention to Would they have a similar reaction if the discussion was about playing with matches on the parlor floor? Why then is the discussion of computer usage any different?

Age Warning Pages

Age warning pages or minimum age verification check boxes on websites cover the webmaster from a legal standpoint for trying to keep out those who are not old enough to view the content. Of course, from a teen’s viewpoint, those measures only serve to make the website more interesting and they no doubt check off the age box in whatever way will let them into the site.

Help At The ISP Level

Well-known search engines and some ISP’s have “parental locks” just like the V-Chip on televisions. The purpose of these is to block access to sites that have objectionable content. You can modify search engine home pages to only show results of an acceptable nature. There are usually levels of “safety” that parents can set.

Parents also spend lots of money on Internetfiltering programs such as Norton Internet Security, K9 Web Protection, CyberSitter, and other similar products. While they are probably reasonably effective, computer filtering programs has its quirks too. The usual example is that the filters block viewing of medical or medical related information such as thoat belonging to various breast cancer foundations because those sites refer to body parts.

Getting More High-Tech

Stepping it up a bit technology wise, there are software solutions called keyloggers. Keyloggers save to memory what has been typed on a keyboard and can retrieve that information. Essentially, they are allowing parents} to learn what has been typed on a keyboard long after the typing is done. Also be aware that there are programs that can record everything that has taken place on a particularcomputer including, chat discussions, e-mail messages, e-mails, email conversations sent and received, pictures viewed, and websites visited. Some programs even allow you to put in place a system to alert when a violation has occurred such as a kid visiting a websites that a parent or guardian has instructed is off limits.

Any or all of the above methods may contribute to a parent’s overall plan to protect his or her children from the threats of the modern online world, but there is still one more idea that every parent should put into use immediately.

The Ultimate Solution

The most efficient solution is also the most obvious one, which means that is easily overlooked. It can be stated in one sentence; it promotes family unity and it’s free. Ready? Put the PC right in the middle of the living room!

Do you need a minute to get over the shock of this suggestion? I warned you that the brilliance would be in the simplicity. I’m sure you can imagine the look of horror on your son’s face and the screams of complaint from your daughter that you are ruining her life and totally invading her privacy with this act of parental treason. You will have to deal with the arguments that your children’s friend’s parents let them have their computers in their own rooms.

Appropriate parenting skills should never be based on the neighbors and their parenting style unless they are exemplary role models as parents. If that describes your situation, I can practically guarantee that your their children will never beg you to copy their parenting techniques.

Parents, stay strong and don’t be afraid to get that computer front and center in the parlor immediately and you will never again have to wonder what your kids post on their facebook profiles and with whom they are chatting in chatrooms.

There are plenty of kids toys are available on the market. No matter which age group you are buying for, there are endless toy options for all age groups. The key is to find a safe, affordable and good quality toy. Quality is vital when buying toys like metal trucks, which last years and are normally past down through the generations. On the other hand if you buy a plastic truck it may only last for a year, if you’re lucky! It’s important you purchase quality and safe toys from reputable retailers like Zsuaro, that have become a trusted retailer over the years.

Consumers have the right to demand excellence from toy manufacturers. Choosing a good quality product must be your priority. When choosing kids toys also consider buying a toy that can help your childs mind grow and develop. Toys like blocks, crafts, art supplies and puzzles etc will assist in the mental development of your childs mind.

Safety is one more factor you should consider when purchasing toys. Use the internet to search for toys and see feedback from other parents on forums and message boards. The internet is a quick way to find positive or negative feedback, but make sure the feedback is “independent” and not from a toy manufacturer or supplier. Plus always look at the sharp edges on toys as they may cause harm to your children.

You should choose a toy with respect to your children’s age and interests. Better to buy a toy that can introduce new skills to your child, these toys may not necessarily be educational. It’s a good idea to purchase a toy which can impart fun as well as can teach your child new skills.

You can find an excellent range of toys on internet that are safe and educational. www.zsuaro.com

The growing popularity of ATVs for kids

Many years ago, when ATVs had only 3 wheels instead of 4, many parents were quite reluctant to let their kids ride on them. But now with 4 wheels and the ever-growing popularity of ATVs, especially among the kids and youths, the ATV manufacturers and dealers have also begun to cater to the demand of ATVs for kids. The ATV market is not just catering to the needs of adult ATV riders anymore, but the needs of the younger ATV riders too. Key in the words “ATV for kids” on the search engines on the internet and you will see lots of websites with news, updates, reviews and ATV models for kids. ATVs these days are no longer dominated by the big boys – they now have to share their ATV passion with the kids too!

If you are an ardent fan of ATV riding, you would know that due to safety reasons, it is not a good idea to let your kids ride on an adult ATV, let alone allow them to sit on it with you while you are riding on it. Therefore, if your kids also want to join in the fun of ATV riding with you, you would be doing them a great favor if you got them their own ATVs instead. Looking for a kids ATV is an easier mission these days. All you need to do is to surf the net and check out the websites designated for kids ATVs and voila! – you would be able to find one that meets your child’s needs. One of such websites that you can visit is www.kidatv.com

Getting your kid his or her very own ATV also teaches them to be responsible, as the first lesson that they will learn is that an ATV is not a toy but a machine. They will have to learn how to handle the machine properly so that they don’t get hurt while riding on one. Another lesson that your kids will learn about ATV is how to care for and maintain it so that the machine will last longer. In fact, we believe that kids who love ATV riding take great pride in their own machines and will always make sure that their machines are properly cared for. They will even wash, scrub and polish their ATVs without you having to tell them to!

ATV riding for kids is also a great way for them to get out in the sun and play. Kids today are not spending enough time outside and are always cooped up at home watching television, playing video games or surfing the internet. It’s not that any of these activities are bad for them, but it would be if they spend too much time inside of their home and not getting out of the house for some fresh air. Did you know that ATV riding is also a great way for your kids to burn the calories in their bodies, especially if they are big eaters? Going out and riding on their ATVs will also give the kids an opportunity to appreciate Mother Nature too.

Besides, with their own ATVs, you can have a peace of mind knowing that your kids will never try to sneak out and ride on an adult ATV. Moreover, you can also plan for an ATV riding vacation (maybe once or twice a year) with the whole family and it would be a great time for family bonding – especially in today’s world where families are falling apart.

Buying ATVs for kids these days are comparatively affordable – unlike the prices of kids ATVs in the earlier days of the ATV market. Now you can also get a kids ATV for less than $1,500. Wouldn’t you agree that this is a small price to pay for the benefits that you will get out of ATV riding for the kids?

Kids are curious by nature, and get very excited to learn about those things that are not apparent, and that they are not able to see. When you ask them what stories they want to listen to, the most common answer would be that they would like to listen to stories of wild animals or some dangerous and exciting stories. Kids have their own world of imagination, and they are excited to add more knowledge to that. Children have the general tendency of sharing information with friends, and as soon as they gather some, they would like to share immediately. So, if you are thinking of teaching your kid about wild animals you better start with the stories about wild animals that will arouse their interests. They would become engrossed and would like to know more about the lions, tigers, wolves etc, after listening to such stories.

The next step that you need to take is show them pictures in books or on the internet and make your kids identify the animals with their names. You have all the information on the internet so show your kids, the origin of animals, their eating habits, behavior, likes and dislikes etc. You will see that your child is getting interested in the topic and then you can also tell your kids how these wild animals such as lions, tigers, wolves, etc are facing dangers these days, in this modern world.

One thing that you need to keep in mind is the age of your child. Your child should be old enough to grasp such things that your telling them. A smaller child might not be able to associate with such things and land up getting scared rather than interested. Thus you’ll end up doing more harm than good.

It is always better to educate your child with pictures or with information gathered from the internet or magazines. Show them everything and explain it directly on the computer or books, so that they believe what they see. Children like to see pictures as it makes what your telling them all the more interesting. Explain to your kids all the information and patiently answer any questions that they may have. For sure they’ll have plenty!

If you can manage, take your kid to a trip to any national park and learn about the safety tips before entering. This you can do if your child is big enough and will understand and cooperate with you to look out for wild animals. In fact even a zoo is a good idea to look at wild animals. The zoo probably is a safer bet, as the animals are confined to their cages or spaces and children feel more sage. If your kids are old enough to understand the effects of the modern world on lions, tigers and other wild animals, then you can explain that to them as well.

Teaching kids about wild animals can be fun and interesting, you can also explain to them the difference between a wild animal and a pet, that you keep at home.

All of us want to become good parents for our kids. Spending quality time with your kids is very essential in order to come close to your kids. In fact it is the best gift you can give to your child. Yet, it is easy to spend time with the grown up kids. We often keep wandering as to what activities do we do with them.

Surprisingly, we often underestimate our kid’s abilities. Teach them some fun craft activities and help them carry on the same. You can look for many free and easy Halloween crafts that your little one would love to work on with you.

Internet is a hub for several ideas. Once you have the ideas and tips and tricks, you can use your innovative skills to make the ideas even more interesting. Creativity and imagination is the key to make your decorations as exclusive and attractive and spooky as you wish to.

Here are some interesting ideas to try out:

1. Halloween Ornaments with Fun Foam

Fun foam is among the essential craft items especially among the kids. This Halloween collect some chunks of fun foam typically in the Halloween shades that are black, orange, green and white. Now, draw some ovals and circles on the fun foam. With safety scissors let your child brush his or her craft & cutting skills. Make them cut out these shapes out of the fun foam. Mean while, you go ahead cutting shapes from the remaining pieces of fun foam. You might opt to work on interesting patterns like witches, scary cats, bats, ghosts, and many more. These shapes can easily be found on the internet. Now stick on these varied shapes on the ovals & circles you ha cut earlier. Finally, punch a hole on the top. Put a string in this hole and hang your child’s Halloween ornaments where ever you wish in the house!

2. Scary Pumpkin Windows

Get square pieces of orange construction sheets. Now let the kids draw some scary pumpkin faces on them. Further cut out these faces. Let the paper be square because as you may want to decorate the windows with this. Tape this to your windows and illuminate from behind using a lamp. Enjoy the sight of scary windows, the Halloween way!

3. Spooky Bushes

In case you have bushes around the house, try placing this cute little ghost out there. Fold a white bed sheet in to half. In between the fold, place some newspapers. Using black craft paint or black permanent markers, draw a spooky ghost face on this sheet in the front of the sheet. You can opt to make a funny, scary or whimsical face, the choice is completely yours! Now drape this sheet over the bushes. Pin it using clothes pins. This would make it tight enough. Now there is your ghost sitting in the bushes.

4. Halloween Candles

This craft requires varied materials like fruit gummies, candied corn, sequins and beads. Using the traditional white school glue, stick on these trinkets or any others that you wish to use; in order to decorate black and other dark colored candles. Use these to decorate the house for Halloween!

While these are just a few ideas, free and easy toddler Halloween crafts are very commonly found on the internet. Now-a-days there are several web sites focusing on these crafts. These are easy and fun activities for kids of all ages. These fun projects are simple and memorable activities to carry on with your kids. Try these and gift your child moments for life!

What? Ways for kids to make money? Aren’t they supposed to only spend money? Oh no, you can turn the tables in your favor! There’s several ways for kids to make money, but of course, you have to consider the age of the kid. Obviously, the older the child, the more opportunity they will have.

How much time do your children spend online? A lot? Well, what if they were actually making a little money while they were surfing the net? How would that be? Traditionally, kids started out raking leaves, shoveling snow or running a paper route. Then they would graduate to working in fast food, or a grocery store. That’s still totally cool, but not all that exciting for the kids themselves.

Ever hear of internet marketing? If a child can write proficiently, there are lots of ways for kids to make money online. Maybe they could write articles for people or create short reports on a subject such as video games (which most of us have no idea about!). Another cool way for kids to make some money with internet marketing is providing routine, boring services for marketers. Services like setting up social bookmarking accounts, etc. Marketers are happy to pay for this mundane work, usually about $1 per account. So, 25 accounts in one day = $25. Not bad for a kid having some fun on the internet.

Another cool idea is having kids complete online surveys for money. This keeps them interested as they are aware of their earnings with every completed submission. Or what about online auctions such as eBay? Kids are very experts on trading cards, cartoon characters, movies, video games, etc. Put that knowledge to use! Maybe they can eagerly search out an opportunity, where you or I would simply overlook.

A word of caution, you will want to make sure to monitor and restrict access to certain sites to protect a child. You never want their safety to be compromised. Again, all of this depends on the maturity level of a child. Maturity, keyboarding skills and grammar, of course, play a big role in what they are qualified to do.

Really, you are only limited by your imagination when it comes to finding ways for kids to make money online.