Kids Make It Better

A few days ago I was introduced to the cutest children's book. It's called "Kids Make It Better" by Suzy Becker. You know how kids say the darnest things? Well, just imagine what answers you'd get when you ask them to solve world problems like pollution, war, homeless people and animals, the hole in the ozone, bad economic times, prejudice etc.... I'm sure we adults will never in a million years come up with an answer like "put chocolate milk in the water fountains" when asked what we could do to improve our school. My favorite was the answer to water pollution: "Have scientists make fish that love to eat tons of pollution." And you know what, there really is such a thing.

There are many problems in the world today. I believe our children should know about it. After all, it affects them too. I am definitely going to include this book into my kids' homeschooling. The words are simple and it has appealing whimsical full-color drawings. The best part is, it is not a book that you passively read. It's more like a journal. The reader is presented with two pages of fill-ins, prompts, and a space to draw his or her own ideas. I wonder what solutions my kids will come up with? What would they say would mend a broken heart and how would they stop nail biting?

When it comes to children, you think you will get crazy answers, but many times they surprise you with very wise answers. And there are cases where kids have made a difference in the world. The book gives some examples of such kids. Like the book says "Yes, Kids Can!"

If you're looking for a project your children can work on (especially for summer vacation), this is a good one. Click on the affiliate link below to get your copy today.

Kids Make It Better: A Write-in, Draw-in Journal

Mommy Burnout

It's the school holidays and that means life gets a little crazier for moms. As it is, my kids have been at each others throats since yesterday. Thanks goodness my mom suggested we take a 1-day holiday to Port Dickson. We will be leaving tomorrow. Let them dispense some of the extra energy at the beach.
Anyway, I know mommy burnouts are common. If you are looking for a way to survive your mommy burnouts, check out this guide. Click on the picture below:



Retail price: USD9.00
Buy this and you also get access to ALL of the Mom's Talk eBooks Family, Food & Parenting Resources:

1. Guide To Stress Free Holiday Entertaining
2. Guide To Freezing It and Loving It
3. Guide To Organizing Your Life
4. Guide To Stopping Bedwetting
5. Guide To Raising Healthy Kids
6. Guide To Stress Free Easter Holiday
7. Guide To Family Budgeting
   

Eat This Not That! for Kids!

Every kid loves junk food and every mother wishes their children will eat healthier meals. Well, this book by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding is a favorite for many and has made Amazon's best seller's list. It guides parents to make better food choices whether eating in a restaurant, at home or at school. It also touches on holiday meals and vending machine snackes. I'm sure you'll appreciate the kid-friendly snacks they share. Reading the detailed analysis and nutrition tips on many of our children's favorite food choices, your eyes will be opened to which food is helping them and which food is harming them with hidden fat, calories and other nasty stuff. For example, did you know organic "health food" cereal has as much sugar as a soda? I bet that never crossed your mind coz' when most people see the word "organic" and "health food", we automatically think its good.

You'll find this book fun to read with great illustrations. Even your children can go through the book and decide which foods they want to swap for a better alternative.

Click here to get a copy today:
Eat This Not That! for Kids!: Be the Leanest, Fittest Family on the Block!

Talking about eating healthy, I've found my secret to getting my children to eating vegetables voluntarily. And... I'm talking about raw vegetables too. I say "my" secret coz' I don't know if it'll work for you. What's the secret?......... jeng, jeng, jeng, jeng...... Vietnam Rolls.

Take a look:

Diced tomatoes, mango strips, cucumber strips, shredded carrots, scrambled eggs and pork strips. The pork was cooked with garlic, light soy sauce, little bit of dark soy sauce for color, honey and black pepper. Don't add water, just stir fry on low fire so you don't burn the honey. Oh, add a little corn starch towards the end to make the meat smooth. (For beginners, add water to cornstarch before putting it in the wok.) If you don't eat pork, I'm sure you can substitute with other kinds of meat. You can even go meatless and be 100% vege.

Butterhead lettuce.

Get some vietnamese rice paper and soak it till soft. Lay down the butterhead lettuce and then pile on all the other stuff. Add mayonaisse (or not). Wrap it up like a poh pia or burrito.

If you don't like the rice paper wrap, just use the vege to hold the other stuff. That's what I do. I think it tastes better without the wrap. But of course, it's more difficult to hold everything together. My kids love this. They would never eat the tomatoes, carrots, cucumber or green vege by itself, but they love the combination.

It's easy preparation and a good break from eating rice everyday :) I love how the mango gives it a bit of tangy/sweet taste. This may not be the exact way to make vietnamese rolls but this is how I saw my friend make it and it works well for me. Give it a try and let me know if this "secret" works to get your children eating vegetables too.

Book Review: Growing Up Green

I've just finished reading GROWING UP GREEN: Baby and Child Care by Deirdre Imus. And I must say, it is a real eye opener for me.

What is the book about?
Basically, it is a practical guide to raising a healthy child in our increasingly toxic environment. The book highlights the many ways we are being exposed to this environmental toxins and it's effects on our children. Some of the issues mentioned are:

• unhealthy diets and contaminated food such as fast food diets, mercury in fish and pesticides on vegetables
• toxic household cleaners
• toxic personal care products such as cosmetics
• dangerous substances in dairy products
• how to choose environmentally safe toys and baby products
• Debate on vaccination - life saver or cause for other problems such as autism
• Alternatives to prescription drugs for children
• How a school environment can be toxic too

As the book takes you through specific issues faced by children during different age groups, they also list out the specific toxic ingredients you need to look out for. At the end of the book are suggestions on what kind of healthy foods to store as well as healthy meal recipes. There's also a collection of recommended reading, web product guide and studies on children's health.

My Review
This book is not just for people who are already parents, but also for those who are planning to be parents one day. Working towards raising a healthy child starts even before conception. We cannot deny that our toxic environment has something to do with the rise in the number of children having asthma, premature birth, birth defects, heart disease, leukemia, diabetes, autism, dyslexia, mental retardation, ADHD and obesity.

Reading this book, you can hear Dierdre's urgency for us to play a bigger role in detoxifying our lives. She cites many statistics, research reports and doctor's opinions. You can see she has done her homework on this matter.

The book is not about treating childhood illnesses but rather about prevention.

What I like about the book is how she specifically tells what options you have. So, the message is not just "stay away from this stuff" but also "use this instead." She specifically tells you what product you can use and where to find them. Plus, many of the recommendation stems from her own personal use. Unfortunately some of the online references provided are not working.

So, what impact did this book have on me?
Well, the next time I washed my hair I quickly scanned through the ingredients of my shampoo and conditioner. ACK! My Sunsilk conditioner actually has formaldehyde. It's a carcinogen in humans. Some of the things written in the book I already knew or heard before such as don't reuse water mineral bottles and don't use plastic containers and plastic wrap when microwaving food. However, this book just made me aware that there's a whole lot more to consider. Okay, let's see what I can do to go a little greener :)

This book is priced at USD15.95

WANT TO GET A FREE COPY?
I have 3 copies to give away for FREE. But only open to Malaysians okay because it's too expensive to ship overseas.

If you want a free copy, start collecting points. I will give the books to the top 3 scorers.

HOW TO COLLECT POINTS:

1. Email to your friends and tell them about my online children's bookshop at http://www.valuebookshop.com. CC or BCC your emails to contest@valuebookshop.com. Every friend you tell earns you 1 point. Make sure they are people you know. Don't spam. Don't cheat.
2. Link your blog(s) to my bookshop (http://www.valuebookshop.com) and/or my bookshop's blog (http://blog.valuebookshop.com). Email your URL to contest@valuebookshop.com. Every link earns you 5 points.
3. Make a blog post about "Going Green" (at least 200 words long). You could write whatever on the topic e.g. natural ways you clean your house, where you buy organic food, how you detoxify yourself, why you think this organic craze is going overboard, why you are going to feed your MIL mercury fish etc.... Good or bad, let's hear it. Email your URL to contest@valuebookshop.com. A blog post earns you 5 points.
4. Write a blog post about my bookshop (http://www.valuebookshop.com). Email your URL to contest@valuebookshop.com. This blog post earns you 10 points.

CLOSING DATE: 30 APRIL 2008