Violent Video Games Your Kids Should Not Be Playing

Video games are part of our children's culture. They are growing up in a world where technology is striving. So unless you are living out in the jungle somewhere, your children will definitely seek out entertainment digitally. As parents, we have to sieve through the video games they play. A game that is popular does not necessarily mean it is good. Some are just too violent. Also, there may be profanity, sexual imagery, drug and alcohol references. It is just better that our kids stay away from these ultra-violent video games.

You can check out the 10 Most Violent Video Games as ranked by Common Sense Media.

As an alternative, here are some video games that are highly recommendable. They're highly enjoyed by kids, but most importantly, not ultra-violent.

12 ALTERNATIVES TO ULTRA-VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES

• Skylanders Giants, Platform: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
• Just Dance 4, Platform: Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii U
• LittleBigPlanet , Platform: PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Sony PSP PSN Code
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii
• Minecraft - Xbox 360
• Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Platform: Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, PC, Mac Download
• Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning, Platform: Nintendo 3DS
• Animal Crossing: New Leaf,  Platform: Nintendo 3DS
• Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Platform: Nintendo 3DS
• Drip Drip,  Platform: PC Download
• New Super Mario Bros. 2, Platform: Nintendo 3DS
• Mario Kart 7,  Platform: Nintendo 3DS

What Do You Do If Your Child Wants To Quit The Piano?

It's been a musical week in our house. The rainy evenings are condusive to practice. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2 years ago when I bought a piano, my daughter would throw her bags down when she got back from school and head over to the piano. I wondered if her enthusiasm would eventually wane. Glad to say that it hasn't. The piano is still the first place she goes to when she gets back from school.

Just this morning I came across some comments made by some children about how they hated the piano and wanted to quit. I wondered what could be the difference between my daughter and these kids? And this has led me to pen down a few suggestions on what parents can do when their child says "I want to quit the piano".

• Ask yourself, "Am I nagging too much"?

  I know, most of the time we can't help ourselves but the constant reminder to practice, practice, practice may be the reason why they are starting to despise the piano. Kids will hate the piano when it becomes a chore. Tone down on the nagging and stop trying to push them too hard. I always ask myself, would I rather push a donkey from behind or dangle a carrot in front? Dangling the carrot is really the better way. Instead of nagging our children to practice, it would be more effective if we found a way to fuel their motivation to practice. Rewards and praises work better.

• Find out the REAL reason why they want to quit.

  Are they burnt out from too many activities? Is it because they don't find it fun? Are they interested in something else? Or maybe, the piano lessons are boring and it is time to change to a better piano teacher. When it comes to kids, FUN is the key. No doubt learning the piano requires tons of repetition and that can really suck the fun out of learning. However, a good piano teacher will have ways to keep the fun alive. Not only that, a good teacher will never ever humiliate or put down a child.

• Let them play music that they love.

  And this could mean opting to skip the piano exams. When I was learning the piano, I hated the exams. My grade 5 exam stressed me out so much that I decided I didn't want to go through that again. (BTW, I passed that exam). I didn't hate the piano though. I still love to play (although not so good). I wished I could just learn to play without having to go for exams. And this is what I've chosen for my daughter. I can see she loves to play. I don't have to nag her to practice as she is eager herself to get on the piano to play the songs she loves. I bet if she was nagged to practice her exam pieces over and over again whether she liked it or not, her enthusiasm for the instrument will slowly diminish.

• Change your approach.

  Don't be too strict. Don't create rules that will cultivate hate instead of love for the piano. An example would be this: "You can't go out to play with your friends until you've practiced for 2 hours" or "If you are going to quit piano, then you must quit your basketball too". Playing dictator will not get you the results you want. If you want to get them to practice, you have to figure out a way to get them to do it willingly. It is the same with school homework. Maybe just sitting next to your child while he practices will do the trick. My son enjoys the piano more when I play simple duets with him. You might even want to consider where you put the piano in your home. Is it somewhere isolated? It might help to put the piano in an area where mom usually hangs out like near the kitchen. Sometimes they do better just being near mom. Be encouraging, not pushy.

• Understand their frustration.

  Many times our children just want us to empathize with them. Do that and then explain that you understand that learning the piano is difficult. Nobody becomes an expert overnight. If they quit half way, they will forfeit the rewards later. Tell them a story of how you struggled to learn something (like riding a bicycle) but when you finally got it, how it felt to succeed.  Maybe make a deal with them. Ask them to complete the course or a set of lessons first and consider that a learning experience. If they still want to quit after that, they can. Or rather than quit, just give them a breather for a few weeks or months. See if they can come back with renewed enthusiasm.

Badminton Training for Little Kids

I got this idea from another mother. Just tie the shuttlecock so it hangs. This way, I don't have to keep throwing the shuttle to my daughter. She can practice on her own.

It is a perfect way for little kids to improve their hand and eye coordination. It will improve their 'ball sense'. No point paying a coach RM60 an hour just so your kid can learn how to connect the racket and the shuttlecock.

Family Outing: Fishing

It's the school holidays and we don't have the money for lavish trips overseas. But that doesn't mean we can't have fun family activities.

My brother is an avid fisher and he invited us to one of his fishing trips. I asked the kids if they were game and they said yes. So, off we went to spend a day with my brother. We stayed overnight at his place. There was a pool so they had a blast splashing around. We left for the fishing lake the next morning after breakfast.

First thing was learning to put on the bait. Got to be careful with those hooks, they're really sharp. It involved getting the hands dirty and so the kids chose to leave this job to their mom... ME. They were more interested in casting the line and reeling in the fish.

It wasn't long before D1 saw his rod jiggling around. Excitedly he reeled in the first catch of the day. It was a small fish.

It is a catch-n-release pond, so we unhooked the fish and let it back into the pond again. A few minutes after, another fish took the bait. This time a bigger one.

Since we didn't have to wait long to catch the first 2 fishes, the kids were under the impression that catching fish was relatively quick. Of course that is not the case. There was a lull time where we didn't catch a fish for about an hour or more. The kids became antsy and kept wanting to reel in the line to see if the bait was still there. My brother explained that if they fiddled with the line, the bait will drop. Unfortunately waiting is difficult for kids. So they didn't listen and kept pulling up the line and we had to put on the bait again.

All in all, it was quite an interesting experience for the kids. My daughter K1 had fun reeling in the fish. My son D1 had too many encounters with the bamboo plant. 3 times he casted his line into the bamboo. That was stressful for me, trying to untangle the line. Kudos to my brother for being so patient with us amateurs. Hahaha.

It was good that my brother already had all the equipment ready and knew what to do. We would have been lost without him.

 This was the last big fish we caught. 

 Patiently waiting for the bell on the rod to ring. Ringing bell means there's a fish on the other end.

 K1 happily reeled this one in. 

MAMAS PARENTING TIP

• Fishing is a good way to teach your children patience. If they have no patience, an iPad is quite helpful in passing the time while waiting for the fish to bite. A book is even better.
• If you want to take your children fishing, make sure you go with someone who knows what to do and have spare fishing rods for you to use.
• This fishing pond is in Semenyih. It's a catch and release pond, so there are plenty of fish. However, I think there are certain times that the fish don't bite, like in the afternoon. We had better luck in the morning and towards the evening. 
• After this activity, you can teach your children about the different kinds of fish that we eat. Expand their knowledge about how different baits and hooks are used to catch different kinds of fish.
• Bring a bandaid.

Candy Bouquet For Teacher's Day Or Any Occasion

This is my candy bouquet for Teacher's Day.

Teacher's Day rolled by and I figured I wanted to give something nice to my son's kindy teachers coz' they're really nice. They are dedicated teachers and I like how they are always smiling. That's a tough thing to do when you have to deal with so many young cheeky kids. Plus my son loves going to school there and it is because of the warm environment they've created that makes it conducive for them to learn.

Anyway, I decided to do this candy bouquet last minute. So I scrounged around for stuff and I had what I needed: satay sticks, colored tape (ideally it should be green but I only had yellow), colored tissue paper, glass paper and ribbon. I remembered how some people put 2 Hershey Kisses together to make a rose bud, so I decided to go with that.

Around the rosebud, I wrapped the colored tissue paper. I cut the top so it looked frilly, like petals. Added some curly ribbons to make it look nicer. Used green paper to cut out the leaves and had my son write "Happy Teacher's Day" on them. The kindy only has 4 teachers so I figured I'd give 2 flowers to every teacher.

My son loved the idea and the teachers were ecstatic to receive a unique, homemade gift.

These flowers actually turned out better than the Mother's Day candy bouquet I made. You could make these for any occasion: Valentines' Day, birthday, anniversary etc....



You could also put it into a vase to make a centerpiece for your table.

If you want to learn how to make candy bouquets (you could even start a business doing this), check out this book by Lana Glass. She has tons of ideas and she teaches you step-by-step: How To Make Candy Bouquets For Fun & Profit

Keep Track Of Your Children's Computer Time

The school holidays are here. Only for 2 weeks but I know what's going to happen... COMPUTER MADNESS. I can bet every day my kids are going to come to me with this question "Mom, can I play the computer?" 

Well, I had computer rules a while back. Some are still being followed while others have kinda been forgotten. So, it was time to revise the computer rules.

COMPUTER RULES

• STUDY BEFORE PLAY.
  I've already told my kids they need to plan what they want to learn these 2 weeks. An idea would be to learn stuff they don't learn in school like music, languages, art and creative writing. It is a time to explore topics that aren't covered in school. It can also be a time to identify weaknesses and work on those (since exam results are out). Another idea is to choose what workbooks they want to work on and then create a study schedule.
• 6 HOURS A WEEK.
  That's basically an hour every day (except Sunday). It is very timely that I came across these Technology Punch Cards Printables. It's a great way to keep track of how many hours the kids are on the computer. I told my kids that this 1 hour they have is purely for their entertainment. They can play games and watch their shows. Other online educational work I give them will not be counted in this 6 hours.
• MINUS 30 MINUTES FOR EACH CHORE NOT DONE.
  I've already identified chores that they need to do like taking out the trash, folding clothes, keeping their room tidy, vacuuming and mopping the rooms, keeping the tables clutter free. If one chore is not done, 30 minutes will be taken away from ALL of them. This way there will be no finger pointing. They have to work as a team. It doesn't matter to me who takes out or doesn't take out the trash. All I care is that it is done!

 So, that's the plan for this school break. Do you have problems with your children using the computer excessively?

Candy Bouquet For Mother's Day

Okay, I know I'm a bit late in posting this. Mother's Day was a few weeks ago. However, we celebrate Mother's Day every year so this idea can still be used for next year and the years to come.

I did this candy bouquet for the sisters at church. My branch president insisted I get flowers. However, some sisters said that flowers won't last. They'll wilt even before they get home from church. They suggested chocolates instead. So, what to do? I decided to combine the two: flowers + candy. In my opinion, the money spent on this is more worth it than just buying flowers that will die.

Of course, it took a bit of time to make all those candy flowers. Most of the time was spent cutting the paper into the right size and shape. Assembling the candy flower was not difficult at all.

My only regret in making this candy flower is not buying a better quality chocolate. Ideally, I would have gotten Ferrero Rocher but those are kinda expensive. If I was just making 6-12 flowers, I think I would have bought it but making about 30 candy flowers made me look for alternatives.

Anyway, basically all I used were satay sticks, green tape, ribbon, crepe paper and glass paper.

The first time I heard of candy bouquet was when I came across this book: How To Make Candy Bouquets For Fun & Profit. Of course my candy bouquets are not as professional looking as what is taught in the book. But if you are interested in learning how to make candy bouquets, this book is very helpful.

Mom Tips for Memory Making Family Vacations

Guest post by Kendra Thornton

Photo Credit: kennymatic via Compfight cc

Family vacations are the time of year that everyone is able to relax and laugh while embarking on a great adventure together. The key? Preparation. If you take steps in advance, you can have a family vacation that creates the memories of a lifetime.


1. There are a host of fabulous options for kid-friendly vacations. You might long to visit an island paradise, or maybe a theme park adventure is what your troop desires. There are mountain cabin resorts with horseback riding and hiking trails, and some family designed cruises offer kids clubs and certified childcare services. Whatever vacation you choose, explore your options. When my family was looking for a special vacation destination, we chose the breath taking Hawaiian Islands. Since Hawaii can cater to the honeymoon crowd, we were sure to do our research to find a child-friendly resort that was still ranked amongst the best hotels in Honolulu. You will want to be certain there are plenty of opportunities for every member of the family to enjoy.

Photo Credit: peasap via Compfight cc

2. If your trip includes hours in a car, you should think about making the backseat into a kid-only zone. If you make the back seat not only comfortable but fun, the kids are more likely to enjoy the transportation aspect of their travel. Bring along favorite pillows, blankets, snuggle toys, and consider night driving. When you arrive at your destination, the driver will need a good nap, so plan for that. If one parent sleeps during the drive, they can take kids swimming or off to play in a nearby park. If you travel during daylight hours, you may want to invest in shades to block out the sun's rays and encourage napping.


3. Children are easily entertained by electronic equipment. Consider downloading audio books to a tablet or iPad, and be sure to provide earphones. Music CDs and movie DVDs are additional ideas to pair with portable devices. Hand held electronic games are another choice to consider. You may also want to think about bringing coloring books, crayons, drawing pads, and pencils. I am also so fascinated by how long my children are entertained simply with a new box of crayons! Whatever you take to lessen the “Are We There Yet’s” will be well worth the time spent planning.


4. Perhaps the most crucial tip regards motion sickness. When traveling with a child that you know is susceptible to queasiness, be prepared. Airplane ground travel to runways, flight departures, or landings usually present the greatest opportunities for upset tummies. Whether traveling by car, plane, boat, or train, let your child face forward and see out a window. Feed them something light 30 minutes prior to takeoff, and water or milk are definitely better drink choices than orange juice. You may want to look into a child approved motion sickness remedy as well. As with all new medications, talk to your child’s pediatrician beforehand.

Tips to Curb Summertime Teen Laziness

Most of us enjoy a lazy day when we can sleep in, putz around and just relax a little - and our kids are no different. However, when the dog days of summer come, some teens take that one "couch out" day and stretch it over an entire summer break. Here are some tips to combat summertime teen laziness and keep your teen active and engaged.

Communicate Expectations 

Tell your teen in a nonthreatening but firm manner that you will not accept their staying in bed all morning and afternoon. It is perfectly reasonable to ask that they get up at a decent hour. Explain that you want them to do more than merely watch TV, play video games, or visit social networking sites all day.

If your teen wants you to help pay for their summer activities, they should be willing to abide by a few summer guidelines. Set an age appropriate, specific time that you expect them to be home, based upon the level of trust they have earned. Ask them to take on a couple of extra chores during the summer to earn some pocket money. These chores could be for you or someone else, but make sure they go above and beyond the normal, everyday chores that every member of the family should be expected to do.

Get Them Engaged 

Whether you ask them to help you more around the house, participate in volunteer activities in the community, or help them get a job, you want them to be engaged in something worthwhile. Give them encouragement to help at a YMCA, children’s program, or nursing home. They may find they truly enjoy these volunteer activities and you will help them appreciate the joys of serving others that will last a lifetime.

Help them find volunteer positions by calling around to local places of worship, daycares, charities, or nursing homes. Local businesses may be hiring summer help; offer to help them find a job to earn some extra money. This will help them learn to manage money, but will also help them realize the value of their time. If they get paid by the hour, they might be less likely to fritter their time away.

Spend Family Time

Avoid giving lectures about what they should do during the summer. (Lectures, period, are ineffective with teens.) Instead, find activities that you can do with them. You don’t have to spend every waking moment with your teen, but take some time to take them shopping, go to a movie, or out for a coffee. Keep it relaxed and let your teen open up to you in their own time and way. Summertime is a great time to reconnect with your teen. Don’t let these weeks go by without taking this time to slow down and just be together.

Encourage Physical Activity

Take time to learn or play a new sport with your teen. Not only will this help your teen be more active during the summer, it’ll help you get some much needed exercise, too. Boys in particular are more likely to enjoy "side by side" activities. These are often great times to open dialogue with your son about important issues. Give tennis, swimming, cycling, or rollerblading a try. You both will benefit your health and well being.

Parents all over the country complain that their teens get lazy during the summer break. But teens, just like toddlers, need guidance, clear communication, and reminders of your expectations in order to be successful. These tips should get you well on your way. Ask your teen if there are things they’d like to accomplish before school starts, and then help them to meet those goals.

Need More Help?

Here are three guides to help you reconnect with your teen, so you can help them with the rocky road of being a teenager.

1. If you're gearing up for another summer with your teen and want to dread trying to keep them occupied, happy and out of trouble, check out School's Out for plenty of expert resources to make it a great summer.

2. Real Life Guidance to Understanding Your Teen shows you how to accept what you can and cannot control in your teen's life, how to cope with mood swings, keeping the lines of communication open.

3. Real Life Guidance to Helping Your Teen in High School includes practical suggestions to help your child find his/her identity, avoid bullies, handle peer pressure and more.

Grab them all to be armed with the easy-to-follow advice at your fingertips. They're available for instant download, which means you can get the help you need any day of the week, even if it's the middle of the night.

Lego Super Heroes Iron Man Extremis Sea Port Battle Set Review

Superheroes plus Lego... that is like one of the best combination for a child. If your child is a big fan of Iron Man or the Avengers, then you will want to consider The Lego Super Heroes Iron Man Extremis Sea Port Battle Set. Even if your child has never played with Legos before, this is a perfect set to introduce to your child to get them building and learning along the way.

These sets are in huge demand thanks to the popularity of the Iron Man superhero character and the movie franchise. But does this particular set represent good value for your child?

Key Features of the Lego Super Heroes Iron Man Extremis Sea Port Battle Set

• Includes 3 minifigures: Aldrich Killian, Iron Man with Mark 42 Armor and War Machine
• Killian character’s speedboat
• Speedboat with a hidden storage and dual pistols
• Buoy with exploding function
• Weapons include pistols
• Ages 6-12

 

Click here to get the best deal

Is the Lego Super Heroes Iron Man Extremis Sea Port Battle Set Worth Buying?

The minifigures included in this Lego set represent the characters of Aldrich Killian, Ironman with mark 42 amour, and the War Machine. This particular set can be used with other Lego Ironman collections for more creative play and hours of fun for your child. The Extremis set is not huge in size, but it is one of the more affordable options available, which will make it a popular choice with parents!

This Lego set is easy to put together, as Lego provides very descriptive picture directions that make it easier for children to use and comprehend. Please note the suggested age for playing with this set, as it is not safe for children under the age of three, due to the small parts that can cause a choking hazard.

The storyline behind this Lego set is to stop Killian from getting away with Ironman and the War Machine. Your child can blast the boat with the exploding buoy, fire dual missiles, and begin attack with War Machine’s shoulder cannon.

The details on the boat are realistic to this adventure. The hood of the boat opens and is able to fit a minifigure inside of it. The boat’s flick-fire missiles are very easily workable to create many different scenarios with this Lego set.

Lego stands up to its high standards, with no noted drawbacks to this set considering the low price. Overall, this is a great Lego collection to keep your child entertained for hours using his or her imagination. This is one toy that you need not hesitate to purchase for a young (or even grown up) Iron Man fan!

Click here if you want to read other customer reviews on this product.

Minced Pork Balls in Sweet and Sour Sauce

Cooked this dish of minced pork balls in sweet and sour sauce the other day and it was a hit with my family. If you would like to try it out, here is the recipe.

Minced Pork

• Marinate your mince pork with salt, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce (and if you have, chicken marinate too). Let it sit at least for 1/2 hour.
• Add about 1 tbs cornstarch so the meat will stick when you roll them into balls.
• After rolling them into balls, fry in oil till cooked. Put your cooked meatballs aside.
  
  
  

Vegetables

• Cut up cucumber, big onions, tomatoes and if you wish, pineapple.
  
  

• Saute the vegetables with garlic. Fry till cooked. Add in the sweet and sour sauce.

Sauce

• 3tbs honey
• 2 tbs sugar
• Salt
• 2 tbs ketchup
• 1 tbs distilled vinegar
• (Optional - Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce)

If you like it more sour, just add more vinegar or less honey.  How much sauce to make also depends on how much meat and vege you are cooking. If it is not enough, just double up the measurements.

Last Step
Mix the pork balls with the veges and sauce. Mix till everything is nicely coated. Dish out and serve.

Bon Apetite!

Make Your Own Pinwheel

I remember as a little girl, I loved to play with pinwheels. Once in a while my mom would buy one for me and it would have candy at the bottom of the handle. Good memories. So when I saw that MyMemories was giving this freebie to make pinwheels, I was all game. I've already downloaded it for myself.

If you have a bored toddler or want to inject some fun into your children's party, why not make some colorful pinwheels. Here are the freebies to help you. Only free until 21st April 2013. Grab it before they put the price back on.

Here are the links to the different digital kits

FREEBIE 1

FREEBIE 2

FREEBIE 3

To claim the free gift, you will need to create an account at the MyMemories website. Then you just click "add to cart" and you'll be able to download from your "my downloads" page.

The easiest way is to have the MyMemories Suite Scrapbooking software. If you do, you can easily install it directly to the software. If you don't have the software, you can still use the free digital kit. Just choose the download option for general use. It is suitable for software applications such as Adobe Photoshop & Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro, etc....

Do You Encourage Your Children To Daydream?

I came across an article that says Nicole Kidman encourages her kids to daydream. I thought that was pretty interesting. I don't think many parents do that. On the contrary, I believe most of us try to stop our children from daydreaming.  If you had a child daydreaming while doing homework, I'm sure you'd say "STOP DAYDREAMING". Apparently, Nicole Kidman  regards it as a time for her children to relax and have "creative" time. And you know what, she may be doing the right thing.

Let's turn to what the scientists have to say about this.

According to researchers from the University of Wisconsin and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, daydreaming may help to increase the brain's memory capacity. I guess you could say that it is one way to exercise the brain.

I've always tried to keep my children's imagination alive. I think school dulls their creative ability and so I always look for ways and activities to nurture their creativity. I guess I shall put 'daydreaming' down on my list. However, there is a time and season for everything. So work time is still work time. Daydreaming will be like 'dessert'.

What do you think? Do your kids daydream?

Related articles

• The power of daydreams: 4 studies on the surprising science of mind-wandering

Helping your Kid Survive Their First Sleepover

Sleepover (Photo credit: secondtree)

Some parents are terrified of sending their kids to their first sleepover. Others may just be thankful for a night of peace and quiet. Either way, this will be many kids’ first time sleeping in a room where their parents are not just across the hall or in a house they may not be familiar with, and this can be intimidating. By following a few suggestions you can help your kids have a fun and safe time at their first sleepover.

1. Learning about their home for the night

When you drop your kids off at the home they will be staying at, walk through the house and show them where the bathrooms they will use are, where they can go to get drinks or a late night snack, and anything else they may need during the night. This way the child will not need to worry about asking for permission or finding whatever they need at night. This also can help to prevent your child from walking into a room where they could get hurt or accidentally wake someone up.

Another important thing to do is let the hosting parents and friend know if your kid has any medication they will need to take, or a disorder, like diabetes, asthma, autism or severe allergies. They should know what symptoms are typical and which ones might be more serious and warrant a call home or hospital visit. You should also make sure that your child can communicate the kind of problems they might experience from their disorder, and let their friends know in what situations they should wake up their parents for help.

2. Social Skills

A first sleepover can be scary for kids. A whole night of playing and talking with their friends may be far more socializing than what your child has experienced in other situations. While the sleepover will probably be full of games, movies and other fun activities, there may also be a lot of downtime. During popular sleepover events, like scary stories or funny jokes, you don’t want your child to feel left out. To prepare them, teach them some scary stories and funny jokes that they can spread to their friends during the sleepover. This way they can be involved in the conversation all night.

3. Homesickness

Sleeping in an unfamiliar room far away from your family may be a totally new experience for your child. To help them become more comfortable with this, have them try sleeping in a different room at your own house. Because there may not be enough beds for each kid at the sleepover, get your child used to sleeping on other surfaces. For example, they can try sleeping on a cushy rug or a couch in the living room. By getting used to sleeping in these locations, they may be able to fall asleep faster at their friend’s house.

So your kid can feel at least a little bit at home during their sleepover, let them bring along their own pillow, if not their blanket as well. Having some of their own bedding can be a huge source of comfort while they are trying to fall asleep. If they can’t bring their own blanket, your child may only be given a sheet or thin quilt. Consider packing a pair of footed pajamas for kids, so they can stay warm like they would if they had their comforter from home. If they have a stuffed animal they like to sleep with, this could be helpful too. Just be mindful of how old they are, as at some ages bringing along a stuffed animal may become a source of teasing.

Sleepovers are an important part of kids’ social lives. However, the first one can be nerve racking for even the bravest child. By using a few techniques to help your kid survive their first sleepover, you may be able to help them have a great time spending the night with their friends.