Typical Suburban Family

Experts suggest that young children need to accumulate at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day…unfortunately though this doesn’t always happen.  Many children are not nearly as active as they need to be and it is clear that along with poor diet, physical inactivity has contributed to a large increase in childhood obesity in the United States in the past 20 years.

Another positive to daily activity is that research shows that children who develop basic motor skills such as throwing, catching, kicking, jumping, skipping, and balance are more likely to grow into healthy active adults.  Studies have shown that daily physical activity helps children academically as well.   Learning basic physical skills is essential to the healthy growth and development of your child.

“The amount of time children spend daily in physical activity is decreasing, and it will take a determined effort from parents to reverse this trend” says Dr. Stephen Sanders (member of the Primrose Schools Early Child Care Education Advisory Board).

So, what can parents do to teach their children about the importance of being physically active and help them learn these necessary skills?  Here are just a few tips that will help you and your family create a fun environment for physical activity and will contribute to everyone’s physical health.

Tips for Getting Your Family Active:

Find appropriate, safe spaces for quality physical activity: Provide safe spaces inside and outside for your child to be active.  Don’t just plan on them being active outdoors, always plan for rainy days so that your kids aren’t just stuck on the couch watching TV.

Ensure the availability of age-appropriate supplies: Being physically active is like learning to read, write, or do math problems in that each requires proper materials or equipment.

• Provide abundant supplies of balls, hoops, hockey sticks, bats, paddles, racquets, musical instruments, jump ropes, etc.  They need balls of all sizes, shapes, and weights such as beanbags, sock balls, and rubber balls.
• Equipment should be soft, lightweight, and made for children.

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Be active with your children: Don’t just send your children outside to play…be a role model!  Go outside with them and participate in games and other activities that require physical exertion!

• Use sidewalk chalk to create your own four-square or hopscotch grids; blow bubbles then chase them around the yard to see who can catch them; go on a walk around the neighborhood or through a park as a family; play music and dance inside or outside; and when the weather is nice put on your bathing suits and run through the sprinklers.
• Promote a feeling of success when you play with your child.  If your child is not yet able to successfully throw and hit a target, encourage them to move a little closer so they can be successful.  Skills are acquired incrementally.  Children who do not experience success have a tendency to quit and not practice.

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When children come into the world, physical activity is at the very center of their lives.  They have a mission to learn to crawl, walk, run, throw, catch, and kick.  If they are going to enjoy participating in physical activities now and as adults, they need to build on that foundation of success and enjoyment that begins in infancy.  So, grab a ball, badminton racket, or jump rope and set aside time each day to play with your child!

Submitted by Emily Patterson on behalf of Primrose Schools. For over 25 years, they have helped individuals achieve higher levels of success by providing them with an AdvancED® accredited, early child care services.  Through an accelerated Balanced Learning® curriculum, Primrose Schools students are exposed to a widely diverse range of subject matter giving them a much greater opportunity to develop mentally, physically and socially. Emily has written a number of articles on topics varying from bilingual learning to teaching the importance of volunteering.

My outside the home profession up until Jac’s birth was teaching. I am passionate about education, and my plan was to use my teaching skills to help Jac grow and develop as much as possible. Imagine my surprise when I realized that my Masters degree and classroom teacher experience didn’t compare to the teaching skills of my wise baby boy.

We’ve only had seven months together, so I’m sure there are many more lessons to come, but here are seven of the most poignant lessons Jac has bestowed upon me so far:

1. The natural world is beautiful and amazing.
When you see a baby examine the leaves on a tree, or touch a dainty flower for the first time… or watch your child mesmerized by the falling snow… you are reminded of the free and spectacular gifts at our disposal on any given day.

Ahhh… the beauty of nature!

2. It is well worth it to take some time to savor, enjoy, and appreciate good music every day.
No matter how excited Jac is about a specific toy, or how much something is upsetting him, when Dada plays the guitar for Jac, he stops whatever he is doing and enters a trance of obvious pleasure. He only focuses on the music, and reminds me how nice it is to take a few minutes to do nothing but appreciate a great song.

My daddy is a rockstar.


3. Animals are special friends worth treasuring.
Jac has become more and more interested in our two cats. He will twist his body at all angles just to catch a glimpse of them. This morning, one of the cats let Jac really grab him and pet him all over for the first time. Jac looked like the had just won a million bucks. We’re so lucky to have animals in our lives that give us trust and unconditional love.

Our little guardian angel.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.
Jac doesn’t care if it’s the “right” time to ask for something. He is aware of what he needs emotionally and physically and he doesn’t hesitate to make his needs known, as he should. Too often we wait for the right moment to ask for what we want or do what we want to do and let important moments pass us by.

I’m trying to phrase my thought perfectly.

5. Sometimes all your problems can be solved with a nice hug.

And all is right with the world…

6. Family comes first.
Jac makes it very clear that he loves his dada and mama so much, and no one told him he had to. I can understand that he would learn to love me since I provide him with his food, but if you could see the look on his face when Dada comes home from work each evening, you would know that this boy is just plain gaga for his parents. Jac shakes with excitement when he sees Dada and the smiles seem to explode on his face.

My guts are on the operating table, but I’m ecstatic because of this little guy!

7. Being silly is good for you.
Jac loves to act silly and to see me acting silly. I find that I feel unbelievably refreshed and rejuvenated after a nice session of making funny sounds and faces. It’s a very similar feeling to finishing a yoga class or finishing a beautiful hike. The next time you need a revival, go ahead and make some faces at yourself in the mirror. I guarantee you’ll be more relaxed afterwards.

We are not afraid to be silly.

About today’s guest blogger from I Thought I Knew Mama…… I am a first time mom in my early 30s who has taken on the adventure of being a stay at home mom to my son, born in June 2010. I’m a driven, task oriented, former business world professional… and more recently special education teacher… who was laid off at the end of my pregnancy. Though it seemed frightening at the time, getting laid off has illuminated itself as a major blessing in disguise as I am now finding my way through what has turned out to be the ultimate career for me: being Baby’s mom. Financially, I’m not sure how long this stay at home mom opportunity will last, so I’m dedicating this blog to examining the experience of being a full time mom, my attempts to incorporate natural parenting, and a frugal and healthy lifestyle into our days, and to exploring this stay at home world with my son… a world that I thought I knew and understood, but now realize is a layered, fascinating, and blurred experience which I wade through in this new life of mine.

Produce Aisle: You begin your shopping, coupons in hand, with a relatively content child. He is happy to talk to himself and play with your car keys while you squeeze various fruits and vegetables to select the perfect and most economical choices. Of course you swing by the onions, making a mental note that you still need to figure out what a “ripe” onion looks like, pick based on size and pray it isn’t rotten. Leaving the produce, passing the bread, you watch your child flirt with all the women he sees. Maybe shopping will go okay today. You are determined to keep the total bill at $100. It can be done. You are confident.

Aisles 1-5: Couponing commences. You pacify your child by letting him hold your pen, and coupon holder as you search for the cheapest cereals, spaghetti sauces and soups. At about aisle 4, when stopping to pick up the pen and coupon holder off the floor gets tiring, you hand him something out of your cart. Aisle 5 is where the label or packaging disintegrates as he pulls it apart with his teeth and attempts to eat it. He remains relatively quiet in these aisles, although you begin to feel the familiar knot in your stomach as matching coupons to products and sales involves a lot of stopping and searching. He begins to shift in his seat. You wonder if you should head straight for the milk and go.

Middle of the Grocery Store: Also known as the Teddy Graham aisles. This is where you pull out the big guns. As the seat shifting and grunting get more pronounced, grab the small cup of cookies you purchased the last time you were shopping and begin to hand him one at a time. This gets you through about one and half aisles. Then he discovers that he would like to grab the cookies out of the cup himself. He starts to cry out a little. Hold cup open as you go down the next three aisles. Let him pull out teddy grahams. Watch out of the corner of your eye as he eats one and throws one on the ground. Pick up the pace. Find the cheapest paper towels, toilet paper, and garbage bags. No time for coupons, but at least your still being economical.

Frozen Foods: Put lid back on cup and let him hold it and chew on the lid. Randomly grab frozen vegetables and meals. Try to recall what coupons you have and make a mental note to sort it out at the cash register. Stop him from crawling out of your cart and grabbing things out of other peoples’ carts. Turn the corner on frozen foods sharply and quickly as he grabs your arm and yells. You are losing him. Apologize to the three people you almost run over as you speed to the beverage aisle.

Beverages, Chips and Dairy: Screaming, kicking and mommy shirt grabbing begins. Coupons are completely forgotten. Grab everything you see that you might want or have ever wanted as if this is the last time you will ever be at a grocery store and throw into your cart. Grab the milk and pray for a good expiration date. You are now breaking out into a sweat and sprinting through the dairy section grabbing random shredded cheeses because you completely forgot what you were making for dinner and what type of cheese it required. Lid of Teddy Grahams is pried off and cookies hit the floor and scatter. You weigh whether scattered teddy grahams left on the floor are more annoying to the customers than the screaming child who is trying to jump from the racing grocery buggy. No contest, teddy grahams stay. Stop long enough to try and kick as many cookies as you can to the side. Somehow this feels like you’ve made an attempt. Run past the butter, thinking of ten things you forgot to grab in other aisles. The idea of running back to get these items makes you break out into hives. Head for the checkout line. Lose a lean cuisine in one of your final turns. Leave it. There’s no time.

Checkout: Throw contents of buggy at nice checkout lady who tilts her head and wonders why you are crying. Grit teeth as your kid smiles and laughs at the bagger. As nice checkout lady scans items, wonder why you are buying 3 bags of pretzels. Hand over five of the 20 coupons you intended to use. Wonder how you just spent $175 on a week’s worth of groceries.

Husband later comments: “You forgot to get Cokes.” Burst into tears.

About our Feature Friday guest blogger: Rachel Turner began writing over ten years ago when she began her murder mystery party business, Make it a Mystery!  She has written and hosted interactive murder mystery parties for various private functions, corporate events, church groups, etc.  She recently sold the use of her 2nd full length mystery dinner theater script. Claiming sarcasm to be her primary spiritual gift, Rachel incorporates plenty of humor into her writing. Her obsession with blogging began in 2008, after the birth of her son.  She focuses her blog on the humorous side of marriage, parenting and work.  She is married and lives in North Metro Atlanta.  You can read more from Rachel at Is it Just Me Or, Oh Wait It Is Just Me.

If you want to be part of our Feature Friday series, please click on the guest blogger button in the right margin and complete the form.  I just ask that you let your readers know you were featured at Typical Suburban Family!  Feel free to grab one of my buttons or add me to your blog roll.

Are you still looking for gift ideas for the little ones in your life?  Your son?  Your daughter?  Your grandchild?  Why not purchase a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of furniture that they could treasure for years to come?

I have a Freddy & Petunia original and we love it.  And I mean, love it!

Ours is a locker-type piece that has storage bins for shoes which double as benches for each boy to sit on.

It has old locker hooks on each side to hang their jackets and backpacks.

This piece sits in our foyer and the boys always know where to find their shoes and jackets now.  It’s their height ad size which make it special for them.  And only for them.

So why not purchase one of your own for the holidays?  Their website is still being finished, but you can check out more of their custom pieces at Freddy & Petunia.  And Catherine has also started blogging as well so you can check up on her latest finds and builds at the Freddy & Petunia blog.  And while you’re there, leave her a comment.  She’s a new blogger and needs some support and encouragement as she learns the ropes.  You remember what it was like when you first learning to blog don’t you?

Freddy & Petunia is a line of heirloom-quality cabinets for little girls and boys. Each of these one-of-a-kind pieces are built green with salvaged materials we find scouring flea markets to yard sales. Besides the hunt for woods and millwork, we look for all things unique, interesting—and old! Sometimes we pilfer parts off old furniture—sometimes we “re-purpose” things from unexpected places, like porch spindles. And don’t forget the fun of vintage hardware and wallpapers!

Throughout each week I will be collecting YOUR links for YOUR giveaways on my Giveaways & Reviews page. On Fridays, I will move them over to my main page and will highlight them in Feature Fridays post.  I would love for each of you to post this as well and spread the word about the great giveaways going on each week.  I will put the new linky up on my Giveaways & Reviews page each Friday to start collecting for the following week.

I didn’t set the linky up correctly for this week since I didn’t originally plan on doing this feature, so you will need to use this code to post on your site (the entries should prepopulate):

<script src=”http://www2.blenza.com/linkies/autolink.php?owner=jeanyahres&amp;postid=08Sep2010″ type=”text/javascript”></script>

Please use the link above and use this button script:

<center><a href=”http://www.typicalsuburbanfamily.com”><img border=”0″ src=”http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae327/jyahres/Blog/FeatureFriday.jpg” /></a></center>

I promise I’ll get this put together in a neater package with the ability to grab the button from my sidebar, but for now I really wanted to get these giveaways out there for everyone to enter!  Each blog below in the linky has a giveaway going on this week so don’t delay and enter today!!

List YOUR Giveaways Here!

Please include your blog title, what your item is and the date that the giveaway ends.

Giveaways for the week of 9/6

It’s only appropriate that I feature simple. lovely. life today since I mentioned this blog yesterday on my 30 Things list.  I love how clean and easy to read Jenny’s blog is.  I love the header with the appearing and disappearing photo circles.  Her photos are wonderful throughout her blog, but this is one of my favorite photos posted.  What a great picture with the reflection in the bubble.

Now go check out her blog and tell her I said hello!  Would you like to be featured in an upcoming post?  Please leave me a comment so I can check out your blog.  And by all means, please feel free to follow me via Google Friend Connect.  And while you’re in my sidebar, go ahead and vote for my blog on Top Mommy Blogs.  You can vote as often as you would like.  And I would love it if you did.

Since it’s the holiday weekend, it’s only appropriate to feature some great fourth of July recipes, projects and finds.  And since I have none of my own to share with you, what better way to showcase the talents of other blogs than on my Feature Friday!

The first site is one that I’ve been following for awhile now. A Few of My Favorite Things shares a lot of great party ideas, craft projects and recipes.  I simply love this site!  Every time I see how they have featured a party idea it makes me want to run out and host one myself.  For the holiday weekend they featured Some Sweet Treats For the Fourth.  I know I’ll be making these over the weekend with my boys.

The other site another one of my favs.  I’m not sure how I came upon this site originally, but have thoroughly enjoyed it.  And as I’ve told her in the past I also enjoy the music on her site.  Typically having music start up every time I visit a blog is something that really bugs me, but for some reason LOVE the music on A Beautiful Mess.  When I don’t have access to my own itunes I will head on over to this blog and just listen to the music in the background while I’m working.  I love the mix of music and find myself singing along to most of what is playing.

The other day Alicia featured a DIY 4th of July Chalk project.  Simply awesome.  I mean really, how cool are these?!  I love them.  And what’s even better?  I know my boys will love them even more than me!

Happy 4th everyone!  Enjoy your weekend.  What are your plans for the long holiday weekend?

This is the new home of Raising Two Boys One Day at a Time or as I now am calling it Typical Suburban Family.

I promise this is the last move.  I know you just updated all of your subscriptions and RSS feeds 7 months or so ago when I moved from blogger to WordPress, but I’m now on the self hosted version of WordPress and loving it!  I have so much more flexibility with plug-ins and add-ons.  Plus I can customize it way more than I could before and love it!  I even have some great giveaways lined up over the next month or so.

I started with a basic template, but then added and changed and tweaked everything about it and came up with my new blog.  It’s taken me all week to get this up and running, but so far I love it.  Leave me a comment on my new blog and let me know what you think.  I hope you’ll follow me there… I gave several different ways to do so and they are all in the right side bar.  You can subscribe via RSS feed, email or Google friend connect.

So yes, today I am featuring myself on my new blog. Mainly because I’m so proud of myself for designing it and customizing it all on my own with little to no experience doing so.  I only had to drag my hubby into it to troubleshoot the coding if/when I did it incorrectly.  Thank you honey!!

I know, I know.  I missed Feature Friday last week.  I have a million excuses why, but I won’t bore you with those details.  Today, I am back in action and ready to share a favorite site with you.

I was introduced to this blog through one of the blogfrog communities I follow.  I bookmarked it and started to check it often.  I love it.  It’s clean; it’s easy to read; and the story that Kelle shares about her two daughters is amazing.  I love her writing style.

And the photos that she shares?  Well, simply amazing is all that I can say.  Simply amazing.

So today, enjoy one of my new favorite blogs Enjoying the Small Things.  And tell Kelle you said hello.  Although she really has no idea who I am; I’ve been a silent follower of her site until right now.  LOL!

I know I’ve been MIA this week.  I’ve been traveling for a work conference and haven’t had much free time to blog, connect and engage with everyone.  But I’m back now and trying to catch up on this hot and humid Friday afternoon.

So instead of a Feature Friday where I pick a blog to talk about, I’m giving you all the opportunity to a Feature Yourself Friday post.  Leave a comment with a little blurb about what your blog is about and why others should visit you.  I can’t wait to check all the blogs out myself so start posting!

And now I’m off to Home Depot for supplies to hopefully save my poor little fruit producing peach tree that somehow toppled over in some storms we had while I was away.  I’m so bummed over the whole thing and hope I can save the little tree… wish me luck!