Raising girls can be tricky business. As a mom of an almost nine-year-old, I am honestly totally dismayed by the ways that my daughter's social interactions with other girls are mirroring the same experiences that I had growing up.
Simply put -- girls seem to be encountering the same sort of social challenges at all stages of life-- whether they are nine or thirty-nine.
So how do we prepare our little girls to handle these challenging social situations? Jill Hope of
I Shine Kids is a local Chicago mom and parenting coach who has created a series of innovative programs that teach parents how to foster self-esteem, build character and raise emotionally healthy, empowered kids.
I am an especially big fan of her
Powerful Girl Within Program. Jill developed this program because many parents come to her asking for advice on how to help their daughters who are struggling with peer issues.
One day they have a friend, only to find that the next day they are left out. Many girls feel they have to be a certain way or look a certain way, and if they don't, they will lose the few friends they have. Does this sound familiar at all?
These dynamics develop as early as preschool or kindergarten. Yes, seriously.
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By
Caitlin Giles,
February 15, 2013 at 9:45 pm
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I am not a video game person. My husband is not a video game person. But we find ourselves in a video game dilemma.
A couple of weeks ago, we were playing at a friend's house. They had just given their six year-old son an
Xbox 360 With Kinect for Hanukkah. This was all new to us. My eight year-old daughter had the time of her life playing football and baseball using their new Xbox 360 with Kinect (which was cool because it just involved them using their bodies and being super active for an hour). I have to confess that I thought it was great. My daughter declared it the best time ever.
This experience made me look at video games in a whole new light. In my mind, video games are mindless time sucks that often involve violence. However, the sports game on Xbox Kinect actually seemed like a decent use of time for kids during a long Chicago winter.
My husband and I chatted about this a little bit and we thought that this would made a great Christmas present. So he headed off to Best Buy to pick up an Xbox with Kinect system for the kiddos for Christmas as gift from Mom and Dad.
And then we started having major doubts...
By
Caitlin Giles,
December 23, 2012 at 9:59 pm
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We eat a lot of cheese at our house. Lots of it. But not all cheeses are created equally (obviously). And many cheeses are full of processed gunk that isn't good for kids (or their parents for that matter). For this reason, we buy a lot of Organic Valley cheese (and other dairy). If you are an Organic Valley fan, there is a local opportunity to learn more about their products and health initiatives.
Organic Valley’s American Cheese Revolution Tour,
http://www.AmericanCheeseRevolution.com, a multi-city mobile tour and online pledge drive inviting parents to demand real food for real kids, is headed to Chicago October 19-21. Chicago foodies and families are invited to meet up with the tour to sample grilled cheese sandwiches, play in the photo booth and sign the Real Food Pledge. Organic Valley has committed to donate $1(up to $25,000) for each signature to Healthy Child Healthy World...
By
Caitlin Giles,
October 16, 2012 at 10:57 pm
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When I first became a mother seven years ago, I couldn’t believe that none of the other mothers I knew (including my close friends and even my own mother) ever really spoke frankly to me about some of the more difficult and trying parts of motherhood — beginning with labor and delivery. I just had...
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By
Caitlin Giles,
September 20, 2011 at 10:25 pm
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In the (short) seven years that I have been a parent, the local resources available to help moms and dads navigate the world of diaper duty, bedtime stories, and preschool applications have significantly improved. I have a few sites that are my standard “go to spots” for local parenting information (you know, like Chicago Parent...
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By
Caitlin Giles,
May 25, 2011 at 12:36 pm
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Have you heard about HipMum? Even if you haven’t, don’t you love the idea? A site devoted to helping moms hold on to a bit of their “hip” while they are mired in the day-to-day chaos of raising kiddos? Aspirational, maybe. But in a good way, I think. I recently had a chance to learn...
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By
Caitlin Giles,
May 9, 2011 at 7:54 pm
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