Tag: "responsibility"

Let’s Talk About Responsible Sports

I believe that sports are good for children. Participating in team sports can promote many ideals including responsibility, good sportsmanship and fair play, as well as the importance of health and fitness. It’s also a great way for children to make friends and build their confidence.

Sports are timeless – even though school is out children everywhere will be participating in sports all summer long in leagues, neighborhood games and at camp. “As a parent, how do you encourage and reinforce the positive aspects of youth sports?” is the question that members of the Twitter Moms community were asked to consider as summer gets underway.

Our town is very much into sports and offers many opportunities for team sports all year long. My son loves sports and he knows that all we expect of him is to do his best and to have fun. The same cannot be said for all parents. Our town has seen some wild things, including parents fighting with other parents and parents arguing with refs. I myself have seen a coach argue with a ref until it got to a point where the ref told the entire gymnasium that the players were going to suffer the punishment because of the coach’s behavior. And suffer they did. Those boys’ faces were so long and sad, and it was clearly obvious that they were not having fun. I don’t understand what drives the ultra-competitive behavior that some people exhibit.

Ever since TJ was small we’ve told him that the only thing that matters is that he does his best and has fun. He has become a bit competitive as he’s grown older. He enjoys winning very much and when he doesn’t he usually learns something from it. He knows good sportsmanship doesn’t only mean being a good loser – it also means being a gracious winner and playing fairly.

We all want our kids to do well. We love to watch our kids play well and win. But winning isn’t everything. I’ve tried to teach TJ that the most important thing about sports is not winning, but how you play the game. I know it sounds cliché but the saying is true. Or at least it should be true. I think it’s more important for athletes to try their hardest and to play fairly, play safely.

Liberty Mutual partnered with Positive Coaching Alliance, US Youth Soccer, USA Hockey and the Amateur Softball Association to create the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program, located online at ResponsibleSports.com. The goal of the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program is to provide both parents and coaches with information and tools to teach children the benefits of team sports. Available resources include articles, quizzes, scenarios, blogs and videos.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts on youth sports today. What message have you tried to teach or plan on teaching your kids? Have you ever witnessed any unsportsman-like behavior on the part of an athlete at an event? Have you ever seen anyn inappropriate behavior from parents, refs or coaches? Let me hear it.

Jun 24, 2009 | 4 comments | View Post

Black Mountain Jewelry - Mother’s Day Gift Idea And Giveaway

My two most favorite pieces of jewelry in the world are my favorites because they were made for me and because they mean something to me. One is my mother’s ring, which RB had made for me several years ago. The other is a gold necklace bearing two engraved photo charms of my sons, which my parents had made for me several years ago. If you wear jewelry regularly, I’ll bet that there’s a story and meaning behind your favorite piece. Imagine if you had input on design of a piece of jewelry for yourself. What would be special to you? What would the story behind it be? Think about it, it’s important.

When I first learned of Black Mountain Jewelry the first thing I did was check out their website. Black Mountain Jewelry Company is a small company offering jewelry handmade by an Arizona couple named Mark and Carla Mead. What struck me the most about this company and these people, besides the beautiful handcrafted jewelry, is how much they care. About everything. Mark and Carla care what materials the jewelry is made from and where that material comes from as well as what happens during and after the jewelry is manufactured. They use recycled and reclaimed materials and only buy gems that are mined by responsible sources. It’s obvious that Fair Trade and environmentally responsible business practices are more than just buzz words for them. Mark and Carla also care about people.

In celebration of Mother’s Day, Black Mountain Jewelry has offered to present one of my readers with a custom Tree of Life Charm.

More on the Tree of Life Jewelry Collection - “Celebrate your milestones! Gifts of jewelry that honor the special people and times of your life. This collection was designed to help people find strength, feel connected and to celebrate life in a way that becomes possible when you have a tangible talisman, a physical reminder you can touch and be reminded of what touches you.”

WIN IT!

One winner will receive a custom Tree of Life Charm in Sterling Silver, 14k and Semi-Precious Stones (code TCS1) of winners choice - with up to 5 smaller accent stones to symbolize their children on 18″ sterling snake chain. The winner will choose the stones and the charm will be custom made for them. The charm will be shipped to the winner at no charge anywhere in the US.

The minimum value of this prize with the chain is $84.95 (value increases if extra stones are added). Besides the obvious immediate value, this charm will surely become a cherished family heirloom. It also provides immeasurable value to the earth and all of us because this line uses recycled metals and Fair Trade Gemstones are used in this jewelry line and 5% of each sale is donated to Jewelers for Children.

If you can’t wait to find out if you win it or simply must have it now, Mark and Carla of Black Mountain Jewelry Company are generously offering all of my readers free shipping on any order placed by 05/31/09 - just need to enter FS315 on your order form.

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter leave me a comment telling me what the Tree of Like Design would mean to you. Please look into your heart and put thought into your answer. Carla mentioned in an email to me that she sent out a Tree of Life piece to a old dear friend. They put her stone in the roots of the tree and her three children in the branches. She’d lost one of her children, whose stone was set in the human heart in the branches - because he’s always in her heart. These pieces are so individualized and so special, and so much heart is put into making them. Make sure your heart is in your entry.

BONUS ENTRIES - LOTS OF THEM!

1 - Visit Black Mountain Jewelry Company and then leave a comment here telling me one thing you learned on the site or one thing you saw that you liked.
1 - Subscribe to my RSS feed.
1 - Follow me on Twitter AND leave your Twitter name here.
1 - Tweet this giveaway. Feel free to use this message - Let @valmg and @BlkMtnJewelryCo help you honor your favorite Mom on Mother’s Day. http://tinyurl.com/cehlkj
1 - Fave this blog at Technorati AND leave your Technorati name here.
1 - Stumble this giveaway AND leave your Stumble name here.
1 - Blog about this giveaway, including a link here.
1 - Place my button on your blog.
1 - Visit HereAndThere.US (my Mom) and leave a comment on any post (except a giveaway post) there. Then return here and leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you read or learned on my Mom’s blog. (That’s two comments you need to leave for this bonus entry, one there and one here.) Unlimited entries for this method of entry.
1 - Check out my iRobot Roomba Pet review series. Leave a relevant comment on any of those posts and another here telling me why you would or would not like to have one of these vacuums. Unlimited entries for this method of entry.
1 - Check out my Weight series. Leave a relevant comment on any of those posts and another here telling me one reason you are or aren’t happy with your weight. Unlimited entries for this method of entry.

Leave an additional comment for each entry you qualify for. You must have completed the first entry according to the instructions to be eligible for any bonus entries.

THE SMALL PRINT.

US addresses only please. This contest will end on Wednesday 05/06/09 at 11:59 pm est. If you’ve entered any of my giveaways before then you know that only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. The winner must contact me to confirm they wish to receive the prize within two days of my email notifying them they’ve won. Good luck to everyone!

A huge thanks to Mark and Carla of Black Mountain Jewelry for sponsoring this terrific giveaway!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

THE FOLLOWING NOTE IS TO MY READERS FROM MARK AND CARLA.

We are so grateful to have been part of this Mom Knows It All giveaway. We were touched by the readers comments and wish we could afford to send each and every one of them a Tree of Life necklace! When we meet people at our craft shows so many share their stories and why they connect with our jewelry but we never have time to document what we’ve been told - the show atmosphere is too busy. We would like to quote the readers on our website. Please e-mail Mark and Carla at info@blackmountainjewelry.com if you wouldn’t mind being quoted. We could keep anonymous with just a first name, city & state if you prefer. If you’d like to receive monthly updates just need to say Join Mailing List in the e-mail and you will be entered into the jewelry drawing - next drawing 6/30.

Apr 29, 2009 | 121 comments | View Post

Listen to the moneytalk

At work we were informed last week that there is a mandatory meeting on 03/25 for all employees regarding our health insurance. People who don’t attend will have no health insurance as of 04/01. People who do attend will be learning of changes to our coverage. I realize there isn’t anything I can do about the changes as an employee. But what strikes me as unfair is that employees aren’t being told about changes until 1 week before they take effect. Whatever happened to corporate responsibility? Why are they choosing to keep it a secret? Don’t they care about people that have been under continued treatment or have treatments planned? I have a feeling that there will be more bad news at the meeting. I’d much rather it was a meeting about cheap term life insurance than our health insurance.

AC/DC says it all. ”Money talks, B.S. walks”

Mar 16, 2009 | 1 comment | View Post

The Responsibility Project

Did you ever see that television commercial about people doing nice things for strangers? In it, each time a nice thing or a good deed was done someone else would pay it forward. The commercial was from Liberty Mutual, and they received a lot of feedback from people thanking them for the commercial. Recently they took the idea one step further by creating The Responsibility Project.

The Responsibility Project was created in the hopes that if more people actually thought about accepting responsibility and doing the right thing that the world might become a better place. Quoting the Responsibility Project website, “We believe that the more people think and talk about responsibility, the more the world becomes a better place.” The project site showcases short 3-10 minute videos portraying regular people in different situations acting responsibly and choosing to do the right thing. The site also offers discussion guides and a blog, as well as a section that helps you determine what your own responsibility policy is.

One of my favorite videos was Mandy and Lester. It showcases a child knowing what the right thing is to do and having the determination to get it done despite the fact that it is challenging and difficult. A video that both TJ and I really enjoyed was GrowingUp, which is a combination of four stories. TJ was impressed by Chase’s story. Jenna’s story brought me to tears. Another video TJ and I both enjoyed was Hot Seat. I have seen situations like that happen firsthand, having worked in a call center full of cubicles for more than ten years. It is so true, nobody ever fesses up. (It’s also why I put my initials on my chair to this day.)

It is never to early to learn responsibility. We as parents must be responsible and teach our children right from wrong, to have ethics and values, and that doing the right thing is important. There is no age limit on taking responsibility. It’s something we should all learn as children, carry into our adult lives and teach to our children so that the cycle can keep repeating. The world would be a much better place if we all acted responsibly. If every person performed a single random act of kindness that would be amazing as well. The Responsibility Project would be a great website for parents to let their children spend some time on. It has the type of content that could provoke some interesting conversation. It will hopefully get people to take a look at themselves and decide what kind of person they want to be or if the person they are is who they want to be.

Thanks to MomCentral for letting me know about The Responsibility Project.

Sep 08, 2008 | 0 comments | View Post