Tag: "Twitter Moms"

How Do You Get Your Kids To Eat Their Veggies?

Do your children like to eat fruits and vegetables? I didn’t have many eating problems with the boys. I think that’s partly because every time I introduced a food to them I’d also try it right in front of them. As infants they both loved fruit. Who doesn’t love baby fruit? I had some myself right after surgery this year. I only encountered a few problems with vegetables with the boys as infants. If there was a vegetable they were resistant to I just mixed it with some fruit and that solved the problem. Well, Horizon has introduced a product called Little Blends that does the same thing. Little Blends from Horizon is an all-natural yogurt blend of fruits and vegetables. This product was created to help parents incorporate more nutritious foods and variety into their child’s diet.

About Little Blends - Little Blends is an all-natural yogurt, meaning it’s produced without added growth hormones, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. It is also created without high fructose corn syrup. Each 4-ounce cup packs a daily value of 20 percent calcium, 25 percent protein, omega-3 DHA and probiotics.

Things changed a little as the boys grew. CJ has always and will still eat anything. TJ is a bit more picky - like me. One vegetable he has never liked is potatoes. I’ve had no luck getting him to eat potatoes in any form other than McDonald’s French fries. I haven’t found a way to hide potatoes yet. If you’ve got one I’d love to hear it. TwitterMoms and Horizon are having a fun contest where they’re asking folks to share their tips and ideas on how to incorporate more fruits and veggies into their child’s diet. Visit the TwitterMoms community to read the great advice or to enter.

Sep 24, 2009 | 3 comments | View Post

Question For My Readers. Where Is The Heart Of Your Home?

Members were invited to participate in a TwitterMoms discussion as part of a contest from Samsung Home Appliances.

The topic of the discussion is this.

Where Is The Heart Of Your Home?

If I had to pick one room I’d say the heart of my home is the living room. We spend a lot of time in the living room together, watching movies and playing games in there. I love it when we all site on the couch and pass around popcorn or other snacks, it’s a real feeling of family togetherness. I have memories of many Easters and Thanksgivings spent in this room as well with extended family. But it’s not all about fun. It’s also about peace. I can sit on the couch and just hear the sounds of TJ playing a video game or CJ driving his trucks around and I am truly at peace because I know they’re safe and content.

Now for the real answer. The heart of my home is not really in one place. It’s wherever we are together. It’s a feeling you get. Yiu might get it at home, on a vacation or just standing in the yard or on the bus stop. When the feeling of love hits you so strongly that for a minute all is right with the world.

Now you know where the heart of my home is.

I’d love to hear from you about where the heart of your home is. Please leave a comment telling me and we’ll talk and learn more about each other. Plus, it would help me in the contest, which I would LOVE to win.

Sep 20, 2009 | 36 comments | View Post

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.