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How to keep your children active

How to keep your children active

How to keep your children active

By: Alejandra Jimenez

It is not easy to reconcile the busy day of parents who work, or the housework of stay-at-home parents, with the time and care that children need to stay happy and healthy. Nevertheless, we can’t let our routine make us leave out important details of our role as parents. These tips will help you keep your children active and happy, even if you can’t go outside:

Keep your children active
  • When you go shopping, generally you do not have too much time. And if you have to take your children with you, it will probably be better to sit them on a stroller or a shopping cart. However, little kids need to keep on moving all the time, and if you buckle them up you are depriving them of their natural need of movement. Let them walk next to you at the store and help you push the cart, or have them pick some of the groceries from the shelves.
  • If your kids are always at home or at indoor places only, you are restricting their freedom and exposing them to constant warnings, such as “do not put your shoes on the couch”, “do not run at home”, or “do not shout because you bother the neighbors”, for example. To make sure that your children are doing enough physical activity, visit frequently any safe outdoor place, so they have plenty space to run, jump, climb up and down, and shout as much as they want. If possible, bring in a ball and some toys to keep them entertained for a while.
  • Another excellent way to keep your children active is walking along a trail, at the beach, or at a lake shore, where they can observe some animals, search for treasures, collect  rocks of certain color, count stars, and many other activities.
Keep your children active

It is not easy to reconcile the busy day of parents who work, or the housework of stay-at-home parents, with the time and care that children need to stay happy and healthy. Nevertheless, we can’t let our routine make us leave out important details of our role as parents. These tips will help you keep your children active and happy, even if you can’t go outside:

 

  • When you go shopping, generally you do not have too much time. And if you have to take your children with you, it will probably be better to sit them on a stroller or a shopping cart. However, little kids need to keep on moving all the time, and if you buckle them up you are depriving them of their natural need of movement. Let them walk next to you at the store and help you push the cart, or have them pick some of the groceries from the shelves.

 

  • If your kids are always at home or at indoor places only, you are restricting their freedom and exposing them to constant warnings, such as “do not put your shoes on the couch”, “do not run at home”, or “do not shout because you bother the neighbors”, for example. To make sure that your children are doing enough physical activity, visit frequently any safe outdoor place, so they have plenty space to run, jump, climb up and down, and shout as much as they want. If possible, bring in a ball and some toys to keep them entertained for a while.

 

  • Another excellent way to keep your children active is walking along a trail, at the beach, or at a lake shore, where they can observe some animals, search for treasures, collect  rocks of certain color, count stars, and many other activities.
  • ​When it is not possible to take your children outside, music will always be your best ally to make them happy. Dance, sing along, and play together with any kind of rhythm.
  • Be an example for your kids by showing how physical activity helps them grow healthy and strong. Children’s habits are mostly influenced by their parents’ behavior. Therefore, every time you have the chance, choose walking instead of going by car (if you thing they might get tired, you may take a stroller). Do exercise together at home (yoga, dance). Enjoy together some outdoor activities, such as soccer at the park, fly a kite, swim at the pool.
  • Friends are a great motivation for your children. Invite one of their best friends to spend the afternoon playing at the swimming pool. Take them to a little and safe hill and teach them how to roll over. Let the kids play and exercise together at the park.
  • If you can afford it, enroll them in swimming lessons, a gym or any martial arts. Kids can get a lot of benefit from disciplines like these, even in the early years.

Remember, the main goal is making physical activities fun, so your children stay active without pressure or bad times.

Lee este artículo en español en ParaTiMami

 

Source: www.babycenter.com

Photography credits: Jonas Mohamadi

7 Smart Answers for Big Siblings’ Complaints

7 Smart Answers for Big Siblings’ Complaints

Have you ever wished to have a better answer for your children’s complaints about their siblings? Here are some smart answers to suggest:

 

  • BIG SIBLING: “Why are you going to have another baby? I don’t want anybody else”.
    Instead of: “You’ll see you will love the baby. You’ll have someone to play with”.
    Consider: “This is what you feel? Tell me more. Let me tell you that you will always be my only loved big child”.

 

  • BIG SIBLING: “Who do you love the most?”
    Instead of: “I love you both equally”.
    Consider: “That’s a hard question because you both are special to me. I love each one for being the way you are”.

 

  • BIG SIBLING: “¡Ga ga, gu gu… wa wa… momma”.
    Instead of: “Stop acting like a baby. You’re a big kid”.
    Consider: “Let’s pretend you’re a baby! Come now and sit on my lap”.
  • BIG SIBLING: “You always pay more attention to the baby than to me”.
    Instead of: “That’s not true! I pay attention to you all the time”.
    Consider: “Would you like us to spend more time together? I’d love to spend more time with you too. Do you want me and you to play alone later?”

 

  • BIG SIBLING: “Why are you always on her side?”
    Instead of: “I’m not always on her side. Sometimes you misbehave with your sister”.
    Consider: “That’s what you think? Why don’t you help me understand what you feel so I can be fair to both of you?”

 

  • BIG SIBLING: “I hate my brother”.
    Instead of: “That’s not true! You love your brother”.
    Consider: “Something your brother said or did made you angry”.

 

  • BIG SIBLING: “I wish the baby was never born”.
    Instead of: “How can you say something so unpleasant about your little brother?”
    Consider: “Sometimes you do like your brother, but now you don’t want him here. I know sometimes babies can be annoying, but when he grows up you’ll love to play with him”.

 

When your children argue, remember that family lasts a lifetime. Nobody can’t take your children’s shared story away from them. Nobody else shared all those years at home with their parents. This will be theirs forever, and will make a strong link between them”.

Lee este artículo en español en ParaTiMami

 

Source: www.babycenter.com

The Mamahood – Nailing This Mama-Thing Together

The Mamahood – Nailing This Mama-Thing Together

The Mamahood – Nailing This Mama-Thing Together

Nailing this “mama-thing” together.

 

mamahood-moms

The Mamahood is a free support group for Bay Area mothers focused on positivity, love and inclusion. Moderated from a place of social justice, we’ve created a safe space for mothers of all types to feel uplifted and connected through virtual and real-life community.

Mamahood members enjoy a directory of recommended resources called The M List, a full calendar of incredible events created by and for our members, and discounts and deals on 100s of services and products.

To learn more and join up, go here: www.themamahood.co

And log into our free resource center here:
www.themamahood.co/members/

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The Club

the-club-cover

The Club is a community for womxn entrepreneurs whose businesses serve The Mamahood’s 30,000+ Bay Area families.

We help passionate, driven womxn creators find more joy and success in life by providing:

  • Opportunities for fun, collaboration, and connection,

  • Tools for exposure, and

  • Curated resources.

Club membership currently includes a complimentary profile on The M List, a web platform for mom-recommended resources that serves our 30k moms.

Apply for the club here: THE CLUB

Visit  THE CLUB Facebook Group

Some of the benefits of being a THE CLUB member are:

Girls Nights IRL

TM-Girls-Nights

An entire year of sophisticated but laid back ‘girls nights’ planned for you! We host a super fun party each month on alternating sides of the Caldecott tunnel.

All you have to do is show up, relax, and make new friends.

Fabulous venues. Great company. Good laughs. Relaxed vibes. These are not your average ‘networking’ events. They are simply about having fun and letting loose with fellow womxn badasses.

 

Targeted Audience Exposure

As a CLUB member, you also get the exclusive right to promote your offerings to ‘built-for-you’ audiences in industry-specific chat groups that The Mamahood grows and moderates alongside you. This is an opportunity to position yourself as a community leader and provider or quality content in your niche. What this could be worth is totally up to you.

 

Discounted Marketing Services

In addition to all the DIY ways you can grow your audience through The M List platform and the targeted subgroups on Facebook, you can also work with me individually to boost exposure and take advantage of exclusive discounted services for Clubbers.

We can partner on:

  • Fun Giveaways,

  • CLUB Features,

  • Facebook Lives, or

  • Other customizable campaigns

 

Complimentary Profile on The M List

The M List (located here: www.themamahood.co/members/), is an interactive web directory of mom-recommended businesses created by and for The Mamahood, the Bay Area’s premier online mom community with 30,000 active members and growing.

The M List is marketed daily via special offerings, features, and giveaways in our main group: The Mamahood (SF East Bay).

 

The M List lets you easily:

* Create special ‘deals’ that are automatically featured on our site – and in our community;

* Add your own events to The Mamahood’s online member calendar;

* Include your URL, social media links, eye-catching 800 X 800 image, short and long descriptions to captivate your audience.

* Set up profiles for up to three businesses (if your side hustle has a side hustle).

Gestational Carriers (Surrogacy)

Gestational Carriers (Surrogacy)

Gestational Carriers (Surrogacy)

What is gestational surrogacy?

Gestational surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a baby for another person or couple. The woman who carries the baby is the gestational surrogate, or gestational carrier. The parents-to-be are known as the intended parents, and they are involved in the pregnancy, can be present at the birth, and become the child’s parents after the baby is born.

In gestational surrogacy, the baby isn’t genetically related to the gestational surrogate – the egg comes from the intended mother or an egg donor, and the sperm comes from the intended father or a sperm donor. Donor embryos may also be used.

Without a donor embryo, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is necessary because eggs from one woman are used to create embryos to be implanted in another woman’s uterus. In IVF, fertilization occurs after eggs and sperm are combined in a laboratory. One or more of the resulting embryos are then transferred to the gestational surrogate’s uterus.

Only 1 percent of all assisted reproductive technology procedures involve gestational surrogacy. It’s likely that cost is a major factor preventing more people from using a gestational surrogate.

Is using a gestational surrogate for me?

Using a gestational surrogate may be a good option if:

  • You don’t have a uterus.
  • You have problems with your uterus.
  • You can’t carry a pregnancy safely.
  • Other fertility treatments have failed.
  • You’re a single man or gay male couple.

What are the challenges of gestational surrogacy?

Whether you set up the arrangement through an agency or negotiate it privately, using a gestational surrogate is a legally complex and emotionally intense process. If you decide to go this route, be prepared to commit a lot of time, money, and patience.

Currently, a handful of states allow gestational surrogacy contracts, but they aren’t always enforceable, depending on what’s legal. Some states require couples to be married, and some don’t allow gestational surrogates to be compensated. Also, there may be requirements about sexual orientation.

Most states don’t have specific laws covering gestational surrogacy, so it’s important to work with a licensed attorney in your state who has expertise in third-party reproduction. An attorney can advise you on your options and draft a legally binding contract.

We’ve decided to try gestational surrogacy. How do we get started?

Get ready for a complex process that can be stressful. Although you won’t carry the baby, you’ll be very involved in the pregnancy. You’ll probably pay the gestational surrogate’s expenses, including medical appointments, health insurance bills, travel costs, legal bills, and agency fees (if you’re using one). Here’s how to get started:

1. Find a gestational surrogate. Decide whether to ask a relative or friend to be the gestational surrogate, or use an agency that can match you with someone. Most experts recommend choosing someone who:

  • Is between 21 and 45 years old
  • Previously gave birth without any complications
  • Has a supportive family
  • Is in good physical and emotional health

2. See a fertility counselor. Most doctors require that you and the gestational surrogate speak with a mental health professional (individually and together) to help you consider the pros and cons of the arrangement, process your emotions, and discuss the potential impact of a relationship with each other.

3. Schedule a medical exam for the genetic parents. If you’re using your own eggs or sperm, you’ll have a checkup and genetic evaluation to make sure you’re healthy enough for IVF. (If you’re using donated sperm, eggs, or a donor embryo, they’ll be screened during the donation process.)

4. Schedule exams for the gestational surrogate. She’ll need to have a medical exam and drug screen, and her partner or spouse will undergo psychological and medical screening as well.

5. Sign a legal agreement.You and the gestational surrogate should each hire separate attorneys experienced in gestational surrogacy to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Create a legal agreement that protects everyone and includes such important details as compensation, parental rights, legal custody, delivery location, future contact between the parties, insurance coverage, and control over medical decisions made during the pregnancy.
In some states, as long as one parent is genetically related to the baby, the gestational surrogate signs away parental rights before the baby’s birth, and the intended parents’ names are listed on the birth certificate. In other states, the gestational surrogate signs over parental rights after the baby is born.

How does gestational surrogacy work with fresh eggs?

Your doctor uses IVF to produce one or more embryos that will be transferred to the surrogate. Here’s how it works:

  • Match menstrual cycles. If you’re using your own egg, you and the gestational surrogate take medication to synchronize your menstrual cycles. That way, the surrogate’s uterus will be ready to support an embryo by the time your eggs are retrieved and fertilized. (Similarly, an egg donor will need to sync her cycle with the surrogate.)
  • Stimulate egg production. Once you (or the egg donor) are in sync with the surrogate, taking gonadotropins stimulates the ovaries to develop multiple eggs.
  • Fertilize the eggs. When mature eggs are ready to be fertilized, the doctor retrieves them during a minor outpatient procedure. Unless you’re using donor sperm, the intended father may need to provide a sperm sample at this time. Then the eggs are fertilized in the laboratory.
  • Transfer embryos. After fertilization, the embryos are transferred to the surrogate’s uterus.

The surrogate becomes pregnant when at least one embryo implants in her uterus. The chance of a successful pregnancy varies with the age of the woman who provided the egg.

How does gestational surrogacy work with frozen eggs?

Here’s how gestational surrogacy works when using frozen eggs:

  • Take medication. The surrogate takes medication over several weeks to prepare her uterus for a possible pregnancy.
  • Thaw and fertilize the eggs. Unless you’re using donor sperm, the intended father may need to provide a sperm sample, so the eggs can be fertilized in a laboratory.
  • Transfer embryos. After fertilization, the embryos are transferred to the surrogate’s uterus.

The surrogate becomes pregnant when at least one embryo implants in her uterus. The chance of a successful pregnancy varies with the age of the woman who provided the egg.

How does gestational surrogacy work with frozen embryos?

Using frozen embryos is similar to the process for using frozen eggs. Menstrual cycles don’t need to be synced, and the surrogate only needs to take medication to prepare her uterus for a possible pregnancy before the embryos are thawed and transferred into her uterus.

How long does gestational surrogacy take?

Finding a healthy, willing gestational surrogate can take months or even years, whether you screen candidates through an agency, decide to ask a friend or relative, or search for someone online.

Once you’ve finalized the agreement and have begun treatment, it can take at least three or four IVF cycles to achieve a successful pregnancy. Each IVF cycle takes four to six weeks.

What’s the success rate for gestational surrogacy?

Using your own eggs, your chance of having a baby through gestational surrogacy is as good as or higher than that of a woman your age using traditional IVF.

Recent national data on gestational surrogate IVF cycles using the intended mother’s eggs show the following live birth rates per cycle (ages refer to the intended mothers’ age):

  • 51 percent for women age 34 and younger
  • 49 percent for women age 35 to 37
  • 38 percent for women age 38 to 40
  • 21 percent for women age 41 to 42
  • 10 percent for women age 43 and older

With frozen embryos using the intended mother’s eggs, the birth rates per cycle were:

  • 46 percent for women age 34 and younger
  • 46 percent for women age 35 to 37
  • 42 percent for women age 38 to 40
  • 38 percent for women age 41 to 42
  • 22 percent for women age 43 and older

The donor egg data in the national report wasn’t grouped by age, but it showed that the overall live birth rate was 64 percent when fresh donor eggs were used in gestational surrogacy. When frozen donor eggs were used, the birth rate was 42 percent. When frozen embryos created from donor eggs were used, the birth rate was 51 percent.

What are the pros of gestational surrogacy?

  • If you and your partner are unable to conceive or carry a pregnancy to term, using a gestational surrogate can give you the chance to parent your own biological child.
  • You can be intimately involved in the details of your gestational surrogate’s pregnancy.

What are the cons of gestational surrogacy?

  • In addition to the possible side effects from fertility medication, your gestational surrogate goes through the discomfort and usual risks of pregnancy.
  • Using a gestational surrogate is expensive and legally complex. It involves intricate contracts and arrangements. In several states, using a gestational surrogate is illegal, which usually means that people must contract with a gestational surrogate who delivers in a surrogacy-friendly state.
  • You not only experience the usual suspense and anxiety of waiting for a pregnancy to safely reach full term, you may also have to deal with friends and relatives who don’t understand why you chose gestational surrogacy.
  • You might worry about legal snags and the possibility that your gestational surrogate could back out and not carry your baby. If she goes ahead with it, you might worry that she’ll have a hard time letting the baby go.

How much does gestational surrogacy cost?

The cost for gestational surrogacy depends on factors including your health insurance, the gestational surrogate’s expenses, and the cost of IVF where you live. Relatives or friends who serve as a gestational surrogate usually aren’t paid.

Most people find a gestational surrogate through an agency, and the cost can be almost $150,000. Here’s an estimated breakdown:

  • Agency fee: $22,000
  • Gestational surrogate fee: $25,000 to $35,000, though compensation is typically higher for a multiple pregnancy
  • Health insurance: $15,000 to $30,000 for supplemental or special coverage for the gestational surrogate
  • Gestational surrogate’s nonmedical expenses: $10,000 to $15,000
  • Legal fees: $14,000
  • Counseling services: $7,000
  • IVF: Up to $20,000 (Gestational surrogacy IVF is generally more expensive than traditional IVF, which averages around $12,400.)

If you liked this article, you can find more interesting topics in our blog www.tip4mom.com

Visita también nuestro sitio en Español www.paratimami.com

 

Source: www.babycenter.com

Photography credits: Jonas Mohamadi