My kids are 12 and 5 years old.  They love each other but aren’t the best of friends. I’m sure you understand if you have kids who are far apart in age.  My 12 year old hardly acknowledges that my 5 year old exists and when he does it’s often to correct her, poke at her, or ask her to do something for him.

Therefor, I was pretty nervous about driving the kids to Florida (from our home in Atlanta) alone as I’ve never driven the kids to Florida by myself before and I never know when they are going to be at each other’s throats. Well not really but you know what I mean.   My husband and parents didn’t want me to drive the kids by myself in case something happened with the car or the kids during the drive.  And me being the paranoid girl that I am, I think about the kids getting car sick (it’s happened before!), getting a flat tire, accidents, traffic, the rushed need for a restroom when there’s none around, etc and those thoughts usually consume me.  However, I didn’t let those thoughts consume me this time.  Mostly because I was consumed with the fact that my 5 year old and I had just gone to urgent care the day before our trip and I found out that I had a sinus infection requiring anti-biotics and steroids and she had something that required anti-biotics.  I was just hoping to get there and to feel better the next day.  Little did I know that 7 days later, I’d be fighting a different infection and working from bed.

Here are a few things that I did to ensure that I and the kids had a fun, safe, happy, and successful 8 hour road trip to Florida and back last week:

Keep them Fed!

• Packed lots of cups of water
• Brought pre-portioned Snacks
• Included fruits & veggies in their snack bags
• Plastic plates and utensils

Keep things Fun!

• Activity Tray for each child
• DVD’s that they agreed on before hand
• iPad – full charged with a few new apps installed
• Blank paper to color and write on
• Pencil box with crayons and colored pencils
• Sticker books (for my 5 year old)
• Nook Color (for my 12 year old)
• Wireless headphones for kids

Keep the kids and car Clean!

Keep the kids Comfortable!

My Road Trip Survival Guide – How I Survived 8 Hour Road Trips Alone with Two Kids is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

It is our responsibility as parents to teach our children how to be thankful.

Teaching children to be thankful for what they have will help them become compassionate adults who want to help others.

Here are some ways to teach children of different ages to be thankful.

Parents should start teaching their children to be thankful when they are toddlers.

• Ask your toddler what they are thankful for and have them draw pictures of what they appreciate. These can be hung on the refrigerator as a reminder.
• Parents should spend time talking with their toddlers about how they would feel if they didn’t have those things to be thankful for in their lives. This helps toddlers understand that being thankful feels good, so they recognize thankfulness is a positive emotion.
• Toddlers should also be taught to be thankful for people and emotions instead of just things.

Teaching an older child to be thankful is different.

It is often easier to teach elementary age children or even teens to be thankful by showing them people who don’t have all the things to be thankful for that they have.

• Taking children to volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter can open their eyes and help them appreciate what they have.
• Parents can go with their kids to volunteer for local veterans’ associations or battered women’s shelters.  This may help your child become aware of how difficult life could be and thus make your child more thankful for what he/she has.

Children have a way of learning to be thankful when they understand that other people don’t have all that they do.

Do you have tips on how to teach a child to be thankful? Please share them with our readers in the comments below.

Teaching Children to be Thankful is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

Keep Your Kids Safe this Halloween with These Halloween Safety Tips For Kids is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

Summer is most probably be every kid’s favorite season, especially with the summer holidays. It is also the best time for parents to spend time with their children as a family. However, while you are at work, the kids need something to occupy themselves, and everyone knows how expensive summer activities could be. Here are some suggestions on how to keep young kids occupied in the summer without burning a hole in your pocket.

You do not have to send your kids to summer camps, unless you could afford hundreds a week. However, you could survey around town to look for affordable summer activities. Like for examples, libraries usually always have summer reading activities that could keep your child busy, and at the same time it is productive. Or yet even better, what you could do is find like-minded parents around the neighborhood and organize your own group activity.

Another low-cost form of quality time and fun with the kids is to bring them out for picnics. There is not a young child who would not enjoy going out for picnics. The food can be prepared from home, and be sure to plan fun activities for the family. Picnic is a good time for fun and family bonding. It is also one of those times where you get to gather your family all at once, and have a good meal together.

The summer could also be a great time to teach your young child something new. Depending on your interest, if it is something that you do not know yourself, it would be even better if the both of you learn at the same time, for example, gardening, craft making and so much more. Teaching or learning together with young kids could prove to be one of the best ways to bond.

Summer is the time where the best movies of the year are released. The cinemas are often lined up with great movies suitable for young kids. Bring them to movies, or arrange an outing for them in a group to watch movies together. You might be surprised how enjoyable watching movies could be for them.

Do not stop your  young kids from having fun, as summer should be an exciting time for them, not a boring one. The best thing to do is, when summer is almost arriving, you should plan ahead activities for your children to keep them occupied and engaged throughout summer with productive and fun activities.

How do you keep your young child(ren) occupied in the summer?  Join in the conversation.. leave a comment below.

How To Keep Young Kids Occupied In The Summer is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

I asked the question on Twitter this morning “Two more days until my 11 yr old is out of school. Do you get excited about your kids being out of school, stressed, or both?” and was thrilled to get a good mix of answers includes those below..

Yes, I am super excited that my 5 year old daughter is already out of school and that my 11 yr old son will be out of school is T-24 and counting.  But I also get a little stressed when I think about trying to run a business (AtlantaMoms.com too), transport my son to camp, cook, clean, play, travel, etc..

Here’s what I’m most excited about:

• Not having to wake up at or before the crack of dawn to get the kids off to school.
• Being able to jump in the car and go to the park (or where ever) whenever we want.
• My son experiencing some amazing summer camps.
• Going to the beach with my family for a week.

Here’s what I’m least excited about:

• Not knowing from minute to minute when my 5 year old is going to come into my office or whatever room I happen to be working in at the moment, and ask for a snack, help with a toy, or for me to play a game
• The money I’m going to spend on gas for transporting my son to his four summer camps.
• Having to take the kids everywhere I go.. grocery store, etc..

What are your most and least favorite things about the kids being out of school for the summer?

P.S. Follow me on Twitter here.

Are you Happy or Stressed that the Kids are out of School for the Summer? is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

GeoPalz Activity Tracker

Do you wish your kids were more active? Not the on-the-couch active that they think it active because they are moving their eyes or hands, but the get up and move kind of active?  I do and since seriously limited the amount of TV that my kids watch, they’ve been more active and they love it as much as I do!

Something that helped my son get more active is his new GeoPalz activity tracker.

With GeoPalz, the kids in your family will want to join in on the activity and stay active this spring. GeoPalz (www.geopalz.com) activity tracker is the first decorative pedometer and online game that tracks your child’s physical activity throughout the day. The GeoPalz easy-to-use pedometer sits on your child’s waistline and comes in several kid-friendly designs.

GeoPalz Activity Tracker - Marcus

And the cool thing about GeoPalz…the kids walk to win! For every mile your child achieves with GeoPalz, it counts as one pedpoint when you register your GeoPalz online. Your child can manually enter his or her steps online and once the points start to add up, he or she can use the points to redeem fun, activity-focused prizes, such as baseballs, Frisbees and gift cards to popular stores, such as Target.

Sebastian is very motivated by prizes no matter how big or small and GeoPalz has got the prize thing mastered.

GeoPalz Website

Follow GeoPalz on Twitter

Follow GeoPalz on Facebook

GIVEAWAY!

We are giving a lucky reader a GeoPalz of their choice.  To enter to win leave a comment below telling me which GeoPalz is your favorite and why you want your child to have a GeoPalz.

Entries accepted through April 10th, 2011.  Open to U.S. residents 18+ only.

Extra entries:

• Follow @mommyinsider on Twitter
• Like us on Facebook
• Like GeoPalz on Facebook
• Like GeoPalz on Twitter
• Tweet this: “I entered to win a GeoPalz Activity Tracker on TheMommyInsider.com!  You can entere here: http://wp.me/plszx-275″
• Be sure to tell us what you’ve done in the comments below!

GeoPalz Activity Tracker for Kids Review & Giveaway is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!