Do you want to win $50 PayPal credits?

Wherever you are in the world, as long as you have (or you can create) a PayPal account, you can join and get a chance to win $50 PayPal credits from Sheryl of GEORYL (a.k.a Techie She or WAHWM) as she celebrates the birth of her newest blog, Geshery Online!

The “$50 PayPal Giveaway by Geshery” is brought to you by the following sponsors: Stay At Home Wife and Mother, Dens Online, Chika Bits, Travel Pixy, Bloggista Info Corner, Casthle and Nilla Vizion.

Enter this contest via the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note that Geshery is the main host of this $50 PayPal Giveaway and I am only a co-host. The contest is open worldwide and ends on April 8, 2013. Winner will be notified via email and will be given 48 hours to respond (or another winner will be chosen).

Good luck!

1. Do product and service reviews.As a consumer, I want to document my experience with a certain product or service. Readers can be rest assured that I will recommend only those that I have pleasant experience with. I will write about products that are worth patronizing and services that are worth every penny. On the other hand, I will not hesitate to write negative feedback (objectively, of course) based on personal and firsthand experiences.

2. Announcements and press releases. I will write anything that is worth sharing here. For example, I can write about new businesses within the locality or anywhere else in the world. It can also be about giveaways from bloggers and/or sponsors.

Okay, I am not really sure if I’d stick to WordPress. Perhaps I will hang around a little bit more. You see, I am kind of comfortable with the Blogger platform. I also thought it is easier to get my pages ranked in Blogger than WordPress. Or perhaps it is just me. I’ll see how it goes in the next few months. I just have to keep writing.

Would you like to have more fans or followers for free?

If you’re a blogger, sign-up to be a co-host of $50 Paypal Giveaway by Geshery to increase your social media influence. You can even win up to $20 Amazon gift card for yourself if you refer the most number of bloggers and participants to this event!

Sheryl, the blogger behind GEORYL: Welcome to Our World and who is also known in the blogosphere as Techie She and WAHWM, recently launched another website called Geshery Online. To celebrate this milestone in her blogging career, she will be hosting the $50 Paypal Giveaway by Geshery and invites you to join as a co-host of this contest.

Interested? Read more about this free blogger opportunity at Free Blogger Opportunity: $50 PayPal Giveaway by GESHERY.

Please mention MOM WRITES ONLINE referred you to this event.

See you there!

However, the desire to have a baby as well as the excitement of friends and families don’t necessarily have anything to do with the wife getting a positive result on her pregnancy test kit. While there are some women who get pregnant right away, there are also women who find it so difficult to conceive.

There are many reasons why it’s hard for some women to conceive. In fact, you can’t just rely solely on the woman’s productivity and fertility but also that of the husband’s. If you think you’ve waited long enough to bear a child, you can always pay your doctor or obstetrician a visit for some medical advice and testing.

When it comes to finding the suitable activities for children, there are actually a lot to choose from. These range from those that can be played with the other children to those that can be played together with the family. Activities for young ages don’t just imply games. They may also suggest cooking with the family particularly with moms or watching a movie with the parents. Cooking and watching a movie together not only entertains the children, but also improves the relationship between you and your kids. This is the perfect time to make them understand how important it is to spend time with the family besides spending time with playmates.

When you choose or create fun and learning activities for your kids, you have to take into account some vital factors. First, you need to consider the amount of time needed. It should not be too long as kids easily get bored. It should not also be too short; otherwise, your children will just think of running to their friends and play instead of spending time with you or with the whole family. Letting your kids participate in an activity that consumes just the right amount of time only requires observation on their behavior.

Observe your kids and find out about their interests. Incorporating the things they like to the activities that you are about to develop can surely get their attention.  It is very important to understand your children’s behavior before you let them play with you or with some things that you intend them to play with. Figuring out the things they like will somehow make it easier for you to win their attention and get them to enjoy the activities that you prefer.

Another factor for consideration is the purpose of the activity. Are you creating or planning an activity that could improve his learning and development skills? Do you intend to improve your relationship with your children? Are you trying to strengthen the family’s bond? Whatever your purpose is, you have to make sure that your planned activities for kids target it. Surely, there are specific activities intended to reach each of your objectives. Watching a movie together, for example, can improve the relationship with the family.

have time for kid’s playtime

It is highly essential to teach your kids to play with others as this could enhance their social skills. Letting them play alone every time is not good since this can eat up their confidence as they grow. They become shy and unable to interact with other people. Encouraging them to have a fun time with friends is a smart move in developing your kids’ social skills. They would learn how to approach, communicate and interact with others.
If you are planning little kids games, invite kids from the neighborhood to come over. This is absolutely great especially if you are holding a birthday party for your child. Then you can organize games such as Freeze dance, Backyard Hunt and Treat Time. Find out some very interesting games for little kids online. Surely, you will find a lot of them. Just make sure that you’re choosing those that are fun and learning. The Freeze dance, for example, allows kids to think when to dance and when to freeze. When they start to think to win a game, you are actually enhancing their mental capabilities.

The Backyard Hunt is like a treasure hunting activity, which would also require kids to think. You will be giving them clues that would need their thinking skills. Hence, games that involve thinking are highly recommended for young ones. This is a great way for them to develop their mental abilities. After all, they are at the age of learning.

Don’t hesitate to let your children participate on games or activities that are educational. They surely will find it pleasing especially if they can see other kids around. Giving coloring books and allowing them to play with colors together with the others is one way of providing them with fun time and making them familiarize the different shades at the same time.

But don’t forget to also let them run around the playground. Making use of their high level of energy is also great as it can exercise their body. Therefore, you should also go for little kids games that will improve your children’s physical skills. Let them grow healthy and wise.

Pleasing children mentally and emotionally is most important when offering them gifts. You have to make sure that you’re purchasing toys that satisfy not just your kids’ emotions, but also their mental aspects. Creating a balance between these two will grant your toddlers a fulfilling experience. So think not just of the joy you’re giving to your children with the gifts that you intend to give, but also the knowledge and skills.

The first suggested gift is a universal toy. Universal toys can be played by children at all ages. They don’t require a specific level of knowledge or skills. Hence, children will not find them difficult to play with. Check out some universal toys online. But be more cautious upon choosing. Don’t trust the label right away. Seek for reviews as they are quite effective in educating you about a particular toy.

Video games are great gifts for children. You can play with your kids and spend time together. However, make sure that there are no graphics that aren’t good for them. Many video games for children these days involve graphics that are not proper for young ages. This is again the time when you need to read on customers’ feedback. Learning about the product before shelling out your money for it is an essential procedure when buying children gifts.

Reading and coloring books are probably the greatest presents when you want your kids to start learning. Books that are full of pictures can definitely light up your kids’ eyes. They would love browsing through pictures of animals, flowers, colored shapes and others. Coloring books allow them to recognize the different colors. They will help children explore and learn more about the various shades.

When you think of toys, you should not just think of fun. Learning must be something that you need to integrate during their playtime. Even if celebrating birthdays or Christmas and other special occasions, you should stick to the thought of giving entertaining and educational gifts for kids. Never spoil your children by giving them the kind of toy they want. Teach and discipline them at a very early age as this is the perfect time to let them absorb the extremely important things such as good behavior.

Soy products, eggs, seafood, poultry and lean meat, peas, beans, nuts and unsalted seeds are among those foods that are rich in proteins. Protein is one of the three macronutrients that are essential for the child’s growth and development. Surely it is your wish to have a child that grows tall and with a strong immune system. You can achieve this wish once you feed him or her with the right amount of proteins.

Kids hate vegetables, but never tolerate such a behavior. If they push away the veggies to the side of their plate, push them back to the center. But never do it forcefully. There are ways by which you can encourage your kids and you shall learn them by consulting experts or researching online. When it comes to fruit juices, always make sure to give your child 100% natural fruit juice. Drinks with artificial flavors aren’t advisable for kids. They contain elements that could weaken kids’ resistance to certain sicknesses.

Oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, brown rice and popcorn are some of the foods that are fully packed with healthy grains. These are perfect for your kid’s breakfast. Grains are rich in carbohydrates, which children need to keep the appropriate level of energy that they need. Considering the fact that kids love to play always, it is highly vital to incorporate carbohydrates-dense foods on their breakfast.

Dairy products that are low in fat are as well great for children. Letting them drink milk instead of sodas or artificially flavored juices helps you create a stronger shield for your children against illnesses. At the same time, you can get rid of costly visits to pediatricians.

Having a healthy child doesn’t mean feeding him or her with too much food. Even if the foods are healthy, you should also pay attention to the amount. Every child demands a specific number of calories to consume. You will discover this by consulting your child’s pediatrician or dietitian. Fat or overweight kids are never cute. Be sad as they actually don’t have the right nutrition for kids. They will likely encounter health problems in the future.

To breastfeed or bottle feed?

While browsing a forum for mothers, I read about this “debate” on which one is better as it relates to sleep habits of babies: breastfeeding or bottle feeding. Some mothers expressed concerns that breastfeeding babies will cause the latter to not sleep well or will lead to long-term sleep issues.

It was a great discussion but I decided to research on the subject itself, rather than rely on the forum’s discussion thread.

I have learned that babies can have healthy long-term sleep habits regardless of whether they were breastfed or bottle-fed. As a matter of fact, there was a study made by pediatricians on the long-term relationship between breastfeeding, bottle-feeding and sleep and it revealed, among others, the following results:

• Infants who were breastfed exclusively wake more at night, have fewer naps and experience more instances of not sleeping in their own beds while bottle-fed babies sleep for longer stretches but there is no difference in the total amount of sleep.
• Breastfed babies still continue the habits of night waking and not sleeping in their own beds at three months.
• Differences in sleep habits between breastfed and bottle-fed babies disappear at nine months.

Now this issue is solved (at least for me). I breastfed my first baby and it’s really hard to sleep during the first few months since you need to be awake everytime your baby gets hungry at night. But I also believe that the nutrition she got from my milk will have long-term benefits (backed by studies) and for me, that’s enough reason to sacrifice on my sleep for a few months.

What do you think?

Why?

First, drinking excess high-calorie beverages is associated with weight gain in children. These are usually empty calories from all those sweeteners and these are not good for your baby.

Next, sipping juices all day increases the risk of cavities. In addition, when your child drinks too much boxed juice, the naturally occurring sugars in juice can cause diarrhea.

Finally, filling upon juice decreases your child’s appetites for nourishing foods. This is not healthy especially at this stage when he’s having growth spurts and his body is still developing.

I used to be guilty of letting my daughter have more than 4 ounces of fruit juice daily. We were able to gradually limit her boxed juice intake and now, she rarely drinks them and she’s more into milk and nutritious solid food.