You don’t get a do-over in parenting your kids, but it’s still good to reflect on what you might do different if you had the chance. Maybe others can learn from your mistakes. With that in mind, I invite you to take a look at my post, “What I Would Do Different As a Dad If I Had the Chance.”

By the way, my son, Jason Ross, is the author of this blog at OrdinaryParent.com. He is a testament to how good your kids can turn out even when you don’t do everything right as a parent. 

- Jeff Ross, Author of http://jeffrossblog.com/ 

The post Jeff Ross Guest Post – What I Would Do Different As a Dad If I Had the Chance appeared first on Ordinary Parent.

But at what cost?

The headline of the article already gives away one of the biggest deterrents for most people.  It’s a one way trip!  Despite seeming to have a 10 year plan laid out, they have made no plans for a return trip.  You’re potentially signing up for a guaranteed history making expedition that will result in you being part of the first group of humans to ever die on Mars.   Kinda morbid, but that’s the reality of it.  There’s no chance of a rescue mission should something go wrong and require immediate assistance from a very distant Earth.  The trip to Mars alone is estimated at 7 months.  7 months!  Without ample and frequent supplies, alerting Earthlings of your shortage or impending emergency is unlikely to provide much help.  Even if they were to eventually have a way to land a ship that could then bring the astronauts home, the time they spent there will not be short and cannot be made up later after a decade+ of time away from your kids.  

Another drawback for most is the intense training and preparation required for the “lucky” (having flashbacks to when I watched the Hunger Games to identify someone as lucky going into certain peril) few that are selected.   7 years of training that will include 3-month stints in a mock colony.   And didn’t we already try to create a self-sustaining “colony” already here on Earth at the Biosphere 2?  With the overwhelming success of that, what could go wrong in an environment we have no control over? 

So if you can get past the fact that you won’t come back to Earth, you still have a training plan that rivals the commitments made by Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, and other advanced degrees.   You’re literally offering your life as an experiment and exhibit for the world to watch.  Keep in mind that they plan on funding this mostly from a reality TV series.  But unlike reality TV shows now, this one requires you to sign over your life.  Not by way of a disclaimer that I’m sure all shows do (although I imagine the disclaimer for this experiment will rival most novels), but by signing on to a “show” from which you cannot end your contract once you’ve left the planet.  You could very well be signing up for people to watch you suffer as you also make history.

Why you won’t see a Parent on this team

When I refer to parent, I speak in terms of an active participant in a child’s life, young or old.  I discuss that more in my post on a Parent’s Definition of Parenting, but one of the main distinctions is that I’m not referring to a person with a biological offspring.  I mean moms and dads that actively care for and raise their children.  (And if your children are grown and out of the house, chances are you will be too old for the mission).

As a parent of 2 years now, it’s unthinkable to imagine leaving this life behind.  The journey of parenthood in no way involves a trip to Mars.  Maybe many, many years from now this won’t seem so farfetched, but the journey of parenthood needs to stay on Earth for now.  It will be impossible to live the life necessary for a parent if you go on this mission.  You cannot raise your children or be the support system that they will likely need to help them succeed.   What are you gonna do, threaten to ground them if they break a rule?  How can you possibly change a diaper? Walk them down the aisle? Hug them?  You can’t!  Parent’s do these things.  Astronauts on Mars being exploited exhibited for the entertainment of others or to actually attempt a colony on a naturally unlivable planet cannot.  Mommies on a computer monitor cannot.  And though the company claims to be non-profit, I have little doubt that everyone involved, should this be successful, will make a pretty penny from non-company related perks, speaking events, book deals, etc., etc., etc.  Even if the person is to get a paycheck for their contribution, I don’t think any little Martians will care about it. (photo above adapted from Bryan Versteeg’s artist depiction of the colony.)

The fact is that a parent’s job is rooted in their children, and until facilities exist to provide adequate care for children elsewhere, parent’s will be rooted down here on Earth.  This mission will require people without the roots which parenting requires.    I will certainly watch as this story and mission develops over the next 10 years, but I will happily watch from my couch, in my house, in my city, in my country, on planet Earth, with my family.

The post Why You Won’t See a Parent on the Mission to Colonize Mars appeared first on Ordinary Parent.

Start by getting coupons

Rather than spending hours combing through your neighbors trash for discarded coupon inserts or spending tons of money on eBay, stick to just one or two methods of getting coupons. Your Sunday paper is the easiest place to get coupons. Sure, there might be only one of each coupon, but how many bottles of mustard do you really need? You might also want to bookmark one or two websites that offer printable coupons, or better yet, download an app on your smart phone that the cashier can scan when you check out.

Only clip or save the coupons for products that your family will actually use. There is no point in clipping coupons for denture cleaner if no one in your family has dentures. Even if you get something for free, what’s the point if you don’t use it?

Next, buy a simple coupon organizer

Forget about binders or alphabetizing your vast coupon collection. Get a simple accordion file and use one section per aisle at your favorite grocery store. If you shop at multiple stores, organize the coupons by category.

When you get the grocery ads, go through each ad for the stores your normally shop at and make a list of the things you use that are on sale. If something is on sale but you don’t need it, skip it. Next to each item on the list, write down the price and the brand name.

Go through your coupon file and look for the coupons that match the items on your list. Pull these out, and ignore the rest. Go through your list again and cross off items that you don’t have coupons for and that you don’t need immediately. Then, go to the store and buy just the items on your list. While you might not end up with tons of free products with this method, you’ll find out that you can cut a lot off of your grocery bill.

Guest post by:

Eloise Hammond is a professional writer with 10+ years experience. She enjoys hiking, reading and spending time with her family. Also, check out coupons and deals and Best Buy coupon codes.

The post Realistic Couponing: Couponing For Moms With Limited Time appeared first on Ordinary Parent.

Kitchen Safety

The kitchen is often the most hazardous place for children, and safety must take top priority as soon as your toddler becomes mobile. Cupboard doors should be secure, and if you normally keep cleaning products under the sink, you must make certain your toddler cannot get to them. It is also important to get into good habits, such as keeping knives and other sharp objects toward the back of the counter and, when cooking, turning all pots and pans so the handles do not hang over the stove near little hands.

Furnishings

A great place to begin in preparing your home for a toddler to run around is with the furnishings in the main area of your home. Shopping for safe furniture can sometimes be a struggle since most manufacturers are more concerned with appearance. If you’re looking for the best of both worlds in safety and design, try getting your furniture custom-made through places like Brandenberry Amish Furniture. This way you’ll be certain that your furniture goes well in your home without sharp edges that can put your child in danger.

Bathroom Safety

Your bathroom is a particularly dangerous place for toddlers. The sink, tub, and toilet all pose a threat to your child, and you need to be sure your child is never left alone in this room, especially when in the tub. All it takes is a few seconds and your child could be seriously hurt. Medicine cabinets should be locked, as well.

One of the best ways to prepare your home for toddlerhood is to get down to your toddler’s level and do a thorough inspection. What dangers lie in your path while you crawl around on your hands and knees? Are any cords in sight that your toddler could grab? Do all of your electrical outlets have safety devices on them? Are there any sharp furniture edges to harm your child? Getting down on your hands and knees is the only way that you can be sure your toddler will be safe in your home.

Guest post provided by Vicky Hyde

The post Busy Busy Bee: Preparing Your Home for Toddlerhood appeared first on Ordinary Parent.

Congrats to Laura P. on winning the cookbook after submitting several great tips!

We hope you’ve had a chance to see our review of The Organic Family Cookbook.  We like it so much, we’re going to give away a copy to a user who submits a parenting tip below.  

Fill out the form below with:

• Your tip (with title and description – see Parenting Tip page for examples)
• The name you want displayed with your tip (if any)
• Your email address so we can contact you if you win
• The person who referred you to the contest, if there was somebody.  That person will get a bonus entry for the contest!

You can submit up to 10 tips (unique and meaningful ), and receive up to 10 bonus entries for referring others to the contest.  Winner will be chosen at random through random.org.

We will post as many of the submitted tips as possible on our Parenting Tip of the Day page.  

Contest Ends 4/15/2013

The post Giveaway – The Organic Family Cookbook appeared first on Ordinary Parent.

All through the book there are recipes for all the basic categories like breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sides, but there are also great family additions like snacks.  One of my favorite sections is “Homespun Extras,” where she gives recipes for things like honey butter and strawberry-mango salsa.  There are little sections throughout the book that teach you things like what different kinds of flour are.

These little sections that are interspersed throughout the book show you how you can include your family in many areas of home life.  The Growing Together tips teach you ways that you can grow your own garden or take advantage of surrounding farms.  The Cooking
together tips show ways you can include your children in the cooking process, like having random celebrations that involve cooking.  Last, the “Greening Together” tips give you
ways that you can help make your family more environmentally conscious.  One of my favorite green tips she gives is how to create cheap household cleaning products that are good for the environment.

One of my favorite tips included in the book is about Easter Eggs – perfect timing!  It gives different fruits and veggies that can be used to dye Easter Eggs instead of using store-bought dye.

Even if you’re not an organic person, this is still a fantastic book!  The recipes are of course intended to be made with organic products, but they are still pretty basic and delicious – and great to be made with and for kids!  I highly recommend this book for families with children of any age.  It will give you some great recipes and great tips on how to grow as a family.

The post The Organic Family Cookbook – Review appeared first on Ordinary Parent.

As is customary for our household, we kept a list of who gave us what gifts so that we could write thank-you notes later.  But rather than just writing a nice note, we got our daughter involved in contributing to the thank-you.  Would a regular thank-you note be sufficient?  Absolutely!  But we find it fun and important for our daughter to play a part.  Even though our daughter is too young to write, she left an impression on her notes…quite literally.  We got out our ink pad and let her put her “signature” on each card in the form of her hand print.   I then wrote her name and dated each card.   Each card was also written from her perspective.   We could have just as easily let her draw on one side of the card, and use the other side for writing.  Regardless of how you decide to do it, here are our reasons for getting your kids involved in writing thank-you notes (or any notes for that matter).

Search for inexpensive Ink Pads on Amazon

5 Reasons to Get Your Kids Involved in Writing Thank-You Notes

Teach them to show thanks

 The rather obvious reason here, but it will help them understand that they should say thank you to the people who do nice things for them.  We’ve tried from a very young age to get her to say thank you any time someone helps her or gives her something.  She’s pretty good about it for a 2-year-old, and we hope it will continue to develop as she grows.

Provide a practical application of writing

She’s still too young to write, but this is the first real glimpse of a reason we learn to read and write.  She doesn’t need to be in school before she learns what a letter is.  We hope that it will show her one day that there is a reason why we teach the things we do.

Teach them to be appreciative

Sort of in line with teaching them to show thanks, teaching them to be appreciative goes beyond saying “Thank you.”  It’s about developing an understanding in them that people are doing nice things for you because they love you.  It’s getting them to realize that they didn’t have to be nice, but chose to be nice, and that courtesy should be reciprocated in turn.  

Your family and friends will enjoy it

 Again, any thank-you note is sufficient.  But I think it’s exciting to see kids get involved in writing the notes.  One of our daughters friends even “wrote” the words “Happy Birthday to my friend” in her card (may have looked like scribbles to some people, but our daughter could “read” it.

Unique Keepsake

 Finally, we think it could be a unique keepsake for the recipient.  I don’t expect everyone to keep the cards we’re sending out, but they could.  And if her grandparents or great-grandparents want to, they can keep the hand-print signed card for a long time, and even show her one day how thoughtful she was.  At the very least we hope it brings a smile to their face.

So however you think you can get your kids involved in writing notes, do it.   If you have ideas for getting them involved please share them below!

The post 5 Reasons to Get Your Kids Involved in Writing Thank-You Notes appeared first on Ordinary Parent.

Your kids have the opportunity to follow along as their characters, Sam and Sofia, visit different countries or states across our globe.   When you register, your kid(s) will get a Discovery pack in the mail with lots of goodies like maps, stickers, a passport (world edition), games, and more.   They also get access to various online activities they can do.

Then, each month, they will receive a new package in the mail with more items such as activity journals, souvenirs, postcards, photos and more.  What I really like about this, is that you aren’t locked into a minimum contract like most subscription services.  You have the options below with either the World or US versions, saving a little money the longer you subscribe.

• Monthly Subscription – Cancel at any time
• 3 Months
• 6 Months
• 12 Months

I encourage you to jump over to their site using the links provided and see many of the reviews from sources like Parents Magazine, Online Newspapers, Fox, NBC, Scholastic and more.  I’ve also shared the video below from their YouTube channel.

Do you have comments to share about your experience with Little Passports?  Please share them below!

The post Review of Little Passports – US or World Adventures for Kids appeared first on Ordinary Parent.

So in case you missed it, here it is.

The post Best Parenting Commercial from the Big Game appeared first on Ordinary Parent.

Our Top Posts of 2012

#1 – Creative Baby Shower Food Ideas

#2 – 20 Great Pregnancy Photo Ideas

#3 – Best Father Daughter Songs

#4 – Making Your Own Baby Food (multiple posts)

#5 – 1st Year Progressive Baby Photo Ideas

#6 – My Toddler Won’t Go to Sleep

#7 – Fun Ultrasound Photoshop Ideas

#8 – Creative Baby and Toddler Halloween Costumes

#9 – 10 Must Have Baby Items & 10 More Must Have Baby Items

#10 – 7 Benefits of Reading to your Children

We hope you’ve enjoyed these and will continue to visit our site.  Remember that we are always willing to accept guest posts, and will also now accept a guest ’Parenting Tip of the Day.’   After 2013, we’ll have to see what posts and pages have the most views…

The post Top Posts of 2012 appeared first on Ordinary Parent.