One of the reasons we use cloth diapers is to save money. I've been curious to know how much we've saved in Alleke's first two years, so I crunched the numbers.

Cloth Diaper Costs
Indian Cotton Prefolds (infant size) - $2.25 x 20 = $45
Chinese Cotton Prefolds (premium size) - $2.75 x 20 = $55
Proraps Classic (small) - $8.95 x 4 = $35.80
Proraps Classic (medium) - $8.95 x 4 = $35.80
Bummis Super Whisper Wrap - $12.25 x 4 = $49
Bum Genius 2.0 - $17.95 x 4 = $71.80
Fuzzi Bunz - $19.95
Kissaluvs Fitted - $11.50
Thirsties Hemp Insert - $5.00
Snappi Diaper Fastener - $2.99
Kushies Diaper Liners - $8.99 x 2 = $17.98
Bummis Tote Bag - $6.99
Water - $12.50

Total $369.31

Disposable Diaper Costs
7 disposable diapers x 364 days = 2,548 diapers x $.045 each = $1146.60 a year.

Total: $2293,20 ... read more >>

I need to start this by making it clear that when God was handing out gifts and talents, the ability of connecting head of hammer to head of nail was missed on me … I am just not that handy around the home.

A fact not missed on my four year olds when I decided to build … ok, attempt to build them a tree house.

Maybe tree house is a bit strong of a word, I mean it’s really just 3 planks of wood nailed to a tree, with 2 bits of a broken surfboard, as a makeshift wall.

But anyway, I’m banging and whacking away, they’re getting more and more excited as their little imaginations see their dad building a grand treetop palace.

For some reason, beyond my construction knowledge, too many nails does not necessarily make something more safe, or more secure … so anyway, as all my efforts were turning to splinters, one of my boys says, you’re not that good at building are you? Not like Popa Al, I mean.” ... read more >>

There is so much worry about child abuse today, that many people are afraid to give their children the loving care they need, for fear of being accused of abuse. A certain amount of sexual play is common in preschool children, and it is easy to confuse a child’s normal sexual behaviour with signs of possible sexual abuse.
Most well adjusted children will customarily pass through several stages of sexual interest and play.

Small babies may discover that touching their genitals can feel good, and can be comforting. As far as they are concerned, it is rather like sucking their thumb or rubbing their nose - they won’t attach any other meaning to these actions. Baby boys may have erect penises when nappies are removed.

Many two-year-olds will show an interest in the way boys and girls urinate, and in the physical differences between the sexes. ... read more >>

The human brain is particularly susceptible to the effects of poor nutrition during the early years of development, and most preschool diets are either average or impoverished.[1]

Young brains need many nutrients for learning. Food additives and Deficiencies in some nutrients have been linked to ADD and ADHD.

Some guidelines that can help are:
No Soft Drinks - At least till the age of 5, and then only as an occasional treat. Replace Soft drinks with Water, Natural Fruit Juices (Without corn Syrup or Fructose Sweeteners), and Low fat Milk.
Limit Potato Chips, Donuts, Pop-Tarts, and Cookies. These should be a treat and healthier alternatives like whole grain pretzels or baked chips, fruits like bananas, sliced apples, grapes, and watermelon are ideal snack choices. ... read more >>

It’s been a long, hard day at work. You want to come home and just relax and have fun with your kids. You don’t want to deal with discipline. But Mom has had the children for most of the day and she’s tired of the fighting and bickering. So she starts to discipline and wants you to help. This is not your idea of unwinding.

So what do you do? Support her. Absolutely. Children need a unified front from parents, and when Dad is viewed as the Softie, it makes Mom look like the Bad Guy and makes her job so much more difficult. And marital tension increases dramatically. If you have an issue with the way Mom is disciplining, wait to talk to her about it after the children go to bed. Short term, backing up your wife will be extra work. But long term it will be well worth it as your children will be unable to pit Mom and Dad against each other. The softer you are on discipline now, the harder it will be for your family. ... read more >>

Have you realized the most important thing in a young girl’s life? It is her FATHER!

A father carves the way for their daughter’s lives, and when a father strengthens and rebuilds his bond with his daughter, it shapes her life and his for the better. But how ever much a father loves his daughter if he doesn’t realize what a girl child usually expects of him, his relationship would be strained.

Girls seek for a sense of protection and safety from their fathers. They feel that fathers should be available when needed. The real value of a father in a girl’s life is that it is from fathers that girls learn about males in the world; ... read more >>

There have been countless debates about how to help your kids become happy, healthy, successful people in their own lives. And one effective method of preparing them for their own lives is to give them a heavy dose of the word that not enough kids are getting today. The word?

“No!”

All of you deal with a certain amount of frustration in your everyday adult lives. You’re frustrated at your jobs, in your relationships, and by circumstances that you have no control over. Over time you learn to handle frustration better and to turn it into challenges and opportunities that you can work through.

People who can handle frustration successfully tend to have happier and more successful lives. They learn to be resilient and to appreciate what they’ve accomplished and what they’ve received.

How about your kids? ... read more >>

Maybe its delayed shock, or maybe it’s the shock of wife’s reaction that is catching up with me what have I done. I was trusted in carrying out simple job all I had to do was take my 2 year old off to the Barber to have a haircut or trim. We arrived at the Barber shop our 2 year old was so keen to go see Frank the barber, and was enjoying the car magazines prior to his haircut. Before we knew it William was sitting in the big seat with a Wiggles frock wrapped around him holding a big nervous smile.

Frank turned and asks "what will it be, short like dads" the words from mouth say "yes a bit of trim would be great". Well before I knew it, short was interpreted as short like Dad (dad has no hair!) and the scissors had taken to the back as quick you could say crikey that's short! ... read more >>

While I was getting my degree in Music Education one of the classes I took was titled "Reading - A whole language approach". I had never heard of the "Whole Language" concept before, but throughout the 3 months of the class the method seemed to have merit and provided a more creative and fun approach to learning to read compared to the way I had learned to read which was a phonics based approach.

Whole language learning stresses the flow and meaning of the text, emphasizing reading for meaning and using language in ways that relate to the child's own life, cultures, and interests. Whole language classrooms tend to teach the process of reading, while the final product becomes secondary. The "sounding out" of words so central to phonics is not used in whole language learning. Instead, children are encouraged to decode each word through its larger context. ... read more >>

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a four-term U.S. Senator, passed away a few years ago. But his view on the necessity of fathers lives on. He said: “From the wild Irish slums of the 19th century Eastern seaboard to the riot-torn suburbs of Los Angeles, there is one unmistakable lesson in American history: a community that allows a large number of young men to grow up in broken families, dominated by women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any set of rational expectations about the future - that community asks for and gets chaos.”

In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau show the importance of fathers in its statistics on children who grow up in homes without a father. These children are:
-5 times more likely to commit suicide
-32 times more likely to run away
-20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders
-14 times more likely to commit rape ... read more >>