Dr. Laura: Values

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Values

Tip of the Week: July 16th, 2010 07/27/2010 Simple Avocado MangoSalad By Cheryl Tallman www.FreshBaby.com Ingredients: Salad: 1 avocado, cubed 1/2 mango, cubed 1 graham cracker, crushed Honey-Lime Dressing: 2 Tbsp lime juice 1 Tbsp rice vinegar 1Tbsp Honey 1/4 cup olive oil Directions: Prepare dressing: In small bowl, whisk all ingredients together. Salad: Arrange avocado and mango cubes on a plate or bowl. Drizzle withdressing. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Serve. Cheryl Tallman is the co-founder of Fresh Baby, creators of theaward-winning So Easy Baby Food Kit, and author of the So Easy Baby Food Basics: Homemade BabyFood in Less Than 30 Minutes Per Week and So Easy Toddler Food: Survival Tips andSimple Recipes for the Toddler Years. Visit Cheryl online at www.FreshBaby.com for more delicious tips. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>
Tags: Character, Courage, Conscience, Character-Courage-Conscience, Family/Relationships - Children, Family/Relationships - Family, Men's Point of View, Morals, Ethics, Values, Parenting, Relatives, Values, Women's Point of View
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Tip of the Week: June 27th, 2010 07/27/2010 Protect Your Medical Information By John Sileo www.Sileo.com Medical records are one-stop shopping for identity thieves. There is no need to slowly gather bits and pieces of someone's personal information - it's all packaged together: Social Security number, name, address, phone number, even payment accounts. Crooks have received everything from medication to a liver transplant using a stolen identity. And that's only the tip of the iceberg! More than just medical treatment is at stake. Once a thief's medical information is entered into your records, it's extremely difficult to get rid of that information. It's conceivable, for example, that at a later date, you'll need a Type A blood transfusion but be given the thief's Type B with dire consequences. Identity theft of medical records has more than doubled since 2008, as stated in Javelin's 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report. It's not difficult to imagine the misery that a million Americans have suffered during the past two years when their identities were stolen. And the Poneman Institute, in their National Study on Medical Identity Theft, states that another half million people loaned their insurance cards to uninsured family members and friends. The unsavvy lenders have incurred huge medical bills in this "friendly fraud." Larry Ponemon says that, on average, it costs $20,000 to resolve a medical identity theft case. Unlike credit card companies,where the banks incur the losses, the victims often have to pay for the fraudulent care and sometimes lose their health insurance or have to pay higher premiums to restore their accounts. Even though there are HIPAA laws to protect your privacy, not all health care organizations have strict safeguards in place. The risk goes even further: if someone is treated using your identity, your medical records will more than likely be altered and could compromise your treatment and ability to get service. According to Larry Ponemon, "stolen medical records offer a complete dossier to get a passport in a victim's name that could be used for terrorism." Ways to Protect Yourself: When you receive an Explanation of Benefits from insurers, read it carefully and save - don't throw it away even when it says "this is not a bill"! If a treatment date or doctor's name is not familiar to you, call the insurer and the billing physician to resolve. If your wallet is stolen, contact your insurance company just as you would your credit card company. Don't carry your Medicare card in your wallet. Carry a photocopy and black out the last four digits of the SS#. Urge your health care providers to ask patients for photo ID's. Ask your doctors for copies of everything in your medical files, even if you have to pay for them. Monitor your credit report. If you see medical billing errors, contact your insurer and the three credit bureaus, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Avoid Internet and storefront offers of free treatment and supplies. Ask for a list of benefits paid in your name and an "accounting of disclosures" which shows who got your records. About the author: To further bulletproof yourself and your business, visit John's blog at www.Sileo.com. To book John at your next event, visit www.ThinkLikeaSpy.com. John Sileo became America's leading Identity Theft Speaker Expert after he lost his business and more than $300,000 to identity theft and data breach. His clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer and the FDIC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>
Tags: Character, Courage, Conscience, Character-Courage-Conscience, Morals, Ethics, Values, Parenting, Values
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Tip of the Week: August 30th, 2009 07/27/2010 Four Secrets toSearching the National Archives By Phil Stewart www.pwstewart.com Do you remember the last scene in the 1981 movie Raiders of the LostArk, when the wooden crate containing the Ark of the Covenant was movedinto that huge limitless warehouse for storage? After recently completing a short very informal survey, that scene fromthe movie is what a majority folks think of when they are asked todescribe the U.S. National Archives. Scary, isn't it. Properly called the National Archives and Records Administration(NARA), located in Washington, D.C., the National Archives is thenation's record keeper. The latest estimates, nobody is sure ofthe exact total, show that the NARA has in its custody approximately: billions (that's the official estimate) of machine-readable data sets. 9 billion pages of textualrecords. 20 million still photographs. 7.2 million maps, charts, andarchitectural drawings. 365,000 reels of motion picturefilm. 110,000 videotapes. All of these materials arepreserved because they are important to the workings of the Government,have long-term research worth, or provide information of value to you -the U.S. citizen. In an effort to allow enhanced access to many of these holdings, NARAdeveloped the online Archival Research Catalog (ARC). This is thelatest Web-based research tool that provides a portal to the contentand physical descriptions of all its archival holdings. Thestated goal is to have 95 percent of NARA's records input into ARC by2016. At this time, about two-thirds of the holdings have beenloaded into this digital super-catalog, but not all of these entrieshave comprehensive descriptions. Obviously then, ARC is far from complete. It's dynamic, withcontent updates all the time. A subject that you researchone week may have no hits and then have hundreds the next time you do asearch. In addition, ARC is not as easy to use as your favoriteWeb browser, and it has been known to be rather obstinate. Itdoes not have as much "fuzzy logic" as I would think it should have,but maybe that will be part of the next software upgrade. The ARCmain webpage, www.archives.gov/research/arc,has much more detailed information for your review. ARC Search Tips Let's say you wanted to do some research on Charles Lindbergh, thefirst aviator to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. If youload that term in the ARC search box on the webpage noted above, you'llend of with a list of 126 items. Before you start the laborious processof scanning each one of the listings, I would suggest you try theselittle known search tips. 1.After you get your first list of results, find and select the "RefineSearch" button near the top of the page. This will bring up the"Archival Descriptions Advanced Search" page. Set the "LimitResults" button to 2,000 to ensure that you get the greatest number ofhits during your refined search. 2. Now select the "HighlightSearch Terms" box. This will highlighted in yellow the matchingwords in your search criteria. 3. Scroll down the page until youfind a section called "Type of Archival Materials." You haveeight choices to pick from which will reduce the scope of thesubsequent search; and yes, you can check more than one. In thisexample, let's say you're interested in historical film footage ofLindy for that video production you're editing, so you'd deselect allthe types listed except for "Moving Images." This will narrow your nextset of search results to motion picture and video items. 4. Then click on the "Searchbutton" and you should find a list of 77 film titles for your review. So, whatever you're looking for in the NARA, try using ARC to find it.If you use the four secrets mentioned above you'll have a better thanaverage chance of finding what you are looking for, if it exists in theracks and stacks of the National Archives. Phil Stewart is aretired Air Force officer, specializing in the videoproduction. He then opened a video production company, worked asa television director, and currently manages a multimediafacility. Mr. Stewart volunteers as a motion picture filmresearcher for the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. He'sauthored four books and three articles on the motionpicture films held within the National Archives. Visit www.pwstewart.com for more information. Permissiongranted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>
Tags: Marriage, Morals, Ethics, Values, Values
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Tip of the Week: December 27th, 2008 07/27/2010 Frugal Winter Fun with Kids Sara Noel Winter is upon us. The kids get cabin fever quickly when their outside free time is limited. You're looking for some fun things to do before you all start climbing the walls. You don't need a wallet full of cash to enjoy the cold, snowy days. There are all kinds of frugal ways to enjoy the winter season together both indoors and outdoors. Here are a few frugal boredom busters to have as your 911 "plan" for the winter blahs. Outdoor Fun Homemade Snowman Kit It's just not winter fun without building a snowman. Assemble a snowman kit to have handy. Your kit can contain the following:A hat, scarf, mittens, plastic carrot nose, charcoal briquettes, (place in plastic baggie) buttons, and can add two dowels or branches for arms. Obstacle Courses or Winter Olympics Jump over the mounds of snow or have relay races. Snow Paint Mix food coloring and water and add to spray water bottles and spray the snow to make colorful works of art outside. Homemade Bird Feeder and Bird Identification Need large pine cones, peanut butter, and birdseed. Add peanut butter to pine cones and roll in birdseed. Keep a journal of birds in your yard. Can borrow a field guide from your local library. Snow Ice Cream Mixing together a quart of milk, an egg, 1 cup sugar, frac14; teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract in a pan. Cook on stove top until mixtures thicken and cool to room temperature. Pour this mixture over fresh snow. Or 3 cups loose clean snow 2 Tablespoons milk frac14; cup sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract Mix all the ingredients. Snow Golf Use a tin can buried in the snow for the holes or just carve out holes in the snow. Winter Photography Take pictures of nature. Icicles, birds, trees, etc. Identify Tracks in the Snow Check out a book from your local library on animal tracks. Indoor Fun Paper Snowflakes http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dstredulinsky/links.html Paper Airplanes http://www.bestpaperairplanes.com/ Make a Snow Gauge Mark inch lines on a coffee can or plastic liter bottle with the top cut off and setting it outside to catch snow in. Mister Grass Head Materials Needed: nylon knee stocking Grass Seeds Potting Soil Baby Food Jar Wiggle Eyes or glass paint/markers Using hosiery, place some grass seeds in the toe which is where you want the grass to grow. The hosiery is the head and the excess will be placed in the baby food jar to soak up water. The toe of the hose is the head and the grass will look like hair as it grows. The baby food jar is the body. Add some potting soil in the end of the hosiery on top of the seeds. Make sure the hosiery of seeds and soil is bigger than the opening of the baby food jar. Tie a knot in the hosiery to keep the seeds and soil in. Completely soak the soil/seed ball. Place the hosiery in a baby food jar filled with water making sure the head is above the mouth of the jar.Decorate the jar to look like Mister Grass Head's clothes and add a face onto the head. Smores Indoor Smores 1/3 Cup light corn syrup 1 Tablespoon. butter 1 (12 oz.) package chocolate chips 4 cups honey graham cereal 1 frac12; cups miniature marshmallows Bring corn syrup and butter to boil. Lower heat and add chocolate.Stir until chocolate melts. Add cereal and marshmallows and stir. Put in square pan, covered with foil. Let set and cut into bars. Shadow Drawing Take brown grocery bags and tape together until you have enough paper to be the same size as your child. Have your child lie down on the paper bags and trace your child's outline. Your child can then color her "shadow" drawing to look anyway she wants. Homemade Toys Decorate a paper towel tube. Paper punch a hole about an inch from the end. Now tie a mason jar ring to a piece of string about one foot long. Attach and tie the loose end of the string through the hole in the cardboard tube. Hold the tube and flip the ring up and try to catch it onto the tube. Or Try taking a plastic, Styrofoam, or paper cup and poking a small hole in the bottom, running a piece of yarn through and tying it securely in place and adding a large button on the loose end. Catch the button in the cup. Bubbles in the Bathtub How fun to blow bubbles indoors. Here are some homemade recipes:http://www.bubbleblowers.com/homemade.html Homemade Bowling Use empty water bottles or coffee creamer containers as the pins and find a spare ball to roll. Indoor Snowball Fight Wad up newspaper balls and have a snowball war inside. Homemade Hot Cocoa Nothing beats the winter chills away after a day of snow fun outdoors than hot cocoa. Make your own with this recipe. 2 Cups nonfat dry milk 1 Cup white sugar frac12; Cup cocoa frac12; Cup non-dairy creamer 1 pinch of salt Miniature marshmallows Combine ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container. Add4 tablespoons of mix to a mug and add boiling water. Stir. Window Fun Crayola Window Writers are a product that writes and easily washes off of windows. Can also purchase spray snow for windows. Sara Noel is a freelance writer and the Editor/Publisher of http://www.FrugalVillage.com, http://www.HomesteadGarden.com and http://www.Homekeeping101.com Visit these sites for information on getting back to basics through frugality, gardening, organizing, home keeping, lost arts, simplicity, homesteading, and natural family living. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>
Tags: Family/Relationships - Children, Military, Parenting, Values
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Tip of the Week: April 5th, 2009 07/27/2010 Purchasing andPreparing Lamb: The Basics You Need To Know Provided by theAmerican Lamb Board americanlamb.com The family is coming over for a festive spring dinner but you don'twant to serve yet another casserole#133;How about Lamb? It seems soelegant, but it really is easy, especially if you are armed with thebasics. What To Look For When Purchasing Lamb: Lamb is widely available in grocery stores and gourmet food retailersacross the country. When shopping, look for American Lamb as ittypically yields more meat on the bone than imported lamb. Also, mostAmerican lamb is fed mixed grains and grasses giving the meat a milderflavor than its European counterparts. When shopping for a cut, lookfor meat that has a soft pink to red coloring with white marbling. How to Store/Freeze Lamb: Fresh lamb should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer immediatelyafter purchasing. Refrigerate fresh lamb at 40 degrees Fahrenheit orbelow. Ground lamb or stew meat should be used within 2 days. Lambchops and roasts should be used within 3 to 5 days. If you plan tofreeze lamb for long periods of time, be sure to wrap the originalpackaging with airtight freezer wrap or place in an airtight freezerbag to prevent freezer burn. To maintain optimum quality, frozen lambshould be used within 3 to 4 months. How to Thaw Frozen Lamb: In the refrigerator - oncefrozen lamb has thawed in the refrigerator, lamb roasts and chopsshould be used within 3 to 5 days and ground lamb or stew meat shouldbe used within 1 to 2 days. In cold water - leave frozenlamb in its packaging, making sure it is air tight. If not, transfer itto a leak-proof bag. Keep the lamb submerged in cold water, changingthe water every 30 minutes to continue thawing. Cook lamb immediatelyafter thawing. It should not be re-frozen unless cooked first. In the microwave - As withthe cold water method, when frozen lamb is thawed in the microwave, itmust be cooked immediately. It should not be re-frozen unless cookedfirst. CookingLamb: For those that don't have alot of experience cooking with lamb, determining when it is done is thebiggest challenge. An overcooked rack of lamb is an expensive mistakeand carving into an undercooked roast can be an embarrassment at adinner party. Don't rely on guesswork - a good meat thermometer willprovide reliable results. DO NOT cut into a roast or chop to checkdoneness. Use an instant read thermometer to give you a quick, accuratereading. Lamb, like any cut of meat,always benefits from rest before serving - the rest allows the meat'sjuices to settle. Give thin cuts like chops five minutes before servingand allow 20 minutes before carving roasts. Keep in mind, as the meatrests, its internal temperature typically rises 5 to 10 degrees. Removelamb from cooking heat when the thermometer reads 5 to 10 degrees lessthan your desired temperature. To ensure lamb remains safethroughout cooking, the USDA makes recommendations for safe cookingtemperatures. For recipes and approximatecooking times for use in meal planning, visit americanlamb.com. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>
Tags: Adult Child-Parent, Character, Courage, Conscience, Character-Courage-Conscience, Dating, Family/Relationships - Adult Child/Parent, Marriage, Morals, Ethics, Values, Parenting, Regarding Dr. Laura, Values
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Tip of the Week: July 17th, 2009 07/27/2010 Character First; Designer Jeans Last By Anne Leedom Kids today are very fortunate. They have so many activities to choose from compared to what was available thirty years ago. However, parents might be cautioned to take a moment and decide#133;.is it really in your child's best interest that she take on the next round of activities? Does your child need the expensive items? Do you really have your child's best interest at heart? Let's take a look at what the experts say. Research is very clear on this one. Kids who are taught the virtues of empathy, compassion and self-control#133;those are the kids that succeed. They succeed in relationships, academically, and financially. So, next time you are thinking of what to nurture in your child, think character first. These guidelines can help your child get the most of their activities without compromising the most important goals parents have#133;.teaching their kids to do the right thing. Set limitations in your household. It's all too common to hear what other kids have or get to do. However, we each need to decide in our own homes what is appropriate and best and then stick to it. Have your children earn their own spending money. They will scale down their wish list to affordable quantities and bargains. Children will reason: 'I can't afford this, but I can afford that#133; Life is about learning to make wise choices. Fill Kids Up From the Inside Out. Your children may be telling you that they feel empty inside, that they need artificial stimulation because they are hungry#151;hungry for you, the strong family unit. Talk to them more. Do activities together (not shopping). Make sure to have a family dinner hour to listen to them- try to listen more and only speak unless asked to. The best gift is yourself and your time. Do volunteer work with your children. Let them see the internal side of life, not merely the external, and how they can make a positive contribution Exercise with your children. Exercising will help children get rid of stress, raise their endorphins and make them happier. Encourage creative expression. This can be through writing, painting, music, sculpting, carving, cooking, etc. Original thinking will encourage children to become nonconformists, take the road less traveled by and therefore not need the validation of looking like everyone else. Fashion and materialism are expressions of personal style; encourage your children to develop their individual style. I will be the first to say that money is a nice thing to have. It's a wonderful thing to provide well for your kids and enjoy the perks of life if you can. Just remember to incorporate a steady and consistent dose of gratitude and self-control, or the benefits you many be trying to give your child can actually come back to haunt them#133;and you. Anne Leedom is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of www.parentingbookmark.com. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>
Tags: Military, Regarding Dr. Laura, Values
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Tip of the Week: May 20th, 2007 07/27/2010 Organize Your Communication We all know that organizing your day will increase your productivity. It allows you to keep a record of things that you need to do and prioritize them to make better use of your time. It keeps you on track and helps you to organize your day. A planner is an essential tool for the busy woman whether she has a business, a career or an active household! But, how many times have you had to return a phone call and forgot to mention an important point? Have you ever had a hard time formulating your thoughts in a letter? Did you ever email anyone and come to find out that they didn't quite understand what you were asking? And then, how much of your time was spent trying to clear up that communication? We all know that effective communication is important, but what does that really mean in practical terms for busy women? Here are some tips that I use to help me make the most out of my communication. Phone Calls Before you dial that number, make some notes on a piece of paper to remind you of the points you wish to address. Don't write complete sentences, but rather write a bulletized list so that it is easy to refer to while you are talking. Write the person's name at the top and, if this call is for business, some notes about that person that you remember. Have you ever called someone and, while it was ringing, forgot who you were calling? This technique helps with those 'senior moments . Good communicators are great listeners and your notes can help you communicate that you were listening to them when they mentioned that their Aunt Sally was in the hospital last week. How? Because you will remember to ask how Aunt Sally is doing! Use an Outline Before you write anything (a letter, an email, a report or an article), you must organize your thoughts. The best way to do this is to use an outline. This ensures that your thoughts are complete, presented in a logical order and are easy to understand before you begin to write. You will notice that the writing goes much more smoothly when you do this too! An added bonus for those of you who don't like writing as much as I do! I can always tell when someone didn't organize their thoughts before hitting the keyboard or picking up that pencil because their communication is a jumble of disjointed ideas that hit you from all angles and leave you wondering. A confused mind will not act. If you have confused your Uncle Edward, he might not understand that you want him to watch the kids next Tuesday night. If you have confused your boss, she may not give you that project or that corner office you were trying to ask for. And if you confuse your customer, he will not buy from you! Email Now that you have organized your thoughts, make your email posts easier to read by organizing their appearance! Remember that we live in a microwave society. People don't want to read a 6000 word essay on what you have done today#133;especially if it is all one big paragraph! Keep in mind to whom your email is going. If it is to an entire group of people, make sure that this is something you wish to release to the general population. As you type, keep in mind that the group may be diverse in their religious or political beliefs so tailor your message appropriately so you can say what you mean! Remember that your words are the only things your audience will have to help them understand what you are trying to say. They cannot see your smiling face or hear your sweet voice to help them understand where you are coming from. Choose your words wisely. Make each new thought a new paragraph. Use bullets or numbers in list format to make it easier for people to scan- because they will scan! Watch your spelling, grammar and punctuation to make sure that you are not asking your reader to strain a brain cell trying to figure out what that word is. Read over your message before you hit the send button to make sure that you haven't missed something that might make your communication confusing or that doesn't represent the tone you wanted your message to have. Presentations It is generally acceptable to carry notes or index cards up with you when you are making a presentation of almost any sort. What is not acceptable is to read it verbatim while holding the cards up in front of you obscuring your face. Organize yourself for your presentation. Know your audience. Consider what they value most and what they would like to know about you topic before you begin. Tailor your presentation to the average audience member, but leave room for the feelings and values of the others to whom you will be speaking. Make sure that your notes are written like we talked about earlier for your phone conversations. Don't write complete sentences or you will be tempted to read them instead of refer to them. If you use index cards, please number them. In case you accidentally drop them, you can quickly re-order them and go on with your presentation. Prepare for your presentation by going over it several times until you become familiar with the flow without having to refer much to your notes. Make sure you have any props or charts ready before hand and that you have worked with them during your preparation. Many is the time a presenter rushed out the door without the manuals they were going to hand out during the meeting or found that the had a hard time working with the 3 foot by 3 foot rice paper poster they planned on standing up on the table during their talk. Walk the room. If you are unfamiliar with the room in which you will be speaking, arrive a few minutes early and walk through it to get a feel for how you will be presenting. Does it have a microphone? Does it need one? A little organization and preparation goes a long way toward making your communication more clear! It will be less stressful for you, less frustrating for your audience and give you the best chance over-all to say what you mean. Happy communicating! JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication and is the author of the Say What You Mean series of studies on effective communication skills. JoJo is a frequent speaker in the homeschool community, teaches seminars/classes based on her work, and has written various articles for publication. She has just released a new e-book written just for small business owners called Say What You Mean When You're in Business. JoJo lives in Southern California with her husband and two children. If you would like more information on JoJo or her studies, please visit www.artofeloquence.com Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com. More >>
Tags: Military, Values
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Tip of the Week: November 13th, 2005 07/27/2010 Today's Family Man 'Values-Based Holiday Shopping By Gregory Keer Gimmee, gimmee, gimmee is a refrain parents here from (at least) November till the end of the holidays. It's hard to blame children for their insatiable requests for more and bigger gifts as marketers bombard them with 'must have options and their friends have parents who are dealing out the goods. It's difficult for a kid not to be motivated by other boys and girls shouting, 'I'm getting a Furby! or 'My parents bought me a Game Boy Micro! One of the toughest tasks for a parent in this materialistic mayhem is to teach values. But the moms and dads who come out on top are the ones who stick to the program of educating their children about moderation, the needs of the less fortunate, and what's more important than the things we own. Here are some ideas for instilling principle in young consumers. Gifts for Kids to Give to Others Let's List Again I've frequently recommended that a parent not even step foot in a retail outlet without first having made a list of things his or her child may want. Preparing in advance allows you to set a number of gifts and a budget in advance, thereby managing a child's expectations and teaching them the limits of money. The same thing applies when shopping for other family members and friends. Have your kids make a list of things they want to give to each person, working with them on the budget and the appropriateness of each gift. While you do this, discuss with them why they are choosing the specific present and what they think the result of the giving the gift will be. Often, children are disappointed by the reactions their friends or family give when receiving an item. Before this happens, teach your child that it is indeed the thought that counts and that giving is its own reward. You can tell them that not everyone has the ability to understand this, so it's important to derive self-satisfaction from the act of giving. Give Unto Others What You Would Give Your Kid For friends, give what your kids would want for themselves. Have them tell you what to get or have them shop for it themselves. Of course, a young girl may not want a 'Bonecrusher 2005 for Christmas, so you should do a little guiding about the recipient. But buying something your child values puts the friend on an equal footing. A couple of other tips: While shopping, buy two for the holidays or birthdays. Or keep the list of what you buy and return to the stores for sales on those same items. Be Personal For relatives, give something personal. Create-your-own pottery, handmade cards, photo albums with photos of special times spent together. What counts is how the gift connects with a friend or loved one. Beyond Disposable Fun and Worthwhile Gifts for Kids The Gift of Time A museum pass or amusement park pass provides your kids with an opportunity to spend more time with you. Also consider "gift certificates" with dates for times you will take one child out with mom or dad for special dinners or other outings. Year 'Round Gifts In addition to the museum or park passes, try joining a book club in their name or make your own book club good for 5 to 10 books throughout the year and stamp a homemade card each time you buy one with your child. Philanthropy Teach your children about those who don't have the same privileges. Have them choose a toy to send to a charitable organization. Take them to the donation place so they can see the people who are getting these gifts. Making it personal will have a more lasting effect on a child who needs to understand that others don't have it as good as him. Board Games Board games, a deck of cards, puzzles for family times. Ages two on up will like this option, which increases family time. These ideas are some of many others that creative, values-minded parents can use. At the core of the suggestions are understanding the needs of others and realizing that the time we spend with each other trump any video game or fashionable clothing that money can buy. copy; 2005 Gregory Keer. All rights reserved. Gregory Keer is a syndicated columnist, educator, and on-air expert on fatherhood. His Family Man^TM column appears in publications across the country, including L.A. Parent, Boston Parents' Paper, Metro Augusta Parent, and Sydney's Child in Australia. Keer's parenting advice is found at his online magazine, www.familymanonline.com, which is the #1 ranked site for fathers, according to Amazon's Alexa ratings. In addition to writing for Parenting magazine and the Parents' Choice Foundation, Keer contributes to USA Today, Pregnancy magazine, DrLaura.com, ParentingBookmark.com, Pregnancy.org, and CanadianParents.com. Keer is also a featured guest expert on television and radio and advisor to the Cartoon Network. He and his wife are the proud parents of three sons. Keer can be reached at his Web site, www.familymanonline.com. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>
Tags: Religion, Values
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Tip of the Week: June 26th, 2005 07/27/2010 A Little Spring Cleaning Cliff Ennico www.creators.com Every three months or so, I clean out my e-mail files to make my computer run faster. Whenever I do, I always run across a few e-mails from readers with terrific questions that are too important to delete without at least a 'quick and dirty response. Here are a few: 'I want to start a cleaning business for residential homeowners. It will be a sole proprietorship initially. I want to make sure no one else uses my fictitious name. What do I need to do, and how much will it cost? As a sole proprietorship, you are usually required to file a 'fictitious name certificate with your county or city clerk's office for a small filing fee (usually $5 or $10). This doesn't give you the legal right to use the name, but a good clerk's office will always check prior filings to make sure no one else is using the same name in your city or county. Likewise, they will make sure no one else files a certificate after you with the same name. Sadly, in some larger municipalities, the clerk's staff are too busy to do a thorough search, such that two local businesses end up using the same name and have to 'duke it out in court. If you need greater protection, you can register your name as a federal trademark with the U.S. Patent Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov) or a state trademark with your state Secretary of State's office (for a listing of Web addresses, go to www.iaca.org/members). This is the best protection for a company name, but it will cost you anywhere from $500 to $1,500, depending on where you live and how much research your attorney needs to do. DO NOT attempt to do it yourself online; most trademark sites are extremely tricky, and it's easy to make serious mistakes in the application process if you don't know what you're doing. 'I am starting a bridal accessories business that will be by appointment only. I am creating purses using public domain and out-of-copyright patterns, as well as my own designs. Since I will be selling only in local craft bazaars and boutiques, do I have to copyright my designs? I really don't want to do that. There's no law that says you MUST copyright your original designs. It's just that if you don't copyright them (by registering your design with the U.S. Copyright Office, www.copyright.gov), anyone else can rip off your design and there won't be much you can do about it. Here's an idea. Make sure the following notice appears somewhere visible on each of your bags: 'copy;2005 [name of your company]. All rights reserved. By doing this, you are claiming what lawyers call a 'common law copyright, meaning that if someone blatantly rips you off and you can prove they did, you may be able to take some legal action even though you didn't register your designs with the Copyright Office. 'I received an e-mail warning today from a Website threatening to share and sell private information about me that they received from another Website. At the bottom of the e-mail, there's a note saying 'if you wish to eliminate your information from our database, you must send an e-mail to the following address and type in 'opt-out' in the subject tab. In the body of your message provide your name, address, city, state, Zip Code, Social Security Number and birth date.' Should I do it? I would avoid doing this. If this Website obtained information about you from another Website, why would they need you to repeat all the information in your 'opt-out message? That seems a little fishy to me. I especially don't like the idea that they want your Social Security Number and birth date. My suspicion is that this is an attempt to get information from you that they can then either sell to someone else or use to 'spam you themselves. Worse, you may be opening the door to a possible identity theft. Don't wait three months to delete this message; do it now! Cliff Ennico (cennico@legalcareer.com) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2005 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>
Tags: Military, Values
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Tip of the Week: July 26th, 2005 07/27/2010 Summertime Play By Jodie Lynn www.ParentToParent.com Summer is full of activities for kids to do, right. Yet it's amazing when in no time flat parents everywhere will hear those two dreaded words, "I'm bored." As with most of us, you will literally come to a point in time when you will simply shrug your shoulders and maybe even scratch your head and wonder, how in the heck they can already be bored. Many kids do the same thing year after year. They can almost recite their summer schedule even before it is implemented. This year, why not offer them something that they will simply not be counting on. Get their creative juices flowing by suggesting they either put on a play of a favorite book, TV show, a game or better yet -- just make one up? Let them write it and decide on who plays which part. In fact, they will be busy for days just writing and rehearsing it. Turn over the kitchen table and let them make a plan, goals and run wild with their imaginations. As the parent, stay out of as much of the endeavor as possible by letting them handle things. Don't intervene unless they ask you to or if someone is doing something that is unsafe. Go bananas on the wardrobe by making do with "stuff" you have around the house. For example, use old hats, shoes, dresses, pants, shirts, belts, etc., to make up awesome costumes. Get out the glue gun (or purchase one for $1.99), create, and design awesome custom-made dress up clothes. Cover the kitchen table with either an old vinyl tablecloth or a sheet of plastic painter sheet. Take a magic marker and draw large squares for each one of the kids on the cover of the kitchen table; i.e., old tablecloth or painter's plastic sheet. This square should have their name on it and will be their specific work area. Let them add beads, ribbon, feathers or whatever you have handy to jazz up old clothes. Encourage them to save their money to buy miscellaneous items at neighborhood garage sales. The kids can go around and sell tickets (made out of construction paper) for.25 and tell neighbors to bring their lawn chairs. Select music and have fun with a huge and successful neighborhood play. Before you know it, the kids will make up many other plays and help themselves right into creative summer time learning without ever knowing it. Following directions, learning patience, enhancing reading skills and gaining self-esteem are only but a few things that will come from allowing them to put on their own plays. Once again, you will be amazed at what kids can do on their own or with very little supervision, if you will let them. copy;2005 Jodie Lynn Jodie Lynn is an award-winning internationally syndicated family/health columnist and radio personality. Parent to Parent is now going into its tenth year and appears in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and throughout the Internet. She is a regular contributor to many sites including eDiets.com and is the Mom to Mom Expert for BabyCenter.com. She has written two books and contributed to two others, one of which was on Oprah and has appeared on NBC in a three month parenting segment. Her latest best-selling parenting/family book is Mommy CEO, revised edition. Preorder Lynn's new book, "Mom CEO: Avoiding the Distressed Housewife Syndrome and Winning at Motherhood," online or from any bookstore. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com More >>
Tags: Military, Values
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