Teen Mocktail Party

A few weeks ago, my son Tsoof had a birthday party. As a 13-year-old, a day party was not cool enough anymore, so he asked to have an evening party – a dancing party.

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In one of the newsletters I get regularly, I received a link to the article titled “Social media…dirty word or essential skill?” I am sure most parents with Internet access and a teen or two would vote for “dirty word”, considering their kids’ obsessive texting, chatting and emailing.

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Who Says Fast Food is Bad for Kids?

I think many children hear negative expressions about fast food, when in fact, not all fast food is bad. There are many kinds of fast food that are very healthy and can be made in a short time at home or at a commercial outlet. Sometimes, the faster it is to make the food, the fresher and healthier it is.

It is true there are many places where you can get fast junk food containing mostly fillers, sugar and fat, but why not change the whole concept of fast food and teach our kids that what is important is the quality of the food, not the speed of making it.

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The Magic Money Jar

Sabrina did not believe it when she overheard the school librarian talking about the days her grandfather had been so poor he used to walk 45 minutes to work to save the money required for a bus ticket. “He made all his money from the jar”, said the librarian to her friend. Sabrina thought he had made his money from building houses and was very surprised.

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Who Wants to Be Busy?

Time is a valuable resource. The older we get, the less spare time we have to do the things we want to do. Most people are trapped in “must do” action so much that fun, pleasure and enjoyment are neglected and shrunk to a minimum.

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How to Raise Food-Smart Kids

These days, when children’s eating habits have led to an increase in obesity, parents’ responsibility to raise food-smart children has increased too.

It is the quality or the nutrition in the food we give our kids, coupled with the teaching of good habits, that will determine our kids’ health as children and later as grownups.

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The World Bank: Claim Your Money

I hope that by now you are convinced it is better for you to be a happy, wealthy parent and all you need is some knowledge about the way to get there. As strange as this seems, not all people want to be wealthy and, sure enough, they are not.

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Pregnancy – the Best Excuse

Most women diet at some stage in their lives. That is a fact of life. Yes, you may have one or two women around you who seem to be able to eat as much as they like whenever they go out, but generally speaking, most women diet.

Unfortunately, it may start very early in life, with young girls, as young as 11!

It is amazing how many women struggle with their weight. When I talk to women about how they think of themselves with an extra 3 to 15 kg, they usually share feelings of disappointment, failure, being ugly, not sexy, not wanted or clumsy. This is all because they feel they do not fit the standard weight graph (which, by the way, seems to shrink every 10 to 20 years).

Most of them are very unhappy with their weight, but they have many excuses for being overweight.

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Rich Thoughts, Poor Thoughts

Many people, when I talk to them about making money and being rich, come up with good “reasons” why they do not need to be rich. They tell themselves that rich people are sad, miserable, stingy and, most commonly, corrupt, and they do not want to be rich to avoid fitting these descriptions.

These beliefs were made up by poor people looking for ways to feel good about not having enough money or the skills to get it.

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See What Love Can Do

This week, I received this inspiring movie about a father, who participated in the “Iron Man” (triathlon) competition with his son. I watched it with tears of inspiration, tears of excitement and joy for the glory of parenting and the essence of love. Love can help us carry heavy loads and push through enormous difficulties, and then it can inspire others too.

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