motherhoodisthebest!

Hello! I usually begin my Christmas Shopping around the September time frame as I like to do it slowly instead of all at once. Does anyone have any non-toy gift ideas to give to an 8 year old girl? She has a lot of toys, but I would like to do something a little different for her this year. I'm doing a coupon book, but really need other ideas as well! thanks!

I have a first grader who appears to be struggling a bit in math and writing (per her teacher). Her teacher states my first grader gets frustrated that she's not getting her math answers correct or asked to correct them. Same with her writing. I told the teacher we will work on this. I've been contemplating a tutor for my child in both subjects. Part of me wants to get her a tutor right away so she doesn't fall behind. The other part says, she's only in first grade, work with her on this over the summer and see how second grade goes before I hire a tutor. i'm torn between the two and don't know which way to lean. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I have a first grade daughter who has always been a little on the shy side when making friends. It breaks my heart when i see her sitting by herself at recess or at lunch. Most of the time I see her hanging out with the teacher's helper or yard duty people. She's told me that she's asked both girls and boys to play and they tell her no. she's a friendly, kindhearted girl and to see her struggle with this hurts, especially when she tells me she wants a friend. I've talked to other parents about this and even my hubby, but they say, let her be and she will develop friends over time. i've had and I have a few play dates scheduled and she even brought healthy snacks to share with her classmates, but nothing seems to work. My daughter has even asked me to homeschool her. My question is, how can I help my daughter with her social skills? I know she would have a better time in school if she would have just 1 friend!

My child just finished up kindergarten, but the last 3 weeks of school were very stressful for her and us. She had a substitute teacher one day that was not so nice, always yelling at the kids. That same day, she was playing with kids on the playground and was practically tackled by another kid and it scared her. Since that day, my child had been crying and really putting up a fight about going to school. i've had to take her to class crying, have the principal and a counselor talk to her, but every morning she goes to class in hysterics. I've dropped her off early to spend some time helping her teacher, whom she really likes.. We've basically tried everything. Now that school's out, she whines and gets sad about having to go to 1st grade. She's developed an anxiety about school and we've tried everything possible to reassure her that everything's fine and going to be ok. Before all this happened, she really liked going to school. I would like to help her like it again, but am out of ideas. Any ideas will be great! thank you!

My child just finished up kindergarten, but the last 3 weeks of school were very stressful for her and us. She had a substitute teacher one day that was not so nice, always yelling at the kids. That same day, she was playing with kids on the playground and was practically tackled by another kid and it scared her. Since that day, my child had been crying and really putting up a fight about going to school. i've had to take her to class crying, have the principal and a counselor talk to her, but every morning she goes to class in hysterics. I've dropped her off early to spend some time helping her teacher, whom she really likes.. We've basically tried everything. Now that school's out, she whines and gets sad about having to go to 1st grade. She's developed an anxiety about school and we've tried everything possible to reassure her that everything's fine and going to be ok. Before all this happened, she really liked going to school. I would like to help her like it again, but am out of ideas. Any ideas will be great! thank you!

As usual, my daughter is the tallest in her grade. She's the height of an 8 year old. She was the tallest in preschool and is always taller than her friends. kids are starting to notice this and some kids were teasing her about her height this morning while on the playground. Since she is only in kindergarten, this is new to me. I witnessed the kids teasing her this morning and it literally broke my heart. I cried in the car after i left school. I want her to be happy about her looks and who she is. Before she went into the classroom, i told her that she should be proud that she is tall and that lots of people wish they were tall. Any advice on how to handle this? how to talk to my daughter about this? thanks for your help.

This of course shocked me as we don't do this in our family. I know she will be picking up stuff that she sees stuff and gets older, but how do you explain to a 5 year old that this stuff is not ok?? I've been up all night thinking about what to do. My husband suggested we just leave it alone for now as she's too young to understand. I anticipated having to talk to her about this stuff a few years down the road and not now!!! kids grow way too fast these days! thanks for your suggestions!

Anyone have any cute little preschool graduation ideas??? We want to celebrate my daughter going into elementary school. this is just for the family....thank you!

I have a 5 1/2 year old girl how has had problems listening for the last few months. No matter what I try to do, she refuses to listen! Time outs don't work, taking stuff away doesn't work, foregoing fun activities doesn't work. Not sure what else to do. When I ask her why she isn't listening, her reply is, "i want to do what i want to do". I'm at a loss right now... any advice from other parents is greatly appreciated!

I'm trying to figure out the best way to save for y 5 year old's college education!

I'm trying to figure out the best way to save for my 5 year old's college education....

I have a four year old daughter who all of a sudden has become hard to discipline, she is ignoring me, talks back, throws a MAJOR fit if she doesn't get her own way, if I tell her to do something, she'll do the exact opposite. For example, i told her not to drink her bath water, as it is dirty. she glares at me and puts her mouth in the water. She told me once yesterday (for the first time) that she doesn't like herself, or I don't like this or like that. I am at odds at what to do! My sister came over to play with her the other day and she wanted to climb on top of her playhouse and my sister told her no, mommy and I don't want you to climb on the playhouse because you can fall and get hurt. My four year old says, well, we don't have to tell her. I am getting frustrated! Any advice on how to deal with this would be great! She's had no life changes, other than preschool ending, and she LOVED going to preschool and playing with her friends. We have playdates with her class mates. I'm very nurturing and encouraging and have open communication with her.....just don't know what to do or how to handle her behavior!

I have a four year old daughter who all of a sudden has become hard to discipline, she is ignoring me, talks back, throws a MAJOR fit if she doesn't get her own way, if I tell her to do something, she'll do the exact opposite. For example, i told her not to drink her bath water, as it is dirty. she glares at me and puts her mouth in the water. She told me once yesterday (for the first time) that she doesn't like herself, or I don't like this or like that. I am at odds at what to do! My sister came over to play with her the other day and she wanted to climb on top of her playhouse and my sister told her no, mommy and I don't want you to climb on the playhouse because you can fall and get hurt. My four year old says, well, we don't have to tell her. I am getting frustrated! Any advice on how to deal with this would be great! She's had no life changes, other than preschool ending, and she LOVED going to preschool and playing with her friends. We have playdates with her class mates. I'm very nurturing and encouraging and have open communication with her.....just don't know what to do or how to handle her behavior!

I have a four year old daughter who all of a sudden has become hard to discipline, she is ignoring me, talks back, throws a MAJOR fit if she doesn't get her own way, if I tell her to do something, she'll do the exact opposite. For example, i told her not to drink her bath water, as it is dirty. she glares at me and puts her mouth in the water. She told me once yesterday (for the first time) that she doesn't like herself, or I don't like this or like that. I am at odds at what to do! My sister came over to play with her the other day and she wanted to climb on top of her playhouse and my sister told her no, mommy and I don't want you to climb on the playhouse because you can fall and get hurt. My four year old says, well, we don't have to tell her. I am getting frustrated! Any advice on how to deal with this would be great! She's had no life changes, other than preschool ending, and she LOVED going to preschool and playing with her friends. We have playdates with her class mates. I'm very nurturing and encouraging and have open communication with her.....just don't know what to do or how to handle her behavior!

Vitex for a few months then back on clomid. My question is, does anyone know how long should I space vitex and clomid? I also have to be on provera to start a period. So this is how it would go: I will take vitex for a few months, then stop it and do the provera and then clomid. I would be stopping vitex and starting clomid within a weeks time. Is that enough? I've read that clomid and vitex counteract each other! Thanks for your help!

Vitex for a few months then back on clomid. My question is, does anyone know how long should I space vitex and clomid? I also have to be on provera to start a period. So this is how it would go: I will take vitex for a few months, then stop it and do the provera and then clomid. I would be stopping vitex and starting clomid within a weeks time. Is that enough? I've read that clomid and vitex counteract each other! Thanks for your help!

Hello! I need to make a decision on whether or not I'm going to send my child to kindergarten. In California, a child legally doesn't have to attend kindergarten, but will legally need to start school in the first grade. What are the pros and cons of skipping kindergarten? thanks for your help!

I forgot to mention that if we choose not to do kindergarten, we will homeschool and then attend a regular school in first grade. My child is 4 and is beginning to read, she writes, counts to 100+, knows her shapes, colors, beginning math, and telling time. She loves science and discovery, so we do outside science classes already...

is there any evidence that this can be harmful to the fetus, especially in the first trimester? i've got a call into my dr. Thanks!

has anyone had any success with this? what about birth defects? i am really nervous about taking medications while trying to conceive. any advice is greatly appreciated!