What happens when Fido already rules the roost and then you bring home the new prince or princess from the hospital? Anxiety for starters. But it doesn’t have to be that way. As long as you prepare Fido and yourselves for your new family of four, it can be all good for everyone involved. Below are 4 basic ways to go from canine to crib and keep the peace and harmony in your house:

• Start preparing as soon as possible-make the changes that will affect Fido now, like feeding times or evening walks or sleeping locations; the sooner you establish the new rules, the better.
• Be fair-once you’ve made new rules, stick to them; don’t leave the baby’s toys on the floor if you don’t want Fido to be tempted.
• Share the love-Fido may have been the sole recipient of your undivided attention for a long time now; he’ll happily share as long as he still gets his fair shake.
• Ask for help-you’re not the first and you won’t be the last new parents who need help with keeping the peace between the babe and the hound; ask the experts-from vets to shelters to experts online.

The push is on. The end is near. The finish line is in sight. For many of you, your child has two months left of school. You’re. Almost. There.

My best advice: stay on the same team as the teachers–especially if you’re dealing with a ‘tween.

Parents of ‘tweens (10- to 14-year-olds) not only have to deal with the changes in their relationships with their children, but they also have to confront the changes in their relationships with their children’s teachers. Many of you served as PTO presidents or created costumes for school plays. You felt welcomed in your child’s classroom; you were needed and wanted.  Now, you don’t feel welcome in your child’s bedroom, let alone his/her classroom. Yet, you are assets-to both teachers and your kids-when you become allies.

Parent-teacher communication is just as important in middle school as it is in elementary school-maybe even more so.  Parents, teachers, and students are in this thing together.  With the end of a successful school year just weeks away, hang in there and keep the lines of communicatino open. It’s not always easy but it’s as important as ever.

Gratitude journals. Oprah made them famous. You may or may not have kept one before you knew they had a name. And maybe you’ve been keeping one ever since. Have you thought about introducing the idea of keeping a gratitude journal to your kids?

The idea of a gratitude journal is simple.  Basically, people write down on a daily basis things in their lives for which they are grateful.  Of course, they are used in a variety of ways by countless people to serve any number of purposes.  People create their own rules for their gratitude journals–which means there might not be any rules. But the whole premise of the journal is to get people thinking about all that they have to give thanks for each and every day.

Appreciating what one has in his/her life is an art; I wish I had practiced it years ago. I still haven’t mastered it. But I know I can and I’m even more convinced that kids can get it a lot easier than us adults. Whether it’s two things a day, two minutes a day, or two times a day, when people take time to appreciate the world around them-and their places in it-it’s a powerful and empowering piece of the day. Kids shouldn’t be denied such an incredible experience. In fact, I bet that they’ll be grateful.

Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, teamed with Charles Wilson to write Chew On This:  Everything You Don’t Want to Know about Fast Food, a book aimed to arm teenagers with the facts they should–but probably don’t–know about the fast food industry of which they are such an integral part. 

This 304-page book is an easy read that speaks to kids–no lectures here–about why they shouldn’t be ordering extra value meals or considering French fries as a food group.  Schlosser and Wilson provide information in an engaging way, a way in which the readers can’t help but critically think about the choices they make on a regular basis when it comes to fast food.

Schlosser and Wilson give a glance into the past of who, what, when, where, why and how the fast food industry took hold and were off and running before you could ask, “Would you like fries with that?”  Throughout the book, the authors provide interesting nuggets that will amaze kids and keep them thinking long after they learn facts like the following: 

“If you took the 13 billion hamburgers that Americans eat every year and put them in a straight line, they could circle the earth more than thirty-two times.” 

If your teen is looking for a good book (or if you’re on the prowl for yourself), pick up a copy of Chew on This. You won’t be disappointed…disgusted maybe…but not disappointed!

Has cabin fever got the best of you? Looking for the ideal spring break destination for your family vacation? FamilyEducation.com has come up with the top kid-friendly spots for spring break vacations. These hot spots may not have been on your radar before but they definitely deserve a second look:

1. Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.
2. Hershey Park in Hershey, PA
3. Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
4. Camping at national parks
5. Disney World in Orlando, FL
6. George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, CA
7. Six Flags SplashTown Water Park in Spring, TX
8. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, CO
9. Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA

An 18-year-old from Boca Raton died at the end of March during corrective breast surgery. At this point, it appears that she had an adverse reaction to the anesthesia. They’re thinking it might have been due to a genetic condition known as malignant hyperthermia.

It was considered to be a routine procedure. Her family and friends assumed she’d walk out of the surgical suite without any complications. But unfortunately, there were more than complications. There were life-ending consequences.

While the surgery was to correct a birth defect, it still begs the question of parents: should you let your children undergo elective surgery? Who bears the brunt of the decision and the final outcome? It seems that the news reports of more and more teen girls getting cosmetic surgery as gifts, which is a whole other topic. But tragedies like this one should make parents at least stop and think and hopefully make the best decision for their children.

When I first heard about the TOTO, I thought to myself Oh, heck no! But, I’ll let you be the judge. TOTO stands for Take-Out-Time-Out. It’s a portable pad that moms and dads can bring with anywhere and throw on the floor when they want junior to take five in time out. The idea here is that it creates a consistent time out spot.

Hmmm.

You’ll have to decide if it’s worth the $15 or so that you’ll spend once it’s all said and done. Of course, the other option consists of you pointing to a chair or bench or a spot on a nearby rug and simply making it the time out spot of the moment.

Inconsistent? Maybe?

Crazy? Not so much.

Effective? You bet.

Free? That’s the best part.

If you want to win in the Book of Life sweepstakes, then Quaker Life Cereal has the contest for you. It’s easy to enter and you can submit an entry once a day until the contest is over on June 30^th. Here’s what you win:

One grand prize winner will receive the Book of Life: Making Your Best Days Happen. It’s a unique book that includes original signatures quotes and images from well-known moms to offer an inspiring look at their families’ best days. The book enables everyone to make each day a best day. You’ll even get to add in your own signature page to make it a treasured keepsake.

5,000 first prize winners will receive a free 8″ by 8″ photo book from Shutterfly.com, valued at $29.99

Holly Robinson Peete wrote the compelling introduction to the book:

“We tell our kids that every day is a gift! Each day you wake up is another opportunity to grab life by the horns and have a positive impact on somebody or something.”

Quake Life Cereal wants every day to be a celebration of all that is good. This book is one way to help families do it. Go to lifesbestdays.com to enter.

All kids are different. But the American Academy of Pediatrics has agreed on similar signs exhibited by most kids when they’re ready for toilet training. If you think your child might be ready to give the potty a go, refer to the list below and see how he or she measures up:

Stays dry at least 2 hours at a time during the day

Bowel movements become regular

Child can follow simple instructions

Child can walk to and from bathroom and undress

Child seems uncomfortable with soiled diapers

Child asks to use the toilet

Child asks to wear grown-up underwear

While most kids demonstrate that they’re ready to be potty-trained between the ages of 18 and 24 months, this certainly isn’t always the case. And the toilet training process can take a year for some kids and much longer than that for others.

So, the Toilet Training School at Children’s Hospital in Boston is a six-week program, much like similar ones around the country that helps those children who just aren’t getting the toilet training thing done. The professionals in the program work with the kids to get them comfortable with the toilet and alleviate their fears. They use various strategies to make potty training a success. CNN has even more details on how the potty school works and different techniques the toilet teachers try.

Yoga anyone? Kristin McGee, a New York City-based yoga instructor and creator of Bendigirl Yoga DVD, thinks yoga is for everyone-even kids as young as 4 years old. She has tweaked 4 different common yoga poses for parents to do with their youngsters in an effort to get everyone moving and grooving and giggling along the way. Below are McGee’s suggestions for how to get young children involved in the poses:

• Tree pose-Do tree pose opposite each other and reach out “branches” to grasp hands.
• Triangle pose-Sing “I’m a Little Teacup” and tip over to reach your shin.
• Cow pose-For each chin raise, see who can do the deepest and loudest moo-oo!
• Straddle pose-Face each other and grasp hands. Pretend you’re on a seesaw by having one person slowly lean backward, pulling the other gently forward into a stretch and then switch.

McGee suggests that moms and kids should wear comfortable nonrestrictive clothing and no socks or shoes. In order to get everyone’s muscles warmed up before attempting the poses, put on some music and dance together for a few minutes. Go to FITNESS for pictures of the poses themselves and more detailed information.