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Can Kids Really Relate to ‘Cars 3’?

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To be honest, the first time I saw the trailer or commercial for the Disney movie Cars 3, I got a totally different feel than I did from the first Cars film. Are children feeling it too?

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Can children relate to a story about an aging professional who has to make room for younger competitors? That’s a pretty deep concept. A quick synopsis, McQueen a sympathetic hothead. He spends most of the movie struggling through encounters and adventures that are constantly reminding him that he is not the youngest or fastest car around anymore.  He’s has been challengeded by up-and-comer Jackson Storm, a new model that was built and trained to go faster. Storm is is the typical challenger that nobody in the audience is rooting for. This a dynamic that children are made to understand thanks to Storm’s insensitive behavior. He’s not a very nice car, while McQueen is. McQueen is obsessed with going back to his roots, much like a Rocky Balboa in the later Rocky films. Storm is like one of Rocky’s challengers, such as Ivan Drago.

Do children understand McQeen’s story or are they just watching a Cars movie? You might want to be prepared for a laundry list of questions from your child if your going to show them this movie. Once can’t argue that it’s not an entertaining, fun Disney movie – but is that all it is or are kids getting the message from the movie? We would hope that if they are getting any kind of message at all,  it’s not not the attitude from nasty old Storm.

To read this full article from The Hollywood Reporter….CLICK HERE. 

 

 

 

Jessica Simpson Freaks Out About Max Going to Kindergarten

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There is no question that the first day of kindergarten is rough. It’s a very emotional thing for most children and their parents. The parents play a huge part in feeling seperation anxiety from their

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children. None of us are amune to it, not even celebrities.

Jessica Simpson shares how she is going through it with her daughter Maxwell. Jessica posted a few cute pictures of Max on Twitter with a less than enthused caption…”Someone is excited for kindergarten! How do all you moms do it? I need help,” A tearful emoji followed. It’s okoay Jessica…it will all fall into place. This really does go to show you though how hard this can be hard for anyone. They grow up so fast and this day comes before you even know it.

Watching them grow up and spread their wings is hard enough to do, but now  you also have all of these thoughts about schedules, school, bed times, sitters….ugh. It’s almost overwhewlming. Everything was in it neat, organized little place when they were home with you all day, or half day at preschool. Now there is so much more to worry about. Don’t worry, it will all work out – it always does and you are not the only one going through it.

It’s funny to think someone that consider “having it all” like Jessica Simpson experiences the same emotions and fears we do. Her daughter sure looks happy enough to be heading to kindergarten in the photo though.

For the entire article at Cafe Mom….CLICK HERE. 

Someone is excited for kindergarten! How do all you moms do it? I need help 😢

A post shared by Jessica Simpson (@jessicasimpson) on

My Kid Is Superhero-Obsessed — Super or Not So Much?

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Up, up and away! for kids, superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman & Spider-Man aren’t just fictional comic book heroes. These are options as to who they are going to be now and when they grow up.

Most kids by the time 2 years old hits are more than aware of the facination of superheroes. Especially these days with a new superhero movie being released every 13 seconds. Still – I remember when I was a kid, every bathroom towel and bed sheet was used as a cape as I ran through the house making flying noises. As far as I was concerend, I was Superman – there was no question about it. These days though it’s even better. The costumes and role playing get ups kids have access to (granted their parents are willing to pay for them), are amazing. Look out clean, organized house, it’s superhero, crime fighting time. Is that a good thing, or not so much?

This particular mom says…”I’d about had it with my tiny Batman impersonator until my mom, who’s well aware of the intensity of his super stage, called me last week to say she had heard a psychologist talking about the confidence-building benefits of superhero play on the radio. Apparently, kids who pretend to have super-smashing abilities or to fight crime like the Caped Crusader are markedly more confident than their non-role-playing peers.”

Letting these little guys whisk through the house fighting crime also benefits in building self esteem. As a 2 year old, kids have such little control over their own lives. By stopping imaginary trains  and bending steel with their bare hands, protecting a whole world  lets a child try on that cloak of competence and confidence.

By putting on a mask and cape from Target or Walmart, or even making one at home inspires creativity. The things they can come up with while playing with their action figures are these thourough, comprehensive scenarios beautifuly execuded. Keep in mind they are doing all of this while not even knowing how to talk yet.

So, God forbid they are not attempting to jump off of any roof tops, all of this is great, but can get old. You have to be really supportive and find creative ways to foster their superhero play in order for them to get the full benefits from it. Just be warned, some days the house will be a disaster from defeating the worlds super villains and some random days, they will be the bad guys…these are the days that it is more than your house that takes a beating. But to let them grow into creative, confident people – it is worth it.

To read this mother’s full article at Popsugar.com, CLICK HERE. 

Here’s a Simple Trick to Make Your Kids Eat More Vegetables

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Researchers at Stanford used different labels for vegetables in the cafeteria. And when they called them things like “rich, buttery, roasted SWEET corn,” 25% more students ate it, and also took much bigger portions.

A new study figured out a pretty simple way to trick your kids into eating more vegetables without complaining the whole time. Just jazz up the NAME a little bit . . .

Researchers at Stanford recently spent about a month changing up the signs next to vegetables in the cafeteria. And they monitored how many students ate each vegetable when they called it different things.

They tried boring labels, like “corn” and “green beans.” They also tried things like “vitamin-rich corn” and “reduced-sodium corn.” It didn’t make a huge difference though.

But when they used labels like “rich, buttery, roasted SWEET corn,” 25% more students ate it . . . and the servings they took were 23% bigger.

The recipes never changed. The “rich, buttery” corn was exactly the same as when they just called it “corn.” And it worked the same way with other vegetables too.

So if you make something your kids hate like spinach, try calling it “sweet spinach” and see what happens. With young kids, you can have a little more fun with it if you want, and call it something like “Mom’s Sizzlin’ Sweet Spinach.”

To read more…CLICK HERE! 

Don’t Fall for These Sneaky Morning Time-Wasting Tricks Kids Use

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If you’re a parent of a school aged child then you are familiar with the industrial sized, 132 ounce cup of coffee to help get you through the day. Why… why… why do mornings have to be so hard? The answer is simple, because kids are born knowing how to procrastinate and they are good at it. I’m sure you’ve noticed that they change their clothes 7 times, take an hour to brush their teeth or the famous “I can’t find it!” This stuff just doesn’t just happen, they know what their doing and sometimes we don’t even realize it.

All hope is not lost and you are not alone. These are some ideas from real life moms who have said….enough!

Plan Ahead

One mom had this amazing idea. Make what she calls “packets” of clothes to put in their nightstands. This is brilliant because it will do away with them fumbling around looking for clothes or making those ridiculous wardrobe choices that your going to make them change anyway.

Pass on the Pajamas

I love this one. This mom says if your kids take too long getting dressed in the morning, on slow weeks and on occasion, just let them sleep in their clothes. It will either save precious time in the morning or make them so uncomfortable they will learn to dress faster so they don’t have to sleep in their clothes anymore. Either way…you win!

Music

Not slow lullabies or sad power ballads. Put on some music that’s nice and peppy and has a beat. Start it with a cd capable alarm clock. You can experiment with different things like the task needs to be completed before the song ends. Chance are the music will help you get through the morning easier as well.

Make a Game

If the music isn’t enough to get the little guys pumped, try making getting ready a game. Whoever finishes first gets a reward. Kids LOVE to win games.

Open the Blinds

Get those blinds or curtains open nice and early. Be sure to position their bed so that the friendly morning sun is shinning right in their eyes as soon as the blinds are open. Between all of the other methods we have talked about, the little procrastinators won’t know what hit them.

Bedtime

Probably the most important of them all is an early bedtime. By setting their bedtime to a reasonable hour and sticking to it, no matter how much they complain, it will make your morning so much easier. That goes for you too. Get to bed at a decent hour so your in the proper mood to deal with all of this in the morning.

Good luck mommy’s! To read the entire article….CLICK HERE. 

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