Strength for life tips from a fitness expert

The new year brings resolutions, crowded fitness clubs, and a short burst of enthusiasm for setting and achieving goals. In reality, much of this enthusiasm is short-lived, and after the initial excitement, many of us fall prey to old habits. So, here we are, a month or so into the new year, and I thought that some fitness and nutrition reinforcements were in order.

An avid believer in charts and visual reinforcements, I recently published “Chart Your Way to Health and Fitness” on Discovery Health’s web site. Parents live a very physical life — running after kids, running up and downstairs with laundry baskets, and trying to squeeze 26 hours of work into a 24-hour day. However, there’s no substitute for dedicated time for exercise. When...

Read more

Start the year clean: Engage the kids, repurpose old items

There’s something about the new year that brings on a cleaning frenzy in my life. I’m a big fan of fresh starts, and what better time than now to start with a clean desk, clean house, clean closets … OK, now I’m getting carried away! Most kid-inhabited houses are anything but sparkling clean; in fact, an impeccable house makes me a little suspicious, or jealous at least. But order, like everything, comes in all shapes and sizes, and there are some simple ways you can ring in the new year with a clean sparkle.

The best way to clean is through teamwork, and as parents, we usually expect too little help from our kids in this department. We either think they’re too young or that it’s simply easier to do it ourselves. However, an...

Read more

What’s in your restaurant bag?

By Amy Kossoff Smith

www.BusinessofMotherhood.com and www.MomTiniLounge.com.

(MCT)

Dining out with kids can be challenging. It requires manners, patience and self-control, all character traits that are under development for many kids. Young kids, in particular, may find it difficult to sit for long periods of time. Add to that the ambient noise of a restaurant, which can be distracting to little ears, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. We’ve all witnessed the scene. Kids standing in booths, throwing things around, talking in outside voices. It detracts from everyone’s experience, and can’t be fun...

Read more

Make fitness a team sport for your family

By Amy Kossoff Smith The Business of Motherhood

As cooler temperatures set in, kids may spend more time indoors. With the fascination surrounding the computer, video games, and TV, today’s kids are more prone to a sedentary lifestyle. And, as America’s childhood obesity epidemic increases, many parents are concerned about their kids’ fitness and health.

Fitness expert and author Tom Gilliam urges parents to take a more proactive role in facilitating good habits for their kids. “Don’t preach to your kids from the ‘parent pulpit’ and impose a bunch of arbitrary diet and exercise rules. Instead, live a healthy body weight message, every day, and your kids will naturally come along for the ride,” he...

Read more

Moms dish in a new book

By Amy Kossoff Smith The Business of Motherhood

Moms are the most fascinating group of multitasking mavens around. So when I met fellow mom/editor, Molly Rosen (a friend of a friend of a friend, and fellow mom), who was compiling a book about women in their 40s, my only question was, “How soon do you need my essay?”

From tattoos to affairs, from motherhood to mayhem, from battling alcoholism and eating disorders and everything in between, “Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and Work in Our 40s” includes 32 essays from women in 11 states.

The book’s subtitle, “Old Enough to Know Better, Young Enough to Do Something About It,” says it all, but I would like to focus...

Read more

The business of school lunches

Amy Kossoff Smith The Business of Motherhood

Back-to-school — and back-to-the-school-cafeteria — adds yet another item to a Mom’s “to do list.” Whether your kids buy or bring, you’re undoubtedly thinking about providing a nutritious, high-energy lunch for your child. Add to the equation refrigeration issues (or lack thereof!), school allergy guidelines and picky eaters, and you’re bound to find yourself in a frustrating situation. Plus, many kids eat lunch early, so providing a good energy boost is important to help them get through the day.

Here are some links and tips to add method to the meal. As a Featured Discussion Leader for DC Moms Like Me, I recently blogged about “creative...

Read more

Vacation strategy: Give kids a budget

By Amy Kossoff Smith

The Business of Motherhood

(MCT)

With long holiday weekends and summer around the corner, here’s a vacation strategy to consider: Give your kids a budget!

When you’re traveling with kids, you’ll undoubtedly get lots of “I want this” and “I want that” at every tourist stop, stand and kiosk. Even though, as an adult, you have the experience to understand that many trinkets are a waste of money, your kids may not understand that. Plus, with suggestive marketing everywhere you look (TV, advertising, instant downloads, powerful packaging, etc.), there are invitations at every turn to buy, buy, buy!

Unlimited spending is probably a...

Read more

The business of motherhood

By Amy Kossoff Smith

The Business of Motherhood

Domestic Engineering Job Available: Mom

Requires a variety of specialized skills, 24/7

It’s amazing that you need a license to drive a car or to operate heavy machinery. You need a degree to teach in public schools. You need advanced training to be a doctor or lawyer. But to raise a child, to be responsible for another human being, anyone in puberty and beyond can get the job without even applying! You get pregnant; give birth; and get sent home from the hospital with a few diaper and formula samples, but no formal training or instruction manual.

So what is required of a Mom? There are lots of Mom “job descriptions” circulating the Web — I’ve edited & compiled to create one that I think says it all:
…

Read more