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Advice

“Raising Well-Rounded Kids in a Fast-Paced World: The Ultimate Guide to Balancing Education, Technology, and Mental Health

Hey there, fellow parents! Are you struggling to find that perfect balance between giving your kids a great education and keeping up with the never-ending distractions of our fast-paced world? Trust us, we feel your pain. But fear not, because we’ve got your back.

In this article, we’ll show you how to strike the right balance between education, technology, and mental health. We’ll explore the benefits of a well-rounded education that includes both tech-based and outdoor activities, along with some mindfulness practices to promote mental well-being.

It’s all about finding that sweet spot between all three areas to give your kids the best possible life experience and balance while learning. And let’s be honest, it’s not always easy, but it’s so worth it.

We’re also going to give you some general activity ideas to try out with your family. But keep in mind, there are plenty of other options out there to explore, so don’t limit yourself to just these suggestions.

So come on, let’s dive in and find out how we can help our kids grow and thrive in this crazy world!

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Advice Recommended Trips

Discovery Cove

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An Exotic Vacation In Florida’s Backyard

It’s that time of year again when we all want to rush to the beach with our families and enjoy the beautiful summer weather. For many, finding a safe or uncrowded beach can be difficult and expensive. Like most families, we struggle to afford a nice family
vacations, so when we do, we aim to go big with the most memorable experiences that are offered.


Enter Discovery Cove …..this beautiful and exotic park (more like a retreat) is not only affordable but right in the beautiful backyard of Orlando. With its tropical foliage, exotic birds, and dolphin lagoons this park is exactly what your family needs. Better yet, it is also friendly for all ages and the activities offered to satisfy many people’s bucket lists. The best part about this particular park is it is all-inclusive so no more having to pack extensive beach bags full of snacks, drinks, and sunscreen for your family. We decided to make Discovery Cove the center of our vacation as it offered something that was on everyone on our family’s bucket list, swimming with dolphins! While you can swim with dolphins at locations all over the world, Discovery Cove offers this experience a safe and fun environment at a reasonable price. As if swimming with a dolphin wasn’t enough, Discovery Cove also is an all-inclusive park making your visit so easy Mand ensuring no one in your party gets bored.

Check out Our YouTube Video Guide Below.

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Advice Recommended Trips

Are Paint Rooms for the Whole Family?

Paint Fight and Splatter…Not in My House!

Growing up in a small town as a child, I have warm memories of playing outside in dirt piles, jumping in mud puddles, drawing creations with sidewalk chalk, and finger painting on easels. All of these activities include two vital things……FUN and a MESS! As an adult, when my daughter does these exact activities I shudder at the mess that I am inevitably going to have to clean up. I vowed when I had my own children I would be the “fun” mom and wouldn’t care about all the messes made by my children’s adventures. The first few years I did well and delivered on that promise, we made all sorts of messy projects playing with paint, play-doh and of course slime! We even had an indoor silly string fight once!  As the years went on and my daughter wanted to play with varieties of confetti and crazy science experiences I started suggesting she do them outdoors or look for cleaner and “boring” activities.

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We have all been guilty of putting off a fun project or family night after a long day of work. Some days it is a challenge just to get the kid’s homework done, make dinner, and give them a bath. In our home because of our constant hectic schedules, we started making Sundays our family adventure day. Sunday is reserved for activities that will be fun and go outside of the norm. I usually spend the night before looking for fun activities that will nourish my child’s sense of adventure and bring us all closer together. As I was giving up I stumbled upon the perfect activity for my family and better yet required no cleanup for me! Are Paint Rooms for the whole Family?

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Advice

10 Things All Children Should Know to be a Successful Adult and Live on Their Own

It all goes so quickly. One day you are changing dozens of diapers and the next chasing a giggling toddler through the park. You blink and then there’s driver’s training, followed by Prom and then your baby’s first heartbreak. We worry about all the day-to-day tasks shuffling from breakfast to dinner, soccer practice, and school plays. Let’s just be honest between taking care of our kids, other family and working, our babies reach adulthood. I hear people say it all the time, “Only 5 more years until they are on their own.” or  “Once they graduate, I can go back to doing my hobbies.” Unfortunately, while 18 has become the legal age of adulthood many children lack the skills and knowledge to be an adult until much later in life after a lot of trial and error. The following skills are what every child should know by the time they become an adult to put them on the path to success

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Advice Recommended Trips

Wait…Family Bonding Can be Fun?

Ahh…the kids are finally back to school or are now settling into their remote learning routines. Maybe you now have the hang of juggling parenting while working from home or have figured out your work schedule to align best with your hectic family schedule. No matter what your unique family situation is, one thing is always constant in all our lives. When are we able to fit in quality time as a family and keep everyone engaged?

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In this modern age, it is so hard to connect with your kids as many are frequently browsing through apps on their phones, or in many cases, they can be seen watching TV while also playing on their phones. Many of us are guilty of doing this to wind down or it’s become a habit in the fast-paced world we live in. It can be exhausting when you feel like your kids would rather have teeth pulled than spend time as a family or give you more than a one-word answer about their day.  

Families with the ability to have dinner together each night may implement a no technology at the table rule so that you can touch base with your kids and hubby to reconnect. While I definitely recommend reconnecting over dinner each night realistically not every family has this option.

 

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 The truth is that in the time of needing to have constant stimulation, we need to make our valuable time with our family FUN! You may be asking how are we going to do that with different ages of kids and their varied interests. Sure, there are the basic things people think of such as going to the movies, amusement parks, days of shopping, etc but the truth is that notably many of us don’t have the budget for these activities weekly or monthly. No worries! Try a weekly or monthly family game night that will keep everyone involved.

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Advice Recommended Trips

My whole family went to prison!

It’s not exactly how it sounds. No crimes were committed but while on vacation we were able to visit and tour one of the most famous historic prisons in North America. We went to Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA.

This was a great and unique experience for one of our family adventures. It’s educational with just a touch of spookiness at a self-guided pace so that you can take as little or as long as you would like. While we were hesitant about adding this adventure to our vacation we are glad we did. This turned out to be one of our favorite and most talked about post-trip places we have visited. We have even considered going back to see the more spooky side during a nighttime Halloween event, Terror Behind the Wall. We can’t wait to visit the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia again soon.

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Advice

#SaveOurChildren

How to Keep Your Children Safe In Dangerous Times

“It won’t happen to my children. I watch them.” We hear parents say that all the time but yet roughly 2,300 children go missing every day in the United States. This number includes abductions, kidnappings, runaways, and children that become lost. (1)

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Advice

Parents Guide to the Pivot

Making the Most From a Failed Experiment

As parents, our lives consist of constant projects and events in hope of bringing positive experiences to our children. Sometimes and let’s face it most of the time there are bumps and obstacles in even the most planned out days or activities. It’s easy advice to say make the best of a situation, but why not pivot and make the blundered experience into something else entirely. It’s better to have a great experience than to accept failure, especially with your kids. There’s no point in letting an obstacle ruin your family’s day and an event that your child may have already built up in their mind. Children are full of creative ideas and play. If they can make the most of what they have at their disposal so can we. 

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Advice

Ultimate Parents Guide to Among Us

Is Among Us safe for kids? 

The short answer is no unless you properly understand what’s going on, and do some research yourself. With some guidance, it can be a safe place for many ages to enjoy.

This depends on the age of the son or daughter, Among Us itself is only mildly violent with very cartoonish and animated death which protects our kids from seeing too much gore or disturbing imagery. It does however still revolve around murder and violence at its core. Among Us is not nearly as violent as many modern games. The real reason to be cautious of this game is largely it still includes a public chat. No matter how hard developers work, people will ruin it or find ways to make these rooms unsafe. Our advice is if you are going to let your child play, make sure you are monitoring their activity. Only allow them to play with friends and family in a private room, staying out of public games. If your child is older and you can trust them and have good communication, then the game is tame compared to many AAA (Blockbuster) titles.  Join us as we navigate through and give you the ultimate parent’s guide to Among Us.

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Advice

Ultimate Parents Guide To Roblox For All Ages.

Is Roblox safe for your kids?

The answer really depends on the age and maturity of your child as well as your involvement. The short answer is no, as nothing online is completely safe but with proper setup and restrictions, it can be an enjoyable experience. 

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Advice Recommended Trips

A Budget Friendly Vacation and Why Every Family Should Visit Washington D.C.

Every year thousands of families scrimp and save in hopes that they may get to take their family on one good vacation.

A vacation is so great that it is scrapbook-worthy and the kids will look back at it fondly even as adults. For us, an annual vacation is not possible. So when we do splurge we like to make it epic! let’s make it a budget-friendly vacation while we are at it.

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Advice

The ultimate 2020 parents guide to gaming consoles this holiday season.

 The pre-orders are over, and now you realize you need to find one of the hottest items on everyone’s holiday list.

The only thing worse is making the mistake of buying your family the wrong one that didn’t have the features and compatibility they needed. What do you do? This year has so many options that if you’re not game savvy can be a nightmare, but we’re going to help make this easy. Our advice from the top, if you have one brand of system stay with it. If you can wait a year it’s not a bad idea as this year’s launch titles are underwhelming with not too many new titles. It’s not as easy as back when we were kids, let us help you with our ultimate guide to video game consoles.

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Usually, you get better deals and bundles the second year of a new console life cycle as well. Let’s be real though, your kid wants it and won’t accept anything less. As parents on a budget and time crunch, we feel the strain but we are going to get them what they want because the holidays are about joy right? If you are going to wait and don’t have a Nintendo Switch these may be a great alternative option. If you want to learn how we came to this conclusion, dig in below, and while lengthy, by the end you will be the educated shopper that makes your children proud. You won’t be the cringy mom or dad like we are often accused of when we aren’t hip with the times. Read our whole article below to be the real hero this year.

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Advice

Wait…Family Bonding Can be Fun?

Ahh…the kids are finally back to school or are now settling into their remote learning routines. Maybe you now have the hang of juggling parenting while working from home or have figured out your work schedule to align best for your hectic family schedule.

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Advice Holidays

Ultimate Parents Guide to Costumes Updated for 2023

We have all had the best of intentions for the following Halloween. We all want that unique costume for next year or have plans to make our children the best homemade costume ever. Other times the costume you wanted is sold out or is so complicated piecing it together seems impossible.

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Advice Holidays

What Your Mom Really Wants For Mothers Day!

Wait….when’s Mother’s Day? That’s right….it snuck right upon us again this year and many of you are now stumped as to what to give that amazing woman in your life. Although we all love and appreciate our mothers our choices for gifts don’t always reflect this. Follow this quick guide for suggestions on how to truly wow your mom this year and not fall short. 

Let’s start with what not to do…don’t feel bad if you have done this a time or two or three….those days are over! Below is a list of gifts that are generic and your mom is likely tired of receiving.