http://www.minti.com/members/amamom/advice/ Most Recent Advice on Minti by AMAMom Copyright 2009 Minti en-uk AMAMom I appreciate drive-throughs. Some days it's nice to be able to grab a quick bite to eat or something to drink without having to get out of the car. Some days I'm just too tired to park the car and get me, my stuff, and my six-year-old out of the car, into the restaurant, up to the counter to order, ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4479/My-Pleasure-Choosing-to-Be-a-Fast-Food-Parent/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4479/My-Pleasure-Choosing-to-Be-a-Fast-Food-Parent/ Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:36:56 -0800 AMAMom I have a twin sister. Between us, we have 94 years of combined experience.For those of you who don't want to do the math, that makes us each 47 years old.My sister, Brenda, and I are fraternal twins. We are so different in looks that we have a difficult time convincing people we are sisters, much less that we are twins. So, we ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4292/Twin-to-Twins/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4292/Twin-to-Twins/ Tue, 30 Jan 2007 21:38:43 -0800 AMAMom  Do not assume that your kids have heard what you have said simply because you have said it.  Repeat it! Repetition is fundamental in almost any learning so when you are attempting to teach your children use repetition! --Mac Bledsoe, Parenting with DignityThere's a lot of repetition involved in parenting.Let me say that again.There is a lot of repetition involved in ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4096/Parenting-Advice-That-Bears-Repeating/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4096/Parenting-Advice-That-Bears-Repeating/ Fri, 19 Jan 2007 09:00:27 -0800 AMAMom Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, according to a 2004 fact sheet from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. But when it happens to you, you feel so alone.I know. As a child, I was left in the dark trying to figure out what just happened and why it happened and how could I ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3950/Dont-Let-a-History-of-Sexual-Abuse-Strangle-Your-Parenting-Years/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3950/Dont-Let-a-History-of-Sexual-Abuse-Strangle-Your-Parenting-Years/ Sat, 13 Jan 2007 02:55:36 -0800 AMAMom As parents, we ask our children lots of questions. I'm sure it's part of the official parental job description, which is hidden somewhere in one of the many piles of paper throughout my house. We ask things like:Why did you put your teddy bear in the toilet?You want peanut butter and what for breakfast?How was school?Why does your teacher want ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3947/Ask-Your-Child-This-Question/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3947/Ask-Your-Child-This-Question/ Fri, 12 Jan 2007 23:09:43 -0800 AMAMom Here's how my "birth" plan orignally went: Have all my children by the time I was 30.I achieved that plan with the arrivals of Josh (when I was 24), Katie Beth (when I was 27) and Amy (when I was 29.)Mission accomplished.I was done with pregnancy and labor and delivery and trying to get rid of the excess weight that ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3582/A-Few-Facts-About-Being-A-Late-in-Life-Mom/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3582/A-Few-Facts-About-Being-A-Late-in-Life-Mom/ Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:45:08 -0800 AMAMom My twenty-year-old daughter is facing some tough consequences because she made some poor decisions.How it all plays out will determine if she can pursue a lifelong dream--or not.Yes, I'm being vague. The actual details of who, what, where, when, why, and how are hers to tell. Not mine.In some ways, life was easier when my children were younger. If they ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3391/Walking-Alongside-My-Young-Adult-Child/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/3391/Walking-Alongside-My-Young-Adult-Child/ Thu, 28 Dec 2006 13:16:01 -0800 AMAMom I am hopelessly craft-challenged.Sewing? Nope.Cross-stitching. Barely.Painting? Puh-leese!But I have found one inexpensive, handmade gift for teachers that even I can do. It's simple, simple, simple. And it only requires my handling a glue gun. Now that they have the low-heat ones I no longer give myself second degree burns.What you need:An empty soup can (wash it out and peel the ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2944/Simple-Christmas-Gift-for-Teachers/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2944/Simple-Christmas-Gift-for-Teachers/ Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:00:28 -0800 AMAMom  My son Josh was a boundary banger. From toddlerhood right on through middle school, he hit any boundaries as hard as he could to see if they held. Often I felt like a human boundary line, worn out from my son's insistent defiance. Wear a coat? Nope. Get his homework done on my schedule? Nope. Admit he was wrong? Nope, nope, nope. Wasn't there ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2934/Of-Lizards-and-Laughter/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2934/Of-Lizards-and-Laughter/ Wed, 06 Dec 2006 12:45:34 -0800 AMAMom Got your attention, didn't I?If you're like me, your past is littered with failed New Year's Resolutions. The road to hell may be paved with good intentions...my past is paved with a bunch of "woulda', coulda', shoulda'" ideas that didn't last much longer than the thirty-one days in January.Lose weight? Yep, I've made that resolution many times over--and many pounds ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2727/No-More-New-Years-Resolutions/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2727/No-More-New-Years-Resolutions/ Mon, 27 Nov 2006 20:37:22 -0800 AMAMom My eighteen-year-old-daughter, Amy, is a lot like me. We think alike, we process our emotions alike, and we handle conflict alike.This is not always a good thing.When it come to arguments we are too much alike. We end up in a stalemate where neither of us is willing to take the first step towards reconciliation. (I know, I know. I ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2557/Diffusing-Conflict-With-A-Teen/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2557/Diffusing-Conflict-With-A-Teen/ Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:50:42 -0800 AMAMom My mailbox overflows with catalogues. Gourment food catalogues. Outdoor gear catalogues. Toy catalogues.I take them all and pile them beside my bed, planning to do some Christmas shopping when I get a free minute.Hasn't happened.My daughter, Christa, loves all the toy catalogues. "Oh, Mommy, I want this! Oh, Mommy, look at that!"Finally, I handed her a black marker and told her to ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2435/Wish-List/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2435/Wish-List/ Fri, 10 Nov 2006 11:25:00 -0800 AMAMom My son was visiting at his friend's house and his friends parents attending a wedding during the day (12pm - 3pm), so they left a 15 & 13 y.o home, one would think "no Problem", what can they get up to?  Computer is passworded, mature kids, whats a couple of hours?  Well, the older child had figured out Dad's password, ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2357/A-Harsh-Reality-But-Not-One-Without-Hope/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2357/A-Harsh-Reality-But-Not-One-Without-Hope/ Sun, 05 Nov 2006 19:13:55 -0800 AMAMom Family traditions--extravagant, expensive, and time-consuming.Not.Most parents dream about starting family traditions that will last through generations. I know I did.But those same dreams of overblown traditions hindered my ability to create memories with my children. I figured if it wasn't Martha Stewart perfect, it wasn't worthwhile. I figured all traditions involved lots of time and even more money--and probably sewing. ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2244/The-Myth-of-Traditions/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2244/The-Myth-of-Traditions/ Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:24:44 -0800 AMAMom Becoming a mother expanded the boundaries of my heart.Before motherhood, life was pretty much "Me, Myself, and I." Then when I got married it was "Me, Myself, I--and him." My life was no longer just my own because my hopes and dreams intertwined with my husband's hopes and dreams.Then came children--four to be exact. As I opened my arms to ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2196/The-Heart-of-the-Matter/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2196/The-Heart-of-the-Matter/ Fri, 27 Oct 2006 17:56:40 -0700 AMAMom Three of my four children survived the teen years.And you know what else? So have I.Years before any of my children were thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and so on, I was tired of parents bad-mouthing their teens."I can't wait until my child is eighteen and gets out of my house!"With that kind of attitude, what did the parent expect? How could ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2174/Get-A-Plan-for-the-Teen-Years/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/2174/Get-A-Plan-for-the-Teen-Years/ Thu, 26 Oct 2006 04:55:34 -0700