10 Reason To Host A Birthday Party That Contributes To Charity

1. First, and foremost, the feeling from giving is unmatched by any other feeling (even when you are 4!).
2. Giving at an early age sets the stage for generous givers as they grow.   How’s that for “pay-it-forward?”
3. Giving to charity doesn’t need to be packaged or wrapped.
4. Generosity is infectious.
5. Empathy loves company.  Learning about others in need will inspire other to follow in your footsteps.
6. Feel proud of yourself as a parent for guiding your child toward the needs of others in your town, city and global community.
7. Become a leader in your community by giving back to your own school or local charity at your next birthday party.
8. Get the Friend of the Year Award! Give guests an opportunity to give a meaningful birthday gift (while still in their pajamas).
9. Spark meaningful dialogue with your child. Turning a new age is the perfect (and fun) time to ignite a conversation that could otherwise be delicate.
10. Bragging Rights.  Do something new and cool.

Great news, parents! Fear can be fixed.

ECHOage would like to welcome back our guest blogger Sarah Chana Radcliffe who shares how she was personally inspired by her son to write her new book: The Fear Fix, Solutions for Every Child’s Moments of Worry, Panic and Fear.  If you have a child who is suffering, or know someone who does, please share this amazing new resource.
It’s a long time ago now, but I’ll never forget it. My little boy developed a fear of robbers. At first I thought it was nothing – something that would clear up by itself in a few days, or at worst, in a few weeks. But that’s not what occurred. Instead, the fear grabbed hold of his brain. He couldn’t fall asleep at night because of the robbers.  I practice psychology – so I do know a few tricks – so I used all of them on him – to no avail. Soon he was worrying about robbers the minute he walked in the door from school! And then, he began to wake up in the morning with robbers front and centre. I felt I was going to lose my own mind to these robbers if I didn’t find a way to get rid of them. Fortunately, the story ends happily because I finally discovered how to free my child from his fear and us from its tyranny. Along the way I learned that there are ways for all of us to enjoy greater peace of mind and freedom from fear. Whether it’s worry about our loved ones, fear of bugs, separation or sleeping alone, stress about tornadoes, terrorists or the world situation, or panic about flying or public speaking – or any other fear –  it turns out that there are powerful ways to replace anxious feelings with calm confidence.  I share these strategies now in “The Fear Fix” so that no child needs to suffer the torment of unremitting fear and no parent has to experience the helplessness and worry of watching that suffering. Moreover, kids who know how to release their own fear and stress are far less likely to become teenagers who turn to drugs, alcohol and other dysfunctional attempts to quiet their anxious feelings. When you help your child through fear, you help him or her through life itself. So fear not, The Fear Fix is here.

BY: Sarah Chana Radcliffe, M.Ed.,C.Psych.Assoc.
Guest Blogger for ECHOage.com

Forget Christmas. Back-to-school season is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

Don’t get me wrong – the slowed down pace of summer coupled with not having to pack school lunches makes summer pure joy. But, it’s been eight weeks now and it’s time to outsource the bickering siblings to our kind government for six hours a day. Like any change of pace, summer was refreshing but I welcome the routine and structure that the school year offers.

Back to school also makes me feel nostalgic. As I prep my six kids heading off to elementary school, memories of this season come flooding back. Without question, the very BEST part of back-to-school season is all those shiny new school supplies. We head off to the shops with our school supply lists in hand, eagerly filling our shopping cart.

Nothing says “fresh start” like crisp white paper, clean colourful binders, sharp pencils and backpacks that don’t have a squashed banana at the bottom. To me, new school supplies bring hope and promise. Hope for academic success in the next grade. And the promise of a more organized school year.

Having a good list is key. My kids range in age from Junior Kindergarten to Gr. 8, so there are very different supplies required. While everyone needs paper, pencils and erasers – when do calculators and geometry sets enter the scene? It’s best to have an understanding of what each kid needs before heading off into the mayhem of the shopping centers to face the other back-to-school shoppers.

In my many years of back-to-school planning, I’ve learned a thing or two. And now I love to share my tips and advice with other parents about the topic. So, although the long weekend is known as Labour Day, here at Mabel’s Labels, we celebrate “Label Day Weekend”. There’s a lot going on, including a Facebook & Twitter event on September 2^nd, from 9pm-11pm where I’ll be chatting with other parents about back to school. (There might even be some giveaways…) Hope you can make it!

What memories do you have from your back to school days? Did you like the feeling of fresh paper under your fingertips, or was having a sniff of the liquid paper more your thing?

About the Author:

Julie Cole is co-founder of Mabel’s Labels Inc., the leading provider of kids’ labels, and a proud mom of six.

Newest ECHOage Team Member – Bonnie Levine

We would like to introduce the newest member of the ECHOage family!

Bonnie Levine has recently joined our team as Chief Ambassador, Eastern Region.

As mom to two young girls, Bonnie has seen first hand the joy and pride that her daughters have experienced from giving back and doing important work for those in need. Creating opportunities to inspire her children to be charitable has been a constant. As Chief Ambassador, Eastern Region, Bonnie is thrilled to be able to leverage her business consulting and communications background to help launch ECHOage across new Canadian markets and to play a role in fostering kindness and generosity among the next generation.

Welcome Bonnie and we look forward to expanding ECHOage into the Eastern Region in Canada!

Next time you want to yell at your kids, think of this post (then go out and get the book!)

ECHOage has invited Sarah Chana Radcliffe, internationally recognized parenting expert, author, counselor, and speaker, to write a guest blog for ECHOage. Her parenting advice really works…we have tested it out with our own kids! Try her tips and in just a few days you’ll be yelling less, and loving more.

RAISE YOUR KIDS WITHOUT RAISING YOUR VOICE

By: Sarah Chana Radcliffe

My kids always threaten to report me. “You’re raising your voice – you call yourself a parenting expert?” Said in good humor of course. I think.

Anyway, why would someone as nice and as educated as I am ever raise her voice? Actually, I’m always surprised when anyone accuses me of doing that. I always think that I am speaking in a perfectly polite, pleasant tone of voice. I certainly mean no harm. In fact, if I were to acknowledge their presence at all, I’d have to say that these so-called “raised voices” of mine are usually more like whining sounds or sounds of frustration, generally uttered when I’m really, really tired and I can’t get the computer to do what I want it to do and someone forgot to plug the crockpot in for tonight’s dinner. I certainly don’t call these noises “yelling.” So it always strikes me as shocking that my children – now all grownups – would even comment on the quality of my otherwise lovely speaking voice. The fact that they do is a cautionary tale: we can never get away with speaking less than sweetly to our children. They take note. They react. It affects them.

So imagine what would happen if we were a tad more casual about this. Suppose, for instance, that we actually spoke really LOUDLY when we were upset or we called someone a name like RUDE or SELFISH or LAZY. What if we were really MAD? How would all that affect our children?

I can tell you actually. The more we communicate in an angry mode, the more problems our kids tend to have. When young, they have more social problems, more physical symptoms like tummy aches and headaches, more learning issues, more behavioral problems. If we’re still shouting when they’re teens, they have more emotional problems, more addictions, more eating disorders and self-harm, more troubled friendships, more academic problems. Unfortunately, a loud voice is toxic to developing human beings.

Yes we’re only human and our nerves get frayed. But if there was a way to discipline effectively while maintaining our cool and conveying our love, wouldn’t we want to use it? In fact, there are many tools that effectively replace the loud or irritated parental voice. Parents just have to learn them and use them. Build a loving, healthy relationship with your kids and give them the skills that will help them do the same with theirs.

Sarah Chana Radcliffe is the author of Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice.
Visit her at http://www.facebook.com/scradcliffe

A Whale of a Tale

What Happens When Someone is More Worried About Your Kid Than You Are?

Last week while on holidays, my family went on a whale-watching tour. The boat looked very much like a pirate ship, so the kids were fairly impressed. About half way into the adventure, a visibly stressed out older woman went over to my four-year old, took him by the hand and brought him over to where I was sitting with Daddy-o and a friend. She explained that she was worried sick about him going overboard.

At first I didn’t really know what to do with that information. I knew he was not going overboard and there were three adults keeping a very close eye on him. I think in situations like this, the kneejerk reaction is to say, “Why don’t you worry about looking for whales and I’ll worry about my kid.”

Those words didn’t come out of my mouth because I didn’t feel angry or judged. She was genuinely worried, albeit unnecessarily. I wanted her to enjoy the day, so from there on in one of us adults closely followed my fully capable kid around so that she could relax. It’s probably been years since she cared for a small child, and we quickly forget what they do at different stages.

I could relate to how she was feeling. Sometimes other people’s children stress me out.  If I’m at the park and there’s a child running around with a lollipop, I go out of my mind. I completely obsess to the point of ignoring my own children. I’m paralyzed with fear that the child will fall and have the lollipop lodged down their little throat.

My solution?  I either have to leave the park completely, or I explain to the mother that I’m a total crackpot and beg her to humour me and take the lolly away.

While I want to enjoy my time at the park, so did this woman on the ship. It’s easy for parents to get defensive, but I found that by respecting her concerns, we had a day of smooth sailing on the high seas.

Have you ever had anyone show unnecessary concern over your child? How did you respond?

Guest Blogger: Julie Cole, Founder, Mabel’s Labels