Parenting Tip - Daily Checklist for my Children

Are you a LIST person?  Do you make lists and check them off?  I definitely am a list person--so is my mother--so are my 3 daughters.  If I do something during the day that isn't on my list, I write it on just so I can check it off.

So you can imagine my excitement when hearing about the book: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande.  It was a great read.  Atul Gawande is a surgeon in the United States.  He is concerned about the errors made by the medical field when treating patients and though he realizes the complexity and variety of medical issues and treatments there are, he wonders if some sort of "checklist" can be used to lessen the degree of errors--and deaths.

Dr. Gawande studied and interviewed people in the airline industry.  We are all acquainted with a pilot's checklist, the one he goes through before taking off.  What ideas could the medical field use from their checklist?  The author also researched the skyscraper industry; how do they ensure they are building safe skyscrapers with all the steps that are required to build something that tall?

Reading this book made me excited to apply the author's ideas into my own life.  How could a checklist help me make sure I am living my life without "error" and that I am building the best person I can build?

I remember as a young mother discussing this very idea with two close friends.  I made a list of what I wanted my children to learn before they became adults and then set goals to make sure I was teaching them properly. 

I wondered what a mother would put on a daily checklist.  Here's an idea:

 

There's no mention of music lessons, sports, or gymnastics on the daily checklist.  While those activities do enhance and develop your child's abilities, they certainly aren't required to produce an outstanding, responsible young adult.                                                                                                  

 So what would you put on a daily checklist?  Did I forget some essential items?

Thanks for reading,
Cathy

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Parenting Tip - A hearty laugh

I wrote a blog post last year about the value of laughter (see the side bar and click on laughter).  Recently I’ve been hearing more about different groups embracing and encouraging laughter. Did you know there was a Laughter Yoga class you can take?  They are offered in many different countries around the world.

Here are some quotes about laughter:

I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.  ~Woody Allen

Sometimes I laugh so hard the tears run down my leg.  ~Author Unknown

(Yeah, we loved to do this to my little brother!)

When people are laughing, they're generally not killing each other.  ~Alan Alda

(Hey, a new sibling rivalry technique!)

A hearty laugh gives one a dry cleaning, while a good cry is a wet wash.  ~Puzant Kevork Thomajan

With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.  ~Abraham Lincoln

It is bad to suppress laughter.  It goes back down to your hips.  ~Author Unknown

(So that's my problem!)

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.  ~Victor Borge 

Do you know Victor Borge?  He is the funniest musician I have ever watched.  Here’s one of his famous vignettes: 

 So start laughing and if you can't find anything to laugh about, watch some funny You Tube videos of babies laughing--that will get you laughing for sure!

Thanks for reading,

Cathy

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Parenting Tip - Laughter - The Best Medicine

Is life going crazy for you right now?  Are the kids driving you up a wall?  Then take 5 minutes out of your day and laugh.

We all know there is value in laughing.  It lowers your blood pressure, protects your heart, boosts your immune system, relieves pain and depression, bla, bla, bla. You can probably remember a time from your past when you and a friend laughed so hard you cried.  I can.  I remember lots of times, but if I told you the reason why we were laughing, it wouldn't even be funny to you.  Or me.  But it sure was funny then.

Laughing bonds you to those you laugh with. Why?  Because you are sharing a personal, intense emotion.   So shouldn't you be laughing at home so you can bond with your children and husband?  Many times while parents watch their baby's and children's antics they will laugh and feel closer because of it.

Why can children laugh so easily?  Because they don't have the stress and responsibilities that we as adults have, of course.  But we can learn from children.  Learn to live in the moment, enjoy the now, be enchanted with what your eyes are seeing and your heart is feeling.

Maybe we should all have funny pictures hanging in our homes (you know the ones where the kids are messing around when you want to take a photograph) and CDs of laughter (or just watch you tube once a day).  Maybe we should make funny faces in the mirror and play jokes on each other.

I just couldn't resist sharing this video of one of  my grandsons laughing.