Creating balance is an important part of creating a schedule for my family that will incorporate family life, education, sports, and friends. While we are all guilty of allowing the distraction of the quick text, phones at the dinner table, checking email, or sending the kids to play their game consoles to get some quiet time. Those so-called temporary moments can turn into a permanent behavior. Studies show that children with increased usage of electronic devices are more likely to develop higher rates of childhood obesity, poor sleeping quality, behavior problems and poor school performance. There are easy tips that I incorporate into my children’s schedule to keep the electronic usage controlled.
- No electronics allowed at the dinner table. ( This also means when we are out at a restaurant.)
- Create a schedule. I created a schedule for when they are allowed to play their game consoles, iPad, and use their cell phones.
- Create interactive activities for your children. I always try to find fun activities to introduce into their schedule.
As a fun activity, I created a Valentines Day Baking Challenge For The Kids. I gave my two sons the task of creating a Valentines Day cake for our family and I can proudly say that they completed their task and excelled at the delivery.
I did not want their first cake to be a hard task that would discourage them from baking in the future so I purchased this Pillsbury Valentines Funfetti Cake Mix. They followed each of the directions and even took the challenge to the next level by following the instructions on the back of the box to create a heart shape caked.
They baked two round cakes, cutting one into equal halves and cutting the top corners of the second cake.
They put the pieces together and created the perfect heart shaped cake.
They finished off their heart shaped cake by using Pillsbury Valentines Day vanilla cake frosting and heart-shaped sprinkles.
So proud of them!
