Set The Table With Dora!

I happened upon this cute printable project at Nick Jr.'s website and wanted to share. What a great way to teach children to set a table using one of their favorite TV characters. I can't wait to show my daughter.

Photos From the Past Can Haunt You

Miss USA 2010

Today’s youth can learn something from the recent events surrounding the newly crowned Miss USA, Rima Fakih. What you do during your youth, or in her case three years ago, can and will come back to bite you. Your family will support you, there are others who may be jealous of you and will do anything to see you fail. Most time our teens feel as if they can do whatever they desire because they’re young. That couldn’t be any further from the truth. Unlike our parent’s generation, Big Brother wasn’t always watching. Who was watching were our parents and neighbors who were always there to keep us in line. Today, children have computers, IPhones, Black Berry’s and other social networking devices in their bedrooms for use when no one is watching. Without proper supervision or communication these devices can and often do ruin lives.

Sexting is popular amongst teen girls where they take nude or semi nude photos of themselves and text them to their boyfriends. What was meant to be for his eyes only are then shared with his friend’s eyes and so on. Boys and girls are immature in their adolescent years. Many adults are immature in their adult years, but teen boys often share their experiences with their male friends to earn “cool” points. If you plan to run for political office, there are teams of people employed to search for dirt on candidates.

In my opinion I don’t think Miss USA will be dethroned for the stripper contest video/photos. Have you seen the photos of all of the contestants dressed as strippers during the week of the national pageant? These photos make the stripper contest look like a walk in the park. I’m bothered that Trump would allow a shoot like this to even happen. Doesn’t he realize, or care, that he just compromised the professional careers of all of the contestants by making them pose as strippers, hookers, call girls for a pageant? I wonder if any contestants refused to do the shoot? Or did all of them sell out and compromise their values for a rent free Manhattan apartment, lifetime supply of shoes, and a scholarship to New York Film Academy that’s not even prestigious?

I have worked with teen girls over the years in helping them to prepare for pageants, talent shows, helping them with their self esteem and so forth. When I started to create my etiquette program, I wanted to incorporate an internet workshop. One of the many courses offered will focus on the do’s and don’ts of the Internet. We will focus on the importance of creating descent email names (I can’t tell you how many inappropriate email addresses I have been given for teens), Face Book page content and posts, taking, emailing, and posting photos, how to write emails, how to speak with potential employers or adults over emails, etc.

My overall goal is to help teens get through the hardest years of their lives in tact. Being a teen is hard. Peer pressure is hard. Dealing with the pressures of drinking, drugs, sex, bullying, academics, sports, college preparation, dating, etc. is extremely hard. I’m glad I survived the teen years. Being an adult is hard but at least we have developed many of the necessary skills to cope with our pressures. I hope...

Register your child today for the TYDI Etiquette Program for Kids!