JAK CHAT

Three Reasons to Save Your Kid's Kindergarten Pictures Now! Your Photos Can Be A Powerful Parenting Tool Sponsored by Pixologie Okay, you have piles of your children’s photos in boxes, envelopes, tucked in bins in the closet – or on your computer, different camera cards, smart phones and on Facebook! We know . . . you’ll get to sorting the photos out someday. Well, we have some reasons why you might not want to wait. Read more... If you are wanting to raise happy, well adjusted children, your photos can be one of the BEST parenting tools you have. Nationally recognized parenting expert, Deborah Gilboa, MD, ( aka Doctor G ), recently presented a webinar to the Association of Personal Photo Organizers on how this could be. Gilboa believes that photos impact the three R’s of parenting. In her experience, photos: Teach Respect Show Responsibility Build Resiliency Here’s a quick example of how we see some kindergarten photos touching upon Doctor G’s three R’s. 1. Teaching Respect...

Let's Head INDOORS Play Place Destination Guide Compiled  by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann 'Tis the season for wacky weather! We can be in the midst of a polar vortex deep freeze, knee deep or so in a winter wonderland of snow, muckin' around in slush and brown mud, or heck we might see dead dry grass and pavement. Who knows? One thing remains constant....KIDS GOTTA PLAY, and sometimes momma just has to get away.  There are a number of indoor activity centers for families with kids of all ages.   Read more.... America's Action Territory - (Kenosha) A wide choice of indoor and outdoor attractions, games and food selections. Indoor options are: arcade, bumper cars, BallOCity, laser tag, and The Heist. Monkey Joe's - (Kenosha and Waukesha) Children’s party and play destinations with 9 giant inflatable jumps and slides perfect for children 12 and younger includes the Mini Monkey Zone area for children ages 3 and younger. Chasing Tales for Kids  -(Oak Creek)  ...

Get Your Child’s Snacks on the Healthy Track Sponsored by Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare - All Saints If you think your kids have more snack attacks than you did as a child, you're right.   Compared with 20 years ago, children are taking more snack breaks. Snacks are a now even a routine part of school days where children can buy an item or two from the snack cart or bring something from home to eat during the day. Even though schools have done a much better job about including healthy snack choices for sale, this higher number of snack breaks can result in more calories a day if you’re not careful. Read more...   Children beginning at age two through the teen years snack more often. “With 17 percent of children and adolescents obese, we can blame eating between meals for part of the trend,” says Dr. Manmeet Bains , Family Medicine, Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group – All Saints.   “Snacks should not be forbidden as they play an important role in the well-being of a child,”...

Cabin Fever Family Activity Survival Guide Winter 2015 compiled by Paula Herrmann, Founder Just Add Kids School's Out! And it's not for summer. Bummer?! Once again, we're trapped in our homes due to the dangerous winter weather. It's Wisconsin after all. Cheer or complain, we deal. This is an repeat of last year's list, and hoping to continuing to build with the help of our JAK peeps...oh yeah, that's you! Do share! We've tapped into some of the ideas posted out there on the social media sites and those activities we have access to and are good fallbacks in bad (and good) weather.   Before you advance to any of the below ideas! Take part in this timely activity ==>fundraiser and help out this Racine area homeless shelter, Hospitality Center , that without the resources need in cash donations and manpower will cease its overnight operations. Totally kid-friendly! Can you imagine being homeless on a day like this? "The 10/10/10 Challenge: 12 Hours of...

For SNOW! by Just Add Kids Founder, Paula Herrmann Not so much a fan of cold, bone-chilling weather. Alas, we do live in Wisconsin and with that comes the winter package of grey days, wind chills, and the most redeeming aspect...snow! Truly, there are few things more magical then those first flurries gently falling to the ground. Then of course, there's the building snow forts and snowmen with the kiddos. Precious times. Just Add Kids has put together our annual Snow Much Fun! It’s a skating/sledding/skiing destination guide for Racine, Kenosha and surrounding communities. Read more…   Ice Skating Echo Lake, Burlington (595 Milwaukee Avenue) – Stairs to the lake, pavilion, benches, outdoor portable restroom. – Free. Devor Park, Burlington (394 Amanda Street) – Free. Milwaukee County Parks (various) – Many of the rinks have warming houses. Warming house hours vary. – Free. Call 414-257-7275 for more info, or visit http://county.milwaukee.gov/OutdoorIceSkating11929.htm Slice of Ic...

What Parents Should Know About Earaches 2 out of 3 children will get at least one earache before their third birthday Sponsored by Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare - All Saints It's a common childhood complaint: an earache. Ear pain often heralds an ear infection — the leading reason children visit the doctor. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently updated its guidelines for managing ear infections. Arm yourself with the latest about this frequent child illness.   The ear has three parts: the outer, middle, and inner ear. As you might suspect, the outer ear is everything you can see, plus the ear canal. The middle portion involves hearing; the inner part plays a vital role in balance.   Most ear infections attack the middle ear, specifically, the eustachian tube. It's a structure that links the middle ear to the back of the nose. It drains fluid from the ear. When bacteria from an illness infect the tube, it swells up and blocks fluid inside. The result: a buildup of ...

[caption id="attachment_3033" align="alignright" width="210"] Raiden. Pre-diagnosis[/caption] Raiden's Battle Written by JAK guest mom blogger from Turtle WI, Sara Smith About 600 children each year are diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, the most common solid tumor cancer in children. Nearly 70% of those children will be at a stage four at time of diagnosis. This year my three year old nephew Raiden, from Salem, was one of them.   Neuroblastoma is a highly misdiagnosed cancer in the early days. As with most children in his shoes Raiden was having tummy pain and eventually swelling in his abdomen and limbs making it difficult for him to walk. It took months of emergency room visits and being told it was just constipation for them to be directed up to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee and get a correct diagnosis. His doctors say they only see 4 cases of this a year and are hopeful for a good outcome, even though one child with neuroblastoma dies every 16 hour...