Best Parental Control

Research consistently shows that kids benefit from relationships with caring adults in addition to their parents.

A study of 1,000 young people for Big Brothers Big Sisters showed that, compared to other groups, children with mentors were

• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
• 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
• 53% less likely to skip school
• 33% less likely to engage in school violence

In addition to the above statistics, mentored children also showed improved relationships with both their peers and their family’s.

A Mentor’s Story

Disheartening statistics isn’t what lured me into becoming a mentor, but my personality traits of  being helpful, having a giving heart, and believing in volunteer work that I believe sparked my interest in becoming a mentor.

A friend had mentioned that she had been a ‘Big Sister’ in her early 20s.   At that time I was 24 and had been on my own and supporting myself for 5 years.  I realized that I had extra time to take on a commitment like mentoring a child and after all the paperwork and background checks had been done, I spoke with a BBBS counselor named Neal with the Big Brothers & Big Sisters organization, .

Since it was Neal’s job was to match me with a Little Sister, I made sure he knew that I wanted the youngest girl available.  I had decided this wasn’t going to be ‘just a mentoring‘ relationship but instead a ‘lifelong friend‘.

Renee

On August 16, 1997 I met Renee.  She was 7 years old, which is younger than BBBS’s 8 year old requirement, but because of extending circumstances she was allowed to enter the program early.

The girls’ mother, in my opinion, gave her girls the best gift she could ever give them, especially since she was terminally ill, Renee and her three older sisters all had Big Sisters.

In the years to come not only did I help her with homework, take her places, make special projects, but I also made sure I got to know her family to help her understand and manage the relationships she had with her sisters, mother, and step-father.

Other than always touching base and becoming a part of her family I made her a part of mine and took her to all my family functions over the years.

Part Of Our Family

Renee was there when I got married, had my first two sons, and she was close enough to experience the pregnancy with my third son on a daily basis.  Due to her Mother’s illness, she became a permanent part of our family prior to having our third son.  That’s right — we filed for custody of her when her mother was no longer able to care for her.

As you can see this relationship has gone above and beyond any mentoring relationship that I know of, and for that we are so proud.

I can honestly say though that I’ve learned just as much or more from her as she has learned from me.  Now that I look back on the experience, while she was young , it seems to me that I was a “parent-in-training”  because a lot of the things I did with her I’m also doing with my own kids.  Wow!

Mentoring Resources

There are a variety of different organizations that can assist you in becoming a mentor if you‘re interested in creating a mentoring story of your own.

Mentor.org:
Life Coaches For Kids:
Mentor Net:
Boys & Girls Clubs of America:

Remarkable Parents Team Bio:

Sherry Martz is a 36 year old wife and mother of three sons who lives on a black angus cattle farm in Indiana.  Since 1997 she’s been a mentor to an inner city young lady who is now in the Air Force.   Sherry is an active volunteer at her sons’ school on a weekly basis and helps kids who are struggling and need extra 1 on 1 attention.  She and her husband own two successful businesses for which she does the administrative end.

If you would like to contact Sherry you can find her on Twitter at @citychiconafarm or visit  her website City Chick on a Farm.

Let’s Talk

We can all use a mentor at some point in our life.

Who has been a big influence for you and how did he/she change your life?

Filed under: Internet Dangers, Social Networking, Articles of Interest, Sexting

While parents, law makers and law enforcers decide how to punish the offenders of sexting, teachers in a Milwaukee town spent the last day of school teaching an important lesson before summer break. They sparked a debate with students regarding all aspects of the topic of sexting. Several of the students admitted to sending nude pictures of themselves and at least one was the victim of that picture being sent to others. The debate continued with who should be punished, for what and what the punishment should be.

This sounds like a far better use of time compared to my last day of school every year — usually spent watching the clock.

 

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Filed under: Internet Safety Tips, Social Networking, Articles of Interest

I recently overheard a conversation in which one parent was telling another that she wishes the schools would teach the parents about online safety, in addition to the students.

For students, all 50 states have Internet safety information available to them through the Boys and Girls Clubs and Netsmartz.org. There are also several states that are taking education to a much higher level, requiring cyber education as part of the schools’ curriculum. Virginia was the first state to require Internet safety education as part of the school’s curriculum. Since then, other states are pulling together similar programs such as New Jersey, Illinois, and Texas. Generally speaking, the education covers cyber bullying, general online safety, predators and what information should be shared online.

As for the parents‘ education, there are many resources available. Here are a few:

This blog, SafetyClicks.com
Parental Controls software (this is a search page leading to several options)
NetSmartz 411
Connect Safely
Enough Is Enough

 

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Featured Guest Article

by Robert Hruzek

Hey, do your digital photos tend to come out looking pale and washed-out?

Mine sure do!

Are the colors not quite as vivid as you remembered?

Yep;  that’s me, all right!

The Free, Fast, & Easy Software

When it comes to capturing those great moments with today’s cameras, well, I must admit to being something of a dweeb.  I’ll tell ya; I can never figure out how to get the best out of ‘em.

The good news is, help is available! For instance, there’s a great photo-editing tool available that’s easy, fast and – best of all – free! (Don’cha just love that word?)

Trust me; it’s easier than you think.

Edit It & Store It

With just a couple of clicks I will show you how to use a free web-based photo-editing tool called Picnik to make even ordinary-seeming photos come alive. But here’s the best news: Picnik has partnered with Flickr in such a way that they’re practically joined at the hip!

(NOTE: the following steps assume you already have a Flickr account. The basic membership for Flickr is free, but there’s also a Pro membership available for $24.95 for a year. Although you can use Picnik without a Flickr membership, the ability to edit from within Flickr is, in my opinion, a big plus.)

Editing Your Photo

Here’s how to quickly edit a photo using Picnik (from within Flickr):

1. Pick any photo from your photostream. This will take you to that photo’s page.
2. OK, see all those little icons just above the photo? Click on that second one from the right: “Edit Photo”.
   
3. Now, the first time only, you’ll be asked if you want to open Picnik within your Flickr account. Click on “OK”. (Only happens your first time.) This step is necessary because the application has the ability to manipulate (even delete!) photos in your Flickr account, so they just want you to be sure. It’s OK; that’s what you want.
4. Once Picnik opens (it’ll take a few seconds), you’ll find yourself on the main edit page, which should look something like this:

Now, if you’re anything like me (and sincere condolences if you are!), then you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Ooh, lookit all the pretty buttons!” For the purposes of this demonstration, though, let’s just keep it simple for now, shall we?

Trust me, this one thing may be all you’ll ever need.

OK; only a couple more steps and we’re done!

1. Now click on the “Exposure” button there in the middle. This takes you to a different page, where you’ll see, among other things, two buttons: “Auto-Fix” on the left and “Advanced” over on the right.
2. Click on the “Advanced” button. Another menu appears just below it.
3. Now – and here’s where the instant magic happens – click on the box at the bottom, next to the words “Local Contrast”. Keep your eye on the photo so you can watch what happens.

Voila! You’ll see the photo pop to life like you won’t believe! With a little practice, it’ll take less time to edit a photo than it took to read through these instructions.

Plus, you don’t have to stop there; with a free Picnik account you’ll find a huge number of editing tools available that provide an amazing amount of creative freedom. (Remember, for the more advanced features a Premium membership is required – also $24.95 a year; this is a different animal than a Pro Flickr account.)

Before & After Photo

Here’s a before-and-after split of the photo I used, with before on the right half and after on the left half. Isn’t it amazing, the difference just a few clicks can make?

In no time, you’ll be turning your pale, washed out photos into something you can be truly proud of. And as we say down here in Texas, that’s just finer than a frog’s hair!

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Image: Say Hello to Me Mum! by Robert Hruzek

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Robert Hruzek currently lives in Houston, Texas, and is usually employed as an engineering project manager. He has travelled, lived and worked in many locations within the United States and around the world.

Robert writes on the Web at Middle Zone Musings (http://middlezonemusings.com/). It’s a comfortable place to have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. He doesn’t ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Why not drop by, take a load off, and relax for a spell…

You may contact Robert by email at: rhruzek [at] sbcglobal [dot] net

We have a great no-bake cake recipe from our friends at Family Fun Magazine.

Mom’s, kid’s and dad’s enjoy, this look yummmy!

Cool Cake for Mom (No Baking Required)

Dad and company can make this creamy, foolproof confection on their own — no oven (and no Mom) required!

That’s because this cake “cooks” in the refrigerator.   All you do is prepare a few ingredients.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

	1 (10 3/4-ounce) pound cake
	1 (3 1/8-ounce) box of instant pudding
	1 cup whipped topping
	Fruit (we used 2 bananas and 4 large strawberries)
	Mint sprigs (optional)
	Chilled chocolate syrup

RECIPE STEPS:

1. Slice the pound cake into several horizontal slices about an inch thick.

2. Prepare the pudding according to package directions.  Mix the pudding with the whipped topping.

3. Chop up the fresh fruit you’ve chosen.

4. Layer the cake, fruit, and a little less than half of the pudding mixture in a loaf pan.  Then top the cake with the remaining pudding.

5. Put the cake in the fridge for a couple of hours. When it’s chilled, decorate it; we topped ours with trimmed strawberries and mint sprigs.

6. Squeeze on a greeting with chilled chocolate syrup.  Then serve Mom a sweet treat on her special day.

What other plans do you have for your mom? Did you make her a card or buy her a gift?

Please share your plans with all the kids and mom’s and tell us what makes your mom special!