SNAP a photo of you & your family with UNREAL ™ candy & enter to win $10,000 to shop @Target! #UnrealPhotoContest
UNREAL ™ Candy wants to thank you for helping them unjunk the world with an UNREAL $10,000 gift card to shop at Target. Visit www.pongr.com/brand/unreal for your chance to win.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER PHOTO CONTEST!
RETWEET IF YOU WISH!
1. Enter to win $10K to shop @Target Join @GETUNREAL in unjunking our kid’s candy! #UnrealPhotoContest http://j.mp/12WIPjh
2. SNAP a photo of you & your family w/ @GETUNREAL candy & enter to win $10,000 to shop @Target! #UnrealPhotoContest http://j.mp/12WIPjh
The Go-To Mom Productions was compensated for the promotion of this contest by UNREAL ™. Kimberley Blaine will only promote, endorse and support companies she believes to have the highest standards in products and/or services that contribute to the well-being of families with young children.
The Go-To Mom’s Holiday Gift Guide – watch now!
Each year I have my favorite gifts that I love to give… Most are pretty affordable but every now and then I have one that has a larger price tag! As you can see I mention all types of gifts for all ages and even for dad! In the comments box below please let us know your recommendations for Mom! And I know you might prefer doing crafts or sledding in the snow with your kids rather than holiday shopping, but here’s a holiday gift guide with suggestions for gifts that won’t break the bank. Plus, your family will truly love these gifts!
Record everything you hear, say and write, and link audio recordings directly to notes with the Sky wifi Smartpen from Livescribe, featuring 4 GB of memory to record 400 hours of audio and thousands of pages of notes, diagrams and drawings1. Tap anywhere on a page to replay audio from that exact moment, and wirelessly sync notes and audio to your free Evernote account. Replay, search and share your interactive notes, anytime and anywhere from PC, Mac, iOS or Android devices.
Ultimate Cake Pops Set by Bakerella
The Ultimate Cake Pops Set makes it easy to create adorable cake pops with some of Bakerella’s Favorite designs. Crumble your cake, mix it with frosting and mold it in an assortment of shapes using the items in this set. Then dip in melted candy coating and decorate. It’s that simple. Just shape, dip, decorate and display your creations to become a (cake) pop star, just like Bakerella.
BabbaBox is a monthly subscription box that is delivered to your home with ALL the physical materials plus know-how content to really engage with your kids. You can gift a BabbaBox experience for 1 month, 3 months or a full year.
Jeans, jackets & other items from Levi.com
What dad (or mom…or really any person) couldn’t use a few updates to his wardrobe? The Levi’s® brand epitomizes classic American style and effortless cool.
Lush – Fresh handmade cosmetics
Lush products are made from fresh, organic fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics. They make them fresh by hand using little or no preservative or packaging, using only vegetarian ingredients, and tell you when they were made.
Retell favorite stories in your very own voice for a family tradition you can share no matter where you are. The book plays music on every two-page spread and features Voice Save™ Technology. You can choose from a variety of titles including holiday books like Santa Claus is Coming to Town and The Night Before Christmas or children’s classics such as Goodnight Moon and Guess How Much I Love You.
The Go-To Mom’s Budget-Friendly Holiday Tips on CBS
The holidays are right around the corner, but are you prepared? The Go-To Mom, Kimberley Clayton Blaine, stopped by CBS KCAL9 in Los Angeles to spill her secrets for preparing for the holidays on a budget. Some gifts cost very little, like this awesome holiday chain that your kids write custom messages to the ones they love. Grandma and Grandpa love this! Take a look and get your creative ideas flowing!
Babies and Sleep – Sometimes You Just Have to Do What Feels Right
Guest Writer: Lysa Parker, MS, CFLE, www.parentslifeline.com
I appreciate this much needed conversation about what constitutes safe infant sleep. It is one the greatest challenges for parents and us as parent educators. It’s important to put this dilemma into a larger context. I find it often necessary to explain the deeper layers of this argument that families and professionals both have.
Biologically speaking the human infant is designed to stay in close proximity with its mother or primary caregiver, with whose voice and smells it is accustomed to. The brain of the human infant is the most neurologically immature of all mammals with only 25% of the brain developed at birth. In many ways the human infant needs a fourth trimester of care similar to in utero. Yet our culture is driven by a need to force our infants to become independent, sometimes as soon as it is born!
I’ve heard countless horror stories of mothers being told to let their baby cry-it-out within two weeks of birth by their pediatricians (who have no child development background by the way). One mother called me and said she had let her baby cry for seven – that’s 7 hours trying to teach it to sleep on its own. She said she finally gave in to the baby…who was under a year old. There is also a belief that infants can manipulate, even at weeks and months old. This myth is common among parents and pediatricians. It’s the underlying theme of sleep-training books that advise parents not to pick up their infant if it cries too much that it vomits in the bed. Just clean it up and put the baby back down because otherwise it would be reinforcing negative behavior (the old behaviorism model.)
Neuroscientists will tell you that infants are incapable of manipulating. That would require higher cortical functions that have not yet developed. Babies are totally right-brained beings that initially use the right side of their brains, which means they only know what they feel: hungry, lonely, cold, hot, frightened, happy, joyful etc.
Anthropologists have found that human infants are what are considered “carry” mammals, whose mothers produce milk that is low in protein and high in carbohydrates, which means it digests quickly, within a couple of hours, thereby requiring more frequent feeds, compared to cows, deer etc. whose milk is high in protein, low in carbohydrates. Accordingly, the offspring of different mammal subspecies are born with innate instincts and expectations of feeding and care upon birth. In our book, Attached at the Heart, we talk about the 4 Ps that human infants are born to expect: Proximity, Protection, Predictability and Play.
In our care of human infants, we adults try to force them into being something they aren’t designed to be, which creates tremendous stress for them. For many parents, they too have instincts but are often suppressed by societal pressures. The cry of the infant is meant to be disturbing to adults so that we will respond. It is the only way they can communicate. If left alone and not responded to, research has shown they eventually shut down. I’m talking about infants under a year, not toddlers necessarily.
If we look strictly at the research conducted on infant co-sleeping and separate sleeping, it was found that by having the infant in the same room as the parent reduced SIDS deaths by 50% and breastfeeding reduced SIDS by 50% as well. In thousands of hours of video taken by researchers of mothers bed-sharing with their infants, never once did the researchers ever witness the mother come close to rolling over on her baby. I might add here too that in most instances infants are on their side, while breastfeeding and lay on their back more comfortably with the mother close by, encircling the baby with her arm. When an infant lays on her back any movement or sound can stimulate the startle reflex which is why, to a mother, seems like an unnatural way to put a baby to sleep.
It’s important to share that the research on infant deaths is still unclear and the research that is currently used is based on coroner’s reports, emergency room reports, death notices etc. As of now there is no standard protocol when investigating infant deaths, although there are efforts to do so in certain cities and states.
Unfortunately infants die for many reasons that we may never know. For decades it was called crib death and now that term is no longer used yet still infants die in cribs as some do in the adult bed. I and other colleagues have long been concerned about the practice of crying-it-out sleep training that is often recommended for newborns. In my opinion this is one of the most harmful practices we subject infants to. I find it interesting that like spanking, it may work but at what cost? Where is the evidence to show that it doesn’t do long-term damage to the baby’s developing brain? There is growing evidence to show that extreme stress like being left to cry can cause a cascade of stress hormones that over time, can change the architecture of the brain.
I mention this because, how do we know this isn’t a contributing factor in some infant deaths? We must look at all variables and do a death scene investigation with a protocol in place in order to closely examine the causes for infant deaths, realizing that we may never know. I think what we are learning that a young infant should probably never sleep alone because if the baby is at least in the same room as the parent, the parent will be alerted and be able to intervene.
Dr. Kathy Kendall-Tackett found in her survey of over 6,000 parents that because of their fear of sleeping with their child in the adult bed, and in an effort to comfort their babies in the middle of the night they were more likely to fall asleep on couches or recliners.
A massive education campaign for safe infant sleep needs to be mounted rather than using advertising scare tactics and “just say no” approaches. Of course I would never suggest that all parents should bed-share with their infants because not every parent should. What needs to be done is to educate all parents in safe sleep. The AAP recommends “co-sleeping” in other words, sleeping in close proximity, in the same room as the parents for the first six months of life.
Find more of Lysa’s work: www.attachmentparenting.org
Through the eyes of a child. Through the eyes of an adult. The effects of Domestic Violence.
One of our greatest challenges in the fight against childhood domestic violence is a lack of public awareness.
I’ve spent most of my career building awareness and helping those impacted by childhood domestic violence reach their full potential and break the cycle. I became a licensed child therapist because I wanted to help children for whom I had a similar background with . For the first time, I tell my story in “Mamalode” magazine. In that first article I don’t focus on the violence as a stand alone issue, as it’s a story about why I started my Go-To Mom Platform and the challenges I face today as mother, parenting expert and as a child survivor of domestic violence.
During the first week of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, “The Children Next Door” will hold its world premiere this week at the Hamptons International Film Festival. This documentary is the first of its kind, as it recounts the fear and pain of domestic violence through the eyes of a child.
This documentary movie trailer brought tears to my eyes. It was horrifying to say the least. I was frozen in my chair watching in fear and felt helpless. I wanted to jump into video and rescue those terrified innocent kids. This subject hits a sensitive nerve in me as my childhood was constantly fraught with domestic violence, every minute of every day…Until my college boyfriend order me to go to counseling so I’d stop raging on him.
In this documentary Penny and Brad vowed when they fell in love to end the cycle. After a ten-year marriage plagued by waves of mounting violence, everything culminates into one horrific incident, which unfolds in front of their four children. The film opens five and a half years later, as the family continues to struggle with the impact of the violence that shaped their lives day after day. Chelsea, the eldest child, embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she begins to realize the inner strength she has gained from her experience and sees her true potential. View the trailer here.
Childhood domestic violence is domestic violence that takes place when children are present. UNICEF calls this “one of the most damaging unaddressed human rights violations in the world today.” 40 million U.S. adults experienced childhood domestic violence and the 5 million children who experience it each year are three times more likely to repeat what they learned as adults.
“One of our greatest challenges in the fight against childhood domestic violence is a lack of public awareness.” said Brian F. Martin, Founder and CEO of the Childhood Domestic Violence Foundation. “Childhood domestic violence is possible because it is a secret. As soon as it is revealed, collectively we can intervene to stop it.” “The Children Next Door” addresses it head on and has the power to open a dialogue about a silent problem affecting millions of people around the world.” “This October, it is imperative that when thinking about domestic violence, we think equally of the children that are present in these homes”
Producer Lynda Hansen and Director Doug Block worked closely with the Childhood Domestic Violence Foundation throughout the production process. Premiering in conjunction with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, “The Children Next Door” serves to focus the dialogue on the children that are so often present when violence occurs in the home.
For interviews with the family and filmmakers of “The Children Next Door” or to learn more about the issue of CDV, please contact Jillian Nannery at The TASC Group: 646-723-4344 or Jill@thetascgroup.com.
About The Childhood Domestic Violence Foundation: The Childhood Domestic Violence Foundation works to end the cycle of childhood domestic violence. CDVF is the only organization that focuses specifically on the effects that CDV can have on individuals and society as a whole. By focusing on the childhood experience, CDVF is able to bring positive change to those impacted and help them realize their true potential. Learn more at www.cdv.org.
Hating Halloween – how I’m doing things differently this year
Growing up I dreaded October 31st. It meant you’d have to find a great costume, trick or treat or attend some party where every one thinks it’s cool to be in disguise. People go to great lengths to dress up – it means a lot to them.
When I think of what Halloween stands for, I get completely turned off. It’s a gruesome day where most to the nation encourages kids to love the spookiness and darkness of this day. Don’t we have enough scary shit in this world? Do we really need a day where fake blood is painted on kid’s faces and chopped-off rubber hands creeping from front yards?
Okay so I’m an anti-Halloween mom. Yes, my kids DO dress up and dad takes them out, but I’d rather stay home and give out candy to see just what costumes come walking up on my porch. I find it fascinating that parents let babies and toddlers dress up when the child is clueless as to why their taking candy from strangers in the dark when they’re should be in bed!
And clearly the best treat of all is when we dump the candy out of my kid’s bags and see what they’ve got. Highly fake, colored, hard items that we call ‘candy.’ My kids have gotten into the practice of dumping the most artificial items in the trash. They keep the chocolate and peanut buttery stuff. The worst of item of all is that gross giant ‘diamond ring’ or ‘pacifier’ that is neon green or blue. We seem to always end up with one.
For years we’d only put up cutsie decorations – rats, cats, spider webs… Never zombies or cut off heads. My kids were too young and were afraid of entering costumes stores so we made a sensitive decision not to spookify our yard or home while they are young. My kids prefer creative costumes like Star Wars, Albert Einstein and Indiana Jones. My kids have basically commercialized Halloween I like to say! This year I’m sure it will be the Avengers.
This year? I’ll let a bloody item be staked into the grass. If they’re ready for that, then so be it. But as far as the candy goes. I’m on a mission to un-junk the kids who dare to come on my porch! To learn more about the influential brand who has won over my kids and me, check out this site GetUnreal.com – we have no doubts that you’ll appreciate their mission too. As you can see their video above pretty much says it all. WOW.
#YouMatter How Women Are Changing Lives & The World w/ Angela Maiers
Join us every WED - Live on Kimberley Blaine page GOOGLE + page!
We both believe that when someone knows they matter; they are not only inspired they are fulfilled. They see the world differently and approach life and work as an opportunity to fulfill others. They want to share, show and spread their excitement. And they can, because confidence and passion are infectious. Login to Google + On Air and join us via video…
YOU MATTER: Two Words Changing Lives and the World
We were created for significance and one of the most dangerous things that can happen to us as individuals, organizations and communities – is the feeling that we don’t matter. On June 11, 2011 Angela was asked and honored to give a speech for TEDx Event around the themes of Passion, Action, and World Change. As she thought about the one thing that unlocks passion, inspires action, and has the power and potential to ignite change; the answer was so simple it literally astounds: tell people they matter.
When someone knows they matter; they are not only inspired they are fulfilled. They see the world differently and approach life and work as an opportunity to fulfill others. They want to share, show and spread their excitement. And they can, because confidence and passion are infectious.
A person who feels valued and valuable is equipped with the necessary energy, strength, and power to handle complex tasks and environments and is able to persevere through all life’s challenges. A person who knows they are essential and needed are ripe candidates to become inciters of change an agents of inspiration. The world needs and can not survive without people who know, believe, and take responsibility for mattering.
Follow us at @TheGoToMom and @AngelaMaiers
Kids and Ice Play
Children love sensory activities. Theres nothing more exciting than a big giant ice cube for kids to experience during the warm sumer months. Grab a few plastic containers and fill them with water, you can even stash some fun plastic toys inside them. This makes for a super fun craft idea for young children. Kids love water play.
For more great parenting tips check out Kimberley’s book, www.TheGoToMomsGuide.com.
