Story 1 of 5:

What are Your Family Priorities this Summer?

By Melinda Hill, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator for Ohio State University Extension in Wayne County

Many families are already enjoying the lazy days of summer. Can you picture it: a tall glass of ice cold lemonade in hand, sitting in a wicker rocking chair on the front porch, as the chimes ring in the gentle summer breeze? For some, I hope, this can be a reality. For others, this is only a dream for the only chimes they will hear is the slamming of the car doors on their way to the next scheduled event. Summer has become the time to make up for the classes and events that you can't fit into the rest of the year.

The University of Michigan's Research Center cites that since the Late 1970s, children have lost 12 hours per week of free time, including a 25 percent drop in play and a 50 percent drop in unstructured outdoor activities. At the same time, participation in structured sports has increased and so has observation time from family members sitting in the stands -- from 30 minutes to 3 hours per week. Another study indicated that family time together has also declined, especially in the area of family meals. All of this comes from parents who want the best for their children and the pressure from their peers to do it all. We know that some extracurricular activity is good for children, but the issue to ponder is balance. The National Association of Elementary School Principals is now recommending one activity at a time for young children (that meets once or twice a week) and choosing different activities throughout the year as opposed to doing it all during spring or fall.

What are your family priorities? Are the activities you are involved in helping you to reach those priorities or are they keeping you from them? Schedule a family meeting around the dinner table and talk about what your family goals are for the summer. Really listen to your children if they suggest they would like to spend some down time at home to relax and enjoy their play time at home. Unstructured time allows children to be creative and learn without time constraints.

If you would like to learn more about the issues of overscheduled kids, you might like to read the book, "Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America," edited by John De Graaf (2003).

=========

Story 2 of 5:

Summer Fun Days

By Melinda Hill, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator for Ohio State University Extension in Wayne County

When is the last time you laid in the grass with the summer breeze blowing and watched the clouds go by? "That one looks like an ice cream cone" or "That one looks like an elephant" are wonderful ways to build language and creativity with your children and relax yourself after a long day in the office. Having special times together doesn't mean you have to go somewhere or buy something to enjoy the moment. Here are a few ideas to foster your creativity, just start with one and see how your children can help build it into special family time.

-- Make lemonade from real lemons (Bring 6 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil. Cool and then add the juice of 4 lemons. Add ice and enjoy.)

-- Paint the sidewalk with water and watch it evaporate.

-- Make a wind chime with simple items like a pop can, piece of pipe, old keys, or other metal items. Tie them to a long stick with string and place in a window or tree to enjoy the breeze.

-- Set up an obstacle course in your back yard. Use cardboard boxes, carpet squares and old two-by-fours to promote large motor skills. When they accomplish it one way, reverse it and have them do it all backwards.

-- Plant a flower or vegetable and watch it grow. If you don't have room for a garden, use a container to place two or three plants in. Encourage the child to care for it and enjoy the fruit it may yield.

-- Make a dandelion necklace.

-- Blow bubbles in the wind and catch bubbles on soapy fingers.

-- Play hopscotch, follow the leader and other games that you used to

play when you were a child.

Remember to enjoy the simple moments in life. They won t cost you a dime and will reap untold investment in your relationships.

==========

Story 3 of 5

Healthy Food Options from the Concession Stand

By Linnette Goard, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator for Ohio State University Extension in Lorain County

A busy lifestyle can keep us from eating the way we should. If your family is anything like mine, you worry about what your children are eating. Dinner always seems to be delayed because of soccer games, baseball games or swim meets -- all of which have those concession stands

The book Ultimate Sports Nutrition by Ellen Coleman and Suzanne Nelson Steen (2000) offers a wide range of nutrition guidance for athletes that parents and other spectators can also benefit from. How can we help our children make wise snack choices at the concession stand? Start by reading the food labels. If the product is labeled, check to see if it contains at least four carbohydrates for every gram of fat. Carbohydrates are important for energy so a high-carbohydrate low-fat snack is a good choice for an active child.

Other good choices:

-- Choose popcorn or pretzels instead of potato chips or corn chips.

-- Choose fat-free granola bars or cereal bars instead of regular candy bars.

-- Choose frozen yogurt instead of ice cream.

-- Choose water instead of fruit drinks or carbonated soda.

As an alternative to choosing items from the concession stand, pack your own snacks. Some of the following items can be purchased pre-packaged and are more inexpensive than what you'll find at the concession stand:

-- Graham crackers.

-- Animal crackers.

-- Breakfast cereals in a zipper-seal storage bag.

-- Low-fat pudding.

-- Vanilla wafers.

-- Low-fat yogurt.

-- Raisins.

-- Bananas.

-- Apples or applesauce.

And, don t forget to bring plenty of bottled water. Fluids are important for proper hydration and water is the best choice.

==========

Story 4 of 5:

Teaching Children Responsibility

By Joyce Fittro, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator for Ohio State University Extension in Delaware County

Raising responsible children is something every parent would like to accomplish. Yet the task seems larger than life. When do you begin to teach responsibility? Where do you start? How do you go about teaching a child to be responsible?

Experts agree, the way a child learns responsibility is through teaching and encouragement. Being responsible is an attitude as well as a skill. Are you a role model of responsibility for your child? Do you keep your word and follow through with your commitments? Are you a procrastinator or do you prefer to do things right away? Are you on time for appointments or are you usually late?

If you are a responsible adult, a part of teaching children to be responsible is already done. You've been teaching them responsibility little by little, day by day through your example. You know they've been watching you, paying more attention to your actions than your words. Now you must get your children to follow in your footsteps. Here are some suggestions:

-- Expect responsibility at an early age. Give children age-appropriate tasks to be responsible for. Let a child do what he is capable of doing, adding new responsibilities as he is able.

-- Teach children how to do the things you expect of them. Give them the tools and show them the skills to be successful. Adjust your standards so the child's work is acceptable even if it isn't perfect. Accept their level of accomplishment and encourage them to improve. Redoing a child's work discourages them and reduces their motivation to want to continue.

-- Don't overwhelm a child with too many tasks. Take into account a child's ability and temperament, giving her tasks she can be successful at. Success, encouragement and praise will motivate her to do more.

-- Do not do anything for a child that he can do for himself. Although doing it yourself may seem faster and easier, allowing children to do for themselves helps teach them self-reliance and cooperation.

-- The home, and all the chores required to keep it running smoothly, provides a wonderful training ground for teaching responsibility. Make family chores a team effort. Turn tedious tasks into opportunities for spending time together and communicating. When a family works together, everyone sees they have an important role in the day-to-day functioning of the family. In the long run, the work gets done more quickly and the children gain a sense of responsibility.

Children can take on more responsibility than many of us think. And children enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that work gives them. Their confidence grows as they master each new task. Each success makes them want to contribute in new and more complex ways. Be watchful for the many ways you can involve your children in daily operations of your home and spend quality time together, all at the same time.

Story 5 of 5:

Perspective: Whiter Whites, Brighter Brights and a Possible Retirement Fund

By Carol Miller, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator for Ohio State University Extension in Clark County

I get excited about laundry. Some days I'm every bit as excited as those folks who hawk laundry aids on TV infomercials -- such enthusiasm! There's no better day at the office than having a phone call from a young mother who has just had a red crayon go through the washer and the dryer or a ballpoint pen washed with the white dress shirts. Their misfortune is my challenge. It means that I get to talk about chemicals.

I never had a chemistry set as a child, but wanted one. Now, I have the equivalent of a chemistry set occupying the shelves above my washer. I have just about every stain-removing chemical and laundry additive there is, and if I find something new on the grocery shelves, I must take it home. I even buy the stuff sold on those late night commercials. The ones where you can see the stains disappear right before your very eyes. Is it magic or the magic of TV? I must find out.

We all have been alerted to the fact that there are some chemicals that you NEVER mix -- such as chlorine bleach and ammonia. The results are toxic. But there are others that produce odd results when mixed.

In my experimentation, I'm still striving to make two breakthrough discoveries. One I'll share with the world free of charge, the other I'll patent and use to help fund my retirement. I'll make certain that a caution is printed on every laundry additive label, when I discover which chemicals used in combination make socks randomly dissolve in the washer. This is the kind of useful information that Extension should provide. But when I discover which chemicals used together produce Kleenex -- the whole ones, not the ones in shreds -- I'll never have to buy another box and will sell that idea to the world!