Lifeline

• The purpose of parenting;

• Your child's character;

• Styles of parenting; and

• Two keys to active parenting (mutual respect and participation)

Texas Association of Parent Educators (TAPE) is hosting a FREE online workshop from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Central time on January 29, 2010. Featuring speaker Carla-Marie Weir, Director of Texas HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters). Join Carla-Marie to learn more about HIPPY.

There is no fee to participate, but registration is required. Participants will receive a certificate documenting one clock hour of professional development. Register online at https://www.coe.unt.edu/webforms/cpe-workshop-registration.

Does your determination to eat healthier in the new year include adding label reading to your healthy lifestyle habits?  If so, you can practice by taking a look at the interactive guide to label reading from the Mayo Clinic called Nutrition Facts: An Interactive Guide to Label Reading. You can use this guide to help you understand what you are eating.  Just move your mouse pointer over the sample label to see what the different label terms and numbers mean.  Take a few minutes to give it a try at:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nutrition-facts/NU00293/METHOD=print

Each January, many of us make resolutions to adopt healthier lifestyle habits.  It is often easier to make resolutions than to live up them but, with a little encouragement and some handy tips, we can do it.  Visit the following link to a wonderful online newsletter published by Alice Henneman, MS, RD, Extension Educator from University of Nebraska Extension for helpful tips  that may give you the tools you need to make 2010 the year your resolutions are kept.

• Follow a meal plan that was make for you.
• Be active everyday.
• Take your medicine as prescribed.
• Before taking your medicines, vitamins, or herbal products, ask your pharmacist how they may affect your diabetes or prescription medicines.
• Test your blood glucose on a routine basis as prescribed by your physician.

The U.S. Census has released a fact sheet summarizing many of the economic and cultural aspects of the holiday season. Check it out for some fun reading at http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/014405.html

Enjoy the rest of the holiday season!

Are you doing last-minute Christmas shopping and not sure what to get for your child? Give your child a book and get him/her interested in reading. This is a present that will last a life time. Make reading a family activity so it'll be a lot of fun for you and your children.

Here are 15 practical tips for reading aloud to your child provided by Texas AgriLife Extension Service to help make reading fun.

1. Begin reading to your child as soon as possible.
2. Choose books your child likes.
3. Set aside a special time for reading.
4. Focus on the 3 R's: Rhythm, Rhyme, and Repetition.
5. Read and re-read books that are predictable and contain repetitions.
6. Occasionally stop at key words or phrases and let your child provide the word.
7. Point to words as you read.
8. Talk about the story as you read.
9. Read slowly enough for your child to build mental pictures.
10. Use different voices for different characters.
11. Let your child turn pages for you.
12. Keep books handy.
13. Increase the length of books as your child's attention span and interests grow.
14. Talk about books and reading with your child.
15. Continue to read to your child, even when he or she is beginning to read independently.

Texas AgriLife Extension Service Dallas County offers a family reading program called Fathers Reading Every Day (FRED). If you are interested in learning more about the FRED program, contact Wenhsing Cheng at wcheng@ag.tamu.edu or 214-904-3050.

Happy Reading! 

The holiday season is here. Financial experts from the Cooperative Extension System offer tips that help with the holiday shopping without the January headache.

Planning Ahead

• Create an overall holiday spending limit.
• Make a list of people you need to buy things for and the things you want to buy.
• Compare prices first to find the best deal before making the purchase. Inquire about store return policies.
• Get the easy gifts out of the way first.
• Know when to shop. Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) are two options.

Preventing Impulsive Purchases

• Shop around first can provide you with some good ideas.
• Write down what you want to buy and take the list with you when you go shopping.
• Do not buy anything that is not on your list.
• Go over your list with a spouse, trusted friend, or even relative.
• If all possible, do not take credit cards with you when you go shopping.
• Remember everything you plan to charge must be paid for.

Paying for Holiday Gifts

• Plan to pay off anything you charge on the holidays in January or within 1-2 months at the longest.
• Some fiancial planners recommend spending no more than 1.5% of your annual income on holiday expenses. If you haven't saved that much, look for ways to cut back, but make sure you do it before the holiday rush starts.
• Consider using the envelope method once you set a budge for how much you plan on spending on each person/item. Divide the amount per person/item and put your cash in each envelope. This will help you keep track of how you are spending your money and how much was spent. 

Electronic Cards

• Go paperless. Send E-cards or Facebook greetings.
• If you prefer sending paper cards, think recycle and be creative. Draw, design, and print your own cards, gift tags, and mailing labels from old cards or recycled paper.

Saving on Holiday Entertainment

• Share rides, plan inexpensive public transportation, borrow outfits from friends, and choose your venue wisely.
• Cutting back on the bar tab by slowing down or alternating with water and also eating before you go out can help you keep your check in check.  
• For the holiday meals, do a potluck rather than cooking everything yourself or having the event catered.
• Instead of lunch or dinner out, have a gourmet coffee date - less than $10! 
• Reuse Christmas lights and don't turn them on too early or keep them on all night. 

Additional/Alternative Gift Ideas

• Have a family gift exchange in which you each choose one name and put more thought than money into selecting a single gift.
• Make and give holiday arrangements like centerpieces and decorations. 
• Donate to charity in someone's name.
• Give cash or savings bonds.
• Give local products like locally grown citrus, honey, or work from a local artist.
• Make "Gift of Time" certificates.
• Bring joy to others is the best gift!

Happy Holidays!

Source: The Cooperative Extension System, http://www.extension.org/ 

It's holiday time again, and while holidays are supposed to be a time of enjoyment and happiness, you and your family may feel stressed because of extra demands placed upon already busy schedules.  The following suggestions may help:

• Sit down as a family and make a list of all of the things that need to be done, then delegate tasks.
• Make a December calendar and include all of the dates and times of all activities so you don't worry about forgetting something.
• Take a look at your family's holiday activities.  Are there things that you do but don't really enjoy.  Consider not doing that activity or doing it in a different way.
• Plan easy meals.  Double batch your favorite casseroles and put in the freezer for a quick meal on a busy day.
• Take a few minutes each day for yourself and do something relaxing.
• Keep your eating and sleeping routines as close to normal as possible.
• Expect young children to misbehave occassionally.  Remember, they have short attention spans and tire easily.
• finally, make time for family fun!

Have a very happy holiday season!!!!!!!

Save the date! Texas AgriLife Extension Service will host a Family Issues Summit on Thursday, March 4, 2010, from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas.

The summit titled "What Keeps You Up at Night? Issues and solutions for today's families" will include, but not limited to, topics on finances, care giving, health and wellness, communication, and stress management. Attendees will bring home information that is educational, practical, and beneficial to themselves as well as their families.

So mark your calendar! More details will be posted later on Lifeline. For a copy of the event flyer click Save-the-Date Family Issues Summit.pdf.

For more information about the Family Issues Summit contact Texas AgriLife Extension Service-Dallas County via phone at 214-904-3050 or Email Lexie McGrane at amcgrane@ag.tamu.edu or Wenhsing Cheng at wcheng@ag.tamu.edu.

November is National Family Caregivers Month. Area caregivers who help older adults and persons with disabilities are invited to attend "The Fearless Caregiver: A Day of Sharing Wisdom." The workshop, free and open to the public, will be held Wednesday, November 11, at Highland Springs Retirement Community, 8000 Frankford Road, on the border of Dallas and Plano from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm. Highland Springs will provide complimentary refreshments and lunch for attendees.

Leading the workshop will be Gary Barg, Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Today's Caregiver magazine, and caregiver.com, author of The Fearless Caregiver: How to Get the Best Care for Your Loved One and Still Have a Life of Your Own.

The conference is designed to help attendees receive hands-on advice for his or her caregiving challenges regardless of the disease or illness their loved one is dealing with. Attendees will learn how to become a member of their loved one's care team, tried and true "time-off techniques," expert advice for beating stress and depression, and hands-on advice from caregiving experts.

A panel of experts will provide information about how to access resources including 2-1-1, the Aging & Disability Resource Centers, and Family Caregivers Online.

Rosemary Redmond, attorney, will discuss the most common legal questions and issues for caregivers.

Underwriting sponsors helping make this conference possible are Highland Springs Retirement Community, ResCare Home Care, Alert Response, Reachout Home Care, and Evercare.

This conference is a service of the Area Agencies of North Central Texas on Aging, Dallas County and Tarrant County. Other sponsors include Alzheimer's Association of Greater Dallas and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.

Although the event is free, pre-registration is required, no later than November 9. Reservations can be made via email, at caregiverconf@flash.net, or by phone, at 1-800-272-3921, extension 9194.

For more information, contact Zanda Hilger at 817-929-3535.  

Halloween is just around the corner! Texas AgriLife Extension Service urges parents and family service providers to take precaution with children's safety, both indoor and outdoor, while enjoying the fun and excitment. Here are a few resources of tips to help keep children safe and sound on Halloween:

The American Red Cross, http://american.redcross.org/site/DocServer/RC_HalloweenSafety08.pdf?docID=677

The American Academy of Pediatrics, http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/octhalloween.cfm

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/family/Halloween/

The US Consumer Prodcut Safety Commission, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/hallow.html

Happy Halloween!