Although being tired and run down doesn’t cause colds, research has backed up the long-time belief that being tired can help reduce your defenses, increasing your risk of developing a cold if exposed to a virus.
This belief is that sleep is supposed to be restorative. It gives your body a chance to settle down, lower its blood pressure and replenish – so to speak – its reserves for another day of living. If you don’t sleep, you can be vulnerable to many illnesses.
Researchers in the United States studied a group of 153 healthy men and women who had no signs …read more

To say my son is active is an understatement. He is constantly charged. I called him “rambunctious” this weekend – much to my MIL’s dismay. That was after a stack of pancakes with syrup, two doughnuts, and a slice of cinnamon roll cake. (We were at the grandparents.) He was confined to the house, somewhat, because of the constant rain we’ve been having, but he made due tossing packing peanuts about like snowflakes, tumbling over furniture, and dancing in the rain. When we packed up the car and left for home that evening, my son took his first nap in …read more

You must have heard this advice before, right?
“You should never go to bed angry.”
This is one of the marriage fallacies that I believed in for the first few months – but quickly grew to realize that it is like telling someone to keep driving when they  are tired. If you are arguing right before bed, then that was just poor form on your part. But it happens – sometimes because one of you just felt like you had to get something off your chest. Other times, because something happened unexpectedly that’s out of your control.
Either way, you’re arguing…and you’re tired. …read more

 My kids have a clear cut bedtime routine. They know our expectations and rarely fight us on matters of sleeping arrangements. There is one thing, however, that I allow them to have a say in… the use of a night light. About half of my kids are afraid of the dark. I see no problem with allowing a night light in the room, as long as it is safe and doesn’t lead to messing around. My husband disagrees with me on this matter. He thinks that I am giving them the okay to have an irrational fear. He believes that the lights …read more

There is an urban legend, ’round these parts, of a family whose children relish the nightly ritual that is their bedtime routine. When the clock strikes half past seven, they scamper to the restroom to commence with their nightly oral hygien routine.
 
After their teeth are squeaky clean, they scramble to pick out an outfit for the upcoming day. The children’s father usually helps them select one that fits and matches, which is no small feat! While they look, they talk about the day and their goals for the week.

After clothing is selected, reading time begins. Everyone grabs a book and heads …read more