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Spotlight on: Thanksgiving
Rexanne's Web Review
Web Sites & Insights
Issue #118 - May 1,2008
Brought to You By: Rexanne.com
Please forward this complete issue of Rexanne's Web Review to a friend and
recommend they subscribe. Thank you!
Find subscribe, removal and advertising information at the bottom of this
newsletter.
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Welcome all newcomers and faithful readers!
There's a lot going on this month!
Graduation preparations are in full swing. Honor your child, no matter what
grade he/she is graduating from: All
About Graduations
Teacher Appreciation Day and week are upon us. Please remember your child's
teacher with a special gift, card or gesture:
Teacher Appreciation
And Moms, it's almost Mother's Day and I hope you all receive the pampering,
attention and love you so deserve! Bask in your maternal glory day... it doesn't
last long. LOL! Dads and kids, make sure Mom knows how much she means to you.
Find everything you'll need to make her feel special on these Mother's Day
pages: Rexanne's Mother's Day
Sending big hugs to all our great moms, grads teachers!
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Reader's Comments:
Anna wrote:
"Wow - a friend sent me your site link and I am so impressed! I can find just
about anything I need to know! Thank you for all the time and forethought you
put into making these pages!"
Anna,you are so welcome. Thank YOU for letting me know you like my site. It
helps keep me at it. :-)
---
Stan wrote:
"I beg to differ with you on your idea of not spanking children. Without
discipline, kids are animals!"
While I agree wholeheartedly that children need discipline, Stan, I just can't
understand hitting or hurting a child in any way. I remain firm in my belief
that kids respond best to love and gentle forms of discipline. Teaching them to
own their transgressions, to understand the rules and apply them and teaching
them that the world is a loving, not hostile, painful experience has been a
staple in my parenting arsenal and I happen to think it works best. I appreciate
your opinion and would love this dialogue opened on our forum message boards
where there is and always will be an ongoing discussion:
Spanking Children
---
OK, here's the scoop:
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Quote of the Month: A child needs love the most when he
deserves it the least. - American Proverb
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Supporting the sponsors and advertisers in Rexanne's Web Review keeps this
newsletter alive and a portion of revenue is donated to various charities. Each
advertiser has Rexanne's Seal of Approval. Please visit them today.
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This Month's Web Review Sponsored By:
Grower Flowers
Quick, if you haven't yet ordered flowers for Mom, do it now! :-)
Grower Flowers will deliver gorgeous, fresh from the grower flowers to your mom
in time for Mother's Day if you order before May 7.
With Grower Flowers PhotoBlooms you can express your sentiments with a color
photo, greeting card and flowers. This unique gift giving enhancement allows you
to personalize your gift in a way you might not have imagined. Grower fresh
flowers delivered with a full color greeting card for Mom with the sender's own
personal photo printed inside is the perfect Mother's Day gift.
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Parenting & Family Topic of the Month: Teenage Anxiety
By Rexanne Mancini
I have a soft spot in my soul for teenagers. Their joys, triumphs, pain, anxiety
and every emotion they go through touches me deeply and I try to be
compassionate with them even when I could just as easily tear my hair out over
their issues.
Let's talk about teenage anxiety this month ... Anxiety is something I believe
most, if not all teens have and as parents, we need to learn how to deal with
their very real emotions. Their problems might seem trivial to us,
however, they are very real to our teenagers and deserve our attention, support
and respect if we are to maintain communication and a bond with our children.
Typically, teenagers are incredibly self-absorbed which can be annoying but hey,
it's what they do and how they grow. This period of self absorption is natural
and a way for them to find their identity, to become independent and discover
what it is they stand for. It's OK. What's not OK is when they come up against a
problem that they feel is insurmountable or that throws them into depression and
sadness. It's hard for parents to watch their children go through torment, no
matter how much we think the reasons are silly or invalid. While we can't make
it all better with a kiss, we can make it more bearable with a hug, comfort,
love and support in the form of understanding and compassion.
A child who has been raised with self esteem and respect could potentially still
go through emotional battles as a teenager. It's just what it is and we need to
understand that they really can't see beyond what is happening in their
immediate world and they probably aren't behaving like the sweet child you
raised. Even though it's maddening and annoying, they will come back to
those sweet, cool kids we raised as soon as they're past the hormone insanity of
their teen years. Our quote of the month is specifically appropriate to this
topic: "Children need love most when they deserve it least."
Teenagers are especially susceptible to peer pressure and this can be one of the
most difficult battles we fight. While some peer pressure could be positive, a
lot of it is senseless and dangerous. Our kids will see, hear and experience
things we can't imagine in school and around friends. This is the time to make
sure we are communicating with our children, that we are mindful of their mood
swings and potential dive into depression, fear or possible feelings of hopelessness. The
further a child draws inward, the more we need to express our love and respect
for them. Make it a habit to talk with your child at least once a day. Offer to
let your child know how your day has gone and ask about theirs. Hopefully, this
will already have become a habit, however, if not, this is a good time to start
communicating with your teen about their everyday experiences, thoughts,
feelings and general state of mind. If they know they can come to us with any
questions or fears, they will be more likely to let us know they are having
trouble coping before their lives spiral out of control.
Consider that teenagers are facing many new life issues they might not
understand or have a set of rules to follow. These issues include school
performance, sex, drugs, bullies, friends, striving for independence, potential spiritual confusion and many social questions they may
have from exposure to world events such as war, school violence and pop culture. They're as frightened about
their well-being as we are and they need reassurance that life is good, that
they are protected and supported by their parents and family. This instills
security in them and they are better able to cope with the trauma of suddenly
being closer to being adults than children. This is not the time for us to
become insecure in our roles as parents. This is the time to be strong and guide
our children through the swamp of life to a safe haven.
I think parents can play a huge role in guiding teenagers into adulthood by
being there for them, letting them know we are always on their side and
supporting them in whatever they feel passionate about. Raising healthy and
secure little children is the first step. The next step of raising healthy and
secure teenagers presents a new challenge, one that feeds on our input just as
much as when our kids believed that Mom and Dad were the most important humans
on the planet. We are no longer "the world" to our teenagers and they can
suddenly find themselves insecure and desperate for answers to questions we
might not even think about. By communicating with our teenagers, we will have
insight into their world which will help us guide and propel them through this
rough patch of growing up.
If your teenager is showing signs of anxiety, please don't just blow it off as
"hormones." While hormonal changes can be attributed to much of the craziness
they go through, there are times when a teenager finds him/herself unable to
cope with the pressure of their world and we need to be alert to the symptoms of
extreme anxiety. We must remember that suicide seems like a romantic idea to
drama driven teens and there are many instances in their lives where they will
feel that life is too difficult and painful to cope. Helping them find the fun and
beauty in life at these times will counter the anxiety that could send them over
the edge and potentially keep a tormented teen from the unthinkable.
Know of a good parenting or family site your fellow readers might enjoy or do
you have a topic you'd like to see covered in this section? Please send your
ideas in for possible publication in an upcoming issue:
Parenting Site
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Food & Cooking Site of the Month:
Artiko Chef
For Mother's Day, dads and kids can now order delicious prepared gourmet meals,
appetizers, side dishes and desserts - just pop these frozen masterpieces in the
oven or allow them to thaw and you'll have a meal worthy of Mom. :-)
Bon Appetit!
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Advertisement: Mrs Prindable's
Gourmet Caramel Apples
Mrs. Prindable's gourmet caramel apples are the most perfect gift for any
teacher, Mom or grad.
I can't describe how delicious and gorgeous these caramel and chocolate drenched
apples taste. They are amazing! Perfect to give teacher for Teacher Appreciation
Day, great for all our grads and Mom will love them!
Mrs. Prindables gourmet apples arrive in a beautiful purple gift box with a
classy soft gold ribbon, ready for giving.
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Kid's Site of the Month:
Mother's Day for Kids
Find something fun and creative for kid's to make, do or investigate for
Mother's Day.
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Freebie of the Month:
Printable Home Tasks
List
This list will give you a good head start when organizing household tasks. Listed by day or the week, you can check off the items you've
accomplished and see exactly what needs to be done for the rest of the week.
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Advertisement:
Graduation Gifts
Easily find the perfect gift to celebrate any grad, from pre-schoolers to
college grads. Gift guides are categorized by graduating level to make it a breeze
picking just the right present to honor your favorite graduate.
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Tip or Trick of the Month: Best Stain Removal
I'm pretty fanatical about laundry. One thing I've found
especially effective is spraying stains with stain remover as soon as they happen or as soon as I
see them.
After many years of trying every stain remover on the shelf, I've finally
figured out that liquid detergent is the best stain killer I can be
spraying on stains, both as soon as they happen and before tossing the garment
into the washing machine. Fill an empty stain remover spray bottle with the same
liquid Tide (or any other liquid detergent) you use for washing clothes and it
works like a charm - usually better than any other stain remover.
Have a tip or trick your fellow readers would enjoy or could use? Please send it
in for possible publication in one of the next issues:
Tips
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Time Waster of the Month:
Play Mash
(Because life is supposed to be fun!)
This is so silly but so fun! Your kids will know this one if you don't. :-)
Mash is a fortune telling type game, where you enter names and
various descriptions of life stuff to get a forecast of who you'll marry, where
you'll live, how many kids, etc. It's all good fun and I've indulged my kids and
played Mash with them many times. Play a quick game of Mash and then definitely pass
this one on to your kids, who will be thrilled to find it online. :-)
Feed the kids first ...
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Featured Site of the Month:
Stop Animal Cruelty
in the Name of Art
Probably one of the most shocking and egregious acts of animal cruelty is
currently being celebrated by the Visual Arts Biennial of Central America.
This is sickening and will be an assault on your senses - be forewarned,
however, this is an issue that absolutely needs to be brought to light and
stopped. By signing the petition at the bottom of this page, you can add your
voice to the
thousands of outraged people who have been trying to stop this insane artist
from torturing yet another helpless dog in the name of art.
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Advertisement:
Fandango - Buy movie tickets online
I love the convenience of buying movie tickets online at Fandango! No lines,
no sold out performances, no waiting - Find movies and show times at theaters
across the country easily, purchase your tickets online, print them and go.
Gotta love the Internet. :-)
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