In our family, we love movies!  Watching movies as a family is probably one of our favorite things to do!

I have always been a movie buff and so is my husband.   As parents of tweens, we are very careful with the tv, movies and video games our tween views.  There are so many great movies out there for them and also so much garbage for them to view.

Here are a few of our current favorite movies to watch as a family;

*  Disney’s Tangled

*  Despicable Me

*  Where the Red Fern Grows

*  Swiss Family Robinson

*  Remember the Titans

*  Transformers

*  Mary Poppins

*  Night at The Museum

*  Up

*  Madagascar

*  Hook

*  Rudy

*  Veggie Tales

*  Robots

*  Star Wars the Clone Wars / Star Wars

*  Evan Almighty

*  Over the Hedge

*  Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

*  Elf

*  Kung Fu Panda

*  Cars

Here are a few more classic movies I would like to add to our list of  favorite Family Movies…..

Mildest:

Milo and Otis,   You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown( Musical),   The Land before Time,  Spy Kids,  Pete’s Dragon,  Swiss Family Robinson,   Mary Poppins,  The Secret of Nimh,   Honey, I Shrunk The Kids,  The Last Unicorn,  Flight of the Navigator,  Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Batteries not included,   Indian In The Cupboard,  Newsies,  Annie,  The Music Man,  The Sound of Music,   An American Tale,  Short Circuit,   Black Beauty(1994),   Ewok Adventure,  The Land of Faraway,  Water Babies 

Milder:

The Neverending Story,  The Karate Kid,  Cloak and Dagger, Oliver!, Spy Kids,  Flight of Dragons,  The Wizard of Oz,  ,   Rudy,   The Adventures of Robin Hood (Errol Flynn version),   20,000 leagues under the sea (Kirk Douglas version),   Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959),  Fantastic Voyage(1966),  Old Yeller,   E.T.,   Where The Red Fern Grows,   The Quest-Frog Dreaming,   Masters of the Universe( He-Man),   Invaders from Mars,   The Black Stallion(1979),   Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,   Superman, (1978)

Mild:

The Last Starfighter,  Legend,   Willow,  Labyrinth,   The Princess Bride,  My Science Project,  Suburban Commando,   Explorers, Buckaroo Banzai,  Krull,  The Dark Crystal,  Meatballs,  Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure,  Mannequin,  Close Encounters of the Third Kind,  War Games,   Dragonslayer,   Jumanji,    Harry and the Hendersons,   Little Monsters,   Jason and the Argonauts (1963),  Clash of the Titans,

**** I think I am going to print this list off and rent some of these classics for my tween and our family!!

So grab your popcorn and snow caps and have a fun movie night!!  Do you have any to add to the list of family favorites?

I don’t think it is a surprise to anyone that we are HUGE Gator fans around here!!  Along with being a Gator fans, we are also huge Tim Tebow fans.

Recently, we watched a special on Tim Tebow with our tween. It was about Tebow preparing for the NFL draft. It showed how much hard work he put into preparing for the draft. We continue to be so impressed by the incredible athlete and positive role model he is to our tween.

He recently filmed a commercial for FRS sports drinks. In the commercial, he talks about how people always told him he wasn’t good enough, fast enough or strong enough to be a quarter back. It is a really awesome commercial and quite inspiring .

As parents, we need to find these great role models for our tweens. The media is full of quite a few scum bags (in my opinion) that I find it so refreshing to find such a good person and athlete as a role model for my tween.

I hope that Tim Tebow continues to find success in his NFL career with the Denver Broncos.  I hope kids can look to him as an inspiration in their lives rather then half naked singers who teach them that partying and beauty are more important then a strong character and work ethic!!

Way to go Tim Tebow, keep up the success and being such a great role model in the lives of our children!!

Siblings are just siblings, right?  Well, this weekend I realized why it’s so hard when some siblings have play dates and others don’t have them at the same time.  My children consider themselves not just siblings but friends. As my son told me this weekend, “I love sissy, I know she gets mad at me when her friends are over, but I just want to be with her and her friends are nice to me.” Boy, was that insightful and revealing.  My tween was completely annoyed with her brother because she had a play date and he kept trying to join in the fun.  In his 5 year old mind he was just doing what he always did, playing with his sister.  So, I took my son out to get doughnuts for everyone so she could have uninterrupted time with her friend.

My son discovered my true intentions and even asked why his sister didn’t like him anymore.  I explained that she loves him, but she also needs her space.  It is hard to see her playing with someone else when that is usually what he gets to do.  I felt badly that I hadn’t planned better so he too could have a play date over, although that could’ve meant two boys teasing two tweens   However, I also believe my children need to learn to compromise and realize that life is not always fair. (Harsh I know, but reality.) I think kids need to learn how to behave in all situations and learn to respect each other and their own individual space.

I wondered why it is so easy for others the same age as my children to treat their friend’s siblings nicer than their own.  Is it because they understand it is temporary?  When you don’t live with another person you don’t know everything about them, so you aren’t as irritated as the one who does know what they can be like.  Siblings know each other’s “magic buttons” to push.  Siblings can be hurtful to each other and rebound faster than friends.  Siblings see you through the worse and the best and still love you.  Friends don’t always give you that understanding or forgiveness.

As a parent I did talk with my tween about her behavior.  When she realized why her brother behaved “worse” than normal she calmed down a bit and could see the situation differently.  Sometimes we need to facilitate hard conversations as parents.  Sometimes we also need to teach our children these social issues and remind them to be kind to their siblings.

What do you do to avoid sibling/friend confrontations with your tweens?

In a recent Mom Talk post, fellow blogger Kelly Gump had mentioned mom “cliques.” We all are familiar with being someplace with our child and we are there, but seemingly nonexistent to the other parents.  Or perhaps your tween has been there.  Cliques are a social issue and a fear of most “normal” people.

I have discovered that as the cliche goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Our children model our behavior.  If you have an issue with someone, it usually shines through their child.  Meaning, kids have a harder time deciding or being a judge of character when you have spoken alot about another person negatively or with alot of emotion to others.  Kids want to be loyal to their parents and to their ideals, standards, feelings and values at the tween age.  We may see some breaking away from that as they near the teen stage.  However, in my opinion, when a mom is selective or “clicky,” the children tend to be that way, too.  You cannot change others.  However, it can remind you to self evaluate and make sure the way we speak, react and treat people are with respect and kindness.

“Apparently of Eastern origin, it is frequently used to assert the continuity of family characteristics. Quot. 1839 implies return to one’s original home. Cf. 16th-cent. Ger. der Apfel fellt nicht gerne weit vom Baume, the apple does not usually fall far from the tree. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/the-apple-never-falls-far-from-the-tree#ixzz19rWzjlF6”

I found a rather humorous blog post at Bellyitch that a woman wrote about “you know you’re a snobby mom  if…”  You can read it here. The funny thing is that we all probably can relate with one or more of these.  Only read if you have a sense of humor.

I know that I have often felt as the one on the outs, but with that being said I also know I tend to be quieter and reserved among groups I’m not completely comfortable with.  So, I may be doing it to myself a bit too.  Although I’m not always in “presentation” mode either.  I hope I teach my kids to reserve judgment, that there are always two sides to every story, when in doubt, ask questions and we are not always right in our assessments.  I guess it comes back to the Golden Rule and treat others as you would like to be treated.  There will always be cliques and those who think they know best.  As for me, I will choose wisely where and with whom I spend time with, this is ultimately what I want my children to learn too.

How do you handle cliques?  Has your tween mentioned “cliques” or feeling left out?  Have you as a parent felt excluded?

I knew the day was coming. My tween recently asked, “What’s wrong with me?  Why do I have to take medication?”

ADHD runs in my family.  In fact, both my husband and I have it.  We were not treated until adulthood.  We both had different types and challenges but can remember feeling a little different and not knowing why.  We both achieved academically by hyper focusing, but it often took more time and effort for us, over the average kid.

I started seeing more issues arise when I was in college.  My husband saw them after responsibilities kept piling on and he had too much to focus on.  My daughter showed signs around Kindergarten but was treated with behavioral therapy initial, then later with medications.

Well, the time has come. She asked so we sat down and told her more specifics about the disorder and used examples of what she does that are symptoms of ADHD.  Since we give her “med vacations” she has started seeing and recognizing the difference in her ability to focus and achieve.  She is in the gifted program but has had some learning disabilities also associated with her ADHD.

Being honest with your tween and open about health issues creates trust and a foundation to get the most help for them before it is too late.  Also, finding hobbies or “escapes” that are positive help their self esteem, builds confidence and fosters time management.

This article written for O’Healthy describes the different types of ADHD.  Most kids can function until about the third grade before starting to show signs of needing intervention.  Many parents don’t want to think that their child needs help or medication.  It is a chemical imbalance of the brain and it can be genetic.

Much focus is given to the negatives of ADHD, but there are many positive characteristics as listed by Pete Quily.  The full list is found here.

• Ability to find alternate paths to overcome obstacles
• Always willing to help others
• Ambitious – you want to be everything when “you grow up”
• Artistic
• Being able to see the big picture
• Being able to see the patterns in the chaos.
• Being intuitive towards others’ difficulties
• Broad focus – can see more, notice things more
• Can create order from chaos
• Can do many projects at once
• Can make people feel they are heard
• Can see the big picture
• Can talk about several things at one time
• Can think on my feet
• Comfortable talking in front of groups
• Comfortable with change and chaos
• Compassion for others and for themselves
• Conceptualizes well
• Creative writing
• Creative – musical, artistic, “dramatic”
• Good in a crisis
• Good at customer relations
• Dedicated
• Detail-oriented
• Determined to gain more control
• Eager to make friends
• Eager to try new things
• Empathetic, sensitive
• Energetic
• Entrepreneurial
• Good at motivating self and others
• Good at multitasking
• Good at problem solving
• Good at understanding others/mind reading – empathetic
• Good conversationalist
• Good delegator and good at organizing others
• Good in emergency situations
• Good listener

When dealing with tween health issues, what is your philosophy?