It is no doubt that kids are getting smarter and more mature in the 21st century. Parents, schools and the society play a role to shape a smarter kid.

Moms-to-be are eager to accelerate the unborn baby’s intelligence by taking the right supplements and stimulating  unborn baby’s brain by listening to classical music is one example of parents have brought up a smarter kid. A child 5+ favors High School Musical rather than Mickey Mouse is a sign of  kids are getting mature nowadays.

You may see more changes below that affect our kids in terms of:

Education
Teamwork and communication skills become more important for schooling kids. You may see that show and tell and role play develop kids for public speaking. Project assignment at school is to develop kids’ writing skills. Computer, art, drama and sport are taught from pre-school level. Learning ABC is more fun using Kids Activities, Games and Crafts.  Parents have choices for school: public, private or even smart schools. From a blackboard and chalks to a whiteboard and a marker and eventually, an interactive smart board connected to computer and internet bring a progress in learning process. There are tuitions and enrichment programs for learning kids. Schooling Kids can now learn fast and easy with Memory Training Techniques.

School/Teachers-Parents Communication
It may happen that the communication between school/teachers and parents will be conducted via school’s website and emails rather than printed materials. Parents can access to school’s website to view the child’s progress and other information about the child.

Internet
Kids are more computer or internet savvy today. Preschooler, a child 4+ is taught to use the mouse to browse the computer screen. Kids can learn to read independently from the native speaker by using Interactive Phonics Learning Program. Primary school kids learn typing using Microsoft Word. To do the school projects, kids use Yahoo or Google search for information search as their resources. Teachers also use You Tube as resources to get an inspiration for choreography of the school production. Some of my kid friends have their own e-mail address though they are only 8+.

Technology
Technology benefits kids if we can supervise the kids how to use it wisely. Parents have choices for electronic toys for babies. Wooden Toys and Genius Toys are designed in such a way for kids to play and learn, develop kids creativity, imagination and problem solving skills. Electronic games such as PlayStation can entertain older kids. Electronic dictionary helps kids build vocabularies. Some Kids have their own computer and television in their own room. We don’t agree with these as we can’t watch over them. Our kid’s friends bring a hand phone though we think they are still too young.

I raise 2 young kids and I view how today’s kids are different from my generation.  If you are parents, please share your opinion and get free smart parenting e-book  as a token of appreciation if your comment or feedback is published.    

Toward 21st century, the women’s position is rising to be in par with men. You may see women rise to the top position in politics and corporate world. Working moms are juggling between career and family. I received a feedback from a mom, that dad’s role has changed too. The wives expect their husband to be involved in caring and raising the kids and perhaps in doing house chores to share the burden.  You may notice the changes that new age moms have guts, learn new skillox,s and bring their business  online with websites and blogs.  They have different perspectives for:

Parenting
The parenting style has changed from an authoritarian parent to become an ally or a buddy to our children. How to discipline a child is no longer about  a punishment but communicating with a child, correcting a wrong behaviour and preaching a good behaviour. We act as a friend to our kids so they confide in us rather than they trust their friends. With the fast pace of globalisation and technology, we are all worried if these may have negative impacts to our kids. Build a close relation with them so we can instill good values and guide them. We need to follow up the kids’ interest so we can converse the interesting topics with them. 

Career
There’s a trend that working moms leave their corporate career behind and establish their home business. Work from home is now possible and it is cost saving. They make their home as Small Office Home Office (SOHO), they don’t hire a permanent staff but outsource from freelancers and virtual assistants. You can browse Work-at-Home Resources for Moms  to provide you with business ideas or inspiration how possible moms can work from home.   Find out more  learning resources for moms, a guide to start service business such as Virtual Assistant Business, Book Keeping Business, or Internet Research Business.  If you have a proper guide to equip you with know-how, the service business has a  lower start-up cost compared to business selling products. 

 Social Networking
There are changes in social networking, from offline to online. With the emerging technologies on the web, social networking online is now possible. Moms Network is getting bigger. Moms meet new friends online and it’ is possible to have hundreds online friends through Facebook. Moms exchange views in an online forum and market their home business through social moms networking.

My views are not always perfect. Please share your opinion and get free smart parenting e-book as a token of  appreciation. I like this smart parenting e-book, it is not about ordinary parenting but parenting out of the box.

If you wish to get paid for blogging, you have to take it seriously.  Use self-hosted blog and you must learn the right blogging guide from the experts who have made 5 or 6 figure online income. They will share their knowledge  if you buy their e-book or join their program.  If you think that you can learn on your own by using a free hosted blog and watching or asking blogger friends, here are some disadvantages:

• You can’t get enough information and you are wasting your time . 
• You take your friend’s time. Will he be able to answer your constant queries?  Some are reluctant to share their knowledge.
• Most of sponsors only approve if you are using self-hosted blog. You can get an optimum result if you’re using WordPress blog from WordPress.org (self-hosted blog or paid hosting).

I would recommend three learning resources for moms or those who wish to work from home and make money blogging.  The 3 resources are from the experts in Internet Marketing area, quite good and affordable for ordinary folk like us.

Buy the right e-book written by the expert. I don’t recommend you to buy a book as e-book is much cheaper and it has more to offer in the form of additional bonus.  I would recommend “Blogger’s Paycheck Guide”package, perfect blogging guide for beginners. The package consists of 5 volumes of easy step by step manual guide to provide clear and distinct path to blog success.  The package has lots of additional bonuses:  12 part videos “SEO for WordPress”, Plug-In-Profit Blog Template Designs, Pre-Written Copyright Free Articles, and mystery gift.  On top of those bonuses is free one month email consultation with the author. The author is John Yeo, an experienced Internet Marketer, a successful blogger, a parent who dedicates to help children of single parent. You can’t get this consultation when you buy a book at the bookstore. All is for only $47. Please check it out  if the offer is still available.

Watch video series.  I would recommend Quick, Easy Video Series  Blog Cash Mentor.  You will receive a video every month to guide you step by step how to make money blogging. There will be  other extra bonuses and the good news is free one month email consultation with the founder, John Yeo. It is also backed up by 30 day money back guarantee. The price is $27 monthly but it may increase anytime. Please check it out  if the offer is still available.

Online coaching. Mompreneurhub Internet Marketing Hub is the most affordable online coaching for you to start an Internet Business with blogging. For only $20 per month, you’ll be given a lesson or module every month and assignments to complete your lesson.  You will have an access to learning materials at your convenient time and have unlimited Q & A sessions via emails. You will learn techniques to be applied to your business. The good news: you can have a sneak peek for 7 days trial for the first module.  The founder is Moon Loh, a successful Mompreneur in Internet Marketing area with her blogging business.

The 3 learning resources above  will teach you how to set up a WordPress blog for the first time . The decision is up to you whether you prefer to read e-book, watch the videos series or take online coaching. It is worthy to learn blogging for cash, and you will find the benefits of blogging such as:

• Hone your writing skill and develop your unique writing style.
• You will be internet savvy. You are no longer an amateur blogger but a professional blogger.  
• Earn income online. The cost that you spend for learning will be paid off as you make money from your blog.
• You may pass your knowledge to your teenager so he can earn to finance his tertiary education.
• Blogging business is the lowest investment compared to selling physical products  online.

If you still have doubts and have questions such as how to get started, how to make money with a blog and what if  you don’t like to write, please find the answers from The Keys of Profitable Blogging.

People love attending the workshop because they can hear and learn from the expert and they can network with other participants. The experts share their knowledge with audience through a workshop. You will feel motivated and more knowledgeable after attending a workshop or a seminar. For moms like me, I have obstacles. First, most of the workshops are conducted in the capital. Secondly, I must leave my 2 kids behind and get relatives to take care of them. Although the cost of one day seminar is affordable such as $20, do you get a follow up after the workshop is over? Mostly, it is not.

With the fast pace growth of Internet, I now can find learning resources for moms online. I find that an online coaching suits my need. It accelerates my learning curve and I get the right resources. I don’t need to browse around and judge which is right or wrong. With online coaching, there is no hidden cost like building rental, printed materials or other cost as in a traditional workshop. With the same cost, $20, it is not for a day but for a month, I’m taking an online coaching in Internet Marketing or Internet Business.  Online coaching is easy, convenient and for a long term gain. Internet Marketing is a very hard subject so I have to learn it from the expert. I’ll share the benefits of online coaching from Mompreneur Internet Marketing Hub.

• Easy and Convenience. I don’t need to print the materials. I can read the learning materials from the access of member page and I can learn at my own pace and at convenient time.
• Unlimited Q&A session via e-mails. Unlike the traditional workshop, you have limited time for Q&A session and the session isn’t only for you but for all.
• Structured modules, step by step guide. There isn’t much theory but techniques to apply to your business or your website.
• Assignments to check your progress and understanding. So, there’s a follow-up at the end of every module or lesson.

Besides online coaching, there are other options such as online forum or online membership in the Internet Marketing area. I subscribed once to this online membership. Though it was slightly cheaper, I found it very confusing with the access of too much information. I didn’t know which materials to start with. I don’t recommend these to newbies who want to start home business and learn about Internet Marketing.

There are other online coaching programs such as $ 200 monthly or $ 8,500 for one time payment.  But, I would rather recommend Mompreneur Internet Marketing Hub because the course is well-structured and the cost is just right for ordinary folk like me who wants to start Home Based Internet Business and gain knowledge in Internet Marketing. Do you know that Internet Marketing is now a degree course at universities in USA?  

You may notice that some websites have a little eye-catching icon before the URL. That’s called Favorite Icon or Favicon. I use it for my WordPress blog. You can get it too from MaxBlogPress Favicon. Please note that this plugin is only for Worpress blog, self-hosted blog.  I’ll share 7 simple steps to create a favorite icon for WordPress blog by using  MaxBlogPress Favicon.  Here are the installation steps:

1. Download the file from MaxBlogPress Favicon into your computer
2. Open the WordPress Plugins, choose “add New”
3. Upload the file and click “install”
4. You will see the MBP favicon is among the installed plugin, click “activate”
5. Once your MBP favicon activated, open WordPress Settings, you will see MBP favicon there. You will be asked for registration through email confirmation.
6. You can choose the pre-selected icons from MBP or upload your graphic from the computer and click “save”.
7. Once your icon is activated, please refresh your URL.

Shall you need a help with the installation, there is MaxBlogPress Forum or  watch video How to Install a Favicon on a WordPress Blog  to help you. You can view favicon “Learning Mama” if you’re using browser Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. 

As a parent, I do expect kids to behave well and manage or control their feeling.  I found that words of advice aren’t enough,  kids need to see the real situation. I found self-help resources for kids, Let’s talk about feeling…. book series is very helpful. The books help me to understand the real situation for kids.  I also thank to my kids’ school and teachers that they don’t only focus on academic skills but groom every kid.  Kids need to learn managing their emotion as well besides success in their study.  EQ (Emotional Quotient) is as important as IQ (Intelligence Quotient) for an individual to succeed in life.

Let’s talk about feeling….book series showed me and my kids how to handle emotions and difficult situations.  Below is the sample of the book:

The books are fun, informative and really work. The author of the self-help book series for kids is Joy Berry. Joy Berry knows kids. She is the inventor of self-help books for kids.  Please browse Self Help Books for Kids by Joy Berry.

Moms, do you feel stressed?  I do sometimes. But I view that stress has a positive impact too. It pushes me to work toward my goal.  It is okay to feel stressed sometimes for a short period as long as it is not prolonged stress. Let’s look at disadvantages of stress.

• The family and social relationship suffers. Your stress is channeled through negative emotional and physical reactions.
• Prolonged stress may lead to health problems such as migraine or headache, digestion problem, weight gain, insomnia, weakened immune system etc.
• You don’t care about your look and self-image.

We can’t avoid being stressed.  The most important thing is how to manage your stress.  Here are some stress management tips for moms:

 Nutrition & Diet.

• You must eat even you’re stressed. Eat smart carbs such as wholegrain for calming effect and protein-rich food to boost alertness.
• Eat fish adequately or take supplement fish oil which is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. The research shows that a deficit of omega-3 fatty acids is linked to a depression
• Cut your caffeine. Caffeine can trigger anxiety and difficulty to sleep. Replace it with green tea which has natural caffeine.

Don’t resort to alcohol or drug. If you really need it, there’s a kind of tea, tranquility tea for calming effect and help you sleep better.

Keep positive attitude. Find some encouragement words to make you feel better, motivated. You can read book, listen to audio or watch Mind Movies to keep you in positive attitude. Dismiss the negative perceptions “what if”.

 Exercise and Relaxation. Yoga doesn’t not only boost your body but also relax your mind. My Online Yoga guided by qualified trainers provides you with choices of different techniques to serve different purposes.  

Do Fun Activity.  You need to unwind your stress by doing something that please you such as going shopping, visiting the beach, watching movie at the cinema etc.

Smile and Laugh Often. Smile and laughter can lessen your stress.

Get a help. Ask a help from your partner or family to overtake some of house chores to lessen your burden. You can delegate some house chores to elder children.

 Find support. Talk to a good friend or find a help from mom’s support group or forum does relieve your stress.

 Get a good sleep. A good night sleep or short afternoon nap does help to relieve your stress and refresh your mind.

 I hope tips above benefit as stress management resources for moms. Sometimes things are out of our control and we have to accept it or let it go. Learn to forgive and learn to control our anger. Do remember that anger is one short letter from Danger.

Kids can feel our anger too. On one occasion, my girl, Aimee, 5+ could advise us in such a wonderful way.  She said to me and my husband: Are you angry to each other? Please say “sorry” to each other and you will feel okay. We like to see a happy mom and a happy dad.