The following post is from Scott McClatchy, husband, father, musician, and friend to many.

One of the strangest things about being a parent is that there are so many things that I never imagined that would ever concern me have now become part of my everyday life.  Like explaining to a six-year old boy what exactly does it means to be a friend.

One of the toughest hurdles to cross in this daily conversation is that not all parents believe in the same thing.  So, as I tell my son one thing, he inevitably will respond with an example of how one of his school buddies acts the exact opposite.  When I tell my son to try to make ‘good choices’ – like sharing your toys, he’ll remind me that when he shares his toys, he will sometimes never see them again. So now the conversation takes a left turn into the idea that being a good friend also means respecting other people’s property, and he will bring up examples of all the kids who don’t.  Soon the conversation has splintered into so many different ideas of what being a friend means, that it leads my son to retreat to his toy room for some well deserved play time Though, in retrospect, I should be proud of my son’s courtroom presentation of his case … I just wish I knew more about the Kindergarten legal system.

So I try to fall back on the Golden Rule; if you really want to be a good friend – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Sadly, scriptures don’t go over well with most kids under the age of thirty-five, so I try to break it down for him.

‘Being a good friend means that you should try to always make sure your friends are happy.’  And, to my son’s credit, he usually does tell me that he often does let his buddies choose what games to play or pick what sport to attempt.  And, happily, I have watched him do this on the playground.  But I’ll tell my son that not all kids want to play together … and that’s OK!  I’ll tell him that someone who might not want to play with you today, or be your friend today – well, they might want to tomorrow, so don’t ever stop asking. But, most importantly, when someone doesn’t want to play with you, or be your friend, try to understand that you still are a really great kid. And, somewhere in the park or playground, there’s another little boy or girl just waiting to play with you.

And it’s at these times when I can explain to him, and I very often get to see it happen, that ‘being a friend’ can be nothing more than walking up to another child and saying “Hi, want to play?”

All of us at “Can Do” Street know how important mothers and grandmothers are to children young and old. So…from all of us to all of you…

Happy Mother’s Day!

From time to time our readers write and offer to share their knowledge and ideas in a guest post.

Today’s post is from Flashlight Press, an independent publisher of children’s picture books.

Flashlight Press is sharing free printable activities for each of their book titles. Just go to their URL at:

http://www.flashlightpress.com/Activity_Guides.html >

 An invitation…If you want to share with readers by submitting a guest post, please know that:

• We accept posts about a particular subject of interest to parents or teachers of children 3-7 years of age
• We accept a post that gives access to a free product , such as the downloads above, if suitable for the same age group

We do not accept straight advertising, sales or promotional materials, etc. If someone has a new book out and wants to include that in their brief bio accompanying the article, that is acceptable .

A guest post needs to be between 500 and 750 words. We reserve the right not to publish posts that we feel are not appropriate for our readers due to content.

If you are interested in submitting a guest post for this blog or the children’s blog, please send it to jeanc@candostreet.com.

I look forward to hearing from you!

From time to time, “Can Do” Street features a guest post by someone who provides a service or product that might be of interest to parents and teachers of children 3-7 years of age.

We do not endorse or recommend, we just share information.

We welcome guest posts from parents, teachers and professionals who work with young children and their families. We also will feature guest posts from book companies and others wanting to provide sample products at no cost to our readers.

The following guest share is by Sara Dawkins, an active nanny as well as an active freelance writer. She is a frequent contributor of nanny service. She can be reached at saradawkins61ATgmail.com.

How to Teach the Importance of Sharing

It’s always a big debate when you’re trying to decide if you’re going to hire a nanny to watch over your child or if you’re going to place them in a daycare setting. Each option has distinct advantages and disadvantages, especially the different character traits your child will learn.

Having a nanny watch your children gives parents more flexibility with work schedules and a certain piece of mind knowing that your child isn’t being exposed to different illnesses and bad behavior.

However being a nanny you realize quickly that because the child you’re watching isn’t surrounded by other kids their age that it’s important to teach them as soon as possible how important the act of sharing is.

The trick to teaching kids how to share is to make it fun!

1. Share constantly

Get out two different toys and give one to the child and keep the other one for yourself. After playing with them for a little while ask if they want to play with the one you have.

If you go out for ice cream get a different flavor than they do and then ask if they want to try a bite of yours. Go out of your way to share with them whenever you can so that they learn that this is good behavior to mimic.

2. Express appreciation

Whenever the child swaps a toy with you express gratitude for their selfless sharing, even if you prompted them to share something. Getting them to understand how rewarding it is to share things with other people will help them want to continue to share.

3. Compliment frequently

Anytime they share something with you, even if it’s only a story or they just want to show you what they have, compliment them on their wonderful ability to share. Try to use the word “share” somewhere in the compliment so that they associate the behavior with the act of sharing.

As soon as their parents get home each night compliment the child’s sharing to them also. Reinforce good behavior as often as possible.

4. Donate old toys

Coordinate with the parents a day that you can take them to donate old toys. As they begin to outgrow certain toys or books start collecting them and then take the kids to a place that accepts donations. Having them go with you will give you a chance to show them that their old toys will become someone’s new toys. You can talk to them about how other kids may not be as fortunate as they are, and explain to them how they’re helping these children by sharing their stuff.

5. Pick certain toys to share

When friends are coming over to play let the child pick out a few toys that they can put away and then let them know that all of their other toys have to be shared with friends. This will help them feel like they’re not giving up everything to others.

Being in a role model position gives the perfect opportunity to teach young children the act of sharing. The younger you start teaching kids about sharing, the better, and it’s important for parents and nannies to work together as a team to teach the children about sharing.

In a recent health tip from National Institutes of Health nutritionist Janet de Jesus talks about eating plans rather than short-term diets.

Ms. de Jesus weighs in on the problems associated with short-term diets, stating that, “People often make goals to go on diets, but they are often short lived.” She prefers eating plans to make long term lifestyle changes.

Ms. de Jesus says.“Changing the way you eat and also increasing your physical activity is really worth it for your health. Give it a try and don’t get too frustrated. We all stumble. Keep it up throughout the year.”

De Jesus recommends two stellar eating plans from  the National Institutes of Health – DASH and TLC.

These eating plans were designed to promote blood pressure and blood cholesterol control, but experts rank them as very good ways to have complete, balanced nutrition with the right calorie counts.

U.S. News and World Report ranked them as the number-one and number-two eating plans.

Unlike some other eating plans, they’re free.

For a comprehensive overview of the DASH Eating Plan go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/dash/

For more information on the TLC Eating Plan go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/cgi-bin/chd/step2intro.cgi