Hello Everyone!!

This week we are participating in the mommyfest.com Blog Party!!  Click on this link to go and visit all of the other wonderful blogs that are participating.

To celebrate our participation, we are giving away one of our Regionz Kidz Tank Tops for infants, toddlers or moms FREE

To enter, just leave a comment with your email address on this entry with your favorite character, gender and design from our Regionz Kidz sketchbooks, found on our website home page.  At the end of the week, we will choose our winner and you will be contacted via email to choose your size!!

Also, in your comment, if you are interested in receiving our monthly newsletter, please make a note of that and I will add your name to our list.  Our newsletter contains articles on diversity, healthy kids, and growing up “green”, along with coupon codes and great partner deals.

Thanks and enjoy the PARTY

As parents, we all want our children to feel good about themselves - that is inherent.  Having good self-esteem is vital to kids achieving higher marks in school, staying away from drugs and alcohol, and leading an overall productive and healthy lifestyle.  How then do we help children develop high levels of good self-esteem?

*Accept your child for who they are.  Embrace the talents, interests and skills that they DO have, rather than focusing on things that they are not good at or do not enjoy.

*Listen to your child.  Do not always provide a quick solution to their problems.  They may not be searching for an answer, just someone to listen.  Let them work out small problems and situations on their own.

*Don’t use labels to describe your child, but rather their behavior.  Do not tell a child, “You are bad.”  Instead let them know that their behavior in a certain situation was unacceptable.

*Provide structure, reasonable discipline and limits.  These show children that their world has a pattern and routine and they allow children to feel some control over their situations.  Children that feel helpless are more dependent and less able to make good decisions in the absence of adults.

For some wonderful resources and educational activities to help promote good self-esteem in your children, you can visit the sites listed below.  They provide colorful and fun stories, worksheets and family activities that will help parents teach their kids about positive, happy feelings, believing in themselves, and ways to grow and help others build their own self-esteem.  They empower children to become their own biggest believers, and make learning about this sometimes difficult and confusing issue, fun.  I have had personal contact with both of the owners of these companies (Women!) and have found them both to be passionate about what they believe in and educated on the topic of children’s self-esteem and how to foster and develop it.

http://www.bingnote.com - INSPIRE CHILDREN TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES!

http://www.yeahyeahoutloud.com -Empowering kids to discover their inner “cheer”leader!

I would like to thank Sheena for this great review as well as her unique perspective on race and diversity! You can view her blog at: http://www.mommydaddyblog.com

Growing up I went to predominantly African American schools. I wasn’t taught much about diversity and different cultures, just racism and segregation year after year. Of course this had some effect on how I perceived other races. I developed schemas based on textbooks, television, and my surroundings. Although we were taught Martin Luther King’s dream multiple times in school, it didn’t have much affect on me because there was no uniting races when the school made up one race. I wasn’t exposed to diversity early on so I didn’t know how to interact once exposed later in life. Of course I was always taught to treat others with respect but the subject of diversity never really popped up.

I remember entering high school, it was a predominantly African American high school but there was a noticeable percentage of Caucasian students as well. At first interacting with each other was a little awkward, making sure we didn’t say anything to offend each other. I remember at a band gathering having a conversation with a group of people of different races; “no offense” was used quite a few times. Nothing said was offensive, “no offense” was just said to be courteous just in case someone did take offense, I suppose. It just tickles me now thinking about it because we didn’t know how to act around each other. This was due to the lack of exposure and proper knowledge of other races and cultures.

It is important to start teaching children early about diversity. While it is important to teach your children to embrace their culture it is also important to teach them about the cultures of other people. It will help them better understand why some people do the things that he or she may not do, why, and to certainly not be afraid of them because of it. The key is to help your children become well rounded individuals because the real world is one gigantic melting pot.

There are a handful of stores that are devoted to promoting multicultural products for children. Regionz Kidz is a great place to pick up products to help teach your children diversity and unity. At Regionz Kidz you can find SUPER CUTE culturally diverse t-shirts for infants, toddlers, and mommies! Regionz Kidz’s t-shirts feature amazing sketches of babies in different regions all over the world. There are over 104 designs to choose from. You can even have a custom sketch of your child designed! In addition to t-shirts, Regionz Kidz offers books and games as well! Some useful articles and resources can be found on the Regionz Kidz blog and free coloring sheets can be found here! Regionz Kidz was founded last year and has gotten off to a great start! I look forward to seeing what the future brings!

Hey there all!

I am excited to be participating in the 5 Minutes for Mom Blog Party this week!

My blog is new and developing and I am really happy to get the opportunity to share the great info with all of the participants.  I am hoping that everyone will enjoy the look of the new blog and the articles and resources about cultural diversity, racial equality and tolerance that Regionz Kidz has to share with everyone.  I would love to get your thoughts on my products as well - what designs and colors you like best, any ideas for new designs, products or characters or anything you think I need to know!!  Please feel free to leave comments, feedback or email me at:

lisa@regionzkidz.com with your suggestions.  I am looking forward to browsing the other blogs and hopefully meeting some new contacts, associates and friends.  To check out the party, go to:  http:www.5minutesformom.com and read all of the great blogs written by women

Sincerely,

Lisa Smith

There are so many great prizes that are offered by the wonderful women bloggers participating in the Blog Party. If I am LUCKY enough to win one, I would select the following prizes (in this order) from the lovely ladies at:
61 — The Very Cool Lunchbox
Provided by: Victoria P. Zurcher Designs
119 — Personalized Lunch Box
Provided by: Girl, That’s Cute
62 — Boca Beth Bilingual Beginner Set
Provided by: The Boca Beth Program
15 — $50 gift certificate to Kids Magical Wonder
Provided by: Kids Magical Wonder
19 — Klean Kanteen Sippy Cup
Provided by: Non Toxic Tots

If these prizes have already been chosen, I would be happy to accept anything that is appropriate for a 2 year old girl
Thanks!!!!

So, I am an avid Harry Potter Fan and had a long drive to make this weekend - the perfect solution - take my books on CD to listen to!

As I paid close attention to the words, I realized what an important lesson the books teach us about diversity and learning to live together and stand up for one another regardless of our background or how we look.  JK Rowling introduces us to flawed characters that are all different; muggles (non-magical), half-bloods (mixed ancestry), giants, werewolves and so many others.  She shows their weaknesses, but also their strengths and what makes them just like everyone else - their humanity.  In the end, they all end up banding together to fight the evil that threatens to destroy them.

What a wonderful theme that the books teach our children and how wonderful that an author who is bigger than life, took time to carefully set out to teach important lessons and help our children learn lessons of life on a fun and imaginative journey.  These stories are very much more than media hype - they have brought families together to read again, they have re-introduced adults to the fun of reading for pleasure and they do teach much deeper lessons about life.

Good vs. Evil, acceptance, tolerance and perserverance are all themes that are interwoven into all of the stories and are magnified in the character of Harry.  We can all find a part of ourselves in him I believe.

If you have not read these books or better yet, read them with your children, I encourage you to do so - - much more than taking you to a vivid imaginative world (and they will do that!) they can also help to remind us that although we are all different, no one is perfect and we are all working toward the same goals.

I write about the topics of tolerance and cultural diversity for a number of different sources and just recently, in research for an article, I came across a list of questions (www.tolerance.org) to ask oneself as a parent that can aid us in discovering some of our own prejudices or fears.  When, as parents, we become more aware of what we believe, we can decide if these beliefs are what we want to teach to our children.  Children learn best from modeling their parents’ behaviors and if we are holding onto harmful attitudes or beliefs, we can inadvertently pass those attitudes or beliefs onto our children & they can manifest in negative behaviors as children get older. 

Explore your experiences with and attitudes about difference by asking yourself these questions.

1. The first time I became aware of differences was when …
2. As I was growing up, my parent(s) taught me that people who were different from us were…
3. As I was growing up, my parent(s) taught me that people who were like us were …
4. A time I was mistreated because of my own difference was when …
5. A time I mistreated someone for being different was when …
6. I feel most comfortable when I am around people who …
7. I feel least comfortable when I am around people who …
8. The memories I have of differences affect my parenting by …

As human beings, we all have prejudices; that is inevitable.  Our main goal as parents should be to discover what they are, address them and help our children to understand that being different is just that, different - no better or no worse than anyone else.
 

I would like to send out a very big Thank You to all of the partners that donated products to the Mesa Schools Teenage Prgnancy Education Program.  The girls loved the items and felt so special that you would take time to send them things.  The following is a list of donors and their websites:

 Angie Doel of www.savingtimes.com 

Barbara Geatches of www.bgeatches.lbri.com

Cynthia Powell of www.chicksandcubs.com

Melissa Baughman of www.candlesmadefromsoy.com

Gary Hillery of www.greetingcookie.com

Elizabeth Kilchoer of www.safeforyourhome.com

Thank you everyone for your kind and thoughtful donations.  Please take the time to visit these sites and browse their selection of products; these companies truly care about their community and others in need.

Lisa

Having just returned recently from the Happiest Place on Earth & having had a WONDERFUL experience taking our 2 year old daughter for the first time, I thought this was a great slideshow the shows the cultural sensitivity of the Disney Company & the class with which they handle themselves in all aspects of their business.

Click here to view the slideshow 

Please enjoy the slideshow & visit Disneyland when you get the opportunity - you really will feel warm and fuzzy all over when you leave Lisa

Regionz Kidz would like to announce it’s partnerships with the following websites and blogs.  I will be writing for each of them on a monthly basis & they have tons of great articles and links for you to check out.  Please bookmark their sites or sign up for email or RSS updates!  Thanks

Lisa

www.essentialmom.com

www.TheBabyBoutiqueAtWombsWindow.com/blog

http://theparentingblog.learnandgrowtogether.com/

http://ptpblog.positivetoddlerparenting.com/

My partner Michelle at www.MagicalMeltingpot.com has many delicious multi-cultural recipes especially perfect for this time of year.  Take a look at these yummy cookies from all different parts of the world & try making some of them with your family this Holiday season!

 http://food.yahoo.com/blog/themagicalmeltingpot/1850/holiday-cookies-from-around-the-world