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10 ways to have fun with your family on Valentine's Day
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Fill your Valentines Day with deeds and words that fill the hearts of your family. Here are a few ideas to help you share the love. - photo by Gary and Joy Lundberg
Valentines Day is a fun opportunity to show your family you love them. You do it every day, but do it with a flare on this special day. Theyll love you for it. And youll be making memories they can carry in their hearts forever.

These are the moments that help them through their hard times. We suggest you try some of these suggestions. Do the first one, then choose from the rest, or come up with your own ideas.

1. Kiss your spouse with passion, first thing

Start this romance-filled day by saying I love you, followed by kisses and hugs that remind you of how much you mean to each other. Let it linger a bit, then jump out of bed and do more of this list.

2. Wake up the kids with a love song

Both of youmom and dadsing it together, if possible. It doesn't have to be good, just full of conviction.

A good one is Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? To refresh your memory, heres Rod Stewarts version. Or choose whatever your favorite is. Be dramatic and have fun with it. Make your kids roll their eyeballs. Theyll love it, even if they don't act like it. That's a promise.

3. Make heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast

Serve them up with syrup, whipping cream, peanut butter, fresh fruit and whatever else you and your kids love to slather on. Make it memorable. Really yummy food has a way of doing that. Here are some fun ideas from Pinterest.

4. Put a love note into the kids and hubbys lunch box or pocket

Make sure its where you know theyll find it. If the kids eat hot lunch, stick it on the cover of their math book. Just be sure its some place you know theyll see it. For hubby, you might put it in his pocketthe one he puts his keys in. This note will put a smile on their faces and a warm feeling in their hearts.

5. Ask family members for Valentine dinner ideas

Let dinner have at least one thing in it that every person loves. Have family members choose out of a hat a category, such as appetizer, salad, main dish, veggie, or dessert. Have them let you know what their wish is for that category. Do this a couple of days in advance so you can be ready with the ingredients. Then let that person help prepare his or her item. Don't expect perfection. Just have fun.

Let them know that everyone has to eat at least some of each item, and compliment the cook in some way about their item. After all, this is a day to express a little love and appreciation.

6. Gather around the phone and call grandparents

Expressing love on this day to grandma and grandpa can brighten their day. They will love hearing the voices of each family member. You could also Skype if you live far away and havent seen each other for a while.

7. Heart attack an elderly neighbor or your pastor, or both

You and the kids cut hearts of various sizes out of red or pink construction paper. Write a short message on some of them. For example, Were glad youre our neighbor. Or Your smile makes us smile. Or, to your pastor, Thanks for caring about us. Or Thanks for reminding us to be good.

Tape these hearts all over their front door. They will love being loved by you.

8. Give a special Valentine to your kids principalfrom them and you

Kids usually give their teachers a Valentine, and you have likely taken the opportunity to thank them in different ways. Thats a good thing. Keep it going at Valentines Day, but this time include their principal.

A principal's job is important and challenging. They often work without notice or appreciation. This is a good day to acknowledge her or his efforts to make your kids school run smoothly. Thank this VIP with a Valentine and a heart-felt expression of gratitude.

9. Take some heart-shaped cookies to a homeless shelter

Bringing some love to those who have so little can enlarge the hearts of your whole family. Those receiving your gift will be happy that someone remembered them.

If the facility allows it, arrange to have you and your children pass them out and personally wish the recipients a Happy Valentines Day. Stay close to your children as they give the cookies. Seeing these folks may help them appreciate what they have and at the same time, feel the joy of bringing a little happiness to someone less fortunate.

10. Finish the day off by playing this YouTube video for all the family to see and enjoy

It cant help but fill your home with love to watch and listen to the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing Love At Home.

The point of this whole day is to fill your home and family with feelings of love for each other and for others who need a little love. A little love can be a big thing in todays world.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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