National Father-Daughter Day is celebrated on October 9, and Melissa Jones with the Girls Positivity Club joined us Tuesday on “Life.Style.Live!” with three tips for making connections and life-long memories between fathers and daughters of any age.
- Keep It Simple, Superdad: Sometimes we can overcomplicate things or think we have to make a grand gesture, and those are great, but your daughter wants to have your undivided attention- no phone, no interruptions, to spend time doing something fun just with her.
- Plan With Your Daughter in Mind: Have a couple of ideas your daughter would enjoy doing and let her choose, do them all, or keep them a surprise that you reveal throughout your time together. It will mean so much that you planned it. It feels special when Dad plans a special time just for you.
- Step Out of Your Dad Comfort Zone– Try something new together that neither of you has ever done before. It will be a great experience for you both to share and be extra special because it will be a memory and possibly a laugh.
Here are 10 simple ideas to get you started:
1. Cook Together– Follow a recipe or make up your own
2. Picnic and Park– pack a picnic and play at the park
3. Go to a Game– Colts game, college game, or something new
4. Go Fishing, Paddle Boating/Boarding, or Kayaking — even if nothing’s biting, you’ll still be together talking and having fun
5. Board Game Night – create a board game with her or play the classics
6. Paint or Do a Craft together- Paint pumpkins or do a shared art piece on canvas (using tape, splatter, or your fingers)
7. Have a Yes Night– Let her choose things to do and say yes to it all
8. Dinner and a Movie– Decide together
9. Build a Fort- Hang out in it and play games, read books, or tell stories.
10. Bowling or Mini Golf and Ice Cream- a night out with simple fun
You may find that you enjoy simple Father-Daughter Time and want to designate one day a month to spend quality time together.
I’ll do a simple painting activity to demonstrate with a girl I bring in. We’ll just run through the other ideas quickly, and I’ll have visuals for all just laying out.
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Although it’s summer, every second cannot be full of nonstop fun and there are countless times when kids say, “I’m bored.” Here are 3 simple, creative, and inexpensive ways to keep kids entertained. If you are hosting a 4th of July party, it’s a rainy day, or nothing special in particular, these are kid-tested favorites. Melissa Jones
Shaving Cream Art– Mix up a batch of puffy paint or do some simple shaving cream art with simple and inexpensive materials
Puffy Paint
Materials For Puffy Paint
Supplies needed:
- 1/2 cup classic Shaving Cream
- 1/2 cup Glue
- Food Dye
- Bowls
- Paintbrushes
Instructions:
Mix together equal parts shaving cream and glue. Use 1/2 cup of each per color you are making.
Add food dye.
Stir everything together and then paint!
Shaving Cream Swirl Art
Supplies needed:
- Shaving Cream
- Paper Plate
- Food Dye
- Wooden skewers, toothpicks, or plastic fork
- Paper
- Ruler for Scraping
Instructions:
- Take the paper plate and squirt shaving cream over the entire surface
- Add food dye.
- Stir colors around in swirling motions with the skewer
- Place paper over shaving cream and pat gently
- Remove the paper and scrape off the shaving cream. Your art will be underneath.
Craft/Popsicle Sticks
Create a Canvas out of popsicle sticks and Sharpies, and build something like a colorful wreath, a birdhouse, a puzzle, or art designs.
When you have a group of kids together who are bored, try putting twists on classics
Just add water
Give the kids a bucket of water and cups and play classic games
Instead of Duck Duck Goose
Try Drip Drip Go or Mother May I. Play any classic game only put a cup of water in their hands and it makes it exciting.
Sidewalk Chalk- Go beyond art
Create classic games with sidewalk chalk like Twister, Candy land, Checkers, long jump, and obstacle courses, or your kids can create their own. It will keep them entertained for at least an hour.
Any of these activities not only teach kids how to find new cures to their own boredom, but also to gain confidence and how to express themselves in new ways.
For more information, click here girlspositivityclub.org.
The weekend before February 14th isn’t only for celebrating with love interests for Valentine’s Day. It’s also the perfect time to celebrate Galentine’s Day and show appreciation for your gal pals.
Melissa Jones of the Girls Positivity Club joined us today to share more about the holiday that came about in the last decade.
Galentine’s Day was first mentioned on the show “Parks and Rec” in 2010, and 4.98 million people watched this holiday begin as a way to celebrate the girls that make your life special. This could include sisters, moms, female friends, or cousins. It’s the perfect time to teach girls the tradition of celebrating and showing appreciation for girlfriends.
Jones says, three important reasons female friendships are beneficial to your life include helping reduce stress, boosting self-esteem, and giving you a sense of belonging that fights loneliness.
Activity Ideas:
- Special Galentine’s Day activities for moms and daughters: Have a brunch, a sleepover, or plan an afternoon event like pedicures or ice skating with girlfriends.
- DIY gift ideas for your girlfriends: Heart-shaped gifts of any kind, nail polish marble dipped mugs and homemade spa items are a few fun ideas.
January is National Mentoring Month. and January 17th is International Mentoring Day, so Melissa Jones, founder of the Girls Positivity Club, joined us today to share how people benefit from having mentors, the different types of mentoring and what qualifies someone to be a good mentor.
- Positive effects of mentoring on youth – Increases confidence and self-esteem, helps them reach goals, improves communication, allows both the mentor and mentee to have new experiences, improves listening skills, and builds a connection with a positive role model. Mentors can be of a variety of ages for youth and depends on the youth that is being mentored.
- Another positive is that it can come in the form of Individual and Small Group Mentoring – Individual focuses on this young person’s specific goals and life and small group focuses on mentoring a small group around a common goal or age range.
Informal and formal types of mentoring for youth:
- Informal mentoring is flexible but you meet regularly and connect around an activity or common interest. This could be a very casual relationship with a family friend where you meet weekly and catch up on daily life or connect with youth around something you have experience with such as art, music, sports, cooking, photography, etc. It is less structured and can be short or long-term with the mentor/mentee with or without setting specific goals.
- Formal mentoring follows a structure or program and usually has a time frame for the program to follow while helping mentees set goals while also building relationships. Many mentoring programs are run by a youth organization such as Girls Positivity Club for women mentors who want to lead girls in advancing confidence, self-awareness, and inner power. Check your local area for other mentoring opportunities including community centers, religious organizations, or schools.
- Mentors can also be people that you don’t know personally, but they have a positive impact on your life. For example, positive people you follow on social media or Youtube, authors of books you learn from and admire, or podcast hosts who help you or your child in some way. Mentoring comes in all kinds of forms and today is a perfect day to focus on the benefits of mentors.
5 questions to ask yourself if you are considering becoming a mentor:
- Do you like having a positive impact on others (especially youth)?
- Are you a good listener?
- Can you put yourself in someone else’s shoes (show empathy)?
- Do you have the ability to see solutions and opportunities?
- Do you have the flexibility to meet either formally or informally?
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After the past year we’ve all had, we could all use more positive moments this spring! Melissa Jones of the Girls Positivity Club has us covered with ways you can make fun family memories at home during Spring break and beyond. Here’s more from her:
43% of Americans are playing it safe and staying at home for Spring Break this year and with this school year being a combination for most families of in-person and online learning, most parents are looking for ways to connect away from technology and do something fun in the safety of their own home.
American Psychological Association, 7 in 10 parents continue to feel stress managing online learning for children. Regardless of traveling or staying at home, families are looking for fun ways to step away from technology and connect in new and creative ways. How can parents find fun ways to bond as a family and step away from screens for an hour or two? There are 4 categories of activities that will help families connect and create a new version of Spring Break memories.
1. Self-Care- DIY Spa Day- edible beauty mask, paint nails, take a bubble bath, do yoga
2. DIY Board Games- Kids create their own board game and the family plays
3. Cupcake/Dessert Wars – 3 timed rounds of baking dishes that are judged by family members or neighbors
4. Camp out- Literally pitch a tent in your back yard or camp out in your living room by making a fort.
Chocolate Face Mask
- ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa
- ½ cup of plain yogurt
- ¼ cup of honey
For more information, visit GirlsPositivityClub.org
Today on Indy Style, Melissa Jones, founder of the Girls Positivity Club joined us to help you get you ready for Sunday’s national compliment day with some advice on how to give them and receive them.
1. Overdoing it: When parents compliment their children too much, it loses its value. Think about complimenting your child daily, but be intentional about the types of compliments you give instead of complimenting every good deed or action.
2. Focusing on achievement only: A lot of times parents will compliment their child on the end goal like the A on the test or the finished product of a project. Try complimenting kids’ effort instead of only their achievements
3. Saying “good job”: This doesn’t mean that you never tell your child they’re doing a good job. It means that the language you choose is important. Try being specific in your compliments. Instead of saying, “Good job on that project!” try “You worked a long time on that!” Ask your child questions about their work and use the compliment to learn more about what they’re doing.
Try these starters:
Tell me how you decided…
How did you choose…
3 Brain and Emotional Benefits of intentional Complimenting
- Dopamine- associated with motivation, focus, positivity, and signals to the brain to do it again
2. Striatum- the chemical that releases a rewarding feeling in the brain that gives the same reaction as getting cash
3. Serotonin- regulates your mood and improves overall happiness
How 5 compliment languages that will improve relationships in families
- Focus on effort instead of achievement- compliment a specific task that was a process
- Ask questions about what your child is working on and compliment their ideas
- Positive Results- “You got dressed fast and that made it so easy to…”
- Kindness- Tell how the kindness made the other person feel
- Empowerment-give them compliments that build self-esteem and help them see that you see the good every day
3 ways women/girls reject compliments and how to break the cycle:
- Responding with a return compliment- “No, you’re amazing!” Instead, try “Thank you” and leave it at that. Accept the compliment with grace.
- Minimizing the compliment- “It was no big deal.” Accept that it’s ok and not bragging if you receive a compliment and again, say thank you.
- Give someone else the credit- “It was a group effort,” sends the message that you don’t think you were good enough for the compliment. Be ok with someone noticing your accomplishment. The more you practice accepting compliments and simply being grateful for them, the easier it will become to receive them.
For more information, visit girlspositivityclub.org.