Welcome to Carnival of Family Life.

Spring is finally here! I love this season! Everything is growing, including our children, our pets, and our Carnival. Even though I've participated many times in the past, this is my very first time hosting this wonderful carnival. There are SO many great posts this week, so let's get started!

Family Pets

Anyone who has fish as pets would agree with Matt M that fish is not boring. It's very relaxing to watch them, and they do recognize their caretakers. Read what Matt has to say in Fish Not Boring posted at The Pet Haven.

Education

As parents, we are our children's first and lifetime teachers. As the following posts illustrated, when it comes to helping our children learn, whether they go to school or home-school, it's important to figure out their unique learning styles, and leverage their passions & interests. On the other hand, our children see the world through us. So, we also need to teach our children how to see the world not only with their bright eyes, but also with their hearts.

Marjorie presents Interest Led Learning, "All Boy" Style posted at Life Without School.

Melitsa presents Run around to sit still posted at Play-Activities.com.

Linda Bress Silbert, Ph.D. and Alvin J. Silbert, Ed.D. present Tips for helping with math homework posted at Our Educational Books, saying, "Helping parents help kids, reduce stress, enjoy family time together with these homework tips."

James DeLelys presents Prejudice: Look With Your Heart and Not Your Eyes posted at Healing Through Words.

Family Finance

It's important to keep family finance and your personal credit in check. Teaching our children about money, and saving up for expensive college tuition are both great priorities for parents. The following posts offer tips and advice.

Stephanie presents The Library is Your Friend posted at Unclaimed Money.

No Credit Needed presents My Four Year Old Son Receives His First "Credit Card" posted at No Credit Needed.

Richard M. Rothschild presents The Best Mutual Funds Have No Sales Loads and No 12b-1 Fees posted at Best No Load Funds.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Free College Tuition To Soothe the Middle Class Pinch posted at The Digerati Life.

Matthew Paulson presents Can Bad Credit Cost You a Job? posted at American Consumer News.

Family Health and Wellness

Keeping our children, our aging parents, and ourselves healthy is no small feat. The daily caretaking responsibilities can really stress you out, which in turn will have a negative impact on your entire family. As I always teach my coaching clients, it's essential for your survival and well-being, and for your loved ones, to practice Intensive Self-Care. Here are some sound advice from our fellow bloggers on keeping yourself and your family healthy and well.

Lin Burress presents Taking Care of Aging Parents as a Family posted at Telling It Like It Is.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Sleep, Tetris, Memory and the Brain posted at SharpBrains, saying, "Why sleep is so important."

Stephanie presents In-Season Produce: A Love Story posted at Stop the Ride!, saying, "A variety of reasons that in season produce is best."

Louise Manning presents Stressed parents make children ill posted at The Human Imprint.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Relaxing for your Brain's Sake posted at SharpBrains, an article on the importance of stress management for brain health by Gregory Kellett.

Char Polanosky presents Reduce Your Sugar Intake and Feel Like a Million Bucks posted at Raising A Healthy Family.

James Chambers presents Excessive Sweating Advice and Treatments posted at Hyperhidrosis.

Eric Ellen presents Stomach Flu Facts Every Parent Should Know posted at Husbandhood.

Family Relationships and Self-Improvement

Ah, the relationship with your parents (and other family members too) could be very endearing and challenging sometimes, as the following posts illustrated. We all want our parents to be proud of us. Wanting to be loved and accepted as who we are, is one of the most important human needs. Sometimes, though, you've got to go after your dreams and passions, despite what your parents or other people say. It's your life, and you have to create your own path. You will find inspiration and encouragement from the following posts.

Edith presents The Story of My Mother posted at .

Jennifer in OR presents The Appalachian Accent posted at Diary of 1, described as "discovering my dad's Appalachian accent."

Silveral presents Celebrity couples top Hollywood couples Celebrity News, and Gossip posted at Celebrity News, and Gossip.

Elizabeth presents Never let go of your dreams! posted at The best is yet to come!

Anmol Mehta presents The True Purpose of Relationships posted at Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment & Kundalini Yoga, saying, "A story revealing the true purpose of relationships, and the value of the challenges they create for us."

BeThisWay presents And So The Next Phase Begins posted at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?.

Hueina Su presents A New Beginning posted at Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul.

Family Humor

To stay sane as parents, sometimes, you've got to learn to laugh at the comic situations your family got you into! Take a mini-vacation here and read about all these funny and heart-warming stories from other families.

Kelsey presents Blue Jobs - Household Chores For Men posted at Vanilla Joy - Family Fun and Education.

CouponFetcher presents How To Get Rid of a 1/2 Mullet posted at Coupon Fetcher.com, saying, "My 3 year old daughter got a hold of some scissors!"

emily whitby presents Paranoid Mom?!? posted at Crazy Mom: Ideas, Recipes, Thoughts, Humor & More!.

WhatWorksForUs presents Matchbox Twenty posted at What Works For Us.

Expat Chef presents Triple Threat posted at The Expatriate's Kitchen, saying, "Ah, the Terrible Threes and Ten Humorous Tips on dealing with them, or at least having a laugh."

Robert Bach presents Spaghetti Night posted at Kintropy In Action, saying, "We parents find humor to be the best mini-vacation!"

Rachel presents Carrot Cake Cupcakes posted at Bakedblog.com - a Mothers blog about baking, cooking, parenting, and enjoying all things in Life., saying, "Celebrating Easter with my family is always wonderful. This year I made a special treat carrot cake cupcakes. See what my family thought of these cupcakes."

Family Travel and Activities

Traveling with little ones could be a lot of fun and, as I remembered, a lot of work. :) Fortunately, we can all turn to one another for great advice and fun ideas to keep our little ones entertained, wherever you might be.

Jeremy Zongker presents 90 Low Cost or No Cost Activities to Entertain Your Kids All Summer Long posted at Destroy Debt.

James Brausch presents 24 Hour Special posted at Costa Rica HQ.

Rachel presents Carrot Cake Cupcakes posted at Bakedblog.com - a Mothers blog about baking, cooking, parenting, and enjoying all things in Life., saying, "Celebrating Easter with my family is always wonderful. This year I made a special treat carrot cake cupcakes. See what my family thought of these cupcakes."

Renae presents Dirty Work posted at Life Nurturing Education.

Jennifer Remeta presents Traveling with a Toddler posted at Toddler Tactics.

Debbie Dubrow presents DeliciousBaby Journal Persian New Years in Southern California posted at Delicious Baby.

Stephen Dean presents EarthClassMail.com posted at Stephen Dean's Copywriting And Internet Advertising Blog - Copywriter.

Amy @ The Q Family presents Things to do in Helen, GA posted at The Q Family Adventure.

Parenting Tips and Advice

This week, we have a wide range of great parenting advice here, from how to grocery shop with kids, to communicating with our children on many important issues. As a life coach and a mom, I've found that so many parents could use some help with their communication skills, such as engaged listening, acknowledging and validating. You can find many great tips on communication in the following posts.

Abel Cheng presents The Three-Word Strategy That Diffuses Any Tension With Your Child posted at Parent Wonder.

Kyle James presents Grocery Shopping With Kids: A Dad's Perspective posted at Kyle.

Alex Blackwell presents Confessions from a Recovering Father posted at The Next 45 Years.

David B. Bohl presents How to Talk to Children posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, "We were all children at one time, so why is it that so many adults find it difficult talking to kids?"

Steven Chang presents Re-using Your Baby Food Jars posted at Gagazine.

K T Cat presents On MySpace and Sexual Competition posted at The Scratching Post.

Terri Mauro presents Try a New Behavior Management Scheme With Me posted at About Parenting Special Needs.

This concludes this edition of the Carnival. Thank you so much for reading! Submit your article for the next edition of the Carnival of Family Life using this form. The archive of past editions and hosting schedule can be viewed here.

Take good care of yourself... you are irreplaceable!

Labels: Blog Carnivals, fun, getting support, health, parenting, relationship