Co-Parenting, Christmas, and COVID-19: Handling Shared Custody During the Holidays

Co-parenting during the holidays is always tough. One of the biggest issues that divorcing parents struggle with is custody. Figuring out how to divvy up special days like the holidays is particularly challenging. But even if you've had a typical routine regarding who gets which holidays, that may have been thrown into chaos this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

General guidelines regarding COVID-19 advise that people social distance as much as possible. This means that families were advised to stay within their own households over the holidays, remaining at home rather than visiting extended family as they normally would. But what happens when your family has more than one household and normally has children move between different households throughout the holidays? This can disrupt your normal plans and force you to negotiate around the custody agreement that you already have in place. 

Nature Communicates On A Different Frequency. Can you hear it?

Yesterday we took a stroll with Carol's granddaughters through the woods. We played on the swings, saw a fresh pile of bear scat, talked to the trees, picked out a few pine cones and had fun in nature. 

This moment captured in a pic is priceless. 

Nature does communicate, as does the spirit world, it’s just on another frequency. 

We (Carol & Stacy) share some of our personal experiences in our book 10 Ways To Parent Consciously; Parenting In The New Paradigm and in a book we co-authored with 11 other women called Women On Purpose. Thirteen Women Share Their Journey To Living Their Highest Calling. 

We've had the opportunity by tuning into the right frequencies to tap into a hive of bees, received messages from trees, downloads of ideas for our books, messages from spirit, guidance on how to handle a naked dripping wet man with a cast on his arm who showed up on Carol's doorstep, avoid car accidents and much more. These are just a few of the stories we share. 

There is a world outside of our 3D reality taking place all the time. It's up to us to be awake enough to receive incoming guidance, universal downloads and 5D realities. 

#consciousparenting 

#naturesfrequency

Thanks for stopping by our blog.

A few Intentional Conscious Parenting Updates:

• We'll be releasing our parenting book in print soon after the holidays. But you don't have to wait, you can download our Kindle ebook for .99 for a limited time. 10 Ways To Parent Consciously; Parenting In The New Paradigm makes a great gift for parents, grandparents and people looking for conscious parenting guidance. You can purchase and forward your Kindle gift on Amazon through the book link above. 

"The perfect addition to your conscious parenting toolbox. This book bridges the gap for those seeking to shift from traditional parenting to a more mindful present approach." ~ Dr. Shefali Tsabary, Author and Clinical Psychologist

• We will be launching our parenting course based on our book in 2021. We are super excited to share it with you. 
• If you haven't signed up for our free guide: Parenting With The Four Clairs, sign up today to have it delivered to your inbox. 

Supporting The Inner Light Of The Children, Carol and Stacy 

How to Keep Your Kids Healthy This Winter

The winter is a time often filled with stuffy noses, persistent coughs, and more sick days than anyone really wants. However, if you want to avoid having you and your children get ill this year, below are seven tips that can help.

1. Teach Your Kids Proper Handwashing

Proper handwashing technique is key to keeping your kids healthy during the winter. To make sure that your kids are killing all of the germs they may pick up while they are out and about in the world, follow the following steps:

• Wet hands, turn off the tap, and apply soap.
• Lather hands completely, including under fingernails.
• Scrub hands for at least 20 seconds -- tell your kids to sing Happy Birthday or a chorus or verse from their favorite song that is about 20 seconds long.
• Rinse hands under running water.
• Dry hands with a towel or allow them to air dry. (Change towels often)

7 Reasons Why It's Important to Teach Your Kids About Eco-Friendly Living

With the state that our world is currently in, it is important to set our kids up for lifelong habits that will help them and the world as a whole. Eco-friendly and sustainable living practices are important, and teaching that to the next generation could not be more critical to the Earth's health. There are many reasons why it's beneficial to teach your kids about environmentally friendly living, below are 7 of the key benefits to teaching you kids about eco-friendly living.

Gain a Deeper Appreciation For Nature

One of the easiest ways to explain the reasoning behind eco-friendly living to kids is by telling them that making sustainable choices will help the Earth stay healthy and beautiful. Emphasizing the beauty of nature and how the Earth helps us can make the importance of eco-friendly living more clear to kids.

Form Eco-Friendly Habits Through Quality Time

Especially with everyone staying at home right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing new kinds of quality time to keep your kids entertained and help the environment is a great option. Here are a few hobbies and habits you can do with your kids to bring some eco-friendliness to your new normal:

Conscious Parenting Audio Tip: Observing Anger When An Intuitive Child Lashes Out

Next time your child lashes out, look around and observe the room. Is anyone else angry such as an adult or sibling? Is your child channeling their anger or someone else’s? Intuitive children often do this automatically. 

Carol Lawrence from Intentional Conscious Parenting shares a tip on observing anger when an intuitive child lashes out. Is it his/her anger or is he/she simply channeling that anger for someone else in the room. After listening to the latest tip be sure to sign up for our free parenting guide on Parenting With The Four Claires.

#consciousparenting

Carol Lawrence · Observing Anger When An Intuitive Child Lashes Out

4 Ways To Teach Your Children About Energy And Water Conservation

It may seem to be a cliche to say that children are the future, but it is a cliche with some truth. Climate change is perhaps one of the greatest threats facing society. But for all that it is actively causing problems for the current generation of adults, those who come later will only feel those effects more. Additionally, it's much easier for people to learn how to be environmentally friendly as children. Any habits that people pick up as children become ingrained, whether they're shutting off the lights as soon as they leave a room to save energy or making sure that the recycling is collected. Therefore, it's important to teach children about how to be environmentally friendly, and particularly how to conserve water and energy. The United States is responsible for more than its fair share of pollution, and part of that lies in excessive energy consumption as well as a lack of clean energy sources. Furthermore, while water seems to be readily available to everyone at any time, there is in fact a lack of clean water in many parts of the world, as well as an issue with water being overused and polluted. With the typical American family currently using an average of over 300 gallons of water a day, it's crucial that children are taught to value water and energy and treat it correctly.

Creating a Well-Rounded, Healthy Home for Your Family

Studies show we will spend the majority of our lives indoors. According to House Beautiful, the average household will spend 90% of their lives indoors -- and nearly 67% of that time in their own homes. These percentages are only likely to increase in the midst of global pandemic.

Learn how to put together a home that promotes physical and emotional wellness for all members of your family.

Get Some Rest

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), "Research shows that a chronic lack of sleep, or getting poor quality sleep, increases the risk of disorders including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity." Protect all members of your family by taking steps to ensure they get quality sleep. Here are a few tips and tricks to promote quality, restful sleep in your home.

Teaching children how to connect with how they are feeling is a valuable tool.

Parenting is not an easy job but it's the best job anyone could ever have. The children of today are the future of tomorrow. Today we have so many more tools available and so much more knowledge than when our parents were raising us. Such as the fact that our thoughts and emotions have a huge impact on our bodies.

Author Dr. Bruce Lipton's research shows that genes and DNA do not control our biology; that instead DNA is controlled by signals from outside the cell, including the energetic messages emanating from our positive and negative thoughts. 

The Little Rose Book Review

Sheri Fink's the little Rose is the cutest most adorable children's picture book. 

We fell in love with the expressions on each page. 

A perfect addition to our conscious parenting children's book library!

The illustrations of Mary Erikson Washam are exquisite! 

the little Rose takes your young child on a journey and discovers the gift of self expression!

Fill up your library with more delightful children's books at Whimsical World Books

Review by Stacy and Carol ~ Intentional Conscious Parenting

"An excellent resource for award-winning and quality children's books that encourage actions of tolerance, acceptance, and staying true to the core of one's self." 

~ Jack Canfield, co-creator of Chicken Soul for the Soul

Sheri Fink

Inspirational Speaker, #1 Best-selling, Award-winning Author, and President of Whimsical World 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SheriFinkFan

Instagram & Twitter: @Sheri_Fink 

www.SheriFink.com

Sheri@SheriFink.com    

Going Back to School Stress-Free

It’s nearly August! For some parents, their kids are already thinking about going back to

school. For others, they’re about to be. A new semester of school means new opportunities, but also more stress. Here’s how your kids can have a stress-free return to school.

Therapy for Stress

If you’re suffering from stress, worry, anxiety, depression, or another mental health problem, speaking to a counselor may help. In today’s hectic world, it’s a challenge to commit to seeing a therapist every week. Online therapy makes it easier. Sites such as ReGain can help.

Why Are They Stressing?

The best way to help your children deal with back to school stress is to figure out why they’re stressing. Are they just sad that summer is over, or is it something else? 

How to Promote Safety for Your Athletic Kids Without Discouraging Them

When your kids are athletic, it can be easy to jump right into protective parent mode. You want your children to be safe while they're participating in the sports they love, right? Unfortunately, too much emphasis on safety for your athletic children might have the opposite effect that you want it to. Rather than bolstering their knowledge and passion for playing their sport right, it may discourage them from playing at all.

How do you balance talks about safety with encouragement for your athletic kids? Here are a few tips to help you out.

How to Keep Your Kids Engaged This Summer

With each passing day we get closer to summer. For kids, it means a blissful two-month vacation and time spent in the backyard. For parents, it means spending more time as a family and learning how to keep your kids' education going throughout the summer months. If you're stuck for ideas, here are a few ways you can help keep your kids' minds fully engaged this summer. 

4 Simple Ways To Empower Your Kids

Parenting is tough, and there are always plenty of outside opinions from others on how to be the best possible parent. The fact is that recommended parenting styles have changed a lot over time. Where decades ago people really felt as if being a strict, rigid parent was the best tactic, now we know that there are serious problems that come with this approach.

Children can have permanent emotional issues when their parents raise them in a distant manner, valuing perfection over embracing who the kids really are as people.

How to Keep Your Kids Entertained While You're Working from Home

Parents have to deal with many unexpected things with raising a child. It’s part of the job. Despite that, you probably didn’t expect to deal with schools suddenly closing for the year and a government order to primarily stay inside. In these challenging times, you can try new and interesting ways to not only keep your child entertained but also help them practice some academic skills. Use this list of activities to help keep your child occupied during this time.

1. Play-Doh

Play-Doh is a simple and easy way to get your child doing a hands-on activity where they can use their imagination. You might not usually allow your children to use Play-Doh in the house, but given the need for entertainment options, perhaps this time can be an exception. Set your children up in an area of your home where there’s as little furniture or other items around in your home that you don’t want Play-Doh to get on. You could also place some sheets on the floor to keep it from getting on your carpet. You can enjoy the creations your child puts together, and even show them what you can make with Play-Doh. You and your children can easily stay at a distance from each other while enjoying this activity.

Your Sherpa Your Guide To Teaching Children About Money

At first, I told people my mission was to help them become financially literate. Eventually, I realized that merely mentioning the term ‘financial literacy’ can put people to sleep, as they perceive it to be tedious, academic, and all about math.  It then became clear that my true mission is to show people that financial literacy is a means to an end, a tool, to achieve better life outcomes. Don’t we all want better life outcomes? like the independence and freedom to enjoy and care for our kids, not to be dependent on our kids when we are old, to be able to give to others, and in general be able to take control of our lives so that we can unlock our potential.

Another realization I had was the importance of delivering age-specific messages:

For a very young audience it is best to motivate them to want to save money by showing them how money can grow.

For a high school student, the message needs to be clear that they are making huge life decisions, even at this seemingly young age, such as choosing an initial career path and selecting a college.  Many of their peers are making purely emotional decisions and choosing colleges they can’t afford and careers they are not passionate about or do not generate the earning power needed to pay off college debt.

How Does Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Benefit My Family?

You’ve heard about AD And D insurance and it sounds like a good idea, but how exactly does it work and how do you know if you need it? Here’s a quick guide, based on a conversation with busy Philadelphia life insurance attorney Chad Boonswang, Esq.

What is AD And D Insurance?

The Dangers of Screen Time and How You Can Keep Kids Active

During the winter months, it can be difficult to find ways to limit screen time for kids. With most outdoor activities off the list and limited space indoors, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of letting kids watch TV or play online games for most of the day; however, this increase in screen time can end up becoming habit-forming, quickly escalating to additional screen time during the summer months as well. While we often hear about the negative impact that screen time can have on young children, it’s important to understand the dangers and address how we can prevent it.

The Long-Term Impact of Screen Time

In recent years, many studies have been conducted to better understand the consequences of media usage in childhood development and the results have so far been concerning. In the United States, nearly one in every 12 children between the ages of three and 17 has some type of disorder relating to speech, voice, and language development.
While these disorders can be linked to specific learning disorders, research has also found a correlation between screen time and language delay. Dr. Catherine Birken, a pediatrician and scientist in Toronto, assessed multiple children from 2011 to 2015 to gauge how screen time was impacting normal development. Her team discovered that children who used handheld devices for more than 28 minutes every day showed a significant delay in expressive speech. She concluded that for every additional 30 minutes a child is exposed to screen time there was a 49% increase in the risk of speech delay.

We Are Excited To Share With You A New Book Collaboration; Women On Purpose

We are truly honored to be a part of such a wonderful book collaboration with so many inspirational women! Being able to share our stories has been enriching and a little scary. We are vulnerable and share things we haven't shared very often. Enjoy the read and be sure to leave your review on Amazon! Thanks for the support. Energetic Blessings, Carol and Stacy

Have you gone through periods in your life where everyone else seemed to be way more aligned to their purpose than you?

Many of us feel behind on our life’s mission. Our highest calling can often feel right at our fingertips, yet slightly out of reach. 

12 Things To Do When a Loved One Passes

Losing a loved one is tough, really tough. If you have recently lost someone and that's what has brought you to this article, we want you to know we are truly sorry for your loss. Having gone through loss ourselves we know all the ups and downs and emotions involved. Losing anyone is never easy. Since we are familiar with all the emotions and processes that are a part of going through loss, when Veronica approached us about creating a checklist we thought it was a good idea. We also would like to say, we look at death as an expansion of our true-selves. We fully believe in being able to connect with other people in their physical form or when they are just in spirit form through thought to thought, frequency to frequency. May you hang onto your precious memories and watch for a sign! 🐦 Energetic Blessings, Stacy and Carol


Are you wondering what to do when a loved one dies? Hopefully, you have discussed end-of-life arrangements with your loved ones and know what their wishes are. It is easier for everyone if you have. But whether you have or not, these twelve things should be done in this order:

1.) Have Your Loved One Pronounced Dead.
This seems like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised at how awkward and painful this can be under certain circumstances.

If end-of-life plans were not discussed with the decedent, tragic events can follow.  For example, in a case where the decedent’s children did not know what the decedent intended, and the decedent was attended only by a nurse’s aide at her natural death at home, the police have to be called. At that point, resuscitation attempts might be employed, and the police could even try to investigate the cause of death as if anyone there was implicated!

Let's Talk About Nutrition

Since we were little children we've all heard that the importance of eating a healthy diet and proper nutrition. 

We can speak from experience, what you eat and put into your body matters.

We  recommend taking the time to learn about eating healthy, how certain foods affect you physically and emotionally.

PARENTS: Make Sure Your Kids Are Ready to Fight the Flu!

  
According to a National Health Interview Survey, influenza alone is responsible for 200 million days of diminished productivity and 75 million days of work absence. Everyone can suffer from a virus -- especially kids.

There are more than 3 million flu cases per year in the United States. This infection attacks the lungs, nose, and throat and can be particularly damaging to children since their immune systems are not as strong as healthy adults.

5 Benefits Of Booking A Fall Family Camping Trip

When you think of camping as a family, chances are you immediately think of the summertime. But camping during the summer can be just as uncomfortable as it is fun. The sun is hot, the air is sticky, and mosquitoes won't leave you alone.

With fall gradually coming to an end and winter right around the corner, now is one of the best times to book your last family camping trip. If you're unsure whether camping during this season is a good idea for your kids, here are five benefits of camping during the fall:

3 Ways To Manage Your Family's Stress During The Holidays

The holiday season is around the corner, and for many of us, the holidays can bring an increased sense of family responsibility and stress. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when advertisements sing about the joys of the season while we're struggling to budget for gifts, food, and travel.
To help you avoid turning to unhealthy stress management behaviors like overindulging in sugar cookies, here are a few ways you can manage holiday stress as a family this year.

Don't try to please everyone

According to Dr. Susan Newman, a social psychology professor at Rutgers University, one of the biggest causes of stress during the holiday season is having unrealistic expectations.
Some parents want to be sure their children get everything they want so there will be no tears," said Newman. "This is an unrealistic goal. Parents, especially with younger kids get lost in the hype."
Manage your expectations and don't try to please everyone. You can't keep everyone happy all the time. Remember that your kids will enjoy and remember the little things like playing hide and seek with their cousins or board games with you.

Toddler Life

Little ones have so much going on in their little bodies and minds. They are still mastering their body, discovering new emotions, feelings and trying to express themselves. Sometimes this comes out in repetitive words like No or Why? No can sometimes even mean Yes. Sometimes when frustrated or overwhelmed they express themselves through a good cry or tantrum. Have patience with with your little one as he/she explores new feelings, boundaries and emotions. Do your best to not personalize your toddlers behavior. Stay present with your own emotions as you guide your little one through experiencing and learning about theirs. 😉🌀🌞 ~ Carol and Stacy 🦋