Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there.

We know that moms serve as the light of the family, the roar that keep everyone on their toes (hello, Tiger Moms), the gentle hands that touch lives and hearts, the hugger who makes everyone feel loved and secure, the kisser who takes away all the pains and boo-boos and the wind beneath the wings.

Being a mom does not limit itself to having biological children. Moms can take different forms and shapes: the aunt who takes care of the young ones, the teacher who treats her students as her own, the doctors and nurses in medical uniforms who take care of our sick children, the nanny who leaves her family behind to take care of other people’s children and the humans who give unconditional love to their furry pets.

Everyday is a Mother’s Day, according to some, and yes, in our hopes and dreams, we say that prayer to all the moms who go through different ordeals and life hardships. They truly are the ones who bear the burden of the family’s hurdles.

My wish for all the moms out there: fortitude, understanding, infinite love and positive energy.

My posts re Mother’s Day: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.

Teaching your children about saving is not just about saving money. It could also mean a lot of things:

• turning off electrical appliances that are not in use to save on electric bill
• turning off the faucet when not in use, wise use of water, reuse is possible to save on water, a very precious commodity
• home-cooked food is not only cheaper than dining out, it could be healthier
• being healthy to avoid getting sick
• buying only the things one needs, and not the things one wants
• work harder ( like get better grades, help in house chores) in exchange for something you want your parents to buy for you
• planning chores/errands to save time

It helps too that they know about financial planning (budgeting, balancing maybe even about investing, fidelity bond insurance and insurance benefits later on), foresight on future financial capabilities or lack of it and other skills that they would definitely need in the future to avoid filing for Chapter 7.

Here in the Philippines, we are halfway through the summer vacation. A sign that school days are just a few weeks ahead was that we got a new school bag for the son and a new lunch bag for the youngest daughter.

How did you children spend summer vacation?

Did they enrol in enrichment programs like visual and performing arts and sports? Did they enrol in academic achievement programs to prepare them better for next school year?

No matter what the children did or still do for this summer vacation, we make these days memorable for the whole family to look back to in the future.

Being a parent is not something that is easy. In fact, in the course of studying for a career, parenting was not a part of any curriculum that we know of.

So how do new (and even experienced) parents do when they are faced with challenges? Learn from the experts.

Parents learn from the experts: from their own parents, from friends who are parents, advices from friends, doctors and also from parenting experts. Yes, parenting experts readily share their first-hand knowledge and experiences in how parents can do a better job at being parents.

In line with this, the country’s top parenting, relationship and education experts teamed up for Family Congress 2012. Family Congress 2012 will be on August 25, 2012.

Parenting and relationship expert Maribel S. Dionisio partnered with PR and events organizer Fides Reyes and Rowie Matti, CEO of Galileo Enrichment Learning Program in organizing a family congress. The friends want to help educate other families about relationship and love which aims to help other parents to be better at parenting.

DETAILS of the topics in Family Congress 2012

The Family Congress 2012 has a variety of topics that different age groups (parents, teens and singles) would find helpful:

• PARENTS who want to: improve on their methods or styles of bringing up their children; know the value of and modern technology and how they can manage it, learn more about bullies – managing and preventing this

•  COUPLES who wish to nurture, maintain, or improve their relationship.

• TEENS and YOUNG ADULTS who are confused with their emotions and want to learn more about relationships – Crushes, Sex , Dating and Love

“Our vision is to equip every individual with the knowledge and skills they need for their particular relationship stage,” express the organizers. Thus, congress attendees can choose one session in the morning and another session in the afternoon from among 10 varied and very interesting topics:

Morning sessions:
1A – Migrating and Managing the Digital World by Queena Lee-Chua, Ph.D.
2A – Handling the Bully and the Bullied by Honey Carandang, Ph.D.
3A – Built for Forever: Preparing Singles for a Lifetime Relationship by Rissa Singson-Kawpeng
4A – Teen Talk about Love, Sex, and Dating by Dan and Nabelle Caballes
5A- From Wellness to Wholeness (for adults 21 & up) by Harriet Hormillosa, M.A.

Afternoon sessions:
6P – Being Friends Forever in Marriage: Learning the Art of Fighting by Allan Dionisio, M.D. & Maribel Dionisio, M.A.
7P – Teaching Parents to Talk to Kids & Teens about Crushes, Sex & Relationship by Michele Alignay, M.A. & Aiza Tabayoyong
8P – Managing Teen Emotions by Obet Cabrillas
9P – Career, Relationship, and Life Plan for Singles by Pia Nazareno-Acevedo
10P – Beyond the Tears: Griefwork by Cathy Babao-Guballa

Participants will also get to listen to Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle and motivational speaker Francis Kong.

The Family Congress’ mission is to provide a venue for learning by gathering the best experts in the field of psychology, parenting, and relationship to share their knowledge to family members, educators, and organizations in the most effective and simplest way.

The Family Congress 2012 will be held on August 25, 2012 from 8AM to 5PM at the Valle Verde Country Club, Pasig City. It is presented by The Love Institute in partnership with Galileo Enrichment Learning Program and F.I.D. Event Services.

RATES:

Early bird rates are: P1300 if you register before April 30; P1400 if you register before June 30. Regular rate is P1500 per attendee.

Promo rate: 6+1 (pay for 6, get 1 free based on regular rate).

Registration fee is inclusive of seminar fee, meals, and lots of freebies.
For more information, please call 579-0100, 0917-8972903, 0922-2521896, email familycongress@gmail.com, follow them on twitter.com/FamCong2012 and like facebook.com/FamilyCongress.

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SPEAKERS:
DR. QUEENA N. LEE-CHUA

DR. MA. LOURDES “HONEY” A. CARANDANG,

RISSA SINGSON-KAWPENG

DAN & NABELLE CABALLES

HARRIET HORMILLOSA

MA. ISABEL “Maribel” O. SISON DIONISIO

MICHELE SANTOS-ALIGNAY

AIZA CAPARAS-TABAYOYONG

OBET CABRILLAS

PIA NAZARENO-ACEVEDO

CATHY BABAO-GUBALL

FRANCIS J. KONG

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
Family Congress would like to thank the following sponsors for making the bloggers gathering, “Meet the Family” possible:

Fully Booked
- for co-advocating with us by allowing us to use the venue for FREE.

Bo’s Coffee
Taters
- for providing our snacks and drinks, mana from heaven!

Mommy Mundo
Binalot
- for the generous freebies

Summer in this part of the world is in full swing and I’m sure a lot of children are busy. Whether they are having summer enrichment or summer fun activities, I still see a lot of children “busy” with their gadgets like tablets, hand-held game consoles and smartphones. I’ve heard that ipad accessories are bestsellers these days.

What summer fun activities can parents do to make their children busy with other things than will make their summer vacation worthwhile and fun without exactly paying for these programs?

• arts and crafts. There are a lot of ideas available in the web and these do not just mean buying all those new materials because there is such a thing like recycling crafts
• cooking-related stuff. If your child is interested in cooking and baking, then it would be a good idea to have a young apprentice in the kitchen, right? No need to enrol in “cooking” schools because they can learn this and more within the comforts of their home
• swimming lessons. If you know how to swim well and there’s a pool nearby where you can go, then by no means give this a go.
• entrepreneurship training. Do you have a small business? Does your child show interest in starting his own business? You too can help him and you can both engage in the arts and crafts and cooking-related stuff for business purposes.

Of course, there are centers that offer much more than these activities and it is important to choose well to get your money’s worth.

Remember though, the above suggested activities will foster more family bonding time

Summer vacation is in full swing and once again, our house is like an empty nest with the children spending Holy Week at the grandparents’ homes.

This is that time of the year when we parents think about the tuition fee payment schedule for our children. With three children in school, this is a very big financial responsibility for me and my husband. If only schools have structured settlement payments maybe, a lot of parents will go for that.

I have teased the children that if we can’t afford private school fees anymore, I’d bring them to the nearby public school where students excel and their teachers’ salary grade is high. This means the quality of the school is better than other public schools, I guess. I’d then be free from paying their TF and they can have the school supplies they want. “No can do” is their reply because they love their school so much they didn’t even complain that they just started their summer vacation this week whereas other schools had theirs as early as the second week of March.

It is no joke that some parents would tell their children that their education is perhaps the only legacy they can pass on to them. With sky-high tuition fees, there really is no way the working class/middle class parents can save for something they can give to their children once they pass away. Unlike some super rich families.