7 Things Your Kids Need From You to be Happy

One of the best quotes ever for parents to keep top of mind comes from John Lennon, who said:

When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn't understand the assignment and I told them they didn't understand life.

In the hustle of childhood it’s easy to get lost in all the pressures to get good grades, make the soccer team, and hang out with the “cool” kids.

It’s easy to lose focus on what we really want for our kids, which is for them to be happy.

And while certainly that’s their goal too, they aren’t able to understand what it takes, or what it really means, like we are. 

For some kids, getting the “A” is what it takes, for others it’s having the right group of friends ask them to go to the movies, and often it’s about making the right sports team.

And for most kids, it’s about having the latest iPhone, Xbox, or $300 pair of Yeezys.

As parents, our common sense and experience tell us that none of this is what happiness is all about. And not surprisingly, research supports the idea that it’s the intangibles that will truly result in happy kids, and adults.

So put down your wallet, take a breath if your child brings home a “C,” and try giving her these 10 things if your end goal is happiness.

1. Your Happiness

This is probably the most important of all, and most overlooked thing that will make your child happy.

Kids take so many clues from us that we don’t even realize. And if you’re not happy, your child’s chances of being happy are slim.

So don’t think of self-care as a selfish thing that should be last on your list, behind meeting the needs of your kids.

Your self-care is one of the biggest needs your child has. Get yourself happy, and his happiness will follow.  

2. Your Time

The good news here is that the amount of time parents spend with their kids is actually increasing, although the latest numbers appear to come from 2002, and one has to wonder what our ever-increasing obsession with technology is currently doing to those numbers.

Even if we assume the best, the latest research shows parents spending between 60 and 104 minutes a day with their kids, on average.

This is not a number to be proud of.

Schedule time with your kids the same as you would schedule any other meeting or appointment, and then actually do things with them.

Play board games, wrestle, go for a walk, read a book, clean out a closet together. Whatever it is, be conscious about dedicating time for shared experiences and open communication.

3. Your Honesty

There’s two parts to this one. Kids need you to be honest with them in an age-appropriate way, and they need to see you living honestly.

First, being honest with your kids. This means answering the uncomfortable questions they ask, and giving them critical feedback when appropriate. 

Learning how to take criticism and use it for good is a skill. 

It’s your job to teach your child that criticism and correction don’t mean he’s bad or a failure. They’re opportunities for growth and they prepare him for the real world and keep him from being crushed when hurtful criticism comes from a colleague, friend, or boss.

The second part of this one, living honestly, requires that you think before you lie in front of your kids. 

As adults, we know it’s okay to lie sometimes. It’s even best to lie sometimes.

But kids don’t have the ability to separate a good lie from a bad one. So when they hear you on the phone cancelling a commitment because you’re “sick” and they know you aren’t, it sends the wrong message. 

Of course as they get older, they need to learn when a lie to protect someone’s feelings is the best option, for example, but be conscious about lying in front of your kids, and take time to teach them the value of a “white lie” as they get older.

4. Your Encouragement

Praise your child’s effort, not her ability.

It’s easy to praise the winning team or an “A” performance, but that’s not when your child needs praise and encouragement.

She needs it when she’s trying and failing, or maybe when she’s afraid to try at all, or falls just short of a goal.

Your words will make the difference in whether she learns to always get back up in life, or to stay down when she falls, and will do wonders for shaping her self-confidence.

5. Your Optimism 

There’s a reason we’ve all heard the glass half full analogy. And it’s because it’s true.

Research supports the idea that those who look at life as though the glass were half full rather than half empty are happier.

This is another one to be conscious of. Many of us have fallen into negative thought patterns, especially when we’re going through challenging times.

When you’re making comments to or in the presence of your child are you focusing on the negative, on what could go wrong, on how hard life is?

Or are you optimistic, looking for the gift in every situation, and verbalizing what could go right?

Remember, your kids are listening and mimicking you.

6. Your Control

Sometimes in a misguided attempt to make our kids happy, we let them do things we know we probably shouldn’t do. And we justify it with “reasons.”

But ultimately, this isn’t going to make your kids happier. They need you to be the bad guy, to make the decisions their still-growing brains can’t make.

You’re not doing them any favors by letting them stay up all night every weekend. They’d be able to enjoy the hours they were awake over the weekend much more if they were well-rested.

And perhaps most importantly, no matter how many hours a day their friends spend in front of a screen, and despite the fact that Xbox is the best and cheapest babysitter you’ve ever had, you’ve got to control how much time your kids play video games, watch TV, and do whatever it is they do on their phones.

Kids with less screen time are happier kids, which should be a matter of common sense, but there is research to back it up if you need it.

7. Your Positive Relationships

We’re back again to you being a positive role model for your kids, which is a common theme when it comes to their happiness.

One thing that most all of the research on happiness shows is that it’s relationships, not stuff, that make people happy.

It’s important that you give your child the gift of knowing how to build good relationships. And the way you do this is by letting her watch you have loving, respectful, trusting relationships with others.

Whether it’s a spouse, partner, friend, or work colleague is irrelevant. The important thing is for your kids to see you having positive relationships, and to hear you talking about the benefits and joys of those relationships. 

What it Really Takes

It’s not that hard to make your kids happy. It doesn’t require a lot of money, or even a lot of time.

What it does take is the right attitude in your own life, a little planning, and the willingness to be conscious of the things you do and say not only to your kids, but any time they’re in your presence.

If you’ve gotten value from this post, make sure to join Kids Party Characters on Facebook for daily updates on the magic we bring to children’s parties, as well as our best tips for working from home and raising happy and healthy kids.

And if you want to make your child extra-happy on his birthday, head over to KidsPartyCharacters.com and book your next party with us. With over 250 costumes to choose from, as well as all the kids’ favorites like cotton candy, face painting, balloon twisting, and bouncy castles, we’ve got the perfect party for your birthday boy or girl.

The Easiest Way to Grow Your Business Fast

One of our biggest focuses at Kids Party Characters is on helping people.

Our mission is to help kids have the party of their dreams that creates a lifetime of memories.

Kids Party Characters owner Cheryl Jacobs has also developed a mission to help moms who want to work from home so they can be home for their kids.

If you think about it, as humans we all need help from day one, when we can't eat, bathe, or go to the bathroom without help.

We learn how to talk with the help of others, through listening and imitating.

We learn reading, writing, math, and all other knowledge we use to pursue a career with the help of others.

When we get a job, we're trained by someone with experience at that job.

Even as adults, when we want to learn a new skill or hobby, we sign up for a class so someone can help us learn.

When our car breaks down, the heater goes out, or our hair starts hanging in our face, we seek help from a mechanic, HVAC specialist, and beautician.

Hopefully you're getting the picture.

From the time we're born and throughout our entire lives, we're seeking and receiving help from others every single day.

The Entrepreneurial Curse

What's the point?

For some reason, when it comes to starting and growing a business, people are reluctant to ask for help.

It could be fear of failure or looking "stupid;" it could be not knowing who to ask or even what to ask. Without a doubt, you have to be careful, as there's a lot of bad information out there coming from people just trying to take your money.

One of the big reasons people likely don't ask for help is because they're entrepreneurs, and by nature, those with the entrepreneurial spirit are independent, do things differently than most others, and see asking for help as a sign of weakness.

But something Cheryl -- and every successful entrepreneur -- learned on the journey is that the more you ask for help, the bigger and better your business can be.

That's right. The easiest way to grow your business isn't learning some new Google trick or discovering a new source of traffic, it's asking a successful entrepreneur for help, so that you can model her success.

And all these examples of how we easily seek and accept help on a daily basis are intended to remind you how easy it is to ask for help, and how essential it is to living our everyday lives.

We're Here to Help

So today we're going to make it super easy for you to ask for help starting and growing a profitable work from home business.

Cheryl Jacobs has a valuable, no-cost opportunity for you to either stop struggling and start growing a real work from home business even if you're currently at zero, or to finally learn what it's really like to grow a business from scratch if you've always wanted to do it but something's been holding you back.

Cheryl's offering a free call where you can pick her brain -- the brain that's had a hand in starting 10 different businesses -- and where she'll listen to your situation and help you navigate starting your own business from scratch.

Whether it's just been an idea in the back of your mind, or something you've actively pursued without the success you anticipated, now's the time to get it out of your head and make successful business ownership a reality for you.

And Cheryl's offering you her help, which is the most valuable tool you'll ever have when it comes to business growth.

People tend to dismiss "free" things as being worth exactly what you pay for them.  Don't make that mistake here.

Cheryl's offering a limited number of free calls because she knows what it's like to be in your shoes, she's been blessed to have worked her way into being a successful entrepreneur, and she has a passion for giving back.

Schedule your call with Cheryl right here and take your biggest and wisest step towards becoming a successful entrepreneur today.

Be sure to connect with Kids Party Characters on Facebook too, where we share daily updates on working from home and raising happy and healthy kids.

Tony Robbins - My Experience at Date w Destiny

What Does Every Business Need Most? [Your Response Requested!]

Today we have a favor to ask of you, our loyal Kids Party Characters clients and supporters.

Quite simply, we want to know what we can do to make our services even more appealing to you.

Here's a little story about why this is so important to us, and how much we'd appreciate you chiming in.

There's a famous copywriter by the name of Gary Halbert who originally told this story, and it's one every business owner needs to be reminded of now and then.

Gary gave his students this hypothetical. If both you and I owned a hamburger stand and we wanted to have a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you want to have to make sure you won the contest?

Answers varied from the best meat, to the best buns, the best location, and the lowest prices.

While all of these things would certainly help your hamburger stand stay in business, Gary's response was that the single advantage he would seek is a starving crowd.

Why? Because you can have the best of everything in your business, but if no one's "hungry" for it, you won't stay in business despite having quality products and services.

What does this have to do with you and Kids Party Characters?

Well, we know we have a hungry crowd here. Kids love characters and they love celebrating their birthdays in a big way.

And, our child's birthday is a pretty big deal for us as a parent too, which means we're willing to splurge a little to throw the "perfect" party for our child.

And while we know we have many kids' favorites like cotton candy, face painting, balloon twisting, and our new bouncy castles, we'd love to know what else you're hungry for when it comes to delivering the perfect birthday party for your kids.

So whether you're a past client, or just a supporter of Kids Party Characters, it really would mean the world to us if you'd take a minute to let us know what else we could offer in our party packages that would make your child's party experience better for her, for you, and for the guests.

No product or service suggestion is too small, too big, or too crazy. If it's something that would make a Kids Party Characters party more appealing to you, we want to hear it!

You can leave a comment on the blog if that's easiest, or send us a message on Facebook. Either way, we'll be sure to respond.

We're looking to be even bigger and better in 2019, with more locations, and more products and services. Thanks so much for helping us reach those goals with your input!

Is Kids Party Characters the Right Business for You?

The first full week of the new year is upon us. The kids are back in school and it’s time for us to get back into the swing of what’s “normal.”

And if you’re one of the many of us, or likely most of us, who’ve decided we’d like to change our “normal,” then today’s the day to get rolling.

The sooner you start taking even the smallest consistent steps towards that goal, the more likely you are to stick to it. 

If one of those things on your “list” or in the back of your mind has been starting your own business, the team at Kids Party Characters is rooting for you to take the plunge now.

As a supporter of Kids Party Characters, you’ve probably heard at least some of owner Cheryl Jacobs’ story about how life-changing business ownership has been for her.

Hopefully, you’re not in as difficult of a position as she was when she started as a single mom who needed a way to feed her kids.

But what if your own business gave you the peace of mind to be able to put all of your bills on autopay and never even think about them?

Or took the stress off your partner or spouse to provide for all the extras the kids wanted?

Or maybe even allowed you to take a money-is-no-object vacation to a destination on your bucket list?

The beauty of your own business is that what it can bring you is only limited by your willingness to work at it and patience to build it up.

As you’ve probably heard, Cheryl has created a unique opportunity with Kids Party Characters especially designed for moms who want to work from home.

Membership in Kids Party Characters gives you your own business with an exclusive territory in which to book parties, as well as access to our 200+ costumes and all of the other tools that Cheryl’s used to build a successful business.

Best of all, you’ll also get detailed training from Cheryl on how to start and run your business in a way that will give you the best chance for the quickest success.

But, as with any business, this opportunity isn’t right for everyone. 

Is it a good fit for you? Today we’ll take a look at five characteristics of the perfect Kids Party Characters business owner.

1. You Love Kids

Well of course you love kids. Chances are strong that you’re a mom who stays home with her kids, or wishes she did.

And that’s what makes Kids Party Characters such a great fit for many people right out of the box.

You don’t have to be passionate about the business you’re in, but it sure makes life a lot more fun if you are. So why not start a business around something you love?

Unfortunately though, there are a few more requirements before you declare yourself a good fit, so read on.

2. You Enjoy Working With People Over the Phone

We’ve entered into an age where no one actually talks on the phone anymore it seems.

We all have these $1000 devices called cell phones but they’re used primarily for texting, social media, playing games, and as a GPS.

In your Kids Party Characters business, you’ll need to get on the phone with your clients and help them figure out what the best party package is for them, get clear on exactly what they want to make their child’s party a dream come true, and follow up before the party to make sure everything’s good to go.

The nice thing is, you don’t have to worry about a little kid noise in the background. Your customers will actually love the fact that you’re just like them!

3. You Have an Attention to Detail

As you know, kids’ birthday parties are a big deal. Your child wants everything “just so” at her party, and you’re laying out a significant amount of money to make her special day special.

So it’s no surprise that it’s important to get everything just as the client’s ordered it when you’re in charge of providing the party entertainment.

If you have the ability to follow a system that captures and keeps all the various party details written down, with special attention to any specific requests to add that special touch to a party, you’ve met another requirement.  

4. You Like Building Relationships

The easiest way to build a successful business with Kids Party Characters is through referrals and repeat business. 

It’s one of the greatest things about our business, it literally sells itself.

All the invited guests at your parties go home with treat bags that have your card in them. So if 10 kids came to the party, you have 10 new “leads” — or 10 kids telling their moms how cool the party was and asking if they can have a party like that too.

Because we have so many characters to choose from, as well as other party favorites, your clients will keep coming back for next year’s party, as well as for siblings’ parties.

What this means for you is that you have to enjoy building relationships with other moms so they’ll provide positive feedback about working with you.

This isn’t the kind of business where you anonymously sit behind the computer and take orders. 

The more personally helpful you are and the more you connect with your clients, the more business you’ll develop.

Again, the nice thing is that you’re connecting with like-minded moms here, so the relationships come pretty naturally.

5. You’re Willing to Do the Work

Finally, it’s kind of a bummer that this has to be said, but there are a good number of people out there looking for “internet riches.” So any time we talk about working from home, it’s important to realize this still is a real business.

Which means there’s no magic button, get rich quick, $10,000 in 30 days tricks going on.

How fast your business grows depends on how much work you do. 

Some people just want a little extra cash, some want a six-figure business. The potential’s there for both with Kids Party Characters, as long as you do the work, whether that means 5 hours a week, 15 hours a week, or 40 hours a week. You decide, then you show up and do the work.

Next Steps

So how’d you do?

If you have these five characteristics, it’s time to dive in and get a real look at what having your own Kids Party Characters business would be like. 

Don’t be nervous, no commitment is required, and remember, Cheryl Jacobs is undoubtedly a lot like you! 

So book a no-pressure chat with Cheryl right here and let her help you decide whether Kids Party Characters is a good fit for you. 

It’s not her purpose to sell you on something, she only wants to work with people who are a good fit and who have the potential to grow a successful business.

Grab your spot with Cheryl today, now, and let’s get your new year off to an exciting new start.

And if you aren’t connected with us on Facebook, take a minute to join Kids Party Characters there for daily updates on our magical parties, working from home, and raising happy and healthy kids.

Unpacking School Lunches: Should You Bring or Buy?

When it comes to school, there’s so much to think about. From social relationships, to grades, to having the right clothes to wear and taking the right classes as your kids get older.

What your kids eat at school can easily get pushed onto the back burner because either that’s the school’s problem, or you hurriedly throw together what you have in the pantry each morning.

Making sure your children are eating well and are reasonably full at school is something that deserves a little attention and some planning, for a couple of reasons.

First, the school day is pretty long, and we all know how cranky kids can get when they’re hungry, which for many of them is all the time, when they’re home at least. 

If they’re hungry throughout the day, it can affect their mood as well as their ability to pay attention in class.

Second, what your child eats can also affect her emotions, behavior, and attention span. This one depends somewhat on the child, but generally for everyone, a high sugar lunch can cause a crash by the end of the day. Artificial flavors and dyes can cause behavior problems and make your child restless and inattentive.

Fact is, what your child eats at school plays a big part in setting her up for success in all the other things that are important throughout the day.

When considering whether you should stick with the lunch offered by the school, or pack your own, there are four basic questions to take into account.

1. What’s on the Menu at School?

An obvious place to start is looking at the school lunch menu. Most all schools are now required to follow some nutrition standards, but you still might find your idea of nutrition differs from what's offered.

Also, as kids get older, they're offered more choices. And while many high schools have a salad bar as a daily option, will your child opt for that over a prepackaged, processed choice that's clearly not what you'd want her eating?

For the younger kids, some schools allow you to have control and limit your child's purchases of snacks and less desirable choices. 

If the menu does seem acceptable and the choices are either limited or you have confidence in your child's ability to make good choices, also consider whether the school consistently serves things your kids actually want to eat, and whether the portions are big enough to fill him up (because they often aren't).

One option is supplementing school lunch by sending a snack along that your child can eat at lunch, or another time if allowed.

2. What’s the “Cool” Thing to Do?

While this certainly doesn't matter to you, your child might see the decision to bring her lunch as either a "cool" or "uncool" thing to do. 

And yes, this should factor into your decision at least to some extent. 

The older your child gets, the more social pressures she'll likely feel at school, as you may well remember. There are enough of them that are beyond your control, and hers.

Whether she brings her lunch or buys it at school is something you can control, so if it's a big deal to her, try to accommodate her wishes here. There'll be plenty of other times you can teach her how it's actually "cool" to be different.

3. What’s the Cost Difference?

While the price of school lunches is certainly less than we could eat out for, it's almost always more expensive than what you can get by with if you prepared lunch every day. 

This won't necessarily be true however, if you're buying a lot of prepackaged single items to make lunch prep go quick. 

Yes, it's easier to buy single-serve bags of chips for lunch, but it's about three times more expensive than buying one big bag and putting some in your own smaller bag each day.

Whether cost is a big consideration for you will depend at least in part on your own financial circumstances, but if you can make a bigger lunch that is more filling and do it for half the cost of the school lunch, think about how that could add up and the things your family would rather do with that extra money.

4. What’s the Most Convenient Option?

Finally, reality requires that we look at what's most convenient for the busy mom. 

Sure, growing all your own food and preparing a fresh lunch for your child each day may earn you the supermom label but really, who has time for that?

There's a lot to be said for doing what works best for your family and results in the least amount of stress and greatest amount of satisfaction when it comes to what your kids eat at school.

So maybe it is more expensive to buy your lunch, or maybe the choices aren't always what your child would pick, but the craziness of trying to get everybody out the door with a better lunch in hand may cause you to choose buying as the best option anyway.

Most schools publish the lunch menu for the entire month, so sitting down and making a calendar of which days he'll buy and which days he'll bring is another option.

As with so many things when it comes to parenting, there's no right answer here. 

But, it is worth doing your research, looking at all your options, and discussing it with your child so he can best get what he needs in his body to have a more successful day.

Connect With Kids Party Characters

Hopefully these questions have made you take a fresh look at the options your child has for school lunch and whether you’re doing what best serves him considering his age and school lunch program.

The good thing is, once you’ve worked through this, you can establish a routine that doesn’t require any daily debate or extra effort on your part. 

If you’ve found some value in this article, make sure to join us on Facebook to keep up with our daily updates that include our best tips and strategies for raising happy and healthy kids.

And when it’s time to party, head over to KidsPartyCharacters.com where we have over 200 characters for your child to choose from as his special party guest.

We also have all the kids’ favorite activities, such as balloon twisting, face painting, cotton candy, and our new bouncy castles.

3 Tips for a Happy Start to Your New Year

The parties are over, friends and relatives have gone home, and the festive holiday songs have gone back into hiding until next year. 

It’s back to reality, which can be a bit unsettling, as we’ve become rather fond of throwing out the “it’s the holidays” excuse. 

Not only is the excuse gone, we’re left with self-expectations, societal-expectations — or both — to “do better” this year. 

For some that means specific goals, while others make a weaker vow to lose weight, eat better, or earn more money in 2019.

However you approach it, we’re all looking for a fresh start in at least one area of our lives. 

And when we don’t charge out of the gate winning the race in the first few days, the temptation to give up is strong.

It’s no mystery why only 8-12% of people who make new year goals reach them, and everyone else is pretty much out by the end of January. 

The biggest reason is the pressure and expectations we put on ourselves. We think we have to jump out of bed on January 2nd, and hit the streets running a marathon.

But that’s not how life works. 

To run a marathon you’re going to get up, eat something good for you, mentally prepare yourself, put on the proper clothing and shoes, stretch and warm up, get in your car and drive to the race. 

It’s obvious that you wouldn’t skip any of these steps.

And the key to a happy, rather than stressful and disappointing, start to the new year is likewise to prepare yourself properly for the year to come by setting a solid foundation.

Today we’re going to talk about three often overlooked pieces of that foundation.

1. Focus on One Goal With a Big Why

Even if your written list isn’t long, you’ve likely got a lot of internal expectations for “doing better.” 

A key reason for failure is no one can become a new person overnight. 

Pick one goal to start focusing on today, and make sure you have it written down.

How do you know which goal to choose?

Choose one that has a big “why” behind it. 

If you want to lose weight because you know it’s what your spouse wants, that’s going to be a tough one. Goals that are someone else’s wishes for us never work out too well.

If you want to lose weight because you know it will improve your health, the energy you have to be with your kids, and your life expectancy, that’s likely a big internal “why” for you.

The bigger your “why” behind a goal, the harder it will be for you to give the goal up, even if you fail at first.

You don’t have to just put away the other goals entirely for now, but developing the new habits required for weight loss will be your top priority.

And remember, as you’re developing new habits in one area, they will transfer over to better habits in other areas too. 

So while your focus is just on one goal, you may be surprised to find yourself unconsciously making progress in the other areas too.

2. Go Easy on Yourself

It’s January 2 and you woke up and instinctively ate a cinnamon roll for breakfast?

Maybe you should just scrap that weight loss goal right here and now. It’s depressing and no one expects you to keep your new year’s resolutions anyway.

Millions of people across the world will resolve to lose weight and fail, so at least you’ll be in good company.

Instead of rationalizing your early failures and why it doesn’t matter anyway, take a breath and go easy on yourself.

Remember your breakfast habits weren’t developed in a day and they won’t change in a day. 

Resolve to be firm yet gentle with yourself, knowing that every second of every day won’t be perfect and that it’s okay.

Remember your why, and know that you can get back to it at your next meal and by planning now for tomorrow’s breakfast. 

3. Put Your Family on the Same Team

Going it alone is hard. And even if you have a friend or accountability buddy, without buy-in from your family it’s often going to feel like you’re swimming upstream.

If you haven’t done any new year planning with your family, it’s not too late.

Yes, your kids might roll their eyes at first, but they will thank you (secretly or out loud) by year’s end. 

Have everyone make goals and choose at least one to make public to the family. 

Talk about how the family can best support each person in their chosen goal. Make sure everyone understands this isn’t about harassing and belittling each other. 

Setbacks will happen, and you’ll need encouragement and accountability during those times. 

One of the biggest rules is that you’re all on the same team. When one person wins, everyone wins. When one person struggles, we all step up to help get the team back on top.

The importance of having this shared vision within your family is huge, so don’t dismiss it at something that “won’t work” with your spouse or son or daughter. Make it work.

And when it comes to your business goals, remember Kids Party Characters is always on your team. Owner Cheryl Jacobs is passionate about helping stay at home moms start their dream business, and helping moms who work outside the home become work at home moms.

Cheryl’s created a unique opportunity for membership in Kids Party Characters that gets you started with your very own business that includes an exclusive territory in which to book parties, and the right to use our 200+ costumes and all the other tools Cheryl has used to grow a six-figure business.

You’ll even get step-by-step instruction from Cheryl on how to set your business up the right way to get into profit as quickly as possible.

If this might be the right opportunity for you, schedule a chat with Cheryl right here and she’ll answer all your questions and help you figure out the right path for your life.

Want to learn more about Kids Party Characters? Join us on Facebook for daily updates on how we make children’s parties magical, as well as our best work from home strategies for busy moms.