Holiday Guide 2012

Holiday Shopping: Spending Limits For Kids’ Presents?

How much is too much to spend on children and teens? We want to hear your thoughts, Emmaus Patch!

As the holiday shopping season goes into full swing, some people are maxing out their credit cards to pay for presents and others are setting budgets and sticking with them. Scour just about any Facebook stream or stop in a local coffee shop and chances are you’ll hear parents debating the merits of setting spending limits. Or, you'll hear them lamenting about just how much they've already spent. The ideas for a perfect limit do seem to vary rather greatly. Some parents say $100 per child is more than enough. Others tend to lean toward much more generous figures. After all, there’s nothing like seeing a child’s eyes light up as they unwrap gift after gift. And that’s what we want to hear from you about, Lower Macungie Patch! Do you set …

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Moms Talk

Should Children be Allowed to Tan?

Children are banned from tanning booths in New Jersey and California. Should Pennsylvania follow suit?

Moms Talk is a weekly feature on all Lehigh Valley Patches in which local parents, caregivers and other members of the community are invited to share opinions and advice on parenting topics. This week’s Moms Talk question relates to tanning. Here’s what we want to know: Should children be allowed to tan? The issue of children tanning gained a poster child when a New Jersey mom brought her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning bed. According to published reports, the woman, now known as the “Tanning Mom,” was brought into the limelight by the girl’s teacher who was concerned about the child’s sunburn. She heard her the girl telling her classmates that she "went tanning with Mommy." Now, the Mom is banned from tanning beds in New Jersey, …

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How Do You Deal With a Child Who Just Won't Stay in Bed?

Night after night you put your pre-schooler to bed in his or her room and morning after morning you wake up with a tiny knee in your back or an elbow in your nose.

Moms Talk is a weekly feature on all Lehigh Valley Patches in which local parents, caregivers and other members of the community are invited to share opinions and advice on parenting issues. This week’s Moms Talk topic relates to pre-schoolers who won’t (or don’t) sleep in their own beds: What’s your advice for getting a child who wakes up every night and migrates to a parents’ (or siblings’) bed to stay put until morning? Join the conversation. Each week our Moms Council members discuss these and other issues. Our Moms Council members include:  If you would like to become a part of the Moms Council and/or have ideas for future Moms Talk questions, please email jennifer.marangos@patch.com.

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Kids on Leashes: What Do You Think?

We’ve all seen parents walking down the street or through the mall with their kids attached to some sort of tether.

Moms Talk is a weekly feature on all Lehigh Valley Patches in which local parents, caregivers and other members of the community are invited to share opinions and advice on parenting issues. This week’s Moms Talk topic relates to tethering children: How do you feel about using some sort of tether to maintain control of children while walking? Join the conversation. Each week our Moms Council members discuss these and other issues. Our Moms Council members include:  If you would like to become a part of the Moms Council and/or have ideas for future Moms Talk questions, please email jennifer.marangos@patch.com.

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How Do You Talk to Kids About 9/11?

Footage and photos from that day will likely be highly visible all week as we mark 10 years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Moms Talk is a weekly feature on all Lehigh Valley Patches in which local parents, caregivers and other members of the community are invited to share opinions and advice on parenting issues. This week’s Moms Talk topic relates to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001: With the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks a week away, it’s likely that youngsters – many of whom weren’t even born on that ill-fated day – will be exposed to disturbing decade-old images on TV, in the newspaper or maybe even at school. Questions will likely will follow, coming from kids who aren’t yet old enough to understand the indelible mark that Sept. 11, 2001 left on the United States and countries around the world. How do you talk to children about the …

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Jennifer Marangos

9:44 am on Monday, September 12, 2011

@Jennifer Elston, we ended up telling him the truth, as simply as we could. We focused on the heroes of the day. The courage of the first responders who went into NY without thought to do what they could to make the horror less horrible. We wound up adding to the conversation throughout the day, as our son is also an avid radio listener and B104 was airing audio from 9/11 throughout the day on …   more ›

Macungie Mission Team Goes Global for Former Alburtis Resident

A group of local volunteers recently returned after spending time at a children’s home in Guatemala run by former Alburtis resident Dave Reichard.

Editor's Note: Some readers may find this story's photos to be strong and/or graphic in nature. They may not be appropriate for younger readers. For some, distance means nothing when it comes to helping a neighbor. A group of volunteers from Macungie and the surrounding areas recently trekked 2,000 miles to Guatemala on behalf of Field of Harvest Missions, a nonprofit organization sponsored by Macungie Christian Community and Harvest Fellowship in Boyertown. The group has been leading missions groups into Guatemala to evangelize and work with underprivileged children for the past eight years. Headed by Rich Leister, founder of Field of Harvest Missions, the group of teenagers set out on June 17 for a two-part, month-long journey that …

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Camelot Prom Enchants Local Teens

Everyone enjoyed the evening.

June 10 was Prom Night at Camelot House, and the teens from all over the Lehigh Valley celebrated in real style. Located at 2354 W. Emmaus Avenue in Allentown, Camelot is a gathering place for seriously, chronically, terminally ill and disabled children and their families.  All activities and services enjoyed by Camelot kids are absolutely free of charge.

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