Family Concerns

Accidents in the home are the primary cause of death in children in America. By taking a few simple precautions, these accidents can be avoided, making your home safe for your child and the kids who visit it.

In your kitchen, you should be sure to fit safety latches on drawers and cabinets. This helps keep them out of the everyday household chemicals you use to clean your house and dishware with, and also keeps them from grabbing sharp objects like scissors or knives from inside the drawers. It is advisable to use the back burners when cooking on the stovetop, and keep the handles of your pots and pans turned out of a curious child’s reach while cooking.

Safety latches should be fitted on drawers and cabinets in your bathrooms too to keep them out of unsafe household cleaning products and medicines. Be sure to unplug any electrical appliance such as a hair dryer or curling iron directly after use and put it out of a child’s reach. Teach them early that water and electricity do not mix and that no electrical appliances of any kind should ever be immersed in or placed under running water. Toilet locks should also be used in homes that have small kids to keep lids down. Young kids are ‘top heavy’ and can easily fall into a toilet if they lean in to play in it. Since a young child can drown in less than just an inch of water, it is important to closely supervise them in the bathroom at all times.

Around your home, be sure to secure furniture such as bookshelves and heavy furniture that could tip easily to the wall using brackets. Use doorknob covers to keep them out of any rooms with potential hazards and to keep them from leaving the house unsupervised. Ensure your window blinds do not have looped cords on them as they can be a strangulation hazard to a young child. And always cover your electrical sockets with protective covers to keep small fingers from them and small objects from being inserted into them.

Check out your home very carefully for any other potential hazards and resolve them at once. With these precautions and some common sense, your home will be your child’s haven.

Potty training is a stage of a child’s development that many parents seem to dread. But it does not have to be.
potty training little boys
toilet training toddlers
tips for potty training boys
These articles offera advice that works equally well whether you need to potty train a little girl or boy.

The world that we live in is really not that safe. Every day more and more crime takes place all over the country. And with the economy in a downward spiral the crime rate is undoubtedly going to rise. What can you do to be safe? Going out and buy a bunch of personal protection tools ? Go take a bunch of self defense classes? Sure all of that will help you, [spin}it is meaningless if you don’t use your mind |but it all means nothing if you don’t use your head[/spin]..

The best self defense comes when you use your head about your personal protection. It is important to make sure you understand the many different things and places that can put you at risk. If you don’t take the time to learn about personal safety than any self defense product you get will not do you any good.

There are many different thinks to learn about to ensure you are out of harms way. The start with assessing you daily routines and pin point places that put you in harm’s way. And everybody has parts of their routine that puts them in danger.
As an example: Let’s say you work for a company that has a large number of employees and a very large parking lot . That right, that is a risk all by itself…allow me to explain. When you have a large parking lot that regularly has many people going in and out, it is easy for a criminal to blend and stay unnoticed until it’s too late. There is where it is very important to make sure you know what to look for.

Keep in mind, when people are in a parking lot they normally are doing one of two things: walking out to their car or walking from their car to the building. Those are normal parking lot behaviors. Every job may be a bit different so you need to pay attention on a daily basis and grow a good understanding of what people normally do in your parking lot. If you do this all the time you will be much more in tune when something is wrong.

If you are walking out to your car, you need to pay attention to the people in the parking lot. This can be accomplished by taking a quick scan of the parking lot ever few seconds. If you notice something that is no right, like someone just standing there by themselves or someone that is going out their way to walk towards you, you need to turn around go back inside and alert someone of the suspect.

This same technique needs to be applied if you normally walk on public streets to get to work, or if you use a parking garage.
If you purchase a self defense weapon you need to make sure you understand how to use it, and that it doesn’t make you any stronger. People have a tendency to think they are untouchable when they own a self defense product such as Oc spray .

As another example, if you Buy mace pepper spray you need to know several things about it. First off, before you buy it you must check your local laws and see if different types of mace pepper spray are legal where you live. Then you need to know what kind of distance the pepper spray is effective at, as well as how effective the brand you purchase is. On top of that you need to know all the little things like to make sure you don’t use it in a enclosed area because it will also hurt you and your attacker.

These are just a few of the guidelines you should use to make sure they are safe. It is very important to make sure you are educated about your personal safety otherwise you will be at risk. So take the time, do some research, and learn as much as you can about self defense and personal safety.

5 Ways to Zap “Mommy Guilt”

I remember, almost 14 years ago, bringing my son Kai home from the hospital. We had borrowed an old car seat from someone we knew. I placed all 6 lbs 14 oz. of him into the car seat and suddenly burst into tears. The car seat was way too big for him. I really felt I had failed him. I mean what kind of mother doesn’t know he needed an infant car seat? The sudden awareness that I didn’t know what I was doing hit me like a ton of bricks. The nurses were gone and I was on my own. From the moment you become pregnant until the day you or your child dies, you try to be the very best mom you can be to your children.

It doesn’t take long, however, before you make mistakes. Parenting doesn’t go as planned. Your children do outrageous things. Accidents happen. Feelings get hurt. Children go down the wrong path. Your marriage struggles. And the feelings of guilt inevitably follow. It doesn’t matter if your children are young or grown; motherhood guilt is always a struggle.

So how can you minimize those pesky, guilty feelings? Here are some helpful tips to help you zap the guilt and enjoy the journey of motherhood.

Stop Comparing Yourself and Your Children to Others

Is Kayla sitting up yet? When did Matthew start walking? My child knows all her colors and the whole alphabet and she’s only two. Comparing our children to other children is an easy trap to fall into. But it is not healthy for our children or us as moms because every child is different. They each have different strengths, weaknesses, developmental patterns and personalities. Let your children be who they are and avoid the comparison game.

Just like you shouldn’t compare your children to other children, the same goes for you. Let go of any need you have to compare yourself to other moms. Todd Parr wrote a great children’s book called “The Mommy Book”. In this book, he talks about how all mommies are different. Some mommies like to cook and some like to order pizza. Some mommies work in tall office buildings and some work at home. I have a friend who is the epitome of June Cleaver. Almost all her meals are home cooked. She makes all her children’s Halloween costumes. She is totally organized and structured with her children’s school work and activities. If I compare myself to her, I am plagued with feelings of guilt. I make Hamburger Helper for my family, purchase all their Halloween costumes and I consistently fail at structure with my kids. But I’m still a great mom, and so is she. It’s okay to be different. As simple as study.

Accept Your Limitations as Well as Your Children’s

You don’t have to be all things to your children and your children don’t have to be all things to you. In other words, it’s okay if you make mistakes. And your children deserve the same grace. One of the things I often struggle with is thinking I need to be my child’s constant playmate. I have to be honest. Sometimes I don’t feel like playing cars or looking at another car magazine. Sure, my child may feel disappointed if I say no, but it doesn’t mean I am not being a good mother. I have my limits and I need to respect them. All moms have limits. When we go over our limits, we usually become irritable and short-tempered. Exceeding our limits can cause a vicious cycle of behaving in a way that makes us feel guilty.

Your children have limitations too. No need to do schools research to understand that. Just because a child has a bad day of misbehavior doesn’t mean you are doing something wrong. While I was on vacation this past week, there were days that my 3-1/2 year old was a little monster. He was in time out constantly. Of course, all the other little children around were perfectly well behaved. At one point, I was exasperated and I asked my aunt, “What is wrong with him?” My aunt reassured me that he is fine - he’s just being a kid. It’s times like this that we often question our parenting. Sometimes I think it’s helpful to just understand that motherhood has its good days and bad days and it has very little to do with our ability to parent our children.

Apologize When You Are Wrong

Let’s face it. Sometimes we blow it. If this ever happens to you, apologize immediately. Our children then learn that we are human and we make mistakes. Children are very forgiving and forgiveness conquers guilt. There is nothing more humbling than being able to admit when we behaved in a way we know is wrong.

Need more help about the family? Maybe it’s time to finding a marriage counselor - don’t get scared, this helps.

If you feel that you at a loss to help your child with their study habits, there is good news. There are tried and true strategies that will help!

1. Create a quiet study area. Begint by determining where the best place is to study and do homework, and then set up a study environment. Be careful about where you decide your child will study because whatever the designated location chosen for the study base is, how a study “headquarters” is set up affects one’s ability to stay focused. Be sure to include a desk and accessories, various study aids, materials, a filing system in place for class materials, and good lighting.

2. Storage repositories are necessary to organize various school materials. These might include: subject accordion-type files or file folders that stand in a cardboard box or portable plastic file container; cardboard cubbyholes for paper supplies; cardboard or plastic shoe boxes in a drawer to stash supplies; tray baskets or bicycle baskets for paper. Use wall shelves, under the bed storage containers, and hanging space on the inside of cupboard and closet doors to add extra storage space.

3. Remove all distractions. Is the study area in a high-volume area? How often are there interruptions from people moving about? Is the TV on? How about the telephone? Try to be free from disturbances and outside noise as best as possible.

4. Set up a disciplined homework routine. Determine when is the best time for studies. What is the time of day when they are at peak performance (mentally most alert)? Part of learning to manage time is to create a routine time of day for studying, at the same time every day.

Parents with Younger Kids:
5. Create an award chart. Devise a clever method to give kids some incentive to do their schoolwork, by rewarding them for completing assignments and achieving good grades.

6. Use tools to motivate and encourage learning. If you can afford to, get a PC. Research shows that kids who master computers will learn faster. There are many fun learning software programs that will stimulate your child’s mind to learn.

7. Make reading fun. Set up “reading time” together to help develop reading habits in your kids. Do this often enough and this will become a good habit.

For the older students:

8. Create a school bulletin board. Draw up a vertical calendar chart on a magnetic and erasable board, just like the ready-made charts for professionals that are available in a variety of formats. This board will break down assignments into component parts with specific tasks involved in the school project. This method will teach your kids to plan. Include time to study for exams on the board.

9. Maintain a daily schedule. Establish daily schedule forms to delegate the amount of time needed for the most important study priorities. Allow for blocks of time for study periods (i.e., math assignment, science paper). Include appointments, errands, and time off in each of your days, as well.

10. Prepare for good study conditions. Determine your best settings for study. Do you study best alone or with friends? With music or quietly? You might find it helpful to set up a study group to improve one’s studies.

11. Take good notes. Organize for class by taking careful notes and organizing them in notebook binders. Outlining a textbook or article helps distinguish the most important facts and points, helping to build up a good understanding of the subject.

12. Establish visuals from reading. A horizontal or vertical timeline will help visualize the chronology and remember the relationship of essential world events. Build a concept tree to help make notes more memorable and present a visual representation of the relationship among several essential facts.

13. Build an indexing system. Design a note card system. This will cut the time it takes to research and organize your term paper. Establish a list of resources by category (magazine articles, encyclopedias, books, newspapers, etc.)

For more home organization tips and advice, check out these articles
declutter home ideas
declutter your home
Organize storage space

One of the more famous and exciting collection of records related to free genealogy search is no doubt that of the Mormon Church, or Christ of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) which can prove to be very useful in obtaining information on genealogy of your family genealogy and that too free of cost. If you are thinking about Mormon genealogy, then searching the Mormon Church for their vast collection of genealogy records using genealogy search engines that are free to use will throw up a lot of useful information, and this is one resource with which you can seek out indexes and which will throw up a vast amount of information that will help you gain insight about your family history.

Visit Familysearch.Com

If you are interested in Mormon genealogy, then the site you need to visit is FamilySearch.com which is their web site and even though it does tend to have a bias to church member’s needs, it is still very helpful when you want to trace your ancestors. In fact, this Mormon genealogy web site is huge and has a lot of detail and is most often used by researchers dedicated to genealogy searches, though members of the public can also use this information as well.

When you visit FamilySearch, the Mormon genealogy search web site, you will find a huge database that provides you information about baptisms as well as marriages that can be obtained from parish registers, and this is made possible using International Genealogical Index which allows you to find out whether your records which you want to search are included in the database or not, and when such is the case, it provides primary source and also reference.

Even otherwise, you can make use of Mormon genealogy without too much trouble since they have Family History Centres in most towns spread all across the United States and which are available for everyone to search through.

And, it is only Mormons that have set store by the vast amount of information that they have gathered related to births, deaths, marriages and such, and the reason why Mormon genealogy is so different is because of their faith that has led them to put in huge effort in keeping track of its members, and given the fact that there are Mormons in all parts of the world, Mormon genealogy takes into account people from every corner of the world, which is why so much resources have been dedicated by Mormons into genealogy projects and which information is available free of cost to everyone.

For lots of parents, organizing your kids to do chores, put things away in proper designated places, be respectful and civil can be a most challenging task. With such frustration, some parents may resort to anger, threats and even name-calling.

Anger might seem to be suitable on occasions, but if a parent falls into a routine pattern of resentment and negativity toward a child’s lack of compliance, it could cause real damage to the child’s self-concept and well being. None of us wants that.

Nothing breeds unwillingness and apathy more than being made to feel accused and inadequate. Think of a time when you were made to feel that way. Did it make you want to improve at all? Of course, it did not.

Create an enthusiastic atmosphere with your children. How do you do that? Get your children excited about rewards they will receive if they clean up their rooms, keep the house tidy and do their chores. Let them know that they are appreciated and how a family is a co-operative unit for the survival of everyone. Bring this across to them in a number of ways. They will feel loved and a valuable member of the family. Teach them to earn their place by being a contributing part of it.

Devise a point system that adds up to an allowance that lets the kids spend their money the way they want to. They love this! This empowers them! If they want that trip to the roller rink or some other new possession that is really important to them, they know getting it will be a direct result of their efforts. This teaches them value for your efforts.

Be encouraging. Do not make them feel poorly if they mess up, but when they do, absolutely, take the reward points away. Let them know there is always next time, and let them know they can do better, but do not sway in your stance. It has to be as real as if they were going to a real job and being paid for their production. The rules agreed to have to be kept, no matter what and they have to know it’s firm but fair. It has to directly affect what they deem to be important to them and in how they are directly affected by it.

Those well-to-do families and their kids have so much – perhaps too much! It’s all there without any effort on their parts, and they don’t have to earn a thing. They just take it all for granted. Make incentives that are particularly important to them and let them learn the lesson that participation equals real reward.

Tasks to earn rewards can change, week by week, and with multiple kids the highest point winner can take the pick of the favorite chores and the lowest point winner gets the ones that are left over. Make it a realistic approach for each child according to age and ability to have their fair chance to win.

Do they have their own reasons and incentive to keep their bedrooms and the play areas clean? Talk it over with them; ask them for instances of how it could be more meaningful for them. Gently guide them to discover for themselves what reasons the clean room, etc. would serve their best needs.

If they want to earn extra points to gain something special or to catch up if behind, make available extra jobs above and beyond the call of duty. This will help them do that, such as taking over one of the parent’s tasks for a time or doing a special project for the home and family.

Bringing up our kids is a really tough job. Even miracles can occur with the right attitude, good communication and good systems! Bring up your child to respect you and to earn their way and you will have a naturally organized household.

For advice on the best ways to go about organizing and de-cluttering a home, check out these articles
declutter home
declutter my house
Organize storage space

25 Meaningful Ideas for Families

This list of tips and advice will help you to preserve piece in your families. More families tips on the way.

1. Go for a holiday treat walk near your home to collect seasonal items that you can use in your holiday decor. If you live near a forest, the obvious choices are pine boughs and pinecones.

2. Make a few handmade holiday cards this year as a family.

3. Make appreciation cards. Replace the annual Christmas letter in your holiday cards with a brief letter of appreciation for the recipient.

4. Create or shop for an ornament that reflects a defining event or sentiment for the year.

5. Enjoy a Family Night with special holiday crafts or games.

6. Start a Christmas-themed puzzle somewhere in your home. A puzzle table, placed in a quiet room is great for holiday visitors. Whenever your guests want to get away from the action, they can retreat to work on the puzzle. This can be a great stress reliever, and it’s wonderful for those guests who always have to be busy doing something.

7. Play special music. What is everyone’s favorite holiday CD? Allow each family member to choose and keep them in the CD changer so everyone’s musical taste is represented.

8. Take a photo of your children standing in a particular spot each year - in front of the tree, by the front door - any place that will be consistent from year to year. Make a special holiday ornament or scrapbook album that depicts the growth and change of your family each year.

9. Research the holiday traditions of your nationality. Adopt a few of these traditions into your annual celebration each year to celebrate your heritage.

10. Ask each child to write a Dear Santa letter. Keep a special record of these letters in an album or treasure box.

11. Create an evening tradition of taking a family walk or drive in your neighborhood to view the holiday lights.

12. Cut snowflakes from wrapping paper, festive holiday advertisements, or last year’s holiday cards, and string them together into a festive garland.

13. Adopt a special cause each year and spend some time as a family helping those in need.

14. What are your favorite holiday memories? Pose the question tonight at the dinner table. Use your family’s answers to plan this year’s celebration.

15. Write down things in your life that you are grateful for. Ask each of your family members to join you in creating their own lists.

16. Bundle up and head outside. Make snow angels or build a snow fort with your kids. When it’s time to warm up, build a cozy fire and roast marshmallows in your living room.

17. What’s your favorite homemade holiday treat? Write down the recipe, and share it with your friends. Encourage them to do the same.

18. Challenge each member of your family to fill a box or bag full of items to give away. Decide as a family where to make a donation.

19. What was the best book you read this year? With whom would you most like to share its message? Purchase a copy for them and drop it off, anonymously.

20. Take your family to a performance of The Nutcracker. Purchase a CD or DVD of the Nutcracker to bring the memories home.

21. The holidays can take their toll. Make a holiday tradition of recharging your own batteries. Gather your daughter and your best friend and head to the day spa for a much deserved pedicure or massage.

22. Reach out to those whom you haven’t seen all year.

23. Keep a “Joy Journal” this holiday season, in which you record the funny things your kids say, joyful times you share, your favorite things to do with your family.

24. Give small and simple gifts (homemade cookies or a small book) to a few of the people who make your everyday life easier, such as the trash collector and postal carrier.

25. Share your family traditions with friends and ask them to tell you about the family traditions that make their holidays sweeter.

For those who are in big problems, think about way to find a marriage counselor, this can help a lot if you know how to make a wise choice of the specialist.

How much will it cost to hire a nanny?

One thing to note is that the location you are in and the type of service that you are requiring will determine the actual cost of a nanny. There isn’t a by hour rate that works for everyone of every skill and need.

Geography is the first thing that will determine the cost of a nanny. The more influential the location or the more costly the living expenses, the more costly it will be in those areas to hire a nanny for your child.

The education and experience of the nanny is the next deciding factor. Naturally, you get what you pay for in these features. If you are looking for someone that is well experienced and has a great resume, you can count on paying more for their services. However, someone new out of school would cost you less.

The pay and benefits of a nanny vary, but we have some guidelines for you to think about.

Beginning nannies that live in your home will range from $250 to $500 per week.

Those that are fully trained and have experience are likely to require a salary that ranges from $450 to well over $1200 per week.

For a nanny that doesn’t live with you, or one that works part time, you can expect rates to be dependant on hours and needs. Part time workers can earn $9 per hour to $25 per hour or more, depending on their qualifications.

Most nannies will require a benefits package too. Remember, they are an employee of yours and those employment benefits should come with working for you.

For live in nannies, it will be necessary to provide them with a private room to live in, usually with a proivate bathroom too. Free room and board is a condition of virtually all live in nanny arrangements.

For time off, the nanny should get a minimum two weeks per year of vacation time. Also, major holidays are usually provided without work. Many families will provide health care insurance to their nannies too.

Sometimes, if the nanny is required to drive the child from place to place, the nanny will also require the use of a car while working.

Another consideration of the nanny and the work that he or she does for you is the work schedule. If you have a live in nanny, you may think that the nanny would be working any time that the child is around. The fact is that a nanny is like any other employee, needs a schedule that is fair and appropriate.

Generally, a nanny will work from 40 to 60 hours. If the nanny is required to work over these hours, the family should provide extra pay, such as overtime or should provide some additional time off later in the week.

Hourly employees will face the same restrictions on hours as the live in or full time nannies. The difference here is that the nanny will likely earn an hourly rate, which in most States have a maximum number of hours per week worked before overtime rates will kick in. You’ll need to check with your State’s Department of Labor website to find this information out.

Again, all of these things need to be taken into account during the hiring process.

Taxes are yet another consideration of the hiring of a nanny. As you are employing them, you will be required to pay taxes for them. This includes Social Security taxes, Federal Income Taxes and any state or local earnings that are required to be paid in your State.

You’ll need to gather this information from your local governmental offices to find out how to register for tax payments and what you will need to actually pay, how much and how often.

The good news is that there are many accounting software products that have built in features that can help you to manage your staff including your nanny services.

When hiring a nanny it is important that they agree how the child is to be cared for. For example if your toddler is about to be potty trained the nany must follow the same routine as you. Other wise, your child will just be confused. Consistency of approach is essential
potty training little boys
potty training boys
toilet training boys
The advice in these articles work just as well whether you are toilet training a little girl or boy.

If you want to catch your spouse cheating then you might have to refer to what some would call dirty tricks. In my opinion there is no such thing because the dirtiest trick of all was them secretly cheating in the first place.

Tricks You Can Use To Catch A Cheating Lover

The dog bait technique

Have a girlfriend of yours that he has not met before call him on his cell phone and pretend she had gotten his number from him a long time ago. Have her talk him into meeting her at a bar. If he agrees to meet the dog bait” at a bar, he has crossed a line but has not committed any serious offense yet. Encourage your girlfriend to try to flirt with him, and see if your beau ends up asking her out on a date. If he bites the bait, then you can conclude that your beau is a dog.

On the day of the date, show up at the appointed place and time and give him the surprise of his life. At this point your beau should have broken into a cold sweat. You have busted him. Be careful when you decide to use this technique, it could ruin a perfectly good relationship especially when your man is not cheating on you.

http://catchspousecheating.terapad.com/

What parent doesn’t want to get their kids to eat all their vegetables and stay away from pizza etc? Unfortunately, it is certainly easier said than done. Zucchini doesn’t stand a chance against golden crispy French fries steaming at the drive up window and cakes and cookies are so much more tempting than an orange.

However, if you start at a very young age, nutrition for kids does not have to be such a challenge as kids will have not experienced anything different. If you want them to amend eating habits later in life, then it will be much more difficult. Here are a few practical tips to make this uphill task a little easier.

Lead By Example
Parents are the number one role models for young kids and while we feel they watch Banrney and Dora all the time, they see what we do even more. Nutrition for kids is easier to focus on if the whole family is eating healthy. For example, if they see you drinking a lot of water as opposed to soda and other stuff, they are more likely to follow suit. Or, if they see Mom making a sandwich on whole wheat bread for herself, then they wouldn’t even ask for the refined, white version.
That means making sure your grocery basket is full of good nutritious foods and snacks.

Eat Together
Even though day planners [pin]seem to be|are getting [/spin]increasingly busy, sitting down and having at least one meal together on a daily basis is a big step in the right direction towards nutrition for kids. Nutritious meals are easier to plan and prepare and serve if everyone is going to eat them as opposed to making everything from scratch for just one or two members of the family.
Try to make these meals a relaxing affair around a table – no TV dinners. It’s an opportunity for everyone to discuss their day.

Get the Children Involved
If nutrition for kids is important to you, get them involved in menu planning, grocery shopping and meal preparation. That way they will feel they have more control over what they eat and if you lay down the right guidelines they just might get into the habit of making healthy choices.
One suggestion that I have found works really well is to try a new ‘color’ vegetable or fruit each week. Make a chart, so if week one is purple, they might try egg plant or purple grapes and if week two is yellow, they may try squash and banana milkshake. In our family we took it a step further. It originally started near Halloween time when I said to the kids that if they tried squash as a vegetable at dinner time I would paint a pumpkin face painting design on their cheeks. After that there was no problem getting the kids to try new fruits or vegetables or new dishes. And, not surprisingly my face painting skills improved too as the kids came up with new designs for me to learn.
You too can learn to face paint - find out more
Face paintings
Face painting ideas
face painting ideas

Think of teaching nutrition to kids as an investment in your family’s health and wellbeing. While you cannot predict or completely prevent anyone from any disease, you can at least do your best. Who knows, your healthy eater may positively influence his or her spouse and another generation where nutrition plays an important role in the family dynamic.