Children Archives - Page 15 of 39

10 Apps That Make Parenting Easy

October 31, 2018 by admin

Ah modern technology — definitely the best thing to happen to us humans since the invention of fire and the wheel. Most of the tasks we do today cannot be achieved without the help of automated, smart devices we installed in our home and office. It is so easy to learn about how to repair minor car problems or cook the perfect roast chicken just by making a quick search using our mobiles and ultra-fast Internet connection.

It is meant to improve our lives and become an invaluable resource for information. But it has become increasingly helpful for parents concerned about the health and happiness of their kids. There are tons of apps for anything you can think of, and even more so when it comes to parenting.

If you are a parent, here are some of best parenting apps you can download on your new iPad or smartphone to make life easier.

ChoreMonster

For the parent who finds it difficult to ask kids to do their chores, this is the app for you. You can input the chores you want each child to do daily and keep track of it. They can earn points for each chore they finish, which you can reward depending on how many they go for the week.

Baby Connect

You can organise your baby’s schedule with the doctor, feeding time, and even when you need to put them to sleep using the Baby Connect app. Other than keeping track of the schedule, you can easily share the information saved in the app with their doctor and with your partner.

Cloud Baby Monitor

Cloud Baby Monitor allows you to sync two Apple devices so these can function as a receiver and a transmitter. The transmitter is your baby monitor which gives you a live feed of your baby in the other room. It will not only record videos and sound, but it will also send you motion alerts. If you do not have a device yet, you can get a new iPad or any device from stores like Harvey Norman to help you.

Talkspace

An app that puts the parent first. Talkspace offers mums and dads an avenue to share their struggles with a licensed therapist. Parenting is not a cake walk, and this app will definitely help parents, especially those are experiencing it for the first time, to cope.

Parenthood by Baby Center

This app allows parents to share tips and tricks with each other using an intuitive interface. You can also use this to track milestones and access helpful resources.

Winnie

An alternative to Parenthood is the Winnie app. Other than a forum where parents can talk to each other, you can also use this app to research schools, schedule playdates with other kids in your area, and find activities you can enjoy as a family. Most schools have digitised learning programmes, so if you want to check out that modern set-up, you can definitely use this app to find these schools. Read up on the “BYOD” scheme here.

Life360

As kids get older, it is going to be even more difficult to keep track of their activities and whereabouts. With the Life360, your kids can “check-in” whenever they arrive in places they need to be, you can check the app for constant updates, and you can set-up a Driver Protect if they have just started driving.

Cozi Family Organizer

Just like Life360, this app helps you organise everyone’s schedule by putting all of your activities for the day and syncing it across all of your devices. You can also create a grocery list which everyone in the family can add to before you go to the supermarket.

Photomath

You will never have to worry about your kids Maths homework with the Photomath app. Simply take a picture of their homework and the app will show you step-by-step instructions on how to solve it.

Scholly

Lastly, Scholly is an app that will help parents look for universities and colleges offering scholarships. You can find the scholarship program that fits your child’s talents and see how you can help them apply for it.

Parents, allow these apps to help you organise your house and ensure the needs of each member of the family, including yours, are being taken cared of.

7 Secrets To A Healthy Family Life

August 31, 2018 by admin

Source

Being together with our family should be sacred and comfortable especially after experiencing the stress that is associated with the day to day survival of life. However, being a family involves the coming together of two or more individuals for reasons such as companionship, love, understanding, and procreation. If you have a family, yet you are constantly feeling lonely, then it is time to find ways to bond with your family.

Having examined what a family entails, it’s safe to say the foundation for the secrets of a healthy family life will be discussed this piece. Out of the many secrets towards achieving a healthy family life, here are some of them.

Communicate Effectively

The bedrock of every successful relationship, be it with friends or family is firmly founded on understanding the other person’s peculiarity and constantly interacting or communicating about the interesting, good & bad of every situation.

The power of communication, when it comes to bringing people together should never be underestimated, especially in the quest for healthy family life. Good communication tends to result in a family with one voice if deployed, the differences every member shares is captured under an umbrella, and the greater good of the family is given more preference.

A family that communicates regularly is one that breaks every form of loophole or incursion from an outsider or a third party. Hence any kind of malice is prevented in a family; it’s vital to ensure that from the youngest person to the oldest person in the family, there are easy and constant means of interacting about likes, dislike, pains, worry, aspirations, action plans and the requirement to achieve success in all endeavors.

Eat Together As A Family

Even though everyday stress often barely permits eating together in many families, parental care should be taken to ensure that the whole family sits at table at least once a day to enjoy eating a meal together. In addition to satisfying your hunger, eating together daily is also the family gathering place and an important ritual for having a good time together. Joint meals break down the day and give it structure, which is especially important for children and also, dieting should be avoided.

Exercise Together

Computers, tablets, consoles – it is clear, so many things can keep us static each day. However, we must avoid leading a sedentary life. How do you do that? In the first place, you and your family must be active and make exercise and sports as a family an adventure that really suits them. Start working out in small ways together or you can make fun plans such as skiing or going to the pool, playing football or basketball or simply dancing for a while at home.

On the other hand, collective sports where you make friends and relate to people of your age are also a great idea for them to move without feeling obligated. In addition, this will help prevent obesity Childhood in your children, one of the main concerns of many parents who seek support from medical professionals to combat it. With good medical insurance such as the medicare supplement plan g, you can ensure your family health is well backed up.

Go On Family Retreats

Sometimes referred to as picnic, family retreats are a pivotal aspect of enjoying a healthy life as a family, as this type of relaxed moment usually occurs in a serene environment, free from the everyday hustling and bustling of the larger society or where the family resides. Hence, a family timeout is a good way to re-energize the family ties, depending on the financial strength of a family.

Taking a break for a family retreat at least twice a year helps to ensure the improvement of every aspect of the family; sometimes, the retreat could be for the couple alone, and at other times, it should include the children. It usually depends on the discretion of the family head.

Play Games Together

As every team does, it’s imperative for every family to ensure bonding, as this helps them to foster a relationship of understanding across the board and increase the chances of living in peace. Bonding can be in the form of playing outdoor and indoor games together, whether board games or sports, cooking together or planting trees in the garden.

While bonding doesn’t just happen in every family, it’s important to emphasize that it takes concerted efforts to achieve this feat, due to the difference in personality traits, behavioral shape and physiological makeup of each member of the family. It’s normal for families to experience trials; however, bonding stands out as one of the secrets to overcome such period and avoid unhealthy rivalry within a family.

Show Unconditional Love

An open display of love and affection is non-negotiable in the quest to achieve a family that’s united and unconditional. Love generally carries different meanings, as the love that is shown to siblings, children and parents and other members of the extended family are platonic, while the love displayed towards your better half is erotic or romantically inclined.

It’s important to state that a family where love is non-existent will be chaotic, unbalanced and might possibly not stand the test of time. Therefore, it’s important for every member of the family to ensure that a continuous and equal display of affection is shared amongst all.

Simple ways to show love include saying thank you, hugging someone that is upset and uplifting others with kind words.

Support Each Other

The foundation of a family is founded mostly on supporting each other; nobody can exist in isolation in a family. It’s almost impossible to cohabit as family and not support the cause of other members of the family. Support is a confidence booster from a father to his children or husband to his wife and vice-versa.

Again, showing support could include helping kids with their homework, helping mum prepare a meal, helping out with the laundry and other household chores.

Marrison Family Law – Advice On Helping Your Kids Through Divorce

July 29, 2018 by admin

A divorce can be a tough situation to go through for all parties involved, especially for children. As a parent it is your job to protect your children as best as you can throughout this process and offer them the support that they need to come through it. Many children are scarred for life as the result of a divorce and this can affect both their future behavior and their future relationships. It is impossible to completely shield your children from a divorce, their parents breaking up will naturally affect them, but you can try your best to help them through this process. We spoke with the team at Marrison Family Law who are very experienced in this field, to get their tips on helping your kids through the process.

Talking

Kids will always be able to sense that something is up so it is vital that you are speaking with them regularly about the process. If you keep things under wraps then your children will jump to conclusions, usually worse than the actual truth. Naturally you don’t need to tell your children all of the gory details of a divorce, but they should understand what is happening and why, as well as being updated about the process.

No Insults

Whatever your feelings are about your ex-partner it is vital that you do not talk about this in front of your children. You must remember that your ex is still the father or mother of your children, and it should be up to the kids in the future – once they know the full truth – to make a decision on how they feel. Furthermore, speaking badly about someone will make the children believe that it is ok, and they may start doing the same themselves.

Cordial

Whilst the divorce proceedings are going through, you must stay cordial with your ex partner with regards to the children and allowing them to see the kids. The court will rule as to who gets custody and arrangements about looking after the children, but until then you mustn’t use the kids as pawns, they still need to see their parents. Seeing their parents regularly will also help the kids keep some kind of normality.

Treats

Because of the guilt that many parents feel when going through a divorce, they like to try and treat their kids to days out and presents, which they wouldn’t normally have done. As nice a gesture as this is, it is not a smart way to go about things. Firstly you need to try and keep as much normality in your children’s lives as possible, and secondly the kids can use this as an opportunity to play one parent off the other. You do not need to buy your children, you need to love them and encourage them to be open and honest with you. Both parents must be singing from the same hymn sheet in this regard.

Edgar Gonzalez Anaheim Provides Top 10 Youth Drug Prevention Tips

July 28, 2018 by admin

For Edgar Gonzalez Anaheim is home. He has lived in Orange County all of his life and he has seen its tremendous strengths, but also its tremendous weaknesses. One of the key weaknesses he found is that, in both Anaheim and Santa Ana, there seems to be a real issue with young people who drop out of school and who then turn to drugs and other illicit activities. However, that is when he came across the Who’s Next Boxing Academy, which provides a supportive environment for these young people, introducing them to boxing and baseball as an alternative to drug use. This, in turn, has helped Gonzalez develop top 10 strategies for preventing drug abuse in young people.

Edgar Gonzalez Top 10 Drug Prevention Tips for Youths

Children should still be taught to “just say no”. While some people believe that slogan died with the turn of the Millennium, the reality is that it is just as strong as ever. Children have to remember that it is ok to say no – to drugs, to sex, to violence, to truancy, and so on.
Children should be provided with supportive environments in which they can connect with their peers in a positive manner. Sport is an excellent opportunity for this, as it is structured but also a lot of fun.
Parents and other adults should support their children in taking part in these positive activities as much as they can. They should also have open and honest conversations with their teens.
Children should be encouraged to do what they love and enjoy their lives. They will have an entire adult lifetime of coping with pressure and responsibilities. Now is the time to be young and to have fun, albeit in a safe environment.
Families should instill strong rules and expectations about drug and alcohol use, and those should apply to the adults as well.
Educational outreach should be provided to young people about drugs and alcohol. This should go beyond simply telling kids that drugs are bad, as they already know this. It is about making sure that they truly understand the impact of drug abuse on their life, their health, and their happiness.
Children should be surrounded by positive role models who set good examples. This is why Gonzalez is so supportive of the Who’s Next Boxing Academy, where young people get to train with those who have been there, as well as with peers who are still learning and developing.
Children should be encouraged to plan ahead, which goes back to having open and honest communication. They are likely to go to events where drugs and alcohol will be present and they should have coping strategies in place for those situations.
Children should be empowered to take control by encouraging them to speak up and speak out. They are responsible for their own health and happiness and that is a very powerful thing.
Kids should be given help rather than being abandoned if things do go wrong.

5 Essential Packing Tips when Traveling with Children

June 6, 2018 by admin

How you pack for your next vacation could literally make the difference between a stress-free vacation or a complete nightmare. However, just making one major mistake could make a trip extremely difficult, especially when you don’t have a plan B. In this article, we’re going to give you a few essential packing tips when traveling with children.

Cross Pack

Even though that is something most of us dread and hope never happens, luggage gets lost sometimes. And the only way to be prepared for this kind of situation is to plan properly. If you’re packing essentials, make sure that you pack multiple sets of the same items across various bags. The best luggage sets will give you enough space to do that. Make sure that you put at least an extra set of clothes for your children across two or more bags, in case of emergency.

Keep the Cords and Chargers in the Same Place

If you’ve ever traveled with children, you’ll know how much of a godsend electronic devices can be during a long trip. However, losing or forgetting cords and chargers can be a sure fun-killer. The best thing you could do is buy a small pouch that will be used to store chargers and cords. You’ll find tons of these pouches on the market and they’re usually waterproof, which will keep your electronics safe as well.

Find Apps your Children will be Able to Use Without an Internet Connection

But what good are electronic devices if you cannot find a good Wi-Fi connection? Most apps nowadays require that you have some sort of steady connection you can rely on, but if you’re prepared correctly, you can look for apps ahead of time that you’ll be able to use wherever you are. Games like Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Tetris or Starfall can all be used offline and will keep your kids occupied for hours.

Get yourself a Headphone Splitter

If you don’t want to annoy everybody on the plane by playing your music or videos out loud on your phone or iPad, you can buy a headphone splitter, so you can share the audio. Some splitters allow up to five headphones to be connected, so even if you’re traveling with a small army, you’ll be able to make sure nobody is left out.

Pack a few non-Tech Toys

While electronic devices will go a long way in keeping your children busy, it doesn’t mean that you should be completely reliant on them. Sometimes, the best way to bond on a trip is to disconnect and go for some old fashion family fun. Games like Clue, for instance, are great for the family and they can be enjoyed on the road too. Games and toys like Wikki Stix, Crocodile or coloring books with markers are great alternatives as well.

Conclusion

Now that you have your packing down, you can focus on having a good time with your family. Just remember to use these few simple tips to prevent any issues and make sure everyone enjoys their trip to the fullest.