Welcome Guest Blogger Jenny Perkins is an Animal Behavior Specialist and a passionate writer. She loves to write about the nutrition, health, and care of dogs. She aims at providing tips to dog owners that can help them become better pet parents. She writes for the blog Here Pup.

Parenting is a tough job that comes with a massive set of challenges; one of these is teaching your kids essential life skills. As a parent, you need to set the right examples for your kids, but we are human beings and tend to make mistakes. There are times when we may be unconsciously encouraging wrong behaviors in our kid’s that may affect their development.

One such example is not letting your kids participate in any chores or helping them realize what their responsibilities are. What some parents may not recognize is that allowing your kids to do things for themselves enables them to believe in their abilities and helps them develop a sense of responsibility which is imperative for achieving success, both in our personal and professional lives.

So how do we ensure that we raise kids who can become responsible humans and citizens of the world? Well here are six fun tips to teach your kids responsibility and self-efficacy:

Let Your Child Care for Others

The realization of being able to impact another being’s life is a great way to boost your child’s self-esteem. For instance, if you adopt a pet, assign your kids pet-related tasks that they can manage. Start off by assigning them the responsibility of feeding the canine his healthy treats. Take your toddlers along when you take the pup for a walk; ask them to help when you bathe the pooch by handling you the required supplies.

Help your kid understand that a dog is a living creature like humans and has his own physical and emotional needs. This will help them develop life skills such as empathy and kindness.

Also, teach them that they are accountable for their interactions with other humans. If your child hurts their sibling or friends, help them realize the impact of their actions or words. Don’t just force them to apologize, instead help them acknowledge their mistake and find out a way of making up to the person they have hurt.

Let them Clean up Messes

It is essential to help your kids develop the habit of cleaning after themselves. Honestly, we see many adults littering public spaces- and it is all because they don’t realize the responsibility of picking up their own messes. Initially getting them to do so will mean more work for you as your toddler might not do an excellent job but make sure you don’t sound judgmental and praise them for playing their part. As they grow up, hand them their scattered toys or cluttered clothes by telling them that we always clean up ourselves.

Let Your Kids Solve their Problems

Being parents we can’t see our kids stuck in a situation and rush to bail them out. Whether it is figuring out the answer to a sum or making amends with someone, let your child find a way out. You can be available to help, but let them be the problem-solver.  Let them have the opportunity of experiencing a sense of accomplishment after they successfully figure out a solution.

Allow them to Participate and Help Out

Considering the fast-paced lives we lead, it may become challenging to slow down. It’s what’s important to provide your kids the opportunity to contribute and experience new activities. Exposure is crucial for your child’s development. So let them help around even if it means that the job won’t be done with perfection.

Start small by letting your kids help with folding the laundry, setting up the table or assisting you with gardening. Make these chores fun and cheerful and an experience that they look forward to, eventually they will start doing the chores by themselves without needing your assistance at all.

Help them have the Experience of Working for Pay

You can hire your children to do a few tasks that they wouldn’t usually do and enable them to experience how it works in the real world. Encourage your kids to pick up jobs from the neighborhood such as walking the neighbor’s dog or mowing their lawn.

The experience of working and earning through hard work will instill a strong sense of responsibility in your children. They will also achieve a sense of fulfillment when they can spend their own hard-earned money. They will be careful while spending it since they will know what goes into earning it.

Praise and Reward

Encouragement and motivation is the key to success for your kids. Whenever they complete a task successfully or even if they don’t succeed but put in their 100 percent, always appreciate them. Help them realize how things work in the world by rewarding them for a job well done and letting them know that being irresponsible can have consequences.

Don’t be hard on them of course.  Make sure you set an example for your children and find out ways to improve the bond you share with them.

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Sure, you may watch a whole lot of crime drama. Most of us mouth out the words as someone’s being arrested on the television screen: “you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law”. But do you understand what that actually means in legal terms? Would you know what to do if you were wrongfully arrested? Sure, it may seem highly unlikely and perhaps it is. But it’s still a situation that many people find themselves in every day. For this reason, it’s important that you know and understand your legal rights and ensure that that are upheld. Here are a few things that you should be aware of to gain the best possible treatment should you find yourself in a sticky situation with law enforcement.

The Miranda Warning

The Miranda warning is an extended version of the line so commonly stated in soaps, TV dramas and films. In full, it has five parts.

1. “You have the right to remain silent”

This essentially means what it says. You have the right to remain silent. You don’t have to speak if you don’t wish to. You can if you do. This is a right that is essentially irrelevant unless you decide to use it to your advantage. However, bear in mind that remaining silent when questioned on something can indicate guilt. After all, if you have done nothing wrong, what do you have to hide? This, however, cannot be used against you or as evidence.

2. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law”

From the moment of your arrest, anything that you say or do can be used as evidence. Chances are that it will be. You’ve been arrested for a reason and there will be a lawyer out there forming a case against you on behalf of the plaintiff (or individual who has accused you of doing wrong).

3. “You have the right to an attorney”

While you have a legal worker out there fighting against you, you have the right to a criminal defence attorney of your own. This individual’s role will essentially be to fight your corner; to prove your innocence. If you request an attorney, all questioning has to stop until they have arrived and you have consulted with them. If you do wish to have an attorney, state so clearly. Don’t tip toe around the subject with phrases such as “I think I might need an attorney”. Simply state that you do want an attorney and refuse to answer any more questions until one has arrived.

4. “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you”

While you may not be able to choose your own attorney if you don’t have the financial means of paying one, you can still have one assigned to you.

5. “Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

This is where the investigation can continue. Having consulted with your attorney (if you choose to have one) you will be able to answer any further questions comfortably and confidently.

Actually understanding each part of this will ensure that you are as comfortable as possible in the situation and can progress knowing exactly what is going on.

We all care for our loved ones and want to protect them as best as we can from the troubles in life. However, there are some people who aren’t so easily protected. Some people are driven to or trapped by self-destructive behaviors. Substance dependency, activity dependency, and self-harm can be harder to fight against that a disease of external injury. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t help those facing struggles with such behavior. Here, we’ll look at what you can do not just for your loved one but for yourself.

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Get educated

When you’re faced with something as unknown and scary as substance abuse or self-harm, it’s easy to react to it with hostility. However, someone who is suffering doesn’t need you to bring the fire and brimstone approach. Be flexible, open, be non-confrontational. This way of helping them open up about their illness is a lot more likely to be persuasive. As are the facts. Be aware of the dangers of their self-destructive behavior and be honest about them. Get educated on the signs that they’re struggling with or partaking in whatever behavior they’re addicted to, as well. It can be particularly helpful if they are in denial about the risks.

Know the role you might be playing

If you’re particularly close to the person, then you have to come to the conclusion that you might play some role in their addiction or illness. Not just because your relationship might contribute to certain emotional health issues they’re dealing with. A lot of people tend to be enablers without noticing it. Enabling comes in all shapes and sizes. Lending money to someone with substance abuse issues or a gambling addiction. Lying to cover up for their issues. Making excuses for them or helping them rationalize their behavior. Enabling a self-destructive person allows them to continue down their path without any sense of repercussion.

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Finding help

In most cases, the help of a professional is going to be necessary. But that step is one of the hardest ones that someone with self-destructive tendencies can take. By getting informed with them, you can make sure they’re not alone in taking that step. For instance, you can go with them to a doctor’s’ appointment if they’re nervous or scared to ask questions initially. You can also research different treatments on offer. If there’s an addiction treatment center near you, you can read more about their center and see how exactly they tackle the issue. There is going to be a time when you have to take a step back and let the professionals do their work without you, too.

Helping them stay on the right path

When your loved one commits to “getting clean” and cutting their destructive tendencies from their life, that doesn’t mean it’s over yet. Particularly in cases of addiction, you are dealing with compulsions that will always be a part of their makeup throughout the rest of their life. But you can be there to serve as another influencing voice towards the right direction. For instance, you can play a role in helping them stay accountable. You can also see if they’ve learned any of their triggers and play a role in helping them stay away from them. If someone with alcohol abuse issues knows that big parties are a trigger for them, for instance, you can be there to remind them of that when they get tempted.

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Don’t try to take it all on yourself

You can help someone with problematic behaviors. However, it’s important to be aware that you can’t fix them. Staying on a more positive life-track is an effort that has to be made for life, it’s not a disease that gets cured with a few months of therapy or a stay in a recovery center. When you’re helping them, you should also be aware of the potential toll it’s taking on yourself. With addiction, self-harm, and emotional health issues like depression, it can be tough. You have to try and be patient and realistic, but you also must set limits on how much of yourself you give to their recovery. Otherwise, you can be heading down an unhealthy path of co-dependence yourself.

When it comes to mental illness and self-destructive behavior, compassion is always more effective than condemnation. But you have to watch for the boundaries of self-sacrifice or enable, neither of which help anyone in the end. Every step you can take in giving help or seeking it with them is a step in the right direction. It can feel like a long fight, even life-long, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth fighting.

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Think about the milestones in your child’s life. There’s a pretty good chance that there’s one that springs to mind more than any other: their first word. Of all of the different firsts in a child’s life, the first word by far the most significant for many parents. This is because it begins a lifelong journey of communication for your child that you will support them in for the next several years. After the first word, many parents become fixated on helping their child communicate as effectively as possible. Which can make it incredibly difficult for many parents if they find that their child is unable or unwilling to communicate for any reason. If can bring about a lot of fears about their child’s development as well as calling their own abilities as a parent into question. However, it’s important to understand that all children develop differently and that there’s likely nothing to worry about. But if you’re truly worried about your child’s communication skills, here are a few things that you should think about when supporting them.

Other languages

Even if your child can speak fluently in their native language, learning a new one can be difficult. It’s often much easier for young children to learn languages but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t pose challenges for them. If you have moved to an English speaking country and your child has no experience with the language, then t can be a very frightening and discouraging experience for them. You should check out this guide for advice on how you can support your child’s learning and help them break through the language barrier so that they can get back to living their life happily and communicating with people effectively.

Engage their interests

Of course, sometimes the issue is not that your child can’t communicate, but rather that they don’t. Perhaps they are incredibly shy or simply don’t like to speak to people. This can be incredibly worrying for a lot of parents because it brings up a lot of fears about how well their child will succeed in the future. The best way to get these kinds of kids to communicate more is to engage with their interests in some way. If you can find something that they really enjoy or are excited about, then you’re going to be much more likely to get them to talk to you openly. Once they are used to talking about things passionately and openly, they’re probably going to end up feeling more confident when it comes to communication in general.

Be patient
Dealing with a child who is unable to communicate can be incredibly frustrating. However, it’s important to remember that they are probably just as frustrated as you are, if not more. Try to be as patient as possible with them. If you’re getting angry or annoyed with them, then that’s just going to make them even less likely to want to communicate. Have patience and be willing to working with them at their own pace, never pushing them beyond what they’re comfortable with.

Have you ever felt that creeping feeling of insecurity literally crawl up your body? It gives you the shakes, it makes you feel like you want to run as fast and as far as you can. It makes you feel like adrenaline is coursing its way through your body and the come down from this is horrible sometimes. Now, picture that in a child.

Children are curious. They’re sensitive and need reassuring that the world is on their side, that you as a parent are on their side. Children are sensitive to the world around them and they recognize when they are feeling anxious. Anxiety is not just for adults – contrary to popular belief. Children may not look like they have a care in the world, but inside they can be very insecure. This sometimes presents itself as a sensitivity to light or sounds and sometimes, when the anxieties get too much, violence can present itself. Children cope with anxiety in a different way to adults, and understanding how to support a child who is suffering with anxiety attacks can sometimes be difficult.

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When you are a parent, you can feel helpless. Finding the funds for extra support for a child who is more sensitive to the world than others can be hard, and as anxiety is not a visible disability, it’s often dismissed as something to ‘get over’. Unfortunately, just like with adults, children cannot just ‘get over’ anxiety. Consulting an attorney with mydisabilityattorney.com to discuss options and getting help with funds to support your child is sometimes your only option. It’s also an option you absolutely should pursue. Your child deserves just as much support as any neuro-typical individual and it’s up to you to fight for it.

Supporting a child who is anxious is not easy, but it’s something that you adapt to. It’s never the goal to eliminate the anxiety or the fear that a child is feeling, but to help them understand it, manage it and sometimes overcome it. If there are certain situations that make your child anxious, the worst possible thing you could do is avoid it. Instead, prepare them for what’s ahead. If crowded places that have a lot of noise makes them feel worried, noise cancelling headphones and a distraction technique can help. Get rid of the noise in the room with the headphones and add a colouring book and crayons to centre their focus. There’s nothing worse than having to face a fear but children are far more resilient than adults are and therefore are able to overcome their anxieties faster.

Positivity is the central theme to managing an anxious child. Small footsteps toward little goals is the best way forward in your family, and making your child feel secure and happy is the ultimate goal. It’s always important to make sure your child feels validated; that they understand how they feel is not a bad thing. They need to feel empowered and happy in their day to day life and it’s up to you to make that happen for them.

Have you ever felt that creeping feeling of insecurity literally crawl up your body? It gives you the shakes, it makes you feel like you want to run as fast and as far as you can. It makes you feel like adrenaline is coursing its way through your body and the come down from this is horrible sometimes. Now, picture that in a child.

Children are curious. They’re sensitive and need reassuring that the world is on their side, that you as a parent are on their side. Children are sensitive to the world around them and they recognize when they are feeling anxious. Anxiety is not just for adults – contrary to popular belief. Children may not look like they have a care in the world, but inside they can be very insecure. This sometimes presents itself as a sensitivity to light or sounds and sometimes, when the anxieties get too much, violence can present itself. Children cope with anxiety in a different way to adults, and understanding how to support a child who is suffering with anxiety attacks can sometimes be difficult.

Image Source

When you are a parent, you can feel helpless. Finding the funds for extra support for a child who is more sensitive to the world than others can be hard, and as anxiety is not a visible disability, it’s often dismissed as something to ‘get over’. Unfortunately, just like with adults, children cannot just ‘get over’ anxiety. Consulting an attorney with mydisabilityattorney.com to discuss options and getting help with funds to support your child is sometimes your only option. It’s also an option you absolutely should pursue. Your child deserves just as much support as any neuro-typical individual and it’s up to you to fight for it.

Supporting a child who is anxious is not easy, but it’s something that you adapt to. It’s never the goal to eliminate the anxiety or the fear that a child is feeling, but to help them understand it, manage it and sometimes overcome it. If there are certain situations that make your child anxious, the worst possible thing you could do is avoid it. Instead, prepare them for what’s ahead. If crowded places that have a lot of noise makes them feel worried, noise cancelling headphones and a distraction technique can help. Get rid of the noise in the room with the headphones and add a colouring book and crayons to centre their focus. There’s nothing worse than having to face a fear but children are far more resilient than adults are and therefore are able to overcome their anxieties faster.

Positivity is the central theme to managing an anxious child. Small footsteps toward little goals is the best way forward in your family, and making your child feel secure and happy is the ultimate goal. It’s always important to make sure your child feels validated; that they understand how they feel is not a bad thing. They need to feel empowered and happy in their day to day life and it’s up to you to make that happen for them.

It’s hardly an extreme statement to say that, from time to time, life can get pretty stressful. This is true for just about every adult, but if you’re a working parent, then things can get just plain ridiculous. The amount of pressure that people are under these days is frankly ridiculous. We’re all expected to be the best at everything and deal with every single problem with the kind of calm resolve normally reserved for Buddhist monks. Of course, there are always going to be some situations that are more stressful than others, and it’s worth knowing how to handle some of the most difficult, and most common ones. With that in mind, here is some advice for surviving some of the life’s most stressful situations.

School children get a behind the badge experience during a visit to Walsall police station.
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Trouble at school
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We all like to think of our kids as perfect angels who can do no wrong, but sadly that’s not the case. In reality, as wonderful as they may be, kids will always be kids, and that means they’re going to mess up from time to time. The problem is when that spills over into the kind of situation where you are called into their school. Whether it’s their behavior in class, their attitude towards teachers or the way they interact with other children, there are plenty of ways that kids can get themselves in trouble. Of course, you can’t control what they do when you’re not around, so the best that you can do is to talk to them and try to understand what’s causing them to act out. It might be frustration at the class, a feeling of being picked on by the teacher, or simply that they are too easily distracted by certain other children. By discussing these things with your kids, you can help them to develop better methods of dealing with things like that.

Losing your job
There are few things that throw a spanner in the works of your day-to-day life than losing your job. Getting fired can pretty much turn your world upside down as well as being the cause of a lot of worry and anxiety. The first thing you should do is to make sure that your employer actually had the right to fire you at all. For too often employers are able to get away with unfairly firing employees. https://www.warriorsforjustice.com/ are dedicated to helping people seek justice against employers for unfair dismissal and can help you a lot. Then the most important thing is to try and find something new as quickly as possible.

Angry twenty something couple yelling at each other

Relationship troubles
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Problems in your relationship can have a serious impact on the rest of your life. The emotions that they cause can bleed out into everything else that you do. Communication is the key here. If you’re bottling things up, then that’s only going to make things worse. Make sure that you and your partner can talk through any problems that you might be having. You might find that it’s something as simple as work and family commitments stopping you from spending time together. Or it might be something more serious. Either way, you’re never going to know unless you talk to each other.

It’s always a tricky one for parents when it comes to bedtime. After all, children want to stay up and watch television. Therefore, it can be a challenge to get them to head to the land of nod. And while it’s important to ensure they have little food and drink, it can still be hard to find ways to get your child to have some proper shut-eye. But without sleep, they can be a right terror the next day. You might not realize that their lack of sleep could be down to things in your home. Therefore, here are a few top things in the house which could be affecting your child’s sleep, and what to do about it.

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The amount of dust

It’s so important that you clean your kid’s bedroom regularly. Otherwise, dust might build up in the room. And your kid could end up coughing in the night and struggle to get to sleep. And if they suffer from allergies, they are going to feel even worse when it comes to bedtime. Therefore, you need to ensure you give the room a good clean at least every week. Remember to go for places such as under the bed where a lot of dust builds up. That way, you can ensure your child gets plenty of sleep in your home.

The temperature in your home

You might not realize that a lot of the time our sleep is affected by the temperature. If it’s too hot or too cold in the house, it can see your child struggling to sleep at night. Therefore, you need to make sure you set the temperature to a medium heat before bed. And then make sure you don’t pile on their bed sheets. That way, they can take them off in the night if they get too cold. If your heating isn’t working properly, it’s worth looking into getting a new boiler for the sake of your kid’s sleep. You can find a heating and A/C company to come out and fit one which will allow you to maintain the heat properly. And remember that you can always get a thermometer for your kid’s room. That way, you can check it and adjust the temp as necessary in the bedroom!

Too much light in the bedroom

Light also has a significant effect on people’s sleeping habits. Our brain can use it as a signal to wake up meaning you will struggle to get to sleep at night. Therefore, it’s worth considering changing your kid’s bedroom light. If they struggle to sleep without some form of light, you might want to go for a small night light rather than leaving the hallway light glaring into their room. Or you could go for dimmers in their bedroom. That way, they can have them on low, and you can turn them off once they have gone to bed.

And you also need to know that the decor in your kid’s room could be affecting their sleep. If it’s something too bright such as a yellow, it could cause them to struggle to sleep. Therefore, go for a calming blue or green to ensure they have some proper shut-eye.