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Before the summer is over, and before your children go back to school, why not make the most of these long summer evenings before autumn sets in and everything changes again?

After all, your kids aren’t at school until September, and you might have downtime away from work, so now is a good time to find more ways to bond and have outdoor fun with your kids, before life returns to its usual routine.

Here are just a few of our ideas.P

Play Board Games Outside

When did you last play a board game with your kids? Many of us don’t take the opportunity, mainly because of the lure of the many screens that have taken over our lives. Therefore, why not get out onto your decking or set up a table on your garden, and bring out your old favorites such as Monopoly and Clue, or purchase one of the latest board games to entertain your family. Top your evening off with snacks and lemonade, and this might be something that you return to after getting back into the habit of playing together. 

Go for a Nature Walk

Do you live near an area of scenic beauty? If so, take the opportunity to go for an evening walk with your children, and point out anything of interest, from flowers to wildlife, to encourage awareness of the natural world around them. Take a ball or a frisbee too, and play together if you find an open space. And rather than returning home for your evening meal or supper, you might want to take a picnic with you, as you will then have more time to spend outdoors surrounded by beauty.

Watch a movie outdoors

Why spend time indoors watching your TV when you might be able to do it outdoors? If there is a drive-in movie theatre near you, take your kids along if there is a movie suitable for family viewing. If not, you could have a movie night in your very own garden. It’s easier to set up than you think, as all you need is a projector, a screen (a white blanket will do) and some kind of media player. Check out this handy set-up guide for more information. Arm yourselves with popcorn and drinks, and settle down with your favorite films. Of course, you will need to be respectful of any nearby neighbors so you might want to keep the sound down. Alternatively, invite them along, especially if you are already friendly with them.

Camp Under the Stars

It’s probably too warm to sleep indoors anyway! So, if you have a tent, set it up in your garden and enjoy the (slightly) cooler air. You might want to set up a campfire too, giving you the opportunity to stay warm should the temperatures drop, and the opportunity to toast some marshmallows while telling each other funny or scary stories. Check out these campfire games too; guaranteed ways to keep you all entertained before you finally hit your sleeping bags and head into dreamland.

We hope these ideas were useful, but think about what you might do together as a family. It would be a shame to miss out on bonding time with your kids because once school and work start again, your time will probably be limited. Make the most of these long summer evenings then, and create memories that will last a lifetime.

There’s no job in the world more challenging than raising a child. Although being a parent is incredibly rewarding, there’s no doubt that this is a 24-hour occupation that can leave you feeling exhausted. Whether you’re a new mommy, or you’re a seasoned pro with older kids, it’s crucial to find the time to relax and recharge your batteries. Here are some simple ways to chill out and enjoy some well-deserved ‘me time.’

Exercise

If you’re tired and you can’t remember the last time you had a decent night’s sleep, the last thing you might want to do is put your body through its paces. While going for a run or hitting the gym may not be top of your list of things to do, exercise offers a raft of benefits for moms on the go. Physical activity is proven to lower levels of stress, it makes you feel great, and it’s a wonderful way to enjoy time alone or to socialize if you fancy going to a class. You might feel like you’re low on energy going into a session or when you start out on a jog, but after training, you’ll feel energized and refreshed. If you don’t feel like pushing yourself in a HIIT session or going full throttle on a spin bike, choose an activity that will help you to feel peaceful and calm, for example, yoga, swimming or Pilates. Exercise triggers a natural high, and it’s also a brilliant natural remedy for insomnia. 

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Meditation

Meditation is an ancient practice, which has been used to refocus and clear the mind for centuries. The aim is to transport your mind to a place where you feel completely relaxed and at ease. If you’re stressed out, you feel frazzled, or you haven’t had a moment to yourself all day, taking 5 minutes to embrace the peace and enjoy some downtime could get you back on track. If you’re new to meditation, you can attend guided sessions or simply download apps to listen to on your phone or tablet. Meditation is something you can do anywhere, and you can call upon it as and when you desire. 

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Creative activities

Most people think of creative activities as fun hobbies, but they offer a lot more. Scientific research suggests that pastimes such as writing, painting, drawing and doing arts and crafts can make you feel happier, reduce stress and anxiety and increase your brainpower. If you enjoy being creative, but your hobbies have taken a back seat since your kids arrived on the scene, devote a little time every week to exercising your creative talents. Dust off your pencils, invest in some new supplies for painting and check out the range of Graphic 45 products online if you enjoy making cards for birthdays and special occasions. It’s fun to do creative activities with kids, but it’s also hugely beneficial to have some time alone to enjoy pastimes that you love. 

Image via https://kaboompics.com/photo/10914/a-woman-paints-with-watercolors

Hanging out with friends

Human beings are sociable creatures by nature, and the vast majority of us feel better when we have interaction with family and friends. If your reunions have turned into playdates over the years, and you usually spend your time running around after kids or catching up on how the children are doing when you see your friends, take time to arrange some adult-only meetings. Make dinner reservations, catch up properly over lunch or arrange to meet up for a yoga class or a leisurely walk on the beach. Spend time with people who make you feel good. As you get older, and your priorities change, you might find that your circle becomes smaller and you focus on true friends that are there for you through thick and thin. 

Picture credit https://www.flickr.com/photos/wickenden/3259826856

Run a bath

When you’re a mom, there may only be a very small window of opportunity to enjoy peace and quiet and take a moment to rest. If you can’t leave the house, and you’ve only got 15 minutes until you have to resume parenting responsibilities, run a bubble bath, light a candle, and kick back and relax. 

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Being a mom can be hard work, and rest periods are few and far between. When you’re on the go all the time, and you feel like you don’t have time to yourself, it’s essential to schedule in breaks to enable you to recover and protect your wellbeing. Exercise as much as you can, spend time with friends, be creative, and ask friends and family members to help you out so that you can enjoy some downtime.

Because surely they shouldn’t be, right? It shouldn’t be far too expensive for someone to be able to put a roof over their child’s head, and to make sure there’s always food in the cupboards! But for some families out there, that is the unfortunate case, and it’s something a lot of people are finding ways to work around and save some money for.

It can be expensive to clothe your child, and it can be expensive to keep them entertained, and it can even be expensive just to give them a bath in the evenings. After all, all that water is going to add up on the bill, and our budgets can stretch quite thin as a result.

In the interest of making sure you know where your money is going, as a parent, and that you know what areas of your budget might need some tweaking every now and then, here’s a couple of the main reasons families are expensive to care for.

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You Have a Car to Run

Cars are one of the most expensive thing a modern family can own, seeing as you’ve got to pay to put it on the road in the form of both insurance to cover you and fuel to  put in the engine. And that’s after you’ve forked out for the car model itself, either from a second hand dealer or maybe you treated yourself and bought as brand new as you could off of the market!

But all in all, the car you own is going to be one of the main reasons it’s expensive to care for your family. You need the car to make sure everyone gets out of the house as soon as possible in the mornings, and that the kids can get to school well before you need to be at work. And even when sites such as https://cheapautoinsurance.co can be found out there, it’s hard to find an insurance policy that really favors you in the long run!

You Have More Rooms to Heat

The more family members you have, the more space you’re going to need in your home. And when you need more space, you’re going to need more money in the bank to warm those spaces up. No one likes to be sitting and shivering in a cold room day after day, and as a parent, you’d never want one of your children to feel cold when they’re meant to be cozy at home.

And the heating bill is the bane of most families out there – over $2000 per month goes towards utilities, and the heat in your house can be the majority factor! The bill can even get astronomical in the winter, especially now they’re getting colder and colder. Even in the summer it could be kicking in whilst you’re asleep, and you don’t get to turn it off until you’re awake again.

Running a household is going to be expensive, but definitely so when you have a family!

Do you ever stop to think about the trajectory we as a nation, as a species and as a planet find ourselves on? We live in a time of political and economic instability. An age where we seem defined by our divisions. The digital realm and social media, constructs that should unite us, can easily become an echo chamber of hate and discord. On top of all this, we can no longer bury our heads in the sand when it comes to the impact our actions have on the world around us. The late Stephen Hawking  posited that unless we stopped taking our planet for granted, we would render it uninhabitable within 100 years. What’s more, according to the UN, unless we take drastic steps to undo the climate change we have brought about the damage will be completely irreversible in just 11 years locking us on a course that will lead to our inevitable extinction. All while the leader of the free world refuses to acknowledge that climate change is even a thing.

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It’s enough to make one wonder what sort of world our kids will inherit. What will the world look like by the time they bring their children into it? And what can we do to ensure that our kids inherit a brighter future.

To a certain extent we do what we’ve always done. We love, we educate and we nurture. We lead by example and do what we can to make the whole family happy. Here are some great ways in which we can all ensure our kids inherit a better world than the one we currently occupy.

Teach them the importance of eating their fruit and veggies

We in the developed world are addicted to processed and prepackaged foods, and it’s killing us and the planet. Processed foods have a far, far bigger carbon footprint than fresh fruit and veggies and require more energy, water and resources to make. What’s more, our over reliance on meat, fish and dairy products is killing the planet.

Evidence suggests that one of the best ways to take care of our bodies and our planet is to eat more fresh fruit, veggies, grains and pulses… And less of everything else. Animal agriculture has a carbon footprint that dwarfs the entire transportation industry’s and is the world’s leading cause not just of pollution but of species extinction, animal habitat loss and ocean “dead zones”. What’s more, a diet that’s comprised of mostly (or entirely) plant based foods is linked to a reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, some cancers and inflammatory conditions from arthritis to multiple sclerosis.

In an age where childhood obesity is reaching epidemic proportions, one of the most meaningful ways in which we can help our kids is by educating them about what goes on their plates.

Remind them how lucky they are

We all want our kids to lead charmed lives. But privilege is a double edged sword. When we grow up in a bubble of privilege we can take it for granted and this can make us less aware and understanding of the plight of others.

As such, we owe it to our kids to remind them how lucky we and they are. Volunteer with them at a local homeless shelter or women’s refuge. Ask your church if they can help with any community outreach programs. Encourage them to invite their friends over for dinner or encourage them to donate a toy to a children’s charity at Christmas or on their birthday.

The more kids are aware of how lucky they are the more they’re likely to be kind and charitable to others… And if we all raise our kids to be kind and charitable they can work together to create a more generous and less self-serving world.

Teach them sustainable good habits

In an age where our natural resources are dwindling, we can all gain from adopting more sustainable behaviors. As we already discussed, eating more veggies and fruits is a great start, but there are many other good sustainable habits which they can learn as children and carry into adult life. For example;

• Eschewing single use plastics
• Attaching solar panels to the roof of the home and even the shed. This will help create a more sustainable future while also reducing energy bills.
• Buy more fresh food and less pre packaged and processed foods to reduce landfill waste.
• Install faucet aerators and low flow shower heads to reduce water waste.
• Reuse and repurpose rather than throwing away or recycling.
• Give old clothes to charity rather than throwing them in the trash. Textile waste is a huge problem for the environment.

Image by Family Treasures via Flickr

Teach them the value (and importance) of money

The economic future is uncertain. Who knows what your kids will pay for a quart of milk when they grow up, much less what they can expect to buy a home for. As such, teaching them good financial habits is every bit as important as teaching them good sustainability habits.

Kids are never too young to start learning about money. One of the easiest ways you can start to do this is by using real cash money when you take them out with you to the store. It’s hard for kids to comprehend the value of money when a wave of a card over a scanner is all it takes to facilitate a transaction. Get them used to the look and feel of real bills and coins. This will demystify money for them and this is the first step to mastering it.

Get them used to the concept of saving. By all means give them an allowance but incentivize them to do something more meaningful with it than spending it all on candy the first chance they get. If you offer to match what they set aside in order to save up for the things they really want this is a great way to teach them the value of savings and being disciplined with their money.

Teach them to respect and listen to others, even if they don’t always agree

Finally, if we’re to see the sun rise over a harmonious and happy tomorrow, it’s more important that we teach our kids to listen to, respect and value others. As our interactions with others take place through the digital lens of social media, people can really let their ugly sides show when they feel that they have no face-to-face accountability.

If we raise our kids to be polite attentive and respectful in the digital world and real world. They’re sure to form happier, more productive and more meaningful relations with others.

If we all do our part, what a wonderful world we could help create!

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That title was designed to draw your attention, and hopefully it did. Of course, we do not for one second mean to imply your children are ferocious creatures, causing damage and trouble wherever they go. But, almost any parent will chuckle and give a wide smile when the topic of how energetic their children can be comes up. Children do not mean to do it. Sometimes, their energetic outbursts in playing with one another, playing with our pets, or perhaps being a little messy can sometimes impact your home in one way or another.

Of course, that’s completely fine. It might irritate us from time to time if a wine glass is knocked off a table, if something breaks or if despite your warnings, they still manage to hurt themselves. But they’re just children. They’re learning, and so being overly harsh about this is simply a waste of good time you could spend as a family. That, and protecting your home from the worst of this ‘onslaught,’ in order to help your home flourish. Of course, protecting your children from your home is something you have experience with already, so let us fill in the missing flipside:

Address Carpet Stains Quickly

Carpet stains can happen for various reasons. Your child might run in from the garden after splashing in a puddle, only to leave that trail across your white carpeting. They might knock over food, smear cookie chocolate chips into the ground while watching television, or of course the famous one, decide that the floor is now their new canvas for their wall-and-floor drawings. Despite the positive possibility that you have a young Michaelangelo on your hands, it’s not hard to see how this is frustrating. But the longer stains are left, the more they can be added to, and the dirtier your home becomes. This is why using Green Dog Chem-Dry VA Beach solutions can help you address those stains quickly, with a deeper, fundamental cleaning solution.

Child Gates

Toddlers and young children have a natural inclination to explore. It’s not hard to see why this might be the case – they are quite literally learning how to be a new human in a new environment. For that, we will forgive them. But it might lead them to explore beyond the boundaries of their bedroom, perhaps with toys, perhaps to access certain areas of your home such as your makeup box, or the bathroom to dump shampoo all over the floor. Of course, keeping an eye on your child is the number one effort you need, but child gates can also be very important to utilize. Not only will these help you gate access from one room to another, but protect them from falling down or climbing up the stairs.

Be Careful With Food

A child eating on the sofa, let’s say jam-on-toast, can quite easily stain the fabric or leave crumbs all over the place. An open cup of orange juice can easily fall to floor. Be careful with food, only allow it in certain rooms or at the dinner table. This way, you can ensure the home stays as tidy as it can.

With this advice, we hope you’ll be able to spend less time tidying and cleaning, and more time bonding with your family.

Photo by Shitota Yuri on Unsplash

When you have children their health and safety immediately becomes your first priority. Whether it’s protecting them from catching a cold or ensuring they have strong mental health as they’re growing up, you’ll want to do anything you can to ensure they’re safe. Although you may not have thought it, one of the main things you’ll need to look after whilst they’re younger is their ears. Not only do they connect to their throat and other aspects of their health, but it also means that they reduce the risk of needing hearing aids as they grow older. With that in mind, here are 5 warning signs to look out for with your little one’s ears:

They’re Struggling To Hear You

If you think your child is struggling to hear you or anyone else, you may want to get their hearing checked out. Hearing problems are not uncommon in young children so getting them checked out as soon as you possibly can is the best thing you can do. A doctor will be able to tell you whether or not they are hard of hearing, or whether they are just choosing not to listen to you. For tips and tricks when it comes to testing your child’s hearing at home, you can visit this site here.

They’re Saying They’re In Pain

If your child is telling you they are in pain with their ears, getting them checked out couldn’t hurt. Although the chances are it’s probably just an ear infection, it could be something much more serious. The first thing you should do if they seem to be in pain is to book an appointment, after all, it’s safe to be sorry.

They’re Constantly Touching Their Ears

If your child is young and unable to tell you that they’re in pain, you may notice that they’re constantly touching or playing with their ears. Whether it’s putting their finger in it to try and dull the pain or touching them to signal they’re hurting, this is definitely something you need to be keeping an eye on. As they can’t directly tell you that they’re in pain, this will be the easiest way for them to communicate with you.

They Say They Can Hearing A Ringing

Another common sign of earache or hearing problems is a constant ringing in their ears. Whether it’s a sign they’re losing their hearing or they are in pain, tinnitus is not something that should be taken lightly. If you notice they’re experiencing it more often than not, make sure you’re booking an appointment with your doctor as soon as you possibly can. It could be nothing, but you never know. For a guide to tinnitus relief, you can visit this site here.

They Are Behind When It Comes To Speach And Development

Another sign your child is struggling with their hearing is that they are behind when it comes to their speech and development. Whilst this is probably something you will notice over time, it’s definitely something you should get checked out. If there is a reason for concern, you may find your child is offered extra help at school. If there’s nothing to be worried about, your doctor will be there to reassure you.

Do you look after your children’s ears? What warning signs do you need to look out for? Let me know in the comments section below.

As a parent, one of the many, many, things that you might have worried about is being a good role model for your children. We want the best for them, but we also want them to be everything that they can be, and it’s important to recognize that they learn much more than what they are taught. You might teach your children to count, to tie their shoes, to use the toilet and to eat with excellent table manners. Teach them to be polite and courteous and to respect other people. You could teach them to listen, and how to read and write.

But, they’ll learn a lot more. They’re watching you all of the time, taking it all in, even when you think they’re paying no attention. Everything you do as a parent is being learned from. So, it’s important that you become a great role model. Here are some things that you can do, to help your children form positive relationships and be an all-around fantastic human.

Learn

When kids think about learning, they think of school. This will be positive for some, but not for others. As a parent, it’s vital that you show them that you are never too old to learn. That you teach them that knowledge is a great thing, and one of the few things that you can never have too much of. Do this by learning every day.

Go back to school to study an education ma online, read with them, ask them to teach you things, ask about their days at school and don’t be scared to admit that you don’t know something. Let them see that sometimes adults don’t have the answers, but they go out and find them when they need to.

Exercise

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After a love of learning, a love of exercise is one of the most important things to instil in your children. Exercise keeps us fit and healthy, and it should be something that’s done outside of PE lessons at school. Take them out for walks, run around the park with them, let them see you going swimming or to the gym and don’t ever complain about it. Show them that exercise can be fun.

Embrace Your Body

Most of us are at least some of the time critical of some parts of our body, and few of us consider how this is affecting our child. When they look at you, they see their wonderful and beautiful mommy, regardless of what you think of yourself. Every time you complain about your weight or how you look or deny yourself something because of a diet, they take it in. You’re teaching them to aspire to an unattainable perfection.

By all means, eat healthily, diet and exercise. Even make plans to change your body. But, do it positively. Teach your children to love and respect themselves. Show them how to eat a balanced diet and have a healthy relationship with food.

Love Your Friends

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Relationships are hard. If you stick with friendships that make you unhappy or stay in abusive relationships, what are you teaching your child? That it’s ok, or even normal to be treated that way. Cut negativity, and love those that love you and make you feel great. Be a good friend, be positive and supportive and make sure you get the same back.

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Staying attentive is one of the golden goals of most mothers, but one of the hardest to achieve. After all, there are many, many things trying to steal your attention over the course of a day. Staying strong and only focusing on that which matters could be considered one of the most important things to do, but one that takes the most practice. There is almost no caring mother who doesn’t find herself busy, busy, busy on a daily basis, and so ensuring that you’re able to stay as attentive as possible could be considered one of your first and foremost important priorities to achieve against this.

There are many ways to do this. We have compiled a list of four very important methods, and you can add more at your leisure. However, mastering these four will stand you in wonderful stead, and surely add even more competency to how wonderful you already are as a mother.

Watch

To be more observant, you of course need to watch your child. There are many things that can present itself to you if you place your effort here. For example, how well is your child socializing? Could it be that their unwillingness to listen is simply because they are nervous, a very young child, the other child has been too aggressive, or that a physical ear health issue might be preventing them from hearing the other child at all? Never be sure to jump to conclusions, but certainly be aware of the issues and symptoms that might occur as a result of this happening. Watching your child in a range of solo and group play scenarios can help here, as well as observing how they react to small things, such as certain foods or bathtime. This can certainly help you understand if things are fine, or if you need to take further action.

Regular Checkups

It’s law for you to have your child attend checkups regularly, but sometimes even more of this can be worthwhile. For example, ensuring your child is brought to the opticians to gauge eye health and the necessity for glasses is important. If your child reacts badly to certain foods you might have found an allergy, and this will need some careful planning to factor around. You will only know if any of these issues will matter if you speak to the professionals, but you can also refer to approved books with educational and referral based informational perspectives.

Talking

Sometimes, your child will try to express to you issues they are facing. This might be in broken speech as they learn to talk, or through physical expression. It could be a simple recurring issue they bring up. Talking to your child in whatever way you can will often lend you more insight into how they feel than many other circumstances. Sometimes, not expressing can be as powerful as talking. If they are routinely quiet as a stone before entering their swimming class for example, they might be feeling intense fear and will need some gentle encouragement to help them through. Communicating with your child is the most important thing you can do, and as a mother you will have likely defined your own particular way of doing so.

Dividing

Many families have more than one child. This is a wonderful thing. However, when your new and gorgeous baby enters the family, it can be difficult for the current child to cope with the lack of attention. This is not because they are greedy or narcissistic as a child, but they simply have certain requirements for maternal and paternal care that must be taken into account if they are to develop well. If you can, dividing your attention between them both equally is something that must be striven for every day. While of course this will never be a stock 50/50 line that you will draw each day, aiming for that can help you avoid allowing a child to feel left out, even if that belief is less rational than they consider it to be.

This can be achieved by keeping tight control over your schedule, and ensuring that personal one on one time is always factored in with the new child. You might take them to the cinema while the father stays home with the baby, or generally play silly games with them throughout the course of the day. Anything you can do to give personal attention, particularly after they return home from school, can simply and gently show them that they will always be sustained and loved, despite the requirements of the new baby.

With these tips, you can be sure that you’ll develop into a much more attentive mother, or stay the currently fantastic one you are.

Let’s face it, it isn’t easy being a mom is it? It isn’t something people admit freely I can assure you, but life can be hard at times especially when you have a young family. That doesn’t mean you don’t love your life or love being a mom, it just means that you are being real and honest. That is refreshing. However, many moms will admit that sometimes a bit of preparation can set them up for a great week where everyone is happy, content and you, most importantly feel like you are rocking the mom life. I thought I would share with you five hacks you can do this week to help you totally rock it.

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Schedule in play dates and activities

Be organised this week and schedule in the play dates and the activities. Text your friends and organise meeting up or them coming to see you. Children love to be social and you will relish in there adult conversation. Equally a quick look online at activities for toddlers will help you plan in some of the things you can do and organise for your children on certain days. Whether that is crafting, games or outside activities at least you know you are stimulating your little ones and keeping them content.

Go outside

Getting outside can really defuse a lot of situations, especially if you find that you are in the stages of toddler drama and tantrums. The fresh air can be the perfect tonic to calm down heightened emotions, not just with your children but for you as well. Go out for walks or visit a new park in a different town. Just being outside will make you feel better.

Have a list

Lists are great to help you keep on top of all of the other things a mom has to handle on a daily and weekly basis. Write everything down and feel accomplished as you tick things off your list. This helps you to stay in control and on top of things, but it can also be a real mood lifter as you start not see exactly how much you do.

Get an early night

Sleep ca solve a lot of things and if you are finding that you are getting on your last nerve sooner than normal then tiredness could be the reason for it. I appreciate that we can’t always get full nights sleep with kids, but try and actively head to bed a little earlier to ensure you get as much as you can.

Keep a positive mindset

Finally, a positive mindset may sound ominous, but actually it can help you to feel more positive and also help you in terms of your actions and mood. Shy away from negative feeling and thoughts and proactively be positive, even if it feels a little forced. You are less likely to get upset by things and will see a difference in your attitude to yourself and towards your family.

I hope these tips help you totally rock mom life this week.