Loving Our Home | Home Tips, Advice, and Easy Recipes

Simple Home Tips and Solutions

Teaching Your Child About Bullies in School

By Leave a Comment

Here are some tips for teaching your child about bullies in school.

Sadly, these are the days of extreme bullying in and out of school. Now there’s even “cyber bullying ” on the internet.

Teaching our youth how to recognize a bully is challenging. Yet, it can be done! It is a great concern to all parents who send their kids to school and hope that they are not a victim of a bully. However, you can instill in your child not to be a victim.

Educate Them

First, this can be accomplished by giving them a true definition of a bully. What I told my children is that a bully is a weak and troubled individual. Meaning, he/she can be experiencing some form of mental and/or physical abuse at home and that bullying is there way of “venting” those frustrations. It is totally inappropriate and inexcusable to be bullied by anyone.

Keep the Lines of Communication Open

Making sure that you keep the daily lines of communication with your child is the most important step. Just don’t ask how was your day and accept a generic answer. Ask questions about classroom friends, lunch room habits and their trips home. All of this is asked while looking the child directly in the eye. No one but a parent is going to know if the child is being truthful or not. Talk to your child about the signs of a bully so that they have a better comprehension and can recognize the characteristics. In my opinion, some of the signs of a bully are:

– lack of empathy for others

– opportunist behavior (strikes when an adult is not looking)

– refuses to accept responsibility for wrong behaviors (the other person always deserves it)

– will not see another persons point of view

– enjoys inflicting pain and embarrassment to others

– is overly concerned with others showing them “respect”

– wants to be feared

– a very sore loser

– gets pleasure from always being in control

Teach Them to Lead, Not Follow

When you think about, it all bullies need professional help. Unfortunately, you are not the one who can help them. Yet, what you can do is make sure that your child is a leader and not a follower. Also, ensure that your child knows his or her own self worth. Make sure that they know that no one has the right to disrupt their  day to day confidence while in or out of school.

Your child must always be comfortable when speaking with you about any topic. Communication, whether it be at dinner, before bed, at breakfast or while watching television is paramount to any parents day to day knowledge of their child’s well being in and out of school. My only wish is that I hope this advice about teaching your child about bullies in school can inspire and enlighten parents to be more involved with their children.

 

Posted by Eve

How to Give Your Child the Best Chance at Succeeding in School

By Leave a Comment

Here are some thoughts on how you can give your child the best chance at succeeding in school.

Your child’s performance in school now can have long-term effects on his or her adult life. There are a few ways to ensure that you and your child navigate the current school term with great success. Some of these tips may seem challenging at first, but with perseverance each day will become easier.

Make Sure Your Child is Well Rested

When you send your young one to school with an inadequate amount of sleep it can interfere with their learning process. The child will become frustrated, cranky and/or sleepy by days end. All of this will block and hamper what the teacher is attempting to teach your child. By making sure that your child has a minimum of 8-10 hours of sleep on school nights is the first vital key to their daily success. It is best to maintain a routine of bedtime hours for your child. You may get some resistance in the beginning. Although, children do thrive with consistent behaviors and habits. Once their nightly routine is set in stone you will soon see a difference in their attentiveness and attitude while at school. As a result your child’s teacher will notice the difference and appreciate your efforts.

Limit Sugar and Caffeine Intake

Credit: Flickr; chefranden
Credit: Flickr; chefranden

There has been plenty of research on the effects of sugar and caffeine when introduced into a child’s daily diet. So, if your child is ingesting high amounts of caffeine and sugar on a regular basis, you may want to switch to healthier alternatives. If you give it a thought, it seems to be normal to start your child’s day with milk, cereal and a bit of orange juice. Yet, when you break it down all of those products contain high amounts of sugar. This will make your child begin the day with a sugar “rush”. The child’s mood and attention span will soon change as the sugar “rush” wears off.

Instead, try making your child a breakfast consisting of eggs, a side of fresh fruit and a bottled water or a freshly-made smoothie. The eggs are loaded with protein, the fresh fruit contains natural sugars and the bottled water provides them with hydration.

As for their school lunch, many parents opt for the kids to purchase lunch at school. It is important to know the school menu to ensure that they are eating the healthiest lunch possible. If your child has food allergies or issues contact your school to discuss what can be done. For those parents who prepare lunch on a daily basis, try switching to a more filling and healthier food. For example, avoid giving your child a juice box or caffeine-filled soda — instead give them a bottled water or freshly pressed juice with no added sugar. This will again keep them hydrated through the day. Instead of white bread use a whole grain bread to prepare sandwiches. As for a snack, try giving them celery sticks and peanut butter. With just a few changes to your child’s daily eating habits you can give them the brain power and energy to make their learning easier.

Stay Involved with Class Work, Homework and Projects

Make it a daily habit to give assistance and review your child’s homework every day. Be sure that they are comprehending their home work and school work. Remember, to have patience with them. Show them understanding. They have extremely long school hours and tire easily. Besides, stressful situations affects them as they do us as parents. Encourage them to do their best and complete their homework with care, but don’t push them to the point where they’ll be overwhelmed and stressed out every day.

Start with these basic tips for how to give your child the best chance at succeeding in school. In my opinion, a child’s path to success begins at home. The parent who is actively involved with their child’s nutrition and efforts at school is the parent whose child will have a greater chance at success — not just in school but in life as well.

Posted by Eve

Quick Tip: Constipation Remedy

By Leave a Comment

No one likes feeling constipated — that tightness and pressure when you know you’re well overdue for a bowel movement. Here is a constipation remedy tip that may help you get some relief next time you go to the bathroom:

Play the sound of a ticking clock or dripping water.

faucet drippingTick, tock, tick, tock…
Drip, drop, drip, drop…

Close your eyes and focus on that sound while you are trying to go to the bathroom and you may be surprised at the results.

I don’t know exactly why this works, but I’m sure there’s a biological reason behind it. Maybe the repetitive sound stimulates peristalsis and helps with your bowel movement.

Just give it a try, and if it works for you please post your comment here!

Posted by Jasmine

Recipe Tip: For Juicy, Tasty Chicken

By Leave a Comment

The quickest and easiest way to get juicy, tasty chicken is…

Robusto Italian Dressing

I personally prefer Wish-Bone brand, but you can experiment with others.

Poke a few holes in the raw chicken thighs, breasts or drumsticks and let them marinate in a ziploc bag for at least 15 minutes. Pour the chicken and excess dressing in the frying pan or pot on med-high heat to cook for extra flavor. Add additional seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc) to taste.

Enjoy!

Posted by Jasmine

Home Tip: Cleaning When Company’s Coming Over

By Leave a Comment

If you are having company over and want the house to appear clean focus on your main rooms and 1 bathroom. You don’t have to give everyone a tour so don’t worry about cleaning the rooms that have doors on them!

Go room by room focusing on removing laundry, dishes, and clutter. Then wipe down all surfaces, run the vaccuum, and wash/dry all dishes. Bam.. you are ready for company in about 45 minutes! Don’t sweat the small stuff. No one notices if the floors are not mopped!

Submitted by Elicia Hill
Elicia’s Website: http://www.lifewith2under2.com
Follow Elicia on Twitter: @lifewith2under2

How to Deal with Perfectionists: A Step-By-Step Guide

By Leave a Comment

Someone who continually strives for perfection and expects everyone around them to do the same can be a constant drain on patience, productivity and the sanity of those around them. Here are some tips for how to deal with perfectionists.

If you’ve ever had to work with a perfectionist, you know how frustrating an experience it can be. Someone who continually strives for perfection and expects everyone around them to do the same can be a constant drain on patience, productivity and the sanity of their peers, friends, family members and co-workers. Here are some tips for how to deal with a perfectionist in a way that will allow you to keep your head on straight while getting things done.

1) Recognize the Problem and Try to Understand

The first step to resolving any problem is understanding what is going on. You have to identify the problem before you do anything else.

Perfectionists didn’t just become that way. They were either created by parents who were never satisfied, or became that way due to some other traumatic experience in their life. It is a psychological issue that has to be resolved with a professional. In the meantime, now that you know that they have a problem, maybe you can find some sympathy for them as you continue to deal with them. Know that no, you are not crazy, there is definitely something seriously wrong with wanting to always be 100% perfect all of the time. It is impossible to achieve, which is why most perfectionists are tormented.

2) Be Firm and Decisive

Since a perfectionist may not be the most decisive person, it is your job to take on that role when dealing with them. For example, if you are working on a project at your place of employment with a known perfectionist, don’t play into their game. You may allow them a few times to go back and forth with their ideas and rounds of changes, but at some point (preferably sooner than later) you must be firm in your assertions and explain that while we all would love to have the project turn out 100% perfect, there is a deadline to meet, and there is always room for error. If necessary, things can be updated and taken note of for future projects. Then, take the reigns and say something like, “This is our final round of changes, do you see any last minute details you’d like to complete.”

3) Allow Them to Do Their Thing — Walk Away

If the perfectionist chooses to become unreasonable at your assertions to make a final decision and decides that they want to continue to wrangling over the same issue, let them do it on their own. You do not have to be held hostage by a perfectionist. Take a deep breath, do your part to the best of your ability and then leave the perfectionist to his or her task. They may end up working on the same thing until two or three in the morning, but that is not your problem. As long as you did your part to the fullest of your ability (and keep proof of that fact if you’re at work), you are not required to be a part of the perfectionists’ process. Don’t feel bad about it as long as you’ve done your part. If you’re dealing with a perfectionist at work and the situation becomes a serious problem, or you feel that the perfectionist may try to harm your professional reputation, definitely express your concerns with your boss or project leader in advance.

By using this process and keeping a clear, level head, you can avoid conflicts with perfectionists and best manage the relationship so that it works for everyone involved.

Posted by Jade