kids Archives - Serendipity Mommy

How To Help Your Kids To Choose Their Future College

April 17, 2018 by Mandy

It comes around all too quickly: your kids are now all grown up and are beginning to read into the various colleges and schools that are open to them across the US, or even beyond. It can be a daunting decision to make as a teenager, with several thousand institutions on offer with a range of courses and programs to meet with different interests and career requirements. If your kids are reaching this vital stage, then it is important that you begin to do your homework too to help them to make the right decision. Keep key factors in mind such as course length, costs and even distance from home, as these can all be make or break when your teens are making that all-important decision.

Visit schools

It might sound fairly obvious, but if your kids are looking to attend a school that is the other side of the country, then you need to make sure that you have visited it with them at least once before freshman year. Visiting a college during term time is a whole different experience to during the first few weeks of the semester, as lessons will now be underway and sports clubs in full swing. Take time to spend a few days at your teen’s chosen school, eat in the dining hall and chat to a variety of professors or other first-year students so that you can get a better feel for the place. Make sure that your kids ask as many questions as possible, as this will aid their decision.

Work/life balance

Will your kids be able to carry on playing their favorite sports? Will the course that your kids are interested in offer them enough challenges and opportunities to learn and test themselves? These are all vital questions that you and your teens should be asking when visiting any potential schools. It can be nice to cruise along for a short period of time, but remind your kids that they are also investing in their future – so they will appreciate being tried and pushed at certain times. If you feel there is no work/life balance, then chances are that this is not the school for your child.

Costs and loans

Finally, make sure that you take time with your kids to sit down and discuss the costs and options open to them as a freshman student. Remind them that their future will cost money, so they need to be prepared to borrow or take out a loan if needed. You can find more information about commonbond reviews online, so that your kids can better understand why and how student loans work. Remember that a college education is expensive, but it is worth it.

Choosing the right college can be a stressful and unsettling time for any teen. Be sure to provide them with the support and guidance that they need. Make sure that you visit any schools of interest and consider factors such as work-life balance and the course elements. Finally, make sure to discuss costs and loan options.

Who Really Pays the High Cost of Child Abuse?

April 16, 2018 by Mandy

Millions of children are the victims of child abuse every year and if you stop to think about it, what is the cost? Not in terms of money for medical attention, but in the very future of those poor innocents? Yes, the cost of treating them is high, but that is negligible in terms of what their futures will hold for them. Wouldn’t you hate to be responsible for medical claims processing? How could you even code that, if there is such a code for child abuse! Would an insurer refuse payment? Probably not, but still, it is the child who pays the high cost and it is time society took a stronger stance and really did something about it.

The Fright Doesn’t End with Adolescence

Even when children are removed from abusive homes and/or caregivers, the fright they experience doesn’t end there. These children will carry that with them for the rest of their lives and the impact can have significant consequences later in life. According to the U.S. Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, the long-term outcomes for adult survivors can be serious. Not only do many of these adults still suffer emotional or psychological problems but their physical health may have been impacted as well. Who should pay the cost for this? Certainly not the children or the adult survivors!

Child Abuse Hides in the Darkness

Unfortunately, this is the problem. It seems as though society has become immune to abuse. You hear story after story of multiple children being locked away, rarely seen by neighbors who knew they were living there. Why doesn’t someone speak up? Child abuse hides in darkness but in the light of day, it should be seen. Much is being written on this, but in many cases, you will hear neighbors say they “thought something was off” or the opposite extreme, “they seemed like such a nice, normal family.”

Fear of Repercussions

Many times, people see and suspect something but are afraid to act for fear of repercussions. What if they are wrong and the children are okay? What if they are right and the abusers redirect their anger towards them? Should you, or shouldn’t you call the authorities if you suspect abuse in a home? The answer is, yes you most certainly should speak with someone. If not the police or CPS, perhaps the school guidance counselor or a neighborhood church would be able to do a bit of investigating.

Let Your Voice Be Heard

Also, you should know that the law protects you as a witness. Your name will not be used when the authorities gain entry to the home. In fact, they don’t even need to mention anyone at all. Police departments across the country are entitled to do “wellness checks” and they often do if someone calls in concern. Many of these children can be given safe harbor if someone would take the initiative to make that phone call. Don’t let your fear of being wrong stand in the way of letting your voice be heard. In fact, lending your voice to the voiceless is the right thing to do. Those children have had their voices taken from them by their abusers.

Don’t let them pay the high cost of child abuse. You can play a role in giving them a brighter future, but you must act to do so. Isn’t it time someone took a stand?

How To Be A Role Model For Your Kids

April 14, 2018 by Mandy

Being a parent is definitely one of the most rewarding and exciting experiences out there. Even though there are a lot of unexpected challenges that parents face when raising their kids, nothing compares to the ability of seeing you kids become young, independent and powerful individuals. Everyone knows the importance of the early stages of education. Kids can definitely learn a lot of useful information by going to kindergarten or school, but learning life lessons from their parents is even more critical. In order to teach your kids how to become good people in society and know how to react in certain situations, you need to become a role model.

Physiologists compare small kids to little imitators who learn how to tackle certain life challenges directly from their parents or other relevant adults in their life. Adults and parents tend to easily get overwhelmed by the great amount of tasks that they need to complete, but every once in a while they need to remember that family comes first. As the greater role model sits across kids at the table, there are certain ways of becoming a role model for your kids.

Healthy Living

One of the first lessons that you need to teach your kids is how to eat better. Eating healthy foods has a lot of benefits. First and foremost, in order to have a healthy mind, it is critical to eat healthy foods at all times. On the other hand, those who eat better foods feel more energized, happy and live longer. Even though eating healthy is considered quite expensive these days, this is definitely a misconception that people have. For example, you can start planting vegetables and fruit in your garden and prepare delicious meals at home. Unfortunately, childhood obesity has become a widely spread problem that is closely related to depression. A simple way of avoiding that problem is by learning the importance of moderation. Keep yourself and your kids on the healthy range for a better, longer life.

Self-Improvement

The only way that kids can learn how to become better individuals and aim to constantly work on improving themselves is by seeing their parents do the same. Self-improvements should be a major part of everyone’s life. You can encourage your kids to broaden their horizons by learning books in different fields, but also by trying new experiences. There are a lot of great ways of doing that. Your role, in this case, is to push them and to encourage them constantly. They need to become aware of the fact that no one is perfect, but by practicing and working hard, they will eventually make their dreams come true. This lesson doesn’t have to be a chore. Have fun exploring new cultures or set goals when starting new activities.

Be Kind to Others

Kids are not born racist, and they are not hateful toward others, but the society makes them become bad people. Being kind costs nothing. Kindness is taken for granted these days, but it will definitely never go unnoticed. As a parent, you need to teach your kids that life is short and they need to be kind to people around them. When talking about this aspect, you don’t have to be very straightforward because that may shock them. Nonetheless, as they grow up, kids understand that life is limited and eventually everyone departs. Losing someone close is difficult, but there are ways of remembering them forever. Memories play an important role in people’s life, and it is nice to know that once they depart you can get a memorial portrait and keep that close memory close to your heart. You can learn more about this subject matter by checking out this website.

Celebrate Gratitude

Kids can be hard to please at times. Every parent wants what’s best for their children and often that can do more harm than good. Rewarding kids for good work is good enough but finding a balance between encouragement and excess is truly important. Celebrating small victories and being grateful for what they already have is essential. You can ask your family to think of three aspects which make them grateful early in the morning or just before going to bed. This can be as small or big as they wish. Sometimes even a nice outfit and a warm cup of tea deserve recognition.

Positive Attitude

There is a lot of negativity and bad news surrounding people these days. This does not add any value to life. Even though it is virtually impossible to keep a straight face or be happy and smiling every second of people’s life, kids need to learn that having a positive attitude goes a long way. A reassuring attitude and optimism help people take a step back in certain situations and see things from a different perspective. Try to be a believer and not a cynic and kids will grow up people optimistic people. Not many people know that the way they think has a direct impact on their whole life. It has been proven that positive thinking can heal different illnesses and chance life for the better.

Be Honest

Lastly, it is important to emphasize that there are some traits that all people need to have. Some of these are drive, self-acceptance, willpower, patience, integrity, optimism and last but not least, honesty. Tell your kids the truth at all times and encourage them to do the same. This is not only a perfect way of consolidating relationships, but also a good way of becoming better people. Telling lies gives you short-term satisfaction but the truth will always find its way out. When you are honest with yourself, you are honest with others too.

One of the main jobs that parents have is to be a great role model for their kids. This factor is not the most simple and it often takes a lot of time to perfection. There is no wrong or right way of raising kids or being a good role model for them as every individual is different. However, the advice given above might open your eyes about the most important life lessons that kids need to learn from their parents.

How to Define A Good Day Care Centre

April 12, 2018 by Mandy

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As a parent, your choice of learning institutions is critical, as a day care centre should be much more than simply a safe place to leave your child for a few hours a day. It is natural for a mother to be very apprehensive when the time comes for their child to experience the outside world, and with that in mind, here are some important components of a suitable day care centre, which should help you to make the right choice.

The Vision and Mission Statement– Every learning institution should have a vision of how they see their role in the development of young learners, and if you are looking for day care in Sydney, there are some excellent venues that understand how young children best learn, and by finding one that understands and accepts that every child is unique in that respect, you are helping your child to better understand the world around them. The day care centre should acknowledge that there are different styles of learning, and would have experienced carers who know how to help a child identify their preferred style of learning.
The Right Learning Resources– In order to best cater for different styles of learning, a day care centre should have adequate resources. A soft room is the ideal environment for children that like to explore through activity and movement, and there should be lots of toys and other learning resources that would be kept in quiet corners. The best way to discover how a day care centre operates is to spend a few hours observing what happens, and most importantly, how the carers interact with the children. Typically, the day would be spent doing a range of short term activities, with no more than 10-15 minutes spent on any given thing, as young children have a very short attention span. To help you with your selection, there is an informative blog on what to look for in an early learning institution which should be a valuable resource in your quest for the ideal venue for your child.
Qualified Carers– Ideally, there would be several senior carers, people with many years of hands-on experience in helping young learners find their feet, along with some younger carers, who are under the supervision of their older colleagues. The principal would be someone who is respected in the local community, and would have very defined ideals about the best way to administrate the care centre. If you are looking for the right day care centre to take your child, spending some time with the principal should enlighten you as to the centre’s policies regarding young children’s education.

The Internet is a great source of information, and it can certainly help you to gain a clearer understanding of the ideal young learning environment, and by reading many articles on the best learning approaches to take, you will be better prepared to make your selection, and once you have done that, the World Wide Web can also help you source the best day care centre in your immediate area.

3 Essentials You Shouldn’t Forget to Take Along on a Day Out with the Kids

March 29, 2018 by Mandy

When you have children, taking them out is usually a regular occurrence. No matter how busy life gets, you probably incorporate quality time with them into your schedule. You may engage in a range of activities or follow family tradition and do similar things every weekend such as Sunday dinner at their grandparent’s house, for example. On the other hand, you may find that once a month you’re embarking on a new adventure, whether it’s screaming your lungs out at an amusement park or playing catch at the park. Whatever the case, taking kids out can be a handful so you should always leave the house prepared. Here are three essentials that you should take along with you on your next day out.

Food and Snacks

One of the first things you need on a day out is food and snacks. Kids can sometimes seem as though they have holes in their belly because of how frequently they’re hungry. For this reason, unless you want to spend most of your money on food while you’re out, you should bring food, snacks, and drinks with you regardless of where you happen to be going. If you need some ideas on foods to take, you could take some sandwiches, granola bars, whole wheat wraps, string cheese, hummus, fruits, crackers, yogurt, and other healthy foods that they can eat that won’t cause a big mess along with you. You should also remember that for active and healthy kids, water is essential. If you live in a hot city especially, coolers with great ice retention are essential to store your drinks. Not only will you save yourself the hassle of having to run around looking for food and drinks by packing it along with you, but you’ll also save a decent amount of money.

First Aid Items

Nobody hopes that their child will hurt themselves while they’re out, but the reality is that kids are boisterous, so it isn’t something you should rule out entirely. For this reason, you should consider taking a first aid kit out with you or leaving one in the car. The idea isn’t necessarily to come out with a gigantic red first-aid box, but instead just to take a few important items in a smaller bag. Some essentials that should be in your mini first-aid kit include mini tweezers, antiseptic wipes, sharp scissors, an oral syringe, rubbing alcohol, a pair of gloves, gauze, and band-aids. By carrying these items along, if your child happens to fall and hurt their knee, you’ll be able to easily patch it up without too much stress.

Change of Clothes

Children have a way of effortlessly making a mess, so you should always be prepared with an extra pair of clothes. You don’t necessarily have to go overboard. However, you should at least bring an extra shirt or two, and maybe a pair of shorts in case of any mishaps. This will save you having to rush home early or needing to go to the nearest shop to buy them new clothes to wear.

Kids often grow quicker than you’d like and before you know it, they’re graduating from college and starting their own families. It is, therefore, important that you cherish every moment and fill them with memories that will live with them forever. Whether it’s as simple as a walk around the block or a day touring a museum, you should try not to miss an opportunity to have a good old day out.