Tag: family

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Parenting & Family

3 Tips For Dealing With A Child Who’s Resistant To Your Upcoming Move

moving

While moving is never particularly enjoyable for anyone, if you are trying to manage a family move with a child who’s resistant to the idea of moving, this can make things even more challenging. In addition to trying to figure out how to make your residential move happen and set up your new life in this new home, you also have to navigate the uncharted waters of your child and all the emotions they’re feeling. 

To help make this hurdle a little easier to get over, here are three tips for dealing with a child who’s resistant to your upcoming move. 

Set Aside Time For Your Child To Express Their Feelings

In all of your stress to get your move handled, you may have found yourself leaving your child slightly on their own emotionally to work through their negative attitude toward your move. However, this may not prove to give you the results you want.

As another strategy, you may want to try setting aside a time that your child can express their feelings, either to you or to someone else. Let them say everything that you’re thinking or feeling, cry if they want to, get upset and just let their emotions out. If they want to say something negative, have it done in this setting. Then, once they’ve ready, have them rejoin the family and try to move forward. Sometimes, just having this safe space as an outlet can help them actually begin to work through what they’re feeling and process the reality of your upcoming move. 

Validate Their Concerns

In an effort to get your child more onboard with your move, it’s possible that your child could feel like you’re not validating their feelings or concerns about the move. So the next time they start to complain about the move, try to join them in their misery for a moment or two. Seeing that you too will miss certain things about your home or are worried about finding your place in their new community can help them feel like you’re both on the same side rather than on opposite teams. 

Take Away Fear Of The Unknown

Sometimes, the underlying issue that makes kids resistant to a move is that they’re really just scared of the unknown that comes with starting a life somewhere new. 

To help them overcome this, you should attempt to take away this fear of the unknown by exposing them to their new life as much as possible prior to the move. If you’re able, go visit your new home, walk around your new neighborhood, sign up for a class or sport, or go to an event at their new school. Seeing these places and meeting these people could help them see that there’s really nothing to be afraid of about your upcoming move. 

If you’re going to be moving soon and you have a child that’s still not onboard, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you all work through this.

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Parenting & Family

5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Family’s Life

healthy family

Having a family is difficult, stressful, and expensive. You care about your spouse and children more than anything else in the world, and because of this you are constantly worried about their health, well-being, and quality of life. Of course you would do anything you can to improve these things for them, but especially in this day and age that isn’t always easy. Here are some simple ways you can improve your family’s life right now. 

Preventative Measures

Preventative measures such as calling exterminators for pest control, keeping fire and carbon monoxide alarms in working order, and checking for mold on a regular basis are great ways to keep your family healthy and happy. Most of these things are much less stressful to prevent than they are to take care of later on. So to ensure that stress levels stay low in your household, keep up on preventative measures.

Keep A Schedule

Keeping yourself and the rest of your family on a semi-strict schedule is a fantastic way to make sure stress levels stay low and everyone is as productive as possible. Young children especially thrive when they have schedules because they always know what to expect and there are no surprises. Consider hanging up a calendar or dry erase board so that everyone in the family knows what important things are on the to-do list. 

Make Meals At Home

Everyone eats out once in a while, and it can be a fun treat reserved for special occasions, but cooking meals at home is a great way to save money and also make sure that your family is as healthy as possible. When you make meals at home you know every ingredient that goes into everything and can better control the caloric intake as well as keep in mind any allergies anyone in your clan might have. Making meals at home on a regular basis will improve your family’s life for sure.

Home Improvements 

A happy home equals a happy family, and making improvements to your home (no matter how small or inexpensive) will make the general quality of life in your family go way up. It’s important that your home is a place where you and all of its other inhabitants feel safe and calm. Things like layout, scent, furniture, paint, textiles, etc. can really make a difference in the mental health of your family members. Consider making changes to the aesthetics and functionality of your home and you might be surprised the positive things it will bring about in your home life. 

Don’t get so wrapped up in work and personal obligations that you forget about the importance of your home. Improving your home even in the slightest ways will help so many other things for your family such as their mental and physical health! These things are priceless and will be totally worth whatever time and money you invest in home improvements.

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Travel

Top Tips for Planning a Family Vacation

family vacation

Family vacations are perfect opportunities to get together and have some fun. Though, whether it is just you, your partner and the kids, or getting the extended family together for a trip, these getaways do require a lot of planning if you want it all to go smoothly. If you have been thinking about getting the gang together for a well-deserved vacation after being cooped up all year, here are some top tips to help you plan for it.

Budget

The first thing you will need to decide on is the budget. This will be a bit easier to figure out if you are just going away with your immediate family, but if you are going to invite aunts, uncles, and grandparents to join you, you will all need to discuss this as a group. Some people might not be able to spend as much as others, so you need to make sure the budget is affordable for everybody. You also might want to discuss everyone chipping in for things like food while you are away as well so it is all fair.

Research Resorts

Once you have determined what the budget is, the next thing to do is find accommodation for everybody. Renting a holiday home could be a good option and should be affordable if everyone is chipping in, but hotel resorts can also offer big and small groups a lot. Some might be all-inclusive which is great for your expenses, and choosing one that can provide some entertainment for the kids is a good idea. You can see some great examples with these Maui resorts, so do some research to see what is available at your destination of choice.

Transportation

Another thing you will need to organize is how everybody is going to get to and from your destination. If you are going in a bigger group, it will be easier for everyone to make their arrangements separately as people will have different schedules and journeys to make. All you need to do is figure out which is the best form of transport for you and your immediate family. If you need to get flights, use online comparison sites to get the best deals as these can be expensive. If you are driving, make sure you map out your route and factor in ideal places to stop and take a break. You might even want to stop off and see some sights along the way if there are any points of interest to you.

Packing

Finally, make sure you organize your luggage in advance so you donot end up panicking last minute when you cannot find certain clothes or, more importantly, your passport! If you are flying to your destination, keep in mind that the airline will have weight restrictions for your suitcases so always double-check this before you leave to avoid getting charged extra at the airport. You should also pack plenty of SPF protection (even in cooler climates) to protect your skin, and taking a first aid kit with you is a smart idea just in case there are any accidents during your trip.

If you are keen to take a vacation with your family soon, use these tips to help you plan for it effectively so you can kick back and relax during your time away.

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Parenting & Family

5 Benefits of Accepting Care Help

family care

As you grow older, your body starts to change, and you may find yourself struggling to do the activities you once performed with ease. Fortunately, your life doesn’t need to be put on hold because of your health, as there are services out there that’ll ensure you stay as healthy as possible.

It can be difficult accepting outside help, especially when you’ve never needed it before, but it could improve your quality of life – here are five benefits of accepting care help.

  1. It Takes the Load Off Your Loved Ones

While you might have loved ones who are more than happy to give you all the attention you need, do you want to burden them for the rest of your life? By accepting the care of professionals, the time you spend with your family and friends doesn’t have to revolve around your health. Instead, when your loved ones come to visit, you can spend the time catching up, laughing, and doing something fun together.

  1. You Receive Expert Care

Care services are dedicated to providing seniors with expert care, which helps give you a longer, healthier life. If you have a disease or simply struggle to move around like you used to, care help will help you perform daily activities while ensuring you are OK.

There are plenty of options when it comes to care help, so you can go with something like a care home in Hertford, which provides luxury alongside medical help, or you can choose in-home care. This access to expert care will put both yours and your loved one’s mind at ease.

  1. A Sense of Community

If you choose to move into a care home, then you don’t only get the benefit of around-the-clock help – you will also find yourself surrounded by a community. Many people struggle with isolation in old age, whether that’s down to living far from loves ones or having their partner pass away, and this can lead to depression. By having a community around you, you ensure that you never end up lonely, and you’ll probably make many friends along the way!

  1. You Find Your Independence

You might not mix independence with care, but the medical help you get from care help can give you far more freedom than you had previously. Think about it – if you struggle with getting around, then your independence is already reduced. By having someone there to help you out, you’ll find living your day-to-day life much easier, enabling you to do the activities you love.

  1. It is Easier for Family to Visit

Having your family visit is essential, and by having care help in your life, you make it much easier for them to do so. By having your medical needs seen to, your family, including the little ones, can visit knowing that you’re well looked after.

Accepting help isn’t easy, especially if you’ve always lived independently, but doing so could improve both your and your family’s quality of life.

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Other Stories

A Guide to Finding the Perfect Family Car

family car

Finding the right car for your family is so much more than just finding something with four wheels, seats and a motor. You have so many different options and there are many different personal considerations to bear in mind; as a result, finding the right family car for you can be a far more arduous process than one might, at first, think. In order to find the perfect family car, you need to understand and make note of a few things first.

Know Your Budget

When it comes to buying a family car, it is important that you find a car that matches your budget. When finding the right car for your budget, you not only need to consider the price tag of the vehicle itself, but the other costs that are associated with vehicles – including the average price to fill up the tank, insurance costs and tax. These costs can quickly impact your overall budget for buying a car and supporting your family on a monthly basis. Car insurance is an especially important cost to factor in. As KBD Insurance outlines, there are different insurance coverage options available to suit different price ranges. However, you might regret getting the cheapest coverage later as this will often leave you out of pocket, paying a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on your choice of deductible.

Define the Purpose of the Vehicle 

There are many things that can impact the vehicle you choose – if anybody has a condition that makes a mobility car suitable, if you go traveling a lot so need lots of boot space, if you have more than three kids so need more seat space. There are countless functional preferences that can impact which model is right for you. 

Think of the Future

After you have carefully thought about your needs to date, you should also think about what you will need in the future. If you plan to have a few more kids, you might need a bigger car than you do currently. Alternatively, you might need a more economical vehicle as your monthly expenditures will increase with another child. If you think about the future, you can ensure that you buy a car that will suit your family as it currently stands, as well as as it will be in the future.

Finding a Safe Family Car

Safety is often one of the most important factors when making family decisions, so before you buy a new family car, you need to inspect the safety ratings of the cars on your list. Some cars make safety their priority – Volvo is famous for putting safety first – but every car will have different safety features and you should examine them carefully before making a purchase.

Some cars will have few safety features as a standard, with safety options being included at an additional price. If these are the only cars in your price range, you should ask the car dealer or the maker if you can install these add-ons at a later date when you can afford them.

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Lifestyle

How to Plan a Family Road Trip with Your Dog?

family-dog

If you have ever been on a road trip before, you will know how much fun it can be. Just driving from place to place, stopping when you see something interesting and eating at restaurants along the way. Although planning a road trip is fun, what about if you have a dog? You can put them in boarding kennels while you are away, although this might not be so fun for them. Why not plan your road trip with your dog as well?

Take them for a Check-Up

Before you go away on your road trip, it is important to take your dog to the vet to make sure they are ok to travel. They need to have all their vaccinations and other medicines before they go. Also, if they take medication, make sure you have enough supply to last until you get back home. Your vet can also advise you on anything you need to do for your dog while on the trip.

Plan Your Trip

Just as you would for your family, you also need to plan your trip for your dog. They will need regular rest stops, so you need to find places that you can stop for a while. You can’t leave your dog in a hot car while you are having a rest, so make sure to find somewhere that has shade for them to use.

Restaurants and Diners

You will want to eat while you are on your trip, and so will your dog. Make sure you have packed their food and that it can be easily found while you are traveling. Take their regular food with you to avoid stomach upsets, but remember to pack some treats to reward them for being good traveling companions, click here! Look up pet-friendly diners along your route. It will make things easier if you can take your dog in there with you and it will be more comfortable for them.

Hotels

As with the restaurants and diners, you need to make sure that any hotels you have reservations in are pet-friendly. If you don’t, then you may find that you need to seek other accommodation. The same might apply if you are going camping, as some sites have animal restrictions. You can normally find out from their websites if they accept animals.

Driving Safely with Your Dog

For your safety and that of your dog, you need to ensure that your pet is safely secured in your car while driving. You can buy dog seatbelts and harnesses that allow you to strap your dog into the back seat, or you can buy a specially designed dog crate that is crash proof.

Taking your dog on a road trip will be an amazing experience and one that will be all the better if you plan everything in advance. It will also prevent any complications or delays while you are on the trip.

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Parenting & Family

How to Deal with a Stressful Family Situation

family

Nothing is more important than our loved ones. That’s why it can be so heartbreaking when we are faced with a tense family situation. To help you eliminate stress, we are offering insightful advice on how to deal with a stressful family life.

Put the Problem into Perspective

Before you react to a problem or feel overwhelmed with anger or sadness, put the problem into perspective. Take a step back from the situation and ask yourself, will their words or actions be important to them or you in an hour or two? If the answer is no, remain calm and rise above the problem.

Have a Little Patience

If a family member is overreacting, try to place yourself in their shoes. Are they going through a tough time? Can you see things from their perspective? It could be that a loved one is acting out for attention, or cannot articulate the emotions he or she is feeling. Show a little patience, and they’ll eventually be thankful for your love and support.

Take a Break

Sometimes the best way to defuse a tense situation is by taking a break away from it. Remove yourself from a stressful environment by going for a walk, or switch off your mobile phone so you can disconnect from the drama for a little while. It’s an effective way to regroup your thoughts and feelings, rather than adding fuel to the flames with fraught emotions.

Talk to Someone

Many people are living with different stressful family situations, which means our friends may not always be able to provide the best support or advice. That’s why it’s important to speak to a qualified professional, who can discuss your problems without judgement. A professional online counselor can also be found via the internet, so you can quickly and directly discuss any issues that are affecting your life, such as a family dispute.

Silence is Golden

One of the best things you can do during an argument is to stay silent, as you will not say anything you might regret. While you shouldn’t ignore a family member, you should express that the argument will not solve anything and you wish to sit down to talk about the problem, either now or at a later date.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

It’s easy to feel stressed following an argument, as you may be annoyed with yourself for reacting to a comment or action. However, don’t beat yourself up about it. Rather than focusing on your reaction, consider how you are going to resolve the problem with your loved one(s), so the family drama becomes a distant memory.

Families have their ups and downs, but it’s how you overcome any problems that will make you stronger. Try to consider their feelings before you react, and attempt to defuse the situation as much as possible. If the stress is too much, speak to a trained professional who can help to put things into perspective and help you move on.

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Parenting & Family

7 Tips to Help You Achieve Your Financial Goals

family-

It doesn’t matter where you are in your financial journey, it is always wise to evaluate your spending habits on a regular basis. If you’ve just moved out of your family home and are experiencing life on the outside for the first time, or if you are coming up to retirement – there is always a good reason to get a handle on your income and outgoings.

You need to set a personal financial plan. How can you measure your success if you have nothing to aim for? Your first step should be to set a budget. List your income, and your expenditure. Make sure you use your after tax net income for your figures as you want to be as accurate as possible. Set yourself some time aside each week for four weeks to categorize your spending, for example, housing, transport, grocery shopping and entertainment. By analyzing your findings over a month, you will be able to see where you are leaking cash. Identify achievable financial goals to work towards.

To help you reach your goals, here are some sure ways to save some money – you will not be saving mega bucks, but every cent helps.

1.Check your bank account

Are you paying a monthly fee for your banking? Go online and check out new banking deals that may offer a better deal. Banks often provide new accounts with sign-up offers that should be taken advantage of.

2.Turn off your television

Did you know that the average American spends 5 hours a day watching TV? Whilst you will save money from your electricity bill immediately, you will also stop being influenced by continuous exposure to advertising. Use your time more productively – you may even start a business to supplement your income in all of your free time!

3.Sign up for free customer rewards programs

It doesn’t matter where you live, there are retailers that want to reward you for shopping with them. These loyalty schemes can provide you with great discounts and vouchers to spend in store.

4.Start selling

Have a good look through your cupboards and drawers as you may just have untold treasures in them. Make a pile of any unused and unwanted items and get them listed. Check those drawers for unused gift cards that have value on them. Use the internet to sell your treasure trove and sell gift cards online. You will be surprised at the unclaimed money that you have lying in your drawers.

5.30 day-rule

For purchases that are not necessary, implement the 30-day rule. If your heart is set on buying something, wait for 30 days before you reconsider the item. Any impulsive purchases will be prevented by following this simple method.

6.Plan your meals

Plan your meals with what is on offer at the supermarket. Look at what is on sale and use those items to dictate what you are going to eat. By planning, you can batch cook meals and freeze the remaining food. You will find that after a few months you have not only saved money, but have a freezer full of prepared food that will save you time too.

7.Holiday shop after the holiday

People think about this after Christmas, but there is no reason not to do this for all holidays. For example, wait until a couple of days after the holiday to get your themed bargains, whether it be for Mother’s Day, Halloween or Thanksgiving, the discounts are great, and you can store the items away until next year.

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Parenting & Family

5 Reasons Why You Should Take Your Family Camping

camping-travel

This summer get inspired to add a camping adventure to your plans with your family in Australia. Australia has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and many are popular family camping locations.

With lots of great places to explore, here’s a list of why your kids will love an overnight adventure:

Camping Is Perfect Trip for the Entire Family
Chances are your family are all of different ages and agreeing on where to go on vacation can become a difficult task. Children and teenagers will likely vote on different places.

Luckily, Australia has an abundance of gorgeous beaches and national parks that have camping opportunities.

It can be a family camping trip and still allow those who are older to separate themselves for a part of the time. You get the best of both worlds in Australia.

With a camping trip, it is easy for the entire family to go on a kid friendly trip. It is ideal for all family members, regardless of their ages. The length of the trip can be lengthened or shortened based on your kids personalities. It could last a day or even a week.

Family Bonding Time 
There is no better way to bond with the family than having everyone together in close proximity.

Camping allows you to partake in activities that you would not be able to do at home. There are also opportunities for team work and to build co-operation when setting up your camping gear for instance. There are no distractions in sight without technology.

Even those who are really addicted to technology will eventually succumb to their surroundings.

Without being constantly connected to social media, you will be forced to connect with not only your family, but nature.

Cook and Eat Non-Prepared Meals 
You will be able to cook and prepare every meal together.

Children are used to going to get fast food or microwaving a frozen meal when parents do not cook.

They will learn the value of a hot dinner and learn that not everyone has the luxury.

You can go as far as going fishing and bringing your catch to the campsite or fire up the grill with a BBQ.

It is a perfect opportunity to eat burgers, grilled fish, or hot dogs.

Children will love sitting by the campfire and roasting marshmallows for dessert.

As the saying goes nothing tastes as delicious than the food you cook and make yourself outdoors.

Learning Experience with Teachable Moments in Nature
Provide teachable moments throughout your trip.

You will likely be given plenty of opportunities to teach your kids about nature or some sort of hands on skill that will help them later in life.

It is simpler to explain to your children the importance of recycling using real life examples and lessons. The real learning happens outside of a classroom not inside a classroom. There will be lots of new experiences and sights for everyone in the family to enjoy.

During the day, on your hikes you and your kids will see animals, insects, and plants in their natural habitats.

As the night approaches, during night-time walks different species will appear. You will experience nature like you have never before.

No Interruptions, Rules, or Schedules
Usually at home, children have bedtimes and must follow set chores and routines daily.

It is not often that you are given the chance to sit back and let time fly without caring.

You will be able to enjoy the fresh air and simply relax. It is a time in which everyone can forget about school, responsibilities, and work.

With nothing in particular it is easy to be spontaneous. Anything can occur without much planning or thought.

You can stay up and star gaze or watch the sunrise. Adventure awaits your family and children love that.

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Pet

Tips to Make Your Move Less Traumatic for Your Pets

dogs

Moving home is stressful not just on humans, but also on pets. In fact, it is perhaps even worse on pets, since you cannot explain to them what is going on. They don’t understand that you took ages to find a new home, and that you chose the new location because it is better. For your pet, it is new, different, and very frightening. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to make the experience less traumatic for your animals.

Reassure Them

Animals may not speak human, they do understand tone and affection. Speak to them in a reassuring tone and give them plenty of attention. They may be worried that you are abandoning them in the new property, so you need to make sure that they understand you have moved together.

Focus on Moving Day

Moving day is a very traumatic day for your pet, particularly if you have a dog. It is upsetting for them to see movers in Alexandria VA walking in and out of their domain, taking things that they are protective of as well. If you can, therefore, leave your pets elsewhere, where they are comfortable and that they are familiar with. This will also stop them from getting trampled on, and it will make sure your movers are protected as well.

The Trip Itself

Most pets are happy enough to travel in cars. Some aren’t, however, and you can ask your vet for some advice and, if needed, calming tablets. If you have a dog, they will probably see the car journey as a trip to somewhere fun, but you do need to make sure that you still reassure them. Also carry plenty of food and water with you, and make sure you have frequent breaks along the way.

The New Home

Most domestic animals, but particularly dogs and cats, have very strong homing instincts. This means that, until they accept the new home as their territory, they will try to return to their previous property. You have to watch them closely so as to avoid this from happening. Make sure their collar and microchip is updated with your new address details. That way, if they do escape and get lost, you will have a greater chance of seeing them returned.

Settling

It can take quite some time for your animal to settle into their new home. This is particularly true for cats, who you will have to keep indoors for at least three weeks. After that, if they do get outdoors, they will probably get in quite a few fights as they establish their territory. Make sure you keep an eye on them, therefore, so that they don’t actually get hurt.

With a lot of love and affection, you can reassure your pet that the new house is actually their new home, and that you will not leave or abandon them. This may take a little bit of time, however. Be patient and supportive and all should end up well.