Kid Stuf

Technology is one thing children these days are always in touch with. Seven-year olds get mobile phones for their birthdays, and toddlers know how to work a PlayStation Portable. Then there’s the computer, and of course, the World Wide Web. The Internet is one of the friendliest things a child can come to know. It has everything amusing, and is always a great short-cut for tedious homework from school. It’s also loaded with fun and games where your child can interact with peers. But these technological advancements can also cause a drastic decline in your child’s positive development.

Enter cyber-bullying. Simply put, it is when your child is getting bullied, by someone using these forms of technology, or by the technology itself. Parents can mistake the signs for normal phases and shrug them off, only making the child’s trauma deeper.

• Watch out for these signs, and help you child confront his or her cyber-bully and regain his or her confidence:
• Your child stays away from the telephone, the computer, cellphone and other technological devices for communication.
• Your child gets extra anxious and fidgety when he or she receives a text message, or gets a call or an email. Notice the increased flitting glances, sweating, and fidgeting as well as the attempt to avoid the text, call, or email. You will also notice evading mechanisms such as pretending to be asleep, going to the bathroom, etc.
• He or she withdraws from social circle and refuses to interact with family and friends.
• He or she may have declining grades in school, and may not even want to go to school and other extra-curricular activities.

Keeping children relaxed and calm during holidays is easier said than done. Here are a few tips to help you:

#1 – Do not overcrowd their schedule. If you feel their activities for the day are too much, cut it out. Try to avoid activities that go on for a long time, as this might not only affect their temperament, but could make them feel uncomfortable.

#2 – Celebrations should have lots of activities. Give your children the chance to choose what activities they want to do with the whole family. Give them enough of time to bake cookies, make presents, cards, decorations, etc.

#3 – Keep them physically active. Ensure that holiday time has lots of time to play. This is one surefire way of getting your child to de-stress, and also to get a good night’s sleep.

#4 – Children should play outdoors whenever possible, as sunlight helps kids to sleep better.

#5 – While vigorous activities must be carried out, it is also important that your kids learn a few relaxation skills. Get creative with it and turn everyday games into delightfully relaxing games for your children. It will help them wind down after a tiring day.

#6 – Some children might not like bedtime due to various fears. Help them overcome it with fun activities. You could get them to draw a picture of what they are scared of. Then you could fold it until it is really small, lock it up in an old box and throw it away.

#7 – Assign a ‘quiet’ time with the whole family, where you can spend a certain part of the evening reading stories, singing or even listening to music.

#8 – Bedtime. Keep to this routine no matter where you are. You must never let any kind of activity affect your children from getting a good night’s rest.

When bringing up children, instilling a sense of discipline in them is very important. This should start from an early age. It is very important that your child understands that bad behavior does have its consequences. This decision to punish your child must be made after careful consideration and much thought; after all it is an important decision to make.

Keep in mind that varied types of behavior call for various kinds of punishments. As you go along the way, you will be able to differentiate between them. If your child is caught hitting other children in school, the best punishment would not be to spank him back at home. Each situation must be handled with much thought, care and tact. It is important that you understand that a single type of punishment will not work across the board. Instead, each and every type of mistake must be handled individually. No matter what mistake your child makes, ensure that he knows that it will have a consequence, no matter how small.

By enforcing disciplinary action on your child, your goal should be to promote good behavior, rather than put a stop to him misbehaving. Your child will also be able to tell if you are angry or upset with him and his behavior. This means that at some points you might not have to say or do anything at all. A simple reassurance towards good behavior is important. Telling your child you are disappointed with them and their behaviour is also a good method of handling a small incident.

If bad behaviour continues and is almost impossible to put a stop to, then, discipline should be made more severe. How you choose to punish your child is up to you and the method you have decided to utilize when bringing him up. This might not be the easiest decision to make, but ensure you give it a lot of thought.

As anyone interested in cooking can tell you, learning new techniques can open up a whole world of dishes and flavors in your food. What they might not realize is that many innovations in the kitchen in the past century were thanks to a little material known as plastic. Plastic plays an important role in the kitchen these days, from how we store food and organize our kitchen to the preparation and serving when we’re entertaining friends and family. It’s exciting to think how the plastic prototypes of today could change the kitchens of tomorrow.

One of the products that is often used today that we might not think about is plastic wrap. First introduced in 1933, plastic wrap has become an integral part of how many of us not only store food, but how we prepare it as well. Another food storage advance, the plastic containers known as Tupperware, became popular during the 1940s and 1950s. Some of the latest advances that have taken the cooking world by storm are silicone bakeware and oven mitts. Processes such as injection mold design allows for unique and affordable serving pieces as well.

There are a large number of food festivals held during the summer, making it a cooking aficionado’s unofficial season. These events often serve as the stage for introducing new products and cooking techniques. While not all of the plastic innovations are of interest to those who cook on a professional level, they serve to enhance the cooking experience in our homes.

When your kids reach the toddler stage, you better be ready to handle sudden refusals and pickiness when it comes to certain items of food. You will notice them refusing some kinds of food, while others might want to eat only certain types of food. At this point, do not worry about your child eating a well-balanced diet – all you need to ensure is that your child’s growth and energy levels are normal. If they are, you have absolutely nothing to be concerned about. This period of their life does not require too many calories as growth does not happen at a very fast rate.

With children, managing to provide a balanced meal which is accepted by them every day can be difficult. Instead, concentrate on ensuring that they get a diet that contains everything they need over a period of a week. If you feel your child is not getting the nutrition he should be, consult your pediatrician and start him on a daily vitamin.

While having a child who eats all three meals without a fuss would be a blessing, they are hard to come by. Therefore, ensure that at least one or two full meals are consumed per day. For instance, if your toddler has a hearty breakfast and then lunch, a half eaten dinner is alright.

Even if your toddler is really fussy about food, do not go to lengths to make him a separate meal. Offer what is prepared for the rest of the family. If he does not like it, let him be. One missed meal will not starve him. The minute you rush off to cook him his own meal, that, is exactly where all the trouble begins.

Playgroups are a great way for toddlers to play with other kids their same age, while being supervised by teachers. Playgroups are also fantastic for parents, as it gives them some time to meet other parents with kids around the same age, while also giving them a well-earned break from chores around the house.

Playgroup activities must be creative, and variety is key to its success. When deciding on the type of activity, take into consideration the children’s age and ensure that it is safe as well as a lot of fun. Here are a few ideas:

Dressing up – this is lots of fun. You can base it on a certain book, movie, cartoon or letter of the alphabet. This is a great activity as it encourages your child to be more creative. E.g.: If the letter of the day is N – then each child dresses up in something that starts with that letter.

Theme – this is easy to incorporate into a variety of activities. First, carefully consider the amount of time available as well as resources. If it is an animal theme, then you can play games about the sounds animals make, pretend to be different animals, make masks and so on.

Field trip – this is a bit more expensive, but is great for the kids. A trip to an amusement park, the zoo or even a supermarket will do. These trips help children to widen their horizons, giving them the kind of learning they will not get in a typical classroom.

If your kids turn up their noses at fruit – then just make them look flashy and watch them gobble it up!

A team of Dutch researchers looked into methods of improving the consumption of fruit in 94 children aged between 4-7 years old. When the fruit looked great, then kids ate as much as twofold of the fruit, when compared to it being served up in the usual, boring manner.

Colourful grapes, apples and strawberries were skewered and then placed on a watermelon – while the ‘boring’ serving style consisted of fruit, still skewered but laid out on a plate.

Contrary to popular belief, the study uncovered absolutely no evidence to prove that prohibiting children from consuming fruit makes them want to eat even more, unlike the case with sweets.

The kids were probably aware that the fruit would taste the same, but preferred to eat the fruit that was arranged in a more visually pleasing manner said one researcher. Another said that they probably opted for that option because it seemed more fun, and had nothing to do with the taste.
The researchers also wrote that based on this study, supermarkets, schools and parents should consider opting for more visually pleasing presentations of fruit and vegetables which are generally snubbed by most kids.

The study also does not indicate that a particular presentation would, over time, hold the interest of the kids. This only means that parents should continue to be innovative each time, and this could help boost fruit consumption in kids. The recommended intake of fruit for kids is 1-2 cups a day, as per the US Department of Agriculture.

Being an only child can be fun. Getting used to an additional person in the family can take some getting used to. You might tell your child that they soon will be the ‘big’ sister or brother, but this too will take some getting used to. Your child might have many questions to worry about. They will involve wondering if he/she will still be loved the same, the amount of attention received. If they like the idea of being the more responsible one, this new-found sense of independence can also take its toll.

Children are often excited at having a new brother or sister, only because they envision having a new contemporary to play with. This expectation soon becomes a disappointment when he/she discovers that the new baby cannot play with him/her but instead demands more attention from his/her parents and generally ends up being the more important child. Sometimes this can even make the older child resent his/her new sibling.

One good way to work around this is to give the older sibling more ‘chores’ related to the new baby. It can be as simple as helping with the bathing duties, bringing diapers. If you feel the older child is capable of more responsibility, then pile it on. You can have him watch the baby while you shower, help with feeding the baby, pick up toys, watching him/her during naptime, etc.

If you feel the older child is threatened by the new arrival – then perhaps you should consider carrying out things that will help him/her feel empowered and equally important. Talk about how they can do so many things the baby cannot do. Instil in him/her that being the older sibling is great!

Charitable organizations in today’s world accept small items such as cell phones but also big items such as providing car donation services for folks who would like to dispose of their unwanted vehicles. For most people, this is a better option as compared to making out a check to a charity, which is along the lines of ‘giving until it hurts’.

If you would like to make a car donation Los Angeles or from Maine, all you have to do is log on to the internet and one of their representatives will get in touch with you, and collect the unwanted vehicle (along with the title papers) from your place of residence, work or just about anywhere you specify with their nation wide towing service.

When you donate auto, this is done to help children of all ages that are in need of food, clothing, shelter, medicine and financial assistance for their education from around the world. You can be rest assured that your donation is helping children who are disadvantaged of the basic privileges that normal children get on a daily basis.

Of course, the bottom line of this all, is to cater to the needs of these children in order for them to grow up into healthy, productive adults that will go on to contribute to society. They understand that a little payback is in order, so you can also claim a tax deduction on your yearly tax returns.

So find a suitable charity that accepts unwanted cars (which you do not need) and make your donation that can make someone else’s life better.

Buying toys is no easy task. The choices are endless, and as for the prices, only the sky is the limit. When purchasing toys for your child, it is important that you take into consideration their age. If you have a few children, then look for toys that can be used by children of varied ages. Understanding which toys suit which ages is extremely important and useful, not just for you, but for the child as well.

0-2 months – Rattles and animals made out of soft cloth, music, baby mobiles

2-4 months – Teethers, rattles, shakers, baby gym

4-8 months – Cloth books, ‘push me, pull me’ toys

8-12 months – Blocks (large), board books, musical instruments, pop-up books, soft toys

12-18 months – Music, stuffed animals, balls, moving toys like cars, shopping carts, etc

18 months – 2 years – This stage is when children start using their imagination. They will want to be just like other ‘big people’, but still do not have the proper motor skills to handle small objects. Toys they would love would include puzzles, items to dress up in, crayons, play food

2-3 years – Cars, blocks, train sets, story books, crayons, and coloring books; play food, household play items

3-4 years – Options such as craft kids, story books, board games. At this stage, you will notice an interest towards others, especially their toys. Do not be alarmed if they make conversation with their toys.

4-5 years – Sports equipment, story books, board games, craft kits and building blocks are good for this age. This is a good time to start your child off on a hobby. It could be anything that involves collecting, be it stamps, feathers, sea shells, coins or even socks.

5 years upwards – Story books, board games, activity books, computer games, sports equipment.