Easter is a highlight of the year for the whole family.
Between the big meal and gifts for the little ones, it can seem like a major undertaking. The annual Easter egg hunt is obviously the main event, but make sure you’re also prepped with plenty of activities to keep kids (and adults!) busy once the eggs are found. After all, the little ones will need a way to work off that candy-induced sugar rush somehow!
Easter is just a hop around the corner—it’s Sunday, April 4!—and the time to decorate your space with flowers, eggs and bunnies galore has finally arrived. Although the spring holiday might look a little different than usual this year thanks to COVID-19, there’s nothing stopping you from bringing some floral fun to your home—especially since there’s a bunch of Easter decorations currently on sale.
Deciding when and how to tell your children they are adopted can be a major source of stress. What if they want to find their birth families? Or what if the truth about why they were placed for adoption scars them for life? What is the right age to have this conversation? What do you say?
Co-parenting after a separation or divorce is rarely easy. These shared custody tips can help give your children the stability, security, and close relationships with both parents that they need.
What is co-parenting?
Unless your family has faced serious issues such as domestic violence or substance abuse, co-parenting—having both parents play an active role in their children’s daily lives—is the best way to ensure that all your kids’ needs are met and enable them to retain close relationships with both parents. The quality of the relationship between co-parents can also have a strong influence on the mental and emotional well-being of children, and the incidence of anxiety and depression. Of course, putting aside relationship issues, especially after an acrimonious split, to co-parent agreeably is sometimes easier said than done
International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. and this year,
I #ChooseToChallenge all women and especially moms to find some sort of Work-Life Balance.
COVID-19 has been one that put us as women to the test and I must say the ladies all around the world have raised to the challenge. Women have always had to work twice as hard to get half as far and the one thing that we have had to struggle with is that we need to find some sort of Work-Life balance.
Here are my 5 tips for a better work Life balance that I have compiled from my journey as a working mother.
ACCEPT THAT THERE IS NO PERFECT WORK-LIFE BALANCE.
When you hear someone say “work-life balance” and you drift in though thinking of a productive day at work, get home early and get time to spend time with family and friends. Well, however ideal that is, it will not always be like that, and accepting this is the first step of achieving Work-Life Balance.
It is important to remain fluid and practical because, there are days you might focus more on work, while other days you might have more time and energy to pursue your hobbies or spend time with your loved ones. Balance is achieved over time, not each day.
PRIORITIZE YOUR HEALTH.
Your overall physical, emotional, and mental health should be your main concern. If you struggle with anxiety or depression and think therapy would benefit you, fit those sessions into your schedule, even if you must leave work early or ditch your evening aerobics class.
If you are battling a chronic illness, do not be afraid to call in sick on rough days. Overworking yourself prevents you from getting better, possibly causing you to take more days off in the future.
LEAVE WORK AT WORK
Develop a mental on-off switch between work and home. It helps to establish a transitional activity between the two realms. This might consist of listening to music or recorded books during your evening commute, exercising at the fitness centre, running errands, or keeping personal appointments. Scheduling such activities immediately following your normal work hours also prevents you from spending that extra twenty minutes at the office which then turns into several hours.
MAKE TIME FOR YOU
As much as work, health, and relationships take priority in your life, it is also important to schedule a time for your own renewal. Indulge in some small pleasure daily. Take at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted “you time.” It will do wonders for your well-being, and your relationships and your career will benefit too. Belief in God, or a higher power, can be a deep well from which to draw inspiration, guidance, and strength. Setting aside a weekly day of rest can be helpful, as well.
HAVING A SOCIAL LIFE
While you usually reserve fun things for the weekends, plan at least one enjoyable activity during the week. You’ll be able to head into your work week with something to look forward to and have a way to blow off some steam if the week starts off too strong.
International Women’s Day is marked every year on March 8. As the pandemic hits women disproportionately hard, this year’s event is vital. But how can you celebrate in lockdown?
For women, using marijuana while trying to conceive was linked with a 40% reduced chance of getting pregnant during the study.
Women who use marijuana while they are trying to conceive may be less likely to get pregnant compared with those who don’t get high, a new study suggests.
The study researchers found that, among women trying to conceive, those who reported using marijuana or who had a positive urine test for the drug were 40% less likely to get pregnant during each monthly cycle, compared with those who didn’t use marijuana.
In addition, marijuana users had differences in levels of certain reproductive hormones, which could potentially affect their pregnancy chances.
“These results highlight potentially harmful associations between cannabis use and reproductive health outcomes,” the researchers, from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), wrote in their study, published Monday (Jan. 11) in the journalHuman Reproduction.
Normall, each year, National Read Across America Day which is celebrated on March 2nd, the birthday of Dr. Seuss, focuses on the author.
This year, however, the organization is expanding their reach. The theme for 2021 is to create and celebrate a nation of diverse readers.
Bellyitch strives to focus on inclusvity in its coverage and in all areas and likewise, this year’s initiative fills me with glee.
I reached back in the archives to share thes 10 reading tips for getting your child to read more, even during difficult times such as the pandemic which is still ongoing this year.
1. Visit the library
The library is a magical place for children! Help your child register for her own library card so that she can check out books independently. This independence will allow her to choose the books she’d like to read and help her become responsible for taking care of those treasures. Encourage her to look for books she is interested in, show her where to ask for help if she can’t find something and allow her to make her own choices.
Since the pandemic started, some libraries have reopened with mofified schedules with the requirement for patrons to wear mask and sit farther apart. Many provide masks and hand sanitizers at the entrance and various stations around the library. In lieu of shared headphones in the audio visual areas, there are single use ear buds. Many limit food and beverage and have altered their opening hours, curbside book pick ups and other accommodations for a safer experience.
About 30 minutes of reading per day is what is recommended to encourage healthy reading habits in your child. Start at a young age by reading to your child and then gradually transition to him reading out loud to you.
The reading doesn’t have to be done all at once, but can be broken up into smaller, more manageable slices of time.
3. Role model at home
Children who see the adults around them engaging in reading are more likely to follow your example.
4. Write short notes to your child
Put them in lunch boxes, backpacks or leave them on the counter for your child to read.
You can write about anything; tell her that you love her, leave her a small fact to read or even write down her chores for her!
5. Ask open-ended questions about the story that you are reading
Asking your child open-ended questions will encourage him to think about what is going to happen next in the story and to put together what has already happened. Ask him how he’d have the story end or to predict what he thinks will happen next in the story.
Once you read more of the story, look back on your discussion and compare his thoughts to the actual story line.
6. Add Context to check vocabulary words
Throughout your life you use context to check the meaning of words you don’t know, so encourage your child to do the same.
It’s an essential life skill.
7. Practice writing skills
Reading and writing go hand in hand because you learn one while you are learning the other!
Have your child practice sounding out words while she is writing, encourage her to create her own story with illustrations and have her write letters to people in your family (and have others write back to her!).
8. Let them pick the books that they read
Giving your child ownership of the books he chooses will mean that he is more involved in the reading process from the beginning.
Encourage him to read the classics as well, but let him pick out what he is interested in reading.
9. Make reading fun
While you are reading together have her act out stories, recreate them or illustrate them how she thinks it should be done!
Choose games that require reading to play together. Games that involve word play (Scrabble or Boggle), games with cards that you read (Fluxx or Pictionary) or games that require you to read spaces (Life or Monopoly) all encourage children to read independently while playing.
It’s important to remain patient and calm during the learning to read process with a young child, help him when he needs help, but stand back and allow him to navigate the words on his own as much as possible.
Eventually the day will come that you are sitting side by side on the sofa, each reading your own books, and all that effort and hard work will pay off.
Here’s a breakdown of the tips from Children’s Health about how to keep babies and kids warm when it’s freezing:
1. Layer up! Dress your baby in multiple layers and don’t forget a hat and socks.
“Parents should keep in mind that infants do not self-regulate their body temperatures well, which puts them more at risk for getting hypothermia,” Hu said. “As a rule of thumb, infants should be in one more layer than what parents are wearing.”
