The date 3.14 represents the numerical value of pi, which is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter and is approximately equal to 3.14159…… The numbers after the decimal never repeat and go on forever!
March 14 is generally recognized as a day worldwide when we geeks recognize and celebrate the mathematical phenomenon that is the unique irrational number: Pi!
Pi has been represented by the Greek letter “π” since the mid-18th century,
Pi day is also a great day to celebrate, make, eat and be all about PIES!
A lot of schools celebrate by encouraging families to bake pies.
If yours is or if you are just interested in baking a pie to celebrate, the Kitchn.com has a great list of 20 with recipes to check out HERE!
In a culture where everyone is a winner, the opportunities to help children learn to deal with disappointments are becoming fewer and further in between. The next time your playdate gets cancelled last minute or the restaurant runs out of chocolate milk, help your child work through those feelings instead of trying a quick fix in hopes of shielding him from disappointment. When you do, you’ll be helping him develop important life skills that will last a lifetime.
Why Learning to Deal with Disappointment is Important
Life is full of disappointments. Whether a friend doesn’t want to share her toys at a playdate, she gets snubbed on the playground or she doesn’t earn a spot on the cheer team, children do and will experience disappointment. A child who learns to deal with disappointment from a younger age is better able to deal with disappointment as an adult.
Acknowledge Your Child’s Feelings
While it can be tempting to simply tell your child everything will be okay or let him know that in the grand scheme of life what happened isn’t a big deal, don’t. Instead, acknowledge your child’s feelings. A simple “I know that you’re disappointed that you can’t play at Charlie’s house. You were really looking forward to it” lets your child know that it’s okay to feel sad, bummed out and upset about the last minute change of plans. Learning to identify and communicate feelings is an important lesson you can help your child learn.
Empathize with Your Child
Put yourself in your child’s shoes. If you found the perfect pair of shoes but learned the store didn’t have them in your size, you’d be pretty bummed out. That’s how your child feels when he’s been anticipating something, only to learn things won’t be going his way. Imagine how your child feels when he’s disappointed and offer emotional support and comfort.
Find the Positive
Every cloud has a silver lining. While you certainly don’t want to minimize your child’s feelings, it is okay to help him brainstorm what good can come out of the experience. Perhaps your child didn’t make the team his friend was on. Helping him to discover the possibility that there could be new friendships to be made can help give the situation a positive spin.
Talk About What You Can and Can’t Change
Some things we can change and some things we can’t. While your child can’t change that she didn’t get selected for a key part in the play, she can change her response to the outcome. Empowering your children to change what they can helps them feel more in control of their feelings and the situation at hand.
Encourage Problem Solving
Something didn’t go your child’s way. Now what? His favorite restaurant was closed. Now what? While your child may not be able to come up with the solution, you can certainly guide him to one. Would you like to go for pizza or for Mexican? Helping your child find solutions to disappointments can help him to refocus on what he can control.
Be a Role Model
Children learn what they live. One of the best things parents can do to help their children learn to deal with disappointments is to handle disappointments in the way they would like their children to. When you encounter a disappointment, say when you’re supposed to have a mom’s night out but it gets cancelled last minute, let your child see and hear you working your feelings of disappointment out. Talk through your feelings, brainstorm your solutions out loud and let your child see you come out okay on the other end of it.
How you help your child handle small disappointments now will set him up for how he handles big disappointments down the road. The next time you’re tempted to shield your child from feeling disappointed, take a step back and consider the learning opportunity at hand. Walk him through his feelings and help him learn that with the right attitude, tools and support, he can handle anything.
According to WebMD, anywhere from nine to 20 percent of adults in the U.S. avoid going to the dentist because of anxiety or fear. Much of that stems from childhood experiences, which means as a parent, you can help set the stage for a lifetime of better oral health by getting your kids to love going to the dentist.
Start Taking Them While They’re Young
If it’s not too late, start taking them to the dentist while they’re still young, ideally around their first birthday. The earlier they start going, the more comfortable they’ll be with it later on.
Be a Good Role Model
Be a good role model by making sure that your kids see you brushing and flossing. Instead of sending them into the bathroom on their own, make it a part of your daily routine to brush and floss with them.
Educate at Home
Educate your kids as early as possible at home. There are lots of children’s books about going to the dentist that can spark conversation while emphasizing the importance of taking care of their teeth. You might even have them brush the “teeth” of their stuffed animals. There are some fun and useful toys you can use too, like vampire teeth that glow in the dark. Educational apps can also help, such as “My Healthy Smile” that teaches kids about dental cleanings, x-rays, losing their baby teeth and the importance of eating a nutritious diet.
Choose a Children’s Dentist
Choose a children’s dentist in Wilkes-Barre, PA or whatever city that’s most convenient to you as pediatric offices can be found across the country. They specialize in kids, which means they have the technology to make cleanings and treatments a more positive experience such as painless injections and laser dentistry. The offices are usually bright and colorful, with waiting rooms filled with fun toys, and they may even have televisions in the ceiling above the dental chairs to help distract from what’s going on. Pediatric dentists understand the importance of using non-threatening, positive language to make the experience a better one as well.
Do a Practice Run
Before your child’s appoint, do some role playing to get him or her comfortable with what will happen. Pretend to be the dentist, with your child as the patient. Ask them to open their mouth wide so you can count and brush their teeth, then have them look at their smile in a mirror. You may want to play in reverse too, letting your child play the role of the dentist as she or he examines your teeth.
Get Them Excited About Going
Get your child excited about going to the dentist by using more positive phrases such as “Yay, we get to go to the dentist,” rather than “We have to go to the dentist.” You might show them pictures of the dentist’s office, especially if they have a waiting room with a play area and toys, which gives them something to look forward to.
When you learn of a brand new bundle of joy’s impending arrival, one of your first thoughts may be of the nursery you’d like to create for him. After you’ve adjusted to the idea of bringing a new life into the family, you’ll be faced with a staggering array of decisions that make life in the months before your baby’s arrival quite hectic. Creating a calm, soothing oasis from the frenetic pace of the world can help you and your baby find some serenity. These tips can help you create the peaceful space you’ve envisioned and to perfect it before your baby arrives.
Color is Everything – The color of the walls and accents in any room set the mood. If you’re shooting for a more tranquil, serene space, it’s best to choose colors that promote those feelings. Bold and energetic colors like bright orange or red may not be conducive to rest, while pale blues and greens can have the desired calming effect.
Skip the Frilly Bedding – A crib that looks like a magazine layout may create a sense of pride for you, but it can be dangerous for your baby. Making sure that he gets a good night’s sleep without increasing SIDS risks is a parent’s job, so make sure your nursery planning takes American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines into consideration.
Don’t Forget the Window Treatments – Blackout shades can help you keep the sun out of Baby’s eyes while he naps during the day, creating a soothing space. You will want to make sure that you choose window treatments that don’t pose a strangulation risk, as babies can become entangled with cords that are within their reach.
Include a Comfy, Adult-Sized Chair – The nursery may be your baby’s room, but you’ll be spending many sleepless nights there as well. A comfortable chair that accommodates a sleepy adult will be a blessing for you, boosting the overall feeling of calm in the room.
Make the Most of Nursery Closet Space – Clutter doesn’t promote calmness, so devote some energy to effective closet use. Babies may be tiny people, but their stuff can take up an astounding amount of space!
Keep Storage Solutions Simple – The cute tub you’ve found for storing diaper wipes may be a thematic match with the room, but you won’t be soothed for long when you realize it’s too complex to open while holding down a dirty, squirming baby.
Choose Functional, Multi-Purpose Furniture – Rather than buying a changing table that serves no other purpose, consider a nice dresser with a safety rail installed and a soft changing mat placed over the top. When your child is out of diapers, it’ll still be a functional piece of furniture.
Be Budget-Conscious – The most beautiful, perfectly designed nursery will create nothing but stress if you dramatically exceed your budget in terms of planning. To make sure that Baby’s space isn’t a source of grief for you, keep an eye on your spending.
Look Up! – A newborn may not notice, but an older baby spends a significant amount of time on his back, looking at the ceiling. When you paint and decorate the nursery, keep in mind that a stained ceiling in need of painting can cheapen the rest of the room.
Choose Safe Paints – Finding the perfect shade of paint is a key aspect of creating a soothing and tranquil nursery, but it’s important to make sure that your wall colors are of the low-VOC variety. Volatile organic compounds can cause respiratory irritation and other health problems, which isn’t an environment you’ll want to bring a baby into.
Incorporate Heirloom Pieces – The crib you used as a baby, a rocking chair that came from your partner’s nursery or other heirloom pieces can be perfect ways of adding personal, comforting touches to a nursery. Just be sure that they meet current safety guidelines.
Think Outside the Big Box Retailer – There’s nothing wrong with opting for mass-produced accessories, but artsy parents may find that they’re more satisfied with the efforts of independent artists and creators.
Look for Pieces That Grow With Your Child – Having a few pieces of furniture that your child can use as he ages will create a sense of routine and comfort for your child, along with a feeling of consistency.
Consider Tradition Over Trends – What’s trendy today may be old news tomorrow. Furthermore, fad decorating is known more for being cutting-edge than aesthetically pleasing. A traditional, comforting nursery may be more soothing than a haute baby space.
Integrate a White Noise Device – Infants fall into a deep sleep when they hear the sound of the washing machine or the gentle lull of the road beneath the tires for a reason. Replicating these sounds with a white noise device can help your child feel more comfortable and calm in his nursery.
If you’re facing the challenge of returning to work, then we know how much of a challenge this might be to some of you. When you’ve been out of the working world for a while, no matter what your reason might be, you’ve got to think about the impact this is going to have had on you. You will have become so used to living your life the way you have, without having to so much as think about getting up for work, or getting dressed, or dealing with the mental stress that it might bring.
This really does desensitize you to the working world, making you feel as though the life you have at the minute is the only one you can live. But it’s usually financial reasons that people head back into work, especially when you feel like you’re living from paycheck to paycheck.
So, if you know the time has come for you to don your work clothes, head out of the house, and face the working world again, we want to try and make it a little bit easier for you. Below are out top tips as to how you can face the challenge of returning to the working world again!
Think About The Career You’re Going Into
This is going to be a whole lot easier if the career you’re going into, is one you actually want to go into. But for the majority of you, this just isn’t going to be the case. So, have a real think about the line of work that has always interested you, but you’ve never actually pursued. It could be something like nursing, or midwifery, but the thought of training to do it has always been too much.
Consider online platforms that provide jobs. For readers in the UK, consider Day Webster as an option.
Well, there is a nurse midwife program that you could take online, and it really would push you in the right direction to becoming a nurse or a midwife. We really do believe that although the work is hard to get there, the rewarding job at the end will be more than worth it.
No matter what it is that has always appealed to you, don’t let the work to get there put you off your dream job!
Are You Diving Right Into The Deep End
Facing the challenge of returning to work and diving right into the deep end, might not always be the best thing for you to do. Instead, you need to think about slowly readjusting, and the best way to do that is to go part time.
You’re still bringing in more money than you had before, you’re just easing yourself into it nice and slowly!
Getting Through The Jitters
The jitters are going to be there, and they will nearly force you to drop out altogether. But if you view work as a way of getting out and doing something different, and put a positive spin on it, it’ll be easy to get through the working jitters.
Everyone has them, even after returning from a weeks holiday, but everyone does get through them!
Being a working mom is a tough job. Juggling work, family time, and your own hobbies and social life is something that many working moms struggle to do.
Usually, moms who work away from home feel that they are missing out somewhere, and that their routine is unbalanced in some way.
Here, we’re going to look at things you can do to live a happier, more balanced life when you’re a working mom. Take a look and you might find some inspiration.
Let Go Of Your ‘Mom Guilt’
You can’t allow yourself to feel guilty about not being able to spend every waking second with your kids, as much as you may want to. Focus on the positives of you working instead. For instance, it’s very admirable that you are working, and you are setting a great example for your kids as a result!
Utilize Time Saving Hacks
There may be shortcuts you can use to save time. You may be able to also plan strategically so that you’re not wasting time unnecessarily. For instance you can order your food shopping online, and perhaps even see if there are ways you can work remotely. Preparing food in advance is a good plan, as well as picking out outfits the night before.
Maintain Open Communication With Your Manager/Boss
You should expect changes as a working mom. You may have appointments you have to keep, as well as sick kids you must deal with from time to time. It’s important you explain how you will continue to do your job well and what your place of work can do to help you. They will be impressed that you show your transparency and dedication to your job. Perhaps they will help you to further your career by enrolling you in courses from Kettering Online Education or another institution. Don’t be afraid to say what is going on with you!
Kick Distractions And Time Wasters To The Curb
Social media, emails, your phone, the TV – we have all of these distractions and more. Without these things, we can spend more time focusing on family. Time spent together will be far more meaningful when you’re not staring at a screen.
Have Meaningful Family Activities Planned
Plan activities that everybody is going to look forward to and enjoy. For example, you could plan a family games night, or you could stay active together by going on walks. To level up your walks, try geocaching!
Share The Housework
Housework should not be your job alone. Delegate simple tasks to your kids depending on their age and abilities. You will be teaching them valuable lessons and skills, and they will grow up being more organized and tidy.
Learn How To Say No
Overbooking your kids and overscheduling yourself is a bad idea. Allow time for more ‘me’ time and family time. If you overschedule your kids with things like after school activities, you will be little more than their chauffeur. Don’t say yes to things that you really want to say no to!
The better your baby sleeps, the better your chances are to take care of yourself, including getting the rest you need. The right sleep environment can make all the difference between a good night’s sleep and tearful hours for the whole family.
Take extra care and diligence when selecting the part of the crib that’s always in constant contact with your baby: the mattress.
Why a Crib Mattress Is Important
As much as you might love to watch over your newborn every second, it’s simply not possible. Everyone needs to sleep! Set up a secure sleeping environment so you and your new baby can rest easy. A safe crib mattress is:
Firm: It may feel strange to put your baby on a hard, empty bed instead of somewhere soft and snuggly, but AAP guidelinesrecommend a firm mattress for safer sleep. Avoiding crib bumpers, blankets, and toys reduces the risk of suffocation.
Breathable: When your baby is able to roll back and forth from tummy to back, you don’t need to creep in and move them if they roll in their sleep. While it’s recommended for babies to sleep on their backs, rollovers will inevitably occur. Instead of worrying about if and when this happens, having a fully breathable crib mattress allows you to rest assured since air flows freely for optimal breathability, no matter what sleeping position your baby prefers. Additionally, greater breathability helps little ones avoid overheating.
Healthy: Researchers from the National Science Foundation found that some foam-based mattresses may release chemical off-gassing while your baby sleeps. Play it safe and protect your baby from potentially harmful chemicals by shopping for a mattress certified for the lowest level of VOCs and other chemical emissions. Look for the Greenguard Gold seal for products that emit the lowest possible VOCs and help to improve your indoor air quality.
Clean: Accidents happen, and every parent eventually has to deal with a diaper blowout in the crib. Ideally, you should be able to wash mattress covers and the mattress itself to eliminate messes. A fully breathable, fully washable mattress makes it easier to get rid of any smelly traces of a blowout.
A newborn baby can sleep as much as 17 hours a day, and even toddlers need 12-14 hours of sleep. Thus, a crib mattress is an especially important investment by virtue of the sheer amount of time your little one will spend there.
Factors That Affect Babies’ Sleep
“When will my baby sleep through the night?” is one of the most pressing questions for new parents. Newborn sleep can seem enigmatic, but there are various elements you can control to promote good sleeping habits early on, such as:
Routine
Temperature
Where the baby sleeps: The AAP recommends that you share a room with your baby, but always put babies to bed on a safe sleep surface (i.e. a bassinet or crib with a firm mattress and tight-fitting sheet).
The crib and mattress may affect more than you think. It’s never too early to start practicing a sleep routine so you and your partner develop the habit, although your baby won’t be ready for actual sleep training until around four months of age. A dependable, feed-rock-sing-crib routine may help your baby grow to associate the look and feel of the crib with sleep time.
Depending on the mattress makeup, it can also play a role in promoting comfortable temperature. If you notice your baby has a sweaty back after lying in the crib, that’s a sign of overheating, which can be dangerous. A breathable mattress allows better air flow through the mattress, reducing the risk of your baby overheating while she sleeps. A bassinnett or some of the best rated mini cribsmay be an option as well.
Still struggling to get through the night? If you’ve set up a safe, cozy sleep environment and checked any medical concerns with your pediatrician, a baby sleep expert can help you develop a personalized plan to improve sleep.
Obesity in children is an epidemic in America and worldwide. Although not all overweight people are unhealthy, the fact is being obese or severely overweight makes one more susceptible to developing a range of health problems and conditions from high blood pressure to obesity to heart disease.
It puts a child at higher risk to and so it is up to parents to do what they can to help stave off, curb or decrease excess weight in their kids.
1 Talk to Your Child: A conversation about weight needs to be handled delicately so that you don’t hurt your child’s feelings. It’s important to be empathetic while educating yourself and your child on the detrimental effects of added weight. It’s best to let your child guide the conversation to keep an open line of communication. While speaking with your child about his/her weight, refrain from making statements and ask questions instead. For instance, instead of saying “You’re not very active” rephrase it into a question “How can you become more active?”
2. Encourage Healthy Eating Habits: Eating a balanced diet is a great way to help control weight. Be sure that your child is eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and buy whole grain foods instead of white. It’s also best to limit beverages loaded with sugar and opt for more water. Let your child get creative with his/her water by adding some fruit to naturally sweeten it and make it more exciting.
3. Go slow: If you introduce too many new things at once you may overwhelm your kids. Go slow and remember that every little step helps you accomplish the bigger goal of better health. For example, every meal might not be 100% low fat or low sugar, but a good place to start might be to reduce the serving of salt or sugar you use to prepare a dish, slightly reduce portion sizes, exchange water in place of soda or juice, and offer a serving of veggies at each meal.
4. Make Activity a Family Event: Being active at least 30 minutes a day is a great way to help remove excess weight and strengthen muscles. Brainstorm with your child some outside activities that he/she enjoys and make a plan. Even if you don’t have much time during the week to be active with your child, make activity a family event on the weekends. Go to a park, take a walk in nature, or visit a zoo. Those include lots of walking and provide some education along the way.
5. Include Your Child in Healthy Decisions: Children want to feel included in family decisions so let them participate in the healthy decisions. Ask your child what he/she would like to have for dinner or where he/she would like to go on family activity day. Including your child increases the likelihood that your child will stick with a healthy lifestyle.
6. Make it fun: After including them in the discussion, be sure to make it fun for them. When your kids look forward to something and get enjoyment out of it, they are more likely to want to engage. For example: you can invite their friends to partake in an outdoor activity or offer them something to look forward to if they eat well for a week.
7. Set the example: Children are always watching every move their parents make. If you want your children to eat better and be more active, you must also model this behavior. You lose credibility with your kids if you tell them to do something but you don’t practice what you preach.
8. Get help: There are a lot of food choices, recipes and recommendations out there, and sometimes it can all be confusing. When in doubt about what’s right for your kids, always talk to their pediatrician or seek the advice or a dietician or nutritionist who can help clear up any confusion or questions you have.
Decorating is a lot of fun, especially when you have a daughter who’s old enough to get involved. She’ll have plenty of opinions regarding the colors, fabrics, and overall look of the bedroom, and working with her to make it beautiful is a blast.
However, sometimes our imaginations can get the better of us and our budget can’t always keep up. If that’s the case for you, you need some tips to get the look you’re searching for in her bedroom without all the expenses. Consider some of these ideas.
Focus on the accents
If your daughter has a relatively neutral color scheme in her room right now, you can always add fresh life with accent pieces. Start with a few well-decorated kids pillows. These can be placed on the bed, a chair, and even in a corner of the floor for a little reading nook. The best part is these pillows are often low-cost and easy to switch in and out whenever you or your daughter are ready for a change.
Other accents that can easily overhaul the look of the room include rugs, shelves, bedspreads, and even storage organizers. Rugs make a huge impression on the room, and they can usually be purchased for less than $100.
Replace window treatments
Window treatments are another accent piece that make a huge difference. First of all, good window treatments can improve the efficiency of the room. They can keep the outside air outside so that your HVAC system doesn’t have to work overtime. They can also create the right ambience in the room by filtering or completely blocking light according to your preferences.
Good window treatments include blinds, roller shades, shutters, and curtains. The most affordable options are probably shades, blinds, and curtains. Roller shades are a great, budget-friendly option for home decor because they usually come in varied colors and patterns, providing a simple way to update your room. A possibility is to use perspex as it works much better as a material than metal and some other plastics.
The same can be said for curtains, although they are often a little pricier. Look for discount curtains or make your own from simple fabric. Consider layering curtains over shades or blinds to increase efficiency and make it easier to customize the light.
Decorate the walls
Perhaps the simplest way to update a child’s bedroom is wall decorations. You and your daughter can have a lot of fun with these, and each decoration hung on the wall can be adjusted to match her interests and chosen color scheme.
A fun way to decorate the walls is through a gallery wall. This allows your daughter to express some creativity while sticking with the theme of a well-decorated room. A gallery wall features framed photos, canvas prints, colorful initials, paintings, and other artwork that represents your daughter’s tastes. Altogether, it makes a very fetching wall.
Experiment with DIY projects
If you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty, you can save a lot of money with DIY projects. Spend some time on Pinterest or Etsy to get ideas regarding DIY projects for her bedroom.
If you need furniture, this is a good place to start. Sometimes, it’s very expensive to replace furniture, so look for pieces at yard sales or thrift stores that you can repaint and make your own. You’ll save a ton of money while still getting the look you want.
There are other DIY projects that you can try with your daughter, like making decorating wall hangings or sewing a new bedspread. If you’re intuitive and like following internet tutorials, you won’t have any problem delivering beautiful products while saving big.
Since we are currently in the midst of Black History Month, you may have come across quite a few sites and blogs sharing lists of books about Black History or featuring black characters in case a parent is looking to diversify his or her child’s library to include all races of characters….or if you are a black or brown parent and want a book that represents your child.
And as most parents who have small children know by now, books are important and being read to in early child development is just as if not more important!
Somewhere between 12 and 18 months, your child will realize that those sounds he’s been hearing you read — words — actually mean something.
The more you talk and read aloud to a child at this time (and from the start, for that matter), the better her vocabulary will be.
Look for books with a wide variety of visuals, words that repeat often, and clearly labeled objects, both common and unfamiliar.
When you read aloud, pause frequently to ask your child questions about the objects you see, answer her questions, and talk through the book’s action and images.
You don’t need a big book budget for this age group.
Hearing three or four titles over and over is better for a child than trying to introduce lots of new books.
When my children were little we discovered a wonderful book called “So Much” by British author of Dominica, Caribbean-parentage Trish Cooke and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury who is most well known for illustratingTickle Tickle, All Fall Down and her own books.
Children will appreciate ethnic diversity and the fun story about the anticipation of arrival of guests at a party for a young baby’s dad.
I love this book so much, I buy it for friends I know who have kids. I have shipped off several copies. See proof below the number of times I personally ordered and purchased it for friends:
My fave part about this book is the playful language uses repetition and I could read it in a different accent each time to make it fun.
The author was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire in the UK and comes from a large family, with six sisters, three brothers, eight nephews, six nieces, three great-nieces and one great-nephew, all of whom provide her with the inspiration for her picture books as the publisher notes Cooke has said.
“There’s always some conversation or other going on somewhere that I can eavesdrop on – language is very important to me. I love music and rhythms and when people talk, it is as if sometimes they are actually singing. I remember Sunday mornings, the smell of saltfish and johnny cakes wafting up the stairs, Mum singing and Dad telling stories that were always ‘true’.”
The kids loved it and enjoyed seeing me pull it off the bookshelf each time.
They are a lot more treat books out there featuring black characters nowadays compared to year’s past.
If you are looking for a fun book to add to your child’s library to diversify the images they see in books or to present a reflection of your brown or black child, I highly recommend So Much!
