Tips&Tricks

Every child is hard-wired to mimic their parents (or caregivers) from the day they are born. It’s how they learn. What is more interesting is that in addition to imitating everything around them, children also mimic the breathing patterns of their caregivers. Why this isn’t taken advantage of more is a mystery but once you start to use these unusual parenting techniques, you won’t use any other.

Unusual Parenting Techniques

Calming an Infant

Some nights your little one just won’t go to sleep. Instead of staying up all night trying every type of rocking motion, lullaby or the old school method your mother told you about, lay in bed with your child. Deep breathe slowly in and out for about five minutes. Eventually, she won’t be able to help but copy your deep breathing as well, and that will put your baby right to sleep.

Toddler Temper Tantrum

Tantrums no longer have to be a nightmare. Get as close as possible to your toddler, talk slowly to them and breathe deeply, nice and slow. Pretty soon your child will be calm. Tantrum over.

Older Children

There will be days where your child is over stimulated or just can’t calm down. Talk to them in a slow manner while you are deep breathing. Even the older children will mimic your breathing. Soon they will get out of that frustrated, over excited stage and calm right down.

We’ve all been there. It’s the end of the day, we’re tired, the kids are wired and we instinctively yell at them to calm down. When that happens our blood pressure rises, our breathing gets rapid and the kids see that. They react in the same way so it’s important to be mindful of our actions and of our breathing to keep the calm in order.

I love finding interesting tips and tricks on Quora and that is where I found this unusual parenting techniques too. See, it’s all about the breathing. These unusual parenting techniques won’t work for everyone, but who knows, maybe you will discover that they work for your kids! Try them!

Many are the times that many end up getting excited when they realize how the internet has made it easy to get desirable items. Within no time and in the comfort of your home or office, you can have the item that you want to be delivered to you. While it is true that the internet and online shopping has made things easier and more straightforward, many often forget to consider some factor and end up getting a bad deal, which ruins the whole experience. For instance, clothing. When it comes to clothing, the very first thing that you should take into consideration is the size, among many other factors. Below are some top tips when purchasing clothing online.

The very first thing that you should do is ensure that you are in the perfect mood to do some online shopping. If you are feeling exhausted and not up to the task, you may end up getting an item that you will not be pleased with and which you never bought. Shopping has always been a practice that is exciting for ladies. As such, you should only sit behind your computer or laptop when you feel you are in the shopping mood.

As stated earlier, the size is a crucial factor to consider. This is especially when you are looking to buy a bra, shirt, trouser or skirt. You should, therefore, ensure that you have your updated size before you make your pick. If you are not sure of the scale, you can visit some sites that will walk you through how to determine your bra size.

After determining your size, the next thing that you should do is identify the budget that you have. You should always remember that online shopping is more like a vast ocean and you will be bombarded with different labels that range from affordable to highly expensive. Therefore, before you run for your credit card number and buy a particular piece, take a time out and come up with your spending budget.

However, considering your budget does not mean that you should settle for something that is cheap as this can profoundly affect the quality of the product, and you end up uncomfortable wearing it. Also, pieces that are made out of poor quality do not last and tend to wash off after one wash.

If you are shopping for specific clothing, it is advisable that you first determine the outfit. Go to your closet and pick out the outfit that you want to pair the clothing too. This will make it easier to pair and match.

Also, if you will be buying online, you should try as much as possible to shop in bulk as this will enable you to get discounted prices. Also, before you make a purchase always check to see if there are offers within the site that you are shopping from.

This last tip that will come in real handy when buying clothing online: do not get carried away by the moving pictures that the sites may have put up for advertisements as you may end up getting something that you will not even wear.

This stage of your child’s development is when they soak everything up like a sponge, develop personalities and begin to learn right from wrong. It can be a handful with just one child and having two or more can seem like a nightmare. These hacks for parents are meant to make the journey a little easier for the whole family.

I have just one child at the moment, but I was born in a big (and happy) family. I was the oldest one and I watched my mom handling all of us, so I gathered her best hacks for parents and decided to share them here!

Hacks for Parents

Create Feelings of Sufficiency For Everyone

You can create a conscious awareness of the infant by including the toddler in activities such as feeding time or changing the diaper. Make it exciting for them by creating a song they can partake in or have your toddler tell the baby a story as the diaper is being changed. A sense of unity will be accomplished and your toddler will feel like part of the process.

Make your toddler feel important after they have gone to school or a relative’s house. Pay attention to them. Put your baby down somewhere and have some baby-free time with your toddler. Listen to their stories, ask them questions about their day and do this every time they come home.

Independence

Eventually, it will be necessary for our children to be independent. Be proud of your child when they do something by themselves and acknowledge the act. I like how you did that all by yourself. Let them explore and discover things on their own. The less they ask if they can do something, the more independent they are becoming. Use No for only the most serious cases (sticking things in electrical outlets, running into the street, etc.).

Cooperation

Stop using the word “share“. It’s abstract and not as easy to understand as taking turns. Teach your child to take turns when engaging in an activity. That is something they can see in everyday life and you can use examples to teach them about cooperation and taking turns. You can say things like: “See how everyone is waiting to take their turn to see the cashier?”

Perseverance

Toddlers can get frustrated if they try an activity and is unsuccessful. Without the proper teaching on perseverance, they can develop the mindset that any activity that is difficult isn’t worth trying. That is something we all know will not help them succeed in life. Remember the saying: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” and say that to your child daily. Make a song about it so that every time they come to a difficult task you both can sing it together.

These hacks for parents can make life at home with an infant and toddler a little easier. The older child can even teach the younger one. You can tell them that the baby is smiling because the toddler has taught them something. It makes them feel special and confident that they can do things with the baby too. You all work as a team and create a sense of unity in the family.

I hope these hacks for parents will help someone. You can find more great tips on Quora!

Do you have some hacks for parents with infants and toddlers?

Overspending on the budget is undoubtedly one of the biggest fear of every homeowner when it comes to remodeling or renovation projects. Even when it’s the third or fourth time you’ve had such tasks, it’s difficult to keep the bills for materials and contractors in check. Don’t worry because you are not alone. With a little bit of planning and thinking, you can easily cut costs without compromising the ultimate quality. If you would like to read some articles about home improvements then visit moderniser. Below are a few helpful tips to show you how to save money when planning home improvements.

1. Focus on efficiency rather than size

If you would reorganize and innovate your kitchen for optimal utility, it’s not necessary to knock down the walls to have extra square footage. Instead, you can replace a space-hogging shelf with pullout drawers, which contain racks for storing items. By increasing the efficiency in a specific space, you can save a lot of money from enlarging the area.

2. Make use of natural light

Before making a big hole in the wall of your living room and installing the frame for new windows, consider less expensive and invasive ways to capture light. For example, you can brighten up your windowless hallway or bath by installing a “light tube,” which would slip between the roof rafters and reflect sunshine down to your living space.

3. Visit the recycling centre

If you are a DIYer, it’s able to get significant savings with lightly used or recycled building materials or light fixtures. There are many recycling centres around the city which sell salvaged materials at much more affordable prices. Investing your time in these facilities, and you will significantly reduce your renovation budget.

4. Do it yourself

If you are a keen learner and think you can complete certain parts of the home improvement you are doing then why not. It can save you a lot of money in the long run. For example, if you are getting a new kitchen installed you could take out the old cabinets and take your kitchen back to basics yourself. This will save you a lot of money instead of hiring a trade to do it for you.

Family vehicles balance the necessity of safety for you and your loved ones, with the mobility required for modern living. Considering over 42,000 people lost their lives in highway-related accidents last year, every parent understands the desire for a vehicle that can protect your family. Large vehicles like sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are becoming the new go-to for safety, although they are counterbalanced by an increased risk of rollovers and danger to other drivers.

Modern Safety Features Are Proven To Reduce the Risk Of Injury

When choosing a new family vehicle, it’s important to consider basic safety features. Many new cars include a feature to manually disable airbags for a time, to eliminate the risk that they will fire on small children and cause severe injury. You should also consider child safety locks, which automatically trigger when a vehicle’s ignition is started or turned off. These and other electronic safety measures can help with family safety in modern truck vehicles.

Check Informative Sources About Your Vehicle’s Make Or Model

If you’re going to buy a new family vehicle, consider checking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website. This government organization has been testing vehicle safety when it comes to impact crashes, rollovers, and other accident scenarios for years. They then reward models a safety rating using a five-star system. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is another group that gathers data on vehicle safety to help consumers make the right choice.

The Best Vehicle For Personal Safety

Family drivers have been buying more SUVs in recent years. The perception is that the larger mass of the vehicles reduces the seriousness of injury during crashes. Though SUVs do have a tendency to protect you and your family in an impact based crash, they are more prone to rollover due to the extra height, and the extra impact is transferred into other vehicles on side or head-on collisions, raising the risk of serious injury or death in anyone else involved in a crash.

Making the Best Choice

If you’re looking to buy a new family vehicle with your family’s safety as the priority, an SUV is most likely the right option. When it comes to child safety, remember to buy a more modern vehicle, as the introduction of child safety locks and electronic vehicle monitoring have given parents more control over their safety than ever before. And before you buy a new family vehicle, check with the NHTSA or IIHS, to determine the safety and efficiency of your family vehicle.

Children cost a tremendous amount of money. Many people, though, choose to have a baby first and worry about the expenses later. However, by doing things this way, they will force themselves to constantly look for solutions to their financial problems, such as how to feed and clothe their baby.

It is important that you are sure about this crucial decision and that you have the right partner in making it. You also need to consider several factors first before having children. That might be the reason why people are pushing back the age of having a child.

Average Age of First-Time Parents

The average age of first-time parents has been increasing in recent years. Women, taken as a group, have their first child between the ages of 30 and 34 nowadays, while men become parents when they are between the ages of 25 and 29.

The average age of first-time mothers is 28 years old. It was approximately 25 in 2000 and 26 in 2014, so you can see that it’s slowly increasing. Women delay having kids because they want to be financially stable first before starting a family. According to sociology experts, it costs around $235,000 to raise a kid from birth until he or she is 17. Adults today want to have a head start so that they are ready for the financial responsibilities that come with having children.

Save Money to Raise a Child

It is a good idea to save money before having a family. However, the amount you need varies from one case to another. Most parents say that young adults should not worry about lacking enough money to raise a child because they can take out a quick personal loan or use a credit card for their expenses when their income is insufficient and just worry about it later on.

Purchasing a house is the largest investment most people will make in their lifetime. However, raising several kids usually exceeds that amount. If you add the cost of college education or the expenses needed to raise more than one child, you will definitely find that buying a home is more affordable.

Proper planning, though, would help you raise children without suffering financially. Some of the expenses for the first 18 months of a kid’s life include prenatal care and childbirth, maternity leave, baby clothes and toys, formula and food, diapers, and child care, just to list a few.

It is important to prepare your finances before starting a family. What follows are some of the financial milestones you should reach before considering having children.

Have a Stable Job

It is important that you have job security before having kids. Whether you are self-employment, work in a traditional type of job, or exist through a combination of both, you should have a stable income that can support your family.

You should choose a career path that you can continue on, even after having kids. The income you receive should cover the costs of childcare, but this is just a portion of the amount required to raise a child.

When looking for a job, you should consider more than the salary, though. You should also understand the benefits offered, such as paternity or maternity leave, personal and sick leaves, and dental and health care. That way, you can take a day off when your child is sick, and it will not affect your salary.

Make Sure You Have Adequate Disposable Income

The above-quoted figure of $235,000 seems like a large amount, which averages out to around $1,087 a month for one child, or -$13,044 a year. You should have enough of a buffer in your budget to be financially secure, even before the expenses of caring for a child come into play.

Experts recommend that you save an amount equal to a year or more of the estimated cost of rearing a child. That way, you don’t need to worry about your expenses over time. Some financial experts even suggest having savings of at least $20,000 before you give birth. This amount could also cover some tests or other expenses that are not part of your insurance coverage.

Create an Emergency Fund

Aside from your disposable income, you should also have an emergency fund. You never know what might happen to your child. You need to be prepared for future possibilities. The emergency fund should be three to six months’ worth of expenses in order to protect your family from any surprises that may occur in the future.

Save Up for Retirement

Aside from having to pay for childcare, you should also start to save money for your retirement. The cost of raising your child increases as he or she ages. That’s why it is important to save for your own retirement before having your first child.

You have the sole responsibility for your retirement fund, and you should start one before having kids so that you secure your own financial future and prevent burdening your kids as you near retirement age.

The best way to save for retirement is to put ten percent of your income into your savings account. To ensure you do not use this portion of your paycheck on something else, you can automatically transfer the amount to your savings.

Find Ways to Save for College

Many parents find it difficult to start a college fund for their kids. To add to this burden, many adults are probably also still paying for their own student loans. If you don’t want your children to suffer the same, or a similar, debt problem, you should try your best to save up for their college education as soon as it’s possible, close to giving birth.

Manage Debt

Debt management is a skill that all parents should master. You should get your debt to a manageable level first, even before you consider having a baby. Expenses will absolutely add up fast when you have a child, and that factor can easily lead to more debt.

When it comes to your own debts, it’s important to make sure that you pay them off as fast as you can. By doing this, you save money and, at the same time, keep your finances under control. If you need to get a loan for childbirth, make sure that the terms are affordable. You should conduct your own research on different lenders before you sign for a loan.

Childcare Expenses

Childcare is the biggest expense you will incur once you go back to work. Having close family members or friends who can help take care of the child while you are at work can save you a lot of money over the long run.

However, having no family or friends nearby to help take care of the child will almost certainly result in more expenses and mean that you would need to employ the services of a nanny or daycare. Full-time infant care can cost up to $20,000 a year.

These are some of the things to consider before having a child. However, the reality doesn’t always present you with the best-case scenario. You will know when you are ready to have a child, even if you haven’t hit all of these previously mentioned financial milestones. They should only serve as a guide that will help prepare you financially before you have children.