Category Archives: Parenting

How Hearing Loss Can Affect Dads (And How To Nip It In The Bud)

06/19/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

“I’m not that old”, you’re probably thinking “There’s no way I’m losing my hearing!”. But this denial is actually extremely common in those whose hearing has begun to deteriorate. All-too often, we’re the last people to learn that we’re losing our hearing. After all, rarely does it happen overnight. It takes place slowly and gradually over the course of years (and even decades). And while you may be a good few years away from collecting your pension, you may still be afflicted by hearing loss, even if it’s not age related. Genetic conditions such as Meniere’s disease, and even a stressful lifestyle (which leads to high blood pressure) can cause you to start losing your hearing early.

hearing, hearing loss, dad, fatherhood, health, family, aging, prevention — Image by Ddmitrova via Pixabay

Take the time to look for them, and you may find that the signs add up. Your kids or your partner rolling their eyes when they have to repeat themselves. Complaints that the TV is on too loud. Misunderstandings at work or at home. There comes a point where the facts cannot be denied. Check out this link to find out more about the signs of hearing loss. In this post, we’ll take a look at how hearing loss can affect your ability to be a great Dad, and how to nip it in the bud.

It can add to your stress

Being a Dad is stressful enough as it is. But hearing loss can actually exacerbate your stress. It can cause you (and those you’re trying to communicate with) great frustration, leading to frayed nerves all round.

Unfortunately, stress can, in turn, elevate your blood pressure and exacerbate issues with your hearing.

It can lead to mistakes and misunderstandings at work

As a Dad, you feel that it’s your responsibility to provide for your kids. And that means that you need to be firing on all cylinders at work. But if you don’t take steps to improve your hearing, it can result in misunderstandings and mistakes that may not get you fired, but could harm your chances of promotion or progression.

It can cause those you love to feel ignored

Hearing loss can result in heartbreaking consequences for the people you love the most in the whole world like your partner and your kids. Especially if it goes undiagnosed. If they don’t know that you’re having trouble hearing them, they may assume that you’re ignoring or dismissing them. Which can have terrible repercussions for their self-esteem, and cause them to feel unloved and undervalued.

It can cause your kids embarrassment

Okay, so outwardly our kids act as though we’re super embarrassing anyway. Still, when we keep asking people to repeat themselves in public and mishear them, your partner or (worse still) their friends, it can lead to embarrassment and resentment.

It’s time to take action!
The good news is that there’s always something you can do to mitigate hearing loss. The first thing you should do is find a local audiologist who can determine the cause and extent of your hearing loss and prescribe a solution. Whether it’s a thorough cleaning of your ears, a hearing aid or even referring you for surgery, you can enjoy better hearing and less stressful conversation. As the years advanced, there are now smaller hearing aid models that are comfortable to wear all day. They can also be paired with your smartphone using a Bluetooth connection to make phone calls and play music. You should also try and exercise regularly, even under lockdown. Not only will it help you to control your stress and blood pressure, it can help you lose weight and feel better about yourself.

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Parenting

Garden Games To Play With Your Kids

05/04/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

With the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, families with children have been looking for more and more ideas of things to do with them outdoors. If you’re lucky to have an outdoor space, then it really can be a blessing, and be transformed into a playground, to create lots of fun for the kids. Garden games are not only just for kids, though. All members of the family can get involved, and throughout all times of the year, not just during this lockdown period. Here are a list of things that you could try out:

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Water Balloon Dodgeball – this can be a lot of fun, and is perfect for a warm summer day. All you need is water balloons, filled with water. If you can get two colors, and two teams, then you just play a normal round of dodgeball, but you’ll get wet if you get hit! You could introduce no firing zones and other rules; whatever will suit your family.

Cornhole: this is a fun game for the family to play, that can improve accuracy and throwing skills. A homage to a classic fairground game, you could even play for cotton candy! You can make your own cornhole game with cardboard and beanbags, or you could look at a site like Cornhole Worldwide to get things of your own. It works well for children of a variety of ages, and is the kind of game that will grow with them.

Natural Art: this is all about collecting a variety of things that you can find in your yard, such as leaves, grass, sticks, and flowers. Then you can use what has been collected to make small things like nests and bug hotels. Of course, you could use some things like crayons, string, and tape that you already have, to help their works of art to last longer.

Cup Races: for this game, you will need some empty cups, string, and something to make a hole with (like scissors). Water guns are also a must, but water balloons could work well too. What you need to do is to build some parallel tracks using the string. Then make a hole in the empty cup, and thread the cup onto the string. Then you have to make the cup move by using the water gun (or popping the balloons). The cup that gets to the end the fastest wins. If you’ve got some competitive kids with lots of energy, this can be a great idea.

Tug Of War: all that you need for tug of war is some players and rope. Make two teams that are fairly equal, and put a marker or flag in the middle of the rope. Once all players are ready to go and have the rope ready, the games can begin. Once a team succeeds at pulling across most of the other team, the rope will slide towards them, and then they will win the game. This can be fun for big kids and teens especially.

Going Healthy, Parenting

How To Help Your Aging Parents Stay Socially Active

05/01/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

As you get older, you will notice that your parent’s age really starts to show and they may struggle with a lot of simple things that they used to take for granted. It’s important that you’re there for them and you help them to maintain their independence for as long as possible. There are a lot of things that you can do to help your aging parents, but one of the most important things to consider is their social life.

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Even with Home Care Assistance, helping your parents to stay socially active is so important because it slows cognitive decline and prevents loneliness. With the simple tips on this list, you can make sure that they have an active social life.

Learn To Communicate With Them

Older people that are experiencing problems with their hearing often struggle to communicate. This means that, even when you are spending time with them, they may not engage socially that much. That’s why it is important that you learn how to communicate with them properly in a way that they can understand, so you can engage them in conversation. These hearing loss communication tips will help you to make yourself understood, and understand your parents better. If they are not already using them, you need to make sure that they are fitted with hearing aids as well. By improving communication, you will find it a lot easier to help your parents stay socially active.

Find Senior Exercise Programs

Exercise is so important for older people as well, so you should look for some senior exercise programs in the area. It’s a great way to make sure that their physical health is taken care of, and it’s a brilliant place to meet people as well. Attending one of these senior exercise programs will give them a regular opportunity to socialize and they can meet other elderly people that they can spend time with outside the exercise classes as well. One of the key factors that you must take care of when taking your elderly to a senior exercise program is their catheter supplies. In old age, it is common to lose control of bladder motion, while there could be other reasons for it as well. One of the many solutions to this problem are catheter supplies from Byram Healthcare that are readily available at home. You can also consult with the experts for more information on their urology and catheter programs.

Engage Their Hobbies

If your parents have hobbies, you should see whether there are any local clubs that they could get involved with. Things like book clubs, for example, are a great place to meet like minded people and exercise their brains at the same time. There are groups and clubs for so many different hobbies these days, and you can easily find them online, so make sure to engage your parent’s hobbies and use them as an opportunity for socializing.

In some cases, they may not be able to do their hobbies in the same way that they used to. However, you should try to think of ways to adapt those activities so they can still get involved in them.

Offer Them Lifts

Often, elderly people are isolated because they do not have access to the right transport. They are unable to drive themselves, and they may not feel confident enough to take public transport if their mobility is not good. That’s why you should offer them a lift whenever they need it. Let them know that if they want to visit friends then you are always willing to drive them over there or take them both out somewhere else, like the park or a coffee shop.

Get Them Online

While there are a lot of negatives to things like social media, it is also a good way to bring people together. If you can teach your parents about technology and get them online, it helps them to stay socially active. You can set up family group chats so they can always message you and you can send them pictures. It’s a good idea to teach them how to video chat as well because, even if you can’t see them in person, it’s a good way for them to catch up with you. If they are able to use social media and search online, they will find it a lot easier to find local groups and activities that they can get involved with.

Teaching your parents to get online might be tough, but there are often local computer courses for elderly people. Attending these classes is yet another great opportunity for socializing, and it will help them get to grips with new technology that helps them to stay connected.

Helping your parents to stay socially active is so important because it slows cognitive decline and prevents loneliness. With the simple tips on this list, you can make sure that they have an active social life.