Tag Archives: family

The Best Father-Child Bonding Activities

08/17/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Forming a good relationship with their father is so important for children, but unfortunately, many dads don’t spend enough alone time with their kids when they are young. If you are a dad, it’s vital that you spend time alone with your kids, but many new parents don’t know what kind of activities they should do with their children. If you feel the same, take a look at this list of great activities for father-child bonding.

Fishing

Fishing is a very common bonding activity for fathers and sons, but there is no reason why daughters can’t get involved as well. Fishing is such a great activity to do with kids for a number of reasons. Firstly, it gives you a chance to get out into nature, which is great for their health as well as yours. There are a lot of great learning opportunities too because you can teach them all of the different fishing knots and how to bait their hook etc. Fishing is also a brilliant way to teach your child about patience because it involves a lot of waiting around before there is any payoff, and in some cases, you might not catch anything at all. Regular fishing trips will teach your child the value of hard work and patience. It’s a great bonding activity because there is plenty of time for talking and learning more about one another while you are waiting for the fish to bite.

Coaching Sports

Joining a sports team is very beneficial for children because it gets them active and teaches them valuable skills, like teamwork. If you want to turn this into another opportunity for bonding, coaching their sports team is a great idea. You get to spend some quality time with them and show them that you are invested in their hobbies. You also teach them some valuable lessons about leadership and fairness at the same time, so it’s the perfect activity to do together.

Celebrating Traditions

Traditions are an important part of family life and even though it’s good to start new traditions with your old kids, you should celebrate some of the old ones that you had with your own parents. You can also visit https://www.genealogybank.com/explore/census/all with your kids to learn about your ancestors and any traditions they had. Maybe it’s a father-son breakfast on a Saturday morning or a family game night. Whatever the traditions are, it’s a great way to involve your child in your family history and bond with them at the same time.

Let The Kids Decide

If you are stuck for ideas, you should just let the kids decide. It’s important for your child to develop their own hobbies and interests so why not ask them what they would like to do and then get involved. It shows that you support them and you are taking an interest and it will make the bonding time feel more natural. Even if the activities are completely alien to you, your child will still appreciate you giving it a go.

Father-child bonding is so important but many dads are unsure what activities they should do with their kids. These are all great options and if all else fails, ask your child what they want to do together.

Going Healthy, Health, Life, 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.

Health, Life

Dealing With Special Events During Quarantine

05/18/2020 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

quarantine, health, family, covid — Photo by August de Richelieu from Pexels

If they haven’t already, you are probably going to encounter some special events during the COVID-19 pandemic. From birthdays to anniversaries and cultural celebrations. Adults understand that we are living through difficult times, so having a birthday in quarantine isn’t too much of a disappointment. We accept that money is tight and getting out to the shops, planning celebrations or seeing our friends is out of the question. However, it can be challenging for our children even if it’s a parents birthday or special occasion.

It’s essential to help guide our children through this time and give them as much normality in a crisis situation as we are able. So keeping to traditions in our household is important. If you always do something special for mother’s day, then you need to stick to the plan. If your child is used to birthday parties, it’s time for some outside the box thinking.

If you are tight on budget, then getting creative with your children is a great place to start. Re-purposing items you already own and presenting them as gifts, will not only keep your kids busy, it will also give them pride. You could create your own fathers day shirts or bake a birthday cake with your children for their sibling. Young children love to give, but this doesn’t have to be a vast, expensive gesture. Even collecting up flowers in the garden and creating a beautiful bouquet would work.

If you’re worrying about birthday parties during quarantine, there are some great solutions to making the day special. You can send out invites to all the members of your household, including the cat or the dog. You could also send virtual invitations to friends and family, asking them to join your special party via a video call! Ask them all to dress up if there is a theme. What could be better than grandpa appearing on a TV screen dressed as a Disney princess or a wrestling character?

With the technology we have, it’s easy to set up a karaoke night or a disco. So getting children in the party mood isn’t hard. You could also play games in the garden or have a competition. It’s worth considering what makes your child excited about birthday parties. Often it’s the small things we don’t think about. Like the party bags at the end of the night. So make sure you pay attention to all these elements.

Food is the center of every event. Whether it is an anniversary breakfast, a birthday cake or a traditional day of celebration, get your kids involved in working out the menu and then helping you to prepare all the elements of your big meal. Make sure you create something unique and not just prepare a usual meal. Ask your children to lay out the table and let them choose where everyone is going to sit.

You can make events more memorable in quarantine and really help children to deal with this challenging time. Plus, you will have a great time too!