Tag Archives: parenting

4 Tips for Balancing Your Family and Career

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Being a parent is one of the most difficult roles that anyone could have. It’s a role that essentially begins right when you find out there is a pregnancy. Even after your child turns 18, parenting doesn’t end then. This is a role that you take on until death. There is no doubt about it that being a parent is hard. You have to do this 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you’re not going to get very many breaks (if any at all).  Nevertheless, this round-the-clock job is completely worth it for the little ones that you love.

With that said, many parents face a fork in the road of whether to dedicate more time to their family or advance their careers. It’s something that many will face, and it’s a struggle to make such a decision. There’s this belief that in order to advance in your career, whether you work for an employer or for your own business, there need to be sacrifices. It doesn’t entirely need to be the case, however.

You can still have a fulfilling career and have a happy family to tend to at the same time. Sure, maybe some sleep here and there or some “me-time” needs to be sacrificed, but it’s completely worth it to get some balance in , isn’t it? There are some tips to help you out in balancing out having a career and keeping to your family life at the same time.

Work from home

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, now more than ever parents are getting the opportunity to work from home. Because of this, parents are getting to have more time to themselves since there’s no need to commute, more time to stay up, sleep in, clean up the home, and even take care of the family. Getting to work remotely does have its perks, and some people are looking into working remotely permanently. It’s easy to see why as well. 

There are so many benefits to getting to work from home that it would be hard to pass up. Having the chance to work virtually from home allows the chance to multitask such as cooking and cleaning throughout the day, getting to eat with your family, and there’s no need to worry about coming home late from work.

A great example that many are doing would be quickly throwing in some dishes into the dishwasher while chatting on the phone with a coworker. Even if you’re waiting for a meeting to begin or a call from a client, you can then do something such as fold laundry. Doing all of these tasks throughout the day can make a world of a difference. It frees up so much time in your day, so you’d be able to do other things.

Set some boundaries

As a parent, you should never be afraid to set boundaries. Your family should come first, and you need to protect them. Not only is it important to establish boundaries but it’s important for establishing paternity as well.  Having boundaries will allow your coworkers and clients to see that there are limits. Some examples can include leaving a signature in your email that states that you do not respond to messages past 5:00 pm, refusing to take calls after work or during dinner, or even telling everyone that you’re not going to respond or take calls during weekends or vacations.

It’s important to set clear boundaries and to protect them at every chance that you get. Unfortunately, boundaries tend to get crossed quite easily and it can then be more difficult to set them again. Stand up for yourself and don’t allow yourself to be taken advantage of.

Keep work and personal life separate

You wouldn’t miss a meeting at work, right? Then why would you miss dinner with your family or an important event? It’s important to keep your work and your home life separate. You should treat home-life obligations as just as important as your job obligations.  Make sure that you put important events in your schedule, stay informed too. Another thing that could help is immediately getting out of the work mindset the moment you get home.  You should keep all of your work-related responsibilities at work. So this means no answering the phone or checking emails once you’re home.  You want to promote family bonding and this is a nice way to do that.

Skip out on work social events

While a lot of these aren’t as common due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, there are some offices that will do Friday Night Drinks or Happy Hour, or even company-related events such as weekend trips. These are usually not mandatory, and it’s usually fit for those who don’t have families or who are still young in their career. You don’t have to force yourself to go to these events, instead, just allow yourself to go home and be with your family.

How To Lead a Healthy Lifestyle With Your Children

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Now that the festive season is over and done with, it’s time to get yourself and your children into a strict and healthy regime for the start of 2022. Getting them into a routine will be better for them in the long run so that they can get used to leading a healthy lifestyle and less likely to pick up bad habits. So here are some examples of what you can do as a parent to encourage your children to adopt a more healthy lifestyle. 

Be a Good Role Model  

Your children are likely to look up to you as a role model, so whatever lifestyle you lead is going to have a significant impact on them from a young age. Ideally you want to promote a healthy and physically active lifestyle to your children from a young age so that they are more likely to pick up good habits from you. 

Do Activities Together as a Family 

You want to create great memories for your children so that when they look upon their childhood years they will remember these times fondly. Going on outdoor adventures or exploring new places together is a great way to create some lovely memories whilst also encouraging your children to get out and explore new sceneries. 

Encourage a Good Rapport 

When you spend time together as a family you are more likely to get your children openly talking to you. Creating a good rapport will help to instill a good attitude and a willingness to learn new things and adopt healthy practices in their routine. 

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Cook Homemade Meals 

What your children eat on a daily basis will make a difference to how healthy a lifestyle they lead. It is best to introduce healthy, home cooked meals from a young age so that they can become accustomed to eating a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. 

You don’t need to cook long or complicated meals, but something simple, quick and tasty will be ideal, particularly on weekdays when you are working and they have school the next morning. You can encourage your little ones to get involved with the cooking process and help you choose fruit and veg when you go to the grocery store. 

Get Outdoors and Get Moving 

Although the weather might be a bit chilly at the moment you can still get outdoors and do some enjoyable activities with the children. You can go for long country walks, identify different species of birds or even go camping. It is a great way for your children to connect with nature and spend time away from technological devices which will better for their mental health and ability to concentrate on everyday tasks. 

Play a Variety of Sports 

Keeping your children active with fun and interesting sports is an excellent way to get them to do some exercise. Purchasing some Gearbox pickleball paddles in advance will make your day out a lot easier, as you will know you have the appropriate equipment with you, and can start playing as soon as you reach the courts. It is also more enjoyable to alternate which sports you play with your children so that they can learn a variety of different sports from a young age. They might also be inspired to play one of these sports professionally when they are older. 

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Encourage a Good Bedtime Routine 

Sleep also forms an important role in leading a healthy lifestyle so it will be necessary to include. It is vital your children get a good amount of sleep each night so that their cognitive development reaches optimum levels. Sleep is a big factor in how your children can concentrate on everyday tasks, the ability to recall memories and mood control. 

So really you want to encourage a good night time routine from a young age where they can get used to drifting off to sleep without the help of a blue screen. A good night’s sleep can help regulate your child’s healthy lifestyle so it is important not to underestimate the importance of good sleep. 

Overall you can easily incorporate some, if not all these elements into your child’s routine. The more you can achieve together as a family will help to instill a good and positive attitude towards leading a healthy and happy lifestyle for your children, that will encourage them to adopt this when they reach adulthood.

Parenting Tips to avoid Parental Liability Issues

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Parenting is an uphill task and should not be underestimated at all. Most parents spend less time with their children and have delegated their responsibilities to the caregivers. As much as you are out there hustling to provide for your family, create time to interact with your kids. Make them part of your everyday life. You do not want your kids to explore things by themselves when you can do it. Creating the bond between you and them is your obligation.

On the other hand, the law covers everything, including the parents’ duties and responsibilities. You will be liable as a parent if your child commits a crime or causes an accident somewhere. At the end of it all, you will incur the losses yourself. Please do not wait until it is too late when the law has to come to take charge. You can do so much to prevent the law from being on your neck.

Below are some parenting tips you can practice to be on the safe side of the law and increase the bond between you and your children.

Educating Your Children

Educating your children is like creating awareness for them. Children have to know the bitter-sweet that life has in store for them. They need to make the right life choices to avoid getting into trouble.

Unfortunately, sometimes children get into pain and suffering like the one caused by car accidents, and the parents will be the ones to take the blame for not educating them.

You need to sit down with your kids and tell them the outcomes of doing certain things. For example, when you have gotten a car for your son, you have to tell him what might happen when he lends it out to his friends. You, as the parent, are in charge of the asset, and in case of an accident caused by that car, you will be held accountable.

Therefore, it is essential to educate your children about the dangers that might be associated with the wrong decisions they make.

Close Monitoring

Every parent needs to monitor their kids closely. Children deserve proper guidance from their parents in the right direction. It is each parent’s responsibility to supervise their children’s activities.

It is okay to restrict them from doing things you disapprove of. That is playing your role as a guardian. Besides, children face bullying and harassment from other children at a certain age. Most of them will be ashamed and won’t tell you as a parent. It is essential to monitor them even in their social media activities because there is an increase in cases of cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying and harassment might lead to low self-esteem among the children, and in later stages of life, they might get into depression. As you monitor their online activities, you also need to control the number of hours online. It is easy for them to get brainwashed.

Besides, spending more time online negatively impacts children’s physical health. This is why most kids today are suffering from obesity. So do not let your kids into health and life problems this early when you can prevent that.

Be a Parent

Some parents are trying to be friends with their children. Your kids ought to know the boundaries, and you are the one to set them as a parent. There should be limits when it gets to becoming friends.

Teenagers desire boundaries because they make them learn and navigate a sometimes complex environment. Establish boundaries to allow your children to find out their interests safely. You have to model them into what you desire them to be.

When you put order into your kid’s development, they may become irritated with you. That isn’t to say they don’t care about you. In reality, when you enforce guidelines and restrictions, children typically bond with you. So go ahead and impose a curfew, restrict them from taking alcohol, and hold them accountable if they don’t obey. In the end, they will appreciate you for that, and you’ll be less likely to need to find a criminal defense attorney for them in the future!

Getting an Umbrella Policy

Children can make mistakes on their own, maybe when driving. They could cause accidents, even though not intentionally. Without a cover, you will incur losses because you will have to get into your pockets to pay for all the damages caused.

The expenses include the medical costs for those injured during the accident and the legal expenses. Having an umbrella will help you save a lot and prevent you from getting into loans, especially if you do not have backup cash in your account.

Your coverage policy might not even cover your college-aged kids. You must organize their insurance needs with your agent because purchasing their own homeowner’s insurance could cancel their protection under your cover. Therefore, it is advisable to get a policy for them.

Consistency With Your Discipline

Disciplining your child entails instilling in them the values of responsibility and self-drive. Your children will be able to take responsibility for their actions and have conduct if you punish them appropriately and consistently. The goal is to help youngsters learn to control their emotions and develop positive behaviours.

The discipline uses reasonable and practical techniques to reinforce proper behaviour while discouraging wrong behaviour. However, some parents believe that correction includes corporeal punishment such as slapping and whipping their children and scolding and threatening them. This is not an appropriate technique to use.

Good discipline fosters self-control among the little ones and also helps kids when it comes to making important decisions in life. So make sure you are consistent with this strategy for the good upbringing of the children.

Conclusion

Parents are liable due to the parent-child relationship and due to negligence. You have an obligation of supporting kids mentally, financially and physically. When it comes to molding their character, you also should be at the forefront.

Above all, you should be a role model to your children. It would be best to lead by example because kids will tend to emulate what you do. As a parent, do not do bad things in front of your kids. They will do the same, and you won’t correct them because that is the impression you gave them.