Tag Archives: tips

Preparing Your Kids For Moving Home

10/14/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

moving, kids, growing up, parenting, home — Pexels

Moving home is a time of both excitement and stress. When you’ve got kids, it’s vital to prepare them properly for such a big change. While some children will handle a move well, not all children are the same, so it’s best to tread carefully. If you’re soon to be moving home with your kids, let’s consider how you can best prepare them.

Explain carefully

You will need to explain the move as carefully as you can to your kids. The way that you go about your explanation will largely depend on how old your children are. With toddlers and younger kids, the move will be harder to understand. The best thing that you can do is to use your kids soft-toys, doll’s house or trucks to act the process out. When you start packing your kids toys away, they may be anxious. Try to make it clear that the toys will be waiting for them at the new home. If your kids are older, you’ll want to explain in more detail, including the reasons for the move and ask them if they have any questions. Understand that your children may experience sadness or anger at this time. Plan lots of fun activities for your kids to distract them if they feel upset.

Use stories

Often, children’s storybooks are an excellent way to explain changes and processes. The characters in stories can help your children to feel that they are not alone in this experience. There are plenty of books out there which deal with the subject of moving home. If your kids like ‘Winnie The Pooh’ why not try the book ‘Tigger’s Moving Day.’ You could also try ‘My Very Exciting Sorta Scary Big Move.’ The book is written by Lori Attanasio Woodring and features a range of moving themed activities. You can find these books on Amazon along with plenty of other moving themed books for kids.

Keep what you can

If you want to prepare your kids for moving home, it’s a good idea to keep as much of their bedroom furniture and belongings as possible. When you get to your new place, your kids are likely to feel more at ease if they have the same furniture, bed sheets and colour schemes. Being in an unfamiliar place can be a little scary for children. Keeping their old belongings can help them to feel a sense of security. If your children are younger, it’s best to pack up the house yourself without their involvement.

With older children, you may want to get them to help with the packing. Involving them in this way can allow your kids to get excited about a new adventure. You’ll want a great removal company with many years of experience. This way, the process will run smoothly and create no added stress for your kids. It’s worth looking at this website here for a highly professional and experienced moving company.

Spend time in the new area
It’s a great idea to let your kids spend some time in the new area so that the moving process feels a little less strange. Take them to the local parks, allow them to visit their new school (if appropriate). If your new neighbors have children, it can be a great idea to arrange a play-date to help your kids to make friends.

Life, Lifestyle, Parenting

4 Cheap and Cheerful Activities The Kids Will Love

10/06/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

There’s nothing better than having a couple of days off to spend some quality time with the kids. These are the moments you will cherish.

But finding something everyone will enjoy that won’t cost a fortune can be tough. You can’t visit theme parks and movie theatres every time the kids are off school.

So if you’re looking for some fun family activities the kids will love but which won’t break the bank, check out the ideas below.

activities, kids, family, parenting, fun, play — Image Source: Pixabay CC0 Licence

Playgrounds, Skateparks and State Parks

Most communities have at least one free playground for children of all ages to enjoy. Fresh air, exercise, and hours of fun for the kids, it’s definitely worth getting acquainted with all the best playground spots in your area.

More and more skateparks are popping up too. You have to make the initial investment in a skateboard, BMX or scooter. But if you’ve got adventurous little ones with a need for speed, you could set them up with a fun, active hobby for life.
If you live near a state park, make the most of it. Not everyone is so lucky! Hiking, camping, swimming and cycling will keep the whole family entertained, without costing you a penny.

In a coastal area like Venice, you could try fishing for something a bit more hands-on – fishing guide venice.

Movie Marathon

If the weather forecast isn’t so hot, why not enjoy a movie marathon? Get some popcorn in, make a pillow fort, and let Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings do the hard work.

Or better yet, crafty kids might enjoy making their own film. You don’t need a fancy camera to make a YouTube movie and stretch the kids’ creative muscles. You can write a little script, dig out some old clothes for costumes, and use your mobile phone for footage. Then use some free video editing software for the polish.

Not so great with tech? Write and perform a play instead. Acting and storytelling are great for a child’s creative development and might lead them to a career-worthy passion.

Volunteer Work

Volunteer work is chicken soup for the soul. It’s also free, a great way to introduce your kids to the community, and to get everyone out of the house.

Whether it’s visiting a lonely older person, getting outdoors for some litter-picking, taking a rescue dog for a walk, or helping out in community gardens or allotments, helping others in a great way to spend time with the family and brighten everyone’s day.

Baking and Lemonade

Cookies, cakes, pies and lemonade – whatever your family’s favourite treat, kids love getting stuck in and making their own food.
Baking can also be a great way to recontextualise that pesky math homework into something more practical. For some easy recipes kids can help with, click here.

And if you think you have a little business person in the making, you can’t beat a good old-fashioned lemonade stand to teach them the ropes.

And there we have it! Use these ideas to get the ball rolling and find the perfect day out for your kids, without breaking the bank.

Life, Parenting

Growing Pains: Helping Your Child With Their Teenage Anxieties

09/17/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

anxieties, teenager, child, parenting, kids, growing up — Pixabay – CC0 Licence

While you might think that once you get past the toddler stage, it is plain sailing! After all, the idea of a good night’s sleep went out the window when they were born, and you look forward to reclaiming that later on. But, you could very well struggle with this issue again when they become teenagers. Not because of the general day-to-day duties, but because of something far deeper. Teenage anxiety is, as you will remember, incredibly unique. And in fact, it can be argued that it’s worse today than it ever was. But what can you do to help your child with their teenage anxieties?

Pinpointing The Actual Problem

It’s not always about asking them directly, but it’s about casual observation. It can take time to get to the root of the issue but it may very well be a straightforward problem, like acne. In which case you might very well be able to help in this respect, by pointing them in the direction of the right medication, or take them to the doctor. Or in fact, make your own acne cream with RU58841 5% solution! It’s better to take a step back and observe so you can see what the main issues are and if it’s something that, in the grand scheme of things, is cosmetic, this is something we can aim to fix.

They May Not Want To Speak To You About Their Problems

If this is the case, can you point them in the direction of someone who can help? It all depends on the nature of the problem, but what you can help with is to give them a way to express themselves. This is something that as a parent we have to realize that we might not be able to directly influence the outcome. But what we can do is to point in the right direction either in terms of counseling, or giving them the opportunity to vent with someone else. But what they don’t want us to do is interfere. This might be a bit heartbreaking because you want to help your child, but if they don’t want to speak to you directly, it’s important to remind them that when they are ready to talk to you that you are there.

Be Careful With Positivity

Ultimately you might have been there before, and experienced all the same issues, but now you feel okay. But when you try and communicate this to your child, it’s important that you don’t hurry them along to get over it, because what they’re going through his seemingly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It’s difficult for them right now, and as much as you can tell them to be more positive, this might not be what they need to get to the core of the problem. Sometimes we have to just let them ride it out. But we can do as a parent is to ensure they know we are there.

Maybe their problems are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but they’re going through a huge state of anxiety. Whatever your opinion is this can be more stressful than you think. Keep your perspective, and remember, you were there once!