Easy Relaxation Tips for Busy Moms

It seems like there is no rest of the weary.  And, the weary person is usually mom.  Moms take care of hearth and home, but who takes care of her?  If you are a busy mom, learn to value yourself as a person and schedule personal time.

Personal time is a right of being a person.  Each of us has the capacity to nurture others but that type of care takes its toll. 

A car is filled with gas to make it run.  Eventually the gas runs out and your car won’t move unless the car is replenished with fuel.  The same goes for you.  Emotional issues can develop when you don’t take the time to take care of your emotional well-being, not to mention the physical results of emotional neglect.

Mom time refuels the tank so that you can give to your family as well as yourself in equal measure.  Don’t be ashamed to sit for fifteen minutes doing nothing.  In the springtime, relaxing in a hammock under a tree is the perfect getaway from the pressures of the day.  Reading a book for 30 minutes can also seem like heaven to many moms.

Here are a few tips to help you fit in much needed “mom” time:

1. Get up early if you have to.  When you have kids, the day begins at a hurried pace.  Once you hit the ground running, there is no stopping you.  Waking 30 minutes to an hour ahead of time means quiet solitude to drink your coffee, read a book, meditate or listen to music. 

2. Turn ordinary experiences into major events.  When you take a bath, add candles, bubble bath, quiet music and/or an inflatable bath pillow.  Your regular bath has now become a spa level experience.  If you watch a movie, turn out the lights, pop a bag of microwave popcorn and curl up on the couch.

3. Ask your significant other for help.  Kids love their mothers but time spent with dad is important too.  Let them bond with dad while you go shopping for a new outfit or root around in the garden.  Since the time is yours, do whatever you like. 

4. Use the Boy Scout motto.  Always be prepared and you can spend more time in a relaxed mode.  Fix lunches the night before.  Iron clothes for the next day and place backpacks by the front door so kids can grab them on their way out.  The fewer things you have to do throughout the day, the calmer you will be with your family and not experience burnout.

5. Take exercise breaks.  When you get a few minutes the last thing you want to do is exercise but getting a little physical activity in your day has far-reaching implications.  Exercise helps you to think clearly and stretches the muscles.  Also, stress will drain away as powerful endorphins are released into your system.  Do jumping jacks during a television commercial or jog to the bus stop to pick up the kids.

6. Laugh at regular intervals.  Keep a funny calendar cube on your desk or subscribe to a daily joke site.  Laughing releases stress and can lift your spirits significantly.  It also keeps the abs tight.

Moms, take care of you.  Your family would miss you if you were not around to love and care for them.  You owe it to yourself and you deserve a break from the daily hustle and bustle.

Happy New Year!!

Health Tip: When Children Break the Rules - Healthy Kids and Pediatrics - Information on Children's Health produced by doctors

Health Tip: When Children Break the Rules - Healthy Kids and Pediatrics - Information on Children's Health produced by doctors

Taming Toddler Tantrums: Tips that Really Work

Young parents get scared when they hear stories about the “terrible twos.” Take courage, though, you will survive the toddler stage.  It’s not easy to understand why your toddler has a tantrum but at such a young age, a child is consumed with thoughts of themselves.  Everything is about them and how they feel.  Until they are taught how to share, every toy or piece of food they see automatically belongs to them. 

Toddler temper tantrums can have a variety of effects.  Your first thought might be that everyone is focused on you and your screaming child, but getting embarrassed won’t diffuse the situation.  Besides, as a parent, you have many more years of embarrassing situations to look forward to courtesy of your children.  So worrying about what others think during this situation is simply going to stress you and make you feel worse.

Here are a few tips to help you cope during tantrums:

1. Ignore the tantrum.  This technique works best when at home.  In public places, you don’t want to ever leave your child unattended as a form of punishment.  Good behavior in public begins at home.  Ignoring a toddler is not harsh.  If your child is squirming on the floor screaming for a cookie, continue to talk to them as if you never noticed.  Eventually, they will get the hint and stop screaming. 

2. Avoid instant gratification.  In public, toddlers throw tantrums when they are denied something that they want.  Some parents give in to keep their child quiet but a child learns quickly.  Tantrums will continue if they know you will cave.  Simply tell them “no” and keep moving.

3. Don’t get angry.  When you scream and they scream the situation is wildly out of control.  You’ll end up crying and your toddler will still be screaming.  In any situation, raised voices mean civilized conversation has ended in favor of basic primal instincts.  Don’t revert back to the days of early man.  Keep using the same calm voice you use when they are behaving to get your child to calm down as well.

4. Praise your toddler when they behave well.  Positive reinforcement is better than negative.  In the absence of positive attention a child will behave badly just to get some attention at all.  Acting out and throwing tantrums may be a cry for attention.  Don’t let it get to this point.  Clap and celebrate when they go to the potty successfully and when they put away their toys.  Good manners such as saying “please” and “thank you” deserve a smile and a hand clap as well.

5. Run errands after nap time.  Kids get punchy when they get tired.  A toddler misbehaves more often if they are dragged around when they are tired. 

6. Carry snacks with you.  Low blood sugar can lead to tantrums.  If you are out longer than anticipated and lunch or dinner time is close at hand, let them eat a healthy snack to keep their hunger pains at bay and sugar levels stable.

7. Be consistent in your punishment.  At home, you might use “time out” to deal with a tantrum for bad behavior.  In public do the same.  Sit your child on a bench for five minutes or take them to the car.  Eventually they will learn that you are not a pushover and they will begin to behave.

You will survive the toddler years.  Nip temper tantrums in the bud with the above tips.

Returning to the Simple Joys of Home and Hobby

In the past decades, many mothers have made the decision to pursue careers, but that trend seems to be changing.  Home and hobby are calling to these women, who are willing to make financial and personal sacrifices in order to be the primary caregivers for their small children.  Many women have returned to staying at home, and hobby skills can help them meet the financial challenges of being a one income family.

One hobby that helps the mother at home is cooking.  Though it could be considered work, cooking and baking are fascinating hobbies.  One can explore the cuisine of different countries or learn to create gourmet treats.  Baking can yield wholesome whole grain products that nourish the family for a fraction of the cost of loaves bought at the store. 

Another home and hobby skill that comes in handy is sewing on a sewing machine.  Many homemakers are producing quilts that are works of art.  These beautiful offerings can be made inexpensively by recycling unwanted fabrics into squares and other shapes and artistically arranging the pieces.  Other sewing skills that are useful for the stay-at-home-mom are mending, altering, and creating clothing.  When polled about favorite pastimes, women often rank sewing at the top.

Some moms and their husbands actively work on remodeling their home, and hobby carpentry skills come in handy.  One income families hold down the cost of living by learning to "do it yourself," a term that is used so much it has been shortened into "diy."  The Internet has made it possible to find information on making all sorts of repairs and renovations to homes, furnishings and other belongings.

Gardening is a hobby that not only gets the participant close to nature, but also can put high quality produce on the family table.  Some families are even investing in hobby greenhouses or growing enough extra to sell a bit each week at farmers' markets.  A good practical hobby like growing a garden gives a person a sense of accomplishment when they realize their efforts have created something useful and profitable.

The homemaking parent that has a sense of art can inexpensively create harmony and beauty around the house, raising everyone's standard of living. It doesn't have to involve spending any money.  Perhaps she can arrange dried wild flowers beautifully or create simple hand-lettered wall mottoes that lift everyone's spirits.

Yes, home and hobby call to the women of today, suggesting a simpler way of life closer to those people and things that matter most.  While the career women are truly making an important impact on today's world, the quiet return of many to home and hobby may result in more impact than any of us realizes.

Craft Idea for a Group: Make a Mural

Most craft ideas are geared to individuals, whether kids or adults.  Sometimes you'd like to have a craft idea that works for a group of kids working together.  Making a mural together is an idea that works for a group.  By working together, you are creating something to decorate a shared area.  Individual crafts can be displayed, but one unique item is often more effective than a group of items that are almost identical.  In addition, sometimes kids' crafts, like it or not, just become clutter when they are taken home, and it isn't long before Mom throws it out.  This craft idea of making a group mural can be displayed for several weeks and will not become clutter in anyone's home.

The basic materials for a kids' group mural is freezer paper.  Freezer paper is about 18 inches wide, and it is very tough.  One side is plastic coated.  That is the side that is designed to be placed against the food.  You will have better luck drawing on and gluing things onto the other side.  Class or group murals can feature a number of different design elements.  You can mix up some finger paint and let the children make hand prints (or even foot prints!) on the paper.  You can let them scour old cast-off magazines and color catalogs for pictures they like and let them cut the pictures out and glue them on.  They can add scribbles, designs, signatures, slogans, or pictures using markers, crayons, or gel pens.  They can attach stickers to the mural as well.  This craft idea is very flexible!

For making the mural, choose a topic that relates to the group in some way.  If the group are girl scouts, for instance, and have been learning to camp, the mural can feature pictures of items related to camping.  If you've been learning about dinosaurs, you can use them as a theme.  If you want a really messy project that makes a cute mural for fall, mix up finger paint in fall colors.  The children can each make a tree by first laying their forearm in brown paint.  Then they lay their arm on the paper to make the trunk of the tree.  They should spread out their fingers so their arm print has five short branches at the top.  To make the leaves, the children make fingerprints all around the top of the tree using paints in other fall colors.  If you add a few drops of dishwashing detergent to finger paint when mixing it up, it will be easier to clean off the children's arms.  Do make sure they have old clothes or smocks for this craft idea.

Little preschoolers will like making a mural with an animal theme.  You should probably find and cut out animal magazine pictures to start with, and then let the children choose the ones they like for gluing down.  Glue sticks are neat to use with small children.  They will paste some of the pictures upside down.  Expect it and do not scold them.  It is the process that is important in this craft idea.  The children can also use animal cookie cutters dipped in finger paint to stamp animals on the mural, too.  You may need to tape the paper to the table so it doesn't slide around while the children work.

An elaborate form of this craft idea that adults often make is a quilt around a theme.  Each person in the group creates a quilt square to represent some aspect of what the group stands for.  These quilt squares can be colored with fabric pens or crafted of patchwork or appliqué.  Again, the craft idea is to build group solidarity and not to highlight one artist's skills over another.  When the quilt top is completed, it can be a group project to tie it or quilt it.  It can be hung in a special central location or given to an appreciated leader or member.

Get a Hobby Kit and Learn Something New

If you are tired of the ho-hum of life and would like to branch out a little, maybe you should get a hobby kit.  Many different hobbies have kits that can help a beginner learn about the hobby quickly and easily.  It is not easy to teach yourself some hobbies, but with a hobby kit, you can learn from the kit.

For instance, if you have been wanting to learn how to do a needlecraft, such as cross stitch or crewel embroidery, there is no better way to start than with a kit.  In a hobby kit, you will receive a piece of cloth with the design already stamped on, yarn or floss in the proper colors and possibly already cut to the proper lengths, and a needle.  You may even get an embroidery hoop in the kit.  When you buy a hobby kit, be sure to read on the package to see if any other materials or tools will be needed to do the hobby.

A hobby kit is also the best way to learn a hobby like building model cars.  In a model car kit, you will get all the pieces you need and detailed instructions.  In some kits, you might also receive paint, a brush, and glue, but read the label.  You might have to provide these things separately.

When choosing Christmas or birthday gifts for a young person, consider a hobby kit, such as a candle-making kit or a rock tumbling kit.  In the fall, the stores are full of kits that could start a kid on a hobby that would last throughout his life.  You can find small weaving loom kits, glycerine soap making kits, bead craft kits, wood-burning kits, and art kits.  There is a line of colorful books put out by the Klutz company that each gives instruction in a hobby and has a packet of materials for learning the hobby.  Some of the topics Klutz books cover are polymer clay modeling, hair styling, and pompon creations.  They are all cleverly written and lots of fun.

Another hobby that can be learned from a kit is starting garden seedlings, especially herbs.  A seed starting kit typically contains a pot, a small trowel, seeds,  fertilizer, and a greenhouse dome or cover.  Potting soil may need to be purchased separately.

When choosing a hobby kit, be careful to get one that is appropriate for the recipient.  Sometimes a hobby kit is quite challenging.  An example of a difficult project is an electronics kit for wiring one's own radio.  If a kit is a gift for a child and it is too hard, it will wind up gathering dust on some shelf.  In fact, it might gather dust even if you buy it for yourself!  Consider getting a smaller project that you can finish in a short time so you can get a feel for the hobby.  The next hobby kit you buy can be harder if you find that you enjoy the hobby and have a real desire to learn more about it.

Actively Listening to your Child

Communicating with our children can be a difficult task at times.  We feel like they're not listening to us; they feel like we're not listening to them.  Good listening and communications skills are essential to successful parenting.  Your child's feelings, views and opinions have worth, and you should make sure you take the time to sit down and listen openly and discuss them honestly.

It seems to be a natural tendency to react rather than to respond.  We pass judgment based on our own feelings and experiences.  However, responding means being receptive to our child's feelings and emotions and allowing them to express themselves openly and honestly without fear of repercussion from us. 

By reacting, we send our child the message that their feelings and opinions are invalid.  But by responding and asking questions about why the child feels that way, it opens a dialog that allows them to discuss their feelings further, and allows you a better understanding of where they're coming from.  Responding also gives you an opportunity to work out a solution or a plan of action with your child that perhaps they would not have come up with on their own.  Your child will also appreciate the fact that maybe you do indeed understand how they feel. 

It's crucial in these situations to give your child your full and undivided attention.  Put down your newspaper, stop doing dishes, or turn off the television so you can hear the full situation and make eye contact with your child.   Keep calm, be inquisitive, and afterwards offer potential solutions to the problem. 

Don't discourage your child from feeling upset, angry, or frustrated.  Our initial instinct may be to say or do something to steer our child away from it, but this can be a detrimental tactic.  Again, listen to your child, ask questions to find out why they are feeling that way, and then offer potential solutions to alleviate the bad feeling.

Just as we do, our children have feelings and experience difficult situations.  By actively listening and participating with our child as they talk about it, it demonstrates to them that we do care, we want to help and we have similar experiences of our own that they can draw from.  Remember, respond - don't react. 

Christmas Craft: Bead and Pipe Cleaner Ornaments

Christmas ornaments made from ordinary pipe cleaners and inexpensive acrylic beads are very pretty and easy to make.  They look quite impressive yet are easy enough for small children to make.  This is one Christmas craft idea to use again and again.  Older people will enjoy making this Christmas craft, too, which can be varied to make a number of different sparkling ornaments for your Christmas tree.

To make the bead and pipe cleaner ornaments, you need common pipe cleaners in desired colors and acrylic beads.  Two types of beads are particularly effective when strung on pipe cleaners.  One type are called sunburst beads, but are also known as paddlewheel beads, snowflake beads, or starburst beads.  These beads have six faceted paddles spaced equally around a center that contains the hole for stringing.  When several of these sunburst beads are strung consecutively, they fit against each other in an interlocking pattern.

The other type of bead that is also effective for this Christmas craft is called the tri bead or propeller bead.  It has three rounded bumps arranged around the stringing hole.  Like the sunburst beads, the tri beads interlock when strung consecutively.  For the most sparkly and attractive Christmas ornaments, get tri beads and/or sunburst beads in translucent colors of red, green, and clear.  The tri beads can also be found in metallic gold and silver which can be used in this Christmas craft as well.

Pipe cleaners can be found in silver and gold tinsel as well as chenille of all colors.  For the Christmas craft, the best colors to use are the metallics and Christmas colors.  The beads cover the pipe cleaners, but the ends will need to be twisted together and made into hangers, so they show.

Anyone, even small children, can string these beads on pipe cleaners.  Bend up the end of the pipe cleaner so the beads don't fall off.  The pipe cleaner works like a needle, making a needle unnecessary.  For best results, show the children how to alternate colors when stringing, or start a pattern of three colors.  When the beads are strung on the pipe cleaners, they can be bent into different Christmas shapes.  For instance, string red and clear beads alternately, then bend down one end of the pipe cleaner for a candy cane shape.  Or alternate red and green beads and form a circle for a wreath.  Use red pipe cleaner to form a small bow to decorate the wreath.  Form a hanger for the Christmas craft or simply slip the circle over a branch of the tree.

If you experiment with clear beads and silver pipe cleaners, you can make some beautiful snowflake or star ornaments.  Snowflake designs can be twisted of silver pipe cleaner only, without the beads for a simple but pretty decoration.

Bead and pipe cleaner ornaments are a Christmas craft you will find yourself using every year.  Children and their parents will both appreciate this simple yet pretty Christmas craft.

Introducing The Old Time Candy Company

OldTimeCandy where you will discover the best selection of retro candy online. OldTimeCandy offers unique gifts for any special occasion, including holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and corporate events.

Do you remember Candy you ate as a kid®, such as Wax Lips, Ice Cube Chocolates, Bonomo's Turkish Taffy, Candy Buttons on paper tape, Wax Syrup Bottles, Sky Bars, Zagnut, Necco Wafers, Teaberry Gum, or Chick-o-Sticks? OldTimeCandy.com has tracked them down: old-fashioned candy from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s is still available after all these years!

At OldTimeCandy customers have fun choices: whether buying in bulk, packing their own retro candy assortment in a Pack-a-Bag, or choosing a Decade Box stuffed with candy from their favorite era. What's more, OldTimeCandy.com carries party favors, gift boxes and jars, and even Toys you played with as a kid™ like slinkies, balsa airplanes, magic slates, pick-up sticks, and many more retro toys and games..

3 Ways to Manifest Financial Abundance

Manifesting financial abundance with the power of your thoughts is a fairly simply process, but it doesn't always work that easily for some people.  Maybe you've spent hours visualizing your abundant new life, used affirmations for months on end, created a ton of vision boards or used other manifesting techniques, but the abundance still hasn't shown up for you.  Why does this happen?  If the Law of Attraction really works, it should work every time!  Right?

If you've been trying to manifest financial abundance and it's just not working, be sure you aren't forgetting one of these crucial components:

One of the first important steps to manifest financial abundance is to be consistent and firm about improving your thoughts about money.  It's important to keep improving your thoughts about money, but in a very deliberate, firm way.  If you instead keep focusing on things that bother you and worry you about money, or the many things you wish you could manifest but can't seem to make progress on, you'll just keep creating more of the same in your life.  You may think you're focusing on "money" but you may actually be focusing more on the LACK of money!  Big difference.  Every day, be vigilant in focusing your thoughts on the positive aspects of money and abundance (having rather than lacking), and firmly turn your focus away from things that bother you about your financial situation.

Another vital step to manifest financial abundance is to start mending your relationship with money.  How would you describe your relationship with money?  Do you two have a loving relationship, or a volatile one?  Does money make you feel abandoned and alone frequently?  Does money feel appreciated and loved by you?  These might seem like ridiculous questions, but they are very important!  Money is a form of energy, and the way you think about it and feel about it will affect the way it behaves in your life.  Whatever you think, feel, and expect from money, it's going to fulfill your "request".  Do your best to start healing your relationship with money, just like you would with another person, and you'll notice with amazement that money responds to your efforts in very positive ways!  Your outer world is merely a reflection of your inner relationship with everything in that world.

To manifest financial abundance, it's also important to deliberately keep yourself in a constant state of allowing.  Consider for a moment how you normally feel each day.  Do you usually struggle with heavy, tiring feelings like stress, anger, frustration and anxiety?  Not just relating to money, but in all areas of your life.  If you picked any descriptive words that are less than happy, inspired, joyful, abundant, free, and peaceful, it's a sign that you are blocking abundance to some degree.  In order to allow abundance, you need to be in a positive, uplifted state of emotion because that's the only energy that is compatible with abundance.  When you enter into a state of allowing, you elevate your vibrational frequency so that you come into alignment with abundance.  As a result, it starts flowing to you easily.  You develop a deep foundation of trust and belief that the universe always provides for you, and a knowing that you have access to all of the abundance you could ever want.  Allowing means not just thinking these things, but FEELING them, deep down inside.

Feeling uplifted and confident about abundance in this way is the surest, fastest way to begin attracting it into your life.

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For step by step guidance on learning how to allow more abundance, click here.

Winning The Scholarship Game

To win college scholarships, you need to realize that the whole process is a lot like playing a game. There are lots of players all trying to win the prize and some might want it even more than you do. Your strategy needs to involve making your scholarship applications shine so bright that the judges stop and take a second, third, or even fourth look at yours, and forget about all the rest.

Picture this. Several scholarship judges are sitting around a big table with tall stacks of scholarship applications directly in front of them. Each application is piled on top of another, with staples or paper clips holding the letters of recommendation, high school transcripts, applications forms, and all the other materials that the directions specified in the scholarship requirements. As each judge takes a scholarship packet and begins to read through them, papers get shuffled. Quite often, as pages are being passed from one judge to another, paper clips slip off of the packets and materials slip to the floor. One judge rescues one such page and looks at it closer. Where is the name? Which scholarship packet did this page fall from? He sees no name, just a typed essay. Into the trash it goes. There are many many more to read.

As one judge is in the middle of skimming an essay, he looks up and throws it into the trash, along with the rest of the scholarship application materials. When the scholarship rules say to write an essay in 650 words or less, they mean it. Essays with 665 words are easy excuses for judges to toss the application and move on to the next one.

Another is reading through an application and has to stop and wipe the ink smudges off so that he can make out the student's information. He tries for a split second, shrugs, and then throws the whole scholarship application and all the materials into the trash can. Now are you starting to get the picture?

A judge who has been quickly skimming through his pile of application suddenly stops and is compelled to take a close look at the next application packet in the pile. It is completely different than the others. It looks different. It feels different. It STANDS OUT. The judge reads through the application and his eyes light up. It is very obvious that this student took the time and care to show the judges how badly he wants to win the scholarship. His whole application is a joy to read. It is clear, not missing anything, in the correct order, and looks and feels nothing like the rest in the piles.

This judge stops what he is doing, clears his throat loudly, and proudly tells his fellow judges that he has found the scholarship winner.

That could be you or your son or daughter! To be the winner in the scholarship game, what you need to do is learn the method of making your application grasp the attention of the judges. Find out exactly what you need to know to be a scholarship winner! Order your How To Win College Scholarships guide today!

Bored? Look at These Hobby Ideas!

Have you ever played one too many computer game or watched one too many old rerun?  You just can't get into another mystery and you just feel flat?  Maybe you are suffering from boredom, that familiar accompaniment to our automated, precooked lifestyles.  If so, you need to check out these hobby ideas.  Hobbies have been found to be therapeutic as they relieve stress and get the mind active.  In this article, you'll find hobby ideas for every sort of person, from the intellectual to the athlete, from the homemaker to the attorney.

Many times we are bored because we have become too inactive.  If this is your problem, you might like a sports hobby.  Have you ever tried tennis?  How about golf?  Many people simply love bowling until it becomes an important part of their lives.  Sports hobbies get you out of the house and often are a way to make friends with others.  Then again, some active hobbies can be enjoyed in our own homes, such as weight lifting and doing aerobic dance to a video.

Speaking of aerobic dance, dancing is another great pastime.  When you think of hobby ideas, don't forget the many forms of dance.  Square dancing is fun for people who like getting together with groups, while ballet and modern dance appeal to the more contemplative souls.  And while we're on contemplation, you might enjoy doing yoga stretches as a hobby.

Maybe we're feeling bored and listless because we've been cooped up in the house too long.  If that's the problem, here are a few hobby ideas to get you out in the fresh air.  Have you ever thought of taking up canoeing, hiking, or trapping?  How about getting involved with an environmental group?  In many states, you can form groups to clean riverbanks and monitor water quality, and the state will provide perks such as t-shirts, work gloves, and first-aid kits.  Or maybe you'd like studying the flora and fauna of your region.  It can be great fun to stroll through the woods and fields with a field guide, learning to identify each wildflower, insect, tree, and bird.

There are almost as many hobby ideas as there are bored people in the world, because everyone puts their own spin on their favorite hobbies.  Maybe you'd enjoy decorating your house with antiques, or learning to bake specialty breads from around the World.  Maybe you'd like to take part in a little theatre production, or learn to play guitar.  What about the fine arts of weaving tapestries or painting with oils?  Candle making, soap making, and many other old-time crafts are being enjoyed again.  Truly, with all these hobby ideas, there is no reason to stay bored for long!

Benefits Of Pre-paid Legal Plans

Pre-paid legal services can be a very attractive alternative to hiring a lawyer for many people. You should consider the importance and relative priority of these benefits in light of your own legal needs. So what are the benefits of going pre-paid compared to the conventional hire of lawyers?

Benefit Number 1: Cost-Effective

Pre-paid legal plans can take the sting out of hiring a lawyer. Lawyers’ fees are prohibitive for most people: you can run bills of thousands of dollars and this is simply out of reach of most working and middle income families.

With pre-paid plans, what you get charged is more in line with what you pay for your health or home insurance. Plans start as low as $9 per month and typically don’t exceed the $30 mark.

Benefit Number 2: Simplicity

There can be a number of very complicated sets of fees that lawyers charge: contingency fees, flat fees, statutory fees and hourly rates. In the case of contingency and statutory fees, you have to get into the intricate details of how these fees are computed – say for a contingency fee how much is the lawyer’s commission? – and their regulatory nature – who regulates the statutory fee and how do I know if these fees are in line with regulatory guidelines?

The other two types of fees can be equally complex. Increasingly, attorneys choose to incorporate any overheads they incur, like secretarial expenses, parking charges and travel fees into their flat and hourly fees. However, some of these may be billed separately, adding significant amounts to your invoice.

They may also set a minimum number of billing units, like three tenths of an hour (18 minutes) for each consultation, even if it takes them much less time to deal with your problem.

This is just a sample rundown of what might influence the various fees charged by lawyers. Other factors and arrangements can apply too.

Contrast this with the simplicity in which pre-paid legal services are priced and furnished. The process is simple and straightforward: you sign an agreement to pay a fixed monthly fee and that’s about it. If what you’re looking for is not covered, your plan provider will give you prior notice of a different billing so that you know exactly how much you will be charged.

Benefit Number 4: Pre-emptive Law

Pre-paid plans offer unlimited phone consultation and advice. This aspect of the service can save you a lot of trouble, money and time in the future. Most legal problems you are likely to face in your day-to-day life can be solved if you take the necessary steps in line with the law. With the right advice and consultation with your lawyer, you can detect legal blunders before they occur and hence minimize the risk of litigation and protection.

Ask George: Budget-Conscious Ways to Purchase Organic Foods

Ask George: Budget-Conscious Ways to Purchase Organic Foods

5 Creative Child Discipline Techniques That Really Work

When all the usual discipline methods and strategies fail, disciplining your child can be an extremely challenging task. When desperate times call for desperate measures, creative discipline techniques can be the answer for getting the message through to your child loud and clear, and finally conquering the undesirable behavior for good.

Here are five super effective creative discipline techniques you can try with your child:   

Midnight Chores

If you are fed up with your children continually putting off their chores, make them do night time chores. Some midnight mowing with car lights as a guide is sure to get the message through to your son that you expect the lawn to be mowed on time.

You can use this creative discipline technique with young children as well. Making them get out of bed at midnight to take out the trash or do the dishes is sure to teach them the “get your chores done promptly” lesson too.

Bail for Jailed Possessions

Want your kids to stop leaving their belongings lying around the house? Instead of nagging them to put stray items away, simply put the items in "jail" and require your children to "bail" them out with their allowance money - at a cost of 50 cents per item. Alternatively, you could have your child work their belongings out of “jail” by doing extra household chores.

Penny Jar of Cleanliness

If you want to encourage your child to get better at picking up after themselves, introduce a penny jar of cleanliness. Here’s how it works: Start with a jar full of pennies, then for every stray item of your child’s that you have to pick up around the house, take out a penny. Whatever is left at the end of the week/month your child gets to cash in to buy what they like. If he or she picks up after themselves, there’s more money left in the jar at the end of the month for them to spend – it’s a great motivator!

Get Crawling

If your child continues to run up or down the stairs after you’ve repeatedly told them not to do so, have them crawl up and down the stairs to hammer home your “slow down” message. If running through the house is the problem, have them crawl on all fours to get to where they’re going.

Step Into My Shoes

A great way to help your child shift from a selfish “me-me-me” mindset is to have them actually stand in someone else’s shoes. Here’s how to do it: Have your child literally stand in pair of your shoes, or those of a sibling, then have them act out the situation from the other person’s perspective, answering questions like: How do I feel? What would I say? What would I want to happen instead of what did happen? Switching roles like this encourages your child to start thinking about needs and feelings of others instead of always thinking only of him or herself.

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Why You Need Legal Help

We are likely to need legal help at least once a year, yet most of us do not actively seek legal help.

This is borne out of data from a survey conducted by Leo J. Shapiro & Associates, on behalf of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation, which shows that close to three quarters of American adults experience some event during a twelve-month period that may require the services of a lawyer. Over half of those who needed an attorney chose not to hire one, and close to 80% of those yet to experience legal problems gave strong indications they might go down the same route.

Why all the doom and gloom? Price is the sticking point for most consumers. When it comes to hiring a lawyer, hourly fees of $100 up to $1000 are out of reach of most people’s budget. And then comes the trepidation of searching for a good attorney and the right service: there is a lot of uncertainty and confusion as what a lawyer will do, and how to tell the good from the bad.

A pre-paid legal plan may solve these problems and change the way you think of legal services. Thanks to this arrangement, you can now talk to a lawyer whenever you have a problem, without fear that this will leave you out of pocket. In fact, you don’t even need to be embroiled in a legal problem to get legal advice:  just pick up the phone, call your attorney and get the necessary legal advice which may be able to resolve any potential problems before they even happen. With professional legal advice and follow-up, you can prevent ninety percent of your legal questions becoming legal problems.

Basic services such as the drafting of your will, review of sample health contracts and writing letters on your behalf are handled at no cost to you under most plans. If you want further coverage to include family problems, such as a divorce or custody of children, and any legal representation in court, then you simply pay a premium and get more inclusive coverage.

Even if your plan doesn’t cover complex legal matters, it can still save you money on those sky-high attorney fees. Discounts of up to 20% are offered on hourly and flat rates. Ultimately, it’s not all down to how much you can save. Having an attorney readily available at all times gives you peace of mind, in the knowledge that there is someone you can use on retainer for advice and help on anything of legal nature.

5 Discipline Methods To Stop Misbehavior In Children

It’s no surprise that parents of kids with behavior problems are super keen to discover helpful discipline techniques as handling kids with bad behaviour can be an absolute nightmare. There is no single “one size fits all” discipline strategy that works with all children because all children have different temperaments and personalities. So stopping bad behavior in children comes down to trying a variety of discipline methods until you find one that works effectively with your individual child.

Here are five discipline methods you can try with your child that will hopefully bring a swift end to his or her bad behavior:   

Prevent Problems From Occurring

Taking a preventative discipline approach is a great way to stop bad behavior and problems from occurring in the first place. Take away temptations that are too great for your child, such as putting markers or your makeup case out of reach of your toddler if you don’t want them using these items, or not keeping chips and sweets in the house if your ignores your request for them not to eat these items before dinner. Set your child up for success and you’ll prevent much of the bad behavior and avoid a lot of drama.

Give Your Child Choices

When possible, give your child the opportunity to select between two alternate choices to give them some control over the situation. For instance, if your child resists getting dressed in the morning, giving him or her two outfits to choose from will take the focus off the power struggle over getting dressed and dissolve the bad behavior. Letting your child feel like they have some control by giving them choices makes cooperation natural and easy.

1,2,3, Consequence

The 1,2,3, Consequence technique can be a very effective discipline strategy if used correctly and with consistency. The key is that there has to be an “uncomfortable” punishment delivered on 3 – EVERY TIME. Your child must be 100% certain that if they haven’t done what you have asked of them by the time you count to 3, the consequence WILL be delivered.

The consequence can be the same every time, such as a time-out. Or it can be a consequence related to the specific request you made, such as: “If you haven’t put your toys away by the time I count to 3, I will have to take them away for 1 week.”

If you use the 1,2,3, Consequence technique with absolute consistency, eventually all you will have to do is put up 1 finger (anywhere, anytime) and your child will stop what they are doing immediately to avoid the consequence. Remember, consistency is the key to making this discipline technique work.

Object Time-outs

A twist on the traditional concept of time-outs, the next time your children are fighting over a toy, put the toy in time-out instead of putting one or both children in time-out. They’ll start waiting it out staring longingly at the toy until inevitably one of them loses interest and finds something else to play with.

Likewise, the next time your children fight over television shows or video games, put the TV or video console into time-out. Simply switch off the device, then set a timer for 10 minutes and advise your children that they are not allowed to turn it back on until the timer goes off. The great thing about this discipline strategy is that it ends the bad behavior quickly and you don’t have to take sides.

I Don’t Understand

When your child speaks to you inappropriately, simply proclaim incomprehension. Look at them with a confused expression - as if they are speaking a foreign language - and simply say: "I can't understand you when you talk like that." 

If your child is whining, do the same thing but instead say: "I don’t understand 'Whinese.' Can you please speak in English."  Then ignore your child until they speak to you in a more appropriate way. They’ll soon learn that speaking to you respectfully in a “normal” tone is the best way to get your attention and actually get a response from you.

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Stopping Temper Tantrums In Toddlers - 4 Discipline Techniques

If you are a parent who’s had the unpleasant and mortifying experience of trying to tame a toddler temper tantrum in public with little success, you will be pleased to know that there are a variety of effective discipline methods you can try with your child to stop tantrums, and prevent them from ever occurring in the first place.

Here are four tips for stopping tantrums:   

Express What Your Toddler Is Feeling, Not What You are Feeling

As adults we want people to listen to us, want to be understood, and we want to receive a relevant response. Children aren’t any different. So rather than explaining to your toddler what YOU are thinking, try expressing what your toddler is thinking to show them that you are listening and that you understand how he or she feels.

For example, if your toddler starts to throw a tantrum when you say it’s time to leave the park, instead of saying something like: "We've been here for hours, it's time to go; Come on let’s go, I have to go home and cook dinner now; Let’s go, it's starting to get dark and I'm getting cold” etc. try saying something like: "Luke is angry! He wants to stay at the park. He's really mad! No Mommy, I don’t want to go home, I want to stay at the park and play!"

Express what YOUR CHILD is feeling to show them that you understand. The result is likely to be that your toddler will calm down enough for you to pick them up, carry them to the car, and offer them something as a distraction if still needed.

You may feel a bit silly doing this the first few times (especially in public), but this technique works very well with many toddlers, so it’s well worth giving a try.

Give Your Toddler A Special Job To Do

It may seem hard to believe if you are dealing with a difficult-to-manage child right now, but the reality is that all children enter this world programmed to be helpful and cooperative. All you have to do is take advantage of this natural tendency by giving your toddler a special “job” to do that will prevent or defuse a tantrum.

For example, if your toddler refuses to get into his or her car seat, try making them the “boss of the seatbelts” with the special job of making sure that everyone is safely buckled in before the car can start. At the grocery store you could give your child the job of being your “lookout” to help you find certain items on the shelves, or try pretending to be lost and in need of their help to find your way to another food item, or to the checkout.

Not only is asking your child for help a great way to take their mind off disruptive behavior and stop tantrums, it also makes them feel important and does wonders for their self-esteem.

Never Give In To Your Toddler’s Demands During A Temper Tantrum

Giving in to your toddler’s demands during a temper tantrum is especially tempting in public as a way of swiftly ending the attention-attracting episode. But doing so is a HUGE mistake, because if you give in to your toddler when they are whining, crying  or having a temper tantrum, you are teaching them that this type of behavior is the way to get what they want. And they will learn to repeat this behavior knowing that there’s a chance you might eventually give in to them. This is the case even if you only give in every so often.

On the other hand, if you are firm, stick to your guns, and are consistently unwavering, your toddler will quickly learn that there’s absolutely no point in throwing a tantrum to try and get their own way, or in fighting what he or she is eventually going to have to do anyway.

Ignore Your Toddler While They Are Throwing A Tantrum

It’s important to realize that even scolding and yelling are forms of attention, and children would rather have unpleasant attention from you than no attention at all. Therefore, when you pay attention to your toddler when they are behaving badly, you may actually be teaching them to do the very things you don't want them to do.

When your toddler is throwing a temper tantrum, giving any kind of attention at all to the bad behavior serves as a reinforcer. That’s why one of the best ways to handle a temper tantrum is to ignore it; simply pretend that the behavior is not occurring. Don’t look at, talk to, or respond to your toddler until the tantrum stops. Then be sure to recognize them as soon as the inappropriate behavior ceases to send a clear message that good behavior is the best way to get your attention.

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5 Tips For Getting Your Kids To Listen And Cooperate

If you are feeling frustrated, tired and worn down from constantly battling with your defiant child who seems to oppose over absolutely everything, you will be pleased to know that there are a variety of effective discipline techniques you can try for getting your kids to listen and cooperate with you more easily and to stop defiant behavior.

Here are three tips on parenting defiant kids for putting an end to defiant behavior:   

Set Limits And Stick To Them

Setting limits for young children helps them to understand and respect boundaries. Your ability to set limits and stick to them is crucial for effectively disciplining your defiant child. Decide what behaviors you won’t ever allow, and then stick to those limits at all times. For example, if your child demonstrates defiant behavior by refusing to hold your hand to cross a road, it is wise to firmly set a limit that crossing the road is only done while holding hands with you. Make it crystal clear that there is no other option and your child will very quickly learn that defiance is pointless.

Give Your Child Choices

Whenever possible, offer your child two alternate choices to give them a certain level of control. For example, if your defiant child is resisting getting dressed in the morning, giving him or her two outfits to pick from will take the focus off the power struggle over getting dressed and dissolve the defiant behavior. Allowing your child to feel like they have some control by giving them choices makes cooperation natural and easy.

Give Your Child Predictable Consequences

If you want to stop the defiant behavior, it’s crucial that you be consistent in delivering consequences to your child in response to inappropriate behavior. If you have warned them that action A leads to consequence B, then it must do so every single time. Your child will very soon learn that the same negative result will come from the same inappropriate behavior every time, and once your child understands this, they'll be far more likely to comply without defiance.

Give Warnings To Smooth Transitions

Imagine if you were midway through typing an email or making yourself a delicious dessert and your partner ordered you to “Get in the car NOW!” No doubt you wouldn’t be impressed and you wouldn’t be inclined to comply.

As adults we don’t like having someone else’s agenda thrown at us demanding an instant response. Children are no different. They need a few minutes to shift gears for transitions, so giving your child a five minute warning is a good way to prevent defiant behavior when you are trying to get them to move onto doing something else.

Consider Your Child's Feelings

Sometimes defiant behavior can result from a specific emotion your child is having trouble dealing with, such as jealousy or insecurity. Look for a pattern in your child’s misbehavior and try to identify if a specific emotion seems to be the root cause of it. If so, discuss this with your child to conquer the defiant behavior at its core and put an end to it once and for all.

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Gifts for Every Chef

Parenting Problems? The Ace Child Discipline Guide Can Help

Parents who feel like everything is a constant battle with their child often find themselves all out of ideas on how to stop the bad behavior, and at a total loss for discipline strategies that actually work.

And without effective discipline strategies to use with your child, it’s like fighting a war with no weapons – you’re certain to lose.

Well the Ace Child Discipline Guide will change all that because it gives you 150 simple discipline techniques that you can instantly start using with your child to finally put an end to the misbehavior.

The Ace Child Discipline Guide will arm you with a wealth of proven effective discipline techniques for dealing with undesirable behaviors of all kinds, including:

• Temper tantrums
• Defiant behavior
• Whining
• Back-chatting
• Arguing
• Uncooperativeness
• Sibling rivalry
• And many more

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This is not another one of those rambling, repetitive parenting books... you know the kind that contain so little genuinely useful information and so few practical tips that the entire book could be boiled down to just a few pages.

The Ace Child Discipline Guide book is ALL “meat”. It offers the most comprehensive collection of specific discipline techniques for children of all ages available in a single book. You won’t find anything else like it anywhere.

It covers “quick fixes” and long-term discipline strategies for children all ages, and includes dedicated sections for toddlers, siblings, and the most popular section of all - creative discipline techniques.

If you want to stop the bad behavior and transform your difficult-to-manage child into calmer, more cooperative, better-behaved child - the Ace Child Discipline Guide can help you do exactly that.

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