My Sibling Dolls: December 2018

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Finding Decent Child Care Is A Huge Struggle For Some Families, New Report Shows

For some families, the child care options that they have near their home is very important to them. If both the mom and the dad work, then it is hard for someone to take care of the kids. If you have good child care, that issue is definitely eased. However, if you are someone with young kids that is looking to relocate, it can be hard to find adequate child care that will meet your standards set by previous people.

Key Takeaways:

For some families, it is really difficult to get someone to watch their kids.
In certain areas around the country, the options for child care are not as plentiful as one would imagine.
If you are a family that recently moved to a more remote spot, finding care that you need for your kids is difficult.

“Anastasia Bodnar was excited to move to Iowa when her husband, a software engineer, got a new job there. One big reason was that she figured it’d be the perfect place to raise their daughter, Rose, who was 3 at the time.”

Monday, December 17, 2018

Why Does Daycare Cost So Much?

There are many rich people out there, and average income people, who can simply not be bothered with taking care of their little ones. They see day care as a baby sitting service as they have less time to have to worry about their kids. People who run these day cares know this and they look to tap into this market. As time goes on, more and more parents have shown that they are selfish and give less attention to their kids.

Key Takeaways:

There are so many parents out there that cannot be bothered with taking care of their little ones.
Kids deserved to feel loved and cherished by their parents as they grow up.
Some people are more inclined to spend money on day care because they believe it works for kids.

“Daycare averages $10,000 a year per child. Early educators barely make minimum wage. Where’s all the money going?”

Friday, December 14, 2018

A Pediatrician’s Prescription for Your Child’s Happiness

Adolescent years are a very forming time in a person’s life. Improving mental health of adolescents is very important and can be accomplished with some basic tips. Focus on good quality sleep in your teenage years. Ideally wake up and go to bed at the same time, even on the weekends. Spend some time away from screens, both to help you go to sleep and to improve your mental health. A good way of getting away from computerized screens is spending time outdoors exercising or playing.

Key Takeaways:

If your child is not happy, then it is your own duty to change that for their sake.
You are the one that knows your child best and therefore, you must think long and hard to make them happy.
Understanding the mental state of your child as they get older is so unbelievably important.

“What follows are Dr. Ben’s Top 10 areas of focus to promote good mental health for your soon-to-be adults.”

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Next Time You’re Feeling Stressed or Anxious, This Study Says You Should Play Tetris

Playing the game Tetris could help you if you are feeling stressed or anxious. A study of university students showed that playing the game during periods of high stress caused a significant reduction in stress and an increase in positive emotions. It is thought that the game provides a good balance of challenge and distraction making it the perfect option for lowering stress levels. A similar study from 2009 also showed that playing Tetris could improve mental performance.

Key Takeaways:

According to research from the University of California overworked individuals reduced their stress levels and increased their positive emotions by playing Tetris.
While most video games offer a kind of distraction, Tetris is challenging enough to keep players engaged yet simple enough for a player to stay relaxed.
Past studies have also shown Tetris to be beneficial in improving ones mental performance and has been used to help addicts cope with withdrawals.

““Flow requires a delicate balance,” Sweeny said. “Flow is most readily achieved with activities that challenge the person somewhat, but not too much; have clear, achievable goals; and that provide the person with feedback about how they’re doing along the way.””

Monday, December 10, 2018

This Year, Open Up Your Holiday Dinner Table

Holidays are family affairs, but it is also a great time of year to open up your home to a stranger in need. Inviting a family that is new to town into your home is not only welcoming to them, but also teaches your children your values. If you choose to invite people into your home, start by asking them their plans in casual conversation. You can organize a potluck to normalize the idea of staying in town amongst a large group of people.

Key Takeaways:

Parents are passing on their values to their children and teaching them empathy by opening their home to someone in need of a place to go during the holidays.
Having a guest may also be an enriching experience for you and your family as they be able to give you a different perspective of your holiday or even help keep family members on their best behavior,
Some may feel more comfortable admitting that they don’t have plans for the holidays during casual conversation. Especially if they’re made to feel like this is common.

“Having strangers over for holiday dinners seems like a novel, even radical, idea. It shouldn’t be.”

Friday, December 7, 2018

Timeouts are a dated and ineffective parenting strategy. So what’s a good alternative?

As a parent, it is really important to ensure that your children are respectful and disciplined. However, some parents go about this in a very different way. Not every kid is going to be able to be disciplined the same. Timeouts used to be big in the world of parenting but now, it is very outdated. Of course, the age of the child makes a huge difference for that. A good alternative is to take away their video games.

Key Takeaways:

As a parent, you are going to have your own way in which you discipline your child.
Though timeouts may be a little bit outdated, it might still work for you and your child.
Not everyone is against capital punishment but you need to be careful of toeing the line between physical abuse and discipline.

“Supernanny may have left our screens, but many parents still rely on timeouts when their kids misbehave. A growing number of experts, though, advise against it.”

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Don’t Miss These Signs of Toxic Parenting

Children learn from watching the adults in their lives, especially when it comes to social behaviors. While no one births a child into this world with the intent to make them as dysfunctional as possible, toxic parenting happens when the parent themselves do not have the tools to cope with a given situation. One prime example is conflict resolution. If a child sees a parent or other adult screaming, throwing things, cursing and so on, they learn that that is how a person should deal with conflict.

Key Takeaways:

Parenting is what shapes a child as they get older throughout their lifetime.
It is very important to realize that your kids are watching every little thing that they do.
Parenting is not something that is easy. It takes a lot of time to understand what it takes to be a good parent.

“Modeling healthy relationship dynamics is absolutely vital. “[Our children] are a reflection of us,” Grant notes. “Remember, their actions are learned, and they are mostly learned from those who are most influential in their lives — namely, parents.””

Monday, December 3, 2018

How to Raise an Independent Child | Empowering Parents

Raising an independent child is something that many parents feel that they can do. An independent child is really useful as they get older in life. Parents do not have to worry so much about them as they get older and they can focus more on themselves. It is the duty of a parent to raise their child but it gets to a point where there is only so much that they can do. Kids will be kids.

Key Takeaways:

Having an independent child is a really useful thing for parents as they get older.
You want your child to be able to tackle all of the issues they find as they go through life.
Parents are the ones who will be judged for a how a child turned out because kids are a reflection of the parents.

“I know this next chapter in our relationship will be written as we go. I am confident that Riley will be fine, will prevail, will succeed as she prepares to take this giant step. And, I know that I will be fine, will prevail, and will succeed as a father of this new young woman.”