The Do’s & Don’ts for Good Day Care

After a long break from work to have your first child, you have successfully made it through the first 2 years, and with preschool on the horizon, your thoughts can turn to your career. Once you have managed to source a good day care centre, your child will take another step towards eventual independence, and as a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that your child is in a positive environment for the few hours a day that they are not in your care. The decision concerning which day care centre to send your child is not one that should be taken lightly, and once you have found the right venue, here are  some do’s and don’ts to ensure a smooth transition.

►   Do Your Homework – Bearing in mind, this could be a positive or negative experience for your child, it makes perfect sense to do some research on the care centre prior to making your decision. You should visit the day care centre and while there, take note of the general environment, which should be clean and orderly. Notice the children and whether or not they seem content, and observe how the carers interact with the kids, as this will give you a good idea of the general ambience.

►   Don’t Leave Too Late – One needs adequate time to visit potential care facilities, and if there are a few near your home, it makes sense to carry out the necessary research to ensure the right choice. One month prior to your return to work, you should already be looking, and with no pressure on you time wise, you can take your time when choosing. You might, for example, be looking for day care in Brisbane, and with a simple Google search, all day care centres will be accessible, and after some browsing, you can make a list of questions to ask when visiting.

►   Do Talk to Other Parents – The best way to evaluate a day care centre is to talk to the parents whose children attend, and this will give you a parent’s perspective. Ask questions about regular contact and whether or not the children seem happy in this environment, and after chatting with a cross section, you will be better informed and able to make the right decision. If you think you need some assistance with helping your child to prepare for preschool, here is a useful guide that will ensure a smooth transition from home to school.

►   Don’t Overstay Your Welcome – It might be the first time you have left your child in the care of someone else, but you must resist the temptation of hanging around when you arrive in the morning. It isn’t good for you or the child if you try to blend into the background, as the child will be focusing on you, rather than on the new environment. There might even be a temper tantrum at the very outset, but you need to be firm and reassuring at the same time, and once you are out of sight, things quickly become calm.

When you arrive in the afternoon, take the time to discuss your child with the care provider, as this will help you both to focus on the child’s development, and by working together, you can resolve any behavioral issues.

Making Sure Your Family Home Is Safe And Secure For The Kids

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The last thing any parent wants is for their child to become injured or scared at home. However, that is something that happens all the time as adults forget to ensure their houses are safe for the little ones. Also, there are thousands of break-ins every single year in the US, and children who witness such events can often become anxious about being in their beds when the lights go out. With all that in mind, you just need to make some improvements to your home to ensure you never have to worry about your kids going through a traumatic experience unnecessarily. The information below should help to point you in the right direction and ensure you don’t overlook anything essential.

Install a home alarm system

The first few tips on this page will focus on making your home as secure as possible. In most instances, homeowners just need to invest in a decent alarm system for their properties. Make sure you get something that uses pressure sensors so the siren will sound if anyone attempts to break in through your windows. You should also aim to get something with motion sensors inside the property. That way, the alarm will wake everyone up if there is movement in the hallways while your family is sleeping. Those who want to go a step further and achieve peace of mind might also look into linking their alarm to the local police station. You can often do that for a small monthly fee.

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Purchase some CCTV cameras

Next up, it’s wise to search online for an affordable CCTV system for your home. Ideally, you need to get something that is going to stand the test of time and remain in working order for at least a couple of years. For that reason, it’s vital that you read some reviews from people who’ve published the package in the past before parting with your hard earned wages. In most instances, you can install the CCTV system without paying for professional assistance. Just make sure it covers are much of the exterior of your house as possible. That way, if any criminals break in while you’re out enjoying life with the kids; you should have some evidence to show the police that could help them to gain a conviction.

Buy locks and screens for your windows and doors

You might also think about making it more difficult for someone to gain access to your property via the front door. It’s possible to do that by adding an extra lock at the top or bottom that required a different key to the one you usually use. You could also get some security screens that make it more challenging for a criminal to see inside your home. In many instances, burglars will come and check out a property before they decide to break in. If those people walk up your driveway and struggle to see anything inside the house, they will probably move onto the next home. That is because those criminals will have no idea about whether or not they will get any valuables from your home.

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Cover any sharp corners

Now we need to start thinking about some of the things all parents can do to prevent their kids from getting injured at home. If you have toddlers in the house, there is a decent chance they seek out dangerous situations every single day. Indeed, you probably save them from immediate peril all the time. So, now is the time to think ahead and use some common sense. If you have sharp corners on tables and other units in your house, it’s essential that you try to cover them up. The last thing you need is for one of the little ones to run into them and hit their head. Thankfully, there are specialist rubber products on the market that make light work of that job. Just search online and solve the problem!

Clean your kitchen sides properly!

Next, you need to get in the habit of cleaning your kitchen thoroughly every time you prepare food. Most adults know not to place bread and other items on the sideboard after dealing with raw meat. However, your children probably don’t have that safety mechanism built-in yet, and so there is a decent chance they will give themselves food poisoning and other bacterial infections. While you could spend weeks making sure your little ones understand the dangers, sometimes it makes sense to take the bull by the horns. If you ensure your kitchen is always clean and free from dangerous germs; your kids won’t have the opportunity to make themselves ill.

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Install stair gates

Lastly, those with small kids will soon discover that stair gates are some of the best inventions in the world. While you can use them to get some peace and quiet, the products are perfect for stopping the little ones from entering dangerous areas or falling down the stairs. As a parent, you won’t want to take your loved ones to the hospital with broken legs or anything similar, and you can prevent that without breaking the bank with decent stair gate products. When the kids mature, you could even recycle the items and use them to keep your family dogs away from the dinner table when everyone sits down to eat. Just be aware that some canines and children see stair gates as a challenge. So, you still need to keep your eyes on them because your little ones will attempt to climb.

If you take all the advice from this article and put it into action right now; your family home should become a safe and secure sanctuary for your entire family. Thinking ahead is vital if you want to avoid disasters and ensure everyone lives a long and happy life. Best of all? You can implement all the suggestions from this page for less than $500 in most instances, So, there is no need to break the bank or spend a fortune when it comes to ensuring your kids have the happiest time possible while they’re young.

Banana Bread Recipe Made With Peach or Strawberry Applesauce

*Originally posted May 1, 2015

Let's ring in May with a recipe I'm making this morning. I hope to make a few batches so my husband, the kids and his brother and his kids can take some on their fishing trip this weekend. I'll make a regular batch, one with chocolate chips and maybe try one with Chia seeds. This is a terrific recipe to bake with the kids!

 

Banana Bread

½ cup applesauce (consider using strawberry or peach applesauce!)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 t. baking soda

¼ t. salt

1 cup flour (white, wheat or ½ wheat, ½ white)

Optional: ¼ cup wheat germ or 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

3 ripe bananas

Mix applesauce and sugar, add eggs and vanilla and stir. Add baking soda, salt, flours and wheat germ and mix. Add bananas, mashing them up in the mixture so they are chunky still. Pour into greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. I like to use my Pampered Chef bread pan that makes 4 small loaves so they cook faster and are easier to share J Stand back because the kids will devour this one.

Head over to Kerrie the Kitchen Queen for lots more recipes! And check out The Tater Tot Casserole Cookbook!

5 Things You Can Do To Increase The Worth of Your House

It is not really easy to sell a house. In fact, it usually takes a house a few months before it is sold, and in some cases it may take years before you find a good buyer.

In most cases, the delay is due to buyers not willing to match the asking price. In such circumstances, the best option is to increase your house’s worth so that buyers can find it worth the asking price.

However, not everyone knows how to achieve such results. Without further delay, let’s look at five ways to give your house’s value a boost.

Create More Space

One of the first things buyers notice is the space. You should make sure to get rid of the clutter so that the house looks bigger.

Furniture and other items can make a house look smaller than it actually is. This can affect a buyer’s perspective and cause them to bid lower.

Light Up Your House

Install windows and skylights, fix broken panes and place sun tubes. All this can make a lot of difference.

A well-lit home does not only look bigger, but it looks cleaner as well. Plus, doing so does not even need a lot of investment so it is a good option for all homeowners. Other than this, invite buyers during the day if you can, as natural light can also do wonders.

Clean and Paint

A new paint job can save the day. You can get a room painted for as low as $400, but very high-quality paint may cost you double, up to $900.

However, it is an investment you should not shy away from making because ROI on this can be as high as 15%. You don’t even have to worry a lot about the paint. You can pick any decent color (beige and light gray seem to be popular these days) since you are going to just put the house up for sale.

But, make sure to get the exterior painted as well, since the first impression is the last impression.

Update or Renovate the Kitchen

The kitchen is the busiest place of the house, and as a result all the buyers will pay special attention to it. In fact, reports indicate that a large part of our day is spent in the kitchen, not just cooking but eating as well.

If your house possesses a nice, commodious and attractive kitchen, then it can help increase the worth of your house. On the other hand, if you have an ugly kitchen, that can damage the overall image and value of your home.

Pay Attention to the Bathroom

Local home buyers want a house that has a big and clean bathroom. You need to pay special attention to this factor and make sure to keep your bathroom in good condition before you put it up for sale.

Follow these tips and you will easily be able to sell your house. However, there are many as-is buyers as well, so do some research first.

How to Improve Your Kid's Behavior

Setting An Example

From the moment they establish perception, and as they grow up, kids look to their parents and guardians for guidance on how to act and how to behave in different situations. It's how they learn and comprehend appropriate behavior in various settings, so it is important that you as a parent, set an exemplary standard of conduct. A young child's mind is impressionable and very sensitive to any early experience so it is paramount that you begin imparting wisdom from a very young age, and interacting with your child so they can begin to understand the spoken language and determine the meaning in facial expressions. You have to remember that you are a significant figure of influence. Therefore, a large determining factor in your child's behavior is your own and how you've reacted to situations in front of their eyes, so be understanding and patient with your kids, and realize that you have had a large impact on how they behave. There are, however, others factors at play which will be made apparent through the course of this article.

Consider The Implications Of Behavior

Some acting out in childhood is normal, and to be expected. Children are establishing their character through using their voice and their actions so some communications may not always appear to fit the norm, but this is simply a time of self-discovery and self-expression. As a parent, you should be encouraging this rather than stifling your child’s individuality. So where you can, and where your child's behavior doesn't risk their own or the welfare of others, allow this to unfold with words of advice here and there if you feel it is necessary. As kids reach their teenage years and adolescence, you can expect a rebellious phase of sorts. As pressures to fit in or to stand out mounts, so does the child's desire to show their ability to achieve either one, and this can materialize itself through, what you may refer to as, ‘bad behavior.’ ‘Bad behavior’ and falling in with “the wrong crowd,” can have more serious implications for the health of your child so it is important to be supportive and vigilant should this occur. If you are concerned about your child, consider booking them into a specialized drugs program or a rehab center in order to get them the help they need if they have struggled with frustration, mental health issues, a downward spiral into addiction and dependence and subsequent bad behavior. It's crucial that you remember that there is hope and help to be found in situations such as these.

Incentives

Incentives work to encourage your children to behave better, as they’re gaining from their good behavior. Consider rewarding any good behavior with praise and congratulations; you could do this by making a reward system, or by displaying a behavioral chart in your home. Allow your children to make the chart and display it a visible level in your kitchen, for example. Each time your child engages in good behavior, or achieves an accolade in school, then reward them with either a point on the chart or with a small gift prize such as an edible sweet treat or a small cash sum. You can ask your children which rewards they would prefer since you want to be optimizing their desire to win the incentives and further the likelihood of them improving their behavior. You want to promote good behavior, so by using the chart, you're allowing your child to keep note of their progress, and if you have other children, then you're also encouraging a healthy rivalry to achieve, and with any luck, you should be able to improve their behaviors respectively.

Explanation

Before you ask something of your child or want to tell them to stop misbehaving, you must explain how their actions are impacting on yourself or others. For example, if your child is misbehaving by being rude to others around you, it's important to take your child quietly aside and explain that their actions have consequences and their words can hurt others. By explaining why you're unhappy with their actions, children are better able to see your side and are far more likely to stop engaging in bad behavior this way than if you had raised your voice and told them to “stop.” By explaining why you'd like them to stop and why you believe they're misbehaving, either because they're tired of hungry, for example, you're allowing your child to understand causation and effect. Tell your child how you'd like them to behave in such situations and congratulate them when they succeed in achieving this. Explanation allows your child to get a grip on understanding what you expect of them, and what behaviors you will not tolerate, which ones will incur you telling them off, and which behavior results in them being praised and rewarded.

Don't Punish

You won't teach your children to be better behaved by enforcing punishment, instead, you're simply communicating that your children should fear you. Consider removing some privileges after repeated and calm warnings, like access to the games console or an earlier bedtime, if bad behavior persists, then remove the items but ensure that you clearly state how these privileges can be earned back. Try never to threaten your children with revocation of privileges without just cause, and you shouldn't use this as a means to control your children throughout the day. By all means, you can have a strike system, so that your child can keep track of how many strikes they are accumulating, but ensure that you stay true to the board. You don’t have to use gimmicks if you’d rather not. However, if you favor doing so, then tell your children that they’ve earned a strike for their bad behavior. If you've decided that a certain behavior warrants removing their games console for 24 hours, then it’s important that you do not stray from this regulation unless in extreme circumstances. Otherwise, your child will not be able to grasp the system leading to confusion and frustration fully, and in turn, there will be a higher likelihood of them misbehaving further.