Tips on Caring for Your Disabled Child

As a parent, it is natural to want the best for your child. It is also understandable that you would spend a large portion of your time worrying about your little one and carefully considering their needs. This level of attention is taken to a whole new level when it comes to caring for a disabled child. There is just so much to think about, so it is vital that you are up to the challenge. However, even if you are really struggling to handle your responsibilities, it is still possible for you to make a change. Below are four tips that will help you to become the best parent you can be.  

Take control of your finances

The first tip is to take control of your finances. Caring for a disabled child is an expensive undertaking, so it is vital that you have the necessary funds to fall back on. Why not set up a separate savings account that is dedicated to the support of your youngster? This will help you to divide up your money and to keep an eye on exactly how much you have. Another important step is to look into any support or compensation you could be owed. For instance, if your child has cerebral palsy as the result of a complicated birth, you should hold the hospital at fault accountable. This could be a life-changing way for you to access the funds you need. 

Evaluate your home environment

Once you have taken control of your finances, you will need to evaluate your home environment. If your child is going to enjoy a high quality of life, you will need to create a space that supports their needs, aids their progress, and encourages them to use their mind. In order to achieve this, you should fill your home with plenty of bright colors, interesting patterns, and interactive spaces. If your child uses a wheelchair, you will also need to think about how easy it is for them to access certain parts of your home. Ideally, they should be able to go wherever they want, as this will prevent your little one from feeling left out.

Don’t get stuck in a rut

You can also prevent your disabled child from feeling left out by organizing lots of fun activities for them to enjoy. This could involve anything from an afternoon craft session to a picnic in the garden. Whatever you decide, the most important thing is that you don’t get stuck in a rut. Although there are plenty of benefits to establishing a routine, too much structure will become boring after a while. It will also negatively impact the relationship you share with your child, as you will become more of a caregiver and less of a parent. 

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

Make time for yourself

Finally, you should go out of your way to make time for yourself. This may involve you calling on a loved one for help or hiring an experienced nanny who has what it takes to support a disabled child. If you decide to push forward with this plan, just remember to let go of your guilt. There is no shame in taking a moment for yourself every now and then. In fact, making your own needs a priority will actually leave you with more strength and positivity when you return to looking after your little one.

Contigo Review Stainless Water Containers 16-ounce and 24-ounce

I have been meaning to post about this product for MONTHS. I actually thought I already had, and then found the post in draft mode. I was all excited to ADD to it ... because next week I'll be at day camp with my son and it'll be HOT and I'll be taking my two different sizes of Contigos and one will have iced tea for energy and one will have water. Both will be full of ice before I leave the house. The ice will stay ice all day long and I'll just keep adding water or tea to each container. I feel spoiled ... and hydrated. Woo hoo!

Okay, but what I was going to say in the first place is how much I have loved having it at coop. For one thing, I teach PE and my old water container would get knocked over by a ball a lot and it would spill all over the gym floor. Second, nothing I ever used would keep the water cold or keep my ice from melting, even in the winter. Finally, it was hard to find something that would fit in my drink holders in my van just right. Wait, the finally is that it's stainless steel, and I hear that's better for you than drinking out of plastic. I don't really care but a lot of people do.

The other 6 days of the week during the school year, it's still great to have these containers. My kids still drink out of my cups when we're on the go, so I always keep them full of ice and then when they deplete one we just grab from our stash of bottled waters and refill!

So I heard about this on a homeschool podcast (she was talking about her travel mug with handle) and I actually bought it online while I was in the tub last winter. No joke. Too much information? Oh, the times we live in ... we get to shop while taking a bath and two days later a lovely product that will help us stay healthy arrives on our doorstep.

This is my little one for coffee or iced tea. I think it's the 16-ounce one.

This is the one I use for water, and it's 24 ounces.

I've knocked it over and it's never spilled, but just in case you can use the lock feature.

You just hold this long black button when you want a drink and it releases the seal.

*I might get a few cents if you click the link and purchase this product. I posted about it because I like this product and wanted to share my love of it, thinking it might make your life easier like it has mine. I seem to be posting about products more than usual lately, and nobody is asking me to. I just seem to find a moment here or there to actually get it done!

Summer Means Swagbucks!

Yeah, I think this should say SUMMER into Bonuses. So do that. :-)

All throughout June you can earn large bonuses when sign up as my referral on Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a rewards site where you earn points (called SB) for things you're probably doing online already, like searching the web, watching videos, shopping, discovering deals, and taking surveys. Then you take those points and exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Target, or PayPal cash. 

When you sign up through me this month, you can earn a 300 SB bonus! Here's how: 

1. Sign up using this link 

2. Earn 300 SB total before July 1st, 2018. You'll get a 300 SB bonus for it! 

3. That's it. It's super easy, and Swagbucks is for real. I use it myself, and I've earned 121,872 Swagbucks since signing up, which is $1,218.72. I usually cash out in PayPal so I can buy homeschool books, pay friends for things like theater tickets to musical theater productions our kids are in, etc. This week I'll be sending over $50 to a friend for ordering a couple of Dave Ramsey Personal Finance books for me for fall co-op classes. 

6 Tips on Building Self-Esteem in your Child

We gave Callie the choice to explore her talents recently, and she chose to participate in a huge musical theater production. It was a lot of hard work and responsibility and she rocked it like a shining star!

Building your child’s self-esteem is very important. A healthy self –esteemed child feels confident, proud of himself, valuable, appreciated and in general he’s a happy child. A low esteemed child on the other hand, will hate himself, feels that he is not good at anything, have fear to express himself to others, feel insecure and will always be sad.  This can have effects on both his performance in school and also his future.

Children are not born with confidence, they develop it with time. So it is your duty as a parent to ensure your kid will have a healthy self-esteem.

1.      Do not compare your children

No children that are the same in any way. So don’t make a mistake of comparing your child with his brother, sister or with any other child for that matter. Treat and have time to understand each of your child individually. Comparing him with others will make him feel as an inferior and especially on a negative note.  Encourage him instead to be better.

2.      Step back

It’s always good to step back and let your child do some of his things for himself. However it is advisable you first show them how they’re done before leaving them to try them out on their own. For example, let him learn to dress himself or even tie his shoelaces by doing it. In most cases he won’t do it the right way on the first time, but with time he’ll be perfect and know he can in deed do it.

3.      Make them work

Give your child some responsibility and again don’t help him out. Let him have goals on how to go about it. This will empower them by the time they finish they will feel good about themselves to know you can count on them for such tasks. Learn how to get your kids up and moving on Mobilityguardian.Com.

4.      Give them choices

Let your children make some decision on what they want depending on their age. For example you can let your 4 year old choose whether he’ll take toast or cereals for the breakfast. 

5.      Explore and encourage their talents

Know what your child performs better and have more interest with. Encourage them to continue and offer them your support. E.g. pay for their training if they will require it and always let them know you’re happy and proud about it.

6.      Let them know you love them unconditionally

Assure your child of your love towards him/her. If they happen to make a mistake that gets you very irritated with them, you can just get out of their sight for some time to avoid reacting in a way that will affect their feelings. If you have to punish, let them know you love them but you dislike their actions.

Make a choice as a parent to improve your child’s confidence and he’ll grow up a happy and healthy kid. Praise him appropriately but don’t overdo it. Do not forget you are his role model. Be the best mom/daddy and make your kids proud of you as you also become proud of them.

Best Summer Swim Mask/Goggles

Sometimes I find a product that impresses me and I have to share it!

My 8-year-old son Samuel just broke his fabulous "goggles" ... they aren't really goggles, though. It's more like a diving mask that also covers his nose. It stinks because we just opened our country swimming pool a few weeks ago and he really uses the heck out of those things.

My husband may or may not kill me for posting this! This was taken Mother's Day weekend and he had just opened the pool Friday night. Joel and I were at Callie's CYT production this evening when they were swimming. Sam loves his "goggles" :-)

So I went online to try to figure out when and where I bought that exact mask because it held up so well when everything before it broke too easily. I mean, this thing lasted at least through most of last summer and then 2 weeks in Florida in October then a few weeks here at our house pool.

I couldn't find this product when I searched my Amazon orders, so I went to the search bar and typed in "dive mask." Algorithms and computers are a beautiful thing sometimes because over on the right of the screen there was the exact mask I bought him once before. I clicked on it.

Turns out I bought it January 2017. Wow. I hadn't gone back far enough in my orders to find that out.

That means this thing lasted all through our INDOOR swim season, all last summer, 2 weeks in Florida in the ocean and at swimming pools and then about 3 weeks here at home before it broke. (the hard plastic broke above the nose, FYI).

So, for just $15.88 and free 2-day delivery (Amazon Prime is the way to go), I got another one. No brainer. Here's the link if you want to get your kid the best dive mask around for the pool this summer! Sam was a fresh 7 when he got it and now he's careening toward 9. The mask is adjustable and would probably fit any kid even into their teens.



*I might get a few cents if you order by clicking on the picture above; just wanted to let you know.