Why Your Kids Should Go on Adventures

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Almost all kids books centre around an adventure. The main character almost always goes on a journey of discovery that leads them through difficult times but ultimately shows them how strong and capable they really are. Moana ventures past the reef to save her island, PAW Patrol is all about solving problems and Dora the Explorer goes on all kinds of missions. 

But modern children hardly ever go outside and go on adventures of their own. Parents seem to be so afraid of children hurting themselves or getting into trouble, they don’t see all the benefits of allowing children to fend for themselves. 

The truth is that your kids are unlikely to get themselves into the kind of trouble that requires you to have personal injury lawyers on speed dial!

Go Camping

Camping is a great way to instil a sense of adventure in your kids. Showing them how to put up a tent and build a fire to cook outside is lots of fun and will give your kids life skills too. Cooking over a campfire takes some practice so just make sure that any meat you cook is definitely done before you start eating. 

Exploring the surroundings together will help to familiarise your kids with the area but you might also like to encourage them to explore on their own. Try going for walks together in the morning and then allowing them to play alone in the afternoon while you relax. Just make sure that they don’t venture too far away and they know how to get back! 

Take a Road Trip

A road trip is a great opportunity for trying new things together and having fun. From water parks to beach trips, trying new foods and plotting your route on a map, there are plenty of chances for your kids to get involved. 

Involving your kids in decision making along the way doesn’t mean that you have to say yes to everything but listening to their suggestions will give them a sense of responsibility and empowerment.

Let Them Explore at Home

Adventures don’t always have to be wild and far away. Letting your kids go out and about on their own - for example, going to a nearby park or calling for a friend - will also give them a sense of greater responsibility. To give you and your kids peace of mind, there are a few things you should think about first. 

To start with, you need to be comfortable with where your kids want to go. Try going out together and letting them take the lead. Along the way show them where it is and isn’t safe for them to play. To start with, you might limit their range to within view of your house. Putting a time limit on playing out is also a good idea. Always be clear at what time you expect them to be back. If your child is mature enough, you might also like to give them a cheap cell phone so they are always contactable and they can call you any time. 

How Engaged Should You Be In Your Child's Early Education?

It might seem like a silly question, and you may immediately respond with “as much as physically possible.” However, the truth is that a lot of parents rightfully worry about hovering over their kids and getting in the way of their development. As such, we’re going to look at ways that you should definitely be involved, so if you’re doing the below, you don’t need to feel guilty about it.

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Building a strong routine

The school day is a big part of your child’s day, but a lot of kids have trouble getting used to the routine of going to school in the morning, meaning they can restless, antsy, and not paying attention. The single best way to make sure that they are ready for school is with healthy morning and nighttime routines.

Helping with homework

If your child comes back with homework, it’s important to fit that in the schedule by dedicating specific time for homework. It’s even better if you have a homework station, such as a desk, where they can do it without too much distraction. There’s nothing wrong with helping them do their homework, either, but it’s important you try to not simply give them the answers. Instead, try to teach them the methods of answer certain questions.

Supporting their learning

If you want to raise your child in a way that supports what they’re going to learn in school, thus helping them get to grips with what they’re going to be learning, then you need to learn what they’re going to be learning. You can look at their preschool curricula, see what’s being covered, and give them a little headstart at home. For instance, learning basic skills like letters, numbers, and how to hold a pencil are all going to benefit them in their education later.

Supplementing their education

Once your child is in education, you might not want to focus on what is covered in school as much. In fact, you might want to cover what’s not being covered in academia. Look for skills and ways to expand their curiosity and creativity that aren’t being covered by the school as well as they need to be. It’s okay that a parent supplements their child’s education outside of school. Education isn’t supposed to be kept solely in the classroom.

Conferencing with teachers

Of course, it’s important to know how your child is doing. Talk with their teachers regularly about what milestones they are covering, how they seem to be coping emotionally, and see if they have any more specific tips on how you can guide their learning from home. A good education is the product of an engaged teacher, an engaged child, and an engaged parent. If one of those is missing, it can become a problem.

It’s important to make sure you don’t stand on your kid’s toes during their education. If you’re doing their homework for them then, yes, you have officially gone too far. Otherwise, if you’re doing the above, you’re on the right track.

4 Fun Things to Do While You Are Trapped Indoors

With a huge number of people around the world currently trapped indoors for their own good – and with this impromptu state of quarantine likely set to last for a while – boredom and cabin fever are very real possibilities.

Of course, just because you are stranded indoors for a while doesn’t mean that there aren’t still plenty of things you can do in order to have fun, stay entertained, and to turn this otherwise stressful and negative situation into something altogether much more positive.

So, without further ado, here are a few fun things to do while you are trapped indoors.

Spend some time coming up with goals that motivate and excite you, and begin the planning process

Even if you can’t currently go outside and engage with the world in the way you might want to, there is nothing to stop you from sitting down and spending some time coming up with goals that generally motivate and excite you, and from then beginning with the planning process in earnest.

On an everyday basis, it’s common for everyone to get a bit too caught up in their own personal dramas and the rapid pace of everyday life. One consequence of this is that it’s often easy to end up operating on autopilot, without paying much thought to whether or not you are actually pursuing goals that you find genuinely meaningful.

Practical Ways to Encourage Yourself to Get Active

We all know the struggles of staying fit. Unless you have an incredibly strict routine that you’ve been following for a long time, there’s a good chance that you’re going to struggle to stick to any kind of fitness plans that you have. Perhaps you just feel lazy, maybe you get tired easily or maybe you just don’t have the motivation to get fit and stay fit. So to help with your situation, we’ve put together some practical ways to encourage yourself to get active and stay fit.

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Take a holistic approach to fitness

Getting active is great, but you also need to combine it with things such as a healthy diet and lifestyle. If you want to motivate yourself to get active, then you should try and combine it with changing your lifestyle to accommodate more activity and also changing your diet so that it helps you achieve your fitness and weight goals. If you take a holistic approach, you’ll start to see more benefits and positive changes to your body.

Look and feel the part

A surprisingly effective way to motivate yourself to get fit is to actually look and feel the part. This means going to a store and getting yourself some sports training gear such as sweatbands, shorts and shirts. Not only does it trick your brain into mentally preparing for a workout but it also has practical uses. After all, you don’t want to be getting sweaty in your regular clothes, and having proper fitness gear means that it will help you combat sweat more efficiently.

Gamify your fitness

Some people simply find exercising to be boring and we can totally understand this. That’s why you might want to consider gamifying your workouts. There are lots of fitness games that you can buy on consoles such as the Nintendo Switch, and there are also apps that will turn your runs and exercises into experience points that can be used in a game-like setting. This can be a fantastic way to encourage yourself to start working out.

Get yourself a fitness buddy

Whether it’s someone with a lot more experience than you or someone that also wants to get fit, having a fitness buddy is a fantastic way to boost your motivation. You’ll have someone to talk about fitness to, you’ll have someone to head to the gym with and you’ll have a source of inspiration to constantly push you along. It’s worth getting into fitness communities so that you have more people to connect with that can encourage you to push yourself and stick to your fitness goals.

Take it easy

A lot of people don’t find it difficult to start getting fit. Where they do have trouble is sticking to their routine. This is often because they’re expecting too much of themselves, such as going from couch to a 5K run in just a single week. Something like this isn’t feasible since it’ll push your body to extremes that you’re just not used to. Take it easy, slow down and set yourself some goals that are easier to reach.

The Best Ways You Can Celebrate Change

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While a lot of people will associate change with something terrible, such as leaving friends behind or experiencing a breakup that leaves you feeling isolated in your social life, there are plenty of positive changes that are worth celebrating. These can include anything from promotions and moving to a new city, getting on the next flight to start a new exciting life elsewhere, having a baby, getting married, and many, many more.

But how do you celebrate such a change? The fantastic thing about positive change is that it avoids the sad and self-pitying wallowing you find with more negative changes. With a good change, you have an array of options to explore to commemorate the moment, no matter how significant or small. 

If you've recently experienced a fantastic change in your life and want the world to know all about it, here are some options to consider.