Mommy Has to Work

Making Your Child’s Birthday Perfectly Personal

October 13, 2021 By Anne

Birthdays can be very exciting times for young people. While they may not realize how quickly life can move as they get older, most young people are in a rush to grow up. Of course, though, this is partly because they are excited about the awesome parties you throw each year. To help you out with this aspect of your child’s next birthday, this article will be exploring some of the best ways to make sure that their event is personal and reflective of the things that they enjoy the most.

Talking To Entertainers

Most kid’s parties have some sort of entertainer to help the adults to get the day moving. Whether this is a magician, clown, or any other type of performer, you will usually have the option to talk to them before their show to make sure that they personalize it for your child. This can give your little one the chance to be a part of the show, making them feel extra special while also making the day feel very personal. This is usually something that can be done for free.

Custom Cakes

Cakes form a big part of any birthday celebration, and there are loads of options on the market for this sort of product. It will always be best if the cake you choose reflects the things your child loves. You can find cakes that are set to themes that are popular, but you may need to look at custom cake options to get the best results. This PJ Masks layered cake recipe is a great example of this, offering the chance to make a cake for yourself.

Banner, Sign, and Other Printing

Whether your venue is at home or somewhere else, it always makes sense to decorate it for your little one’s birthday. There are loads of companies on the web that offer custom banner and sign printing for events like this, giving you the chance to give your decorations a personal touch. You just need to make sure that you find a company that offers high-quality products when you shopping for items like this, with many of the options you find having bad reviews.

Setting The Perfect Theme

Setting a theme for the parties you plan can be a good way to make the whole thing feel personal. Most children love TV shows, books, or video games, and there are loads of other interests that you can draw a theme from. Football and other sports can be a good example of this. You can base all of the other items you buy on the theme that you set, giving you the chance to make the perfect event.

As you can see, there are loads of different ways to make a child’s birthday party nice and personal. Of course, though, you need to make sure that you also pack the day with fun, giving all of the children who attend the chance to make memories and enjoy the time they spend together.

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

Top Tips to Help You De-Stress

October 12, 2021 By Anne

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Stress is something that everyone experiences at points in their life. Some stress can be helpful, and important to growing. However, some stress goes on for longer than it should and can lead to health issues, unhelpful coping mechanisms, and poor quality of life.

There are many things you can do to help you in a stressful situation. Here are some top tips to help you get started.

#1 Identify the cause

Often, there are one or more factors that are causing your stress. It is important to take some time to identify what these could be. This enables you to take a little more control of the situation, find a solution and start to invoke change in your life. Stress can be caused by many things, for example, work, children, family, friends, time management, lack of organization, loss of a job, divorce, finances, moving house, illness or injury, emotional problems, and many more. Stress will be unique to you, what you experience and the reason why will be different for everyone.

#2 Connect

Connecting with others is vital for anyone who wants to improve their quality of life, and even more important if you are struggling and feeling stressed. This is because connecting with a network of family and/or friends means that you can talk to someone you trust about your problems and get them off your chest, help you relax, see a different perspective, and is overall great for mental health.

#3 Find your stress reliever

There is a plethora of science that shows just how important exercise is in relieving stress, which is just one practice you can take on. Exercise can provide you with the space to let go of some of the physical and mental tension you are holding onto, clear your head and provide you with a healthier coping mechanism. You can take part in any exercise that you enjoy, for example, high-intensity workouts, yoga, pilates, swimming, walking, cycling, or dancing.

There are also plenty of other tools and techniques you can adopt to help you relieve stress, each will depend on your personal preference. They can often be used individually, or to complement other techniques, such as meditation, journaling practices, breathing techniques, or CBD oil.

#4 Take some time out

It can be extremely hard to take time out, when life is full of obligations such as long working days, studying, and/or families. This usually results in not taking enough time to do the things you enjoy, or taking time out. Taking a break from the usual hustle and bustle of life is vital in reducing stress, as your body needs mental and physical rest to recover. Not taking time out can lead to prolonged stress, which can be harmful to your health. Make sure you schedule some time for yourself and stick to it. Perhaps stay at a friend’s house, go away for the weekend, or simply plan a day out somewhere. The most effective breaks are those that are away from your usual environment.

Stress is not often something you can avoid, but how you manage it is vital to your mental health.

Anne

4 Tips to Save Up And Treat Your Family

October 12, 2021 By Anne

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Everyone loves the family vacation, and although you will be happy no matter what you do or where you go, parents still want to treat their loved ones to something big and exciting. However, something big usually means it is expensive. You don’t want to be financially irresponsible and spend beyond your means, but you can save up for a surprise. What are the best ways to do this? Here are four useful tips to treat your family to an experience they will never forget.

Identify Things You Don’t Need

There are plenty of services people become accustomed to, but don’t necessarily need. This can include that pricey entertainment bill even though you only frequent one of two channels, as well as subscriptions to clubs or services that you haven’t used in months. While they might not cost much per month, the costs add up over the years. The sooner you remove these charges, the easier it will be to save up. You can transfer the cost into a savings account, as with this, you won’t miss the money, and you can set yourself up well for the future.

Shop Around for Useful Deals

There are many more deals and promotions than you think there are, but you need to look for them. One place to find such deals is when you compare credit services. Your current credit card company might not be beneficial to you, especially if they have high-interest rates. By shopping around, you can identify a better company that might even provide air tokens or other benefits that you can use to fund a trip, which will help you save even more money along the way.

Learn To Live On a Shoestring

Sometimes, you need to cut back entirely and live on a shoestring if you want to save up for a specific trip at a specific time of year. This is easier than you think it is, but it requires the whole family to get involved. You will need to cut back on frivolous expenses and treats, and instead live more sensibly. While it can be a shock to the system (especially when your kids miss their favorite fast food) it will be worth it once you get on that plane.

Overcome Impulse Purchases

Everyone has fallen prey to an impulse buy, but understanding the science behind them can help you change your habits. Just because you see something now doesn’t mean you need it now. Instead, wait 30 days and ask if you still feel the same. You could also try to justify any purchases by putting away as much as you spend. If you want a new pair of sneakers for $50, make sure you put another $50 into your savings. If you cannot afford to do this, you cannot afford to treat yourself right now.

Treat

Some believe that it doesn’t matter how much you spend because it’s the memories that will fill you with riches. Whether you take your family to Disneyland or on an adventure that covers the world, they will remember it forever, which is enough of an incentive to start saving right now.

Anne

3 Ways To Cut Your Carbon Footprint This Winter

October 7, 2021 By Anne

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The winter period is the coldest of the year, yet it’s the warmest in terms of how many carbon emissions are sent into the atmosphere. As a society, we’ve gotten into the habit of creating massive carbon footprints when the nights draw in. You can already think of a couple of main reasons for this, the key one being the weather. As it gets colder, we see the need to turn our thermostats up, blasting the heating for hours on end. This creates a large carbon footprint, and you can imagine how devastating this is when you factor in every household that does the same thing.

Thankfully, there are some simple ideas that will help you cut your carbon footprint and live a more eco-friendly life this coming winter. Here’s what you should do:

Wrap up warm

Put your winter clothes on and wrap up nice and warm when the temperature drops. Throwing on some jumpers and an extra layer or two will negate the need to turn your heating on now and then. At the very least, you can turn it to a lower setting, minimizing your carbon footprint.

This is also applicable when you’re in your car. You will drive more in the winter, and you will also have the heating on full blast. By wrapping up warm and wearing gloves and a coat in the car, you won’t need to turn the heating on as often. Less energy is used in your car, which reduces the emissions.

Upgrade your insulation

A lot of our homes aren’t built to withstand the cold weather. Instead, they’re built to deal with the hotter months of the year, keeping us cool. So, when the cold season is upon us, our homes leak so much heat and keep us cold.

You can prevent this by upgrading your home’s insulation. Get some spray foam insulation in your attic and between your walls, trapping more heat inside your property. The less heat that escapes, the better. Once more, this prevents the need to turn your heating on and waste energy.

Close doors and windows

Another tactic to reduce your carbon footprint is by keeping doors and windows closed as much as possible. Closing the living room door will trap heat inside that room, and the same goes for other rooms in your home. When all the doors are open, heat dissipates throughout the house, making you feel colder.

The same goes for your windows as well – if they’re open, you get the benefit of fresh air, but the downside of coldness entering your home and heat leaving it. You should open your windows briefly to let your home ventilate, but keep them shut for most of the day to retain as much heat in your home as you can.

See, you really don’t have to do anything drastic to reduce your carbon footprint this winter. It’s mainly about figuring out how to use less energy during your daily routine. This means keeping your heating off – or at as low a setting as possible.

Anne

Tips for Teaching Children to Read

October 7, 2021 By Anne

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Everybody needs to know how to read, can you imagine how limited life would be without this core skill? Not all children will learn at the same pace, but it’s important to introduce reading and reading skills as early as possible to give them the best chance to accelerate their learning.

Get familiar with phonics

Depending on the age of your child, they will have some understanding of phonics. This is one of the first ways young children learn sound patterns and then words. You probably won’t need to do any additional phonic work with children for language learning, but it can help when it comes to reading.

Although speaking and reading are closely related, they are also quite different. The written word is made up of phonemes that represent the sounds that are naturally produced. If you can, expose your child to phonemes early in bite-sized forms, so the pattern arrives naturally later on.

Read interesting books

In the same way as reading should be rewarding and challenging, it should also be enjoyable. Sure, there’s something to be said for reading as an exercise, but unless your child can engage with the story or the characters, they might want to give it up sooner than expected.

You can access thousands of interesting book titles for children under twelve at Age of Learning, these books are not only recognizable but they are sure to inspire interest in your child for years to come.

Learn familiar words

Familiar words are the best place to start when teaching your child to read because the words they use most often are the ones they will recognize most easily on the page. That’s one reason we tend to learn our names before anything else; we are already familiar with the sound and visual pattern of the word.

But names are not the only familiar words you can teach your child early on. Chances are they have other favorite words, perhaps a brother, sister, pet, or favorite toy. These sorts of words are also excellent to start with and create a strong base to start expanding their vocabulary.

Exposure and repetition

The only way to truly learn a language is by looking at the words regularly and repeating them. In doing so, your child will start to recognize the familiar patterns of the words and sentences, how they sound and what they mean. Over time this becomes second nature.

Children’s minds are very adaptable, and they are able to take on language skills more easily than adults, so early reading is an excellent time to pick up good spelling habits and start building a strong vocabulary base for the future.

Challenge vocabulary

While familiar vocabulary is important – the Dolche list is recommended as a starting point – you will have to challenge the vocabulary learning at some point. For instance, you will have to up the reading grade so that your child can leave their comfort zone and access new words.

There are various ways you can challenge your child’s vocabulary, but it’s important to get the balance right. You don’t want to put them off reading or make them frustrated because they struggle with certain words or phrases. At the same time, the process should be rewarding for them.