Mommy Has to Work

Great Reasons To Try Some Vegan Meals With Your Family

July 11, 2021 By Anne

Going vegan is a huge commitment that not a lot of us are willing to make, especially if we have family members who are regular meat-eaters and would object to having a huge change to their meals. However, that doesn’t mean the possibility of going vegan or even trying some vegan meals should be thrown out of the window. In fact, there are many great reasons to have a “no meat” day with your family or even try vegan meals for a short period of time.

So here are a couple of great reasons why you should try some vegan meals with your family.

Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/Ww8eQWjMJWk (CC0)

It familiarises your family members with vegan cuisine

Vegan cuisine isn’t something that all families will end up trying, but it does let them experience what vegan cuisine is like and it makes it seem less like a completely different world and more like an alternative to the food your family currently eats. For example, this pistachio ice cream is easy to make and both paleo and vegan, making it a great recipe for families that are looking for a slightly healthier version of ice cream that is full of nutrition. To most people, it wouldn’t taste any different to regular ice cream and may even be preferred by some.

Vegan meals are full of nutrition

Of all the reasons to go vegan, we can’t deny that many vegan meals are packed full of nutrition and are great for diets, healthy eating, and balancing your nutritional intake. For example, if you’re accustomed to eating a lot of junk food, then mixing in a vegan meal or two can be a great way to supercharge your diet and balance out all of the bad food that you’re eating. While many people think that vegan food is all about salads and vegetables, there are loads of new vegan foods that can replicate meat and are fantastic when added to family favourites.

It exposes you to new flavours

Vegan food can be extremely creative because they need to use lots of unique cooking techniques in order to create new flavours and textures. Whether it’s something that tries to replicate real meat or a vegan substitute for something like cheese, these foods and ingredients can be delicious when cooked the right way and will expose you to a myriad of unique experiences. Even if you’re adamant about sticking to your regular non-vegan diet, there’s no denying that some vegan meals and restaurants can create delicious flavours and pleasing textures.

It gives them a choice in the future

Giving your family the choice of having vegan meals or not can be a great way to give them more control over their diet. For example, there are many different ways to incorporate healthy meals into your diet if someone in your family wants to watch their weight or create a more balanced diet, and adding in a vegan meal or two can be a great option. If a family member wants to make the commitment to go vegan for a while, then you could accommodate them as well.

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!

Newborn Needs – 5 Things All Parents Should Know About A Newborn’s Needs

July 8, 2021 By Anne

Photo: Hollie Santos/Unsplash

Babies don’t come with instruction manuals, so it’s common for new parents to need a little assistance when it comes to caring for their bundle of joy. From diaper changes and feeding requirements to sleep schedules and more, having a newborn can be quite an adjustment for new parents.

Below, we’ve put together several important things all parents should know about their newborn’s needs. Hopefully, this article will give you the insight you need and put your mind at ease. Caring for a newborn can be overwhelming, but with the right advice, it can feel a little more manageable.

Getting Prepared for the Homecoming

If you’re like most parents, you’ve been gathering the supplies and equipment you’ll need when your newborn comes home from the hospital. From the best baby rash cream to the best bottles money can buy, your baby won’t want for anything.

While it’s important to have things in place when you come home, you should also keep in mind that your little one will spend a great deal of time sleeping. Babies will wake to eat, but that’s about it. So, don’t think you need to get all kinds of toys and “extras” just yet. Your little one won’t even notice for several weeks.

Your Baby May Look a Little Funny at First

Newborn babies, although precious, often look like red, wrinkly creatures from another world. Their skin is often covered by a layer of fine hairs called lanugo, and their heads can be misshapen due to their tight confines in the birth canal. With a smooshed face and puffy eyes, your newborn may not resemble anything you pictured.

Don’t fret, though. Your little one has just emerged from nine months in utero, and it’ll take a few days or so for them to begin looking like the tiny angel you envisioned.

Your New Baby Won’t Respond with Smiles and Coos Until Around Six Weeks

In the first several weeks after you bring your little one home, it may seem like you’re working for a boss who’s never satisfied. All they do is complain when they’re hungry, tired, or in need of a diaper change. You’ll feel exhausted and taken for granted, but you can be sure that your baby does appreciate your efforts.

Your child is comforted by your touch and loves to be held. By six weeks of age, they’ll begin to show their appreciation by smiling when you talk to them and cooing in response to your words. When you see your baby smile at you for the first time, any negativity you’ve felt up to this point will vanish.

Your Baby Only Needs Sponge Baths Until the Umbilical Cord Falls Off

Newborn babies don’t get very dirty, and the drier you keep the umbilical cord, the sooner it will fall off. For this reason, you’ll only need to give your new baby a sponge bath once in a while for the first two weeks or so.

Once the umbilical cord falls off, you can begin bathing your little one in a small baby tub designed to keep them safe while you bathe them.

Dry Skin is Normal

Your newborn’s skin may start out soft and smooth, but it will quickly dry out and peel. This is normal. It should take care of itself, but if you are so inclined, you can use a hypoallergenic baby lotion to help soften the skin.

Bringing home a newborn can be scary for new parents. However, with the tips above, you should feel a little more comfortable in those early weeks.

Anne

What Makes For A Happy Child?

July 8, 2021 By Anne

It’s clearly one of the most important and common parenting needs – for their children to be happy. But if you are trying to make sure your children are happy, and you’re not entirely certain about how to approach it, it might be that the issue stems from a misunderstanding about what happiness is or where it actually comes from. In this post, we are going to try and make sense of this by looking at some of the major elements that normally make for a happy child. These are bound to be worth pursuing as you parent your child.

Credit – CCO Licence

Seeing Happiness In You

You can think of happiness as a practice that you either choose to engage in or don’t. If you want your child to be happy, bear in mind that they are always going to look up to you and what you are doing for inspiration on this as with everything else. So if they tend to see happiness in you, that is going to make a huge difference to their own ability to do the same. They will know it’s possible, and they’ll start to develop an idea of how it’s actually done in an intuitive way.

Encouraging Passions

Even from a very young age, you can normally start to see what kinds of passions a child is likely to have, and the more you can encourage these, the better off they will be in so many ways. Having a lot of passions and things you enjoy makes you happier, so if your child has this, it is a very good sign indeed. Whether it’s their RC toys collection, their books, or their art, be sure to encourage whatever it is that they seem to really enjoy the most. That is going to help a great deal.

The Power Of Nature

The natural world is very important to all of us, though not everyone is aware of it. A child who grows up with plenty of access to nature is going to develop so many amazing qualities, and is generally going to be a lot happier too. If you are in the city, you should at least aim to take your child to the park daily – or go out to the country from time to time too. Being in nature will work wonders on your kid, and it’s one of the best things you can do for them.

Credit – CCO Licence

Acknowledge Efforts

Finally, make sure that you are always acknowledging it when your child has put in a lot of effort into something, regardless of what the result may have been. If you only ever celebrate their successes, you run the risk of turning them into a success-driven monster who is never quite happy with their achievements. You want them to be happy for merely having tried their best – so make sure that you set this in motion as early on as possible. This is going to be much better for their mental health on the whole as well.

Anne

Tackling The Issue Of Bullying As A Parent

July 6, 2021 By Anne

Pexels CCO License

Recognize The Signs

First, you need to make sure that you are recognizing the signs of bullying in children. As mentioned, signs of bullying can be physical. For instance, you might notice that there are marks on your child’s arm. But bullying can also take forms that are invisible. So, instead, you need to focus more on your child’s emotional state. A child that is being bullied could become more withdrawn, less talkative, and might avoid a lot of different forms of contact. If you notice signs like this, then it’s important to speak to your child. You need to try and find out what’s going on. You should think about trying to ensure that they feel comfortable discussing school issues with you. One of the ways to do this is to get into a routine of talking about school and what happened each day after they come home.

Look At The School

Next, you need to look at the school itself. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the people who are running the school and their perspectives when it comes to bullying. If you look at the Twitter profile of the high school principal, then you might notice that they have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying. This is a clear sign that they will take action if you bring forward an issue like this to them. Although, there will usually be a structure of management that you should go through and this usually starts with your child’s teacher.

Coping Mechanisms For Bullying

If the school isn’t able to solve the problem, then you need to think about the coping mechanisms you can give to your child. There are quite a few to explore. Some parents teach their kids to simply ignore bullying and hope it goes away. This doesn’t always work and it might be necessary to let kids know that they can stand up for themselves. If a bully feels like they can push someone around, they often will until they are told to stop.

We hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you can take as a parent if you think that your child is being bullied. By taking the right steps, you can guarantee that this doesn’t have a long-term impact on your child. The latest studies suggest that the long-term impact of bullying can follow children into their adult life.

Anne

How to Gently Encourage Children in Sports

June 28, 2021 By Anne

There’s a lot of value in encouraging your children to play sports. It’s fun, it gets them fit, and it makes a nice change from sitting in front of a screen. And of course, if your kids are going to reach their full potential, then it’s important that you encourage them to be the best that they can be. However, many parents take this too far. You know the ones — they just push a little too much, and in the process, turn the child off the sport. In this blog, we’re going to look at some ways that you can encourage them in a gentle way.

Pexels – CC0 Licence

Let Them Choose The Sport

It’s much easier to get involved and enjoy a sport if it’s something that you chose yourself. You might have ambitions of your child playing one particular sport, but it’ll be better for them — and for you — if they chose it themselves. A good way to do this is to let them try out a variety of sports, and see which one they like. There are a million sports out there — they don’t necessarily need to play one of the big ones.

Ask Questions

Nobody likes to be lectured at. Of course, there are many topics where parents should lecture their kids, but when it comes to sport, it’s better to take a different approach. Asking questions about their experience of the sport, including what they think they’re good at, bad at, and how much they’re enjoying the activity, can go a long way. It’ll also ensure that they think a little deeper about their sport. If nothing else, it’ll help to validate the view that this is their thing, rather than something they’re being forced into against their will.

Be Supportive At Games

First of all, you should be at their games. If they’re into the sport, then they’ll appreciate having their parents around to support them. And the key part of this is ‘to support them.’ Criticism is valid at a certain level of playing, but not when they’re children. Then, it should be nothing but supportive. There are many ways to do this. Simple shouting encouragement is enough, but you can also take it further. For example, how about getting custom softball mom t shirts with your child’s name on that front? When they need a dose of encouragement, all they’ll need to do is look over and see you there on the touchlines.

Value Hard Work Over Result

Results aren’t important. Fulfilling potential is. To get there, push them to value hard work at their sport rather than the end result. If they do that correctly, then eventually they’ll get the results anyway.

Celebrate the Victories

Finally, remember to celebrate the victories that your child experiences. You can build them up when they go through a defeat, but it’ll be the successes that they remember for the rest of their lives. Don’t underestimate how important it can be to spend a night honoring their hard work!