Emily Holling

A home based business can take time away from your children if you aren’t careful.  Of course you have the responsibilities of running a business on your own.  There are deadlines and invoices to worry about.  You can find yourself spending extra hours in the home office trying to get things done. 

A good number of home based business owners run into this problem. Taking care of children and keeping the home based business in tact can be very difficult.  You can find yourself feeling like you are in a no win situation.  However there are ways to keep your business up and running and still have enough time for your children. 

Keep your time for family and your business separate.  There has to be a routine in place.  Just because you work from home you cannot let the home office hold you hostage.  Do not spend your day working and then pick up a few more hours in the evening.  Part of the reason for working from home is to have some personal freedom but you should still have some sort of schedule.  This will help stop the overlapping of time between children and work.

With that said, take into account that sometimes you kids are going to need you.  Even though you have set up a schedule and are trying to stick to it, if you children need you, then on that day, you need to revise the schedule.  The freedom does work both ways.  You really can finish whatever you are working on later, after you give your children the attention that they need.

There has to be some form of child care.  If you are a mom or dad that is working from home with children that are infants or toddlers, you will probably need some child care.  If you don’t have child care, then you will find yourself not able to work for a decent amount of time. 

Your spouse may be the friendly recruit but if you are working opposite shifts, this may infringe on family time.  If your spouse is working all day they want to see you and your children when they come home.  You may need to seek other babysitting options when you are working.

As your children get older you will need to set some ground rules with your children.  As you evolve in your business there will be times that you are working.  Let your children know that this is not a time that you can be disturbed.  Just as you set ground rules in other situations about what is appropriate and what is not, you need to do that with your home based business.

As children age, you could include them in your home based business.  Think about all of the children that helped their parents on farms.  Well, you don’t want to get into that type of child labor but if there is something that you children can do, let them help.  A home based business often includes the family because of its location.  Find something that the kids can do. 

Jeffrey S. Dutt
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/how-to-have-a-home-based-business-with-children-688228.html

Ever since women entered the workforce, the great daycare debate has raged on. Parents, scholars and politicians have argued the pros and cons of external childcare facilities until families are absolutely certain placing their child in day care results in either an infant prodigy or a teenage delinquent.

As with any issue, the truth has been found to be somewhere in between. Day care can be a tremendous opportunity for a young child to learn social skills, expand their vocabulary and learn to function as an individual away from their parents; constant interaction with their peers allows them to develop a respect for the opinions and emotions of others, learn the value of teamwork, and to form friendships that will often carry into their school years. They are also given an opportunity to learn basic academic skills at an earlier age, and adapt to the more rigid structure of a classroom environment prior to entering Kindergarten, easing what is often a difficult transition for children who are kept at home in their preschool years.

On the flip side of the coin, not all day care providers are able to give the high quality of attention and education necessary for growth and adjustment. This is often due to an inadequate amount of staff for the number of children a facility cares for. Many times by the time a child reaches preschool age there is only one teacher responsible for up to fifteen students, if not more (licensing guidelines state that there should be no more than fifteen students per teacher at the four and five year old level; however, a fluctuating population of drop-in students may cause this number to be nothing more than a myth). The results of a long term study done by the National Institute of Health showed that those children who spent a great amount of time in a lower quality daycare displayed more instances of aggressive behavior and demands for constant, individual attention, a trend that continued through the sixth grade. This behavior may stem from the need to compete for attention from a very young age, and is displayed in children of large families as well. Those children who are quiet and well behaved are set to the side while the teachers struggle to deal with the children who are not so self sufficient; is it any wonder, then, that this often results in these children learning to emulate the less than savory behavior of their peers, whom they see receiving the individual attention they crave?

The key to a positive day care experience is to carefully screen any day care before a child is enrolled. The school should have a low staff to child ratio, with one adult to every two or three children at the infant level, gradually rising as the child increases in age but still sufficient for individual attention. The teachers should display a genuine love for the children, with experience and training in child development and psychology, allowing them to quickly detect a problem with a student before it becomes uncontrollable. Parents should remain in contact with the child’s teacher, receiving progress reports and observing classroom behavior on a regular basis. Any instance in which a parent is deliberately left “out of the loop” in their child’s education, even at this early stage, is cause for concern, and should be considered an immediate warning sign that all is not as it should be. In this case knowledge is power, and allows a child to quickly be removed from an unsuitable situation before damage is done that is irreversible.

Rendra Krestyawan, psychologist
http://www.articlesbase.com/babies-articles/effects-of-daycare-on-children-669825.html

Diabetes is growing by 3 percent each year for children and youth

November 14 is celebrated each year as Children’s Day and World Diabetes Day. This year the theme is “Diabetes in children and youth”. Let me take this opportunity to write about diabetes in children.

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases that affect children. It can strike children of any age, even toddlers and babies. If not detected during early childhood, the disease can have deadly consequences or result in serious damage to the brain. Diabetic child is often completely overlooked. This is the time miss-diagnosed as flu or doctors fail to diagnose it at all. Every parent, teacher, doctor involved in child care should be familiar with the warning signs and be alert to the threat.

The warning signs are Frequent urination, Excessive thirst, Increased hunger, Weight, Fatigue, Lack of interest and concentration, Blurred vision, Vomiting and abdominal pain (often mistaken as the flu).

In children with type 2 diabetes, the symptoms may be moderate or not. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes: Diabetes occurs as a result of problems in production and supply of the hormone insulin in the body. The body needs insulin to use energy that is stored in food. When a person has diabetes their body cannot create insulin (Type 1diabetes) or their bodies cannot use the insulin made effectively (type 2diabetes).

Type 1 diabetes is most common type of diabetes in children. However, as a result of increasing childhood obesity and always lifestyles, type 2 diabetes is also increasing rapidly in children and youth. In some countries type 2diabetes has become the most common type of disease in children.

Type 2 diabetes in children is probably under-diagnosed because it may have no symptoms. To prevent Type 2 diabetes in children, emphasis should be laid on physical activity, less frequent activities such as television and views of a healthy diet. If diabetes is diagnosed, paying close attention to all cardiovascular risk factors, as well as prevention is important. We need to fit in the modern industrial city on a healthy way. Diabetes is a serious health problem and expensive and there is much that can do to reduce its impact. The earliest description of diabetes from the Philippines to 2,500 years ago and the role of obesity, frequent behaviour and dietary factors are known in ancient times. What is needed now is concerted public health action against the risk factors for diabetes.

We can do our bit to prevent diabetes and other diseases. Food for children with diabetes is a minor consideration. A dietician will be able to tell you more but it is certain essential that your child has a healthy, balanced diet, high in complex carbohydrates and fibre. It is necessary to be careful Sweets but it need not be 100 per cent from the menu. Some of the foods planning of goals for children with diabetes are the same as for other children. They must eat food that will help them have good general health, normal growth and a healthy weight. But children with diabetes also have to balance their carbohydrate intake with their insulin and activity levels to maintain their levels of blood sugar under control. In addition, children with diabetes should also eat foods that help maintain the level of lipids or fats in the blood (such as Cholesterol and triglycerides) in a healthy range. Food this way may help prevent some of the long-term health problem that can cause diabetes. These days, with huge amounts of food choices, we need to teach them to read the labels of food, especially the carbohydrate content. They must understand the serving size and how to change one food for another.

Children with diabetes face the same challenges of food everyone – largely sticking to healthy eating habits over time. It can be difficult with so many temptations, so it is important to prepare food that your child enjoys. The food may make you plan vary depending on your child’s diabetes, but to help your child Dietician, you can tailor meals to planning your child’s food preferences and eating habits

maxilolee
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/diabetes-in-children-and-youth-671923.html

Since God is vitally interested in every individual, we expect that in his sacred Word He will surely give us guiding principles to govern or direct personal lives. Since every individual starts his life as a child dependent on parents, guiding principles on rearing children are also to be expected. there is no doubt that such scriptural principles will be the best possible ones, and also that replacing any of them with any other principles will only result in damage to the children and parents.

The Bible has numerous instructions to give on child-rearing, and the discipline to be administered. However, they are so much different from the present humanistic concepts that most of the young couples will be shocked to read them. In fact the last one century of evolution and humanism has replaced our spiritual thinking with so much of man-oriented principles that many people have lost the right perspective about rearing and disciplining children. In fact it is not difficult these days to meet Christian parents who sincerely believe that their humanistic beliefs on discipline have come from the Bible. Since the humanistic and biblical principles rest upon completely opposing foundations, there is not way to reconcile them with each other.

Humanism and all its doctrines are based upon the assumption that man is the end result of evolution, and also that he is inherently good (or even divine). So the humanistic principles of child rearing are directed at perfecting this ‘good’ which is inherent in man. Bible, however, depicts man as a totally fallen and depraved person, dominated by his sin nature will fully dominate his thinking by the time he is mature. Since his fallen nature has a natural enmity towards God, any child who is not brought up in the way outlined in the Bible is any child who is not brought up in the way outlined in the Bible is bound to end with great hostility towards things spiritual and good.

The fruits of the humanistic principles of child rearing is already visible in many godly families. They are loosing their children to the world one by one. More and more children from good Christian families are rejecting spiritual values, and are ending up in completely helpless and hopeless condition. They do not know what stability of life means, and they do not know how and where to get help. They know that their life is breaking apart, but they do not know what to do. Their parents have failed to communicate or instill divine values in their hearts, so their life is drifting from coast to coast due to the ever-changing values of this world.

The ability to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong, the ability to choose what is right, and the ability to stick with it is not easy. It comes only with lifelong training from godly and spiritual parents. Without such a background a person has no sure foundation to make a choice. However, a person cannot avoid making choices and judgments in life. The whole life is full of choices and decisions, and a person who has not got the proper training in these matters will never have the discernment to chose the right. This is one reason why many children coming from godly families make fatal choices, contrary to the expectation. They become careless and drop out of their studies, they end up with all types of wrong friendship and alliances, and they even try to run away from homes. To them their pursuit of what they desire is the right thing to do in life, without ever knowing that even right things obtained in wrong ways will make one miserable. They do not know that only those things are right which come in the right way and also that only those things will have a lasting value which have come to them in the right way.

Bringing up children in a Godly manner, and in the way that the Bible describes is not easy in this generation. There are too many allurements which try to take them away from paths of godliness, making the task difficult for the parent. Nor is it easy to apply biblical system. However, the best gift which Christian parents can give to their children is not anything which money can buy. Rather, it is a package of godly instruction, discipline, and values which will be the best gift for them.

Slogans of the age, and evolution-motivated principles of child rearing will produce only grief in the end. But the application of biblical principles will mean life both to the parents as well as to the children.

Dr. Johnson C. Philip
http://www.articlesbase.com/parenting-articles/disciplining-your-children-669229.html

A neighbour allows their children to be foul mouthed and total bullies to other children and all and sundry. The kids will slam balls against windows, doors, gates, trample over people’s gardens. Is this acceptable behaviour? If we ask them to stop, they get worse, what would you do in this situation? Are the parents of naughty children who stand by and laugh or goad them even, responsible role models or anti-social people with malice?

Hell no!

Are wooden toys betters than plastic? In order to answer this question we would need to define ‘better’. I have to admit to being biased towards wood so I’ve been pondering why this is the case.

When it comes to your children, nothing’s too good for them, although some things are certainly too good to be true. These days, literally well over 99 percent of the toys offered for sale to your children are made of plastic and metal. Natural wood toys are nearly non-existent. That’s sad really. They’re an important part of our heritage and culture, and chances are they’re safer than plastic toys as well.

How many times have we been told that a plastic or painted toy is safe, only to see it recalled or find out it has lead in the paint or plastic body or is unsafe for any number of other reasons? This holds especially true for very small children and babies. These little ones will be putting whatever they play with in their mouths, and plastics, painted toys and metals probably aren’t high on the list of things you want in your baby’s mouth.

If we are considering the environment and the ultimate destination for many toys (which is landfill) then wood is clearly the better material. If we are thinking about robustness and the resilience of the material to the treatment that toys receive at the hands of their owners then both materials can perform well, depending upon the toy.

When it comes to plastic toys and wooden toys, there is more of a chance that plastic toys will be purchased. However, consumers don’t seem to consider buying a wooden toy for their kid instead. In a few ways, it would be more worth the while to get.

Let’s think of a few differences between the two. Plastic toys: they can break easily and the edges could harm the little children. Wooden toys, on the other hand, are more durable. If you were to stand on a toy truck made of plastic, there is a great chance that it will break, possibly leaving sharp edges that could cut your child; and be fit only for the rubbish.

Wooden toys on the other hand encourage your kids to use their creativity, when either they make the toys themselves or play with them. Simple activities such as making cookies at their own toy kitchen, or riding a wooden Arabian horse and so on, boost a child’s creativity and visualization.

You probably wonder why parents opt to offer their children the common wooden type of toys instead of the cheaper plastic toys commonly produced in China. Many consider that having plastic toys is more practical than wooden toys because of the cost factor. Although plastic toys are cheaper compared to wooden toys, long term consideration proves that the latter is better than the former.

Wood is a natural made material which can be subjected to recycling. This means that aside from providing entertainment for your child, you can also pro actively help in preventing further degradation of the environment. Moreover, children appear to be more attached to playing with wooden toys.

Play is an essential part of a child’s learning and emotional development. Wooden toys are a sensible choice for the very young. Children’s wooden toys include toys such as miniature farm animals sets for infants and doll houses for young girls and boys. Many wooden toys are also educational toys for young school children, such as puzzles, building blocks, and more.

Wooden toys are also more durable than their plastic or metal counterparts. Thus with proper care, it is possible to make these toys last a child’s entire childhood and maybe even hand them down to their children.

How are wooden toys invented? Wooden toys are invented because wood is the only easily available materials where one can make toys from with simple tools. Sad to speak, it’s hard to find wooden toys in toy stores these days.

Online toy stores offer a wide variety of wooden toys to choose from. And sometimes, it’s easier to find what you want because modern toy stores these days mostly sell plastic toys.

Have you ever seen a child in a room full of the latest toys and found the child to be playing with old fashioned children’s wooden toys that were a big hit when you were young? What is it about this sight that is so comforting? Is it because the child’s wooden toy makes us feel nostalgic or is there something else at play here? In our world of plastic throw-away goods it is comforting to see lasting goods lasting. It is especially comforting to see goods which are felt to be worthy enough to be passed on from generation to generation. The latest gadget on the latest toy has not made traditional children’s wooden toys any less desirable to children, or even to adults for that matter.

Children’s wooden toys are toys which are made using a natural product as opposed to a product like plastic which is a product that we are trying to recycle but nevertheless remains a product which costs less to produce new than to recycle. If a child’s wooden toy is made from a sustainable forest that’s even better as it is actually helping out our troubled environment. This is only one of the reasons we feel better towards wood than towards plastic. There are also many emotional reasons why wooden toys feel better.

To touch and explore is often considered as one of the most important aspects of most educational programs that help a child develop different capabilities. Letting your kids play with wooden toys would unmistakably encourage them to learn by touching and exploring. Moreover, you could even purchase wooden toys and games specially meant to educate the kids.

Plastic toys come in all shapes and sizes so there are bound to be lots of brightly coloured playthings that attract the attention of your child, no matter how old they are. They are durable, washable and usually pretty safe, but as with all toys there are toy safety checks to watch out for when you are buying the perfect toy for your child.

The most important toy safety check for all toys, including plastic toys, is that they have the appropriate safety marks. Although the CE Mark is not in fact a consumer symbol, it does mean that the toy you are looking for will have passed stringent safety tests and conform with a list of essential safety requirements. If any plastic toys that you are thinking of buying don’t have the CE Mark, you should avoid them because you can’t be sure whether they will be safe for your child to play with.

Andrew Bailey

Whether single or not, all parents leave long lasting impressions on their child’s life. This is particularly true for single parents. Death, divorce or whatever is the cause of this singularity, it likely leaves deep impressions on the emerging personality of the child. What actually matters is the way the single parent responds to the task of single parenthood. In whichever manner the single parent has dealt with the parenting challenge, there are deep effects on the child’s character and individuality as compared to the children of parents living together.

Being a child to a single parent is a complex situation. Children look up and follow their parents. If the parents are confident and stable, their children feel secure and confident. The sense of belonging to a single parent who is either living as an unmarried heterosexual couple or a homosexual couple or without a partner at all has a disturbing effect on the child’s personality. Although the laws and norms of societies have changed, unlawful children are made fun of. They are called bastards, illegal and at some places natural born children. As it is a social taboo, it always haunts the child that his mother was never married to his father or at times the fathers refuse to recognize these children as theirs. They are singled out by others at school and playgrounds and made fun of. All these effect the child’s personality and self confidence. As a result of which they become reluctant to attend school and socialize. These are part of difficulties that children of lone parents have to go through.

Bringing up children as a single father is a tough task. Being a father you have to go to work as well as look after your young ones which is very taxing. You can really fatigue. As a single father neither you nor your child has the liberty to share your thoughts with the mother. The children particularly feel comfortable to converse with their mother for many of their problems. A number of public schools also don’t consider single parents worthy for the task which adds to their worries.

Some of the societies don’t accept single parents who exercise this option by choice. In many areas it is considered illegal and morally corrupt. Others consider it a religious taboo particularly the Bible belt. As the society looks down upon them and socially isolates them they feel left out. This makes their life nerve-racking. It is not always easy to migrate from one place to other due to job and financial reasons.

From the above it appears that there is nothing positive in single parenting, how ever on the contrary there is some ray of hope also. Recently some work done at Cornell University about the implications of single parenthood, particularly single mothers on the academic and behavioral progress of children in early teens revealed no harmful effects. This is very encouraging for single mothers. At last it is now obvious that if they are considerate and looking after thier young ones with love and affection, the single status would not be a hurdle in bringing up confident, well mannered and contented children.

Jennifer A. Gardner

Divorce is stressful for parents and kids alike. Children often get caught up in conflicts between parents. The children are forced to constantly witness angry and abusive fights. One of parent’s greatest concerns is how divorce will affect their children. In fact, the marital relationship has far reaching ramifications for children, extended families, friends and others. The following are some perspectives on the view of children in a divorcing family.

The children in a divorcing family fear being abandoned. When Mom and Dad are at odds and are either separated or considering separation, children fear that if they lose one parent, they may lose the other. Their parents may pay attention to the new families and give no attention to them. They may lose contact with extended family on one side or the other. They worry that their parents don’t love them anymore and they feel abandoned. They feel like the parent who left has divorced them too. The concept of being alone in the world is a very frightening thing for a child. In addition, moving into new surroundings can cause a negative reaction.

Even if there have been tension and problems in the home, some children will be shocked to learn that their parents are getting a divorce. It may take some time for them to acknowledge and accept that their lives will be different now.

Children may get depressed. Sadness about parents’ separation, coupled with a sense of hopelessness, is likely to lead to depression. Sometimes depression is referred to as anger turned inward. When children feel depressed they may withdraw from their parents or loved ones. They may neglect their homework, dissociate from friends and discontinue activities that once brought them pleasure. Their eating habits may change dramatically or they may engage in some form of self-destructive behavior. Additionally, depression in children often appears as agitation or acting

Children may blame themselves. They may think, “If I had not misbehaved, Daddy would not have left” or “They would not have been fighting if I had been good.” It is imperative for parents to talk to their children and stress that it is not their fault.

Divorce definitely affects children, but with some help, reassurance and cooperative parenting your child can come through feeling loved and happy. Experts agree that when handled with patience, it is less stressful for a child to be from a broken home than to live in one, with parents constantly fighting.

sunshine01
http://www.articlesbase.com/divorce-articles/children-suffer-from-divorce-674819.html

Continued from The Effects Of Divorce On Children Part 1

My personal view is that we must change divorce courts considerably. Presently the first step in the system is for one parent to file an “order to show cause,” a lawsuit against the other parent. This step should be made unnecessary except for rare and extreme situations. But everyone is afraid of being taken advantage of. What individuals don’t realize is they are trading goodwill with their spouse and security for their children when they file. Currently there is an illusion of protection from their adversary, who once was the love of their life.

Couples, who once were lovers, cast aside all the vows they made of loyalty and friendship. They completely forget the joy of their first romance and the joy felt at the birth of every child. They buy into fear that comes along with anger and mistrust. The children do know what is going on. They know their lives are falling apart. They know life will never be the same. They know, even if their parents don’t.

If divorce is imminent, the first step should be discussions with a professional whose sole mission is to guide the couple away from the current problems towards reconciliation, if at all possible. Many people who came to me at this stage actually had their marriage saved, because it is rarely too late. And although I had ended my practice of helping people get a divorce so I could focus on developing my Lessons For A Happy Marriage, I had established a routine that was very effective in maintaining harmony and less trauma for all involved, especially the children.

Currently the first step in traditionally accepted mediation has the couple meeting separately with the mediator (it is different in some situations, but it is always a presentation of “sides”). Then the mediator brings the couple together and expresses his or her point of view based on what they heard.

Obviously, this leaves both individuals wondering what their spouse had said. It doesn’t take a genius to realize this process causes even more distrust and suspicion; especially if there is a “loser” parent. This process effectively forces the couple into combat mode even though the session is called mediation.

A mediator in the true sense would meet with a couple and insist upon discussions with the sole aim of reconciliation, at least to some degree, for the sake of their children. By holding to a philosophy that both parents are equally good and equally bad, neither parent would have to become any more competitive than they were when they were married. But because it is a contest that decides who has more power during the rest of the children’s growth years, each parent is forced to protect him or herself and undermine the other parent.

My mediation style allows both parents the opportunity to describe what they think is best for the children and why. I do not allow accusations or allegations to be voiced that are intended to discredit the other parent. I remind them both of their responsibilities to their children and the first responsibility is to preserve the sacredness of both parents for their children. It is not perfect. But it at least gives people an opportunity to put their children first. My system to help couples stay together has been incredibly successful.

Our society needs and deserves a far better system for divorce. I will continue to do my part and I hope and pray others are working on this problem as well. In the meantime don’t forget to tell your spouse, “I love you.”

Paul Friedman
http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/the-effects-of-divorce-on-children-part-2-674977.html

ow often are you fully and completely present when you are with your children? One of the greatest gifts we can give to our children is to be fully present with them. This can often be a big challenge.

When my three children were growing up, I worked full time as a counselor, wrote books, traveled on book tours, and pursued my passion as an artist – in addition to spending time with my husband. The only way I could be fully present when I was with my children was to set aside “time alone” with them. “Time alone” was daily quality time I spent with each of my children, doing whatever they wanted to do. During this time I did not answer the phone or deal with the many issues of running a household. It was time set aside to be fully present with them, not even thinking about other things.

The message you give to your children when you don’t spend quality time being fully present is that they are not important. When answering the phone, or getting things done, or thinking about what you have to do tomorrow is more important than being present with your children, they get the message that being with them and really knowing them is not very important to you.

When I was growing up, my mother was always busy. She never had the time to just be with me. She never wanted to know about my thoughts and feelings, or about how things were going at school. She never had the time to play with me or just hang out with me. While she said that she loved me and that I was important to her, I never felt it. Words don’t cut it when the actions don’t follow.

If it is not important to you to just be with your children – talking with them, playing with them, taking a walk, holding them, listening to them, sharing love with them, gazing at them with love – then they will likely not feel loved by you. No matter how many things you buy them, or how often you tell them you love them, if they are not important enough to you to REALLY be with them, then it is likely they will not feel loved and cherished by you.

Your children need your focused attention, and when they don’t get it, they may pull for it in various ways. They may chatter on and on, trying to keep your attention. They may act out by fighting with each other, or by not listening to you or going into resistance regarding chores, homework, hygiene, bedtime, and so on. For many children, even negative attention feels better than no attention. This may create a very negative vicious circle, in that the more they act out, the less you feeling like being with them, but the less you are with them in a loving and attentive way, the more they may act out.

Think about how you feel when someone gives you his or her full attention. Doesn’t it feel wonderful? How often does someone look you in the eyes and give you his or her full attention? How often do you feel really listened to and heard by someone? Unfortunately, many people are so intent on being listened to and heard that they don’t listen and hear.

The simple act of being fully present with your children will do more for them than you can imagine. I have many clients who were deeply impacted by a friend or relative who really listened to them – even if it only occurred occasionally.

You have an opportunity to give your children a great gift – being fully present with them with your love, compassion, empathy, interest, sense of humor, playfulness, and affection. You have the opportunity each day, even if it is just for half an hour, to fully cherish them.

They grow up so fast. Don’t miss this opportunity each day.

For more on , be sure to check out our website:

http:www.moneybizhome.com/parenting_articles

Oli Osorhan
http://www.articlesbase.com/parenting-articles/are-you-present-with-your-children-1259895.html