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Big Kid Health Healthy Living How To Kindergarten Age Learning Life Parenting Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

How to Help Your Kids Get Basic Health and Hygiene Down

As a parent, you likely want to improve your health and improve your child’s basic health and hygiene. It can be a battle to keep your kids clean, especially during the summer when they love to spend all their time outside. Teaching them how to look after themselves early on will set them up for a healthy and hygienic future. Consider these ideas to ensure they can take care of themselves as much as possible. 

Basic Health and Hygiene
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Teaching Basic Health and Hygiene to Kids

Positive Reinforcement 

Kids love hearing that they did a good job, whether it’s at school, after playing sports, or any other time. When teaching kids the importance of basic health and hygiene, you can use this to your advantage. Giving them praise or rewards after sitting still during an appointment at places like ÈLAN Dentistry will stop them from worrying about unusual places and encourage them to take care of their teeth to get another reward next time. 

Modeling Behavior 

It is always essential for parents to be role models at home. Your home is where your kids will learn everything they can about life, especially if they haven’t started school yet. If you emphasize healthy living, whether through eating well, exercise, or getting enough sleep, they will copy this behavior. By doing this, they develop healthy habits early on, giving them a fantastic foundation to build on. On the other hand, if you don’t encourage healthy living and spend all of your time sitting on the sofa and eating fast food, it will be no surprise when they follow suit. 

Make Health Fun 

There is something about a healthy lifestyle that many kids want to avoid. They act like it’s not cool to enjoy fruit and vegetables or to exercise. To change this attitude, you need to make health fun. You can find health and wellness activities that your kids will love, and they can teach them about being healthy without them feeling like they are learning. Other options include singing songs about health with them, especially when bathing or brushing their teeth. The songs will help your child associate this routine with something enjoyable, making them more likely to pursue it. 

Basic Health and Hygiene Gives Them Opportunities 

Your kids will never embrace the magic of exercise and activities if you don’t give them the opportunities to do so. Signing them up for sports clubs, such as soccer or basketball, will keep them fit and active. Additionally, consider teaching them how to ride a bike or take them to swim classes. As these are two common skills, it will allow your child to do other things with their friends when they get older.

Healthy and Happy 

It’s no secret that a healthy child is a happy child. By encouraging excellent health and hygiene practices, your kids will grow up feeling good. It minimizes the number of infections or other problems that can impact children who aren’t educated on hygiene.

Basic Health and Hygiene For Kids

Parents know that keeping their child clean all of the time can be quite a challenge. You might feel like you constantly have to chase after them to keep them clean. Fortunately, you can teach basic health and hygiene for kids. While you will have to help your child sometimes, they will be much more independent regarding taking care of themselves.

What are some things you have done to teach your child about basic health and hygiene? Leave a comment and let us know!

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For the Home Home How To Outside Fun

Blessed With A Bijou Garden? Here’s How To Make The Most Of It

When a real estate manager describes a bijou garden, they mean small and cramped but elegant. A bijou garden isn’t always a bad thing, as long as you can make the most out of it. While some people want plenty of outdoor space for their children or their pets to roam around and for them to entertain, others know that even the smallest of gardens can be perfect with a bit of creativity.

When it comes to making the most of what you have, employing your imagination is essential to making the most of the area and creating an outdoor refuge tailored to your needs. It is not about the amount of space you have but about what you do with it. Making the most of your small space requires being creative and keeping it well maintained by staying on top of deadheading flowers, mowing the lawn, power washing the patio, and engaging in tree care. 

If you are searching for some creative ideas to liven up your garden or outdoor space, we have got some excellent suggestions for you to consider.

***This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.***

Bijou Garden
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How To Make The Most Of a Bijou Garden

Add Different Levels

Adding several levels to your garden is a great technique to give a tiny space more depth and perspective. Consider using crates to stack plant pots instead of placing them all at the same level on the ground. Arrange them along a fence or wall, and decorate them with garden ornaments or plants to complete the look. If you have the space, establish divisions in your yard to give it shape and break up the area with a small deck or patio for outside eating chairs. The result will be a focal point in your garden and gives the ability to construct the perfect relaxing place before moving on to another section.

Add Pops of color

Bright colors proclaim sunshine and warm weather. If you want to make your yard more cheerful, pay attention to how you decorate it. Choose brightly colored furniture or ornamental objects that evoke the spirit of summer to offer a simple method to liven up your yard without exerting too much effort or taking up too much of the available area.

Consider painting fences or walls in your chosen colors to connect the entire color scheme. Make use of abstract colors to create a lively and quirky atmosphere. Incorporate a theme that runs throughout your garden for a more sophisticated design. For example, whites and blues for a traditional Mediterranean aesthetic, browns and green for a natural feel in your garden, or modern grey, black, and white for an on-trend look are all options.

Fill the Area With Plants

Filling the garden with flowers is another method to bring color to the space. Brightly colored plants in a flower bed or pots may instantly draw the attention of anyone who enters your outside environment. If you have a limited amount of ground space, consider using a wall planter. When it comes to being creative with your space, think vertically and decorate above and below the ground. Plant them in the correct location and at the appropriate time of year.

Plants require a great deal of attention to ensure that they thrive and appear their best throughout the year. Take care not to damage flowers by deadheading them and removing any leaves or debris that may have accumulated.

Upcycle

Items in your house can be upcycled and given a new lease of life in your garden, and there are many possibilities. You can use an old sink or bathtub as a birdbath, water feature, or planter in your space.

It is possible to transform bicycles into decorative artworks by cleaning them up, hanging them on walls, and adding plants. The same is true for any shelves or storage units that are no longer in use. Determine a unique design for your garden that does not require spending a lot of money by using your creativity to brainstorm ideas.

Light Up Your Bijou Garden

Lighting can dramatically alter the appearance and feel of your landscape in an instant. It is not only about security illumination, either. Decorative solar lights, fairy lights, and other lighting fixtures can bring the space’s appearance together by adding a bit of that “wow” factor.

Multi-colored Edison bulbs strung from fence panels or hanging from pergolas and gazebos are popular for outdoor lighting fixtures. If you want a more discrete appearance, choose wired lights that are nearly invisible until it lights up. Additionally, use garden lighting and lamps that look excellent during the day and provide lighting during the evenings.

Make The Most Of a Bijou Garden

If you have a small space, you can still make the most of it. Implement some of these tips to make your area elegant and functional. Do you have any other tips to add? Leave a comment and let us know!

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Adulting Family Activities How To Life Our Family

How To Reconnect With A Relative You Haven’t Seen For Years

Time has its way with us all, and sometimes, that can mean that the focus and direction of our life point away from other people. For instance, this is why two people can find themselves growing apart through no fault of their own. It’s just that they may focus on different interests or move elsewhere, or they may have other priorities. But there’s no need to fret about this outside of the obvious sense of sadness because time can bring people together much more frequently, too. While it might seem weird to reconnect with a relative you haven’t seen for years, you can make it fun and eliminate awkwardness.

Whether you’re moving closer or want to celebrate their first child with them, reconnecting can be seamless. Maybe you’ve just taken stock and are trying to stop taking the people in your life for granted.

Whatever the reason, reconnecting with a relative you haven’t seen for years can seem somewhat awkward at first. But never fear because you don’t always have to think this way. Here’s why:

Reconnect With A Relative

Reconnect With A Relative You Haven’t Seen For Years

Flowers Can Make A Greeting Special

Flowers can speak to the emotions you feel without you explicitly saying them. They also look beautiful and showcase temporary beauty, the need for cultivation, and care. This is, of course, the same stuff that relationships thrive on, and so flowers can be a lovely message to send along with your good wishes. We’d recommend utilizing the services of an award-winning florist to truly show how much thought you’ve put into it.

A Sincere Effort Can Be Lovely

Sometimes, we have to give a little to relate to someone. For instance, while it might be that neither of you has spoken for a while, genuinely asking after their side of the family, apologizing for not getting in contact, and inviting them for a coffee can show a sincere effort, humility, and the willingness to start again. At the very least, your effort can help you know you put your best foot forward, even if nothing comes of it. That has a massive benefit.

What’s The Worst That Could Happen?

Family relations, especially if they’re strained, can feel much rawer than any other connection. We sometimes find ourselves feeling worried about engaging in that kind of dialogue. You might worry that you’ll face rejection or that our efforts might hurt rather than help. One question is important to ask yourself though – what’s the worst that can happen if you make a genuine effort with goodwill in your heart? The worst is that the status quo of not speaking to someone may continue. But perhaps a dialogue can start. Maybe something can be opened. Little measures like that can often imply the most benefit. At the very least, you’ll respect yourself for having tried.

Reconnect With A Relative

With this advice, we hope you can connect to a relative you haven’t seen for years, even if it might sound worrying. You will be happy that you tried, and you might reconnect with a relative that you’ve missed. Have you ever had to reconnect with a relative? Tell us about it in the comments! 

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Adulting For the Home Home

3 Semi-Regular Home Cleaning Efforts To Add to Your Routine Now

We’re willing to bet that pretty much everyone reading this has their cleaning schedule down by now. While you can always get advice, it can be patronizing to teach people obvious considerations that they’re already taking part in. But what about the cleaning habits that need to be applied less regularly but still count? Well, a post about these semi-regular home cleaning efforts can be essential, even if only to serve as a reminder.

Going into a new set of seasons (in this case, the colder seasons) can be the perfect time to perform a deep clean and make sure that everything in your home is taken care of. After all, you’re about to spend more time at home in the evenings because of it being cold and damp outside. It’s good to make that space as appealing as possible before you get started.

In this post, we hope to give you some tips for where you should start looking, how you should clean, and what kind of result this can bring. After that, you’ll be an expert in even the more advanced elements of keeping your property in amazing shape.

Home Cleaning Efforts
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Home Cleaning Efforts To Add to Your Routine

Carpet Cleaning

We forget how dirty carpets can get until we clean them properly and see how much dirt is coming up. Dirty carpets are especially prevalent in our living spaces, where thousands of steps are taken each day, and our pets may lounge around. This is why using services such as Champion Cleaners carpet cleaning can be so worthwhile because they can allow your carpet installations and furnishings to be fully cleansed from the root. This way, you need not spend money on an unnecessary replacement.


Garage & Attic Care

It’s essential to consider garage and attic care to the degree that you need it. We tend to think of both of these environments as ‘less than’ a fully furnished room, and sometimes just storage areas we can take care of to benefit everyone who uses them. Making sure that these spaces stay organized, well ventilated, deep cleaned, and that any unnecessary items are removed can be key. Additionally, assessing the fire safety standards of each room can help you avoid a nasty accident worth preventing in advance.

Check For Damp

Damp should be an essential consideration worth because it can spread without you realizing it. Once it has started, it can be a health and home risk. It usually gives off a scent that is hard to ignore, but in some cases, this might not be so. Home cleaning efforts aren’t incomplete unless they check for damp, safely remove damp, and ensure that ventilation is cared. When you do this, it prevents the unnecessary spread of moisture that contributes to it. Checking for damp and dealing with any issues is especially important in your bathrooms, the attic, the basement, the garage, and rooms that house infants or the elderly.

Home Cleaning Efforts

With this advice, we hope you can deep clean your home with care. Do you have any tips to add? Leave a comment and let us know!

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Adulting Finances Learning

Managed Futures: Market-Neutral Vs. Trend-Following

Managed Futures

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of available investment options? You’re not alone — especially when it comes to alternative investments across asset classes, such as managed futures.

Of course, you’ve already heard of stocks and bonds, but you may not know quite as much about managed futures. This alternative investment can help diversify your portfolio, enhance your risk and return profile, and hedge against market volatility.

Read on to learn about two approaches to managed futures: market-neutral and trend-following strategies.

What Are Managed Futures?

Let’s start with the basics: What, exactly, are managed futures? A future is an agreement about buying or selling a commodity or security (i.e., stocks, bonds, or options) at a specific time for a specific price.

Futures — also called futures contracts — allow investors to speculate on the potential direction of a commodity or security. A contract includes an expiration date and locks a set price.

Futures contracts may be used to trade:

  • Stock indexes, such as the NASDAQ Composite, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average
  • Commodities, such as wheat, corn, livestock, oil, coal, gold or copper
  • Currency futures, such as the Euro, British pound and Japanese yen
  • Precious metal futures, such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium
  • U.S. Treasury bonds

Managed futures refer to a portfolio of futures that’s actively managed by a professional broker or adviser. This type of alternative investment provides exposure to more asset classes. Since managed futures aren’t strongly correlated with traditional stocks and bond markets, they’re a great way to diversify your portfolio. This helps protect against market volatility and mitigates risk.

Futures portfolios are managed using a market-neutral or trend-following strategy. Let’s look at each approach.

Managed Futures

Market-Neutral Strategy

A market-neutral approach attempts to make a profit from increasing and decreasing prices, all while mitigating risk. This strategy involves taking matching short and long positions in the industry. For instance, you might purchase $5,000 worth of Apple stock, while simultaneously selling $5,000 of Google stock.

In essence, these long and short positions act as hedges to each other, protecting against loss. They work by increasing returns — thanks to spreads creating by mispricing — while reducing the risk that comes from overall market movements.

When utilized properly, the market-neutral approach can allow you to profit from increasing and decreasing stock prices. At the same time, the risk is mitigated, as the focus lies on meeting stock price convergences rather than general market performance. This is because the market-neutral approach isn’t closely correlated with market movements.

There are two kinds of market-neutral approaches:

  • Fundamental market-neutral investing: Uses fundamental analysis — or a study of various economic and financial factors that can affect a security’s value — to predict trajectory. Trades are then based on predictions of stock price convergences.
  • Statistical market-neutral investing: Applies quantitative methods and algorithms to historical stock performance, with the goal of identifying price discrepancies. Trades are then based on these quantitative past performance indicators.

Trend-Following Strategy

In contrast, the trend-following approach monitors market movements more closely. This type of strategy attempts to profit by going short or long, depending on an analysis of market signals over a certain period.

For instance, if an asset’s price is trending upward, that indicates taking a long position. If the price is on the downswing, taking a short position may be in order.

Sometimes known as momentum investing, it’s based on the idea that market movements aren’t random; instead, rising prices will keep rising while falling prices will keep falling. For futures trading, this means buying contracts when prices are on the rise and selling contracts when prices are lowering.

A trend-following approach attempts to take advantage of the market’s downturns and upswings, using multiple indicators to determine an asset’s direction. Because this strategy is subject to market volatility, trend-following may result in large drawdowns or the percentage of the difference between an investment’s peaks and valleys.
 
Whether you choose a trend-following or market-neutral approach, investing in managed futures can help balance and diversify your portfolio. This alternative investment offers a way to mitigate risk while hedging against market volatility.

Want to learn more? The accompanying resource further delves into this topic.


Infographic provided by Institutional Advisory Services Group

Author bio: Greg Taunt is Vice President of Institutional Advisory Services Group, a managed futures company. He has more than 10 years of experience in the industry and focuses on maximizing portfolio effectiveness to potentially reduce risk while increasing returns using managed accounts in noncorrelated vehicles.

Sources

https://www.thechartist.com.au/market-neutral-trend-following/
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/managed-futures.asp
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/futures.asp

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Health Healthy Living How To Parenting

Calm and Helpful Ways to Properly React To An Animal Bite

React To An Animal Bite

Many kids tend to gravitate toward animals. This may be OK if they’re petting a friend’s puppy, but it can be dangerous if an animal turns out to be less than friendly. As much as we hate to think about it, children (and even some adults) get bitten by strange animals all the time. They see an unfamiliar dog and assume it will be docile, only to find out the dog doesn’t react well to strangers. Knowing how to properly react to an animal bite is essential.

As a parent, what can you do? How can you protect your child, and what should you do if an animal harms your little one? To help you protect your babies, toddlers, and kids from getting bitten — and to prepare you for what to do if a bite occurs — here’s what you need to know about animal bites.

How to Avoid Animal Bites

It almost goes without saying that your best bet with animal bites is prevention. While you cannot control every situation, you can avoid places where dangerous animals tend to be, and you can talk to your kids about the risks involved with wild or unfamiliar creatures. In the case of especially young children, you never want to leave them alone with an animal.

For older kids, it’s important to teach them proper behavior when it comes to animals. Make sure they know why and how dogs, cats, raccoons, snakes, etc. can be dangerous, so they’re not unintentionally provoking an incident. Teach your children not to approach animals in the wild, even in a friendly way. Explain that unknown animals are not safe to pet or play with, and it’s best to move carefully rather than try to run, which could trigger an animal’s instinct to chase. To discourage strange animals from being attracted to your home, keep it clean: Don’t leave out food debris.

React To An Animal Bite

What to Do if a Bite Occurs

Should the unthinkable happen and your child gets bitten, plan now to stay calm. Stop and assess the wound: How severe is it? Do any bones seem broken? If the bite happened on the face, are stitches needed? Call your child’s doctor or, if the injury seems extensive (hard-to-control bleeding, intense pain, etc.), head to the emergency room right away. For minor injuries, focus on cleaning the area with an antiseptic solution, applying pressure to slow any bleeding, and bandaging it to ensure it heals. Keep an eye on the wound for signs of infection: increased redness, swelling, draining, or a fever. In any of these cases, call your child’s doctor.

How to React to an Animal Bite

Depending on the type of animal that bites, further action may be necessary. While dogs are the most likely animal to bite a child, lots of other animals can also turn aggressive. If the attacker was a cat, you’ll most likely want to get antibiotics, as cats tend to harbor more bacteria in their mouths.

For bat bites or some dog bites, your child may need a rabies shot. Some types of bites will also require a tetanus shot or other intervention. If the animal that’s bitten your child was wild or a stray, contact animal control; if it was someone’s pet, get as much information as you can about the owner, in case you need to seek legal help with medical bills.

Want more information about how to properly react to an animal bite? Take a look at the accompanying resource, which provides several actionable tips. From assessing the severity of the injury to understanding treatment options and aftermath, this guide will help you understand what to do.


Infographic Provided by Tracy Tiernan Attorney at Law

AUTHOR BIO: Tracy Tiernan received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas in 1987. He went on to secure his J.D., or law degree, from The University of Tulsa in 1990. While attending law school, Tracy interned for a highly successful Personal Injury Law firm in the Tulsa area where he was involved in the litigation and trial preparation of Personal Injury, Workers’ Compensation, and Criminal cases. Tracy, who was involved in a bit of college sports, enjoys running, participating in the occasional obstacle race, and coaching his children’s soccer teams to keep his mind sharp. He resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his children.

Sources:
https://www.beaumont.org/conditions/animal-bites-stings 
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/bites.html
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/for-parents/articles/animal-bites-what-to-do-when-a-pet-or-a-wild-creature-nips-a-child
https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/animals.html
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Afn-WNjq8PXb3Io8udy-n462_Deqwzkk/view?usp=sharing

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Adulting Finances How To

4 Smart Ways You Can Prepare Financially For Your Family’s Future

When you have kids, the last thing you probably have a chance to think about is later on in life when you and your partner are grey-haired and walking around in a frail manner. But unfortunately, you do need to at least plan a little bit so that you know your children will be taken care of financially in the future. So the more you can do now to prepare financially for your family’s future, the better it will be.

Prepare Financially For Your Family’s Future
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Prepare Financially For Your Family’s Future

1. Find a Good Savings Account 

It is worthwhile to shop around online to see if you are making the most of your savings account. Ideally, you want to have an account where you can top up funds in a fixed rate cash ISA account so that you know you will not need to access that money for the time being. The longer you can leave your money in your account, the more you could accrue in interest over the years. So it is only worthwhile doing this if you know for definite that you will not be using that cash for the time being. 

2. Be Frugal With Your Money 

Paying attention to your expenses and spending can show how much money you have to last the month. Being aware can help you make your money last longer. If you can be frugal at times and know when to look for a good bargain, this will free up cash to spend in other areas that could help long term as you will be left with some money to put aside into your savings account. 

Prepare Financially For Your Family’s Future
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3. Teach Your Children The Value of Money 

As well as putting cash aside for your children, it is also essential that you teach them the value of money. It will help them later in adult life if they learn how to save money and not just spend it. It also teaches them that you need to work hard to earn it as opposed to just being given it. 

4. Draw Up a Last Will and Testament 

You might not want to think about it right now, but in the eventuality that something were to happen, you want to know that your children will be ok financially. It is a good idea to write out your last will and testament before you get too old to realize what you are signing away so that you can ensure that your children will inherit any property and finances. Organizing your Life Insurance for Seniors will enable you to prepare in advance for such an event so that the financial burden of things like funeral costs will not fall solely onto your children, who may already have financial difficulties of their own in adult life.

Prepare Financially For Your Family’s Future

While you might not want to think about how to prepare financially for your family’s future, it is essential. You will be glad that you took the time now to set your family up for financial stability. Do you have any tips to add? Leave a comment and let us know!

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Finances Home How To

7 Ways to Be a Great Landlord

Ways to Be a Great Landlord

Being a landlord can be tricky. There are several rules and regulations to follow and the need for constant maintenance and repairs. If you want to be a good landlord, there are things that you can do on your end to help make the experience easier for both you and your tenants. 

Ways to Be a Great Landlord
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Seven Ways to Be a Great Landlord

1. Best Practices When Marketing Rentals

Be sure that your ads accurately describe what renters should expect when living at your home so that they don’t feel duped by false advertising later on down the line. Advertising your rental unit on residential property management websites is by far the best and safest method.

2. Know Your Laws

The first thing that you need to do is make sure that you understand the laws of your region. Even if there are no specific rules or regulations in place where you live, it’s still crucial for landlords to be aware of their rights and responsibilities when renting out a property. Knowing your rights will guarantee greater peace of mind and protect you and your tenants from potential conflicts.

3. Reach Out to Current Tenants

Make sure that you maintain a good relationship with your current tenants. They’ll be able to give you detailed information about what needs improvement and when repairs should happen.

If something breaks in between tenancy periods, get out there quickly so that no one gets hurt. Repairing or replacing damaged items while your tenant is on vacation can also keep things running smoothly throughout the year.

4. Honesty About Fees

While it’s okay to charge fees like security deposits and last month’s rent upfront, don’t try to sneak additional fees into legal documents later on down the line, as this will only lead to trouble (and furious tenants).

Being honest about fees includes charging higher rent rates or fees for late payments. It may be tempting to try and make a bigger profit, but it will only hurt your business in the long run.

5. Set Fair Rent Rates

Remember that this is not just about making money; it’s also about providing housing for people who need somewhere safe and comfortable to live.

Make sure rent prices reflect what current market conditions look like so tenants can afford their homes without any unnecessary stress or financial strain. Being transparent with renters from the beginning makes everyone feel better when moving into new places too!

6. The Signing of Legal Documents

When tenants apply for rental properties, have them sign all legal documents on the first day they move in, so there is no question about who owns what. 

Having them sign a rental agreement prevents any miscommunications from taking place. Plus, it protects both you and your tenant if anything were to go wrong later on. (fingers crossed it doesn’t!)

7. Provide a List of Maintenance Contacts

Make sure that tenants can easily reach out to maintenance professionals, whether these are general repairs or damages caused by an accident or natural disaster like flooding in their property.

Home repairs and maintenance should happen as soon as possible to keep everyone safe and comfortable! If this isn’t available, give instructions on how the tenant can handle things themselves without causing further damage.

Apartment Safety

If you own an apartment, ensuring that it is a safe home for your tenant is essential. This infographic explains how renters can keep themselves safe and how a landlord can ensure apartment safety for their tenant. Some of the information can help landlords of homes, as well.


Infographic Provided by KEYper Systems

Another bonus for apartment rentals is to have a balcony or patio area. Even a small space is beneficial, and if it is set up well, your tenant will love the area.

Ways to Be a Great Landlord

While you must ensure a profit on your rental property, you should also work on ways to be a great landlord. When your tenants think you’re great, they’ll take better care of your property and be more likely to pay rent on time. Plus, they might recommend another great person to rent your property once they move out.

Do you have a rental property? How do you ensure a good relationship with your tenant?

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Adulting Home How To Work From Home

How To Work From Home And Make It A Success

successfully work from home

With all of the changes in recent years, many people turned to work from home. Now that things are starting to reopen, you may have noticed that people are not running back to the office. Let us be clear, people want to work, but they want to work from home. With this in mind, here are some ideas about how you can successfully work from home.

***This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.***

Successfully Work From Home
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How to Successfully Work From Home

Organize Your Child’s Day

During the pandemic, many parents had to work full time from home and manage their children’s homeschool activities. The full-time employee/full-time parent routine was tough, but many parents worked hard to make it work for everyone. Now the kids are going back to school, and the disruptions that they cause should be minimal. Organizing your kids and getting them ready for school is a great time to reorganize yourself and get prepared to work more efficiently. As you plan and work to make their day flow, it will help you do the same in yours.

Coffee

If you miss grabbing your coffee on the way to work, there is no reason you can’t visit your local coffee shop. If you have to leave the house to get your kids to school, you could swing by the local coffee shop drive-thru and grab a latte. Or you could invest in a good coffee machine so you can make your own. You could invest in many kitchen gadgets that will allow you to create a cafe-inspired lunch in your own home.

I use the Keurig K-Duo coffee maker because it has the option to make a single cup or a full 12-cup carafe of coffee. I’m obsessed with it, and it’s super cute! For my coffee, I use Bean Box because they have so many flavors and options.

Upgrade Your Home

Many people found themselves working from the kitchen table during the pandemic, believing it was a temporary measure. Now, it looks like it could be a permanent thing, so we need to change our homes around. Buying mid-century homes and converting one of the rooms into an office is a trend we can get behind. Having a separate office space is necessary so you can keep your kids out of your spreadsheets and the good pen collection.

Pets

There was an increase in the number of adopted pets at the start of the pandemic. Now, unfortunately, many of them are being handed back to shelters. Working from home can be lonely if you live by yourself, and having a furry companion can make all of the difference. Also, having a pet can be a great distraction for the kids. 

Food

If you work full time, there is a chance that you live on take-out food. We have all been there, so no judgment. However, not traveling to work has freed up some time in your day, so now you can focus on what you are eating. In the morning, throw some food into a slow cooker, and let it cook all day. Or you can have a bit of extra time to prepare and make a healthy meal for you instead of buying a Chinese. 

Successfully Work From Home

While working from home has problems, you can successfully work from home by considering these tips. Make it comfortable and effective for your schedule, and then bask in all of the perks of working from home.

What would you add to this? Leave a comment and let us know! 🙂

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Health Healthy Living Parenting

Gentle Health: How To Encourage Your Child to Relax At Medical Appointments

Encourage Your Child to Relax At Medical Appointments

As the primary caregiver of a child, you know how hard it sometimes is for them to relax at medical appointments. If the child has additional needs, interruptions to their routine can feel catastrophic, and they react negatively to a change. The problems often arise during essential appointments, so you must find a way to encourage your child to relax.

Patience is a must, of course, but if you can get your child to The Smile Spa or to the doctor with minimal fuss, it’s less stressful for you and them. One of the things you can do is to ensure that your child feels they are in control. Making them feel in control means helping them understand what’s going to happen and what the appointment is for. 

Encourage Your Child to Relax At Medical Appointments
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How To Encourage Your Child to Relax At Medical Appointments

1. Determine Their Immediate Need

You know that this will upset your child, and you should immediately give your child notice. If there is an upcoming dental appointment, you need to tell them the moment you book it. They will likely be upset, but they’ll be more upset if you don’t tell them what’s ahead of them. You want your child to trust you, and that means being honest and open. 

2. Be Honest at Every Turn

When your child asks if something will hurt and you know it will then say so. Explain that it’ll be fast and not much more than a sting (vaccines), or explain that the dentist has a magic cream to make sure that they don’t hurt when they are having their teeth done. You want to base your relationship on trust, and every child needs that.

3. Know Their Fears

Does your child fear the doctor? Is it because they’re afraid of what they might see or experience, or is it the whole idea of just being in the doctor’s office? Either way, ensure you are aware of the fears that your child has and go with them. Use blindfolds to help if they are afraid to see the dentist. Use noise-canceling headphones if they need any drilling. Meet their sensory needs while you are ensuring that they are calm.

4. Add Comfort

If your child has a comfort item to hold or wants to be held, you can add comfort. There is nothing wrong with ensuring your child is as comfortable as possible. It can keep them calm through the whole process when you do. Your child can relax knowing you are relaxed, too, so be the comfort they need.

Encourage Your Child to Relax At Medical Appointments

Medical appointments can be hard for children, so ensure that you help ease the discomfort and fear. By implementing these tips, you can encourage your child to relax at medical appointments.

Do you have any other tips? Leave a comment and let us know!