Tag: family

4 Reasons To Think About Moving Your Family To an Apartment

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date March 25, 2021

Downsizing is a concept that more and more families are open to, and knowing the reasons may make you think about moving your family to an apartment. Before, it used to be an idea that was reserved for when your kids had flown the nest. Then, mom and dad would sell the big family home and move into a smaller place that’s easier to manage.

Now, families are considering moving to smaller places a lot sooner. In fact, a lot of families are looking to swap a traditional house for an apartment.

You don’t have to do this, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with living in a house (I do!). There are a few benefits of living in an apartment with your kids, though, and they have even made me consider it.

4 Reasons To Think About Moving Your Family To an Apartment

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Reasons For Moving Your Family To an Apartment

1. More Social

Being in an apartment building means there are lots of other people and families living in the same place. You and your kids could meet new people, making it a more social place for them to grow up. If the apartment has a shared yard or is close to a play area for kids, they’re bound to make lots of new friends in the area. In a house, you are around fewer people and there isn’t always a social element to your neighborhood.

2. Easier to Maintain

Apartments are naturally easier to maintain than houses, largely because there’s less space. Even in big apartments, though, it’s easier as you have no stairs to traverse – and also because you don’t take care of the building.

Things like your windows and the yard will be taken care of by the building owner. Also, if you’re renting instead of owning, lots of maintenance tasks are covered by the landlord. So, it gives you less to worry about and makes it easier to maintain a lovely home.

3. Fewer Pests to Worry About

Living in an apartment means you’re less at risk of running into any pests. Granted, apartment pest control exists for a reason – pests aren’t completely free from apartment buildings! Still, the chances of you encountering rats or mice are greatly diminished when you’re in an apartment.

Perhaps it’s because of the way apartments are made, or it could be because of good upkeep and regular maintenance. Either way, people rarely complain of pests in apartments, at least when compared to pests in a traditional house.

4. A Better Location

Apartments tend to be in optimal locations for families. You will rarely see an apartment building in the middle of nowhere or out in the suburbs. Instead, they’re close to all of the action!

Your family can be within walking distance of your job and the kid’s school. You could be near public transport, right next to grocery stores, and so on. If you want more convenience in your life, then moving to an apartment could be a better option for your family.

Moving Your Family To an Apartment

While there are definite benefits to living in an apartment, this isn’t intended to force you to move out of your house. If you’re happy where you are, that’s absolutely fine. There are advantages to living in a house over an apartment as well, and perhaps that article will be written in the future! Still, if you are thinking about moving your family to an apartment, these benefits should help you with your decision.

Which do you prefer? Living in a house or an apartment? Leave a comment and let me know!

Tags family, Home, moving, Parenting

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5 Easy Ways to Get Your Kids Outside in the Yard

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date March 24, 2021

Spending time outside is very beneficial for people of all ages. Sometimes children may lack interest in going outside, however, and be more into electronics and indoor games. If you’re finding it challenging to get the kids away from those screens and out in the fresh air, there are plenty of ways to get your kids outside.

Spring is the best time of year to plant a few vegetables or even welcome wildlife. You can create a sensory, exciting space outside that will entice even the most indoorsy children. Here are five easy ways to get kids out in the yard.

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

How to Get Your Kids Outside

1. Yard Games

Invest in a couple of yard games. You can play these together as a family, or your children can invite friends over. Add a personal touch with these custom cornhole bags, for example, https://www.cornholeworldwide.com/products/cornhole-bags/custom-cornhole-bags/. You can have them personalized with the name or message of your choice. They make great gifts and just might incentivize kids to play more outside.

2. Grow Your Own

Growing your own vegetables is a fun way to get children interested in gardening as well as healthy eating. There are plenty of easy vegetables to grow with kids, such as carrots and potatoes, so you don’t need to be expertly green-thumbed. It’s one of the best ways to encourage kids to be productive and happy.

3. Start Seeds Inside

If you want to gauge your child’s interest beforehand, you could start seeds off inside. Plant seeds in glass jars so they can see the roots growing, which will engage their curiosity. You can then move the plants outside.

If you don’t have much yard space but would still like to get your kids interested in gardening, here are some low-maintenance indoor plants. You could even set up window boxes or a small balcony garden.

4. Welcome Wildlife

With a few quick upgrades, you can turn your yard into a wildlife habitat. The children will enjoy spotting and naming the wild visitors that come your way.

Create zones in your yard for critters to forage and hide. Let your lawn grow wilder, or build a rock garden. Add a water source and a bit of food and you’ll easily attract a variety of wildlife.

You could make your own bird feeders from recycled materials, or for a bigger project, build a bee hotel from old wood and bamboo. Another idea is to simply drill a few holes into some untreated wood for a basic home for insects.

5. Create a Sensory Space

Turn your garden into a treat for all the senses by adding plenty of textures, sights, and smells for your children to explore. Create a sensory garden by adding colorful and fragrant flowers which will also attract butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.

An amazing sensory space can be from a swimming pool that is specifically designed with little ones in mind. There is nothing more exciting than splashing in the water on a hot summer’s day. Work with a reputable company like CaliforniaPools.com, so you get the best pool for little water explorers.

You could even consider a water feature such as a pond or fountain. The sound of the water is incredibly relaxing and it will make a nice home for fish and amphibians. With sensory stimulation and fun activities, your children will love being out in the yard.

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Get Your Kids Outside

It is so important to get your kids outside, and it doesn’t have to be a struggle. By setting your yard up specifically for the kids, your kids will be eager to get outside every day.

What have you done to your yard to get your kids outside? Leave a comment and let me know!

Tags big kid, big kid activities, big kids, family, Family Activities, little kid, Outside Fun, Parenting

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4 Helpful Ways to Overcome The Challenges Of A Long-Distance Move

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date March 13, 2021
2 Comments on 4 Helpful Ways to Overcome The Challenges Of A Long-Distance Move

A long-distance move is something many people dream of. There are so many beautiful places in the world enticing people to move, and some people choose to move because they want to have better opportunities. While this idea can be exciting, the process itself can come with some challenges that you will need to overcome.

How to Overcome The Challenges Of A Long-Distance Move

1. Moving Your Possessions

Moving all of your things to a new place is hard, but it is especially challenging when moving long-distance. You can’t take things like furniture on a normal passenger plane, making it worth looking for companies like Sky Van Line to go through this process for you. Using vans, boats, and planes, you can move all of your possessions to your new home easily.

Another option is to sell your large furniture and buy new once you get to your new home. When deciding which route you want to take, consider the cost of each option.

2. Finding Work

Finding work in a different place can be a daunting prospect, especially when you factor in the cost of moving. You can find a job before you move, with options like online freelance work for those with the skills. If your move is a while away, you can consider starting a blog and monetizing it before moving.

Other times, you can get hired by a company before your move, with a start date after the move. Some employers will even be happy to help you move if it means that you can work for them.

3. Finding A Home

Looking for a home when you don’t speak the language or can’t visit the place can be tricky. It leaves you in the hands of your real estate agent. Thankfully, modern technology has solved this sort of issue, with virtual viewings being possible from a wide variety of companies.

You may need to look for options that offer this service, but it will be worth the search. With this service, it is easy to get a feel for a place before you decide to move.

Consider mortgages as well because getting mortgages in a different country can be difficult. It is worth talking to your bank about this ahead of time, too.

4. Keeping The Family Happy

Keeping your family happy through this process should always be a priority. It is important to make this decision with your partner and discuss it thoroughly. When it comes to your kids, the best time to move is before they have started school and made friends. You can still move if your kids are older, though, but you should enable them to maintain their old friendships.

Overcome The Challenges Of A Long-Distance Move

A long-distance move should be exciting, so make sure you prepare to overcome the challenges. If you follow these tips, you will feel ready to take on the challenge of a long-distance move.

This process can be great, giving you new opportunities and a chance to enjoy a new life. It will also provide your family with experiences that can only be gained when you’ve lived in more than one place.

Have you ever moved long-distance? What are some of your best tips? Leave a comment and let me know!

Tags adulting, family, Home, Life, work from home

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6 Ways to Help Your Kids Be Productive and Happy

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date February 25, 2021

Raising children and helping your kids be productive and happy isn’t always an easy job. With technology becoming an ever-present distraction, it is even harder than before. As a parent, you want to do whatever it takes to see your kids accomplish their daily tasks and live a life that matters.

Even so, it takes a good amount of time, energy, and patience to instill the necessary values. If done right, however, your kids could have peak performance for the rest of their lives. As a parent, you play a huge role in your child’s enjoyment, satisfaction, and overall development.

Use the proven tips below to set your kids up for successful and impactful futures.

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How to Make Your Kids Productive and Happy

1. Make Your Home as Comfortable as Possible

One of the best ways to raise happy kids is by creating a positive environment around them to make them feel loved and respected. Setting the tone for your home can be done by enforcing proper communication channels, using the correct language, and encouraging praise. It is also important to keep the physical space neat and in good shape.

Notably, kids love cute spaces. Having an exclusive spot for them in the house helps them feel wanted and loved. They will love that you cared enough to create a space just for them.

Plus, it gives them the liberty to decorate their space the way they want to. With additional custom-made designs such as the cabin beds at Cuckooland, you can foster creativity and innovation, making your little ones productive.

2. Give Them Daily Tasks and Responsibilities

Getting your kids to take out the garbage, do the dishes, or even mow the lawn shouldn’t be seen as a way of reducing the workload. Instead, it is a way of helping your kids live better lives. By making them follow a specific routine with well-defined tasks, they become responsible and, eventually, champions of respecting authority.

Learn how to be authoritative, but at the same time, not too strict or hard on your kids. Once in a while, give them huge responsibilities such as making dinner or deciding where to hang out. Then, watch how it will slowly cultivate confidence and decisiveness.

3. Inspire Core Values and Good Habits

According to scientific studies, if you want your kids to be dedicated to their studies, or lead straight lives, present yourself as one of the best role models they could have. Core values such as kindness and managing emotions go a long way in shaping their mental health. Make sure these values are instilled in your children by letting them see you practice them, too.

Teaching kids to respect the environment is also essential. Educating your kids on how to save energy and make eco-friendly choices is a great way to encourage them to develop positive values around protecting natural resources. This provides lots of excellent learning opportunities to teach them about renewable energy sources, such as those used by CleanChoice Energy, and to educate them on how renewable energy is generated.

As a caregiver, be sensitive at all times and make decisions from an empathetic point of view. Your kids are more likely to respond to this form of parenting than an authoritarian one. What most parents don’t understand is that kids absorb all their expressions, and those expressions shape and influence their young self-esteem.

4. Make Time for Them, Set Limits, and Be Consistent

Sometimes, it’s not about what your kids do that counts, but about what you do. How many times a week do you spend quality time with them? Are you a consistent parent, or do you always have excuses and reasons in-store?

Being a present parent enhances the productivity of your child by making them aware of parental authority. It also helps with adhering to rules and regulations. Setting limits ensures proper management of time and resources while enforcing discipline.

5. Make Your Happiness a Priority

Energy can be reciprocated and entertained by your kid’s ever-growing mind. Let’s face it – you also have needs, responsibilities, and expectations to meet. It can be hard to be fully present while managing the pressure, but you have to take it easy on yourself.

Getting everything done should not be seen as selfishness but as a means of enjoying quality time with your kids. Taking care of yourself and meeting all your desired expectations gives you a clear and relaxed mind to handle kids.

Mistakes You Should Avoid When Raising Your Kids

While it may appear easy to implement the above tips, it is also easy to make mistakes when raising your kids. Some of them include:

Shaming your children
Imposing micromanagement rules
Failure to give them a solid emotional base
Correcting your kids constantly without giving them room to make mistakes
Encouraging limited play instead of unstructured play

As parents, you should strive to provide the best for your kids. Transforming and molding them might feel like an uphill task and could cause some disagreement or stress, but it helps them grow into young, responsible, and productive individuals.

Help Your Kids Be Productive and Happy

Implement these tips, and you will be sure to play your part in helping your kids be productive and happy. With some concentrated effort and discipline, you can make it happen. Would you add anything to this list?

Tags big kids, family, Life, little kid, Parenting, tips, toddlers

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5 Simple Morning Rituals For Your Family to Make Your Day Better

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date January 27, 2021

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Waking yourself up can sometimes feel like more of an effort than getting your children up for school. We all have those mornings where we would rather stay lying in bed than getting up and being productive. To get out of a bad habit and ensure your family has a bright and mindful morning routine, introduce these simple morning rituals.

Morning Rituals For Families

Wake Up Earlier

That’s right, as crazy as it sounds, waking up earlier is a great morning ritual to begin. Setting the alarm just 15 minutes earlier than your usual time can help you be more productive. Plus, it gives you more time to get yourself and your family ready for the day.

Wake up your children, your pets, and your partner if you rise first. You may want to make sure your pets are fed before starting the day, so getting that out of the way with yummy Pet-Ness treats will allow you to focus on the rest of the family.

Open The Curtains

You will want to wake up before the children to ensure you can start their day off positively. As soon as you wake, take advantage of the morning light by opening the bedroom curtains.

Getting light first thing in the morning will energize the brain and improve your mood. It can feel intense at first if you are used to leaving the curtains closed, but you soon add it to your routine when you feel the benefits.

Get Fresh Air

A lack of fresh air overnight, while you are sleeping, is a common energy stealer. Waking up and stepping outside for some air as soon as possible will fight off the tired feeling and wake you up.

You could take your children out to play while you drink your coffee to make the most of your morning family time. Not only will you all be getting fresh air first thing in the morning, but you will also make lasting memories.

Eat Together

It can be easy to fall out of the habit of eating breakfast together. Cooking a quick batch of pancakes or eggs with toast and sitting around the table will make mealtimes more regular and special. Eating breakfast will also increase your kids’ energy and help them have a productive start to the day.

Share Plans

While eating breakfast together, share your schedule and ask everyone around the table what they are looking forward to that day. Sharing positive thoughts and ideas can help boost everyone’s mood for the entire day. Talking over breakfast is a great opportunity to share any concerns or exciting news, too.

Integrating these morning rituals into your family’s routine can help everyone fight fatigue, be more productive, and communicate together before the day begins.

You don’t have to do them all right away. It might be easier to do one at a time as you ease into a new routine.

Does your family have any morning routines that you already do each day? Tell me about them in the comments!

Tags family, Family Activities, Home

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12 Proven Ways You Can Make Your Family Life Easier and Happier

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date January 23, 2021

Family life has its challenges. It doesn’t matter where you live or how much money you have, you’re probably going to run into some struggles. That being said, there are numerous ways you can make your family life easier and more enjoyable.

If you’re not happy with the way things are for you right now, or you know you could do with less stress and more joy, try some of these suggestions!

How to Make Your Family Life Easier and Happier

Make Sure Everybody Has Responsibility

One of the best ways to make your life easier and more enjoyable is to make sure everybody has responsibility. They should have responsibility for their own space as well as the house in general.

If your teens have had friends over, make sure they know it’s their responsibility to tidy up. If they have been cooking or made a mess some other way, ensure you raise them knowing that it’s their job to clean it.

It’s also a good idea to ensure that your family has equal responsibility when it comes to any pets. Feeding, grooming, and walking pets, shouldn’t just be your job. Responsibility for both the house and pets will make you a stronger family unit and ensure your life is far more enjoyable.

Eat One Meal Together Each Day

Eating one meal together each day might not seem possible at first. After all, you have work, school, and other things going on. However, the meal doesn’t have to be dinner.

You could all have breakfast together, or if it’s possible you could have lunch together. If you can find the time to put all of your devices and work away and spend time eating together for a short amount of time every day, you will notice so many benefits. Studies have proven that doing this can help kids perform better at school, will help them avoid peer pressure, and more.

It doesn’t matter what you want to eat, whether you’ve got the best frozen Chinese food out of the freezer for a homemade takeaway, or you want to make your own pizzas and everyone gets a slice of each. As long as you’re taking the time to be together while eating, you’ll reap the benefits of a family mealtime.

At our house, we all eat dinner together each evening. We don’t allow phones or other electronic devices during this time, and we make it a point to talk about our day. One person begins by asking someone else, “What was the best part of your day?”, and the person being asked answers the question.

Then, the person who just answered the question will ask the next person the same question. We do this until everyone has talked about their day. It usually lasts the entire time because it really gets the kids talking.

Eat The Same Things Each Week

Eating the same things each week will help you get a handle on food prep, as well as your shopping. Eating the same meals on corresponding days throughout the week can help you to make mealtimes more of a fun tradition, too. You can keep your food budget down this way and ensure food shopping is more effective.

*For a free meal planning & grocery list printable, click HERE!*

Reduce Time Doing Laundry and Ironing

Doing laundry and ironing can feel like it takes ages to complete. However, with the help of items like ironing spray, you can minimize the time spent doing this and ensure your family remains clean and tidy.

It’ll help your clothes last longer, too. There’s no need to do a full wash after every single wear.

Child Proof Your Home

If you ever worry about your children hurting themselves at home, it’s a good reason to spend time childproofing your home. Here are some ways you can do this:

Ensure there’s nothing your children can get tangled up in, such as blind cords.
Avoid leaving children unattended if you have ponds, pools, and other bodies of water in the yard. It only needs to be shallow to suffer the devastating consequences.
Get down to their level and see if you can spot any hazards.
Cover up sharp corners.
Avoid having hard floors with no rugs.
Use dark colors and ensure materials wipe clean.

Find Fun Things To Do Together

Doing fun things together brings you closer together as a family. There are so many more things out there you can do instead of just watching TV or playing on electronics!

Why not go on hikes, try arts and crafts, or read together? These are the moments you will treasure when your kids have grown up. Plus, it’s always a good idea to avoid too much screen time.

Avoid Cluttering Up Your Home

When you have a family, the home can become easily cluttered. If you need help figuring out how to improve this, take a look at Marie Kondo on Netflix.

Keeping the things that truly bring you joy will make your home a tidier, happier place. Rather than buying your kids useless toys that they will use once and forget about (not to mention the plastic use and environmental impact this has), invest in experiences for them and things they can use again and again.

Download Apps

Apps can help to give you peace of mind. Some of them will help you know where your family is if they are out with friends or elsewhere. You can even use certain apps to control different parts of the house from a remote location. You can make it look like you are home by turning on the lights, for instance, even when you’re at work.

Take A Break From The Screen

When you take a break from the screen, you’ll have less stuff cluttering up your brain. You’ll also have more time to focus on your family life and immediate surroundings. Get creative and find new things to do!

Focus On What You Can Control

Rather than worrying about what you can’t control, focus on what you can control. You won’t always be able to stop bad things from happening, but you can put things into perspective and work on the things that are in your control.

Simplify Your Wardrobe

Coming up with capsule wardrobes for each family member will have a tremendous impact on both your lives and the planet. You’ll save money, have high-quality pieces you can use again and again, and find getting dressed so much easier. This guide will help you get it right.

Prioritize What’s Important To You As A Family

Different things are important to different families. Having a family motto can help you to define your values and morals and ensure your kids grow up to be great people. It’ll also allow you to better communicate with one another, and make decisions from a good place.

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How are you going to make your family life easier and more enjoyable? Let us know in the comments!

Tags family, Family Activities, How to, love, Parenting

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How to Have a Happier Family Life

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date January 20, 2021
6 Comments on How to Have a Happier Family Life

Whether your family life is already blissfully happy or you feel like you have room for improvement, it is always worth thinking about what you could do to bring harmony and happiness to your home. There are no downfalls to having a happier family life. Instead, you will find that it makes your home life blissful, which is something everyone should strive for.

Ways to Have a Happier Family Life

Improve Your Work-Life Balance

It can be tough to find the right balance between work and family commitments, but it is something worth trying. The less stressed and burnt out you are, the happier you and your whole family will be at home. This leads to more quality time you will be able to spend together.

How do you achieve a better work-life balance? Start by looking at your schedule and crossing out at least one commitment that isn’t really essential. Use the spare time you’ve created to have a family movie night or a trip to the park.

Do this every month and soon you’ll have a more streamlined schedule and a better work-life balance.

Live Healthily

Looking after yourself and your family is vital for everyone’s happiness. That means making a real effort, as a family, to eat healthy nutritious meals, exercise, and spend time talking about your feelings.

If one of you is going through a tough time healthwise, you should all band together and offer support. This might include having family therapy sessions, looking into sober living homes, or just clearing time to be together non-judgementally. The healthier you are, the happier you will all be.

Practice Discipline

Discipline is important in families. Children need to be taught boundaries, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of the family as a whole.

Discipline can seem like a scary word, but it really isn’t about punishment – it’s about knowing what is expected of you and learning how you can stay calm, keep the peace, and do the right thing.

Disciplining your children in this way will give them healthy boundaries and healthy boundaries will lead to a happier life. When children know what is expected of them, everyone will be happier.

Listen to Each Other

As a family, it is important that you all take time to communicate with each other in the good and bad times. Listening, in particular, is a really important skill to learn.

The more your family feels heard and respected, the more they will open up and the easier it will be for you to solve your problems together. Of course, it’s also important to share your triumphs and revel in each other’s joys, too.

Be Flexible

When you have a busy family life, it’s important to be flexible if you want to avoid arguments and live a life with less misery, If you’re too rigid and inflexible, it will cause many arguments and end up with no one doing what they want.

Obviously, some commitments can’t be moved, but if it doesn’t need to be set in stone, don’t put it there. This will make life much easier and happier for everyone.

With all of these tips, you are well on your way to having a happier family life. What are some of the ways you create a happier family life? Tell me about it in the comments!

Tags family, Home

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3 Ways Going Remote is Good For Families

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date January 20, 2021

As much of the world has employees working from home and children learning virtually, life seems to be a bit uncertain. Whether you are enjoying the remote lifestyle or you’re hating it, it is something we are all dealing with. Luckily, there are a few reasons that going remote is good for families.

Location is a primary concern when it comes to choosing workplaces and schools. In fact, it’s not uncommon for families to consider moving for work or school. Living closer to places of interest can give parents and children a better chance of finding high-quality education and employment. Now, however, location doesn’t seem to be so important.

Some parents were already familiar with the advantages of remote schooling by enrolling their children in online charter schools. Online charter schools have been integral to the homeschooling experience for many families, even before the pandemic.

Unlike the unexpected digital teaching approach that many traditional schools have had to implement in 2020, online charter schools have already mastered the art of providing high-quality digital education. They provide access to some of the best teachers in the world, making the location of staff and students irrelevant.

Consequently, they have become more popular during the covid crisis since safe and effective schooling methods have been essential. It has been a rocky road for most of us, but going remote isn’t all bad. There’s much to gain for families who choose to remain in digital work and school environments.

How Going Remote is Good For Families

1. It Fits into Your Lifestyle

According to a survey, most Americans want to keep working from home. This includes even after covid vaccines are safely rolled out to the population.

Working at home makes employment and education an integral part of your lifestyle, without causing disruptions. For many parents, their kids’ school schedule is one of the major issues when it comes to maintaining a full-time job. When parents have to see their children off to school and then be there when they get home, it is hard to work full time.

With going remote, however, parents can work in the morning before their kids leave (or start their virtual school work). Plus, parents can continue working after they get the kids home for the day. This gives parents the opportunity to work more hours while still being an active, supportive parent.

Think about it this way – if you aren’t remote and have to go to the office every day, are you able to be there for your kids while still working full time? You may be able to, but the majority of Americans are struggling with this. Going remote can change that, however, because you can be there for your children WHILE bringing in a full-time income. Win-Win, for sure.

While flexible work arrangements are available in some places, it’s easy to see how digital technologies can eliminate disruptive schedules for parents and children.

If you are a work-from-home parent, read this post for Easy Tips on Working From Home With Kids.

2. It Helps Separate Households Share Custody Rights

When families do not live together, such as divorced or separated parents, it’s tricky to make everybody’s schedules fit. More often than not, one parent gets most of the custody rights, ensuring the safe continuation of education for their children.

However, when you replace physical schools with online institutions, both parents can share custody rights equally. It’s a new challenge for family lawyers, but many are willing to embrace it for the sake of families.

Additionally, it can also change the approach to the whole settlement process – you can see more about it here to understand how going remote can make the transition easier for children. In a remote world, there’s no need to worry about changing jobs or schools when one parent moves out.

3. Going Virtual Makes Time to Explore Together

Families that travel together stay together. It is a silly statement, but one that is true. Sharing memorable experiences with your partner and children strengthens your bonds.

In the past, traveling has been extremely limited for families due to time constraints. Children only get so much time off school, and adults get even less time off work. This makes it difficult to plan long trips or to truly explore the world.

With going remote, however, there is no need to plan trips around school breaks and week-long vacations from work. Plus, when you travel during school breaks, tourist areas tend to be expensive and crowded. If your family is remote, you can plan these trips anytime of the year.

Of course, you will still have to work, but if you can take a longer trip, it wouldn’t matter if you had to spend time working during it. So, in this case, going remote is a good thing! It doesn’t matter when you embark on a trip, which saves you money and unnecessary stress!

There is still a long way to go for families to get used to going remote for employment and education. We are only at the start of the path! But, there are already plenty of advantages that could improve our lifestyles and family lives.

We are on a learning curve to make our world safer and better for all, and perhaps digital workplaces and schools could play a significant role in that. If you have been against going remote, I hope these reasons that going remote is good for families will help change your mind!

What are some of the reasons you think going remote is good for families? Tell me about it in the comment section!

Tags family, Parenting, Travel, work from home

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5 Educational Board Games To Play With Your Kids

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date January 6, 2021

Playing board games with your kids can have many benefits. Board games can get your kids away from the screen and allow you to enjoy some family bonding time. On top of this, many board games can have educational benefits while still being very fun.

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

Best Educational Board Games to Play With Kids

Chess

Chess is one of the oldest board games that is still played today. It’s a great game for teaching problem solving and strategy skills. In order to win, you need to keep track of all the pieces on the board while planning your moves ahead.

On top of traditional chess boards, there are chess boards available in all different themes from Harry Potter chess boards to Disney chess boards. You can teach chess to kids as young as 6 as this guide explains, although older kids are likely to appreciate the game more. Chess is a 2 player game, making it better suited to one-on-one time.

*If you are looking for board games for younger kids, check out this post: 12 of the Best Games For Kids

Scrabble

Scrabble encourages players to earn points by forming words. On top of being a great game for expanding your child’s vocabulary, Scrabble helps kids to develop math skills through adding up points and forming patterns. Plus, it helps with teaching forward planning.

You can play Scrabble with up to four players. As with chess, older kids are likely to appreciate Scrabble more.

If you run out of word ideas, don’t worry. There are lots of tools online that can help you play scrabble better such as this word unscrambler tool.

Monopoly

Monopoly encourages players to buy property around a board until one person owns all the property. It’s a great game for teaching kids money management because in order to win, you need to be able to budget well and take calculated risks.

On top of the classic version of Monopoly, there are now many other versions themed around everything from Star Wars to Pokémon. You can play Monopoly with up to eight players, making it ideal for large families.

Qwirkle

Qwirkle is a game that involves matching colors and shapes using tiles. On top of helping to build logical skills through patterns, Qwirkle is a great game for teaching strategy much like chess or Scrabble (in fact, it’s a bit like a combination of chess and dominoes).

The game is easy to set up and can be played by all ages. Up to four players can play Qwirkle at a time.

The World Game

If you’re looking for a game to teach geography skills, The World Game is the perfect option. Players compete to find the strongest fact about a country and win.

In doing so, players learn trivia about various countries from capital cities to flags. The game also teaches map orientation, helping kids to work out exactly where countries are in the world. It’s suitable for players of all ages and can be played with up to five players.

Learning doesn’t have to be boring, and you don’t have to force it on your kids. By finding the right ways to help them learn, you can have fun and bond while doing it. Board games are the perfect thing for that because they are fun and educational.

What are your favorite educational board games to play with your kids? Tell me in the comments!

Tags big kid, big kid activities, family, Family Activities, games, learning, Parenting

Big Kid Home How To Life Our Family Parenting Teenager

How to Handle Family Issues Positively in 2020

Post author By Sarah Barkley
Post date December 13, 2020

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a real struggle for most of us. With so many unknown situations occurring and life constantly changing, it’s been hard. Unfortunately, this causes many issues for families. Luckily, however, there are ways to handle family issues positively.

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Challenging situations will affect everybody, be that in our jobs, or physical and mental health, and in our relationships with our friends and families.

While it is natural in all relationships to experience rough patches, placing a global pandemic that leaves us all trapped inside all the time into the mix makes it worse. The feeling of wanting to escape or take it out on others around you increases dramatically.

In challenging times you will need the support of your family to get you through. However, family relationships can be complicated at times, and conflict within the home is hard to escape from.

Here are some of the things you can do to help to restore your family (dis)agreements during one of the most challenging global crises in the 21st Century.

How to Handle Family Issues Positively

1. Stop playing the blame game

Relationships, particularly within a family unit, are about more than just one person. Attempting to, or even suggesting changing any family member can invite defensiveness. Nobody likes to be told that they are doing things wrong or need to change.

When dealing with issues, it is vital to come at them from a place of wanting to fix them, not of wanting to come out on top. This may mean coming to tackle an issue by starting with your role in the disagreements or tensions within family relationships. By admitting your fault in it, the other person will be more likely to accept your suggestions.

If all of you seek to facilitate your own changes individually, the family unit will flourish as you all try your best to be a good mom, dad, husband, wife, son, daughter etc. Each person in the family unit has a responsibility to uphold, so it is important for everyone to work together.

Quite often, problems in relationships are just that: problems that need addressing. Stop blaming yourself or others and think about what the issues are that cause tensions.

2. List all of the things that spark disagreements

From not completing chores, to harsh tones in communication, small things can build up to a pretty big deal when managing family relationships. If you’re constantly asking your kids to clean their rooms, or your partner to give you some space in the mornings and these requests are ignored, you can feel disrespected and lacking in value.

That said, it may not just be you that ends up feeling that way and tensions may be high from a number of reasons.

Have everyone in the family write out what they feel causes tensions within the household. Create a safe space in order to allow them to do so. The key is to not get offended by some of the responses you get.

The lists should include all of the things that each family member fears talking about due to not wanting to run into any disagreements. Doing so will help to identify any potential issues within the family unit.

You may notice several family members will identify similar areas of concern which will make it easier to deal with the issues – especially if you can come to an agreement as to how they can be dealt with. Do this collectively and each of you will feel responsible for the rest of the family unit.

However, if it seems impossible to write just a few things on the list because you argue about everything, then this determines that the issues run deeper than simple misunderstandings.

3. Express concerns constructively

It’s easy to come into addressing concerns with accusation, but as previously mentioned, issues are rarely to do with an individual and precisely to do with a root cause.

Take the pandemic, for example. The outbreak wasn’t anybody’s fault. How it was dealt with and the things that have happened as a result have sparked a whole load of discontent and disappointment that certain things haven’t gone according to plan.

Having each of you expressing your concerns constructively will open the doors to honest and open discussions. Ensure that any comments are not accusatory comments, but comments that demonstrate how you feel. Here are some examples of ways to open up a dialogue which limit the potential for conflict.:

My concern is….
I feel/felt (one word eg- sad, anxious, scared) …when/ that (what it’s about?)
What are your thoughts about….?
I would like to (and never use I would like YOU to…)
How would you….?
I love it when…

Attempt to move away from unhealthy, accusatory comments which go nowhere and more often than not end up causing further fights.

4. Seek outside help

Sometimes it feels impossible to deal with things on our own. This means we need a neutral, outside perspective to give us the clarity that we need to get through. Going through some family counseling together will help you all to work through any issues that you’re facing as a family unit.

Family issues can occur as a result of traumatic experiences, so having a professional is necessary to help you to navigate them as a collective and deal with them head on.

Their job is to help you all identify which behaviors are a direct response to the trauma and to give you the tools to work through them.

5. Prioritize family time

Pre COVID-19, many families would struggle to find evenings to do things together. Now, forced time together isn’t always the blissful time together you had hoped for. Especially if you haven’t quite been as informed about the goings on in your family’s lives as you would have hoped.

There may be tensions due to people feeling ‘misunderstood’ and ‘unheard’ which can cause friction. Even while at home, your teens may wish to spend more time in their rooms speaking with friends. However, it is important to try and figure out the things that most of you enjoy doing together and make those things a priority.

Find the joy in getting to know your family again. While going out at the moment comes with additional risks, there are plenty of things you can do at home. Small things done together can make the world of difference to everybody’s emotions during this incredibly challenging time.

6. Recognize The Right Decision For Everyone Involved

When you become emotional due to a domestic issue, it’s easy to do what you think is right without focusing on anyone else’s point of view. Once you calm down, you must swallow your pride and lose your ego. When you work together properly, solutions become so much more apparent.

Whether it’s something that leads to the contact of custody attorneys or something much less significant, be sure to talk it out and understand all angles. You’ll be a lot more content and issues will be handled so much more positively.

Family conflict is impossible to avoid. Luckily, there are ways to handle family issues positively. The key is to work together as a family unit and figure out what the issues are.

Once you have determined the issues, figure out how to solve them. Involving everyone in the solution will make it easier, and it’ll make everyone want to do their part.

Do you have any other tips for handling family issues positively? Leave a comment and let me know!

Tags big kid, family, How to, little kid, Parenting, Teenager