Back To School Shopping - Top 5 Tips

It's that time again to get excited and do some shopping for back to school clothes. Here are 5 tips to follow when doing your back to school shopping.

1) Shop end of summer sales - You know as well as we do that kids wear short sleeve polo shirts all year long, so hit the big summer sales and snap up discounted duds that can be worn well into fall.

2)Stick to the list - It's easy to sway from the clothes you set out to get but remember to pace yourself it's a long school year and there will be some shopping through the year, so make a list and stick to it.

3)Separate wants from needs - Most clothes don't go out of style over the summer, and your child should use some of the previous years school clothes his or her has or maybe there is a older brother or sister that has some slightly used clothes that could be handed down.So there may not be a need to go out and buy everything brand new, also if money is tight you might want to hold off on winter clothes for a couple of months.

4)Have a budget, Stick to the budget - Set aside your back to school funds and only use that money, because things could get out of control real fast.

5) Shop online - More people are shopping online these days because it's fast,easy,safe and in most cases cheaper. There are huge discounts when shopping online.
 

By Carl Bender
  

So there it is 5 great, quick tips to do your Back to school shopping, I have also set up a one stop shopping center to help, just visit Back to school sales to see for yourself.

Short and Long Term Effects of Bullying - The Victim & the Bully

Bullying is a serious problem faced by our youth today. It does not matter if the bullying takes place in the school, neighborhood or on the internet. It can lead to serious problems for both the victim and the perpetrator.

There are short and long term effects of bullying that should be noted for both the victim and the bully.

It is important to realize that once it is determined a bullying situation exists, immediate help needs to be given both the victim and the bully.

Short Term Effects for the Victim:

*Extreme depression - always seems sad and withdrawn
*Loss of self-esteem or self-worth may occur
*Trouble sleeping - bad dreams - nightmares
*Bed wetting might occur, especially in younger victims
*Physical Symptoms (upset stomach, headache, etc...)
*Anxiety about going to school or riding the bus
*Truancy could result as a result of being bullied
*Anxiety about attending social events with peers
*Drop in grade average

Short Term Effects for the Bully:

*Difficulty in maintaining friendships with others
*Generally does not do well in school
*Tends to be truant and often drops out of school
*Higher risk for alcohol or substance abuse

Long Term Effects for the Victim:

*If given immediate help the victim should have limited long term effects. This is especially true if the victim is given assistance by a child mental health care professional to resolve the issues of being victimized.

*If the bullying continues for any length of time:

**Chronic depression leading to suicidal tendencies
**Long term psychological post-trauma disorders
**Self-destructive behavior
**Alcohol or substance abuse may result

Long Term Effects for the Bully:

*Increased percentage are convicted of a crime by age 24
*Increased dependency on alcohol and illegal drugs
*Increased chance of spousal or child abuse as an adult
*Continued difficulty in maintaining long term relationships

It is also shown through surveys that boys and girls, victims and bullies, all have a much higher occurrence of carrying concealed weapons to school.

Our children have a tendency to keep the acts of bullying to themselves. Less than half who are involved report the instances to an adult or parent.

This, combined with the statistics that show over half of our children are either a victim of bullying or a bully, makes this a major issue when trying to secure the safety of our children.

There are many websites available for adults who are concerned about the issues of bullying. I urge any parent, adult and child care professional to visit one of these resources to learn more about what can be done to address this serious issue.

The short and long term effects of bullying and cyber bullying are too great to ignore. Immediate action needs to be taken.

By John W Sheridan

I have written a detailed report on the subject of Cyber Bullycide Victims

Please protect your children from Cyber-Bullying! Read this report before it is too late!

5 Tips To Coping In The First Weeks With Your Newborn

When having a new baby, you really do not realise how much work it is until they arrive. It can feel overwhelming when you need to catch up on your sleep, rest, do housework, fix food for yourself as well as trying to keep up with the demands of a newborn.

This article gives you tips on how to cope.

Accept the realities - first it is important to accept the position you are in. You may be miserable without your sleep or having to put someone constantly before yourself, but this stage passes quickly - more so than it feels at first. Try to focus on enjoying the time and don't worry about routines. Just go with the flow and things will adjust quickly.

Rely On Others - When there is a new arrival in the family, family should be there to help you out and make sure things are easier. If your family offer to clean for you or cook for you - accept it. It will be a much needed break. If they don't offer, don't be afraid to ask and try to rely on people at this time. Also try to keep in touch with friends so that you have people to talk to if you are feeling a little overwhelmed.

Cut Corners or Accept Mess - Try not to let it stress you that you haven't vacuumed in over a week or the house is a little messy. Let it go, your baby is more important and tidiness isn't. It can be tough but it is OK to have a messy house and you shouldn't like you have to keep up appearances with your home. If it bothers you too much, try and get family to help out.

Get Out Of The House - One of the best things I did when I had my son was to go out on a walk everyday. I put him in a sling and went for a walk. This helped his colic and helped me calm down when I felt like a bad mother or unable to cope. Getting out of the house will make you feel like you have taken a much needed breather.

You Can't Spoil A Baby - Despite what many people might try to tell you, it is impossible to spoil a baby. Responding to your newborn's every need is important and not something to stress over. Go with your own natural instincts and trust yourself. YOU know best.

Being a new parent is stressful but relying on others, accepting mess and trying to focus on what is important will get you through it.

By Marie Crawford

Looking for a sturdy safe baby cot bed or a safe pop up travel cot when visiting friends? Check out our websites for the reviews and the best prices in the UK.

When Moving Away With the Kids Becomes a Divorce Issue

One of the biggest hindrances in a collaborative divorce often comes when one party requests to move away from the residential state. In a move away there is typically a compelling reason for the move, such as a job, a new spouse, or to be closer to family.

Take for example a true scenario of Joe and his family. In Joe's situation, his ex-wife requested she be allowed to move to another state to be closer to her family. Joe was feeling guilty, he was feeling overwhelmed, and he was feeling this might help them all get over the breakup of the family. In hindsight, this was perhaps one of the biggest mistakes that Joe ever made.

Joe was trying to give his children a sense of belonging, and to give his ex-wife the support system I knew she craved. Instead this all worked against him, and became a logistical nightmare. His ex moved from his home state of New Jersey to Massachusetts. Her family was there and this was supposed to be good for everyone involved. At first when Joe had his visitation with his children, he would travel the four or so hours to his ex's new home, and he would stay there with their children. He felt that keeping some sense of routine might work best for the children. His ex would stay with family or friends on those weekends, and eventually she had a boyfriend and would stay with him. This is where things spiraled out of control.

Although Joe admitted the original agreement was less than traditional, it worked for his family. However, once a new significant other was introduced into the picture, there were other factors to consider. This arrangement no longer worked and Joe was left to scramble for other plans. Joe now had to make the long drive up to see his children and then find forced activities to do with them, instead of the family all being comfortable in an environment that felt like home to them. Likewise, during overnight visits, Joe was faced with the question of where to stay, and added costs, etc. As all parties currently going through a divorce know, money is always an issue.

According to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) if one parent takes the children into another state and with intent to set up home resides there for a minimum of six months, then residence is established there. The UCCJEA requires that all further actions be heard in the new state of residence.

The moral of the story is it is impossible to predict what issues will come up later in a divorce. For this reason it is critical parents maintain a level playing ground to work out their indifferences.

Ron Lasorsa is a father that decided to take action after an adversarial divorce. He offers online divorce support for child custody through inspiration, information, and services on his "Divorce Cures" website to reduce the emotional and financial impact divorce has on children. Get a free "Divorce & Custody Resource Handbook," when you sign up for his newsletter at http://www.DivorceCures.com.

Divorce Cures is an online divorce support for child custody resources that provides inspiration, information, and divorce services to reduce the emotional and financial impact divorce has on children.

Divorce Support for Child Custody

Back to School Sleep Tips

During summer months, we have a way of letting bedtimes sneak later and later. It has much to do with the fact that the daylight hours are longer, thus interfering with the release of Melatonin (our 'sleepy hormone'). That, and the fact that we feel the need to get out there and enjoy every bit of the warm weather and sunshine we possibly can. We all find ourselves up later than usual, and this can spell trouble when September rolls around.

As the summer comes to an end you look back fondly at all the trips to the beach, the back yard barbecues, and the after dinner walks to the ice cream store but you also realize that with summer's end comes the need to get your children back on some sort of a sleep schedule.

So what should you do?

• First, don't wait until the night before school starts to try to lay down the new/old law and have everybody in bed by 8:00. The excitement of a new school year, along with a couple of months of late bedtimes will make this a difficult place to start.

• At least two weeks before school starts, you should slowly start moving bedtime back to an appropriate time. If your child has been going to bed somewhere around 8:30-9:00pm for the past couple months, start by bringing bedtime earlier by 15 minutes every 4 nights. This way, by the time school begins, your child's body has adjusted to going to bed at an earlier time.

• I suggest that pre-school and school aged children through to adolescents, should be going to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 pm. If you constantly need to wake your child in the morning, then he/she is going to bed too late. Putting your child to bed at the same time every night will teach their bodies to sleep the needed amount of night time hours, so they can wake feeling naturally refreshed. No need for alarm clocks if you child is going to bed early enough!

• Get the kids involved! This can include toddlers, and all the way up to teens. For the little ones make a chart of the bedtime routine and go over it with them before bedtime. Some good examples of bedtime routine activities include: a bath, getting pyjamas on, a glass of warm milk or a light snack (nothing sugary or caffeinated), stories, happy thoughts about their day and so on. The purpose of the routine is to act as a system of cues for your child's body and brain; it lets them know that the time for sleep is near. It should be in the same order every night and move in a step-by-step fashion. For young children, offering a sticker or a happy face beside each step of the routine (on the chart) can keep it moving in a efficient and positive way.

• Setting a timer can be a fun, and effective way to keep the bedtime routine on track. You can make it a goal to get everyone ready and in bed by the time the timer goes off. That way it's not really YOUR fault that they have to get ready for bed, it's the timer's decision! If they co-operate you can include a small reward at the end, such as a sticker, or a collection of stickers that add up to a bigger reward. A good length for a bedtime routine is about half an hour to 45 minutes.

• As a child reaches puberty the increase and changes in hormones levels, usually turns your once early-to-bed-child into a night owl. It's very natural and normal for teens to feel the need to stay up late and sleep longer into the morning. Unfortunately, this is not the way the adult world works, so they do need to conform and get up early in the morning with the rest of the family.

• You can help your teen by encouraging her to write out a bedtime routine that can help her make the transition into night time easier. For teens, a bath or shower can be a good way to unwind and a glass of warm milk or camomile tea might help with the release of Melatonin. Additionally, some quiet time in their room listening to music or reading can be a good way to relax, followed by sleep. Again, 30 minutes is an appropriate length for a bedtime routine and trying to get to bed at the same time every night will make it easier and more of a habit to wake up at the same time in the morning.

• Watching TV or playing video games right before bed has been linked to an increase in the amount of time it takes children to fall asleep, so those activities should be stopped at least an hour before bedtime.

One last tip: make sure your child's room is dark enough at bedtime. This will help with the transition both at night and in the morning. The early rising sun can provoke all of us to wake too early so purchase some black out blinds or hang a blanket over windows to help keep out the sun.

If you would like some printable bedtime routine charts or other "kid friendly" facts about sleep, check out http://www.sleepforkids.org

Sleep Well!

Dana Obleman
Creator of The Sleep Sense Program
http://www.sleepsense.net

About the Author: Dana Obleman launched her successful private practice as a Sleep Coach in 2003, and since then has helped thousands of parents solve their child's sleep problems. Dana offers individual consultations with parents (in person or via telephone), group seminars, and is the creator of "The Sleep Sense Program", a best-selling "do-it-yourself" guide for tired parents. Dana has made numerous television appearances, has been featured in national and local newspapers, spoken at multiple parenting trade shows and baby conventions, and co-hosted a popular parenting radio program. She was also recently invited to present a lecture on solving infant and toddler sleep problems to a convention of family doctors at one of the country's largest medical schools.

She currently lives on the West Coast with her husband and three young children.