Category: Parenting

When you are looking to raise a happy family, you automatically need a property that can handle the demands of life with children. For many, an ideal home would be one with a big backyard for children to play, in a location where children can walk to school, and one that is near amenities such as a hospital or park.

While the thought of finding such a perfect family home is exciting, it is a challenging endeavor. If you are confronted with this dilemma, here are tips that you can leverage to find a family-friendly property:

1. Security

When house hunting, the safety of your family needs to be at the top of your mind. You are likely to find more affordable homes in neighborhoods that are more volatile.

It is vital to perform thorough research on the area that you wish to settle.

This ensures you provide a safe place for your family to live a happy and healthy life. It’s best to check what safety measures are in place in your prospective area; things to consider are their neighborhood watch programs, nearby police stations, etc.

Lastly, you can also ask your future neighbors for information regarding that area. This will ensure you have a complete picture before taking the plunge in purchasing your dream home.

2. Work with a real estate company or home builder

It is essential to be flexible in looking to buy established real estate. There will always be some compromise. Connecting with a knowledgeable real estate agent can be a great first step, as they can assist you in finding your dream home. While your mind may be fixated on the number of bedrooms or the square footage, a real estate agent knows what issues to check on a property, such as mold, insect infestation, roofing issues, furnace problems, and leaks. This can help save you thousands of dollars.

Alternatively, if you want to ensure you get everything you are after in a dream home. You could consider a new home build. There are a myriad of builders who can assist you in building a new home. A great place to start is researching online, utilizing platforms such as Lotmix’s – house and land platform they can help you find the perfect builder. You may be surprised to find it is more affordable to start from scratch than to buy established!

3. Location near school and amenities

You can change the look and feel of a property, but there is nothing that you can do about its location!

When looking for a home, location is one of the significant considerations that you have to consider, particularly when you have young children.

An ideal location for a family home will take additional research to ensure it is near a quality school where you wish to take your children. If security is not an issue in your new neighborhood yours may even be able to walk to school.  At the very least your won’t have to struggle with a daily long commute.

Another factor to consider is whether or not your home is close enough to vital services, such as medical practices and hospitals. Use search tools like the eXp property search website to find a desireable property near the amenties you desire.

4. The house itself

In case you are not looking to build a new house, that means that you may be in search of an already built property. A house in poor condition can break the deal no matter how great its location. It would help if you got someone to inspect the home to find any critical defects.

Another thing to consider is the size of the lot. If you are buying a house that may need some work, it’s always best to keep the option open to potentially demolishing it in the future. You never know when your desires and needs in a home may change.

Checking what is and what isn’t allowed on a property is essential before making your big purchase—heritage overlays, for example, may prevent you from demolishing the house may be a deal-breaker.

Conclusion

Even after you have found a place and given your offer, you should continue looking for other places as you wait for a seller to accept your offer, as new properties are coming up for sale every day. Balancing work and family also has a lot to do with how far your job will be from your new home.  Often, the farther you live from work the less you will pay for your property.

A Longer commute means less time at home during the week.  As your kids get older, they will be facing the same issues when they find their first job as a teen or they decide to live at home while going to college. This means you may want to being those discussions about college with your kids sooner than later.  Remember to be open to making a few compromises along the way as you decide where to settle down.

It can be hard to watch your child grow up into an independent teenager. As they start to spread their wings, a whole new set of worries can come into play. Maybe they’re driving on their own, spending more time away from home, and even getting their first job. But, as hard as it may be to “let them go,” it can also be an exciting time for you as a parent.

This is the perfect time in your teen’s life for you to guide them into adulthood. That includes helping them with their first job search. Teenagers and after-school/summer jobs have gone hand-in-hand forever. As of July 2020, over 46% of teens in the U.S. had some form of employment.

But, finding a job right away isn’t always easy for anyone, let alone a teenager with no experience. Then, there are other factors to consider. How far away do you want your teen to have to go to work? Is the job safe? Will it affect their schooling or extracurricular activities?

It’s okay to have questions and concerns while still helping your child find their first job. You never know, with your help, they might find something that sparks their interest in a lifelong career.

Starting the Job Search

While having job leads is great, your teenager can also go the traditional route of scouring different places for job listings to find the safe job opportunities. Today, that will probably consist mostly of looking at job boards online. You can certainly help them along the way. But, this should really be something your teenager takes the reins on. They can look for jobs they’re interested in or local places that are hiring and taking applications instantly.

Many businesses are always hiring. So, it might be worth it for your teen to walk in and ask for an application. Going this route will allow you to go with them. As a result, you’ll have an understanding of where the job is located and how safe the neighborhood is.  Preparation for the job interview early on is also important because the call from a potential employer for an interview can come at anytime.

For the average American adult, a job search can take months. Granted, most adults in the workforce are looking for something very specific, while teens usually aren’t. But, they still might have to wait some time before getting an interview. Even then, getting a job isn’t guaranteed. Preparing your teen to roll with rejection is actually an important part of the job searching process. It’s a great lesson in how “failure” can help with growth in nearly every aspect of life.

Helping Them With a Resume

Your teen should have a solid resume put together once they start looking for jobs. Having one at the ready will make it easy to apply for jobs right away, especially when you’re looking online.

You might be wondering what they can put on a resume without any prior job experience. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to spice up a resume and cover letter by focusing on “soft skills” (communication, ability to work with a team, productivity). You can also include any extracurricular activities your teen is in. If they are on a sports team or are a member of a club, it will show potential employers that they have a strong work ethic and the know-how to cooperate with others.

Additionally, you can help them look for jobs that don’t require any experience to get started, including:

• Lifeguard at a local YMCA
• Starbucks barista
• Fast food worker
• Stock clerk
• Movie theater cashier

Most of these jobs provide training on-site, so your teen will learn everything they need to know once they’ve been hired. Even if they only work there a short time, it’s a great way to gain experience and have something more to add to their resume.

Teaching Them to Network

Networking can be an incredibly important factor in landing a job, and there’s no reason it can’t start with a part-time job as a teen. Networking can introduce your teen to positive role models that will help them learn communication skills and connect them with the right people to potentially jumpstart their career. In many cases, it’s more important than just searching for a job online or on bulletin boards. The sooner your teenager learns how to network and connect with the right people, the easier it will be for them to do so in the future when they’re looking for a job as an adult.

You can teach your teen networking skills in a variety of different ways, including:

• Attending career fairs.
• Introducing them to your colleagues.
• Having them shadow someone at a job.
• Creating a recommendation letter.
• Helping them build a LinkedIn profile.

The more you help them build those skills, the easier it will be for them to land a job now and in the future. Helping them to network might also mean giving them some new responsibilities,  like getting a phone. Even if you think your teen is too young, having their own phone will help them connect with potential leads. Plus, if they do land a job, it’s the easiest way for them to stay in touch with their employer when they’re needed.

While it may not always be easy to see your teenager growing up, helping them find their first job can be a great experience for both of you. Jump into the search with them, guide them along the way, and give them the career advice you wish someone would’ve given you at that age.

Experts suggest that it has become a serious challenge to increase children’s attention spans in the age of new media. According to an article published in the National Alliance on Mental Health, exposure to a variety of information sources and devices may have a big impact on children’s ability to stay focused.

Technological overload is real and it can affect your child’s reading skills. After all, reading requires the ability to concentrate. With social media becoming skewed towards more visual content, children should take a moment to develop good reading habits and nurture their critical and creative functions.

It’s also important to ensure kids are equipped with fundamental comprehension skills, whether they are being taught how to read at home or in school.  A child’s ability to understanding in their mind what they see via text will create engagement that will draw them to reading, as opposed to turning to a phone or computer screen.

Here are some of the ways you can encourage your kids to read:

1. Be a role model

Younger children see you as a template for how they should behave or act. Reading a newspaper or a good book helps normalize reading in the household. Seeing you being in the zone when your read encourages your child to follow suit. This should happen at a very early age to instill a model of reading that will continue to engage them as students in elementary school.

2. Keep a collection of materials

Apart from showing your child the importance of reading on a daily basis, you need to let them know that you have ample things to read at home. You can create a mini-library that includes a good mix of fiction and non-fiction works. Apart from children’s books, you can also stock up on encyclopedias, dictionaries, and news magazines so your child has access to a wide array of knowledge that entices them to read.

3. Have story time before bed

There is truth to the idea that bedtime stories can help foster a child’s development. It helps them relax and, more importantly, stimulates their creative fuel. Eventually, your child will pick up the habit and look towards reading as a source of comfort.

4. Write a story for your child to read

Another way you can get your child to read is to write and publish your own children’s book with them as the main character. Nowadays, it’s easy to come up with an ebook that is aimed towards children, so take the time to write stories your child will want to read. Doing so will encourage them to write as well.

5. Allow your child to read online

While new technology could reduce your child’s attention span, you can also use it to encourage healthy reading habits. While most parents try to reduce screen time and rightly so, take time to teach your child how to find useful information online for their homework or school project. Along the way, you can also help them identify bad information and nurture effective online research skills.

6. Stay engaged

As you expose your child to the wonderful world of reading, they may find the activity tedious and boring. If this is the case, you should always be present as they absorb written information. You can also encourage them to read comic books and intriguing mysteries since these genres are meant to keep readers engaged.  Research the best reading apps that captivate their attention and make learning fun.

The more you expose your child to reading, the more they become more discerning of the information they see in social media. With these tips in mind, you can help your child develop their creative and critical skills even as information becomes increasingly instantaneous.

Encouraging Young Readers to Enjoy Their Favorite Hobby Safely

As a parent, has it ever occurred how independent your child is? If your child is well endowed and equipped with essential life skills to face the world? Please give it a thought!  One of the best way parents prepare and get their children ready for adulthood is by mentoring them and being their first teacher to guide them learn the various essential skills they will need.

As a parent, it’s your responsibility to teach your kids some necessary life skills to make them grow into a humble, responsible and respectful person. Developing and teaching life skills is crucial so that children have a brief idea of what they aspire to do in life and essentially keep in mind the kind of person they want to be.

Here’s my list of few life skills every parent should help their children learn:

1. Teach children never to stop reading and learning

Reading opens the mind to a wide range of possibilities, learning new things and vocabulary. It also boosts imagination making children wiser and smarter. Children should not only be restricted to read textbooks as a way of learning. Encourage children to read age-appropriate books, simple recipes to follow and easy to read newspaper articles. This will make them open-minded, receptive to learning from lies and inspired by people they read about.

2. Good communication and public speaking

Good communication and general speaking skills are indispensable for success in various aspects of life. Kids are great learners. With proper guidance from an early age, teaching skills related to public speaking for kids will be beneficial. When this happens, kids have the desire to voice their opinions, thoughts and views openly. It allows them to form connections, motivate change and influence decisions. Public speaking is a great way to teach kids to help improve their life and career. This includes your communication skills when you’re speaking online or in-person.

3. Decision-making skills

Instilling decision-making skills from an early age helps children weigh opinions, evaluate situations and take independent decisions. Start with small tasks and walk them through the various decision-making steps with activities like choosing from games, clothes to wear or food to eat. Once this happens, children will be conscious of the consequences that each decision causes.

4 Teach kids to apologize and forgive

Children should be well aware that everyone makes mistakes, and there is no shame in accepting those mistakes and asking for forgiveness. They should be taught that forgiveness and forgiving others should be a sign of being courageous and humble.

5. Teach kids kindness and to help others

Showing unconditioned kindness and readiness to help others in need develops compassion in children. Be patient, use kind words, even when you are tired & frustrated, teach them not to judge others, encourage them to perform small acts of kindness in school, such as sharing their lunch box, etc. It helps them understand the difference between need and wants in life.

6. Focus and self-control

Children thrive on habits, schedules and routines, which help children learn self-control and focus. Communicate with your child about what to expect each day. Teach your child the necessary organizing skills so that they know where to put shoes, coats, and personal belongings. Indulge them regularly in activities like reading a book, enjoying sensory activities, or completing a puzzle together can help your child roll back and increase focus. As they grow old have conversations about more difficult issues they will face.

7. Taking on challenges

One of the most important traits we can develop in life is taking on challenges, bounce back from failure, and never stop trying. Children learn to take on challenges and be resilient when creating an environment with the right amount of structure. Encourage your child to try different things and allow reasonable risk, such as climbing a tree or riding a bike.

These essential life skills will assist your child in coping with the world. Making sure your child is proud of the critical life skills they learn. This is because parents play a crucial role in providing children to know about how the world works. But with patience, understanding, and a few simple tricks, you will indeed teach your children the way to success without it seeming like an enormous task!

Author Bio:
Samidha Raj works as part of the content marketing team at Planet Spark, a platform that provides online classes to K8 learners on “New Age Skills” like, English Communication, Public Speaking, Grammar, Creative Writing, Debating, etc. She is passionate about empowering the youth by educating parents about the importance of 21st-century skills. In her free time, you can find her watching documentaries or animated movies and organizing game nights (board games are her thing)!