Category: Well-Being

Few families have not traveled together. Families gel and become one unit in part because of their ability to travel together. It is one of the foundations of human civilization. As families migrated countless millennia ago, they bonded together as cohesive units that in time, becoming what we are today.

A typical family trip is one of the best ways to create wonderful memories and make your kids fall in love with traveling.  If you want your kids to get bitten with the travel bug, follow these points:

Take Them to Different Places

If you keep going to the same town or lakeside townhouse year after year, it is an axiomatic assumption that your kids are going to get bored after the first few trips. After all, there are only so many places you can go sightseeing, and only so many times you can fish from the same river. Eventually, they are going to end up getting severely bored. When that happens, they will try to avoid your travel plans. And come up with weird excuses.

If your kids start complaining of tummy aches and the like, on the eve of your annual sojourn to your favorite mountain cabin, maybe it is time to rethink your priorities. It would be a great idea to allow them to decide on your next vacation spot. This way, they will be fully involved in the whole process and they will do their level best to find the best places for everyone.

Explain Things Beforehand

Always remember that a confused child is an unhappy child. In addition, if they are first-time travelers, you must explain everything to them beforehand, as clearly and as concisely as possible. If there are excessive stimuli, they might become uncomfortable

Here, it would be a good idea to go over an outline of the entire trip. You should explain what they would see and experience so that they will be able to understand the whole point of the trip. If they are aware of what is going to happen in advance, they will be full of anticipation, rather than apprehension.

Don’t Overpack

Many traveling families tend to pack just about everything including the kitchen sink. They believe that having familiar items around will make their routines more consistent and they will always have what they need, right at hand. Unfortunately, this is not a good idea at all. You will likely be carrying all that extra luggage along with your kids from destination to destination. You don’t want to do that.

On the other hand, it is a far better idea to pack as little as possible. This way, you will be able to travel light and also be comfortable at the same time. Not only will you remain safe from sore arms and an aching back, but you won’t have to take care of everything all the time. You can always buy whatever you need from elsewhere. And your kids will love all the new things you get them.

Take a Road Trip

There are few bonding opportunities as exciting as a road trip. This holds particularly true if you have an international driving permit and can opt for road trips abroad. This is a great way to teach them about the local culture and traditions. Best of all when you have your transport, and you will not be dependent on flight schedules, bus and train timings, and the like.

You can take all kinds of healthy snacks with you and make sure your kids do not go hungry. If the trip were to be a very long one, with little scenery along the road, it would be a wise plan to pack a few games with you, at least until you get to a more scenic part of your route.

Conclusion

If you want your family to bond together, it is a really good idea to take a trip, specifically a road trip. If you handle it right, your kids will just simply love traveling with you, whenever and wherever you want to go!

Discovering Together: Crafting Magical Moments While Traveling with Kids

Keeping your family safe and happy is second nature to any parent. And as spring gets into full swing and our kids are spending more time out and about, it’s important to keep their immune systems boosted so they can have fun without you worrying too much!

No matter what age, here are some helpful tips to keeping kids healthy at home, in school, and outside on the playground:

Make sure they get their nutrients

It goes without saying that one of the best ways to keep your kids healthy is by making sure they’re eating a balanced diet and getting all the nutrients they need.

Vitamins and supplements

A great way to supplement your kids’ diet is by giving them vitamins to give their bodies the nutrients that they can’t always find in foods.

Getting your kids to take their supplements is one of the biggest challenges for parents. But luckily, there are a variety of kids vitamins out there to choose from that come in child-friendly formats, such as gummies and soluble formulas that taste great too!

Another way to boost your kids’ immune system is to give them a daily probiotic to keep their gut healthy and digestion system clear.

Diet

Although it can be tough to get your kids to eat healthy foods, when they eat a balanced and varied diet, their immune systems are at their strongest. We get nutrients from all kinds of foods, and a good diet consists of a balance between:

• Proteins
• Carbohydrates
• Fibre
• Fats
• Minerals and vitamins

Whilst all foods fall into these categories, we know that not all foods are healthy. We should try to avoid giving our children foods high in saturated fats, sugar and salt, and foods that are processed.

Groups that are particularly good for our children are nuts (providing they don’t have allergies), starchy foods such as potatoes, rice and pasta, lean meats and vegetables.

When it comes to vegetables, they aren’t wrong when they say “Eat the rainbow” because different colored vegetables and fruits contain different nutrients and vitamins that are crucial to the immune system’s natural function.

But how do we get them to eat them?

Knowing what’s good for them is one thing, but convincing children to eat anything that hasn’t been deep fried is a challenge in itself. But, there are a lot of ways to jazz up healthy foods that kids don’t typically like such as vegetables by flavoring them with seasoning, blending them into a healthy smoothie at home and even hiding them in dishes with a sauce or breadcrumb!

Remember, everything in moderation

While we all want our kids to eat healthy for both physical and intellectual development, we have to understand that they will want to eat other not-so-good foods from time to time. The trick is how we frame those foods. If you ban your children from eating junk food, it’ll only make them want it more, so take the excitement out of it by allowing them to have some from time to time.  Also, introduce them healthy foods from other cultures to keep their meals interesting.

Encourage them to stay active

Leading an active lifestyle is important for everyone, and developing this habit starts in childhood. We all know about the numerous benefits of exercise for our mental and physical health, and it’s no different for children.

In fact, kids tend to have a lot of energy, so getting them to be active shouldn’t be too hard. The key is finding an activity that they enjoy. Each child has different interests and skills, so try to expose your child to an array of activities so that when they find something they like, keeping them active won’t be a chore for either of you.

You can encourage your children to stay active in a few different ways. One is incorporating exercise into everyday life, such as walking to school or playing a team sport as a family on the weekend. Then there are classes, clubs and groups that your kids can participate in regularly. Here are a few examples:

• Dance
• Team sports such as football, baseball or soccer
• Track
• Gymnastics
• Skating
• Trampolining
• Martial arts such as karate or taekwondo

Get them into a good sleeping schedule

Sleep is one of the most important parts of our routines, as our bodies and brains get a chance to regenerate and rest, and this is even more important for children. As they are growing so fast, they need more time to rest – on average a child needs 9 – 11 hours of sleep per night whilst adults only need 6 – 8.

So keeping your kids healthy means making sure they sleep well. And we all sleep better when we have a regular routine. Get your kids to bed in the evening and up in the morning at similar times to get their bodies into a good routine. And the better sleep they have, the more healthy they are.

Keep their hygiene routines in check

There’s no secret that personal hygiene can make all the difference in protecting ourselves and those around us from infection and disease. And children are no exception. As they are more in contact with the public from going to school, it’s even more crucial to teach them healthy hygiene routines to keep them and your family safe from illness. This includes regular hand washing routines, especially whilst at school, before eating and after going to the bathroom. Teaching them to wash their hands properly can slow down the spread of germs and hopefully keep them and you safe this spring.

Overall, there are many ways that we as parents can keep our children healthy, including healthy oral care. By arming them with the right tools to fight off bacteria and germs that they are inevitably going to come into contact with, whether that’s at school or in the playground, we can increase their protection against illness.

Hopefully these tips will help you keep them in the best routines for their health.

Additional Health Resources:

Recognizing the signs of health concerns.
Are your kids mandated to have health insurance?

Why is music important? Music is amongst the few universal and eternal pleasures of life. Playing a musical instrument or singing is a delightful, meditative, and rejuvenating experience. Apart from the sheer joy of it, there is a great importance of music training in other aspects of life.

Here are the top 13 significant benefits of learning music, no matter your age or level of musical  proficiency.z

1. Improves Intellect & Memory Power

You need to recognize different lyrics, tones, and sounds. Thus, in the process of learning music, you enhance your reasoning skills, phonetics, and knowledge of the language. Learning all this new information and remembering them naturally sharpens your memory and intellect.

2. Enhances Problem-solving & Mathematics

There is an intelligence called spatial intelligence, which is responsible for the recognition and arrangement of stuff. During music training, you need to arrange various elements together. The tune, lyrics, and musical notes all need to align with each other. You can choose to learn music to sharpen your math skills.

3. Makes You Result-oriented

When you sign up for the music training, you commit yourself to focus, organizing, and memorizing the technicalities to perfection. The cluster of these qualities and some other qualities are known as executive functions. It becomes your second nature by the end of your training.

4. Increases Confidence & Self-worth

Both learning and performing music are meditative and enlightening experiences. You get the opportunity to express yourself in front of other people. It increases your confidence. Being proficient in music gives you a feeling of self-worth. You value yourself more as a learned musician who is different from the crowd.

5. Boosts Emotional Intelligence

Performing arts like music gives an opportunity to see life from other people’s points of view. When you learn music, you become more empathetic, understanding, and sensitive towards others.

6. Develops Creativity & Imagination Power

Every art form compels you to create with your imagination. The same is the case with music. You develop your ability to think beyond the realities in front of you. Your problem-solving techniques become more innovative and experimental.

7. The Ability to Write Songs

Journaling, writing in a diary, or writing poetry is a away many people work out their thoughts and express themselves.  Learning music with the added ability to play an instrument opens up a world of expression through song writing.  It may become a lifelong passion or even lead to career as a performer.

8. Teaches the Value of Discipline

Increased discipline & persistence is one of the major benefits of music learning, especially for kids. They become more aware of the importance of attending lessons and practicing. It takes time to master the art of music. When you patiently wait to grasp the correct note and tune, it leads to increase in your persistence.

9. Helps in Achieving Academic Success

Contrary to the popular belief that learning music will distract students from their academics, various studies proved that it improves their test marks. We have already alluded to the close correlation between music and mathematics.   It also has many other benefits for students that help them improve in school and colleges. It will encourage more parents to let their kids pursue music.

10. Trains You in Team Work

Musicians and singers need to sync in to create a performance. When you are training for music, you develop the skills of coordination, communication, and comprehension. It is perfect for kids if they get this kind of exposure from an early age.

11. Enhances Social Skills

The importance of learning music is not limited to the art form only. It teaches you social skills. In a music class, you need to interact with other students. Especially kids play and learn in the same group. Their improved social skills enable them to thrive in social situations instead of getting social anxiety.

12. Expands Your Knowledge about Different Cultures

Music crosses the boundaries of cities, countries, continents, and cultures. A kid or adult interested in music becomes aware of different cultural norms around the globe. They get to know everything, from the Bagpipes of Scotland to the Tabla of India.

13. Sharpens Listening Skills

One of the underrated benefits of music training is it improves your auditory attention. You can differentiate amongst various sounds. And can choose to concentrate on whatever sound is essential for you to listen to.

14. Provides Stress Relief

Many studies proved the relaxing and soothing effect of music. Learning music can give you a nice getaway from other stressful parts of your daily life. It can be your daily vacation for a few hours away from your studies or professional engagements.

Author Bio
Reema Krishnan is a content creator at Acharyanet platform for Carnatic music learners where they can learn music from gurus through 400+ video lessons. Being a music enthusiast and a history buff herself, she is able to provide value for her readers and her content is well-received by musicians, music lovers, and music learners of all ages and at all stages. She loves to volunteer with music therapy groups and bakes up a storm in her free time.

Screen time may be an easy way to keep your child occupied, but too much of it can be detrimental to their physical and mental well being. To effectively limit your child’s screen time, you don’t have to go cold turkey. Instead, find fun activities to keep them busy. It’s all about setting good habits for life, balancing fun between online and offline play.

Statistics show that young kids and teenagers spend an average of 3 hours and 23 minutes a day on their phones. These numbers are worrying, and something needs to be done. Here are a few suggestions to try out.

Create technology-free zones in your home

Select a few rooms in your house where electronics such as mobile phones, laptops, and handheld video games aren’t allowed. This can be the dining area, the kitchen, and bedrooms.

Reserve these rooms for family conversations and resting. Make it part of their and ensure regular routine that you also participate in this to set a good example for your children.

Get them outside

Kids aren’t going out as much as they used to, but a few minutes outside the house will do them a lot of good. Physical exercise increases cognitive function and promotes better sleep, so allow them to run around, ride their bikes, take walks, etc.

A simple drive around the neighborhood is also a great way to get them out of the house for some fresh air.

Play with them

Kids don’t like to feel neglected. Therefore, if you limit their screen time, ensure that you find other ways to keep them occupied. Buy age-appropriate puzzles and board games, and let them play amongst themselves. Toys such as building blocks and dress-up props are also great for young kids. This will keep them busy and entertained for hours on end.

Get crafty

Set up a creation station in your house and let your kids spend an afternoon painting or creating something. Since we can’t see friends and family members right now, challenge them to create cards to send to their friends. After they are done, set up a family gallery and display their pieces.

You can even frame their work and hang it in their rooms. For the older kids, take up a bigger project such as painting, woodworking and redecorating their rooms and do it together.

Motivate them to help around the house

Chores aren’t fun, but they can be depending on how you position them. Children are naturally curious, so take advantage of their “me too” attitude and allow them to help you around the house. When cooking or cleaning, let them participate in the hustle and bustle. Teenagers are not that easy to convince, so create a reward system to encourage them.

Buy them books

Reading can be fun for kids too. Get them age-appropriate storybooks and novels and dedicate a few hours a day where everyone sits down to read.

You can also try storytelling with the younger kids. Stories of adventure and fantasy help boost creativity and imagination in children.

With 53% of UK parents concerned about excessive screen time, you’re not alone. These are only a few suggestions, and there are many more out there you can try, but hopefully this will give you a good place to start.