| How to Help Young Siblings Bond Posted: 14 Jun 2017 05:00 PM PDT Having young children may lead to sibling rivalries. The siblings may fight and feel resentment instead of bonding; however, you can help foster a bond between your children. To help young siblings bond, find activities for them to do together, encourage trust between them, avoid comparing them, and help them learn how to solve conflict. EditFinding Ways for Your Children to Bond - Encourage the siblings to play together. Playing together can help your children bond at any age. There are many ways you can get them to play. Try getting them to play a game, like tag, hide and seek, or even cards or a board game. For younger children, let them play with toys that are age appropriate for the youngest child.[1]
- Very young siblings can play age-specific games, like peek-a-boo or patty cake.
- If siblings are reluctant to include one another, try scheduling "sibling time" and "me time" into their playtime.
- If your children have a battery-powered or pedal-powered car, let the younger sibling ride in the passenger side while the older sibling drives them around.
- Simple games can help children bond if they have different interests or abilities that may impede their bonding.
- Encourage siblings to pretend together. Having children explore their imaginations and pretend together may help them bond. Think about what your children like to do and find a way to get all siblings involved. Pretend scenarios can help them explore their creative sides and find fun ways to play.
- For example, they can pretend to be kings and queens in a castle or animals in the jungle.
- Toddlers can also join in the pretend fun. An older sibling might pretend to be the doctor while the younger siblings are the patients. Older siblings may be the cooks and servers in a restaurant and the younger siblings can be the customers.
- Create craft projects together. Another way your children can spend time together and bond is by doing crafts together. You can adjust the crafts for each child based on their level of development, but they can use the same materials and complete the projects together. Craft projects are a great way for siblings to spend time together no matter their age, developmental stage, or ability.
- For example, they can color together out of the same coloring book, or draw pictures together.
- You can let them paint flowerpots in the spring or Christmas ornaments in the winter. If one or two siblings are too young to do it alone, let the older siblings help them.
- Toddlers can also do craft projects with older siblings. Let them work on motor skills by drawing and coloring with crayons.
- Emphasize that your children are a team. Try to challenge your children in ways that require teamwork. Working together toward a common goal can help them bond while avoiding trying to compete for your affection. You can find ways for them to do chores or play together as a team, with a great reward at the end.[2]
- For example, make it a team game where all the siblings put up their toys before a timer goes off. Make sure they all get involved and help each other, and encourage them as they complete the task.
- Try setting up a treasure hunt around the house and yard, using hints and clues your children will have to work together to solve.[3]
- Encourage trust by letting them help each other. Your children can bond by turning to each other to complete tasks instead of you or other adults. This helps older siblings feel important and protective while the younger siblings learn to trust older siblings. Because they are relying on each other, their bond will strengthen.[4]
- For example, if your younger children need help picking out clothes, let the older siblings help. You can say, "Ask your siblings. They're really good at picking out shirts!" If your older children can manage it, you can then let them help the younger ones get dressed.
- Your older children can read stories to their younger siblings, or kiss them and help calm them down if they're having a crying fit.
- Provide structured activities for multiple siblings. It may be more difficult for children who have three or more siblings to bond because there are so many. However, you can help your children bond by providing them with activities they can do together. Choose activities that all children, despite ability or age, can do.[5]
- For example, have everyone bake cookies together, make crafts, build forts, ride bikes, or play at the park. Encourage them to play board or card games that everyone can play, like Go Fish.
- This is important if you have groups of children who are closer. The children who are closer may play together when unsupervised. Supervising activities where your children all spend time together can help strengthen the bonds between those who are not as close.
- Teach kindness through example. Teaching your children the importance of family, love, and kindness will help their bonds. One of the best ways to do this is through example. You and your partner should treat each other and each child with love and kindness. This teaches your young children how families treat each other.[6]
- For example, instead of yelling at your children or partner, talk about things calmly and find alternate ways of conflict resolution.
- Show kindness and thoughtfulness to everyone in your family. Encourage them to do things for each other, like bringing their sibling a sweater or blanket if they said they were cold or remembering their favorite food at the grocery store.
- Let older siblings hold younger siblings. When you have infants or toddlers, try to help the siblings create a bond by letting the older sibling hold the younger one. Teach the older sibling the proper way to hold and interact with their younger sibling.[7]
- By letting the older sibling hold the younger one, the older sibling starts to feel a connection to their new younger sibling, and the younger sibling emotionally attaches to the older sibling.
- Have older siblings help with baby tasks. Another way to have your older child bond with an infant or toddler sibling is by having them help take care of them. You can have the older sibling feed the baby, change the diaper, change their clothes, or help during bath time.[8]
- If the older sibling is too young to do any of this on their own, have them help you as you take care of the baby.
- Make sure to teach the older sibling how to properly take care of the baby so the younger sibling won't get hurt.
EditResolving Conflicts - Teach conflict resolution. Your children will fight, and teaching them how to resolve conflict themselves can help them have a better relationship. Start by setting limits, and then teach alternate ways of responding instead of physical violence.[9]
- For example, if one child hits another, you may say, "I understand you hit your sibling because they took your toy. Do not hit. Hitting hurts. Instead, use your words. Tell them to give your toy back and to ask if they want to play with it."
- Try letting the siblings work out conflict. Though you may want to step in every time they are arguing, you should try to let your children work out conflict on their own. Watch over them to make sure one sibling is not being mean to the others or they are not hurting each other, but try not to interfere.[10]
- Infants and toddlers should be allowed to work things out with their siblings. This helps teach them how to handle conflict in the future and learn how to approach conflict with others.
- Encourage the kids to come up with solutions. You may say, "Though you are arguing, I know you can come with a positive solution that works for all of you."
- When you get involved, try not to pick sides. This can cause resentment. Instead, treat all your children fairly.
- Intervene when necessary. Children can sometimes become violent or upset when they have a conflict with a sibling. They may bite, hit, kick, yell, or scream. When your children do these things, you should intervene. Let all the siblings know that violent and negative behavior will not be tolerated.[11]
- For example, you may step between your toddler and five year old who are hitting each other. You may have to take their hands and say, "You do not hit your sibling."
- Avoid taking sides. When you mediate between your children, make sure not to take sides. This does not emphasize the bond between them, but can instead hurt the bond. Taking on child's side can cause resentment to build between them. Instead, stay neutral.[12]
- When you are mediating, make sure to acknowledge all of your children and their sides or points.
- Allow the children to spend time apart. No siblings should be around each other all the time. Let them spend time with other children or adults, or let them play alone. This helps give them space so they're not getting tired of each other and on each other's nerves.[13]
- Spend time with each child alone. Do something each child would like to do when it's just the two of you. This can help your children not feel jealous of the other siblings.
- Plan group play activities with other children so that your kids can socialize with kids other than their siblings.
EditEncouraging Family Bonding - Schedule family activities. Another way for your children to bond is when your family bonds together. Come up with ways for your family to spend time together. This can be a weekly tradition or something fun you do once each year. This helps your children create shared memories.[14]
- This may be a weekly pizza and movie night, baking cookies on weekends, or going to the park.
- Plan fun outings for your kids where they can do things together. For example, let them go on rides together at an amusement park. Look for a children's museum in your area, or a children's climbing gym or obstacle course.
- Try to choose something that may involve a challenge, like camping or hiking, in which your children must work together.
- You can do this even if you have an infant or toddler. Take all the kids to the pool or beach and encourage your older child to play with water toys while the infant floats safely near them.
- Play kids versus parents games. Instead of letting your children compete against each other, let them compete against you and your partner. Having the children team up together to defeat the parents can help them work together and bond.[15]
- For example, you can play hide and seek, a board game, tag, or even a water fight.
- Avoid comparing your children. One of the fastest ways to foster resentment is by comparing your children. Remember that your children are different people who do things differently and have different likes. Try not to take sides and don't pick a favorite.[16]
- Try not to say things like, "Your brother never…" or "Your sister always…" You should also avoid saying, "Why can't you be more like your sibling?"
EditSetting Boundaries - Keep age-appropriate boundaries. Though spending time together is important for siblings, the age difference means there are some things the older siblings can do that the younger ones can't. Avoid letting your younger children do everything the older ones do if it is not age-appropriate.[17]
- For example, don't let younger siblings play with dangerous toys or ride on bikes that are too large for them. They should also not be allowed to stay up late with their siblings, or allowed to watch everything their older sibling might be able to.
- Remember, too, that your older child is still a child, not a babysitter or caretaker. If they are constantly forced to play with or watch their younger siblings, they may develop resentment. Make sure you are giving your older child time to be a kid and play with children their own age.
- Allow the children to have their own possessions. While sharing is important, you may want to let the children have certain toys or items that are only for them. This means they are off-limits to their siblings. This can help them have independence and feel like they have their own space and things. Making sure all siblings respect this can help reduce resentment.[18]
- For example, your children may have a favorite stuffed animal, doll, car, action figure, blanket, or pillow that they do not want to share. That is okay. Make sure the siblings know which items are off limits.
- You may want to give each child a box with their name on it where they can put their special toys.
- Teach appropriate behavior. Rivalry often occurs in siblings when a younger child's inappropriate behavior is overlooked. This can cause bad feelings, especially if the older children get in trouble. To avoid this, teach all your children appropriate behavior. Help your younger children know when they are inappropriate and show them the proper behavior.[19]
- For example, you can help the younger child not grab their sibling's toys. When you see them snatch a doll or block, mildly correct your child.
- You may say, "We must take turns with toys. Your sibling is playing with that doll right now, and you can't grab it when they play with it. Instead, if you're patient, polite, and wait your turn, you can play with it when they're done."
EditSources and Citations
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
|
| How to Use Carbs to Burn More Fat Posted: 14 Jun 2017 09:00 AM PDT With all the low-carb and no-carb diets out there, it's easy to believe that carbs are the enemy if you want to lose weight. However, healthy carbs provide your body with energy to exercise and help keep your metabolism up. Carb-cycling may even help to train your body to burn fat for fuel, rather than carbs and muscle. By cycling higher-carb and low-carb days, you may be able to burn more fat. However, keep in mind that it can take a few days to start burning fat from reducing your carb intake.[1] First, you need to find your metabolic rate so you can figure out the amount of carbs you need to ingest on both your high and low days.[2] EditFinding Your Metabolic Rate - Determine your body mass index (BMI). Your BMI estimates the percentage of body fat you have from the ratio of your weight to your height. Multiple your body height in inches by itself, divide your weight in pounds by that amount; then multiply that number by 703 to get your BMI.[3]
-
- For example, consider a 30-year-old woman who is 5'6 (66 inches) tall and weighs 170 pounds, you could find her BMI using the following calculation: (170 / (66 x 66)) x 703. The result of the calculation tells you that her BMI is 27.4.
- A BMI over 30 is considered obese. Normal for middle-aged women is between 18.5 and 24.9, so the woman in the example is overweight.
- Calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR). The amount of calories your body burns each day simply by existing and carrying out basic bodily functions is your BMR. Even if you're dieting, you must consume at least this many calories or your body won't function normally.[4]
- You can calculate your own BMR using the Harris-Benedict equation. There are slightly different equations for males and females. Use pounds for weight, inches for height, and years for age.
- If you are a biological female, use the equation .
- If you are a biological male, use the equation .
- If you don't feel like doing that much math, you can find calculators online that will do the work for you if you input your information.
- This estimate will get close to your true BMR, but it is only an estimate. To get your true BMR, you would need to be tested and evaluated by a medical professional.
- Figure out your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Your TDEE includes your BMR plus all the other calories you burn as you go through your day. You can find calculators online that will estimate your TDEE for you.[5]
- Keep in mind it's going to be difficult to come up with a really reliable estimate of your TDEE, but you can get close enough if you're honest about your activity level during the day.
- Online calculators typically ask for a general characterization of how active you are, such as sedentary, moderately active, or intensely active, and the percentage of hours in the day you engage in that activity.
- For example, maybe you have a sedentary desk job five days a week (eight hours sedentary activity each day). On work days, you go for walks in the morning and evening (one hour a day of moderate activity). However, on weekends, you have several hours of intense activity.
- It can be helpful to plug in different numbers to get a range, rather than just finding one TDEE.
- Keep a nutritional diary. A nutritional diary will help you figure out how many calories you consume on a daily basis. You need to understand this so you can figure out how many calories you need to consume to lose weight.[6]
- It's important to be honest. You might be tempted not to include a piece of candy or another unhealthy snack, but keep in mind that your nutritional diary won't be helpful to you if it isn't accurate.
- Check nutritional labels on packaged foods so you can find the number of calories in the food you've eaten. Be sure to accurately measure portions.
- You can search online to find the caloric content for fresh fruits, vegetables, and other foods you eat that aren't pre-packaged or don't come with nutritional labels.
- Compare your TDEE to the calories you consume. If you want to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than your TDEE. If you consume more calories than your TDEE, generally speaking, you'll end up gaining weight.[7]
- When you're making this comparison, keep your BMR in mind. You have to consume at least that many calories, or your body will lower your metabolism so it can continue to function.
- A carb-cycling diet gives your body more energy through carbs on days when you burn more calories, so you have fuel for those activities. On low-carb days, your body will burn fat for fuel instead of carbs.[8]
- Calculate your target caloric intake level. To plan your carb-cycling diet, you'll need to set a target number of calories to consume each week, then figure out the amounts of carbohydrates to consume both on high-carb and on low-carb days.[9]
- If you must consume 15,400 calories a week to maintain your current body weight, you need to eat 11,900 calories per week to lose one pound of fat.
- Make your calculations weekly so that you can distribute calories on a daily basis. On your high-carb days, you may need to consume slightly more calories than on your low-carb days.
- Keep in mind that you'll have to adjust these numbers periodically as you start to lose weight and your metabolism changes, or if your activity level changes.
EditBuilding Your Carb-Cycling Diet - Start with your highest carb day. On your higher-carb days, you should eat at least of carbs for each pound of body weight. Once you know what the highest amount of carbs you will eat will be, you can create a cycle around that day.[10]
- For example, if you have calculated you need to consume of carbs on your highest carb day, than on your lowest carb day you would consume 50 grams of carbs.
- You'll need at least one more high carb day, although it doesn't have to be as high as your highest day. It could be, for example, 150 grams instead of 200 grams.
- Your high-carb days should fall on days when you engage in the most intense exercise. For example, if you are mostly sedentary during the week but heavily active on weekends, put your two high-carb days on the weekends when you're most active.
- Work in three low-carb days. All three of your low-carb days don't have to include consumption of the same amount of carbs. Part of cycling means adjusting the amount of carbs you consume each day, but your lowest carb day should be about a quarter of the amount of carbs you consume on your highest carb days.[11]
- Again, calculate the lowest carb day first, and then build your cycle around it. If you are consuming 50 grams of carbs on your lowest day, on the other two days you might consume 100 grams and then 125 grams.
- Try to plan your low-carb days for days when you're not as active, keeping in mind that as the cycle rolls around you're going to have to make adjustments here and there. If you want to make a full seven-day cycle, the extra two days should be lower carb days, but closer to the mid-range than to your lowest day.
- Cycle dietary fat as well. You should significantly decrease your fat intake on your high-carb days to make room for the carbohydrate consumption without having to increase your caloric content.[12]
- You will be consuming more calories on high-carb days than on low-carb days, but you don't want to increase them too much. Keep your weekly caloric target in mind.
- It's okay to eat more dietary fat on low-carb days, just make sure you're eating clean, healthy fats from whole foods.
- Avoid carbs at night. When you consume carbs is just as important as the amount and types of carbs you consume if you want to use carbs to burn more fat. The worst time to consume carbs is in the evening, when they are most likely to be turned into fat.[13]
- If you need a snack at night, eat something high in protein and low in fat, such as a handful of almonds. Avoid sugar and junk food at all costs when you're on a diet.
- Carbs, on the other hand, ideally should be consumed early in the day, such as at breakfast or lunch. Or you could have a carb snack 20 to 30 minutes before you exercise or engage in physical activity.
- Adjust your diet as needed. Keep your food diary while you're dieting just as you did before you started carb cycling. Use your diary to make notes about your body's reaction to certain types of carb sources and how your body reacts to carb cycling generally.[14]
- For example, you may want to note how your body feels differently on high-carb days than on low-carb days.
- Monitor your weight so that you can adjust the figures and recalculate the amount of carbs you need as you start to lose weight. Under no circumstances do you want to be eating more than of carbs per pound of body weight, or you will plateau or start to gain weight again.
EditChoosing the Right Carb Sources - Try to avoid fructose. When you're carb-cycling, try to stick to non-fructose sources of carbs. In other words, try to avoid fruit and fruit sugars. Fructose is more likely to be stored as fat, leading to weight gain or a plateau, regardless of how few calories you're consuming.[15]
- If you're consuming any simple sugars – most typically in powdered form in a protein shake – do it either immediately before or immediately after you work out, so it will be absorbed by your body and used as fuel rather than stored as fat.
- Eat complex carbohydrates. When you think of simple carbohydrates, think of sugars. Sugar is digested quickly by your body for a short burst of energy, but will not sustain you over the long-term. Complex carbs provide you the energy you need and are less likely to be stored as fat.[16]
- Good sources of complex carbohydrates include brown rice, oatmeal, grits, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, or yams.
- Check online for carbohydrate content of these foods, as well as proper portion sizes. One good source for this is choosemyplate.gov, a website run by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- Get your carbohydrates from clean, whole food sources. Clean sources of carbohydrates are those foods that are low in fat and combine complex carbs with protein. The closer you get to the whole food, the healthier your meals will be.[17]
- Examples of clean, whole food sources include potatoes, yams, brown rice, and oatmeal. When buying these foods, try to buy fresh rather than processed or packaged.
- Stick to the outer perimeter of the grocery store when shopping for your foods, and buy whole grains in bulk.
- Avoid bread when dieting. Bread is one of the worst carb sources you can consume while dieting. Avoiding bread of any kind (including oat or gluten-free bread) will enable you to burn more fat.[18]
- Your body is motivated to store the calories you get from bread as fat. For this reason, eating bread won't help fulfill your weight loss goals.
- Instead of bread, try baked potatoes, brown rice, or oatmeal, which are all good sources of clean carbs.
- If you want carb-cycling to work, forget about the concept of a "cheat day." If you want an occasional bowl of sugary cereal or a bagel, work it into one of your high-carb days.[19]
- Talk to your doctor before you start this or any diet or weight loss regimen. They can advise you on whether the diet will work to achieve your goals, and help you understand any challenges you may have.
- You may experience some water-weight gain, especially when you first start a carb-cycling regimen. If this is going to be a problem for you psychologically, you may not want to try this diet.[20]
EditSources and Citations
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
|
| How to Make Money During a Semester Abroad Posted: 14 Jun 2017 01:00 AM PDT Studying abroad can be a wonderful experience that expands your horizons and gives your new and exciting perspectives on the world. However, studying abroad can really stretch the budget, especially for a student that has a limited about of money. In order to afford a study abroad program, you may need to find new and creative ways of making money while there. This could include getting a paid position, getting an online job, or finding other ways to raise funds. If you are planning on studying abroad but really need to make some money while you are gone, there are ways to do it. EditFinding Paid Opportunities - Apply for a paid internship. While most internships are not paid, there are some that will give you a stipend to help pay your bills or offset the cost of traveling abroad. There are even internships that provide housing, which can be a huge help financially. These positions are usually highly sought after but are applied for just as unpaid internships are, so if you are highly qualified a paid internship may be right for you.[1]
- If you are interested in getting a paid internship you will need to find some to apply for. You can do an internet search for internships that are available to you but you may also be able to consult with your school's study abroad program to see if they know of any that are available.
- A paid internship may require a work visa, but these programs usually make that arrangement.
- Sign up for a work-abroad program. If you do not have the financial ability to pay for a traditional study abroad program, you may be able to find a work abroad program instead. These programs are usually seasonal, so they can be great for making money and getting an experience abroad during summer break.[2]
- Some common jobs that are offered in a work abroad program include being an au pair or teaching English.[3]
- A work-abroad program will require a work visa but programs designed for foreigners usually make those arrangements.
- Apply for a work visa. There are some countries that will allow you to work while studying abroad if you apply for a work visa. Whether or not you are granted a work visa will depend on the country you are going to, the study program you are doing, and the length of time you are staying, which in most cases needs to be at least six months. [4]
- Some countries that do grant work visas include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, and Spain. However, there are a lot of limitations placed on the amount and type of work you can do while a study abroad student.
- Work visas require a fee and an application process. Do some research about how much a work visa costs in the country you are going to and assess whether you meet their requirements. For instance, in the UK you will need to pay a fee of £328 to apply for a Tier 4 student visa. In the application you will need to guarantee that you can write, read, and speak english, that you can afford to stay in the country without a job, and that you are enrolled in approved courses.[5]
- Once you get a work visa, you will still need to apply for and get a job once you are abroad.
EditFinding New Ways to Make Money - Find an online job. While you are abroad it may be a good idea to find some income by doing work online. There are many jobs these days that you can do from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection. With an online job you can both make money while abroad and you can usually create your own schedule, which works well with a student's schedule.[6]
- Some jobs that can be done online exclusively include writing, graphic design, virtual assistant, and creating your own online business.
- In order to find an online job you should do an online search for jobs in your desired field. Try going to websites that are specifically designed to list part-time and flexible jobs.[7]
- Work as a tutor. If you are planning on studying abroad you may be able to work at the school you are going to. This could include working for the actual school as a tutor or working under the table as a tutor for other students who need some assistance.[8]
- In many cases, there will be people in the community that you are moving into that may be interested in getting English tutoring or lessons.
- Consider personal fundraising. When studying abroad, you may need to rely on others to help you financially. This could be in the form of fundraising from family and friends, or going to organizations or individuals in your community that would want to invest in your particular study program or schooling outcome. [9]
- One way to let others know that you need their financial help and what you will use any funds they give you for is to create an online fundraising campaign. With an online fundraising campaign you can make a video that will outline why you are studying abroad and why you think others should support you financially.
- If you are doing a study abroad program with a clear educational or job goal at the end of it, you may be able to find an organization or individual that is willing to invest in your future. For example, your local chamber of commerce or city hall may be willing to invest in your future if you have been an active part of your community.
EditReducing Your Spending - Make a budget. Before you go on a semester abroad you should make a budget for the amount of money you have and how long you will be gone. Making a budget requires that you have a general understanding of costs in the country you are going to and that you know what will, and won't, be covered by the tuition costs you pay upfront.
- When making a budget it is a good idea to leave a little bit of wiggle room by allocating emergency funds, if you can. If you budget down to the last penny, you may end up with unexpected costs that you can't cover.
- Take location into consideration. In many cases, you will be able to live on less than you do at home. This is especially true if you are doing a study abroad program in a smaller city or a country with a low cost of living. If you are coming from a country that has a high standard of living and the money has a high value, then you may be able to live on less when you are abroad.[10]
- However, the opposite can be true as well. If you are used to a low cost of living and you are going to a place with a high cost of living, such as London, then you will need to take that into consideration. Your money will not go as far as it would at home.
- One thing to do while preparing for your trip is to look at the exchange rate for currency between your home and where you are visiting. If your currency is strong compared to the currency you are exchanging for, then it will help you financially while you travel because your money will go further.[11]
- Reduce your costs. Making changes to your individual habits, preferences, and travel choices while you are abroad can dramatically decrease the cost of living abroad. Consider abandoning your normal luxuries while you are abroad and instead try to live frugally.
- For example, this could include avoiding buying new clothes or accessories, eating homemade food more often, or traveling via the cheapest methods.
- If you cut down on your costs, then you can cut down on your need to make money while abroad.
EditSources and Citations
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
|
No comments:
Post a Comment