The Social Skills Every Child Should Learn

 

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As a parent, you undoubtedly want to do everything you can to make your child’s life as easy and fulfilling as possible. If that is the case, along with teaching them to read, write and do their arithmetic, you should also be teaching them social skills.

Social skills allow your children to have better relationships with their peers when they are young, and as they get older, they help your children to get along with teachers, employers, and just about anyone they need to get along with to succeed in life.

With that in mind, here are the most important social skills to teach your kids right now:

Listening

If you have young kids, you’ll know that they are awfully keen on talking, mostly about themselves and what they have done, and less keen on listening to their parents. This is fine when they are little and they are only talking with family members, but as soon as they have to be around their peers, it may not help them to make friends.

When they’re talking be sure to listen to what they have to say, but do not be afraid to point out when it’s someone else’s time to talk!

Sharing

Teaching your kids to share is so important. Not only does it encourage them to play nicely with others, but it also teaches them the importance of being kind. the act of sharing with a friend or family member can also boost a child’s self-esteem, which is really important as they grow up too.

Co-operation

Co-operation is a really important life skill. It teaches kids that they need to get along with the people around them, whether they be classmates at their preschools, family members at home, or people in the wider community. It also sets them up for the world of work where collaboration is often vital.

You can teach your kids to co-operate by playing with games and toys that have scope for multiple participants to get involved, such as Lego. Assign each child a smaller task that is part of a bigger whole and encourager them to talk to each other throughout.

How to respect personal space

This is a big one. No one likes having their personal space invaded, and kids, or adults even, who do it regularly will often be given a wide berth.

How do you teach your kids about personal space? Put boundaries into place. Snake rules about keeping hands to yourself or knocking before entering a room, and enforce them. Some kids will need lots of gentle reminders, but they will get there in the end.

Manners

Teaching your child the prevailing manners of the place you are living in is so important. If you fail to do so, they may come across as being rude when really they just haven’t been taught what they are supposed to do. So, practice at home regularly.

Teach your children these key social skills and you will be helping them to get more smoothly through life whether it’s interviewing for a new job or being popular with their friends. So, what are you waiting for?

Top Tips For Being More Organised In 2022

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There is never any harm with being more organised - it will mean you fare better with anything you do in your daily life, know where things are and aren't late for appointments that you need to be at. Being more organised is a very common new year's resolution for many and if you have decided that this year it’s something you want to do then there’s no better time to start than the present. Here we have put together some top tips for being more organised in 2022.

Sort out your finances

Money can often be one thing that people find difficult to get in order and often find the process of sorting them out stressful. If this is you, then it’s important to take some time to tackle them head on. Try to work out what debts you have (if you have any) and make a resolution that in the future you will try to only pay for things that you can afford and avoid putting anything on finance. If you are purchasing a car for example, check out a dealer such as Edmunds for a bargain where you can buy both new and used cars depending on your budget. You should also try to overpay each month so your debt is paid off quicker. See if there are any areas of your life where you can cut back and pay your debts off.

Have a place for everything

If you find you are constantly losing things and don’t have enough space in your home for items, try to re-sort and have a de-clutter. Get rid of items that don’t add value to your life or are getting in the way. It can be a good idea to invest in a label maker to easily organise your items into drawers and boxes and keep them out of sight when not in use, but still easy to find. Ensure that everyone in your house knows where things are meant to go and that you have a simple system to sort this out. 

Keep to-do lists

To-do lists are a fail-safe method of keeping your life organised and sorted. Try to write things in order of priority, with your most urgent tasks at the top and the ones that aren’t so time-dependent at the bottom. If there are things that will take a long time, try and get those out of the way as soon as possible. It could be tempting to get your easy, quick tasks done first but if you do the opposite it means your day will get easier as it goes on and is a lot easier to manage your time effectively. 

These are just a few top tips to help you to be more organised in 2022. What are some top things you like to do to ensure you are kept as sorted as possible? Let us know in the comments below we would love to hear from you. 

Turning Your Caring Capabilities Into A Possible Career

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‘Transferable skills’ refers to a set of capabilities and interests that can, in large part, help us from job to job, or even life task to life task. We have many of these skills without realizing it. For instance, your ability to listen and respond briefly to questions on the phone could potentially be a golden skill in a customer support environment. Furthermore, if you’ve managed a family, odds are you could manage a small team. 

Organization and timekeeping are also essential skills that factor into many other daily efforts, and we’ve all had to plan those at some point or other. Turning our caring capabilities into a possible career path can be an essential consideration to think of, then, because once we’ve been a caregiver, or have fulfilled that role, then it’s not unwise for us to take that experience and invest it elsewhere.

To start with though, it’s important to think about what kind of career path would be suitable for us. In this post, we’ll discuss how to think about this process and what kind of roles you may wish to go for. Without further ado, let’s begin:

Consider Who You’d Like To Help

Of course, your caring efforts can only really help in a few certain directions at one time. It’s important to consider who and what you’d like to invest your efforts in. For instance, you may find that becoming qualified for older adult fitness certifications can help you help with senior training, and may even serve as a prerequisite for a physiotherapist’s course. Or, perhaps you’d prefer to help children, or veterans. What matters is having a direct focus on your contribution, and that often means deciding what field we’d like to contribute in.

A Sustainable, Enjoyable Career Path

It’s good to enjoy a sustainable and rewarding career path, and to figure out where that can be applied. Perhaps, for example, you’d prefer working in care environments where you help the elderly get the best out of their social life. You could work for a charity that provides access to puppy dogs on weekday afternoons, so they have fun and some time with the animals. It might be that your caring skills has helped you become a perfect skills tutor at a primary school. There are many applications caregiving can fit - make sure to approach this knowing you can do it.

The Maximum Good You Can Achieve

It’s important to think about the maximum amount of good we can do, but remember, caring for one person in a profound sense is just as good as caring for many in a suitable manner. For instance, it might be that you’re happy to become the daily caregiver, companion and aid for someone who has become newly disabled, allowing them to unlock their quality of life via your assistance. That in itself can provide maximum good, and help your efforts be as effective as possible, gaining the most worthwhile results in the long run.

With this advice, you’re sure to turn your caring capabilities into a possible career.

Playroom Ideas To Keep Your Children Safe

 Nothing is more important to a parent than for their children to be able to play and learn freely in the comfort of their own home. If you don't want your children to play in every room in the house, you may designate a playroom for them that is absolutely safe and where you can watch them learn and develop into their own individuality. Here's how to make the ultimate playroom for your kids.

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Remove sharp edges

The first thing you should do is clear the room of any sharp objects that could injure them if they fall. Tables, cupboards, and large chairs fall within this category. This eliminates the possibility of their tripping and injuring themselves accidentally. This will also free up your time so that you can spend it doing other things around the home, because you know your children are in the safest space possible.

However, even once you’ve removed sharp edges, this doesn’t mean your children are immune to accidents. Broken toys, for example, could easily create a cut on your child, and it’s important to learn more about what to do in this situation to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Add details to their play

It's highly probable that your children already have a plethora of toys to choose from, but adding small features to their existing toys will increase the amount of enjoyment they will derive from their toys in terms of stimulating their creativity. Imaginative play will be greatly encouraged by items such as dolls house accessories, which will help your children to imitate what they see their parents doing with their toys. Alternatively, a race track rug might be laid out on the floor for them to use as a driving surface. These are commonly accessible both online and in many toy stores. These small details can help your kids get the most out of their existing toys!

Build storage

Make wall-mounted storage for your children instead of relying on movable shelves that they could trip over and injure themselves with. This way, their toys are safe and secure until they need them again. Because the storage container is mounted to the wall, they won't be able to injure themselves any further through accidentally pulling the unit onto themselves..

Use soft, neutral colors.

If you have children of both sexes, this is terrific advice because it prevents squabbles over the color of the walls while also making the space appear more open and airy. Depending on the ages of your children, you could hang age-appropriate artwork or even paint a wall mural to match the decor of the room.

Play mats can be used as flooring.

Play mats in the form of tiles can be purchased and laid out on the ground. Not only will they provide hours of safe play, but they'll also brighten up any area with a splash of color.

Take these five suggestions into consideration, and you'll find yourself with the perfect playroom for your children!

5 Essential Factors to Consider When Buying a Sofa for Kids Online

 

Buying a kid’s furniture online can be a daunting task as you have to adopt a different set of standards and approaches to choose the best one. However, you might feel surprised that while the style of the product is your top priority, it might not be the only factor that defines an ideal purchase. Especially when shopping for a sofa for kids, factors like convenience, durability, and ease to clean also come into place. 

The article sums up some crucial factors that you should consider before buying an ideal couch so that you do not regret your choices in the future. Read it till the end! 

1. Type of Upholstery 

A crucial requirement when living with kids is getting the best upholstery. Perhaps with kids, you might not feel surprised with crumbs or dirty hand marks on the couch. So, before starting your furniture buying process, make sure to get your hands on reliable and efficient upholstery cleaners. And make sure that the design of the couch is upholstery-friendly and easy to clean. 

In this case, you can go for a leather sofa if you feel concerned about potential stains. Leather couches are ideal for places with cool temperatures – they are comfortable, resilient, and easy to clean. Moreover, they give a classy look to your space and can easily fit various themes in your living space.

However, if leather couches are not your taste, and you prefer fabric sofas, consider adding throws to achieve the best look. Sofa throws can take the brunt of any soil and spills in the long term and add more depth of color and texture to your space. Therefore, it coins in both factors of style and functionality at once. 

Whites, creams, and pinks might be harder to maintain. However, you do not necessarily have to keep your palette muted since you can opt for darker, bolder colors like deep blue or blood red. 

2. Functionality 

Functionality is one such feature that gets thrown under the bus when we look too deep into factors such as design and comfort. 

You must remember that every room calls for a different theme of furniture that matches its vibe and functions. Ask yourself or your kids what sort of couch they wish to have – there may be the need for extra space within the seating for their toys or if they want a minimalistic or an antique finish to their room. 

3. Versatility 

A kid-friendly sofa must be versatile because kids tend to grow and outgrow very quickly. Hence, you cannot expect them to use a piece of furniture that they think is outdated or just not fitting to their type anymore. For this purpose, buying multi-purpose furniture helps. For instance, getting a sofa com bed might make your purchase more interesting to your kids. The additional feature of turning your couch into a bed fascinates them and invokes curiosity. 

4- Safety Features 

Perhaps you all know that safety and kids almost always go hand in hand. Kids often hide behind desks, jump on beds and sneak under beds when playing games like hiding and seek. For this reason, you must make sure that the beds, chairs, tables, and other furniture objects in the room are safe enough for them to play around with. Make sure to be wary of jagged edges, slippery surfaces, and toxic substances when choosing the best sofa for kids. 

5. Size, Shape, and Design 

There is no one way to decide what size, shape, and design of the sofa fit best for your kids and your living area. However, involving your children during the furniture buying process may help you reach your decision faster. Letting your kids have a say in what they want for the house and taking their opinions and preferences into account might help you secure a good relationship with them. Likewise, it will also give them a fulfilling sense of individuality. 

Last Thoughts 

Furniture shopping can seem daunting at first, but starting somewhere might help you eventually get where you want to be. To save time, make sure you have a list of references to stay mindful of things to buy and where you want to buy them from. You can even research over the internet if you find online shopping more convenient. Happy Sofa Shopping! 

If you like the article, don’t forget to share it with your loved ones looking to buy a new sofa for their kids.