Karissa Tunis

Four Reasons Your Marriage Is An Essential Parenting Tool

Having kids is one of the greatest experiences in life. Still, it doesn’t make the process any easier. No matter how old they are, you’ll always worry about where they are, what they’re doing, and whether they’ll be happy. It’s an occupational hazard of being a parent, and it makes the journey tougher because you’re invested.

However, the good news is that there is another person in your life who feels the same – your spouse. As a married couple, you’re a team who can work together to ensure that your children receive the best possible start to life. Of course, you must be on the same page as kids are good at dividing Moms and Dads down the middle. It’s vital that you don’t let them because parents are stronger together. It may not feel like it all of the time, but it’s true, and these are the reasons why. Continue reading below to learn why your marriage is an essential parenting tool.

You Reinforce The Right Values

Every parent has a goal, and the goal is to teach their kids the values they’ll need to succeed in life. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as highlighting why listening to others and being empathetic are good personality traits. Because kids will be kids, they won’t focus if the message doesn’t fit their narrative.

Sneakily, they’ll move from one parent to the other to find chinks in your team’s armor. However, if you stay strong and deliver a consistent message, your children will realize that you mean business. Slowly but surely, the moral will begin to sink in and they’ll take both of you seriously. When one parent is the good guy and the other is the bad guy, it teaches them that the wisdom either of you tries to impart is worthless. After all, they can go to their Mom or Dad and get them to reverse the decision, which is counterproductive. Teamwork starts with a healthy marriage where both parties recognize the need to have the other person’s back.

Kids Pick Up On Tension

Children are super-perceptive. Even though you think you can hide things from them, they’ll spot it from a mile away. What makes this scary is that they won’t address the elephant in the room. Instead, they could decide to lash out, meaning that the tension in your marriage will impact your kids’ behavior.

Typically, their actions may only be anti-social, for example, talking back at school and running around the neighborhood getting up to no good. However, ask a juvenile criminal defense attorney and they’ll tell you that the small issues escalate very quickly. Therefore, it’s essential to get along as it eliminates toxicity in the house and reinforces your team values. It’s not realistic to avoid shouting or yelling. That’s natural. What you want to swerve is holding onto your feelings and letting them fester.

You Won’t Lash Out

A direct knock-on effect of the tension in your marriage is a deterioration in your mood. If you’re mad at your spouse, it’ll manifest itself in different areas of your life, from the office to parenting. As such, it’s easy to lash out at your children even though they don’t deserve it because you’re stressed.

Apart from the fact that yelling at your kids is the worst feeling in the world, it also sends a bad message. Children, even young ones, will take your tongue lashing as a sign that they can do the same. For teens who don’t need much encouragement, this can make it harder to sustain a pleasant relationship. Laughing, joking, and being firm but fair all starts with your marriage. When that’s in a healthy place, your mindset will be positive to the point where you’ll enjoy the challenges of being a parent.

A Marriage Is A Learning Curve

You have to work at your marriage. It doesn’t matter who you are and how much you love each other because there are many stages of your commitment. At different points, you have to calibrate and learn from your previous mistakes. Like pretty much everything in life, these errors are transferable, particularly if you’re a parent. For example, you may find that giving your kids space to breathe is as effective with them as it is with your spouse. It makes sense, considering that your partner’s DNA runs through their veins!

In short, working on your marriage offers a vat of invaluable experience that you can use as a parent. Not everything is applicable, but it’s incredible how many lessons have similar foundations. How is your marriage essential to your parenting style?

For more on this topic, check out the full Be My Valentine collection

Dealing with Cancer and Difficult Emotions

Dealing with cancer is an experience that can affect many areas of our lives. It affects not only our body, but also our mind and soul. The emotional impact of all of these changes is incredibly difficult for families.

When treatment is over, these feelings and their effects may continue to exist, or new ones may appear. There are no specific feelings about defeating cancer. Each survivor is as unique as their experience. You are more likely to experience a combination of emotions, some of which may be positive. For example, you may feel satisfied that you came closer to certain people in your family or social circle, or you may feel confident that you have discovered what strengths you have as a person. On the other hand, some of these emotions can make you feel uncomfortable, confused, and simply overwhelmed.

For more on this topic, check out the full Tough Times collection

If you feel this way throughout your journey, you are not alone! Changes in emotions and mood in general during treatment are very common. During the diagnosis you may have felt fear, sadness, and anxiety. Then you may begin to feel more optimistic when deciding which treatment to take.

[ Read: How to talk to your children about tragedy ]

Can cancer treatments make me feel emotional?

Some cancer treatments can really affect the mind. You may have experienced multiple changes in your mood during treatment. Many people have described this period as a roller-coaster of emotions. And even after treatment, many people are surprised at themselves, especially when they discover that they have constant changes in their emotions and mood. Completing treatment can be intense and exhausting, but there are some some treatments that don’t have as many side effects, such as proton treatment which has numerous benefits.

Common Emotions when Dealing with Cancer treatments

Fear of recurrence

Will cancer recur? The fear of cancer coming back is one of the most common emotions. You may be particularly concerned if you still have symptoms from the cancer itself or its treatment.

Body image

If cancer has caused physical changes, you may be concerned about your image and what others are thinking of your appearance. You may feel different about your body now and this will affect the image you have of yourself.

[ Read: Navigating Family Life after a Serious Injury ]

Sadness

Sadness is to be expected since you are constantly dealing with unexpected changes and stressful situations. Grief may be the least expected feeling after the end of your treatment. As you have been committed to the practicalities of your treatment, you may never have thought deeply about the changes that cancer has brought to your life and how you will adapt to them. You may have experienced cancer losses that take time to accept. But it is a normal reaction to your attempt to adapt to the changes that have taken place.

Depression

Depression is different from sadness. And depression can be caused by unexpected, stressful events or loss, or by a chemical change that the brain has undergone. Depression is much more intense than sadness and lasts longer. Some of the symptoms of depression are: Permanent changes in your eating habits, lack of interest in activities you enjoyed, insomnia, feelings of exhaustion, resentment, pessimism, inability to feel any kind of joy, inability to concentrate, feeling suicidal. Depression is treatable. If you have any of these symptoms or other symptoms that prevent you from feeling yourself or that generally prevent you from having a good mood, talk to your doctor.

Please remember that you do not have to suffer in silence, you can reach out to Cancer Net USA.

For more on this topic, check out the full Tough Times collection

When Should You Start Saving For Retirement?

When your family is still young and you’re in the full swing of life, retirement funds are the last thing on your mind. Living in the moment is important, particularly when your children are still young. Life goes by in a flash, and you don’t want to miss it. This being said, there is never a bad time to plan for the future, and preparing for retirement is an essential course of action. Anyone in retirement will tell you that the time is now to get your funds in order and begin saving for your future. This will help you and your partner or spouse to retire from work and slow down when the time is right.

How Do I Save For Retirement?

The best way to prepare for your retirement is to speak to a financial advisor and work on your pension. Your pension is a plan which is either funded by your employer as part of a sponsorship, or set up privately by you. This entirely depends on whether you work as a self-employed individual, for a company, or a public service such as the police force, who would sponsor your pension as part of your agreed contract; this is called a state pension. If you are employed and aren’t sure whether you have a pension plan, you should contact your employer and set up a meeting to see your options for your retirement plan.

What If I Don’t Have A Pension Plan?

If you are self employed, or temporarily unemployed and aren’t sure what your options are, here is what you could be doing to save for your retirement:

Gold backed IRA. This is a holding of physical assets such as gold bars, which sounds slightly off-the-wall in this day and age, right? Nevertheless, a gold backed IRA shores you up against inflation, which could decrease the value of a regular pension. In these uncertain economic times after the 2008 financial crash and the coronavirus pandemic, holding physical assets such as gold has never been a more favorable option.
Property. Owning property is a great way to save for retirement. If you own one or more properties which are let out to tenants on a rental basis, you are collecting income as a landlord, simply for being the owner of the property. If you invest wisely, your property will increase in value over time. This means that when you decide to sell it down the line, you will have fantastic ROI (return on investment), and be able to support yourself through retirement.
A private pension. If you aren’t sponsored by an employer but work for yourself, for example, you should set up a private pension plan. This is just like a state pension except, unfortunately, you are the one paying directly into it from your monthly earnings. Over time, this pension will earn interest – another reason to get started now.

Over the next thirty or so years, your money will build on itself, creating wealth for you while you focus on what’s important – living your life.

For more on this topic, check out the full Saving Money collection

Exercising For Brain Health: What You Need To Know

There is, a connection between the physical fitness work we do and the results we see in other areas. In short, we have known for some time that if you are physically healthier, you’re likely to be mentally healthier too. So it may not seem terribly surprising when we point out that it is possible to start exercising for brain health. However, when we talk about brain health, we are – in this case – not referring to conditions such as depression or anxiety.

There is another type of brain health that needs to be considered. And it is slowly but surely becoming more of a focus for health experts and lifestyle gurus alike. With ever more awareness being placed on the subject of dementia and similar illnesses, it is increasingly important to know the best ways to keep our brains in working order for longer. With studies into the impact of head trauma having emerged in recent years, we know a bit about the kind of exercise that should be limited. But what do we know about the ways of encouraging greater neurological health?

For more on this topic, check out the full Staying Healthy collection

Link Between Physical Health and Brain Health

By and large, when people talk about brain health and fitness in the modern day, they are referring – directly or tangentially – to dementia. Either as a result of Alzheimers’ Disease or some other cause. Very often, those causes will relate to, or have been aggravated by, lifestyle factors. It’s generally accepted that smoking and drinking are at best unhelpful for those who want to ensure their brain remains at its optimum working level as they age.

Not to put too fine a point on it, greater physical activity is certainly seen as an advantage in staving off mental and cognitive decline. And anyone who wishes to improve or maintain their brain health should take the opportunity to fit in some exercise where possible. A healthier lifestyle will have a beneficial impact that goes well beyond the physical side of things. You’ll notice this even if you don’t exercise any more than usual, but adopt a healthier diet. Treat your body right, and it will treat your brain right in return.

Healthier Brain through Exercise

As the number of studies into long-term brain health increases – there is still no cure for dementia. And finding one is going to require a lot of research. However, one thing becomes clear. Study after study shows that the risk of cognitive decline reduces massively if people fit into four or more of the five following categories:

Those who take regular exercise
People who do not drink alcohol, or who drink moderately
Those who do not smoke
People who eat healthily
Those who have a healthy body weight

In fact, not only do those categories reduce your likelihood of progressive cognitive decline in later life, but fitting into them now can improve your cognitive performance in the short term too. It is speculated, with some justification, that each of these categories ensures that there is a healthier flow of blood to the brain. This allows for more efficient cell regeneration and healthier brain tissue. Given what is known about the way that dementia affects the brain, this would tally up. Because the ill-effects of that condition can be aggravated by proteins that attach to the neural pathways, affecting our memory, motivation and behaviors.

Can you get smarter by working out harder?

Naturally, it’s not an either-or thing; you do not need to choose between improving your cognitive performance today and having long-term brain health. Much better than that, it has a cumulative effect. If you work out today, look into workout supplements, and eat more healthily, it will help you mentally tomorrow, and for every other tomorrow you have between now and your autumn years.

This isn’t some kind of wild brain-hack. We aren’t going to exaggerate the impacts by suggesting that, with a little more time in the gym and a few more servings of vegetables, you’ll suddenly be able to recite the pledge of allegiance in a different language. But with some study, allied to the additional physical exercise, you will certainly find it easier to achieve tasks that require a higher level of mental cognition. The more you do, the better that will get.

What kind of exercise is recommended?

As has been suggested above, the importance of blood flow to cognitive performance is substantial. It makes a lot of sense, then, to note that in a range of studies, aerobic exercise has been shown to have impacts in staving off decline and improving cognitive performance. While stretching and toning are well worth a bit of time, it’s more important to get the blood pumping around your body. People who regularly fit in an aerobic workout, even for as short as one month, have shown improved results on cognitive testing compared with those simply adding muscle tone.

Of course, we wouldn’t recommend just working out for a month. Fit in regular 30-minute workouts – about five times a week is ideal – and the results will be pronounced. It is also worth bearing in mind that the more often you work out, the easier it will be to work out again. The same is true of each of those five factors above, so if it seems tough now, just rip off the Band-Aid and you’ll appreciate how much easier it is on the other side.

What if you can’t work out that often?

Of course, not everybody has the time, the space, the money or the physical freedoms to do 30 minutes of gym-quality working out five times a week. It would be unreasonable to expect that from everyone. And here, the advice is quite simple: any working out is better than none. The more you do, the better – but that’s true if you currently don’t do any aerobic exercise and start to go for a brisk walk on a regular basis, or even increase your activity around household chores such as cleaning and cooking.

The key to ensuring a stronger mind is that you balance physical exercise with mental workouts, so it is beneficial to have some means of giving your brain a challenge while you step up the physical activity. Brain gym apps are not hard to find, and each user will have their own opinions on where the best app can be found. You may prefer to have a more practical workout such as learning a language, or embarking on a course with a qualification at the end of it. One way or another, it is important to challenge your brain with something that gets those wheels turning.

What else can I do to boost brain health?

Along with the tips already given, it is important to remember that a healthy mind thrives best in a healthy body, and if something is beneficial for your physical fitness, it will probably have benefits for your cognitive health too. One clear example of this is when it comes to drinking water. Having a refillable bottle on hand, and sipping regularly from it, is a wise move for physical reasons – as we all already know. However, the signs are that it has direct benefits for cognitive health too.

If you have any doubt about this, then try upping your water intake the next time you’re feeling in any way sluggish. As the hydration continues its way around your system, you will notice the benefits more or less instantly. Drinking as many as eight glasses of water a day will have beneficial impacts for your health both mentally and physically. One caveat to add here is that you might be best advised to stick to bottled and filtered water, as the tap water in some areas is of a low enough quality to be a potential risk to cognitive health and other aspects of wellness.

Exercising for Brain Health

As time passes, we find out more and more about the ways that our brains work. Doing what we can to improve that function means paying attention to new information as it comes to light, so it is important not to rest on one’s laurels. The advice above is the best we have, currently, when it comes to improving and maintaining cognitive health in both the short and long term – but it’s wise to keep reading whenever the subject comes up.

As cognitive health is lost, it becomes harder to get back, so the best advice out there is to look after it while you’ve still got it. So make sure that you are eating right, drinking the ideal amount of water, and keeping up the best habits to get the results you need from your body and mind alike. And perhaps most importantly of all, if you have concerns about your cognitive health, discuss them with a doctor. Early detection of issues is still by some distance the most important factor in their successful treatment.

For more on this topic, check out the full Staying Healthy collection

2020 Lancaster Baby Shower Post Show Wrap Up

Adore Them is proud to be the Marketing Partner for the Lancaster Baby Shower

A Huge Thank You to every sponsor, exhibitor, attendee, and volunteer that helped to make Lancaster’s 5th Baby Shower a huge success!

This year’s virtual event was presented by Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health. While we missed seeing everyone’s smiling face in person, the virtual event allowed attendees to participate no matter their location. And it provided them with the convenience of tuning in from home, or from wherever their schedule allowed. This feature ensured that every guest could take advantage of all the wonderful show features, and didn’t miss a thing!

What Was Included

The Lancaster Baby Shower featured dozens of local and national businesses that showcased their incredible products and services that cater to young and growing families. With a focus on pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond; this event offered something for everyone! Attendees appreciated the variety of learning sessions, the vendor videos, the free raffle items & giveaways, the lunchtime entertainment, the baby & pregnancy trivia, and even the interactive opportunities through comments and photos.

Thank You!

A very special thank you to our show sponsors – without your help and support we would not have been able to offer such an amazing event for our attendees!

Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health – thank you for being our Presenting Sponsor and our Tote Bag Sponsor! Your help and investment made this event a huge hit with attendees.
United Healthcare – thank you for being our Entertainment Sponsor! Your involvement made the lunchtime entertainment possible.
The Shops @ Rockvale – thank you for hosting our drive-thru pick up and helping us to market the event!
Fun 101.3 FM – thank you for being our media sponsor and helping to share the word!
Entertainment Partners – thank you to Stem Starts Now, My Fantasy Party, Author John Stutzman, and Illustrator Heather Fox for supplying fun, family-friendly entertainment throughout our event!

We hope that you will follow us for continued updates and parenting information throughout the coming months as we plan the rest of our 2020 events, and begin planning for 2021.

Ways to Follow Us:

To learn more about this event, check out the full Lancaster Baby Shower collection

Simple Changes for a Bedroom Makeover

July 27, 2020

Simple Changes for a Bedroom Makeover

Since you become a parent you can often find yourself looking forward to that moment when you can relax at night, put your head on the pillow and go into a deep sleep that leaves you rested and ready for the next day. Of course, not all nights will be uneventful, but as a parent you deserve to have a room in your home that enables you to relax and unwind. A chance to feel comfortable, calm and collected.

However, you also want that space to be a reflection of who you are and this can often mean that you want to style up the space and inject some personality. Your bedroom can be everything you imagine it to be, and there are often only a few simple changes and investments that need to be made to make that happen. So without further ado here are some of the simple changes that you can make to help you enhance your bedroom and continue to look forward to relaxing there each night. Helping you to get more out of your bedroom space and feel good about it.

For more on this topic, check out the full Family Home collection

Bedroom Makeover Decorations

It doesn’t cost a fortune to give a room a new lease of life with a quick coat of paint. You can tell a lot by the color you choose. You could go for something bright and out there. Or maybe something more simple or understated. Also, the color of your walls can have a real effect on your sleep as well. Bright purple has been recorded to be the worst color to have. A nice simple yellow and blue can have a much more calming effect on your sleep patterns. It doesn’t take much but a simple bit of decorating can make a big improvement to your space. Fresh, clean walls can give a room a new lease of life. If you do nothing else, this will still give you the benefit of improvement without a huge price tag.

Apart from painting your bedroom walls, consider also adding some decorations. Before doing so, think first about what bedroom style you want to sport. If you want to add a beachy vibe, go nautical. You can stick seashells on your walls or place a bohemian-themed rug near your bed. A farmhouse bedroom design may be your perfect fit if you aim for a homey feel. You can invest in a wooden bedside table and place a stainless steel lamp on top for a little bit of a rustic flair. After choosing your bedroom style, contemplate where you want to source your decorations. It would be best to get all your bedroom decors in one reliable store.

You could take this opportunity to try something new as well. Wallpapered feature walls are a big trend as well as a feature wall in a different color to add a bit of drama. Your bedroom can be just as stylish as any other room in the house. Or if you fancy yourself a bit of an artist why not design or draw something on one of the walls. You could even add pictures and prints and create a montage as a feature if you prefer. The options are endless once you start to think about it and this is your chance to go a little crazy.

Comfy Bedding and Furniture

It’s obvious that your bed is a main focal point in your bedroom. So bed linen is really important to lift the look and feel of a bedroom. You could choose something plain and understated and then use bedroom accessories to add drama and style. A gorgeous bedspread could also make the difference, offering not only gorgeous style but comfort to. There is so much choice out there so it would be worth shopping around. You can utilize the bed linen and bedspread choice to match with your original idea of a theme for your room. For example, if you have a very plain white wall a lovely patterned bed linen would look amazing and super stylish.

You want your bedroom to be comfortable and stylish and soft furnishings could make a big difference. For example, cushions can change the look of a bedroom. From simple blocks of color to pretty floral patterns and the way you style them on the bed itself can also make a big difference . You can never have too many cushions in my opinion.

Upcycle Bedroom Furniture

If you want to make some big improvements to your bedroom space then now would be the time to invest in some new furniture. Replacing things like dressing tables and beds can become quite costly. So it’s worth looking into what you can upcycle. If you are thinking about doing some upcycling, then there are plenty of places to get some inspiration about what to do with worn out furniture. Pinterest and Instagram would be good places to start. You could paint them up in a different color or add some new decoration. You could even find an alternative use for it.

If you happen to be replacing your furniture then having a good look around on the internet or in some shops will give you a better idea of what you would like. Things like Legacy Furniture bedroom sets or even seeking out individual pieces that will help bring the vision to life would be an ideal place to start. If you are planning on replacing your bed, then a new mattress should be on the cards. You could indulge and treat yourself to a new luxury mattress or something bigger . A bedroom at the end of the day needs to be a place of comfort and what better way than having a new comfortable mattress to enjoy. If you don’t already look forward to bedtime, you soon will do.

Declutter Your Bedroom

Not many people can switch their minds off if they are surrounded by mess. When you decide to give your room a new makeover, it would be a great idea to see it as an opportunity to de-clutter. You could get rid of some of those clothes you don’t wear. Or items that have just been stuffed in draws or put to one side. Decluttering can be good for the soul. Once you start your decluttering mission, you won’t be able to stop yourself. You will find you probably head through the whole house getting rid of unwanted things and tidying away.

The one thing people do struggle with is how to start or where to start, so if you do normally avoid decluttering or haven’t done it in a while why not start off small? Five minutes per drawer or area of your bedroom could help you start to sift through things as you go. The more you declutter, the more your bedroom will feel like a tranquil space. You might also want to think about finding new homes for things so that your bedroom can feel tidy and orderly. Which brings us to the next suggestion.

Bedroom Makeover Storage

With the decluttering in mind, it would be advisable to consider getting some new storage to keep things tidy. You have just spent all that time clearing things out and creating space so adding storage solutions to your room will enable you to keep it that way. Just by tidying things away or having places where things belong can make such a huge improvement to your bedroom space.

Storage can help you to stay more organized, and having plenty of storage within storage is a good thing to consider. Your wardrobe can become messy or cluttered again, so why not have baskets to help segregate items. A shoe rack to keep shoes in check and even things like separate areas for different items of clothing. Storage can be an essential not just in your bedroom, but by creating solutions in your home, you will find it will be easier to stay organized and have a bedroom space that will be inviting and relaxing.

Finishing touches

It’s the finishing touches that can make a big difference to your room. We have already touched on the soft furnishings and bed linen and how much of a focal point those can be. But it’s also worth remembering that the little details can make big improvements to your space in their special way. Things like candles and photo frames add a more personal touch to a room. Also wall prints with gorgeous pictures or inspirational messages can also add to a space. The finishing touches can also be the fun part of any decorations makeover in any part of your home, but when it comes to the bedroom, you will want to make sure that it not only reflects who you are as a person, but also helps you to relax.

A room should be able to keep you calm, inspire you as well as help you to feel energized when the moment requires it. So take the time to add the right things into your space that will do that for you. With all the extra storage you will have invested in, it means that your space will be all neat and tidy. The perfect setting to showcase your finishing touches.

Being a parent means sometimes you put yourself right at the bottom of any priority lists. It’s always the living spaces, kitchens or the kids bedrooms that get the most attention. Even the most budget. It can’t be helped. Those are the rooms you spend a lot of time in as a family. But it’s nice to put some focus on your space as well. A happy mum means a happy family. A well-rested mum makes for an even happier family.

For more on this topic, check out the full Family Home collection

Making it Through Tough Times – Overcoming Struggle as a Family

Our lives are made up of many phases. Some are more fun than others, and some seem like they will last forever! Each one brings a new challenge, and many fun moments that go by too quickly. But some of these phases can bring along some very difficult situations. I’ve realized that everyone goes through hard times. But what is different is how we each handle these hurdles. How we overcome the struggle….

Simple Ways To Teach Your Kids About Debt

Taking the time to teach your kids about debt, and money in general, is an important step in parenthood. It is a chance for you to set your children up for success when they get old enough to make their own financial decisions. You want to make sure they have a solid foundation when it comes to money, lending and debt. If you are wanting to have the big talk with your child, but am not sure what to talk about or where to start, here are some simple things to keep in mind when you are giving your kid the rundown on the value of a dollar.

For more on this topic, check out the full Saving Money collection

It’s Never Too Early to Teach Your Kids about Debt

Start talking to your children about money while they are young. There is no such thing as too young when it comes to these things. As soon as your kid is able to understand and use money, they should know the rewards for saving money, avoiding debt, as well as managing money. To set your child up for financial freedom, they have to be educated about money. You could join membership programs like DTSS to gain insight on staying debt-free. Visit dtss.us or any other educational membership program website for more.

[ Free Printable: Saving Money Worksheet for Kids ]

Illustrate The Damages Of Poor Money Management

You are not a perfect human being and you make mistakes with your money. Give your child a peek into what the repercussions of maxing out a credit card, tarnishing a credit score or not paying a bill on time look like. You do not want to put undue stress on your child, but showing them a little bit of what these money mistakes can lead to will help them better understand the abstract concept of money. Once they know what is at stake, they will be less likely to make those mistakes themselves.

Teach Your Kids To Live Within Their Means

It may be tempting for your children to want to buy expensive things, or simply things they could not afford when they were growing up. Persuade your kid to rethink this. Unless they can afford it, they need to understand the importance of living within their means. Living within their means is essentially being more responsible with money. Teach them that though they can, it does not mean they should.

[ Read: Painless Ways to Save Money ]

Teach The Difference Between Good And Bad Debt

Not all debt is bad. Things like college and other investments are acceptable things to go into debt for. These factors are considered “good debt.” On the other hand, bad debt is anything else that is not an investment for your future and therefore is considered “bad debt.” No matter how you frame it, it is still debt. Just make sure that your child knows and understands that all debt comes with responsibilities and best practices. All debt has risks and it is up to your child to weigh those options. Knowing the difference between good and bad debt could be key to their financial freedom and future money success.

For more on this topic, check out the full Saving Money collection

Ideas for Adding Educational Fun to Your Summer

With summertime officially here, children across the country are looking forward to a well-deserved break from education and filling their days with bike rides and family adventures. This downtime is certainly important to help children refuel and relax after a busy school year. However, as the break progresses it is good for you to start reintroducing a bit of mental stimulation and routine into their days with simple, educational fun.

Long breaks from study and school can lead to children needing extra support to get back into their routine and studies. Ensuring they continue with some educational activities over the summer can lead to them feeling equipped, confident and, ready for the new school year, to tackle new topics.

Check out some of the ways you can add educational fun to your summer routine with it being strenuous or obvious…

For more on this topic, check out the full Summer Learning collection

Keep A Diary Of The Summer

Writing free-form will help your children to build vocabulary, develop their thought processes and learn how to articulate their feelings. Have them record everything they have done each day, the people they see, and anything new they have learnt. The diary will also serve as a nice keepsake that is full of memories. And if your kids love the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books as much as mine do, they might really get into the idea of journaling throughout the summer!

[ Free Printable: My First Book Review ]

Maintain Good Reading Habits

Your child should ideally maintain their reading habits through the summer. It’s a fantastic activity that helps them relax and grabs their attention. Audiobooks work just as well, so you could think about ordering an audio book subscription for the summer break. It’s good to set some reading goals with your children so they have something to aim for. Maybe they are reading a book that is now a film, you could ask them to read it before they see it. And having family reading time can be a fun way to all get cozy and read your own books together!

[ Read: Create a Book Nook for Kids ]

Write Postcards To Family And Friends

If you are planning on going away, you could encourage your kids to write some postcards. They could then send them to people back home. They get to practice their spelling, grammar, and writing skills while also practicing story telling and capturing memories.

[ Read: Fine Motor Skill Activities for Kids ]

Take Educational Trips

Going to the zoo, on a nature walk, or a trip to a museum are all educational and low-cost ways for children to learn while having fun. Have a look at your local area’s website or utilize your community library to see what’s going on in your area throughout the summer. You can make these trips even more enriching by doing things like a checklist of different animals they need to find or a scavenger hunt through a museum. There are also many virtual tour options now available so that you can explore and learn as a family without leaving home!

[ Read: More Fun Ways to Encourage Summer Learning ]

Let the Kids Practice Budgeting

Without realizing it, we all use math skills on a daily basis to complete small tasks like tell the time or count change. Try encouraging your children to take charge of their own pocket money, let them decide how much they are going to use on the different activities that you have planned.

[ Free Printable: Saving Money Worksheet for Kids ]

Learning is very much like exercise, if you take a break from it it can be more difficult to get back on track. Keep this in mind and keep your children learning and on track with educational fun this summer!

For more on this topic, check out the full Summer Learning collection

Email Prompts to Transform Your Marriage

Email Prompts to Transform Your Marriage contains Amazon affiliate links to Dr. Rodman’s books.

A few years into a committed relationship, and often after marriage or having kids, many couples start to feel disconnected or dissatisfied. This can feel like loneliness, or like they’re just not on the same page anymore. There are so many things keeping couples busy. Like work, kids, housework, and social or leisure activities. Sometimes you barely even have ten minutes to talk to your partner, and when you do, it’s about logistics. Like home repairs, finances, or who’s picking up the kids from preschool.

As a couples therapist, I see many couples whose relationships look great to the outside world. The partners love each other and have similar goals and values. If they have kids, they parent well as a team. Despite these indications that they are a happy couple, however, one or both partners find themselves wondering if they even know each other anymore. They gamely schedule date nights, but it can often leave both partners feeling disappointed at their lack of connection and intensity. Conversations can turn superficial and unfulfilling. There may be a platonic “roommate” dynamic or differences in sex drives that lead to resentment.

This article is written by Dr. Samantha Rodman & contains excerpts from her book 52 Emails to Transform Your Marriage
For more on this topic, check out the full Be My Valentine collection

The Solution – Write an Email

I wrote my book to help these couples and others like them. While couples may not have the time or energy to go to weekly couples counseling sessions, or even to schedule weekly date nights, everyone has 20 minutes or so to write an email. The exercises in this book are designed for couples who are intrinsically motivated to change in a positive way in order to create a more loving and authentic connection.

In this book, I guide you and your partner through 52 emails, with specific prompts. Unlike in-person discussions, these stay on topic and cannot devolve into fights. Focusing on each topic in order to write to one another will allow you to grow closer and gain increased insight, understanding, and connection. Each email comes with an example of what it would look like when exchanged between partners. Couples don’t have to do all 52 emails as they can pick and choose which areas they are most interested in. The topics cover everything. From early memories of your life together, to core values, to sex, to parenting, to thoughts about the future, and more.

Email Prompts to Transform you Marriage Example

Email, #13: Times I Felt Most Connected To You Recently. In the book, this also includes an example immediately after the email prompts, so you can see how the emails would work in practice. This example is of a couple similar to ones I see in my office, where there is some conflict and resentment.

Although you and your partner may be feeling disconnected and detached, or even openly hostile, there are probably some recent times that you felt close. People often discount brief, everyday moments of connection. In this e-mail, you’ll be focusing on these seconds or minutes during the day when you feel that you and your partner are on the same page.

Be specific when describing your connected moments. Don’t just say, “I felt happy during our dinner out.” Instead, say, “I felt close when you looked at me and told me you were glad to be there with me.” Training yourself to focus on specific moments of intimate connection is healthy for your relationship, and you may realize that you and your partner still have a strong foundation.

It is also important to acknowledge underlying concerns that might be negatively affecting your relationship. Read this article from BetterHelp that discusses how a fear of abandonment can affect a relationship.

Creating Your Email

Use the first email prompt, as well as at least three others, and end with two or three open-ended questions.

Writing this e-mail to you makes me feel _______

Here are three moments in the past month when I felt connected to you: _______

Here is why each of these as meaningful to me: _______

Each of these moments showcased the following positive qualities of yours: _______.

I find it easy (or hard) to focus on small moments of connection, because _______.

Growing up, I saw small moments of connection between my parents, like _______.

Growing up, I did not see small moments of connection between my parents, instead, I saw _______

Here are some things you could do that would usually work to make me feel happier and closer: _______

Sample Email

Dear Eric,

This is tough to write, since things have been so terrible lately. Still, I can think of two moments in the past month when I felt close to you. The first was when we went to the dog wash. I always like doing stuff with just you and Bobo, because when we first got together, it was always just us three. I felt close to you when I saw you talk to him before he got washed. The other time was when you put Emmy back to sleep after she had a nightmare.

Both moments showed me how warm and loving you can be. I would say that being nice to the kids and the dog generally makes me feel warmer toward you. When I am angry with you, I find it hard to focus on small moments of connection, but I think it would be good if we could do it more often.

Do you have positive memories of me at all this month?
Do you associate Bobo with us being in love?

Love,

Shannee

Sample Email from the Partner

Dear Shannee,

I know you hate me right now because of all the money stuff, so we haven’t had that many connected moments this month. It is hard for me to think of anything positive when I know you’re so disappointed and angry. But here are a few.

When you kissed me goodbye in the morning yesterday.
When you laughed at me playing horse with Emmy.
And when you told me that Mark doesn’t know Sophie’s preschool teacher’s name, which seemed to imply that I’m a better dad than he is.

These made me feel connected, because I love any physical affection from you, and I love it when you seem happy or proud of me. You are a tough audience lately, though. I know this money thing was my fault, but I am not a bad guy overall.

Questions:

Do you still love me?
Were you serious when you were saying that it would be easier as a single mom?

I love you,

Eric

What These Email Prompts Show

As you can see, couples dig deep to write about things that are bothering them. And since there is no possibility of arguing or interruption, it may be easier to express difficult thoughts or questions. Couples are directed to write back to each other’s closing questions as well, as that opens up the possibility of extended dialogue about topics of importance.

If you and your partner have grown distant, try 52 Emails as a first step to enhancing your communication and connection. Learning more about your partner can help you empathize with them, as well as reinvigorate your relationship!

For more on this topic, check out the full Be My Valentine collection

Featured Contributor: Samantha Rodman

Samantha Rodman is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Maryland, and the founder of DrPsychMom.com. Dr. Rodman lives in Maryland with her husband, three kids, and a rescue dog and cat. She has written 52 Emails To Transform Your Marriage and How to Talk To Your Kids About Your Divorce. For therapy or consultation, contact her here.

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