Davis Parenting Column

A Calendar of Tips, Trips and Falls
1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4835-5974-2
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 250 Seiten

this is a book written for parents of all ages pit together from 4 years worth of newspaper articles I wrote for our local Australian newspaper

Autoren/Hrsg.

Davis, Helen

Leseproben

JANUARY Happy New Year Well hello there. Season's Greetings and a very Happy New Year to you all and Happy Parenting for the next twelve months! This time of the year is filled with celebration and joy, a time to eat, drink and be merry. For children and parents alike it can be the best part of the year, a time to reflect on the previous year, the ups and downs, the highs and lows and wonder what this year has in store. I trust you all had a fantastic Christmas, survived the New Year festivities and caught up with family and friends. We begin the year fresh with hopes and dreams for the coming 12 months and many will begin their New Year Resolutions. You know the ones, I'll lose weight, I'll eat healthier, I'm going to walk every day, and I'll spend more time with friends and family. I'll take less work home. And how many of these have been broken as soon as work and school restarts and we fall back into our usual daily grind and unfortunate bad habits and excuses, not enough hours in the day, fast food saves time and mess. You avoid eye contact with the brand new treadmill sitting idly and rusting outside, most likely on your next garage sale list and yep the dog gets to walk himself round the yard again. Well it didn't do him any harm before – did it? Yes the after festive activities can be a bit of an anticlimax to say the least. So what can you do to motivate you and your family, get yourself out of the rut and rid of the bulge? There is no quick fix but it can be done. Firstly don't set yourself up to fail - stick to realistic resolutions in manageable chunks and avoid making too many. Better to be master of one and succeed than feel swamped and throw in the towel before you've even begun. Consider doing things together, something sporty perhaps, after all there is safety in numbers. If you smoke or drink it is easy to reduce the amount slowly. Set yourself small rewards for reaching goals. Have a visual reminder, write it on the calendar. Tell your family and friends what you are doing so they can support you and give encouragement. Becoming more organised is not only satisfying but can be a very realistic New Year's resolution that can become contagious once others see the results. Having a spring clean / DE clutter or giving away unused or unwanted items can make you feel contented and refreshed. Feeling positive is good for everyone, affects the whole families' mood and is just what the doctor ordered to kick off the New Year, so choose your resolution wisely and start how you mean to go on. And what's my New Year's Resolution? I'm not telling - it's a secret. Happy Parenting and a bright and cheerful Happy New Year to you all! "Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page" ~Henry Ward Beecher Post-Christmas Blues The build up to the silly season is incessantly intense. Without fail we work like a trooper, shop 'til we drop, cook up a storm, prepare dishes we have never even heard of (just to impress), from last year's cook book received for Christmas that has only just been opened, endeavouring to outshine last Christmas fare.  During this carefree time most of us do way too much, spread ourselves thin and are emotionally bushed. We suffer self-inflicted sleep deprivation, despite taking crafty nana naps, due to excessively late nights. Then at long last the expectation that has been building up for months is doused in a flood of high spirits and activity once presents are unwrapped and overindulgence and lack of willpower takes over. As Christmas festivities reach closure, drained mums and dads put happy hyped up kids to bed, clear up empty boxes and gift wrap, and put table leftovers and dishes away. It's all over way too quickly, wham bang thank you Ma'am, in the blink of an eye. Hardly surprising scores of people are left somewhat befuddled in a post-Christmas daze, and believe me it's nothing to do with alcohol! The mourning of Christmas passing and Post-Christmas Blues are surprisingly common, something to do with that let down feeling after all the warm and fuzzies have gone, the Christmas tree and decorations have finally been packed away, the lollies have all but been eaten so the sugar fix is over and there are no more boring 'dated' Christmas TV reruns to make fun of. You may be relieved that it is all over and that everything went off without a hitch, but no one likes the thought of having to wait a whole year for it all to happen once more. Twelve months seems like an eternity. Every year you promise yourself you will be better organised 'next time' and start Christmas preparations earlier. And henceforth reality sinks in, families and friends disperse, festivities are done and dusted, its back in the groove, to work, to school holiday care, the daily grind with a few extra calories ( and that's putting it mildly) and a depressingly diminished bank balance. So how do you treat the dreaded Post Christmas Blues? Start by doing something that makes you feel good, or focus on something to look forward to. Sort through your holiday snaps. Looking at Christmas photos especially the silly ones makes you feel happy. Don't be too hasty to take all your decorations down at once. Keep occupied and busy - this will help prolong that holiday radiance. Walk off that the indigestion and over indulgence of turkey. Exercise not only makes you look and feel better it helps lift the spirit, even if there isn't any left on the shelf, and is great for preventing and treating depression. Might be time to look at gym membership as a New Year's Resolution, the beginning of a new you. Start the New Year a fresh and Spring clean, dust off the cobwebs, or sort out old and outgrown toys and give them to charity. Giving makes you feel good. Set realistic goals and have something set aside to aim for. And lastly, but by no means least, if you have neglected yourself during the festive season, which is very likely, allow yourself some 'me' time to do things you want to do – you've earned it. Christmas comes but once a year and trust me Post - Christmas Blues (PCB) will pass in due course. Just takes patience. Happy Parenting! The Dangers of Chroming Well this year I was going to start this New Year afresh with something bright, positive and cheerful, until I walked through the park along the riverbank behind the RFDS on New Year's Day. Yes it's dried out through lack of rain but what caught my eye other than the poorly spelt graffiti on the path and empty scattered foil wine containers was the amount of aerosols and plastic bottles strewn around filled with yellow paint. When I walked across the town bridge there were over a dozen children carrying yet more bottles filled with yellow paint heavily engaged in chroming. I would guess some of these kids were less than ten years of age. What can I say? How disappointing! These kids are our next generation of Mount Isan's. Unknowingly they are putting their whole futures at risk and at what cost? Chroming otherwise known as volatile substance abuse is the sniffing, or inhaling of a substance to gain a high, feeling of drunkenness, or euphoria albeit temporarily. It is witnessed more frequently amongst children because the everyday chemicals used, such as paint, glue, petrol (petrol sniffing) are so easy to acquire, often through illegal means, syphoning fuel a regular occurrence, thus leading to an increase in crime. Chroming is addictive, the person becoming both psychologically and physically dependent. According to an alarming 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, at least 70,000 Australian youngsters, 14 years and above had used some form of inhalant during the previous 12 months, two thirds at least monthly. Going by this statistic one would have to wonder how many children are involved in substance abuse in Mount Isa, what is being done about it and is this the true figure, or tip of the iceberg? The effects of substance abuse can be catastrophic, resulting in serious health complications, including damage to the brain, central nervous system, heart, liver, lungs and kidneys. Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is permanent, can lead to difficulties with thought process and planning, cause hearing, eyesight and memory loss, initiate problems with balance and coordination and seizures. Chroming can prove rapidly fatal. So why do kids do it? Peer pressure, to fit in, curiosity, boredom, experimentation, escapism, copycat syndrome, who knows. Substance abuse can be hard to pin point, so look for subtle clues, glue, solvent or aerosol containers on a child's possession, spilt on clothing, or the smell of paint or chemicals. Watch for sores around the mouth and nose, changes in behavior, anxiety, bad temper, aggression, poor concentration, confusion, decreased school performance, absenteeism, and physical signs of illness such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or headaches. Bear in mind, these signs and symptoms can have other unrelated causes. With that in mind, suspecting your child might be doing drugs, or indulging in substance abuse has got to be every parent's nightmare. If you have the slightest inkling that substance abuse is the culprit do something about it before it's too late. Talk to your child and discuss the risks openly and honestly. Seek help from your GP, or call Alcohol and Drug Services Queensland 07 3236 2414 or 1800 177 833. The state Brain Injury Association or State Drug Service can also provide information on treatment and appropriate referral. Happy New Year – Now Clean Your...