The Mom Crowd

Chances are you’re one of the millions of users who log on daily to social media sites such as Facebook to converse with friends, follow the news, or just plain indulge in this socially acceptable habit. If you’re also a mother to a pre-teen, there’s a high probability that he/she also has an account; sometimes with or without parental permission.

Facebook currently restricts the minimum user age to 13 and while mom and dad may say no to signing up online (via their desktop), kids nowadays are accessing the site through their iPhones, iPads, or tablets. Facebook claims to eliminate an average of 800,000 users under the age of 13 a year (this, according to a June 2012 Consumer Reports Survey). However, it’s estimated still that a whopping 5.6 million kids are on Facebook; some with his/her parent’s permission. Surely there must be some good in this. Right?

Facebook, like its famous predecessor Myspace, allows users to communicate on their own time. This is crucial to a child who may be shy and withdrawn and/or takes time to articulate what they want to say, but can’t, in person. The chat window for instance, helps a child further express themselves and make connections with people they may not feel as comfortable around face-to-face in the school setting, due to peer influence, classroom location, etc.. So then it’s okay to have my child create an online account? That is really up to each parent.

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Whether you have a dog at present or whether you plan to get one for your household in the near future it is important that you teach your children what they need to do in order to avoid getting bitten. Even if you have no pets your children will be in contact with dogs at some point in time and need to be taught how to properly behave around them.

Dogs do not bite for any reason. Most often it happens because they are provoked in some manner and feel the need to defend themselves. This is natural instinct kicking in. When they do bite it is most often because they are fearful of being harmed.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that almost five million people are bitten annually by dogs in the United States. Children are three times more likely than adults to suffer a serious dog bite. The good news is that dog bites are largely preventable. It is necessary to educate your kids to avoid the possibility that a dog will bite them.

How do you do this?

Tell your children to ask for an owner’s permission to pet their dog before they go ahead and just do it

If the owner says it is okay then make it clear to your child that he or she should approach the dog in a quiet and calm manner and should take slow steps when getting close to the animal. Let the dog sniff you before you touch him. This will let you know if he is being responsive to you. If he is then pet his head, back or sides in a manner that is friendly, gentle and non-threatening.

When a dog is eating, sleeping or playing with a toy leave him alone

When he is occupied with an activity or is resting this is not the time to bother him. Teach your children that. Dogs tend to be very protective of their food as well as their toys. If they think someone is trying to take something that is theirs away from them they may bite. The same can be said if they are startled or frightened. Explain to your child that just as he or she does not like to be bothered or disturbed during meal times, play or while asleep, the same can be said for a dog.

Educate your child about the territorial nature of dogs.

Instruct your son or daughter to not try to pet a dog that is in a yard or behind a fence or one that is in a motor vehicle with the window down. Dogs are protective of what is theirs and will do everything in their power to protect their personal space. It is important to heed this warning to prevent getting bit.

Other Important Points

To prevent your child from suffering from a dog bite tell him or her that it is never a good idea to walk up to a dog that he/she does not know on the street and try to pet it. Children should stay away from stray dogs. Often these dogs are hungry or lost and are not likely to be in a congenial type of mood. If the dog approaches the child then he or she should remain calm and still. A sudden move or too much exuberance may scare the dog and can cause the child to be bitten.

It is a commonly held belief that a wagging tail means that a dog is friendly and receptive to attention. While this is sometimes the case, it is not a diehard rule.

When meeting a new dog at a friend or neighbor’s home you should never rush at the animal for any reason. Instead let the dog come to you and sniff you before you reach out your hand to touch him or her.  It is through smell that a dog starts to become acquainted with a stranger. Your scent is one of the factors a dog uses to determine if they want to come closer to you or not.

When you have children to take care of, laundry to do, meals to prepare and your job to go to it can be difficult (well downright impossible sometimes!) to make time for yourself and your own needs. Finding the time to get your hair cut, working in your flower garden or even sitting down to have a couple of sips of tea and read a few pages in a novel can be beyond the scope that your schedule allows. It is important though to find “me” time in your busy “mom” days.

Why is it so Important?

Making time for yourself is important because if you do not then you can become overwhelmed, stressed out and exhausted. You may even end up feeling angry because you are neglecting yourself. If you can find a few minutes every day to relax and do something nice for yourself then this can be very good for your emotional and psychological well-being. Even if it is not every day, as often as you can you should look for opportunities to make time for yourself.

Find the Time Whenever You Can

You need to find time to be good to yourself whenever you can find it. Perhaps it is later in the evening after your children have gone to bed. Or maybe it is first thing in the morning before your children have gotten out of bed. Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and the silence of some uninterrupted moments before the day takes hold. Or maybe it is when your six month old is napping, in between doing laundry and washing dishes. The point is make every moment count in your day-to-day schedule and find a few precious minutes wherever and whenever you can in your hectic day to do something just for yourself. Even if you stop for five minutes to put your feet up and daydream as you look out the window, that is still precious time for yourself – and it matters.

Me Time Options for Moms

When the weather is good and your children are at school, or at grandma’s or are visiting a friend take a stroll around your neighborhood or through a local park. Be leisurely about it and pay attention to all of the beauty that surrounds you. Breathe in the fresh air and enjoy those moments of being alone with nature. Okay, so maybe the dog needs to be walked so you choose to combine his walk with your alone time and maybe you are walking in a dog park instead of the local park. At least you are out walking! Whatever works for you is fine as long as you get to relax your mind and body a bit and get away from some of the stresses of the day.

Regardless of whether you work inside or outside of the home you need to take breaks. Whether it is a break from your computer or your kids wanting your undivided attention you need to take mini breaks throughout the day to keep your sanity. Maybe you can retreat to your favorite chair and flip through a magazine or call up a close friend for a quick chat. Or maybe you can spend a few minutes working on a craft, skimming the newspaper or glancing at a television program that you enjoy.

When you have a larger block of time for yourself, such as if your husband takes the kids somewhere for an afternoon then pamper yourself because you deserve it. Go to the beauty salon and get your hair styled differently, get a manicure, a pedicure, a facial, or a massage. If one of your friends is free then make it an outing for the two of you. While you are at it the two of you should catch up over coffee or lunch.  As a mother you are probably so use to treating your loved ones that you have forgotten how good it feels to treat yourself. It is time to remember it now!

You have been noticing of late that your style is well … not so upbeat (admit it, totally drab) and this has you wanting to make some changes in the way you look. There is something missing in your style that no longer grabs your attention or anyone else’s anymore. You feel bored when you look at yourself in the mirror. This is not a good sign for anyone. What should you do about this  wardrobe problem of yours?

It is really not a problem and you should not view it as such. In fact it can be an adventure you embark upon to revamp and reinvent your sense of style. It can be fun and challenging and it can provide insight into who you really are. Looking good my friend is much easier than you might think!

Change Your Thinking

Take a close look at your wardrobe. You might want to invite a friend along to give you an objective opinion. If your wardrobe is devoid of any lively colors and all you see is neutrals such as brown, gray and black hanging in your closest then that is a good place to start. The same can be said for your style of clothing. If all you have is jeans and tee shirts or if you own six brown sweaters then you need to add some pep to your wardrobe.

Do some shopping but visit stores that you usually do not go into. Take the friend whom you feel has the best fashion sense with you. Try on different colors and styles. Just have fun with it. By trying on a spectrum of different colors and by mixing and matching separates your clothing ideas will start to take you in a new and exciting direction. It will open your eyes to what you have not been seeing!

You cannot picture yourself wearing a lavender dress? Try it on anyway. What about a turquoise blouse? A little bright for you maybe? Or perhaps it brings more color to your face and shows off your amazing facial features?  Open your mind to the possibilities. This is not the time to be a wardrobe wallflower. You need to get creative and you need to push past your wardrobe boundaries. Have your friends be a part of the process because you want their opinions. You must have at least one friend who will give it to you straight, right?

You may want to ease into wearing brighter colors at a gradual pace. We don’t want to stress you out too much. The same can be said if you have been wearing solid colors for longer than you can remember. Give patterns and prints a try but start small and do not choose anything that is overpowering or busy looking. You want to look good but you want to be the focal point of interest for others and not your blouse, dress, skirt, jacket, etc.

Bringing back the life and vibrancy into the outfits you wear is just a matter of the willingness to experiment with new styles and new colors. You do not have to settle for being a wardrobe wallflower. You can decide that  you need to enliven your look and from there you can recruit your fashion savvy pals to help you to send dull, depressing clothing away and to replace them with bright stylish choices that make you look as fantastic as you are!

Comparison shopping can offer a means of saving money and it can even be fun to do once you get into the spirit of doing it. It does take some time however to perfect the technique of shopping by doing comparisons. It also takes time out of your day or week in a general sense because it is more time consuming than just finding an item at the first store or website that you visit. It also takes a level of patience but it can be a worthwhile pursuit in the long run because you can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars if you comparison shop for practically everything that you need to purchase.

You can comparison shop for groceries, personal care items, appliances, cars, insurance, travel, gardening equipment, electronics and whatever else you may need. It is a versatile means of finding what you need because it can be used both at retail stores as well as for online shopping.

If you have ever looked at a receipt for something you have purchased and  were not happy with the price you paid then you really need to start shopping in a more constructive and cost effective manner. You need to become a shrewd comparison shopper. Prices vary tremendously on items and finding the best price possible can take some work.

Here we look at some important points worth considering when it comes to the concept of comparison shopping:

Price Fluctuations are Common

You may think that every store you visit is selling an item for the same price but that is not the case. Look around at the stores in any given malls or the shops in your community and you will quickly see that this is not how stores operate. Many stores have sales on a frequent basis and they put different items on sale. If you check flyers regularly you will see what items are on sale. It is also worth mentioning that when you comparison shop you will be able to pick out which stores consistently charge higher prices on everything from toilet paper to vegetables to meat to peanut butter, and so on.

You are not likely to find a store that charges cheaper prices on everything that it sells. From a marketing perspective this is not a smart thing to do. That is why you need to be a wise shopper and look for bargains at different stores. If the stores you shop at are all in close proximity then you will not use as much gas driving from one place to another and you will not use up as much time and energy either!

Keep in mind that comparison shopping is wise because prices fluctuate and they can also vary quite a bit from one shop to another. That is why you need to be on your toes and you need to shop around!

Shopping – The Time Factor

Many people do not view comparison shopping in a positive light because they think it is too time consuming. The time factor is important but the extra time it takes you to compare one product to another can be well worth it to you in terms of the money you will save. The extra time you spend looking for a better deal will make all of the difference if you can save $10 on an item, $20, $50 or more!

Become a Keen Watcher of Store Marks Downs

If you shop at a particular store often enough then you will become use to which items are marked down the most often and which products go on sale frequently. Many stores follow a pattern and are consistent about the items that they place on sale the most often. Become a keen observer when it comes to how stores operate. By so doing you will be able to know where you should go to get the best bargains and deals! That will make comparison shopping very worthwhile to you!