Parents

Mother’s Day is coming up, and it’s time to start thinking about gifts for her. After everything everyone has been through, your mother certainly deserves something special. What can you do to make this day a unique and unforgettable one? These 5 creative gifts below may be the perfect way to put a smile on her face. Check them out.
1.Personalizable Mother’s Day pillows
Everyone loves some comfort at home, am I right? If your mother is all about having her bed perfectly set up and full of plush softness, why not order Mother’s Day pillows with special notes, pictures, or quotes that you know she’d love to add to her bedroom décor? You can take your time picking out the perfect color and quote for her, so you can be sure she’d love to use them. You can also purchase multiple pillows for other areas of her home.
2. Order a beauty subscription box for the year
Consider setting up a beauty subscription for the mother in your life who is a fashionista. She’ll receive a plethora of beauty products every month, so she doesn’t even have to worry about ever running out or going to the store. The upside to these amazing beauty subscriptions is that your mom will get top-quality makeup and creams without you or her having to spend an arm and a leg for them. From Birchbox to Boxycharm, there are a lot of great choices out there.
3. Gift her a piece of jewelry with your handwriting

14 Brutal Truths About Loving An Italian Guy
You’re in for a ride that is bumpy.
Therefore, you have discovered your self an excellent Italian kid. Congrats! And welcome to a different part of dating|side that is totally various of you knew nothing about.
Every heritage and nationality has its perks, quirks, and flaws, exactly what about Italian males? Just just What sets them aside from the other countries in the guys you have dated in past times?
While the new man is (probably) a great individual, tradition plays into personality and practices — both of that aren’t effortlessly modified, if after all.
Having said that, listed below are 14 things that happen when you date A italian guy:
1. You will have meals and drinks . a whole lot.
In the event the guy is having you over for lunch together with moms and dads, come hungry (and thirsty) and fill your dish over and over again.
2. He probably will not clean.
Regardless of if their space seems like a tornado swept through it, don’t believe he will clean anything up. Unless their mother (or perhaps you) select his stuff up for him, cleansing ain’t going to take place any time soon.
3. He should be in charge.
4. He could be EXTREMELY stubborn.
The data might be appropriate in the front of him, you’re nevertheless wrong. It is their method or the highway.
5. Mother is #1 in their life.
Italian dudes are HUGE mama’s boys . and so they positively think it’s great! They love their mom a lot more than anybody within the globe, which he’ll remind you of each and every second of their life.
6. Their mother should always be # 1 that you experienced, too.

With schools and day cares closed down nationwide due to Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders, many parents have been struggling since mid-March to work from home with kids underfoot, leading many to rely on video games and other devices to keep children occupied.
Media and digital devices are an integral part of our world today, and the benefits of these devices, if used moderately and appropriately, can be great, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. But research has shown that face-to-face time with family and friends is important in promoting a child’s healthy development. And so is getting outdoors.
Unfortunately, the pandemic has kept most families locked in and on their devices.
Thirty-year-old Indiana native Andrew Armour is hoping to change that. Through an app he created, called Activate Fitness, a child earns screen time only if specific activity levels are met. For example, 1,000 steps could earn the device user 5 minutes of screen time.
Activate Fitness installs on both parents’ and children’s devices, enabling parents to set activity goals — like performing sets of jumping jacks or walking flights of stairs — that must be reached before a child’s gaming apps are unlocked. Daily activity levels are generated through the use of Apple Health, Google Fit or a wearable fitness tracker such as a Fitbit. The app is free and is available in both the Apple and Android app stores. 

Children are naturally curious about the things they see in their everyday lives, especially if it’s something they haven’t come across before. They want to ask questions and often do so openly and without a filter.
Their eagerness to learn is to be encouraged, of course – but there are times when a little sensitivity is needed. This is especially true when they encounter people with disabilities, be it a child at school with a speech impediment, or a stranger on public transport in an Allied Mobility wheelchair.
But it never needs to become an issue you have to skirt around or ignore. Read our simple tips on how to talk to your children about disabilities.
Use respectful terminology
Even if you don’t feel they pay attention sometimes, your child is likely to listen to you more than most. Take care in how you describe disability if you don’t do already. Be it ‘crippled’ or ‘retarded’, many terms you may have used or heard in the past are now outdated and offensive.
Those with special needs are more likely to be targets of name-calling or jokes. If you think your child has picked up a derogatory term elsewhere, make it clear why it’s unacceptable and suggest different language to use instead.
Emphasise what they have in common

“I don’t feel like I’m very good at drawing real people in the real world” says a wistful Axel Sheffler.

The illustrator is famous for his weird and wonderful pictures of animals in books like The Gruffalo, but now the coronavirus pandemic has brought him back into the real world with a bump.

The 62-year-old has just helped to produce what must have been one of the fastest books in history. Coronavirus: A Book for Children was written, illustrated and then published for free online in the space of week by Nosy Crow.

“My publisher had been speaking to a head teacher in East London who told her that many families were really worried and felt a bit helpless,” Sheffler says. “So the idea was to give children aged five to nine some information – as factual as possible – and in a simple language.”

Facts are important but the book is also frank about the uncertainty the world faces. There’s a chapter on vaccines which explains that the disease is new and currently has no cure. “Honesty is crucial for children of any age, you have to have their trust,” says Sheffler.

The illustrator’s own life hasn’t changed much in the last few weeks as he’s always worked from home while drawing. But he admits to feeling anxious about what’s happening and says it must be a worrying time for children who can’t go to school.

The book deals with issues such as not seeing grandparents and coping with irritable parents who might be trying to work from home themselves at a stressful time. It drew on expert advice from a child psychologist and a professor from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Parents instinctively know that the first few weeks of their child’s life are essential. But why is this the case? Why do those early days and months matter so much to development years in the future? After all, babies can barely perceive the world after they come out of the womb. 
It All Comes Down To Protection And Stress
Being a great mama is essential during the first few weeks of life, but it is not always for the reasons that you think. It’s not just about providing the basics, like food and shelter. It is also about offering emotional support that allows the child to develop a robust and confident character. 
Being there for your infant, therefore, is the most important thing that you can do. 

Pixabay – CC0 License
Scientists believe that the reason the first few weeks are critical all comes down to the biology of survival. Infants born during times of hardship need to develop differently from those who grow up in times of plenty. If babies detect that the outside world is a scary and hostile place, then their bodies will ramp up the production of stress hormones. They’ll go into rapid growth mode, trying to get as big and as strong as they can as fast as possible to deal with any potential threats. The problem is that this doesn’t switch off later in life, leading to both mental and physical health problems down the road. 

Do you have a strong-willed child? Parenting a strong-willed child can be a challenge that’s for sure, but also comes with its upsides too. With the right tools in your parenting toolkit, you can raise your strong-willed child in a way that plays to their strengths. With that said, today I’m delighted to welcome back Louise Hoffman Brooks, founder of Parenting Success for this Q&A on how to parent a strong-willed child.What exactly is a strong-willed child?Most parents will recognise that they have a more ‘compliant’ easy-going child – often in contrast to a sibling who does not comply with their wishes or their agenda quite so easily.