10 Reasons to Think Twice Before Getting a Family Dog

The addition of a dog to your family can be a great way to get your kids more involved in the running of the household, give them a sense of responsibility and bring joy to everyone that lives in your home. When a dog is hastily chosen or introduced to the household on fsvM0a whim, however, the situation can be a miserable one for all involved parties. Before you give in to your kids’ fevered pleas for their very own dog, there are some things you should carefully consider.

  1. A Pet is a Lifelong Commitment – Just like any other long-term commitment, the addition of a dog to your family is something that you need to fully understand before taking the plunge. When you bring your dog home, he will become a part of your family unit and should be treated as such. Relinquishing a dog because you made an uniformed or impulsive decision will be traumatic to him and can be very upsetting to kids that have become attached to him. It’s better to forgo the idea of a family dog altogether than to adopt one that you’ll later surrender.
  2. Your Puppy and Your Children Will Not “Grow Up Together” – There’s a prevailing misconception that puppies and babies are the ideal combination. In fact, most families find the exact opposite to be true. Just as a new baby needs constant supervision and attention, so will a brand new puppy. Hold off on the introduction of a puppy to your family until the youngest members are old enough to understand the importance of being gentle.

For more details please follow the link: http://www.hireananny.org/blog/10-reasons-to-think-twice-before-getting-a-family-dog/

How to Help Your Toddler Transition to a Bed

Leaving the security and familiarity of a well-loved crib for the new experience of a “big kid” bed can be exciting for your toddler, but it can also be a bit scary. Because kids thribedve under a routine and become reliant upon the ones that have been established, helping your child to acclimate himself to spending nights in a new bed will require a bit of finesse and plenty of patience.

Make Sure the Time is Right

Unless your child is actually becoming too large for his crib or you’re expecting another child that will be using the crib, there’s no one “right” time to transition your child to a toddler bed. In most cases, it’s more effective to let your child set the pace. If he’s actively asking about a “big boy” bed, by all means start working on the transition. If he’s still attached to his crib and not ready to let go, though, there’s nothing wrong with letting him stay a bit longer. Transitions that are motivated by the impending arrival of a new baby should be started a few months before the expected birth to make sure that your toddler is fully acclimated before having to surrender his bed to a new baby. If your children will be sharing a room, it may also be more effective to move the crib and get new bedding for it so that your toddler feels less ownership over the crib and is less likely to feel displaced or jealous.

Ream more: http://www.liveinnanny.org/blog/how-to-help-your-toddler-transition-to-a-bed/

10 Crazy Lies Most Teenagers Tell

Whether they’re looking to get out of a scrape, put one over on their parents in order to get away with something that isn’t allowed or just make themselves look better, teenagers have a tendency to bend the truth to the breaking point sometimes. While there are as many falsehoods as there are teens to spread them, there are a few crazy lies that seem to crop up more often than others. These are 10 of the most common, most ridiculous lies that teenagers tell from time to time.

Read more: http://www.babysittingjobs.com/blog/10-crazy-lies-most-teenagers-tell/

Episode 211: Gambling Addictions

With the advent of casinos in most major centers, and the relatively recent phenomenon of online gambling, a quietly insidious poison is edging its way into the psyches of an increasing number of families: problem gambling. Family courts are seeing more and more cases where a spouse’s gambling addiction has led to the financial and emotional ruin of the family unit. Why do some people develop addictive personalities? How do gambling addictions develop, and what can be done to prevent and treat them?

Guests:
Dr. Richard Wood – Psychologist 
Dr Richard Wood is a psychologist who, for the last 18 years, has been studying the causes of problem gambling and how it can be prevented. Dr Wood also developed, and now manages, GamTalk a free online support service for people with gambling related issues, to get information and discuss their problems anonymously with others who are going through the same experiences.

Chris Parlow – Pathological Gambler In Remission
Chris Parlow is a pathological gambling addict whose illness is in remission. Chris now speaks on the illness of gambling addiction and the possibilities for treatment and recovery. The former president of the United Steelworkers Union in Manitoba, Chris struggled with his compulsive gambling and depression for over twenty years in secret. As his compulsion intensified, he began to have trouble paying his bills, eventually declaring bankruptcy, losing all of his possessions and severing all his relationship ties. This culminated when he bet and lost the last eighteen dollars he had and attempted to commit suicide. After this failed suicide attempt, Chris began his recovery at the Parkwood Treatment Centre run by the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba.
Chris has been published in and interviewed by newspapers such as the New Westminster Leader, the Winnipeg Free Press and the Thompson Citizen about his struggle with gambling addiction, and continues to speak to media on the need to reduce the stigma, consequences and risks associated with the illness.

Victoria Starr – Family Law Lawyer
Victoria, founder of Starr Family Law, is an experienced and skilled negotiator, litigator, trial and appeal lawyer who has practiced exclusively in the area of family and child protection law since being called to the Bar of Ontario in 1996. In addition, she represents children in custody and access as well as child protection matters as a member of the Children’s Lawyer Panel. Victoria also offers her services as an accredited mediator, certified arbitrator and certified collaborative family law lawyer to those looking to resolve their disputes through an alternative to court process.

How to Stop Your Teen From Sneaking Out of the House

When you bring your new baby home for the first time, you’re filled with dreams, wishes and hopes for his future. You want him to grow into a strong, independent adult who’s reasonably successful and has a life filled with happiness. What you may not be thinking about is the long road to adulthood and how that road can become particularly bumpy during his teenage years. In a bid to express his independence and establish himself as an individual that’s separate from the family unit, he may cross the line into sheer defiance more than once. When his established curfew interferes with things he’d rather be doing, for instance, it’s far from unheard of for a teenager to simply slip out of the house in hopes of getting away undetected. If you have a suspicion that your teen is sneaking out in the middle of the night, or if you’re sure he’s leaving and aren’t sure how to put an end to the behavior, these tips may help you restore a sense of order to your home.

Read More: http://www.babysittingjobs.com/blog/how-to-stop-your-teen-from-sneaking-out-of-the-house/

 

How to Know When Your Teen is Lying and When He’s Not

When your child is younger, spotting a fib isn’t much of a challenge. Little ones don’t quite have the skills they need to fabricate a plausible excuse, so picking apart a questionable story is usually the work of a moment. As kids get older and hone their skills in the world of deception, however, it usually becomes a bit more difficult to spot a false story. Accusing your teen of lying when she’s telling the truth can cause a major blow-up and do serious damage to your relationship, but letting her out of the house with a flimsy story can put her in dangerous situations. At no time in your child’s life is it more difficult to pick out a lie than when she’s a teenager, but it’s also the time when it’s most imperative. While there’s no fool-proof method of sussing out the truth when a teen is determined to lie, there are a few things you can keep in mind that may help you get to the bottom of a story before things get out of hand.

What to Do When You and Your Spouse Disagree over Discipline

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How you discipline your child is a very personal issue. Even when you and your spouse agree on big picture things like the importance of reasonable limits, school should come first, and your commitment to raising a kind and caring child, it’s easy to disagree on how those big picture ideas will be handled day to day. Those disagreements can leave parents feeling like they’re alone in their parenting journey and at odds with the very person who’s supposed to be their biggest supporter. Here are some ideas that will help you and your spouse work together even when you don’t always agree.

Bullying

The next season of Family Matters will dedicate an episode to the issue of bullying. Thousands of children and teens are victimized every day, resulting in severe long-term psychological effects for many of these kids. With the advent of the internet, bullying is taking new fronts, making it even harder for people to escape and deal with bullying. Some high-profile stories, such as Amanda Todd’s suicide last year, demonstrate how serious of a problem bullying is, challenge us about what we think of bullying, and push us to combat what is a serious plague in our society.