Business Travel: Ensure that you prepare your child well in advance

With business travel becoming an essential and uncompromising aspect of my job, I felt the need to prepare my child for her mom’s frequent absence. Also, being the closest to her, there was this sense of guilt about not being around when she needed me the most. I had to ensure that nothing changed between us and yet she understood my need to travel. And here’s what I learnt in the process:

• Remember that kids like to be surprised, but not all the time! Forewarn them before you travel. No matter how difficult or painful, if you leave unannounced, you’re likely to weaken their trust. And if you must leave very early in the morning, say your good-byes the night before, so that you’re giving them ample time to prepare. 
• Let children know why you have to travel for work. It is important to briefly explain what you’ll be doing as kids sometimes wonder about the simplest things - like how you will get food to eat or where you will stay. If those details worry your child, reassure them with the necessary information. 
• Explain how long you’ll be gone. Most children won’t want to understand calendar dates especially where your travel is concerned, so talk about how many nights or how many days it will be before you return home. However, also prepare them for flight delays as they may upset the best of plans. 
• Use technology to stay in touch. Call home when you reach the destination and leave your contact number. Don’t forget promised call times. Most kids - especially mine - don’t talk a lot during phone calls, but they still like to hear your voice. If you get delayed, remember to give kids a sincere apology once you do talk with them. 

 These are just a few tips to help ease the separation between you and your child during travel. There are many more useful ideas in the book ‘The Business Traveling Parent by Dan Verdick’, wherein Verdick shares lots of ways to creatively stay in touch with children when you’re away. Bon voyage!

Cooking with kids can be rewarding in many ways…

Being a working mom can be extremely stressful especially when you want to provide nothing but the best to your children. I face this dilemma more often than I’d like to and that’s when I realized that involving my 3-year-old in activities concerning her was an easier way to have her agree on things that she wouldn’t quite consider, like eating vegetables or trying different kinds of foods!

It all started one day, when I asked my daughter what she would like to eat, and as expected her reply was ‘pizza’. The immediate thought was ‘no not that junk food again!’ as knowing her she would never want to eat anything but cheese and meat. But I thought for a while and realized that if I involved her in the making process, I could get her to eat the things I want her to. So, with all the ingredients laid out we both started making our own pizzas. I let her put in all that she wanted and then once when I was done with mine, I began to compare my pizza with hers – talking about all the nice colors and the yummy flavors. And guess what! Without any resistance, she started placing the exact stuff that I would have wanted her to, which she would have resisted otherwise.

Apart from the fact that I didn’t have to spend time convincing her, I realized that kids are more likely to try new things if you get them involved. Of course, having patience is the key, but it’s also important that you spend some time teaching them about utensils, techniques and the ingredients themselves. That way, you're not only trying to increase their comfort in the kitchen, but you're also exposing them to new foods. Start off with something that doesn't have a lot of ingredients or steps, or something that's easy to fix. This will not only give them confidence, but also keep them motivated to experiment further.

Kids Party - Rachel Campos-Duffy - GMC Trade Secrets - AOL Living

Kids Party - Rachel Campos-Duffy - GMC Trade Secrets - AOL Living

Love Color... Live Color!

Color therapy is becoming a popular healing art. Colors don't just affect our mood but also have a powerful physical reaction within the body. For instance, blue calms our nerves, red increases the heartbeat, while yellow is said to improve our immune system. In fact, we are immersed in color at every single moment - as soon as color bounces off the retina in the eye, it transforms into nerve energy enabling us to see, while its therapeutic qualities travel instinctively to the part that requires the nourishment of that color. Our bodies are always on the look out for ways to maintain harmony, and hence we are drawn towards certain colors, be it in the form of the clothes we wear or the food we eat.

Have you noticed how receptive children are to color? Encouraging their visual awareness for color can be an effective tool for understanding their mood and also affecting their sense of well being. Apart from having them paint their mind (finger paints are an ideal medium), here's what you can do when you feel that your child appears restless. Introduce him/her to color therapy by creating a deck of color cards (10x15cms). You may want to sit and discuss the different colors and how they make you feel and which ones you're drawn towards and why. Doing so it important as it will help them articulate their feelings. Place the cards randomly and have your child pick the cards that his/her eyes travel to first. Then, have them softly focus on the color until they feel a sense of balance. You can repeat this process with as many different colors as you like and you will be surprised with the effects.

Is it safe to put your kids pictures on the web?

Here's an interesting article that attempts to address the on-going dilemma of whether it is safe to publish your kids photos on the web. Although, it seemed a bit open ended without any specific conclusion as to which side of the fence one should be on, it was quite informative.