Do you ever feel that, as a parent, you aren’t as happy as you could (or should – whatever that means) be? Do you find that you’re frustrated, that you snap and then feel guilty? Or that you feel guilty anyway because of something you did or said or didn’t do or say? Do you wish things could be different? 

The good news is you’re not the only one who feels like this. Many parents wish they could be happier, as they are sure it would not only help them, but help their entire families too. The even better news is that this is perfectly achievable. It will take some practice and some changes to your lifestyle, but once you have your new habits in place, you’ll be a much happier parent and everyone will benefit. Read on for more. 

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The Number One Rule – Be Kind 

Although you might have several different rules in your household, and those are down to each individual parent to determine, the number one rule should always be to be kind. This guiding principle will cover pretty much everything, ensuring that you and your children are kinder to each other, to themselves, and to anyone else who might wander into their periphery. 

The more kindness there is in the world, the less stressed and more happy people can be. If you know that your family can look for ways to be kind and to take the time to stop what they are doing if their actions could hurt someone it will bring you great peace of mind. 

Look At The Big Picture 

What is it you are really stressing about? What is it that is making you unhappy or frustrated or angry? Once you start to break everything down and look at what it is you’re reacting to, you might realize that they are just small things that, although they might seem huge at the time, don’t really matter. So what if your child wants to wear odd socks to the park or chooses a different book than the one you had picked out at the library? So what if they spilled a drink or wanted to crawl into bed with you for a little while? Does it matter? 

There will be some things that you do have to expend energy on. If you’ve been in an accident and are using competent and dedicated personal injury attorneys to help you make a claim, or you’ve lost your job, or you’ve heard that a loved one is sick, for example, you’ll need to think about this and come up with a plan to tackle it. But the small things? The things that won’t matter in an hour’s time, let alone next week or year or in a decade, are not worth being unhappy about. Move on and let it go. 

Have Fun 

One of the best ways to be happy is to have fun. Your children will only be children for a short time, and they will only want to spend time with you for a short time, so make the most of this time you have, and enjoy it. 

Even if you’re very busy, it’s crucial to take a little bit of time each day to have fun with your kids. Play a game, read a book, listen to a favorite piece of music, go for a walk to splash in muddy puddles (because, in the end, a bit of mud won’t hurt and can easily be cleaned up). 

Having fun is good for you all, and it might even help you to forget about your other worries, at least for a while. 

If you want to achieve your financial goals in 2021, you need to start by setting them. You may not know that setting a goal is a vital part of finding success, this is also something that can be applied to all areas of life. 

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One of the most essential aspects is financial security, and this will be different for every person. Whether you want to make an extra income, look for a house for sale and need a deposit, want to become debt-free, then you are in need of a money goal year-by-year. 

The key when it comes to setting goals is to turn it into a habit with both setting them and making new ones. It’s a good idea to set new goals when you’ve achieved your others and look at setting them yearly, monthly, and even weekly. 

When it comes to your financial goals, it is essential for you to at least set a yearly goal. Spend some time each year, possibly before the new year or just after the dreaded January is over to determine what your key focus needs to be in the new year. 

Let’s have a look at some of the things you can do to help: 

Make Sure You Look After Your Credit Rating

The first thing you need to do is get your credit rating in order. A lot of people have a less than perfect credit score, however, the world of today relies quite heavily on credit. You need to check your credit score and identify any issues that could be having an impact on your score. If your score is lower than you would like, you should start to take the steps to improve it. Things like paying your bills on time and clearing your debt can help. 

Set A Budget

Regardless of whether you have to live from one payday to the next, or you have plenty of cash left in the bank or spread across savings accounts, setting yourself a budget is still important. It helps you to be disciplined with what of your money goes on things you need and how much goes on recreational things. If you set a budget and stick to it, you are able to control your money to be able to reach your financial goals. 

Set Yourself A Realistic Savings Goal

Once you have your budget worked out, you should set yourself a savings goal for the year. Make it realistic, not something that is going to stretch your monthly funds but it should be as much as you can manage. The more you are able to save now, the more it will multiply as you go on. Once you have a savings goal you are able to divide it out and set some funds aside in your budget. If you can set up a payment to go into your savings on payday, this way you are less likely to dip into it. 

Get Rid Of Any Bad Debts

This should be seen as the most important financial goal, investing in getting rid of your bad debts. Having high-interest, bad debts like personal loans and credit cards are effectively the opposite of a good investment. You should try to decrease this rather than grow it, and as soon as you can too. You should make this your first priority, and any time is a good time to start. 

Use A Planner 

You are more likely to meet your goals and promises if you write them down and keep track. Write down your goals and make them promises to yourself. Even if you set yourself short term goals and then extend them on to the next month, it’s better than not setting them at all. Creating a 12-month financial planner will help you to get a handle on your finances in just a year. You can then change it to suit you and take it into the next year with you. Looking at clear benchmarks and being able to review each month will help you to make small and big changes that will lead you to become financially secure. 

Whether you decide to start this January, you want to wait until the hardest financial month is over, or you want to start halfway through the year. It is never too late to start planning your financial future. Using goals can keep you focused and determined. Do you have any other tips that you think would help? Please share them in the comments below.

Being a parent can be especially difficult in 2021. While you have worked hard to make sure that your children are safe online, technology often feels like it’s overtaking the actions you’ve been able to make. Your children need to be connected with their friends to make the best of their social lives, but many moms and dads find it hard to trust the world wide web with their children, especially when they are using a smartphone. To make this easier for you, this article will be exploring some easy tips to help you to keep tabs on your child’s smartphone usage without feeling like an oppressive parent.

App Monitoring

Some parents decide that they want to have full control over the child’s phone, actively limiting the apps that can be installed onto it. This can have a big negative impact on your relationship with your child, though, as you shouldn’t be monitoring these devices because you don’t trust them; you should be doing it to keep them safe. There are loads of modern apps that allow parents to keep an eye on what their kid’s phones are being used for. You will have the power to close apps and take control of the phone if you really need to, but your child will only ever have to deal with this if they do something wrong.

Location

The location tracking abilities of modern phones can be both a blessing and a curse for children. While you can quite easily install apps that give you a real-time readout of your kid’s location, this sort of tool is best used when you are worried that they are in an emergency situation. For example, if they don’t come home from school one evening, you could track their phone to make sure that they are just at one of the friend’s homes. There are a lot of tools that let you watch over your kid’s phone activities, making it nice and easy to do this without making it feel like you are taking control of their phone.

Honesty & Education

Many children feel confused when their parents put strict restrictions on their phones, unsure about the reasons behind this action. In most cases, taking the time to explain the online threats they face can be a good way to give them the tools they need to avoid them, and this can be much better than pushing them to explore parts of the internet that you don’t want them to see by restricting it to them. You should always push for honesty in this, but this also means that you have to be honest in return.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to get started on keeping your child’s phone safe without making yourself feel like an oppressive parent. A lot of people go through this process, finding it difficult to know what needs to be done when they are working to keep their children safe in the digital world, but there are loads of tools on the market to help out.

Are you someone that is generally a glass half-full or a glass half-empty? If you lean towards the latter more often than not, then you could be in need of getting a positivity boost in your life. When you have an overly negative outlook on things, then it can hold your life back in a number of ways. It can hold your career back, as well as general life. If you’re down for being a ‘Debbie Downer’ then the chances are that people won’t want to be around you, and as a result, it can make you feel even more down. Then you can be on a path to a more stressful and restrained life. So what can you do to give your life a positive boost? Here are some ideas that can give you something to think about.

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Look forward instead of back

If you are someone who is always looking back on things, and can’t forgive themselves for all of the embarrassing and terrible things that they have done, then it won’t come as a surprise that you find yourself unable to move on. You need to stop! You can’t be positive if you’re only thinking of the negative. You need to move on from the bad things, otherwise you will never be able to move forward. So move on from the past, enjoy the present, and look forward positively to the future. 

Smile

There is a little-known fact that you can trick yourself into feeling happier and more positive. What is it? Smiling! If you feel low, it can be hard to crack a smile, but can be a good idea to try to force yourself to. Watch something that makes you laugh, make a joke, or look up funny cat videos on YouTube, whatever will work for you. Smiling will immediately give you a boost of positivity.

Change what you can change

A lot of negativity and anxiety can come from the things that you are unable to control. There is a lot of that going on in the world right now, so you can feel extra negative or anxious as a result. So instead, take control over the things that you can change or control. It could be taking control over your health and taking steps to improve it through how much you move and what you eat. It could be changing some of the things that you are able to change, such as changing your hair color or looking into tongue piercing types if you fancy trying something new. When you change something that you can change, it can give you a boost and help you to feel good, regardless of what is going on around you.

Take up a hobby

When you have time on your hands, then it can be taken up with things that aren’t going to help your positivity. You might find you scroll social media more or overeat when you have down time. So instead, take up a new hobby that is going to help you to be more positive. You will have something to focus on and it will help you to spend your time more wisely.

Looking after yourself during a time of crisis is never going to be easy. Add kids into the mix and it gets a whole lot harder. Between making sure the kids are happy, the house isn’t like a bomb-site and there’s food in the cupboards, making time for yourself can be difficult. However, now more than ever, looking after yourself and prioritizing self-care is key to living through this current global moment, not just surviving. 

1. Make time for yourself every morning 

A simple act like moving your phone away from your bed and waking up to an alarm clock can make the world of difference to your mornings. It allows you time to wake up consciously without bombarding yourself with notifications, news alerts, and general cortisol-rising distractions. Instead, try spending the first hour of your day away from your phone. That could mean you have time to read a few pages of your book or do a quick morning stretch. 

2. Structure’s key 

Have you tried creating a structure for your kids, and within a day it’s fallen apart? Everyone has. While you know having the day planned can help you make space for yourself, but actually sticking to the plan is hard. It helps to keep it on show in your home so you can refer to it, as it can help keep the day on track – try using a chalk board or large wall planner. 

3. Treat yourself to some retail therapy 

For some that could mean splashing out on a new candle or a new video game, for others a new sweater will do. The key here is to do something that makes you happy. While you might not be able to get to the shops, you can still find pleasure in shopping, like choosing a comfortable new pair of jeans online. 

4. Get outside 

Behavioral therapists and academics have been preaching about the power of the outdoors, and it really does seem to be true. Some even call it ‘green therapy’, for the health benefits it brings. So, focus on getting into the great outdoors as much as you can – you may find that connecting with the outdoors, getting lost in the scenery, and enjoying all the sights and sounds can be a powerful act of self-care. 

5. Recognise stressors 

This is a difficult time for many, so remember to acknowledge the disorder that this pandemic may be bringing to your life. For some, ignoring what’s going on works, but it can cause stress to appear in other places! Giving yourself the space to feel your feelings and then move on can keep you grounded in this very turbulent time. So, consider writing down these stressors in a diary or telling them to your spouse or friend. Sharing your concerns can make them much easier to handle, and will help you feel more in control. 

6. Stay connected 

Depending on where you live, that could mean meeting a girlfriend for a walk outside, a video call to catch up with your bestie, or online gaming with a friend. Whatever it is, do it! Isolation (even if you are technically self-isolating) isn’t often conducive to happiness. So, keep up those conversations and reach out when you feel like you need to talk. No (wo)man is an island, folks. 

7. Manage your stress 

What chills you out? Do you like drawing, or coloring, or maybe gardening? If nothing springs to mind immediately, now is a great time to find your very own stress-reliever. The evenings, when the little ones are in bed, are a great time for finding your passion. If you find it hard to make time for yourself and what you enjoy, add it to your list for the day. You’ll be surprised how relaxing it can be to know you’ve got dedicated ‘you time’ later on in the day. Check out gaming, puzzles, or even knitting. Whatever makes you feel calmer and more relaxed. 

8. Try mindfulness

Yes, this term’s been all the rage for a few years now, but for good reason! During these particularly stressful times, mindfulness is a great tool for centering yourself and feeling more settled. So, what is it? It’s a type of mindfulness that involves focusing on something and bringing your attention back if your mind wanders. While now may not be the right time to go out and throw yourself into group mindfulness classes, there are loads of brilliant apps that can guide you through the whole process, start to finish. 

9. Get moving 

Whether you like it or not, keeping your body moving is a brilliant act of self-care. Endorphins are free and make you feel great! Whether that’s walking, weekly yoga, or a quick Pilates class in between breakfast and school drop-off time. If your gyms are shut (or you didn’t much care for them anyway) you could check out one of the many brilliant apps that are out there. And if you’re looking for something more non-committal, there are loads of free workouts on YouTube to choose from. 

10. Sleep easy

For some people, getting a full night’s sleep isn’t easy at the best of times. Throw in the stress of a global pandemic and many will be wide-eyed all through the night. We all know how important sleep is to feeling good, so ensuring you’re well-rested really is key. To make sure you’re getting enough shut-eye, here are some simple tips. First, implement a routine in the evenings to help yourself wind down. That could mean dimming the lights and avoiding looking at screens for an hour before sleep. Secondly, tune into your circadian rhythm and ensure that you’re sleeping and waking at the time that’s right for you. 

So, hopefully, you found this list of tips and tricks helpful. While day-to-day life isn’t easy right now, it’s important to focus on your own health and wellbeing, as well as your family’s. So, enjoy your self-care!