Debt Advice Companies

As the UK experiences the highest number of bankruptcies in history and the number of insolvencies increases by 100% per year, the demand for debt advice companies have never been greater. The UK’s population is struggling under the weight of inflation as fuel and energy prices soar and increasing interest rates crush disposable family incomes.

More families than ever are finding it impossible to meet the demands of their financial obligations. As a result, debt advice companies are on the rise, springing up all over the UK. These companies offer advice on relief from stifling debt with a multitude of options from simple advice on how to better budget to bankruptcies.

Some of the companies handle all the alternatives, and some specialize. Many companies have enquiry forms you may fill out online to begin the process of evaluating your situation. Keep in mind that when you query any of the companies, you will need to have your total debt figures in hand at the start. The more information you can provide from the start, the more smoothly they can advise you.

Not all debt advice companies are created equally of course, so be sure to do your research. Ask solid questions about the services they provide and any fee associated with their services. Make sure you get everything in writing and that you understand precisely what your liabilities and theirs are.
Many of the debt advice companies will pass on your information after they make an assessment of the type of assistance you require. Again, this is a good question to ask up front: do they refer you out, or do they handle debt management in house? Either way, their services are confidential, so no worries there.

A debt advice company is a good step to take even if you feel you are beginning to lose control on your household finances. As the country’s economic outlook seems bleaker, now is the time to pull in the reins of our own financial well-being and have a strong hold. You may not have a say on inflation rates, but you can take charge of your own finances.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/

Kids and Parents Talking About the Facts of Life

When parents decide to talk to their kids about 'the facts of life' it usually leads into one of those embarrassing situations (from the children’s point of view) where parents feel it’s their duty to make sure their children know how a baby is made.

The true irony is that how babies are made is only a tiny part of the real 'facts of life'. We seem to forget that there are many more important facts that children need to know about life. The first of these is health.

Good health is the foundation for our quality of life. The healthier we are the better we function in all aspects of life. So how much education do young kids get about health from their family, their teachers or books? Usually they learn something about the human body and organs and how they function. They may learn about healthy behavior - diet, hygiene, exercise etc. They may be given information about what they should and shouldn’t do, especially in relation to sex, smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs.

However if you look at youth health statistics it seems that while children may learn the facts, these frequently do not translate into action. The increase in obesity in children shows that the facts of healthy eating are not real for young people. The levels of youth drinking, smoking and drug taking show that whatever information young people are provided with is not having the desired impact.

So what are the most critical facts of life that kids at home should be learning while they are still young?

There are two simple priorities which could transform every individual's life.

1. How to be healthy.

2. How to prevent disease.

We now know a lot about health and there is much we can do to prevent all the major diseases. However this is highly pragmatic knowledge which is only effective if it is put into practice. If we want to teach health to kids effectively, we must give them education that actually changes their behavior. If you want to prevent heart disease it is simply not enough to know about exercise in theory. You need to exercise on a regular basis.

If we want to deliver effective health education we need to change our approach to education so we measure changes in children’s behavior rather than what they can memorize or write down on a piece of paper. The most useful knowledge in relation to health can only be measured in behavior and action. Words and information don’t have any real meaning unless they translate into behavior.

We find it unacceptable that children come out of school unable to read and write. Every child is expected to be able to count and calculate. All young people learn the biological 'facts of life'. But health is more important than any of these. It should be viewed as more fundamental than numeracy and literacy. We need to make sure that children are unable to pass the subject of health until they are healthy. Health is a prerequisite for a high quality of life. We don’t give children the right to choose whether they learn to read or write. There should be no choice as to whether they are healthy or not.

If you want to start to make a difference to a child's health now it is simple. Take one aspect of health that you feel is important, for example eating more fruit and vegetables as part of their daily diet. First make sure you are setting a good example yourself. If not take some time to sort out your own behavior. Then start to talk with the children about eating more fruit and vegetables. Make sure that you always have fruit and vegetables available at mealtimes. Explain to them why it is good for them. Never lecture them or get angry or emotional. Just quietly and persistently let them get the message that it is healthy to eat lots of fruit and vegetables. Always let them know why. You may have to repeat this regularly for a few weeks. But after a while you will see that they take on the message for themselves. You may even see them teaching their friends (or their dolls and other toys) to eat more fruit and vegetables. This simple approach can be applied to all aspects of health and because it is experiential they will never forget.

Author : Sarah McCrum

http://www.isnare.com/?aid=309777&ca=Parenting

Parenting, Education and Children: Fostering Openness to Learning in Children

What makes one child excited and another fearful about trying new experiences?

What makes one child put forth extensive effort toward something and another give up easily in discouragement?

What makes one child intensely curious and another closed down to new learning?

It is their set of beliefs - their way of thinking - that determines their behavior and outlook. Their beliefs determine their frame of mind, their approach to life, their attitude about themselves and their abilities.

BELIEFS THAT PROMOTE LEARNING, BELIEFS THAT PROMOTE FEAR

What kind of beliefs foster openness to learning and what kind of beliefs create a sense of fear and limitation?

Surprisingly, beliefs such as "I am smart" or "I am talented" or "I am gifted" tend to create limitation rather than openness. When children are told, "You are so smart" or "You are so talented," they have a tendency to get attached to the approval of being smart or talented and may become fearful of failure. They may decide that if they put forth great effort toward learning something and they fail, that this will prove that they are not as smart or as talented as their parents or teachers believe them to be. They may learn to attach their worth to being smart or talented and may see themselves as a failure if they fail at something.

On the other hand, children who are praised for EFFORT rather than ABILITY (see "Mindset" by Dr. Carol Dweck), learn to value themselves for their openness to learning and their efforts toward their goal, rather than for achieving the goal itself. These children get excited by the process of learning itself and experience a sense of worth in the effort, growth, and learning, rather than their sense of worth being attached to the outcome.

ENJOYING THE CHALLENGE OR ATTACHED TO THE OUTCOME

Children who enjoy a challenge receive a sense of self-validation from the effort itself, while children who are attached to outcomes receive a sense of worth mainly through the approval of others.

There is a huge difference between children who believe that "The harder I work, the smarter I get" or "The more I practice, the better I get," and children who believe, "I am smart so I don’t have to work hard," or "I am talented and I can just fall back on my talent." Research indicates that raw intelligence or talent is not enough.

"It's always been accepted that by hard work, training, and exercise it's possible to develop intellectual faculties or an intellectual mastery well above the average…We know very well that there are people who are exceptionally gifted intellectually. We also know very well that those exceptional gifts will yield nothing unless cultivated by intensive training and daily practice. "
--The Monk and the Philosopher, by Jean-Francois Revel and Matthieu Ricard p. 45

Likewise, we need to make sure that we do not limit our children by telling them they are stupid or untalented. A child who believes that "I'm stupid so why bother putting in any effort," or "I'm not musical so why bother practicing the piano," will never make the effort needed to grow.

FOSTERING OPENNESS TO LEARNING

As parents, grandparents, and teachers, we can foster openness to learning in children by focusing on their effort rather than on their abilities or their achievements. A statement such as "Wow, I can really see how hard you've worked on this!" can motivate a child far more than "Wow, you are so smart!" or "Wow, you are so talented!"

It is wonderful to see children curious, open and excited by learning. It is wonderful to experience children who are self-motivated and receive joy and a sense of intrinsic worth through their own efforts. Let's foster this in our children by teaching them that their intelligence and abilities are not fixed at birth - that their intelligence and abilities grow with effort and practice.

Author : Margaret Paul, Ph.D

http://www.isnare.com/?aid=327464&ca=Parenting

Special Needs Siblings Have Special Needs, Too! What Siblings Want You to Know

“Help! I will have a house full of relatives this Christmas. I know exactly what will happen and I don’t know what to do about it. Everyone will shower lots of attention on my daughter with special needs and basically ignore her younger sister. It makes me so mad! Any ideas?” – Mom of a child with developmental disorder

“My five-year-old son had to go to the hospital and I stayed with him. His older sister was so angry at me for leaving her that she wouldn’t even look at me when she came to visit the hospital. What can I do to get her over her anger?” – Mom of a child with cystic fibrosis

Special needs kids face plenty of special challenges and so do their siblings. According to Don Meyer of SibShops, much of the medical world is focused on the affected child and siblings are often forgotten. Don points out that brothers and sisters are too important to ignore because they will be in the life of the special needs child long after parents and other caregivers are gone.

So how can parents nurture the sibling relationship, take care of the affected child and manage to squeak in a little time for parental self-care? It’s not easy, but understanding a little bit about relationship dynamics and having a good parenting toolbox can go a long ways.

When healthy children live with a special needs sibling, whether that child has psychological, neurological or medical problems, they naturally have an understandable potpourri of feelings that swirl within depending on the situation, the family culture and their mood at the moment. Such feelings may be love, resentment, protectionism, feelings of helpfulness and hopelessness interspersed at times with “just wishing my sister would die!”

Surprisingly, although children “lean” toward one feeling or another, parents consciously or unconsciously validate certain feelings and those are the feelings that become most habitual or primary. In our book “Parenting Children with Health Issues,” we note that there are various ways parents, without realizing they do so, validate dysfunctional or unhappy feelings in the healthy sibling. We can look at one example here:

Understandably, parents may vibrate feelings of guilt about the time and energy they must spend on their special child. This encourages blame in the healthy sibling. So a mother might respond to an upset sibling with: “Paul, honey, I’m sorry, but Nate needs a lot of my time right now.” Especially if this is said with a tone of slight plead, the response of most healthy siblings will be, “Well, it’s not fair! You should be spending more time with me!” How different this is than when the parent says, with love and understanding, “I understand that you’re frustrated. And I appreciate your understanding about the time Nate is taking right now. Not every kid could handle it so well. Thanks.”

When confronted with a child’s upset feelings, there are two common mistakes parents make: They validate the child’s upset by responding with too much sympathy or defensiveness or they invalidate the child’s feelings by dismissing their concerns. The solution? As shown in the example above, respond with empathy and acceptance of the child’s feelings while not giving approval of “acting out” behaviors and giving the child the “you-can-cope message.”

One of the best gifts a parent can give any child is the ability to cope well with the challenges life throws their way. As adults, we know that life will always have problems and frustrations but it is how we handle them that will ultimately determine the quality of our lives.

When children have the experience of coping well with problems, they are confident and they take responsibility for their lives. It is too easy for siblings of disabled kids to take the victim position: “If it weren’t for John’s illness, my life would be easier” or “If it weren’t for Susie’s disability, I’d be happy,” etc.

There are a number of ways that parents can help the healthy siblings of a special needs child to cope:

1. Parents need to spend some individual time with the healthy child. Parents may need to play tag-team to do this. Even a quick dinner at McDonald’s can be a time of important one-on-one connection.

2. Expect (with great appreciation) that the healthy child will help with some of the necessary routines concerning their brother and sister and other jobs around the house. Chores are an important way for all kids to contribute to the family and human beings love what they contribute to. But be sure to pay a child for special duties above and beyond what is usually expected and keep expectations reasonable.

3. When and if the child expresses negative or angry feelings listen with acceptance, not necessarily approval. Everyone needs time to vent and wants his or her feelings to be accepted but that doesn’t mean parents have to agree with the content of the complaint. Words that show acceptance without necessarily agreeing with the feelings are:

“Thanks for letting me know how you feel”
“I appreciate your telling me these things.”
“I can understand that you feel that way….”

4. After listening, questions may help children move toward resolution:

“How long do you think you’ll be upset about….?”
“What is your plan for handling…..?”

5. Special needs children may require more than average physical contact from their parents and siblings are sure to notice. Make sure you give the healthy child equal touch, hugs, and eye-contact.

6. Be sure siblings are getting accurate information about the disability or disease. Where there is a lack of information, kids often fill in the gaps with misinformation or they might blame themselves for causing the problem.

7. It is helpful to educate extended family members, schools contacts and close others about the siblings’ special challenges and needs. But be sure to talk this over with the sibling first- especially an older child. Make a plan together ahead of time about the best way to handle those family members who are coming for the holidays! This will reduce stress and hard feelings.

8. Make the effort to find out what your children need as individuals; there many good books on personality styles. By becoming aware of your child’s personality style, you will be more able to respond effectively to the behavioral or emotional challenges that come up. You might think that the sibling who is spending time all alone in his room with his books is depressed- and that might be the case. Or it might be that your child is an analytical introvert who simply prefers books to people! Take the time to understand who your children really are.

So, as you navigate the ups and downs of family life with a special needs child, keep these tips in mind:

1. Remember that the siblings of special needs kids are kids first. Before “blaming” sibling problems or family issues on the challenges around living with special needs, first see if there is another reason that is unrelated to the special needs. Maybe the sibling is acting out because he or she is having a hard time at school or a problem with friends or a girl/boy friend. Look at the whole child first, before assuming that it is the issue of special needs that is causing the problem. Again, when parents feel guilty, the situation is more easily confused.

2. Parents set the model for good problem solving, conflict resolution and coping skills. The children will learn to cope with hard times and the sibling’s special needs by watching and learning from the parent. Does a parent whine and complain about the situation? Is a parent angry and frustrated? Do the parents fight with each other over the problems? Do they “blame” the ill child for their financial, marital, and relational problems? If so, you can bet the siblings will, too.

3. Parents must take good care of themselves. Not only is this important to avoid burnout but again, it sets the model for the children. This means that parents take the time for date nights and self-care time. This also means that parents do not tolerate disrespect from the children (or each other). They set healthy boundaries around the many demands that come with raising a disabled/ special needs child.

4. Focus on thankfulness and the positive. Foster a spirit of helpfulness, cooperation and appreciation for each other and the blessings that are present. Make it a practice to count your families’ blessings together each day: jobs, a roof, food, medical insurance, freedom, friends and family, resilience, compassion, depth, love, faith and hope.

5. Learn effective parenting skills. Parents must have good, effective parenting skills to rely on. There is no substitute for knowing how to defuse arguing, setting limits without causing power struggles and communicating about difficult issues.

6. Don’t always make ill/disabled children the focal point of the family. They are a part of the family, not the family. Don’t define/ label yourselves as parents of a child with a disability. We are all people, first, with hopes, dreams, fears, needs and gifts.

7. Don’t overcompensate for your guilty feelings of not being able to spend enough time with the siblings. Some parents try to “make it all better” with material things and not setting limits when it is appropriate to do so. This creates more problems than you actually solve. Entitlement (aka “spoiled child syndrome”) can become a real danger in homes with special needs kids because it leads to kids who become hostile-dependent. This is when people think they are entitled to something and when they don’t get it become angry, resentful, blaming and bitter. We’ve seen far too many relationships destroyed by these sad responses.

It is true that in the end, siblings will be there long after parents are gone but a parent’s influence, both positive and negative, can last generations. By purposefully nurturing relationships and responding effectively to the challenges that arise, parents can leave a legacy of children who grow up to be responsible, resilient, independent, and supportive.

Authors : Foster Cline MD And Lisa Greene

http://www.isnare.com/?aid=329960&ca=Parenting

Baby Gender Planning - How to Plan the Gender of Your Baby

Yes, you read correctly, baby gender planning is possible. But how? A new resource shows exactly how you can conceive a baby boy or girl.

The eBook How to Choose the Gender of your baby shows guaranteed methods to conceive a boy or conceive a girl.

What information does the eBook contain?

The methods in the eBook will teach people how to conceive a child without expensive doctors’ visits, without costly fertility drugs and no testing at hospitals. Anyone can easily do this, you don’t have to be a scientist to conceive a baby of the genders of your choice.

The methods in the baby gender planning eBook will work regardless of your age and companion’s age. Having a regular period or not having a regular period will not affect the outcome.

Learn the secrets to increasing your fertility and bear the child that you long for. A simple aspect like changing your diet will help to conceive a boy or a girl.

The book goes into detail about what will increase chances of conceiving a boy or a girl. It will provide information on the factors that influence success, the proper sexual positions to conceive a boy and timing of intercourse to conceive a girl or boy.

What are the advantages of the book “How to Choose the Gender of your Baby”?

Would you rather pay several hundred dollars consultation fee to conceive or would you rather pay under $50 to get the information? That’s what I thought. Save your money and purchase this resource to read about the methods that many purchasers have used to successfully conceive a baby using baby gender planning ideas.

Will this method work for me?

The website for the eBook “How to Choose the Gender of your Baby” contains many testimonials from satisfied customers who have conceived boys and who have conceived the girls they truly wanted. The author of the eBook is also an example of someone the methods worked for. After having three boys the author gave birth to the sweet baby girl she wanted.

You can’t lose when the product is backed by a money back guarantee if not satisfied.

The product is sold using Clickbank’s secure servers, so personal and financial information is safe from prying eyes.

People contacted the author of this eBook for consultation on how to plan the baby’s gender. Customers looking for consultations would call at odd hours of the night before this eBook was developed.

As you can see, this information is in very high demand. Get up off your bottom and take control of your family to be. Start trying to conceive the sweet little bundle you’ve dreamed of for so long.

Summary:
As you can see, this information is in very high demand. Get up off your bottom and take control of your family to be. Start trying to conceive the sweet little bundle you’ve dreamed of for so long. These methods are guaranteed and you’ll see on the website many people have had success with conceiving boys and girls.

Author : Ashley Spencer

http://www.isnare.com/?aid=346084&ca=Parenting