my Sunday photo 02/02/2020

Help your child feel confident.

Hey readers,

Sometimes children are complex or they have for whatever reason may not feel confident in doing something. 

  My eldest is quite anxious and nervous regarding certain things and I have worked with him to help reduce that anxiety.

 Here are some things you might want to try with a child who does not feel confident to help boost their self-esteem.

 Positive praise.

The most important tip to help boost a child’s confidence is to make them feel good about themselves. 

You can do this by giving your child positive praise because it is focusing on the good things that the child has done. 

The child themselves might not see the good so it is important to praise them for when they have done something noteworthy and speak to them about it. Y

ou need to keep praising your child as this will help them gain that confidence to know that what they are doing is good and it is getting the praise it deserves.

Allow your child to try it out and learn for themselves.

Sometimes the best way to help a child learn is to allow the child to learn by themselves in a safe environment.

 Let them do something without your help to see what works and what doesn’t. 

This is a great learning tool and I think one the best ways to get a child to learn.

 I know it is easy to instantly go in and help your child. However, allowing them to test it out themselves gives them that first-hand experience.

 They are more likely to remember what happens and no what to do instead to get a better result. Also, they can build their understanding of a subject by trial and error.

Encouragement.

Encourage your child to do something even when the child protests. 

Sometimes they are scared to try something, which is why it is good to encourage them to do it and give it ago.

 You never know they may find out they like the thing they have tried. Sometimes going out of your comfort zone can be scary at first however, it can once be done do wonders for your self-esteem.

Ask for their opinion.

One of the greatest ways to get an understanding of your child is asking for their opinion and listening to what they have to say. 

This helps build a strong relationship on respect and understanding on both sides.

 It allows your child to feel appreciated and ultimately it will give them trust to know that there is a safe place to come to and be heard.

Make a special time together.

A great way to give your child something special is having 1-2-1 time with them doing something that they enjoy.

 You don't have to be flash, it could simply be having a child read a story or letting them tell you something about what they have done that day.

 I think it is important for the child to have dedicated time as it gives them attention and to feel loved.

 It is not always easy for the parent when so much is going on but even ten minutes of interrupted time together makes a massive difference for the child.

Cheers for reading X

Ways to improve your mental health

Hey readers,

I have spent a large proportion of my life living and battling mental health problems.

 I have experienced anxiety, depression, and OCD. 

So, I for one know how hard it is to manage and get on with living your life when you have hurdles to overcome.

 Here are some of the ways in which I try to help improve my mental health and as I am writing this may be helpful to you the reader.

Learn to be kinder to yourself.

This one is an ongoing problem that I struggle with putting into place, as over the years I have learnt to put myself down therefore it is much harder job to be nice to myself. I understand that this takes time so stick with it! 

 It is easy to batter yourself with the negativity especially when you're dealing with trauma. 

That said one of the ways you can do something positive in your life is to learn to be kinder to yourself. 

I bet if the situation was turned to a loved one I bet you wouldn't speak to them the way you speak to yourself. 

You can change behaviour though it takes time but needs to be practising to do so.

Take time out.

One of the best things for me when I am struggling is having time out to myself. 

 For me, I like to go for a walk with my headphones on. It makes me switch off from what is happening and just go somewhere else other than the situation I am in.

Set realistic goals. 

Goals are brilliant - they help give focus and something to aim for. 

However, the one thing that can occur for people is making goals that are too unrealistic and less likely over time to struggle to stay focused and reach their goal.

 So, when you do consider making goals have a big goal but then make micro-goals to help along the way to achieve that big goal.

 Another thing to take on board to reward yourself with something when you have reached a small goal.

 This will make you feel good and make you want to continue to the next level of achieving that goal.

See the positives. 

As a person who sees the world with an empty cup of water, it can be so hard to see the positives, sometimes you got to wing it until you make it.

 What I mean by that statement is that you have to force yourself to see the positives, write them down and find something even if it is getting out of the bed in the morning, that is progress.

 Habits are hard to break so get into forcing yourself to write down three positives a day, over time this will become easier to do.

Break up the monotony. 

Life can be boring at times so that is why it is important to do something now again that breaks that samey samey up. 

You don't have to spend a fortune you could go to the local park and have a picnic. 

It is refreshing to do something different now and again as it allows you to have something to look forward to.

What things have helped improve your mental health?

Cheers for reading X

my Sunday photo 26/01/2020

Stuck in a thought.

Don't go hating me,

It is just in my mind, 

My thoughts

Want to lie to me,

Destroy me,

One thought at a time.

2 Easy ways to clean a microwave.

Hey readers,

I know in my home the microwave gets used a lot and mainly for warming up coffee, the joys of parenthood. 

Anyways it can be quite hard if you don't know how to clean a microwave. So here are some easy ways to clean up your microwave whilst not making too much of an effort but still getting a good result at the end of the day.

 Plus these cleaning hacks are really quick as I myself haven't got all the time to clean and nor do I want to, so this is a great time-saving idea.

1. White distilled vinegar and boiled water. 

 This first method does not only get tough food to soften and wipe down easily but also helps to sterilise your microwave and get rid of bad smells. 

* You will need microwave bowl, 1/2 distilled white vinegar and 1 cup of water.

* Add the vinegar and water into the bowl and place it into the microwave. 

* Heat on a high temperature for 2.5 minutes - or until you see the bowl boiling and the mixture giving off steam. 

* Best to live the mixture in the microwave for 15-20 minutes giving the bowl of the mixture to cool down. 

* Carefully take out the mixture and glass plate (you can clean this separately in the kitchen sink and return it to the microwave once dried). 

* Then get a clean, damp cloth to wipe over the microwave and with using the cleaning mixture means that you won't have to scrub to get the leftover remnants in the microwave making the job of cleaning the microwave a lot easier for you. 

2. Lemon.

Another cheap way to clean the microwave is to simply use a lemon (you don't have to spend an arm and a leg on expensive cleaning products as they tell you on Instagram).

* You will need a microwave bowl and put in 1/2 a cup of measuring water into the bowl. 

* Next slice the lemon, squeeze the juice into the water and place the two halves of lemon into the bowl. 

* Place the bowl in the centre of the microwave and put it on for 3 minutes. 

* Let that stand for a good five minutes to allow the solution to cool down. Plus this will give the food in the microwave time to soften down with the steam from the solution. 

* Take the microwave plate in the sink to clean.

* Then get a cloth and wipe down the insides of the microwave and also the door and outside area of the microwave.

* If there are some stubborn spots then what you can do is take the cloth dip it into the solution to help scrub and break down the stubborn food. 

* Replace the glass plate back into the microwave. 

This trick with cleaning with lemon does not only clean and smell amazing after but it is environmentally friendly too but so win-win all round. 

What do you think about these microwave cleaning hacks? Do you use them or do you have a good hack that I haven't shared? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Cheers for reading X 

my Sunday photo 19/01/2020

My eldest was super happy to take his friend to the cinema to watch Star Wars.