The cost of being a parent and raising a child in todays world
is constantly increasing. The risk of your child becoming
involved in problem behaviour is also greater. Parents must work
together as a team to ensure the brightest future for their
children. But what if there is no team. No other person to rely
upon. This is what millions of single parents deal with
everyday. But it is not only the parent who sees this as a
gloomy situation. Children are quite often left thinking that
they are the reason for a separation or divorce. It is the child
who must attend father and son day at school without a dad. They
have to grow up with all the stigma attached to coming from a
“broken home”. These are just a few of the many potential
problems that a single parents household are faced with. This
article is aimed at providing single parents with some
strategies for raising a good child despite what other people
may say.
Concentrate on the positives
Although it may be impossible to see at first, there are some
positives for single parents. The main one being less fighting,
bickering and tension around the house. This will benefit your
child in the long run as it becomes a more child friendly
environment. Try to see your situation as a new found freedom
and feeling of independence.
Develop a new relationship with your child
A child must obviously be comforted at such a time, but also
made to see that you are the boss. Do not let your child think
that because there is now only one parent around, they can do
whatever they please. Children need rules and routine,
regardless of how many parents are around.
Ask for help if you need it
Suddenly single parents will probably find that their workload
doubles or triples at first. If your children are old enough, be
sure to set them some chores around the house each day to take
the pressure off yourself a little. Speak to other parents as
much as you can. You will be surprised how often they will be
happy to help out. It may just be taking your child to the
movies or to a sports game on a Saturday morning, but every
little bit helps. Above all, don’t feel as though you have to do
absolutely everything on your own.
Do not use your children for emotional support
Children need to have fun, play with their friends and enjoy
their youth. Do not become overly possessive of your child or
look to them for emotional support. This quite often leads to
the child feeling as overwhelmed as you are. Although you may
not be ready for another romantic relationship, try to talk to
other adults about your emotions.
Kids react best to routine
In order to create a stable household envirnonment with
children, their must be rules and routine. Simple things like
having dinner at the same time each night, bed time, homework
time etc… If you can provide a schedule for them, they will
feel a sense of security. Of course, the correct dosage of
attention and affection will also provide and sustain a nuturing
environment, but a combination of the two will always work best.
Don’t forget about you
For single parents with a house full of kids and only one parent
to do all the work and all the worrying, it may be easy to
forget about ones self. It is crutial to the well-being of your
children, that you stay healthy. If you feel run down, ask
another parent or relative to mind the kids for a night or two.
Try to remember the things you enjoy doing and dedicate a little
bit of your time to do these things. The way a parent feels is
quite often reflected in a child. If you are stressed out all
the time, then this may directly or indirectly affect your
child. So, try to stay calm around the kids when you can. Take a
deep breath, or wait until the kids are out of the car before
you start screaming!
Try to remember that it is all about quality not quantity. There
are many two parnet households out their that are doing a much
worse job than yourself. Just beacause a parent finds themsleves
on their own, doesn’t mean that things won’t work out. Remember,
not just anyone can run a house, raise kids and do a thousand
other things all at once. Give yourself a pat on the back once
in a while. You have a lot to be proud of. Best of luck to you!
Teachers, it’s the ultimate challenge in classroom management, isn’t it? If you find it challenging to teach and counsel students suffering from “hormone poisoning,” here are some great interventions to help your teens use their heads instead of their hormones. All of these delightfully different methods are taken from Youth Change’s Solution Center; there are hundreds more there if you need them:
On-the-Job Kissy-Face
When kids debate your site’s standards regulating romantic contact, inform them that the standards derive from the work world, not your personal preferences. Advise your youngsters that as soon as business work places commonly permit hugging, kissing, etc., you will too. So, in our part of the world, we tell kids that the very instant that our large employers like Nike, the State of Oregon, and Intel, start offering Coffee and Kiss breaks, we’ll do it too.
Work a Little, Kiss a Little
Ask students to name all the jobs they can successfully do and gaze longingly into someone’s eyes while working; there may be none. Ask your youngsters to guess what happens to people who work a little, kiss a little.
That Other Fire Will Have to Wait
Have your students name the jobs or businesses they may one day wish to do. Ask them to identify the results of kissing, hugging, etc. while working these jobs. For example, what could result from a fire fighter, surgeon or air traffic controller being distracted by romantic activity at work? Have students answer that question humorously by determining what the distracted worker might say when asked to concentrate on work. Elicit silly answers, such as the fire fighter responds with “That other fire will have to wait.”
Would You Ski in Class?
Ask students if they would ever cook breakfast during your class or activity, or practice the clarinet, or ski? When they say “no,” ask why. When they tell you that those activities don’t belong in class, you can respond that neither do kissing, hugging, etc. Note that you are not commenting on whether the romantic activity is good or bad, but that class or group is the wrong time and place, just like it’s the wrong time and place for skiing or making toast.
Elbows to Fingertips
A quick and easy-to-remember guideline for interpersonal contact at your site: Touch only from the elbows to fingertips, and then, only after asking and receiving permission.
Someone’s Sister
This intervention is designed for boys who view girls as mere toys. Ask the young man to describe how he’d react if someone took advantage of his sister (or mother or daughter.) Elicit answers that show that he wouldn’t tolerate such behavior. Remind the young man that every girl is/will be someone’s sister, someone’s daughter, someone’s mother.
In Case of Hormone Overdose
Years ago, families reliably taught their offspring what they needed to know about interpersonal behavior. Those skills are not always reliably taught at home these days. You may want to make it your job to teach what the family should have taught. Remember that telling youngsters “what not to do”, may not be enough to change the problem behaviors. Be sure to teach them “what to do” instead. Be sure to cover these: Hand Control, Mouth Control, Distance Control and Clothes Control.
Ruth Herman Wells MS is the director of Youth Change, (www.youthchg.com.) See hundreds more of her innovative, problem-stopping interventions at Youth Change’s web site www.youthchg.com. Ruth is the author of dozens of books and conducts workshops, inservice, professional development
White-water rafting can be one of the most exhilarating experiences of a lifetime. River rafters see breathtaking scenery, get great exercise, and experience terrific adventure. There are great places to go river rafting all over the world, but many of the best rivers for white-water rafting are here in the United States.
It’s a good idea to contact a licensed river rafting agency to plan a rafting trip. These agencies, found near most major rivers, provide trained guides and planned routes for rafting rides. Many agencies also provide training for novice river rafters. These services are especially good for people rafting for the first time.
River rafting has been a sport for decades. The person generally credited with inventing river rafting is Bill Dvorak. In 1969, Dvorak was the first person issued a river recreation outfitters license when he formed Dvorak Expeditions in Salida, Colorado. Dvorak created many of the safety guidelines and license requirements for equipment used in white-water rafting. He came up with the idea of having guides lead rafting tours.
There are many great places to go white-water rafting in the United States. One of the most popular is the American River, which starts in the Sierra Nevada and splits into the North Fork, Middle Fork, and South Fork before converging near Sacramento, CA. The American River provides a wide variety of river rafting experiences, from easy rapids for beginners to difficult stretches navigated by expert rafters.
White-water rapids are rated based on their level of difficulty. Water speed, currents, the amount of rocks, and other factors influence the river’s rating. The easiest rivers to navigate are Class I; Class VI rivers are considered impossible to run. As equipment has become more advanced, many rivers previously defined as Class IV became Class V, and extremely skilled rafters have begun navigating them safely.
River rafting is a fun and challenging sport. A river rafting vacation is perfect for people who love challenges and being in the great outdoors.
River Rafting Info provides detailed information on river rafting trips in Washington, Colorado, California and the Grand Canyon, as well as Salmon River in Idaho and Rogue River in Oregon. River Rafting Info is the sister site of Inflatable Boats Web.
If you want to save money on your telephone service using the
internet, you will need to sign up with a VOIP (Voice Over
Internet Protocol) service provider. They will sell you the
necessary equipment and assign you a number, which is used like
a regular phone number.
VOIP providers are useful and very cheap. Most providers offer
VOIP connections free of charge. They make their money by
charging for calls to the regular telephone network. Most
providers allow you to call any phone number in the world for a
moderately low fee. For modest monthly fees (about $8-$20), they
offer unlimited calls to certain geographic areas. They also
provide voicemail, call forwarding and conference calls, at no
extra charge.
Vonage, BroadVoice, Diamond, iConnectHere, Lingo, mywebphone,
Packet8, and VoicePulse are some of the major VOIP providers.
Most of these companies are based in the United States; some
also have offices in other countries.
VOIP equipment includes a broadband modem and an ATA (Analog
Telephone Adapter) or IP phone. Both the ATA and IP phone
connect directly to the modem, but the ATA allows you to use
older analog phones. No matter which equipment you use, it has a
unique number that identifies your current IP (Internet
Protocol) address. If you’re constantly on the move, your VOIP
provider tracks your current IP address, which allows people to
contact you no matter where you are.
Even if you’re using your Internet phone from a single location,
a VOIP provider is usually still necessary. The majority of
residential Internet connections have ‘dynamic’ IP addresses, so
every time you reconnect to the Internet, you have a different
IP address.
The VOIP provider is also useful, because people can contact you
by entering your user name, rather than your IP address.
When choosing a VOIP provider, keep in mind the protocol they
use. SIP seems to be the emerging standard. It offers fairly
easy connection routes between different VOIP providers. H.323
and IAX protocols are sometimes offered in addition to SIP.
Skype, popular for PC-to-PC VOIP systems, uses a proprietary
protocol, so it is not easy to connect to the Skype network from
another VOIP provider.
It is a bit of work to research and set everything up, but the
sooner you start, the quicker you will be able to look back and
say, “Why did I wait so long?”
Carlisle are overwhelming 1/7 favourites to win League Two outright after their 1-0 victory over second-placed Grimsby sent them six points clear. Former Leeds striker Michael Bridges struck the decisive goal for the even money Cumbrians four minutes after the break.
Northampton threw away a two-goal lead against Rochdale and missed the chance to go second. Josh Low after five minutes and Scott McGleish on 35 put the 8/15 Cobblers in control at the break. However, Rickie Lamberts pulled one back six minutes into the second half and levelled with a stoppage time penalty.
Leyton Orient are breathing down Northampton’s necks after a 2-0 victory over Boston United saw them level on points. An Adam Lockwood penalty on 51 and Paul Connor goal a minute before the end ensured victory for the 6/10 O’s who kept a sixth successive clean sheet.
Wycombe suffered their fourth consecutive defeat at the hands of Macclesfield. Paul Harsley netted a penalty six minutes before the break and Danny Whittaker struck on 53 for the 6/4 Silkmen. Substitute Russell Martin score a consolation four minutes from full time.
Play-off chasing Cheltenham were denied all three points by Stockport. Kayode Odejayi drew first blood for the Robins but County went ahead through a Mark Robinson penalty and Keith Briggs. Brian Wilson levelled for the hosts and a Grant McCann penalty two minutes from time looked set to secure a 7/10 home win. However, Liam Dickinson tied the game at 3-3 with an equaliser in injury time.
Peterborough sent Bury deeper into relegation trouble with an emphatic 3-1 win at Gigg Lane. Posh striker Danny Crow broke the deadlock on 45 and Adam Newton doubled the lead after 62 minutes. Tom Kennedy scored from the penalty spot four minutes later to give the Shakers hope but Crow struck again in stoppage time to seal a convincing 9/5 away win.
Darlington boosted their play-off hopes but left Torquay’s League status hanging by a thread with a 2-1 win at Plainmoor. The relegation-threatened Seagulls took the lead through Keith Hill on 37 but Akpo Sodge levelled for the Quakers on 66. Neil Wainwright netted a late winner for 9/5 Darlo a minute from time.
Rushden & Diamonds fightback continued with a 1-0 win at Bristol Rovers, levelling them on points with fellow strugglers Stockport. Drewe Broughton sealed another three points for the 4/1 outsiders with 11 minutes remaining.
Chester climbed away from the drop zone with their third successive win, this time at Oxford. Derek Asamoah netted his sixth goal in three games after 19 minutes to secure the 9/4 Blues victory.
David Walker runs free bets and UK poker websites. A free email course: “Seven Days to Better Betting” is available at both of these websites.
Over the years, I’ve had several copywriters ask me how
important it is to have an “agency quality” website. My answer
is always the same: it’s very important if you are prospecting
other than locally.
When you prospect locally, the client can meet you personally.
But when you prospect nationally, your website, “telephone”
personality, and marketing materials form the basis of your
prospective client’s impression of you.
Fortunately, it’s not difficult to find a designer/webmaster who
can help you build a high quality site at a reasonable cost. And
some of my students do a very nice job of creating a quality
site themselves.
Because I’ve found national prospecting to be far more
profitable than working with local business, I encourage my
coaching students to prospect nationally (and sometimes
internationally), and create a website that supports a
sophisticated positioning.
What, exactly, constitutes an “agency quality” website?
Here are five pointers for creating a website that convinces
quality clients that you are the right copywriter for them (plus
two common mistakes to avoid):
1. Make sure your website has a “you” orientation. The Home page
should not talk about “you” except in the context of what you
can offer a client.
2. Have a “unique selling proposition” (USP), or positioning
statement. Why are you “the best” choice? Do you serve a
particular niche? Are you an expert at some important element of
copywriting (e.g., offer development, headlines, concepting,
etc.)? Make sure your USP “shines through” on your Home page.
3. View your entire site as a lead-generating tool. If you write
a direct response package, you first try to get your prospect
into the envelope. Once inside, you attempt to lead your
prospect through the package, with the end destination the reply
card or order device.
Use the same principle in designing your website and its
navigation. Always send your prospect to the “contact me” page,
or the page where you offer more information. As with any
lead-generation effort, your only goal is to get your website
visitor to respond.
4. Create an offer, and offer it on your website. Unlike general
advertising, direct marketing is defined by the offer. If you
don’t have an offer, you’re not employing the most fundamental
rule of marketing, and it will cost you responses.
5. Pay attention to look and feel. Copywriters have the right
and responsibility to make sure the end product produces leads
or sales.
This means that the copywriter should offer the art director
some level of direction on look and feel (without overstepping
bounds, of course).
A clean, well-organized website that exhibits a “professional
finish” will offer a sophisticated client some level of
assurance that contacting you will not be a waste of their time.
What NOT to do on your website:
First and foremost, don’t “preach to the choir.” Because the
world of copywriting is new to new copywriters, they have a
tendency to “tell what they know” on their website.
But a quality client (usually mid-size to large companies and
organizations), doesn’t want to know why copywriting will help
him. He already knows that, even if he doesn’t know how to write
copy himself.
What he’s looking for is validation that you could be the right
copywriter for him.
Websites that attempt to “teach” generally attract clients who
need teaching (oftentimes small business with a low appreciation
of what good copywriting can do for them, and an even lower
threshold for paying reasonable fees).
The second mistake I see is mentioning price on the Home page
(or anywhere in the site, for that matter).
Quality clients do not put price first, and any discussion of
price usually comes after the copywriter has a complete picture
of the marketing problem that needs to be solved.
Not long ago, one of my coaching students complained that his
prospects seemed fixated on price. After going to his website I
noticed that his Home page positioned him as more attractively
priced than other copywriters.
This positioning inadvertently created a USP based on “low
price” — something we copywriters should always avoid.
Bringing up the subject of price on your website will actually
cause your prospect to put it front and center. Best to let
pricing discussions occur “naturally” in the process of landing
a job.
How do you keep a Journal?
Getting things on paper takes it out of your head. Your mind actually will release stress. Writing tasks down helps to clarify issues, helps to analyze goals and set step by step procedures to follow.
Notice how once you write things down, especially your stresses, things don’t seem so bad. You appear to have more time and the tasks seem easier and simpler to complete.
So write down everything. Don’t get carried away, I mean write down your stresses and your daily tasks.
Use a journal or diary for your tasks. You probably want to keep a track record of what you are going to do and what you’ve done.
It also helps to give yourself a ‘pat on the back’ when you have reached your goal or completed a task. Just put a big tick next to the task. Make it large, it feels better that way.
Write down your stresses though. It can be what the boss said, or your employees. It could be the frustrations of a task or a colleague. Anything, but write it down.
On paper, it doesn’t seem that bad. Stresses appear less real and less heavy when you write them down.
Now a word of warning …
Use a notebook or paper you can put in a folder. You may want to dispose of your writings and not let the boss see them. You may have a few pages of how bad you think they are, or colleagues or the task assigned. You may have a whole page of swear words, just because everything is on top of you and it helps to swear … on paper.
But write them down; keep it in a folder or notebook. Just keep it private.
A good technique to do either daily or weekly is to gather all your writings and … burn them.
Yes, set fire to it. Again, carefully, use a fire place if you have one. If not please be safe.
If you can’t burn them, then rip them up. Into small tiny pieces and them throw them away. Send them to a fictitious address (probably don’t sign anything and still rip it up, you don’t want to scare anyone).
By burning, tearing up or sending the words away, you are telling your brain to release and reduce stress.
It can be quite a euphoric ritual. You write it down by journaling, then burn the evidence. All the stress goes up in smoke.
Just one way to reduce stress. Stress relief is essential today due to the many mental stresses you face. Journaling and writing stresses down helps to get the stress out of your head. Just try it and see how easy it is.
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Dr Graeme Teague has been in private practice since 1991, teaching and treating many clients with emotional and general health conditions.
Through his many teaching seminars and extensive professional knowledge, he has now released two new e-books on the many simple and effective ways to be healthy and stress free.
His new web-site is dedicated to teaching you ways to improve your health with orthodox and natural techniques.
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