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How To Raise Active and Health Kids

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Physical activity participation decreases with a child’s age and grade in school. Physical activity is important for families. Here are some tips to keep your children active and healthy.

Getting the entire family moving

Researchers have found that lifestyles learned in childhood are more likely to stick with an individual into adulthood. If children take an interest in sports and other physical activities as a family, they will lay the foundations for good health.

Be an Active Role Model

Engage in physical activity as a way to take care of your body and health, instead of a chore. Find activities you enjoy and spend at least 30 minutes five days a week being active. 

Children will be more likely to copy their physical activity habits when they see you enjoying time being active. It’s also a great way to build a lasting bond with your kids. 

Include Physical Education

Healthy lifestyles require children to both be able to engage in free play and be properly instructed in specific physical skills. An easy way for children to achieve this is to participate in physical education as part of their regular schoolday, while attending school. 

Whenever there is time when children are at home due to school being out or an event like a snow day, block off a certain time each day for them to participate in physical activity. The most effective approach would be age appropriate and fun.

Organized Activities

Active play can be organized by either a parent or a child. There are games such as Simon Says, which are played indoors, and dozens of outside games such as hopscotch, jump rope, dodge ball, Frisbee golf, badminton, volleyball and the list goes on.  

Consider taking the kids to a bowling alley, a surfing school such as Aquasurf,com, basketball park or skating rink depending on the season.

Make Fitness Part of Your Child’s Day

If your children are old enough, they can walk or bike to school every day, and they will get the many physical and mental benefits of being active. Get them engaged with a hobby that involves fitness such as hiking. 

You can include fun new ideas such as using a disposable camera to take cool pics with. Don’t have a camera pick one up from Analogcc.com.

Make the most of not being at school by walking or biking with your kids when possible as well as organizing family walking or biking trips.

Playing tennis, bowling, or baseball can maintain physical activity at a time when going outside is possible. Active video games can also be used to promote physical activity on ‘physically-active’ television when the weather is bad out. 

Get Help With The Household Chores

Make active chores feel fun with upbeat music, so your children will be motivated to help out with the chores. Make sure they help by joining in with your chores as a family and offer some pocket money to really get them motivated. 

If your kids are old enough encourage them to get a casual job such as a vegan meal delivery rider, lawn mowing or paper delivery. 

7 Tips on Raising a Child in God’s Way

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Parenting in the 21st century can be hard, particularly if you’re wanting to raise your child in a spiritual manner. Teaching your child about God is part of your role as their parent. There are no guarantees that teaching your child will be successful or easy, but here are some tips to help you raise your child in God’s way:

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1. Teach Your Children to Have Confidence

All children are different and it’s important that they know it. We are all individuals with our own opinions and choices to make. Try to avoid comparing children and instead value their differences, including their talents, skills and values.

2. Teach Them to Care About Others and to Value Them

Once you’ve taught your child that they are unique and special in their own way, then you need to teach them to value and respect others irrespective of their opinions or status. Teach your child that it doesn’t matter who you are, everyone is special.

To help your child on their spiritual journey why not consider sending them to a school that will help support and guide them? The Visitation School is the perfect choice for parents of Catholic children. Not only do they help support your child in their faith, they also make sure they grow up knowing that they are special and cared for. This school also works with your child to help them get the best grades possible and the most out of their life as a whole.

3. Teach Them that it’s OK to Say No

All children need to learn that there’s nothing wrong with saying no. You should teach them to be confident in their opinions, which will lead to them becoming better leaders as they grow up. Talk to your children about the importance of being honest.

4. Set Boundaries for Your Children

As your child’s responsibility increases, so should their liberty. Giving your child rewards when they try their best or achieve something new will also encourage them to try harder.

5. Set a Good Example

You need to make sure that you set a good example to your children. Jesus led by example when training the twelve disciples. Try not to force the Bible on your children, instead teach them life lessons by following the teachings yourself. Children are much more likely to learn from your actions than they are from the teachings in a book.

6. Attend Church on a Regular Basis

Encourage your children to attend church with you on a regular basis. Children who are brought up attending church are more likely to carry on attending when they get older than children who don’t. Many churches provide areas for children to learn in a fun way away from the adults. This might be a great way to teach your child about God.

7. Discipline Your Children

It’s important not to react to your child in anger. You also need to try and not make empty threats that you’re unlikely to follow through on. Try and take a balanced approach to discipline; as your child grows, try and reason with them more and punish them less.

Raising your child in God’s way may seem like a challenge, but with the support of your friends, school and community it’s achievable. Follow some of our top tips above and you’ll be well on your way.

Marrison Family Law

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A divorce is one of the toughest experiences anyone can endure and Colorado’s divorce and family court system is not easy to navigate unless you’re familiar with the system or have a highly experienced Colorado divorce attorney on your side.

When it comes to divorce, Colorado is a purely” no-fault” state. Marrison Family Law believes this means the court will not consider either spouse’s misconduct when deciding whether to grant a divorce, award alimony or divide property. Issues such as drug abuse and adultery are not taken into consideration.

You may file for divorce in Colorado if the marriage is “irretrievably” broken, which simply means that there’s no chance of reconciliation

Property Division

Colorado is an equitable distribution state. Rather than the judge having to divide property equally between spouses, he/she can divide it on the basis of fairness. The court will consider several factors in determining an equitable distribution, such as each user’s contribution to the marital estate, the economic circumstances of each spouse and the value of the estate, among other factors.

Child Support and Child Custody

Colorado calculates child support based on the incomes of both parents and continues until the child reaches the age of 19 or graduates from high school. The amount of support may be adjusted based on several factors and the court may also order one or both parents to provide support for the child’s college education. Regarding child custody matters, Colorado courts make custody orders based on the child’s best interest and encourage parents to share the responsibility of parenting.

Alimony

The court may require a spouse to provide alimony (financial maintenance) to the other after a divorce. This is determined based on several factors. For instance, if the combined income of the coupe is above $75000, the court may require the higher earning spouse to support the other while the divorce is pending. If the couple’s combined income is below $75000, the court will make a decision based on factors such as the financial resources of both spouses, the living standards during marriage, and duration of the marriage, just to mention a few. Either spouse may request that the maintenance amount be modified if there’s a significant change in circumstances.

Effects of Divorce

With rising rates of divorce today, the negative effects of children and families are prevalent. Depending on how the couple’s and their children, as well as the extended family, handle the divorce, each family has a different way of going about the issue. Divorces can be brutal, and many studies have noted the negative impact of divorce on families and children resulting in consistent change in emotional and psychological states of the people involved.

There are as many arguments for and against a divorce but should you opt for a dissolution of marriage, it’s important to have proper legal representation.

Marrison Family law is dedicated to helping families understand their legal options and obtain the best solution. The attorneys and lawyers at the firm are highly experienced to ensure you make the best choices for yourself and your family for the best outcomes.

Easy Holiday Crafts for Kids

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The best way to bond with your kids when there’s a holiday is to get into craft projects together. Take some colourful pieces of paper, glue, glitter, scissors, and a box of craft embellishments, and you’re ready to create your own versions of these easy holiday crafts for kids.

New-Year Noisemakers

Want to make some noise but don’t want your kids to play with firecrackers? These noisemakers are a fun way to ring in the New Year!

Materials:

  • 2 Styrofoam cups
  • Glue
  • Glitter or metallic paper
  • Paint brush
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Scissors
  • Candies (optional)

Steps:

  1. Decorate your Styrofoam cups using some glue and glitter or metallic paper.
  2. Cut your pipe cleaners in halves, and then twirl each half using your finger. Once they’re all twirled, group them in two, and twist each group together on one end.
  3. Using your scissors, punch a hole on the bottom of each cup, and then stick the twisted end of the pipe cleaners into the hole. Bend the end so they don’t fall out.
  4. Put some candies on one cup and then carefully, without getting glue on the candies, use the paint brush to stick the two cups together.
  5. At midnight, break your noisemaker to welcome the New Year!

Easter Bunny Mask and Tail

Make Easter a little more special by creating Easter Bunny costumes for you and your kids. Here’s how.

Materials:

  • Cardboard
  • Cotton balls
  • Pink construction paper
  • Pink pompom
  • Black pipe cleaners
  • String
  • Pencil
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • Safety pin

Steps:

  1. Using a pencil, trace the shape of a bunny’s head (minus the mouth part) and tail onto the cardboard. Cut them out using the scissors, making sure that you also cut holes for the eyes. Leave a small slit on each side of the mask for the string as well.
  2. On the pink construction paper, trace the shape of the bunny’s ears. Make sure that you make it half-an-inch thinner than the cardboard cut-out.
  3. Glue the pink bunny ears on the cardboard and then cover the mask and tail with cotton balls.
  4. Decorate the mask using the pompom as the bunny’s nose and the pipe cleaners as its whiskers.
  5. Using the string for the mask and the pin for the tail, you can now wear your Easter Bunny costume.

Christmas Wreath

What’s a fun and way to decorate your kids’ bedroom doors? Create this Christmas wreath with them!

Materials:

  • Paper plate
  • Tissue paper
  • String
  • Red pompoms
  • Red ribbon
  • Paint (green, red and gold)
  • Plastic container
  • Glue
  • Scissors

Steps:

  1. In a wide plastic container, mix your green paint with some water. Dip your tissue paper into the mixture for a few seconds and then let each sheet dry.
  2. While waiting for the tissue to dry, trace a lit candle on the centre of the paper plate. Cut around it by using your scissors, making sure to leave the candle and the ribbed edge as your frame.
  3. Paint the candle using your red and gold paint.
  4. Once the sheets are dry, crumple them into balls, and stick them to the frame.
  5. Decorate your wreath with the red pompoms and ribbon. Use the string to hang it on the wall.

So, here are a few Christmas crafts to try with your kids. Which one are you making?