Sunday 20 July 2014

Your Child Can be a Better Student- Here's How

Some kids just excel at their school work, they seemingly breeze by the tests getting great grades and don't even break a sweat. But some kids seem to be struggling along, and not getting the desired results, this leads to frustration and lack of motivation.

There are little bits and pieces you can do to help you child through this. I myself have implemented these things, and they do help in most cases.


Saturday 12 July 2014

Tips on Raising Well-mannered Kids

I've noticed this emerging pattern of kids that literally dictate their parents. I'm not judging anybody, everybody has his own bunch of unique circumstances, but it is no secret that spoiled children just make things difficult for us as parents in the long run. Whether it's the kid who throws a fit at the toy stand or the child who keeps breaking curfew, the end result is lack of trust and disrespect on both ends of the table.


It is a firm belief of mine that nipping the issue in the bud is a vital step in building well-mannered kids. I'm in no way implying my kids are perfect, they break the rules every now and then, they drive me mad all the time, it's just part of the package, but at the end of the day I'd like to think that my words meant something and that they shaped my child in a positive way. For example, my 6 year old twins and the youngest 2.5 year old get together and make so much noise. None of them are fond of i pads (wow right?) and are not keen at all on cartoons (do I hear another wow?) but they just love pretend playing and will use old and broken down toys and build their own little world. I can swear they actually see whatever the other is seeing in that time. But the result is a lot of sound, a lot! So one day my neighbor, whose wall we share came knocking, telling me that it was disturbing her. My initial reaction was obviously to protect my kids, I thought well lady, you sleep all day and stay awake all night whereas it is the opposite with my kids and so on an so forth. But as I took a step back and put myself in her shoes, then thought about the situation I had to accept that something could be done. Was it possible to quieten the children albeit slightly? Yes! So I started reminding them to be quieter, to take care because aunty was getting disturbed. A week has since passed, and I see the difference. Thank you aunty!

So some tips if it is your thing:

Tips on how to better your relationship during Ramadan

The truth is, in order to improve any relationship, there needs to be a huge amount of time spent together. Don't expect a relationship to just prosper on it's own when you hardly exchange two words during the entire day and don't even remember the last time you had dinner together. 

Fortunately, Ramadan is a huge blessing to every Muslim. It betters a person in every way. It improves your health by controlling your eating habits, nurtures you spiritually and literally forces you to spend more time with your loved ones. You have no choice but to Iftar and suhoor together, no matter how busy your schedule is. 


So I gathered some tips on how these changes can help improve your relationship with your spouse:

1. Take advantage of your meals together. Talk some, laugh more. Be a happy family. Try to catch up on what you've been missing on all these years when you were busy at work. The more you communicate, the better the bond becomes.

2. The way to the heart is through the stomach. This is the perfect time to spoil your husband by cooking his favourite little munchies. Might be harder on the muscles, since we don't enough energy to stand for long hours at the stove, but who can resist anything on an empty stomach? Gratitude will be pouring. 

3. Be spiritual together. Shaitan is locked up. Take this opportunity to bond more by going to taraweehs together. Involve your family in giving out charities. Compare your Quran talawats. I mean it's cute. And IA Allah will bring you closer together.

4. Train your habits and teach your spouse to do the same. Ramadan is the month of patience and sabr. It's a month where you get rid of your bad habits and adopt good ones. Avoid having fights with your husband. If he does something that annoys you, instead of roughing it out at him, control yourself and either be quiet or explain to him humanly what it is he is doing wrong.  Build your self-reserve. Ask your spouse to do the same. And notice how it will do wonders to your relationship. 

5. Go Eid shopping together. The biggest festivity of the year and you have to go shopping. Buy clothes, shoes, accessories for Eid together. Ask your husband for opinions and vice versa. You'll be surprised how much he actually knows about women dressing up. 

Try and follow some of the tips mentioned above and do tell me how they worked out. I'll be more than happy to have feedback from you. 

Till next week. Happy Ramadan. :)

Sunday 6 July 2014

Products You Should Avoid Using On Face

Sometimes you run out of your face cleanser and you turn to whatever else is in your reach or how perhaps you buy a toner, serum, cleanser just because your best friend loves it without checking out the ingredients ? 
Well, you might want to be a bit more careful about what you are putting on your face, both when it comes to products that are meant for other things and products that could contain substances that really are not that great for your skin.

Dealing with Stubborn Children

Yesterday I invited questions from you mums and one mother was concerned that her little one and half year old baby is becoming stubborn and angry and "driving her nuts". We've all been there. How many of us can say our kids don't drive us insane all the time especially when it seems the only objective of their life is to defy what we say.



It's true that most children will at some point in their lives go through this and most probably multiple times. As far as very young kids go, you should make sure she isn't having some health issues. Teething, being hungry due to increased appetite and weaning, sleep disturbances due to change in routine etc. can very well be the reason why she appears to be so cranky. Being stubborn and angry, showing fits of defiance and rage are often manifestations of another root cause. Once you pin point that, you can take action accordingly. She might even be feeling ignored by you. Have you started giving her less time? Above all don't yell. This is the most ridiculous thing to say, me being a yeller myself. But I am actively trying to change that. Sometimes I put a rubber band around my wrist just to remind myself I shouldn't yell. Giving respect will yield respect. You have to remember that she is at that point in her life where she is beginning to be aware of herself as an individual and will be testing you to prove that.

Below are a few pointers on how to make your life simpler when dealing with the stubborn streak in your child when being verbally straight-forward just won't work. You can see how to adjust these according to the age of the child: