Flush with a Blush !

Here are some tips and tricks to achieve that natural looking cheeks all day long.

As adults we might be struggling with giving up sugar and have to be reminded constantly by our trainers or doctors to go slow depending on our weight or blood sugar. In the same manner as parents we need to keep reminding our children to finish their tasks or inculcate some new behaviour depending on the feedback we get from their school or their behaviour at home.

As humans we are programmed to take the easy way out. And rather than try new foods with no sugar we might cut out old foods but not replace them with the nutritious foods. So making changes whether in food habits or any other habit takes time, practise and patience, and children are no different.

But as parents remember that you are “training” your kids to behave in a certain manner. So if you have teen kids and have to keep reminding them to wake up, get ready, check their bags every morning you have raised them in a manner for them to “expect your instructions”.  And you will realize how tiring that can be for you as a parent.

Today's video blog, we help you relearn how you can make your life easy as a parent by training your kids in a manner that they not only listen to you, finish their task and there is no need for you to repeat yourself.

Please click on the photo below to watch the video and listen to the 5 strategies:

1)   Are you taking over the task or chore for your child? So we can become impatient and instead of getting the child to do the task himself you as a parent think it’s much easier to do it yourself? Well it is easier no doubt than having to keep repeating yourself, but do think of it as a short term training for long term gain. By being a bit patient you can train your child to finish whatever needs to be done himself so that you can then avoid repeating it in the future.

2)   Give your child clear instructions. When we lose patience and are irritable we can lose sight of what needs to be done and instead go into a negative loop of whining about our child. Take charge of yourself and focus your communication so that the child knows clearly what you are expecting of him, what needs to be done.

3)   Give a time limit. When giving instructions also give him a reasonable amount of time to finish the task plus give him a time limit, a cut off time by when the task needs to be done. This will help in building time-management skills for your child too.

4)   Consequences for not following through. Your child needs to know what will be the consequence of not doing the task, not following through, not getting up on time etc. The easiest consequences are taking away play time, gadgets, outings etc. depending on what is appropriate to your household.

5)   Rewards. Encourage your child’s good behaviour, doing his tasks, following through without repetition by buying him a small gift, going out for a family dinner, a movie and rewarding him.

If you as a parent are at a loss on how to get your child to follow through and build good behaviour and habits – contact sunainaathena@gmail.com to know more about how we help you to stop being tired and exhausted, struggling to get your child to listen. We help your child develop life skills, time-management, communication, confidence etc. to achieve all round academic and personal excellence.

Warmest regards,

Sunaina

Sunaina Vohra

Youth & Family Life Coach

Athena Life Coaching
www.athenalifecoaching.com

Are you a working mother who feels you do not spend enough time on your child's development?

As mothers we tend to be hard on ourselves most of the time - our thoughts raging around how we could have spoken calmly to our child instead of raising our voice, how we could have remembered to dress him up for book day instead of letting the day slip by with him returning home teary eyed, how we could spend more time with our child instead of staying late at work.... The list of how we could be better mothers is endless and for working mothers the list is even longer accompanied with a constant chatter of guilt around less time with your child.

The grass is greener on the other side is an old adage that can aptly be used for the working mum versus the stay at home mum. Usually working mums feel that they are at a disadvantage because they have less number of hours with their child. Working mums can also be overcome with guilt for not doing enough.

Today's blog answers a problem by one such working mother who has written in sharing I feel I don't spend enough time to contribute to my child's development.

Please click on the photo below to watch the video and hear and hear how you can rid yourself of your guilt and take some positive steps to create more bonding with your child in the given time:

Have you wished the most important person in your life Happy Valentines?

It’s amazing how life brings you exactly what you need. And this Valentine’s I hope all of us will endeavor to be more loving, caring, nurturing and giving to the most important person in our life – our self.

Recently I noticed a trend in the people I have been coaching. Client’s start off thinking that it is somebody else who is responsible for the way they are feeling. Clients feel run down, lost and depleted like a diluted version of them self. After coaching realization dawns that the most important relationship they have ignored is the one they have with them self. That is when true transformation occurs.

Not surprisingly the majority of such clients are women and a few men. 

A personal anecdote that I always share is when I underwent a low in my life and my mother-in-law who was visiting at the time said to me: “Do what makes you happy, whether it is going to work, pursuing a hobby, learning a new skill or associating with a charitable organisation. Once you, the centre of the house is happy, you will be able to make others around you happy.” Its something I have reaped the benefits of and also shared with my life coaching clients.

“What is a marriage? What is a relationship?”

Given it’s the month of Valentines the flavor and topics for the month will be relationships! Of course there are many facets of relationships and today we are going to discuss the most interesting of them all – Marriage!

 “What is a marriage? What is a relationship?” Yes, are we all not trying to figure that one out!

Please click on the photo below to watch the video and hear the strategies I have to offer to create more love in your relationship this valentine:

This video blog you will break some myths about what marriage is and add some musts to keep your relationship strong:

      1)   Marriage is made of three parts. A marriage is made up of a husband, wife and “us.” It is a myth that for a marriage to work you need to lose your identity. On the contrary a secure relationship or marriage will shape your identity even further to allow you to be yourself, your true self. 

“How do I stay focused on one task without getting distracted?”

Given the number of distractions in our environment I see more and more parents complaining about how their children lack focus. Though today's topic: "How can I stay focused on one task and not get distracted" applies to everyone young and old. I myself have found myself on many occasions being tempted to check my emails, update twitter and watch a webinar all at the same time!

Today’s question is around a very important aspect of all our lives. A parent has sent in the question but it is applicable to adults too!

“How do I stay focused on one task without getting distracted?”

Please click on the photo below to watch the video and hear what you need to do to be successful in staying focused:

How can you keep yourself stress free and your child safe on social networking sites?

As adults (parents and others above the age of 21 years who can influence younger children) our actions are being closely followed more than our words. And with the written word being cut short from OK to K, children are moving at a really fast pace to absorb everything in the environment created in real life and in cyber life. There are certain rules around social networking that parents can follow in their homes to create a safe and open environment for the entire family. As always communication is key! 

Click the photo to see the video blog!

How do I close the old year and bring in the new year?

With the advent of the new year a couple of hours away many thoughts cross our mind. Flashes of the good and the bad memories added to our book of life. Then all the confusing messages inundating us with resolutions and goals and what we should and we should not do.

One such question was asked to me: How do I close the old year and bring in the new year?
This time I wanted to share exactly what I am doing with my end of year learnings and hope it helps you to stay calm and positive to bring in the new year.

Please click on the photo below to watch the video and hear the end of year completion ritual I have created for myself and am sharing with all of you today:

Are my FRIENDS NOT going to be friends FOREVER?

Some hurdles of growing up can be truly heart-breaking and painful especially in the tender and confusing pre-teen and teen years. Children are struggling with changes in their bodies, hormones and brain, and to add to all these changes any upheavals in their peer groups can be truly devastating.

However, changing values, changing focus, changing priorities, changing interests as children grow into developing their individual identities can create a change in your child’s social groups. You might as a parent have already dealt with or might deal with a bucket of tears when one day your child comes homes declaring that her/his best friend is no longer a friend or he/she is no longer a part of the group and has been abandoned.

This can be an emotionally draining time in your child’s life because friends and peer groups are very important to them as these groups are what helps them create their own identities and when such ‘break ups’ occur it can mean a blow to their own identity. Your child can feel lost and extremely lonely.

 As a parent you can feel at a loss on how to handle this, and this is why a mother of a 12 year old girl called me to ask: How as a parent can I help my daughter who is having problems with her ‘group’?

Please click on the photo below to watch the video and hear what I shared:

Resolving Parent-Teacher Conflicts

It's happened to all parents at one point or another, whether it be a negative written comment on an assignment, or a phone call or a conversation during PTA time. She'll say something that will hurt your feelings and that protective instinct kicks in and all you want to do is set the teacher straight. To me a complaint from the teacher is very stressful, and to complain about a teacher very difficult. It took me years to get a grip on how to handle the situation in a way that would actually help the child.

Tips on Motivating your child in Public Speaking

When I look at my kids I see the vastness of their individuality, which sometimes baffles me actually, given that they have the same genetic mish mash, more or less same environment and same physical and mental support systems. And yet they all have their strong and weak points.

In some families, talking itself starts late. I read somewhere that is a family trait thing, and I see this to be true in 4 of my 6 kids. What I also notice is that the two who spoke early are more verbal and appear to have a more confident outlook. That's not to say the quieter ones don't have their own virtues, some that greatly outshine the other siblings. The four kids started speaking well after the age of three and continue to struggle with complicated and long sentences.

In the beginning, I was worried that this may be some form of learning disability, but time proved that some kids just naturally pick up later than others and have their own developmental pace. But the fact that they hit all other major milestones on schedule further calmed my frayed nerves. It becomes distressful if other milestones are also greatly lacking, in which case it is best to get it checked out.

How can I communicate with my 14-year-old son who ignores me and does his own thing?

Recently I spoke with a mother of a 14 year old teen boy whose body language and voice emitted disappointment, fear and helpless around parenting her young son. My heart went out to her and I know, sometimes how despite our best interests at heart for our children things just don’t seem to be going in the right direction. Whatever you as a parent say or do seems to antagonize your child even more, with the result that you end up feeling even more confused and at a loss of how you could be a better parent.

As far as your child is concerned, the teenage years can be full of turmoil and confusion and you as a parent may feel helpless and inadequate that despite  doing your best, your child has become unresponsive and indifferent to you increasing the gap in communication.

I share below how I guided this mom who asked: How can I communicate with my 14-year-old son who ignores me and does his own thing?

Managing Curly Hair

Having straight or curly hair style is a never ending conflict since years as women with curly hair want to have straight hair and women with straight hair want curly !

How to Keep your Cool when Teaching Kids (Your Kids)

I recently read a couple of comments where mothers were disturbed about the fact that they easily lose their composure whilst getting their young children to do their homework, prepare for a test or do an assignment. It is actually one of those times where our patience and composure is seriously put to the test. I started thinking about how I also feel that way sometimes. But over the course of many years and through a hot and trial method, I have learned some ways to make it better.

Make Your Hair Color Last Longer !

Coloring your hair not only enhance your looks but also keep you along with fashion like highlights , ombres or dip dyes. No matter what type of color trend you go for , you can make them last a little longer by taking some extra care. 

Social Media and our Kids

What is social media? Today I felt I should raise a concern that is manifest in all our minds, especially those of us with tweens and teenagers. There is no doubt that it is now the 'normal' we live in. Back in our day, we were lucky if we had a desktop to play pacman on, let alone our own mobiles with data packages. Whereas providing and enabling your child to access varying degrees of internet is a very personal decision, there are certain facts that we should all be aware of. There is no doubt that every tool of modern science can be beneficial to us but the sad truth is that it is also blatantly misused and abused and may cause damage that can lead to serious ramifications. I'll try to briefly sum these up keeping it to the point...

How can we improve our relationships during Diwali?

During Diwali we spring clean our homes to welcome Goddess Laxmi. So all the dirt, cobwebs and old things are taken out and discarded. We refresh and clean and then we buy new clothes, new and fresh things for the house.

So in the same way we must use this beautiful festival of Diwali to do the same with our relationships. Use the festive time to freshen our relationships by removing the past negativity.

However, relationships are more complicated and EGO plays a very big role in hindering us from improving our relations.

Ego is a very tough thing and one of the reasons for relationships to go sour. But if you realize that ego is the stale smelly old food in the fridge – that will not only smell, but it will also pass on the bacteria and rot the other foods causing the whole house to become sick and infected. You will realize how you can use this Diwali season to not only clear the rotting food items, old clothes, disinfect the house, but the house we all have INSIDE ourselves – our feelings and emotions. It is so important to get rid of those negative feelings, emotions that are only causing sickness in our relationships and family and clear them out by LETTING GO & FORGIVING.

Choosing Your Makeup Colors

Determining your skin tone is vital in choosing the right shade of foundation, eye shadow & makeup colors that will look best on you. Make up is all about colors but that doesn’t mean you put them on all at once. There should always be the right balance when choosing makeup colors. An important aspect to take into concern is that your hair color reflects onto your skin.

Insider Tips on doing English Exercises

As most of you know that I have a little bit of teaching experience for the primary level, and along the way, have picked up some tips and tricks that teachers employ in their classrooms to improve the kids' performance. In this little post I want to share some of those with you so that you can also guide your kids if you think that they are applicable to you. I have already done numerous posts on related topics to education, just search the labels for 'education' and you'll get more tips on improving reading, IQ, motivation etc. Now these may be familiar to a lot of you moms out there, but it never hurts to brush up and hone in on those skills. So here we go:

How and when do I talk with my children about stranger danger?

Given the recent spate of messages on face book and what's app regarding a small boy being approached by some men in a car, I thought it might be a good idea to discuss some safety measures we can take to prevent any unfortunate incidents with our children.

This is a subject that is very difficult for us to talk to our children about and sometimes we do not wish to face the reality that our children can be faced with a dangerous situation from a stranger. Unfortunately there is enough statistics to show us how 'real' the danger of ‘strangers’ is. And however much we would like to push the thought away we need to first face the reality ourselves before empowering our little ones.

As our children begin to grow their wings and leave the safety of their

home to enter the 'real world', stranger danger is a subject that we need to educate them about. 

We will look at 7 strategies to first get clarity on how you as a parent will approach the subject of stranger danger and then help your children outline clear steps on what to say and do incase they face such a danger.