Month: December 2016

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Condo furnishing options Furniture panama city beach

Which Style is Right for You Beach, Farmhouse or Shabby Chic?

Planning furniture in a room

Furnishing a home can be an exhilarating experience. It is one of the most immediate forms of creativity, where you use your imagination to produce the ideal space for yourself and your family and friends. Working with furniture, decor, and linens, you can recreate the memories of a seashore holiday, the industrial chic of an urban loft, or the homely comfort of a farm kitchen. With so many different styles to choose from, how do you decide which one is right for you?

Planning furniture in a room
Furniture stores have a variety of styles on display. It may be a good idea to do some online window shopping first, to get an idea of what’s available, how you will match up different pieces, and which stores to visit in person.
Furnishing a home is a big project, and it’s a good idea to go slowly, bringing in new pieces of furniture and decor to match those you already have. This allows you to develop your style, taking the time to see what does and doesn’t work, and what remains to be done.

Home furnishing styles
There are many different home furnishing styles and you can have a lot of fun furnishing a home or a condo. It can be a good idea to choose a theme and to pick furniture, linens and decor to match. Or you can just evoke a style or place – a beach cottage or a log cabin – with a few simple pieces. This is useful when your home furnishing budget isn’t unlimited.

  • Beach
    Rooms by the sea. Even if you’ve never seen the painting, you can relate to the feeling of light and the nearness of a vast expanse of water. Recreate your favorite holiday space with light, airy curtains, and decor pieces that incorporate sea grass, driftwood, seashells and even sea glass. Sandy neutrals and sea blues for furniture slipcovers continue the theme.
    Just a few pieces can create the effect you’re looking for – serene, peaceful and relaxing. Matching wall art to slipcovers or rugs can easily evoke the atmosphere you want, without having to go overboard.

  • Farm
    Nothing says cozy like a farm kitchen: large wooden table, comfortable arm chairs, woodstove and a dresser full of blue patterned china. As a bonus, the table might be reclaimed wood from an old barn, with a patina of age that can’t be artificially created.
    Farmers study, too, and a large, solid desk, with Tiffany lamps, leather arm chairs and book cases is useful for doing the accounts and paperwork.

  • Shabby chic
    It’s the quirky side of home decor, with distressed finishes on furniture in pastel shades of cream, pink and green, floral and flouncy linens and unabashedly romantic decor with rose motifs predominating. Evoking an era that never was but might have been, shabby chic helps you create your own special retreat.
    You can build up a room on the theme, or just pick a few pieces, such as bed linens or a mirror, to suggest the slightly faded sweetness. You can even combine it with the other styles. The contrast with industrial chic furniture made from found items can balance a space, suggesting solidity, comfort and romance.

When furnishing a home, it’s also good to keep some practical considerations in mind. Measure your space before you go furniture shopping, so you can be sure that your new pieces will fit without overcrowding. But above all, have fun and pick the styles and designs that you love, because you’ll be living with then for a long time to come.

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How to deal with toddler tantrums How to stop toddler tantrums Picky toddler eaters

Important Tips and Tricks for Dealing With Toddler Tantrums the Right Way

Food for picky toddlers

Having a child is one of the most wonderful and memorable experiences that life can give you. New parents can attest to the fact that seeing your child for the first time is a feeling that happens rarely in life. For most parents, however, the sheer joy and pleasure soon gives way to the reality of raising a child, which involves a number of successive difficulties and takes a lot of major effort. One of the most frustrating points of time for new parents can be the duration of time from birth to three years of age, where toddlers can keep their parents on the edge of their feet by throwing tantrums on a daily basis. In fact, for many parents, toddlers and tantrums go hand-in-hand. This time in the life of her child is usually known as the terrible twos. If you are currently experiencing this phenomenon and need some expert tips on dealing with toddler tantrums, there are some very important pieces of information that can help you immensely.

If you have already started wondering about how to deal with toddler tantrums, you should know that dealing with the terrible twos involves first understanding where these tantrums come from and the underlying causes behind. Having a handle on what goes on in your child’s mind and influences these tantrums is key to finding viable, permanent solutions that you can actually effectively implement. The time of growth when your child reaches the two-year mark is actually an important juncture for your child. This is a time when your child is going up rapidly and cradles a certain degree of independence. However, due to not being able to accomplish things independently all the time and having to resort to depending on adults, mood swings can sometimes result. This problem is further augmented when your child finds out about their inherent incapability to communicate their feelings, as the communication skills of a typical child at that age are not likely to develop far enough for them to be able to do so. All these factors combine to make your child moody at this age, and temper tantrums of different kinds can be a daily feature. Dealing with toddler tantrums can definitely be accomplished if you have certain important facts and techniques in mind from the very beginning. Let us look at a few things that you can do.

The first and most important aspect of dealing with toddler tantrums is to understand their source and to be ready when it happens. For most kids, this phase starts when they reach their second birthday, and you need to be ready for it. This is something you can plan for in advance so that you waste no time contemplating how to deal with it when it finally happens. When it actually does happen, it is best to have a concrete plan about dealing with it and to put that plan in motion immediately. If you are ready while dealing with toddler tantrums, half your work should already be done. From the very beginning, you should be setting up a system of expectations and consequences. Your child, during the terrible twos, is likely to constantly test the limits of what is allowed and what is not. To balance this, you need to ensure that you communicate to your child your expectations, and be ready with appropriate consequences when these expectations are not met.

For example, we can have different kinds of consequences for different kinds of tantrums. Picky eaters, children who refuse to sleep, biters and hair pullers or require different kinds of handling. Once you have the right consequences for a particular kind of action, you can start implementing these consequences without going over the top, but doing so firmly enough so that your child knows what the limits are. With this routine, you are much more likely to solve the problem of toddler tantrums in a more effective, permanent way and end up with a more well behaved, balanced child. Using these tips can help you enjoy parenthood much more and restore the blissful experience.

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Applied behavior analysis Autism therapy michigan Detroit autism center

The Benefits of ABA to Assist Children with Autism

Autism spectrum disorders

The terms, autism spectrum disorder, and autism, according to Autism Speaks, are used to describe a variety of complex brain development disorders. When someone has autism, they may experience a variety of social and communication difficulties. In addition, they may also engage in specific types of repetitive behavior.

The 2013 edition of the Diagnostic and and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DMS-5 ) has categorized the various disorders associated with autism as autism spectrum disorders. It is therefore important to refer to the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 revisions for additional details.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is one of the more successful methods used to assist children with autism and related conditions. From birth to the age of 18, ABA has shown promise with assisting these children within the following fundamental areas:

    Language development
    Social development
    Academic development
    Daily living skills

According to the Surgeon General’s report on treatment approaches for autism spectrum disorders, ABA has shown long-lasting and observable results. Furthermore, ABA accounts for 45% of the currently available therapies that have demonstrated significant results.

In general, a child with autism spectrum disorders will meet with their ABA therapist for up to 40 hours a week. These therapeutic programs consist of intensive one-on-one teaching sessions that are held throughout the year. On average, a child may be in an ABA program for two years or longer.

In addition to working with children at autism treatment centers, an ABA therapist may also be able to provide therapy in the familiar surroundings of home. This may be indicated for some, but not all, children.

Due to the type of intensive intervention provided by ABA programs, some children have experienced positive results with just 20 hours of therapy a week. Given these findings, however, it is important to note that most documented successes have involved children that have worked with an ABA therapist for a minimum of two years. Furthermore, these specific children also received 30-to-40 hours a week of ABA therapy.

Autism Speaks reports that the principles and techniques utilized by ABA therapy can assist with skill development in the following areas:

    Looking
    Listening

        Imitating
        Reading
        Conversing
        Understanding others’ perspectives

      One of the key principles of ABA, according to Autism Speaks, is positive reinforcement. Given decades of research into learning theories and how learning occurs, this field has discovered and developed a number of effective techniques.

      These techniques include how to increase useful, or positive behaviors, as well as how to reduce undesired behaviors. Undesired behaviors include those that cause harm to self or others as well as interfere with the individual learning process.

      Furthermore, in many cases, children with autism spectrum disorders may eventually be able to attend regular school programs and advance to college. Autism Speaks also notes that recent studies have shown ABA therapy has been beneficial for adults. Some of these programs have been able to assist teens and adults with both employment and independent-living goals.

      It is essential to remember that each person with an autism spectrum disorder is unique. As a result, his or her individual abilities and potential, including superior intellect in many cases, is equally unique.

Categories
Private elementary schools in coral gables Private school coral gables fl

Choosing Private Schools Versus Public Schools for Your Child

When you want your child to get a good education, you may look to local private schooling to provide that education. A private school is not bogged down in the red tape of public schools, and they often have more teachers for a better student-teacher ratio. If you are looking for the best private schools in my area, you can check out the threads on City-Data for your area. You can also look up the business listings and find a list of private schools that you can choose from.

Be sure to look at the websites of each of the schools that you are interested in. The best private school websites will show you the basics of the curriculum as well as information about the culture at the school. You will also see photos of the facilities that your child would be using. Some people want their child to stay at home but not go to public school online. They often turn to an accredited online private school for their child. This is a method of going to school from home without being homeschooled. They are often a good way to have your child educated when you work at home and can be there with them.

Kids summer camp miami

We all want our children to get the best head start in life as possible. Now more than ever, education is competitive, leading up to the eventual American path towards getting into a good college. Finding a good preschool, as unbelievable as might sound, is an important first step that could determine your child’s eventual academic career. There are plenty of studies that show children who are exposed to preschool do better in core school subjects like math and reading. Finding a good preschool could put them ahead of the curve, expose them to other kids their age earlier, and foster an early love of learning. What’s not to like about that? Enrolling children in private schools is also an ever-popular choice among competitive parents. More specifically tailored and rigorous curriculums, a closed social society of sorts, and a focus on academics, networking (important alumni are key), and high-achieving students draws in many parents.


How Do Private Schools Really Look on Paper?
One appeal to many parents is the smaller size of private schools, with 85% of private schools having fewer than 300 pupils at a time. There almost 31,000 private schools that exist in the United States and they educate over five million schools as early as Pre-K all the way to 12th grade. If you’re into finding a good preschool, you may want to see what private schools are in your area and explore their programs. Private schools enroll about 10% of all of American students. Statistics from the 2011-2012 school year showed that 96% of private schools were co-ed, 2% were girls’ only and 2% were boys’ only.
Private schools have excellent graduation and college attendee rates as well. Almost 100% of seniors who attended private school in the fall of 2010 went on to graduate that following year and around 65% of them were at four-year colleges by the fall of 2011. NCES data shows that almost 90% of high school students who go to a private high school apply for college; under 60% of public high school students do so.


Why Do Parents Like Private Schools So Much?
Finding a good preschool can often set parents down the private school track — many private preschool programs are run by religiously affiliated institutions and are private versus public. Children who go to preschool have been shown to have better scores by 20% on math and reading tests in kindergarten.
Private schools also tout their high academic standards. This may be possible in part because of the smaller number of pupils in their classrooms. A teacher will be in charge of 12.5 students on average in a private school setting versus 15.4 students in a public school. More one-on-one time with the teacher can help improve a child’s education and passion for learning significantly and that can be hard to come by in a larger classroom setting.
Because of the admissions process, private school students are also more on the same learning wavelength, so teachers can push a more advanced curriculum, without worrying about students whose education may be lagging behind their peers. Indeed, in 2007, the Fraser Institute reported that over 90% of parents who had sent their children to private schools did so because they felt teacher dedication was higher in private schools. And 80% were happy with the academic standards present in private schools.


What Else Should I Know About Private Schools?
Research the admissions process for various private schools and be sure that it’s a good fit for your child, especially if you’re thinking about a specifically religious private school. Though your child’s education is important, it’s also important that their social experience be a pleasant one as well. Social skills and networking will also be a crucial part of their education and you want to make sure they feel comfortable.
Consider both public and private schools in your educational hunt to give your child the best experience possible. Ideally, they should gain both an education and an appreciation for learning, important social and networking skills, and lifelong friends. Do your research and give them the best start possible!

 

Categories
Child care service Childcare

5 Things to Look for in a Day Care

Daycare service

Finding a decent daycare center is really difficult sometimes. It is usually the first time that parents send their kids somewhere for long periods of time where they are not present so it’s a complicated process. They want to make sure that their children are being well cared for and are happy and safe at all times. There should never be a time where the parent is worried about their kid in a daycare center. Here are a few things that you can look for in good child care services.

Kid Friendly Environment
This might seem like a no brainer but you’d be surprised at how many daycare centers do not have a very kid friendly environment. This doesn’t just mean the atmosphere but it’s everything that contributes to that to. There should be no sharp corners, uncovered outlets or other areas that a child could easily hurt or endanger themselves. There should also be kid friendly toys and books and decorations. Lots of colors and eye catching patterns are what children of that age like to see and they can even learn a lot by just seeing these things.

Involved Teachers
When you go and check out a daycare center, the last thing you want to see is the workers and teachers sitting around, chatting or looking at the phones and otherwise ignoring the kids while they fend for themselves. You want to make sure that there is going to be someone paying attention to your child and playing with them and ensuring that they have a good time. This is especially important if your child is a little older and is trying to potty train. You don’t want your child sat in front of a television all day long so that the adults don’t have to do anything. If they work in a day care then they should have a natural love for children and want to play with them and work with them.

Structure and Schedule
Kids thrive on structure, boundaries and schedules. There should be designated times when the children can eat, watch a movie, sing songs, eat, nap, play outside, free play inside, make crafts and whatever else the day care offers. This will ensure that the kids never get bored or get into anything that will hurt them. When a child is busy and being taken care of, they will have a much more fun time and won’t miss their parents as much. They will also be able to learn essential things like shapes, color, numbers, alphabet and more.

Reasonable Policies
There need to be policies in place that stipulate how the potty training children are taken to the bathroom and when and by whom. There should also be allowances for the parents to drop by whenever they want to in order to check on the kids. However, if the children see the parents before they are getting picked up, it might make things more difficult for the child and the workers so don’t be offended if they would rather you not let the child actually see you. However, there should be some kind of video camera or tinted glass where you can see what your child is up to and how they are liking their new surroundings.

Flexible Hours
People work at different times. This means that a good child care center will be open from very early until quite late. Of course, the employees will have to work on a shift basis so that no one is there the entire day and gets burnt out. Childcare is hard work so they should take care of their employees. However, there should be flexible hours when you can put your child in and payment based on those hours. If you work from six in the morning until six in the evening, with a three hour break in the middle, you should be allowed to pick up your child for those three hours in order to save a little money. Or, if you want to leave them the whole time one day, you should have the option to pay the fee and know your child will still be taken care of until you pick them up.

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Cleaning service st petersburg fl House cleaning st. petersburg fl St. petersburg cleaning service

The 5 Benefits to Hiring an Experienced Maid Cleaning Service

Maid service st. petersburg

Most people like to live in a clean space. For most woman, a clean home is a reflection on who they are. At least 87% of women say that they think the cleanliness level of their homes is reflection of them. The problem is getting a clean home is truly easier said that done. That is why many people are now turning to experienced maid cleaning services to help.

The benefits of hiring a maid:

  1. You will be healthier. Hiring an experienced maid cleaning service will make you healthier. Clean offices are healthier than dirty ones. It has been estimated that keeping an office clean by using a custom cleaning service can cut down on the amount of employee absenteeism by up to 46%. Keeping offices clean is a way to cut down the number of cases of influenza and the common cold by as much as 80%. The flu virus can live on a hard surface for about two days. All of the benefits of hiring a cleaning service for an office are applicable to bringing in a dependable house cleaning service to take care of your house or apartment. The thorough cleaning you will get from hiring a maid service will kill all of the bacteria and viruses that may be lurking in your home.
  2. They will do a better job. When you hire an experienced maid cleaning service, you are hiring people who are experts. They have a lot of experience cleaning homes and will do a better job. No matter how hard you may try, the professional cleaners will do a better job and get your home a lot cleaner than you will. People who work for cleaning services often have training and access to products that you may not. They know what they are doing, you can benefit from their experience and training.
  3. You can opt for “green” cleaning. Over the past few years, there has been a 35% increase in the sale of green cleaning products. That is a good thing because some home cleaning products can be dangerous. Many home cleaning products are known to contain toxic chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that these chemicals can be three times more likely to cause cancer than the air that is found outside. They say that one in every three home cleaning products has the potential to make people sick. When you hire a dependable maid service, you can make sure they use products that are safer for people and pets.
  4. You will have more time. Hiring a maid service will free up your time. For families that clean often, this can be a big deal. It as been estimated that hiring an experienced maid cleaning service will give those families 730 hours each year. That is the equivalent of 30 days a year. When you clean your home yourself, it takes more than just the time it takes to do the cleaning. People worry about cleaning their home, you have to spend time buying the products and then you have to spend the time doing the cleaning. It will take your maid service less time to do a better job. All of that is time you could be doing something else. Think about your time and you may see that hiring an experienced maid cleaning service is a cost effective way to keep your home clean and healthy. You can use that time to do things with your friends and family, get more work done or take part in a fun hobby.
  5. You will be less stressed. Hiring a cleaning service will lower your stress. Most people like to come home to clean home. Research has proved that people who live and work in a cleaner space are less stressed than people who do not. Having an experienced maid cleaning service come in and take care of the cleaning in your home will reduce your stress level and make it a better place to live.

Hiring an experienced maid cleaning service may seem like an extravagance but it can really have a positive impact on your entire life. It is a cost effective way to live better.

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Adoption fort worth Adoption program Adoption programs

Are You Interested in Adopting an Infant or Young Child?

Adoption fort worth

This Is Us.
Have you seen it yet?
One of the hottest new shows this fall are the hour long episodes of This Is Us. A story told in both present day and in flashbacks, This Is Us traces the history of three siblings, two of them twins, one of them adopted. As the story reveals itself more and more each week, the three siblings attempt to reconcile with the childhood that they both love and regret.
Perhaps more than any other public service announcement or plea from an adoption agency, This Is Us tells the story of both the joy of families finding adopted children to love, and children who needed a loving home. The struggle depicted in this prime time television show is intense, but so is the love.
Have You Considered Talking to an Adoption Agency?
Adopted children provide hope for for parents who are unable to conceive children themselves. Adoption agencies can also, however, provide an opportunity for a family that already has children to share their love with others. Whether an adoption agency is working through a church within the country, or through adoption centers that help children from around the world, these connections can be life changing. And while some families consider adoption for years, other families find an immediate way to consider the adoption process by first fostering children who need immediate emergency care.
Once a family has been approved by an adoption agency, the waiting begins. And just when you think that you could not possibly wait any longer, the miracle happens. On a cold rainy night, perhaps with only a two hour notice, the moment arrives. With all of their worldly belongings being nothing more that a stuffed animal an officer provides and the clothes the young child is wearing, you can become a parent. Some babies arrive completely healthy; others with a cast on a tiny arm that carries a story. In may cases, however, the enduring smile on the infant or child’s face indicates that while there is darkness in the world, goodness can always find a way to shine through.
As many as 153 million orphans around have lost one parent. Another 17.9 million orphans have lost both parents. In both cases these infants and young children are living in orphanages or on the streets. Many lack the care and attention required for healthy development, putting these children at risk for disease, malnutrition, and death. Adoptive families, however, can provide love, security, and a future.
Consider these statistics about adoptions:

  • 90% of adopted children ages five and older have positive feelings about their adoption.
  • 75% of adopted children between between the time they are born and turn five years old are read to or sang to every day. This percentage compares with only half of non-adopted children who receive the same attention from their biological parents.
  • 38% of adoptions are private domestic adoptions.
  • 37% of adoptions are Foster Care adoptions.
  • 25% of adoptions are international adoptions.
  • 70.2% of people who adopt are married families.
  • 22.7% of people who adopt are single females.
  • 1.6% of people who adopt are unmarried couples.
  • 5.5% of people who adopt are single males.
  • 45% of adopted children lived with their birth family before being adopted.
  • 41% of adopted children are adopted by their relatives.
  • 49% all adopted children are male.
  • 86% of foster families adopted to provide a child with a permanent home.
  • 61% of foster families adopted to extend their families.
  • 39% of foster families adopted because they were infertile.
  • 24% of foster families wanted to adopt a sibling for a child.
  • 87% of adopted children parents indicate that they would “definitely” make the same decision to adopt knowing what they know now about their child.
  • 81% of parent and child relationships in adopted households are “very warm and close.”
  • 42% of parent and child relationships in adopted households are “better than ever expected.”
  • 53% of parents cope “very well” with the demands of parenting.

Are you an adopted child? Do you appreciate the live that your adoptive family gave to you? Have you considered adopting. Families across the country have a variety of reasons that they turn to adoption. Children who are living in orphanages and foster care settings deserve to have the love and stability or a family in a permanent home.