Readathon: Pay Per Read

Boy reading with flashlight under the blanket

Noff is my 3rd child coming home with a note from school, which offers parents to pay their kids to read books. Since we arrived here in Australia, each of our kids has come home with some “incentive to encourage children to read” project, aiming to entice children to read more by participating in a “Readathon” – a reading marathon.

1. Kids go home with a form asking Mom and Dad to give them permission to participate in the marathon.

2. The kids need to go to grownup friends and relative (grandparents are the best victims for this) and ask them to commit to paying a certain amount of money for every book they read.

3. Then, the kids read as many books as they can.

4. At the end of the marathon, they bring the signed sheet with the payment and the money goes to the school.

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Going Out: To Tell or Not to Tell the Kids?

As a parent, I am sure you are familiar with the “Mommy and Daddy are going out” storm. You put the kids to bed, kiss them good night, wait until everything is quiet, you sneak the babysitter in and just as you are about to leave, you hear a tiny, not-at-all-sleepy voice calling out, “Where are you going?”

In the next few minutes, you do you best to reassure your kids that you will be back, that the babysitter is a good and reliable person, who will take good care of them, and besides, you are going to be back in no time.

Alas, the little ones have you all figured out, and they cling to you, wail, throw themselves on the floor, pretend to be sick and put on various other unethical displays of utter desperation.

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How Do You Feel About Abortions?

silhouette of a baby inside a transparent fruit, symbolizing abortion

Did you know?

There are about 46 million abortions worldwide every year.

There are about 126,000 abortions worldwide every day.

On a worldwide average, each woman will go through at least 1 abortion in her lifetime.

Only 22% of abortions take place in developed countries.

Only 26 million (56.5% of the 46 million a year) are legal.

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Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle (4)

This entry is part 4 of 7 in the series Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle

Welcome to the 4th part of the Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle series. I hope the tips from the previous posts were helpful for you. Remember, all you need is 3-4 tips that will make the difference in your life.

Tip #31: Time for everything

When you do something, focus on doing it. When you eat – eat! When you take a shower – shower, and when you read a book – read a book. When you are on holiday – have fun and focus on having a good time. When you enjoy something and do it 100% instead of doing too many things at the same time, you can significantly decrease your stress levels.

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Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle (3)

This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle

So far in the “60 Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle” series, I have outlined some tips that could help make life easier to deal with. I welcome you to the third part of the series and hope you find the tips to be valuable and effective ways to reduce stress.

If you are a parent, remember that your stress levels have a direct impact on your kids’ wellbeing. Take care of yourself. Calm parents find it easier to raise calm kids.

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Kids are Disappearing: Ideal Family Size (poll)

I have been asked many times about the ideal family size. It is funny, but the answers to this question change every couple of years.

World statistics show that population growth is slowing down and that the desirable family size at the moment stands at 2.1 kids (2 kids and an arm…). In Iceland, Guatemala and Taiwan, people prefer to have bigger families, with an average of 3 kids per family.

While most people believe the family size depends on women’s preferences, the world statistics find that men and women mostly agree on the size of their family. Only in France, Singapore and Lithuania do women have a slightly greater desire for a larger family than men.

In the USA, the ideal-sized family between 1936 and 1967 had “3 or more children”. In 1973, this dropped from 3.6 down to 2.8 and in 1980, it dropped again to 2.5.

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Where is the Center of Your Home? (poll)

For many years, I wanted a big house. Growing up in a small place, sleeping in the living room with my other 3 sisters, made me think that having your own room was everyone’s ideal.

So when I had to choose my own house, I thought I would make sure there was enough rooms for everyone. For a long time, I was convinced that this had to be what everyone wanted – their own room.

However, after having my first child, I found a small hole in this theory, and after each additional child (I have 3), this hole in my belief that everyone has a need for privacy only got bigger and bigger.

It was only last night though, when my 6-year-old daughter opened her homework book on the dining room table, that I realized it was time to let this perception go, because, in my life, it did not survive the reality test.

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Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle (2)

This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle

Last week, I started the series “Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle”. I welcome you to the second part of the series and hope you find great tips to reduce stress in your life and move to “the happy zone”.

Tip #11: Duplicate important keys

Forgetting is something that creates lots of stress. It happened to me once that I could not find my house keys (I had forgotten to take them with me when I left the house). Make copies of all your keys. Bury a house key somewhere in your garden. Have a duplicate car key somewhere apart from your key ring.

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Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle (1)

Stress free lifestyle: hot tea and a flower

This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series Tips for a Stress-Free Lifestyle

According to scientists, stress is the number 1 cause of mental and physical problems in humans in the 21st century. I think we are so stressed because life today is much more complicated than previously: there are too many options, too much stimulation and everything goes so fast. Way too fast.

If you go to the doctor because of your weight, he tells you to reduce your stress.

If you go to the doctor because you cannot get pregnant, he tells you to take care of your stress levels.

If you have a heart attack, your doctor tells you to work out your work-life balance to reduce your stress and tension.

If you have headaches, the doctors prescribes a vacation.

Conclusion: stress is caused by doctors!

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Are Your Kids Stress Free?

Stress is considered the number one killer in our society. Whereas in the past, a healthy lifestyle included eating well, sleeping well and exercising enough as the main characteristics, today, being stress-free is another important one.

As a parent, I am sure that you feel stressed many times a day. Juggling home tasks, quality time with your partner, work and attending to all your kids’ needs can be demanding. Stress becomes part of everyday life. Stress is a feeling of tension or pressure because of something that happened in the past, something that is happening now or fear of something that might only happen in the future.

Stress and constant pressure can make you unhappy and unhealthy. The most common problems associated with stress are insomnia, migraine, indigestion and depression.

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