What Do You Mean, "No Screen Time"?

We live in a world that is digitally led and this digital uprising has filtered down into the activities that we do on a day to day basis with our children. This has led to an increase in the number of children who now spend less time outside and more time indoors in front of a variety of technological gadgets.

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Wherever you look online, you’ll find article after scholarly article about screen time guidelines for our children that we should all be adhering to. There is a balancing act when it comes to screen time, and it has nothing to do with the internet options available in your area which often affect how much you can stream. Every parent across the world will have their own rules when it comes to the amount of exposure that their children get to television or tablets, but should we be looking at the official health guidelines instead?

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Our children are surrounded by digital media all the time. Even if we don’t leave the television running in the background all day, they’ll see billboards that used to be paper are now digital screens. They’ll see adverts for games consoles and tablets. They’ll see the marketing of tablets aimed at children that are packed full of educational apps and games. Screen time is as much a part of our everyday lives now, as coloring books and crayons used to be. Adults rely heavily on technology to get work done, and we rely on Netflix and tv show and film streaming entertainment. In 2011, only 35% of adults owned a smartphone with an interactive screen. This number has soared to 95% in 2017. The reliance we have on the internet and our screens as adults filter down to our children – so they are bound to pick it up!

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When you tell your children that it’s time to put the screens away, you could find yourself at a loss of what to do instead, and it’s so important that they know there is more to life than staring at an iPad. The screen time that our kids get tends to vary based on the activities of the day, or whether they are in school or not. There are plenty of other ways that your children can have fun without the crutch of an interactive screen to help. Check out the list below and try and implement some into each day you are with the kids:

• Get messy in the garden and plant and water flowers
• Visit a local beach and have a sandcastle building contest
• Work on writing your own comic and illustrating it
• Build a blanket fort
• Got a trampoline? Go for a jump!
• Fill water balloons and have a water fight
• Go on a nature hunt
• Cook together as a family for dinner

Filling the free time of your children without a screen to entertain doesn’t have to be hard. Simply think back to when you were a child – how did you entertain yourself?

Holy Fixture! Sorting Your Property Problems Out

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We all have our pet hates with our own house, and there are so many things that, if we had an infinite amount of money, we would completely redesign. After all, the amounts of interior design companies that cater towards the type of person with limited finances are minimal indeed! When we are looking to fix up our home, whether we are looking to sell or are looking to make our homestead a little bit more appealing, the one thing that takes priority over every little design flaw is the home repairs. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to invest a huge amount to make your home safe and habitable for your buyers, but instead, make a few simple changes…

Diffusing Dinnertime Disasters WIth Your Small Child

It’s far from a common problem but that doesn’t make it any less distressing. When your child goes on food strikes, it can create a very instinctual panic. Your child doesn’t quite grasp how worried their fussy eating makes you, of course, so it’s up to you to come up with the solution. Here are three problems that might be contributing to the disastrous dinner times before they become part of your everyday routine.

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Set the mood

Sometimes, it’s all down to the fact that they don’t feel like they’re in the right mood for eating. Sugar can interfere with all the regular food cravings for instance, so it’s a good idea not only to limit it but to avoid it entirely before their last meal of the day, it not entirely. Children are much more likely to go along with what their parents are doing, too. By sitting down to focus on your own meal, you can make dinner a fun family experience rather than a daily struggle with them. Try and approach the situation with a calm assurance, rather than constantly fussing over them and trying to coax or even bribe them into eating. When they know that acting out pays off, they’re only more likely to repeat the problematic behavior.

Get them in position

Where they are and how they’re sitting can make a big difference in whether they’re going to eat, too. Though it might not seem like it, children like a little structure. If you’re feeding them just about anywhere, they might be more prone to get distracted and to focus elsewhere. It won’t feel like “dinnertime” if they’re having dinner where they also watch their favorite cartoons. Have them out at the table without toys and without distraction. Getting the right high chair is important, too. If they’re not being supported and they have an uncomfortable posture, then the whole experience can become stressful for them. Just make sure you get one that’s adjustable, as your kid’s going to be growing in that chair and you will have to get more replacements than you expect if you don’t.

Switch it up

As adults, we suffer meal fatigue the same time. You can only eat mac ‘n’ cheese for so long before even looking at it is enough to put you in a grim mood. Your child feels the same, even if they don’t express it. Children naturally veer towards a balanced diet with different tastes in it, so long as sugar isn’t taking over their appetite. Don’t just keep preparing the same meal for them every day and expect them to like. When they try new things, don’t make a fuss trying to get them to try it. Leave them to it, if you can, see what they eat and what they avoid. By relying on similar tastes and ingredients, you can build up a stock of favorites you keep going back to rather than just the same meal time and time again.

Of course, it’s important to be aware of other reasons your child might not be eating. If they’re feeling ill or they’re teething, they certainly won’t feel in a fit state to eat but they might not quite be able to communicate that. For most other causes the tips above should help you get their diet back on track.

Sources Of Interior Design Inspiration

We all know that feeling when, suddenly, you just want change. Your house has looked the same for years, and you’re suddenly itching to do something different. You want a new look, a new feel. You don’t have any specifics in mind; you just know that you want things to be different. 

At this point, you may find inspiration easy to come by. Powered by your desire for something different, you immediately know exactly what you want. You have color schemes already planned; you know exactly the look you want from new furniture; now all you have to do is find the time to put your ideas into action. 

Ideally, immediate ideas and inspiration are how it should go, but things don’t always work out quite like that. While you’ve reached a point of knowing you want something different, you’ve yet to quite ascertain what it is you want instead. If you’re keen on the idea of change but struggling for inspiration as to what you should change to, then these sources might be just what you need. 

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Finding Style For A Modern Home

In the world of modern home decor, there are way fewer rules than there used to be. Unlike in the past, other people won’t judge your home if it meets certain styles, instead opting to enjoy its unique nature. Of course, though, choosing something other people like is hardly an issue when finding your own preferences is just as hard. So, to help you out, this post will be exploring some of the best ways to find your own style when decorating your home.

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Inspiration

At the very beginning, you’ll want to start by gathering just a little bit of inspiration. You won’t be copying other people’s ideas, but, rather, will be using them to come up with your own. To achieve this goal, though, you’ll need to look in the right places.

Social Media: Websites like Instagram and Pinterest are arguably the very best around for this sort of research. Using simple tagging systems to help you search and find the items you want, these sorts of services are perfect when you’re looking for new things. Of course, though, you will want to look very regularly to make the most of them.

Stores: In a lot of cases, the very best way to inspire yourself will be through seeing something in the flesh. Finding options like modern and contemporary armchairs to match a room will be hard without seeing them first, and you might have to go to a store to do this. To make this easier for you, most companies will have websites to give you an idea of what they offer.

Finding Items

Once you have an idea of what you’d like for your space, you can start to look for ways to get your hands on it. In most cases, people will want the easiest option to achieve this sort of goal, though this may not be right for you.

Cheat: If you simply want a piece of furniture without any hassle, buying your piece from a store will make it a lot easier than making it yourself. But, you won’t have as much freedom. To get the items with the most intrigue, secondhand stores will often stock options which can’t be found anywhere else. This can be a great way to cheat your way to some unique rooms.

Use Your Creativity: Of course, though, for the best results, you might have to do some of the work yourself. Thankfully, resources like scaffold and pallets can often be found for nearly nothing online. With the right tools at your disposal, these sorts of materials will be easy to make into furniture which will turn any head it comes into contact with.

Hopefully, this post will inspire you to start working towards something different with your furniture. A lot of people will spend a huge amount of money on interior designers and other professionals to help them with this. But, with the right effort, you can avoid this expense, relying on your own eye for design instead of theirs.