Hello, I have shared this on my other site Everyone Can Build a Castle, and is a free printable that I do each week and this weeks it is about, When you feel overwhelmed.
Being parent, we can often feel like this because of so much we have to remember and do, and it can be so overwhelming that all you want to hibernate and not think about getting this done and that. So here are some tips on how to manage overwhelm.
Now it is time to get my other jobs done and been out which feels so good and still going to go for a walk tomorrow as I to have blood tests done, that I have to do yearly, to monitor my blood sugar levels, and one reason why managing your health and wellbeing is important, because I did have type 2 diabetes and was managed by diet based and get my eating habits under control and prevent overwhelm, as I can comfort eat and stop my healthy eating.
I will be posting on here in the week and so if you’d like to be notified of my blogs on this site and then remember to subscribe.
As a kid myself I was super fussy and couldn’t have food touching each other on a plate and there were lots I didn’t eat. This changed as I got older but could be hard work as I liked plain food and wouldn’t eat a lot of chocolate which is good but would eat crisps.
When I would go round to a friends houses I would feel anxious about having a meal and felt this inner dread in case it was something I didn’t like, but didn’t want to appear ungrateful. Thankfully my son likes many foods. He did go off vegetables and when it came to a sandwich like, Ham he would take it out and just eat the bread. Yet he has tasted curries, not the shop but the food, and Chinese, and wasn’t overly keen but gave it a try.
Cooking a meal together can help, and I showed a cookery book on Youtube and got a lot of views and so check it out: https://youtu.be/zMu_MGX5uBc
Now he will eat vegetables, but he is obsessed with chocolate and so had to limit his in take and really trying to not allow too much snacking, but still make nice meals and a variety.
Teaching kids to cook can be so beneficial and he likes to get involved and we do have weekly favourites, but no longer restricted and just put it on their plate even if they don’t touch it, as their taste buds can change, and along as they are drinking and eating something is important. I think it can stress us up when they are fussy and you feel mean when to persuade its good and they point blank push it away.
I had times I’d have to take 5 minutes to leave the room, when my son would cry and refuse. So would use meals like sausage and mash and blend it down and same with roast dinners and then he was fine, and making your own food can save you a lot of money.
Porridge with banana or Weetabix, or baby yogurts can be great for breakfasts and keep it simple as they begin to wean.
Take note of the meals they like and didn’t, along with allergies and if out and you are worried about then bring some food with you and if eating out check prior to going of the food they serve and if they do a kids menu.
Today my son if off from school due to having a tummy bug and had to collect him from school yesterday, normally he gets the taxi due to distance, and you never know sometimes of what to expect. Today he does seem to be a lot better and kids will get sick.
I am going to start having my son take a multi vitamin which we did before but it was medicine type bottle and didn’t like it, so going to try a different type, as an adult I take supplements and they really do help, and took one as a kid.
Check of course with the pharmacist or doctor, and to know what is okay for your child to take, as some children may have allergies and there is so many on the market so can be hard to know what to buy.
My son can be reluctant to wash his hands so making it a must so he does it without a fuss as it is important and working in nursery I never known a child not have a runny nose and so have tissue to hand and make sure your hands are washed too. I remember when working in a call center and one of other agents after going to the toilet never washed her hands. If we want to have children follow good hygiene practices, then we as adults if you have kids or not, should set an example so it becomes a natural positive habit as germs can be spread easily if we don’t keep ourselves clean.
When going out for the day or going on holiday have a pack like a first aid kit in your hand luggage in case you child has travel sickness, and prescribed medication is packed in their too with the prescription and check with the Airline before you travel, if you are going abroad.
It is often a dilemma when our children get sick because kids do, but knowing how serious it is. Check their temperature, what their pooh looks like and if they have gone to the toilet, have a lack of energy, the colouring of the skin and if you see a rash then test it with a glass and if it doesn’t disappear contact your doctor straight away, or call 111 or go to A&E, which I hate saying because they do get overloaded with many people and children, and was told that by the receptionist of my sons doctors surgery and had to push for an appointment and managed to get one late in the evening. He had tonsilitis, so make that call or visit and tell the A&E staff that you were referred by your GP.
Be careful with food and check with the restaurant if they have food that can cause an allergy, and when I was a young child I became very ill, when I travelled abroad for the first time and missed a lot of days and there are some days of that holiday I can’t remember after being so unwell.
I wasn’t sure if this was heat stroke or something I consumed in terms of water or food, and when I went camping I was sick, so have a travel bag with medicines that can help and use bottle water if you are unsure if it is safe or not to use in a different place or country.
When at home have a cupboard or a box kept away from kids, with medicines your children are okay with and going through the food they’ve eaten. The doctor will ask what they last ate, if they have had diarrhea or vomited. Keep a record or mental note and what you have tried to use to help. Make sure they are away from others for 48 hours.
I found also keeping away from dairy and drink plenty of safe water to help with recovery from sickness if it is a tummy bug and with chicken pox when they start to scab and taken medication it is usually okay to have social interaction, so back to school for example but check with your child’s childcare setting.
Things with measles it is 5 days but check, and if it the flu that they are getting treatment like antibiotics and let the childcare setting of the medication and when it has to be administrated to your child.
So I hope this helps you and please if you have tips then please share.
Hello fellow parents, I hope you had a good weekend. This weeks cheat sheet I am sharing with my other blog site: https://everyonecanbuildacastle.com because the things you can do to get ready for the day, are relevant to us mum, dads, grandparents and other guardians, and wanted to share on getting ready in the mornings to help set up your day.
I will be posting an actual blog this week, and thank you to those already subscribed to this blog site, it really means the world, and you like these weekly cheat sheets.
Being a mum has changed me, and my thoughts.. I see that he doesn’t multi task, but that it is good to focus on one thing at a time, and short spurts of changing areas in my life that leads to good results, is just as good as long spurts, and getting my life together.
Having a child with ADHD and on the Autism Spectrum, it is important to communicate better, as it doesn’t always sink in to them, and that I give him some control, when it comes to making decisions and that I am not saying no, but that we not going to it this minute, and if he is good, that he will be rewarded with the things he wants and making sure I make an effort to work on my behaviour too, like showing good manners and how to communicate correctly.
I know that sounds like what you’d do when training a pet, but given praise and rewards for when he does good, has a good impact, and that I teach him myself of good behaviour. I practice what I preach. I have to be careful of bad language and chatting, and allow someone speak first, as I have talked over someone and interrupted, and if you find it annoying, and your child sees this, they can copy and can influence other adults to follow the same habits and behaviour, too.
When it comes to diet, if I am encouraging good eating and being healthy, it has to come from me, in order not to snack all the time, and I am working on this, as I need to sort out my diet, as it isn’t always good, so I am in the process of having fuller meals, and not to snack so much.
Now we are going into a new year it is time to restart and reboot. So going to set goals for me and Henry to do together, and progress our relationship, as there are areas in which could be better, such as be a little more stricter, as I need to teach him about everyone is given a chance to choose what to watch on TV to, by making sure I do the same and respect others people property. That he is to respect other peoples decision and that everyone gets a turn, and not to kick up a fuss if it is not what he wants, as you can’t please your kids all the time, and that I make sure I am respectful in that area too.
If you have anything to share, then please do. You can leave a comment below.
So it is New Years day, so happy new year and lets all raise our glasses to all us parents and children, and hope 2024 is a good year.
I am not sure why but my son gets a cough and cold when we reach to the time of the year, Autumn and so gave him some Calpol as we checked his temperature and was a little high and put some Oabis oil on his pillow before he went to bed and put some on his feet too, and you can do the same with vapour Rub (putting it on the bottom of the foot) or the middle of their neck. Only Vapour rub not Oabis oil.
The tricky thing is that because my son has a good body temperature and never feels the cold it is hard to know if he has a temperature, but if they looked flushed on the cheeks, is often a indicator that they may have a temperature that is higher than what it should be.
Often Boots do deals on their cough and cold medicines this time of the year, and I use if my son does have a high temperature Calpol like many parents or Calcough. However if not sure talk to the pharmacist or contact your GP, but in saying that it not always easy to get an appointment at his doctors, and when my son was ill last Spring, I gave them the details to the receptionist of the what was wrong with my son, and told us to go to A&E.
However, by insisting that I need to see the doctor, they gave me an evening appointment with another clinic and found he had Tonsillitis, and needed antibiotics and now it is all done online, so not sure how that will work, but dread contacting them because they at any opportunity push you away, and see why A&E departments are struggling, and so don’t allow them to put you off, and don’t take no for an answer.
It means putting the heating back on, but a lot of families because of utilities costs rising, it is making it tough to heat their homes, but with central heating you can put it on a timer, and set up for when your kids get home from school and in the mornings. We for free got our attic insulated by British Gas, my husband sorted that out, but it has helped with keeping the house warm, and not getting to hot in the summer, and once it reaches the limited temperature, the heating automatically cut off, and keep the thermometer in the room you use the most and will help you see if the heating needs to be turn on or off.
Invest in a blanket, and I bought one from TK Maxx and originally was for a sofa we had, but now it is in on my sons bed in Wimbledon and great for extra warmth and invest in a thick Duvet depending on age, as have a room thermometer as this will help make sure that your child’s room is not too cold or too hot.
If their appetite goes then try making soups and warm breakfasts like porridge with banana, Weetabix or toast, and for lunch or dinner, soups, that aren’t so heavy on their stomachs if they don’t feel like eating, but worried about them being hungry, and that they stay hydrated.
I do get a bit too concerned, so need to work on holding myself back and not making it out to be a big deal as this can make him worry too and say that he is unwell, so try to not go into panic mode and have a medicine in date, in the Winter time, should you child get a cough and cold, and if they are bringing up anything or being sick by coughing a lot, then seek medical help, as it may be a chest infection,which is easily treated.
Kids will have runny noses and working in nurseries, they all can have a runny nose and so use a tissue on each, making sure we wash our heads, and make sure I have tissues to hand and bulk buy.
A nice warm bath can help too and I still use Head to Toe wash from Boots and lasts for a long time and great for their skin and they do a moisturiser too, Boots and great if they suffer with eczema. Also helps clear their noses and their symptoms, along with clean bedding and I make sure that any towels used are washed and that if I have a cold I take medicines and precautions that I don’t pass it on.
So I hope you have had a good half term, and that this blog helps you and many thanks to those who follow me on this blog and if you have tips them please leave the tips in the comment section below.
If you like reading then I have written two The Parenting Adventure books on amazon, under the name, Carrie Challoner.
Thank you for following me on this blog and so pleased that you like my blogs and I hope they are helping you. There is no manual when it comes to kids, and it can be demanding but enjoyable too. My son has such a personality that I do find it hard to tell him of sometimes because he does make me laugh.
With Henry he loves to make me laugh and he can get super hyperactive but just loves having fun and can be hard to get him to settle down. He does have ADHD and so it managing his concentration, and he can get over excited, but his laugh is infectious and is such a character.
I want to build his confidence in himself and encourage him to talk about where he has been and what we did and who we met, and it just helps with proper conversation.
I did write a blog a while ago talking about building kids social skills: Kids and Social skills
It is important because I don’t want Henry to feel self conscious about talking to others like I was, and encourage him to be able to have a good chat with someone, whether it be other children and adults.
Then there is playing games and sports. Today we for the first time this year played out in the garden, so tomorrow going to make sure I have better clothes on to play, as I had a jumper dress on and so need to wear something a bit more practical so if I get muddy I don’t care and helps to use up his energy. When a child still has loads of energy I find it is a lot trickier to have quiet time and settle in the evening, so being active in the morning, at school and early evening when it is still light outside can really help with that, and have a good sleep ready for the next day.
I have written a blog about building kids skills: Spending time with my son and building his skills and if they are interested in what you are doing then show them as one day they will need to (an example) cook for themselves and make their own meals and like cooking it can really help them be healthy and making good choices, when it comes to food.
These things are a way to build their memories . It will help with their conversations at school and talk about what he did and inspire other kids to do the same. Kids can learn a lot from others children so if you can have playdates or join a club of some kind can really help with that. I remember my friend Hayley who would have a tidy bedroom unlike mine and it encouraged me to tidy it up and riding a bike came from learning from the kids I played out with on the housing estate I grew up on.
My son learned from his friend Nell on riding his bike and that is where their social skills improve and the more interaction they have the better.
They also like repetitive learning I call it, where you have a structure that they do each day to develop their habits, and become normality like reading each day at the same time on the same day. Each Sunday when my son is back to school on the Monday do his homework and in the morning, we will also go for a walk each morning on a Sunday except of when he is unwell which happened recently, but then we had cuddle time watching the TV to wind down for the evening and my son still loves a story before bed and make sure in the mornings he and I have breakfast.
By doing these things it helps them to continue these habits on and important teach them to wake up properly in the mornings and be refilled with a good amount of energy. My son has lots so we will travel somewhere and explore. Often when we travel back by train we will sit on the platform to watch the trains before we leave the station and so having fun is important as well as life skills for him to see different things and meet other children.
Getting kids involved with everyday living will help them build their life and experiences. Making the most of each day and be fearless. I hate now that I am scared of heights because there was a time I wasn’t and yes, going on a rollercoaster can be dangerous but it can also be fun too, and would like to go a plane again and go and visit a country abroad and be my sons first trip on a plane so going to save money to do that and go on more train rides, to visit different places in the UK.
So lets see if that happens. If you have any tips or there are topics about parenting you’d like me to write about then please leave a comment below.
Today Sunday the 12th March 2023 my son, made his own and first Vegetable soup, and ate it. As a baby I would give him vegetable and fruit Purees, but as he has grown and with encouragement will eat them.
The homework for my son this weekend was to make a soup and so he chopped up the ingredients needed, helped stir and add the other ingredients, then helped blend them and chopped up the herbs, and it was really tasty. He has begun doing DT at school, and the soup was really good and didn’t make a fuss in eating it.
This inspired me to write this blog, because it was a success, when sometimes it is not.
The key thing to do is to involve in the whole process. We, my mum and I took him shopping and helped us looking for the ingredients, and then made the meal, and we had for lunch.
Kids like to be responsible, and they like it when they can be involved in doing things like cooking and baking. It helps them to understand about food and trying different things. This means even when they are fussy as children’s taste-buds change. I have been guilty of giving him easy meals like fish and chips, burger beans, but now he is learning about food and he is starting to learn what is healthy and what is not, and slowly his feelings on fruit and vegetables has changed, and he will eat them. Start with just a little bit at a time, and mix the veg a bit of potato is they like them, and just a little bit can make all the difference and their willingness when it comes to vegetables.
I do like a biscuit and so does he, but I want to slowly change that and no longer use food as a bribe it can lead to it being a normal habit which I don’t want, but I feel bad in saying no.
However I am no going to deprive him or me, but not eating things like biscuits all of the time. However with Henry enjoying his soup is a good turning point and get us both back on track when it comes to food.
Our kids being healthy is important, and the one thing I don’t ever encourage is fizzy drinks. I never used to drink these as a kid I found them to gassy, and I drink them now, but my son hasn’t and feel good in that. He will drink manly water or milk.
You don’t have to be super strict and not make dinner time a song or a dance, as we say in England, but encouragement and teaching kids about cooking is a great start in getting our kids to be a lot more healthy.
This also saves money on meals because you can save soup and freeze to having it on another day and got some for my lunch tomorrow and my son has some for his dinner tomorrow, so GET OUR KIDS COOKING. a really good skill that will last a lifetime, and help to make them independent.
The parenting adventures 