BULLYING MUST STOP

We are all aware of bullying in schools and the long term affect this can have on a person.  We are also aware of the difficulties that the school authorities have in stamping it out.  The child being bullied feels they cannot complain to a teacher because the situation will probably just get worse if the do.  
Some of these young victims take their own lives, others quit school as soon as their old enough and most of them have lost confidence in themselves and find it hard to get a job or to cope with the common hurdles that life throws at them.
The problem of bullying is not just happening in schools it is also happening in the workplace and for a young person in their first job this can be just as devastating as schoolyard bullying and in some instances even worse.
A young seventeen year old I know was offered a job when he was still at school.  There was the promise of an apprenticeship in twelve months time and there was also a contract which stated he would get a monthly bonus if he achieved a certain amount of work in the month.  Because he knew jobs were not easy to get and apprenticships even harder to find he decided to leave school and  take the job.  
The monthly bonus was never paid even though he achieved his goal every month and the apprenticeship was an empty promise that the company had no intention of keeping.  This young man was subjected to daily bullying by his supervisor, an older man who should have been mentoring  and training him in the job but instead was constantly criticising him.  The criticism was personal and degrading and had nothing to do with the work the boy was doing. 
The teenager is a very quiet boy who was always taught to respect his elders and he was  quite powerless to stand up for himself against the daily abuse that was meted out to him by this older man.  Eventually the boy was so demoralised and depressed he was unable to continue working and had to resign.  He was left feeling he was a complete failure and withdrew into himself.  He was the tenth employee in the year to leave because of the level of workplace bullying.
Although there are laws against workplace bullying there are still many toxic bosses out there who can emotionally destroy adults working under them so what hope has a teenager got in his first job?  
I hope that anyone who is working for a bully will be strong enough to cope with it and not be damaged by it because it seems no one is able to stop it happening.   I also hope this teenage boy will eventually regain his confidence and self esteem and be able to come to terms with what has happened,  put this experience behind him and find a workplace that does not allow this to happen to their staff.

SLEEPING UNDER THE STARS

 I have just arrived home from my very first camping trip,  delighted with the experience and eager to go again soon.  I spent the weekend with a wonderful couple who have been camping  since their children were young and are now sharing their camping trips with their adult children and their grandchildren.
When so many families are troubled by unruly children or teenagers they can't handle it was refreshing to spend a weekend with such a happy well adjusted family group.  Three generations sitting around a campfire talking, joking and simply enjoying each others company.  The entire family pitching in to set up camp, cook the meals and to clean up afterwards was such a contrast to what I have seen in many families.
When it was time to pack up to go home even the smallest members of the group pitched and helped.  The smallest member was just three and he happily helped his sister who is not yet five pack up the toys and carry things to the car.  Two of the older children aged six and eight were happy to make the toast for breakfast over the campfire and help with the washing up.
The grandparents of the group told me that when their children were young they would always take them camping because most camp sites were free and as there was not a lot of money for them to spend too much it was an ideal holiday or weekend getaway for all of them.
If the closeness of this family and the behaviour of the children is any guide then camping is something every family should try to do.  Even though there are very few free campsites anymore and the initial cost of tents bedding and cooking utensils for camping may be a little expensive, it would not be as expensive as taking the famile to a resort or renting a beach house.  Campsites are still quite inexpensive and the bonding of a family on a camping weekend is worth every cent of what you pay.
For me sitting around the campfire in the evening was relaxing in a way I had never really experienced before and during the night I was surprised how clear and bright the stars were.  Something you will only see when you are away from all the city lights. I really wish I had done this when my children were young.

DONT UNDERMINE YOUR HAPPINESS

All too often we seem to go out of our way to undermine our happiness.  We set our sights on things that  are unobtainable instead of being happy and grateful for the things we have.  Instead of being thankful for the things we have we dwell on the things we don't have.
This often leads us into another thing that undermines our happiness, debt.  Debt will drain your happiness away and it is something to avoid whenever possible.
Debt leads to stress which can impact on your health  and so the cycle begins.  Your health is very important to your happiness so look after it.
Helping others is always a good way to make you feel good about yourself.  The act of giving makes us all feel happy and personally I get more pleasure from giving than receiving.
Exercise and fresh air will really lift your spirits so take a walk in a park and enjoy feeling close to nature.
There are so many things that undermine our happiness and we all need to be aware of those things and what steps to take to avoid them and most important of all, teach those things to our children.
There are a number of good article online about being happy and and article  titled 12 SimpleWays  to be Happy in life is just one of them.
Take care of yourself and most of all be happy, but remember happiness comes from withinand we are all responsible for our own happiness.

KIDS AND FACEBOOK

We have all heard of Facebook and many parents are not quite sure about their children being on it.  They worry about predators posing as children or maybe, they just don't really know anything about Facebook.

Facebook is one of the fastest growing social network for people of all ages but, in particular, teenagers have taken to it in droves. Teenagers are chatting online with people from all over the world and this is a wonderful thing for them.  They often have hundreds of online friends that they are never likely to meet face to face.

If you  are one of the parents who is worried about the risks involved in social networking  there is an excellent article  that I found called "Facebook - What Teenagers, Children And Parents Should Know" 
and I believe it is a MUST READ for parents so they are equiped with the information they need.

As we all know Facebook has it's down side so one of the first things a young person must understand is that what they post on a friend wall is not private.  It is there for everyone to see and read and should never contain anything they don't want everyone to see.

The article explains  how Facebook works and will not only help teenagers stay safe but will help parents understand what their children are doing.

Harry and David Coupon Savings

Christmas has crept up on us again and if you are like me you are probably totally unprepared for it.  I ask you, when will I ever learn to be prepared.  Of course after Christmas the birthdays in my family start.  Like everyone else my expenses never seem to stop.

Then I discovered Harry and David coupon codes and the great savings I can get.  Of course, typically I bought my new Dell Laptop BEFORE I discovered these coupon deals and I missed out on getting 25% discount.

It doesn't matter what you are looking for Harry and David have coupons for everything with savings up to 40% at places like Target, Avon, Walmart, Macy's, Dell and many more.  How would you like to save 75% discount on your Inkjet cartridges for instance.


They also have coupons for really great  gifts so if you want something special for someone, you should check out Harry and David Gift Baskets

Everyone wants to save money wherever they can and what better way than with Harry and David coupons They also offer free delivery and as we all know, that in itself is a saving.  How many times have you been slugged with huge delivery charges for something you thought was a bargain?


I don't know about you but I am certainly going to use Harry and David coupons in the future to get some great savings.

Kids and Christmas

Here it is! That time of the year when the kids drive you crazy with the "I want Santa to bring me....".  That fat jolly man in the red suit has a lot to answer for doesn't he?  I know it is small comfort but it only comes once a year....but then so do their birthdays and  Easter. Of course you can't count Halloween....or can you?  It is another day when you have to dig deep for costumes and treats.

OK, are you depressed yet?  I know how hard it can be when you have a couple of teens to buy for.  They really want it all and then some don't they?

All any of us can really do is take a deep breath and dive in.  My children have grown up and gone forth and had children of their own and now I have several teens to buy for so things really can get worse.  I love them all but Christmas does become expensive.

I have found a couple of good places to get gifts for the entire family.  There is one site that I really like and is quite inexpensive so if you would like to check it out click here .  The other of course is one of my own personal favorites and that is Amazon.  Both these sites have a great range of Christmas gifts for all ages and it is where I shop for almost everything.

Christmas is, like just about everything else in life, sent to try us and all we can do is the best we can with what we've got and try to keep on smiling.

Litter Louts

How aware are your children of the urgency to do something about our troubled environment?  Do you teach them to dispose of their litter correctly and to recycle anything that can be recycled?  If all parents are doing this then why do I see litter & graffiti  marring the beauty of some of our lovely towns?


I recently moved to a new town with tree lined streets and beautiful parks and gardens.  There are lovely old buildings preserved for our and future generations.  This town does not have a river but the tiny stream that runs through it has been turned into a beautiful feature with landscaping and walking paths and man made ponds created by low dam walls along the stream.  Even the storm water drains have been turned into scenic feature with landscaping & damming.  By using storm water drains they have been able to create a wonderful bird habitat where families can enjoy our wonderful bird life.


You can imagine my disappointment and, yes, my anger when I went to my public library and noticed that the lovely water feature beside it had been used by some thoughtless and stupid idiots as a place to throw their rubbish.


There it was, shaded picnic tables in the landscaped park, water feature designed to cascade over a low wall after rain and the top pond was full of the plastic bottles, aluminium cans & cardboard takeaway containers of those intellectually challenged, half-witted people who have lost any intelligence they may have been born with.  Most of what ended up in that water feature was recyclable.


What hope has our world got when these idiots are getting away with such destructive and selfish behaviour?
Did their parents teach them about the environment & the importance of recycling or are they imitating the behaviour of the people they grew up with?


Every parent must teach their children to take care of our planet if it is to be saved from the damage humans have already done to it, so please, mum and dad and grandparents - teach your children well and always set them a good example  to follow.

Laughter Helps

We've all heard it; laughter is the best medicine and yes it is but sometimes you have to laugh or you would just sit down and cry and that doesn't do anyone any good does it.


When a family is visited by ASD there is not a great deal to laugh about, is there?  When a family is blessed with three beautiful boys and they are all diagnoses as having ASD any laughter left in us tends to be  difficult to find.  


That is what is happening in my family.  I am the grandmother of these three beautiful boys and I watch my two children trying to cope with the more challenging behaviours ot their boys and I really want to cry.  Then I realise how very special these boys are to all of us, how blessed we are that they are physically well.


Their behaviours may  be extremely difficult at times but there are many parents and grandparents out there coping with children who are disabled in  far worse ways than my grandsons and I realise how lucky we are. 

Parents who are dealing with a child who has withdrawn completely into Autism, children who have been severely disabled with Cerebral Palsy and parents who are watching a tiny child battle a life threatening illness like cancer, are far worse off than my family and my heart goes out to them.


Every day I count my blessings and am thankful for my three wonderful healthy grandsons whom I adore and I think of all those other children who are not so well off.  I guess my point is that no matter how bad you have it there is always someone out there who has it worse and if we can laugh in the face of whatever adversity we have to live with then our burden won't be quite so heavy.

School Expenses

If you are like a lot of parents getting your child back to school can be a financial strain.  Parents these days probably never knew a totally free school system but I did.

When I went to school the only cost was for uniforms and a text book fee that allowed us to keep the text books we needed for the entire year.  If the books were returned at the end of the year in good condition there were no extra charges.  This was an excellent and inexpensive system but I wonder how it would work today.

I remember treating my text books like gold.  I would not have dared make a mark in them for fear my parents would have to pay for it at the end of the year.  Would the majority of children today feel that way?

I love kids but sometimes their lack of respect for property is something I don't understand.  Is it because parents are giving them far too much and so they don't really value anything?  Perhaps parents are too busy to instill in their children respect for property; their own or someone elses.

It seems we are losing the old fashioned values of the past and I for one miss them.  Do you?

Burnt Offerings

Now I am not one to brag but when I got started in the kitchen I could ruin just about anything.  The best steaks I could turn to charcoal in a hearbeat.  My kids called the oven "Mum's crematorium".  Is it any wonder they don't live at home anymore?  Ungrateful little wretches.


One thing I am really proud of though is how white my children's teeth always were.  Of course they always said it was from the amount of charcoal I fed them when they were growing up and even though I hate to admit it....they were probably right.


In my own defence I never had any decent cookwear (that's my excuse and I am sticking to it).  Most of it came from the things other people had thrown out.  Thin aluminium pots that boiled dry and burnt everything before you could say "That smells funny", didn't help my cooking skills at all. Baking trays that were warped, scratched cake tins, if someone could damage something they would, and then they gave it to me.  

I once overheard a conversation between two women I thought were my friends.  They were talking about getting rid of their old, worn out cookwear and one said "Oh just give it to Maggie, she won't know the difference".


Now that my stomach has begun to rebel against years of abuse I have decided I am going to invest in some really good cooking utensils.  I'm sure that will improve what I can produce in the kitchen and if it doesn't?  I will have to start eating frozen dinners and visit my friends at meal times more often.