10 ways to be a better parent

Make clear rules

Parents often have very different views about how they want to discipline their children and what behaviour warrants punishment. To overcome these issues, sit down with those that look after your child a lot. Write down key rules that you would like your child to follow; choose no more than 10. Together, you should then decide how you will punish each rule that is broken. Teamwork is essential when it comes to good discipline. Make sure you explain each rule to your child; you could even make a rule board and put it up in your house.

Listen

Between making breakfast, cleaning the house and getting your kids to brush their teeth it can be hard to find the time to listen. Try to prioritise though. Will your kids be thankful that they had perfectly neat and ironed clothes, or will they remember that time you sat down and really listened to what they had to say? Children often live in secretive worlds, so when they decide to share something, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you, it can be a big deal to them. You could try to get into a routine of asking your kids questions about their day, their friends or a game they like playing.

Have fun

Although rules are important, your kids will respect you a lot more if you spend time having fun with them too. Choose to do an activity they enjoy – if they are young play an imaginary, creative game with them. You could pretend to be pirates or jungle explorers and go on an adventure around the house. If they are a little older do a one-on-one activity with just them. You could go skating, have a pamper afternoon or have an active day out. The activity you choose doesn’t have to be expensive, it just has to interest them and be done on a regular basis.

Trust

Trust is something that doesn’t come easily to most parents. We worry that they won’t look to cross the road, that they might make the wrong friends or that they will get into trouble. However, trust is essential to make any relationship work and moreover it gives your kids the freedom to explore and learn about life for themselves. It is likely that at some point they will make mistakes, but they will also learn from those mistakes. Plus, trust gives you something to bargain with. They can have some freedom if they behave, and if they don’t then it’s taken away.

Be firm

A lot of parents find it hard to discipline their child even though, deep down, they know that the child needs to be punished. A horrible mix of guilt and despair makes discipline a difficult issue. However, by punishing them you are instilling good behaviour and strong morals. Once you have decided what rules you would like your children to follow, make sure that every time one of those key rules is broken there is a consequence to their actions. It is essential to be firm and consistent. Giving your child an explanation about why you have certain rules also helps them understand your actions.

Get organised

Parenting is the biggest time squeeze. You get up earlier and earlier and go to bed later and later, yet still there is no time left. The only way you combat the time hoarder that is parenting is to get organised. Get charts, alarms and bright pens. Instil a strong routine and get your kids to do a few chores. Another way to massively cut down on your chore time is to cook big batches of meals at once. You could make large quantities of soups, chillies or stews and then freeze them. They’re like cost-effective, healthy ready meals.

Show you care

Being a parent is hard work, but the rewards can be huge too. If you find it difficult to find ways of showing your child that you care maybe you could write them a little letter explaining why you think they’re great. Or you could write down eight reasons why you love them and put them on post-it notes. Hide these notes all over the house and ask your child to hunt them down. Sometimes it can be easy to buy children gifts when you want to let them know you love them, but emotional attention is a much clearer, stronger message.

Stay calm

No-one in the world can wind you up more than your kids. They can drive you wild and after very little sleep it can be easy to blow up with anger. Showing you’re angry won’t help the situation though and your child will also learn to be angry. To stay calm, first find out why your child is acting up and address the causes of their behaviour. If you are too angry to deal with the situation try to work out a technique that calms you. You could leave the room, inhale deeply, visualise a relaxing environment or just sip some water.

Don’t compare

Every family is different as every child is different. Don’t get caught up in the competitive side of parenting for your child’s sake and yours. A healthy amount of encouragement is good and can have a positive impact upon your child’s development, but getting too pushy will drive your children away, make them unhappy and may cause resentment. If you want to give your kids drive then set some achievable targets, let them have a say in what they do and give them a break. Never blame them if they fail, but remind them they achieved something by giving it a go.

Keep them active

If kids are inactive they will get restless, bored and frustrated. In Britain, nearly 2.4 million children are overweight or obese. Your child should be active for at least one hour a day. You can sign them up for a team sport or a dance class, but a lot of kids don’t like organised sport. Instead you could take them to a playground, play active games outside with them or go swimming. You can buy them active toys instead of computer games or DVDs, such as a bike or skates. Going for walks is also an easy way to get your child up and active. Read more on realbuzz.com...

source:in.lifestyle.yahoo.com

7 ‘good’ habits that are bad for your health

Think you know what’s good for you? You may be surprised. Take a look at these seven seemingly good habits that can actually be bad for your health.

Drinking water
While we are probably all familiar with the advice to drink eight glasses of water a day, more recent research has suggested that there is actually no scientific evidence supporting this recommendation and that drinking excessive amounts of water can actually be dangerous by lowering the concentration of salt in your blood. Health-conscious water drinkers should also be wary of the trend for drinking bottled water, as studies have suggested that the chemicals (phthalates) from plastic bottles can leach into water and disrupt hormone levels.

Talking over your problems
Talking through your problems can be a great way to gain some perspective and get things off your chest. However, studies have suggested that, after a certain point, rehashing and dwelling on problems can actually be bad for your health. According to research, revisiting and analysing the same problems with friends (“co-rumination”) can lead to anxiety, stress disorders and depression. Next time a problem arises, by all means talk it over with a friend, but try to focus on problem-solving rather than simply dwelling on the issue.

Sipping on mocktails

Learn 5 good habits that everyone should be imbibe.
You may think that by swapping cocktails for mocktails you are doing your health a favour, but this may not actually be the case. While cutting down on alcohol is beneficial for your wellbeing, mocktails are often high in refined sugar which research suggests is just as damaging and addictive as alcohol. For a safer swap and a shot of nutrients, make sure you stick to mocktails made from pure fruit juices instead of those made from syrups.

Early morning workouts
While a daily workout is great for your health, studies suggest that getting up for early morning exercise may not be as ideal as it seems. A study by a researcher from Brunel University, Middlesex, found that heavy training sessions early in the morning can compromise the immune system and put athletes at increased risk of bacterial and viral infection. While a morning jog or gentle exercise session is unlikely to put you at risk, it may be better to save heavier workouts for later in the day.

Taking nutritional supplements
We all know that vitamins are good for us, but relying on nutritional supplements can actually be bad for your health. Separate studies have shown that high doses of vitamin supplements including iron, magnesium and vitamin B6 raise the death rate of older women, while taking vitamin E can increase men’s risk of prostate cancer. While certain people may be required to take vitamins (those with low levels of vitamin D, for example, or vegans who may be deficient in vitamin B12), for most people a better approach is to opt for a varied diet full of fruit and vegetables which will give you all the nutrients you need.

Slathering on sunscreen
Official advice for many years has warned about the dangers of skin cancer, causing many of us to take measures to cover up in the sun at all times. However, while it is extremely important to protect your skin, experts have more recently advised that little and frequent sun exposure is good for us, preventing vitamin D deficiency, which can lead to rickets, osteomalacia and depression. Official advice in the UK, where rickets has recently made a comeback, is to spend 10 minutes in the midday sun without sunblock each day before covering skin up.

Switching to low fat foods
When getting started in healthy eating, it is tempting to opt for low fat foods in order to help keep off excess pounds. However, cutting out ‘good’ fats such as omega-3 fatty acids could be detrimental to your health. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish, walnuts and flaxseeds, not only help to keep skin supple and wrinkle-free, they are also essential for good brain and heart health and can help prevent arthritis.

source:in.lifestyle.yahoo.com

Brahmos missile flight tested successfully off Orissa coast

India on Wednesday successfully testfired version three of Brahmos supersonic cruise missile at theIntegrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, off the Orissa coast.

The test firing took place at around 11.22 a.m., a Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) release said.

The release said that the missile flew through the designated 290 kilometer distance at Mach 2.8 and achieved high precision with steep dive once again.

The Network of telemetry stations and down range ships confirmed that the missile followed the pre designated flight path.

When contacted, Dr. A. Sivathanu Pillai confirmed that it was a text book launch achieving 100 percent results.

"Today's trial was special, as for the first time, the Brahmos missilewas launched in a 'steep drive' mode," Dr. Pillai, the chief of Brahmos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture company.

The missile was completely integrated at the BrahMos Integration Complex at Hyderabad. The test flight was witnessed by senior officers from the armed forces. he Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Brahmos, along with Mr. S Som, Project Director, Brahmos and Rear Admiral S Mohapatra, Executive Director were present during the launch.

"The missile was test fired from a ground mobile launcher from the launch complex-3 at about 1122 hours and the trial was successful," a defence official said.

The supersonic missile is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 200 to 300 kilograms.

The cruise missile, a surface-to-surface army version, was test fired in the presence of senior army officials and DRDO scientists, a defence official said.

The two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant, has already been inducted into the army and the navy.

The army has so far placed orders for the Brahmos missile to be deployed by three regiments of the army. Two of them have already been inducted operationally. he Defence Ministry has also given a go-ahead to the army to induct a third regiment equipped with the missile system to be deployed in Arunachal Pradesh along the China border. (ANI + inputs)

source: http://in.news.yahoo.com

Women-Owned Firms Make Strides in Federal Contracting

The U.S. government is the world’s largest single purchaser of goods and services, offering a worthwhile market opportunity for many small businesses—including women-owned firms. The 5 percent federal goal for agency spending with women-owned firms, as well as the newly-launched Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program in particular, can offer women-owned firms greater contracting opportunities.

A recent survey conducted among small business owners who are active federal contractors1 shows them to be working harder for less return than they were a year ago. A new report, Women and Minority Small Business Contractors: Divergent Paths to Equal Success, focuses on key trends among women- and minority-owned firms in federal contracting. This new report, published by American Express OPEN’s Victory in Procurement (VIP) program, finds that women business owners who are active contractors have reached the same level of contracting and overall business success as all active small contractors, with a similar level of effort—but they have not yet found that certification as a woman-owned small business (WOSB) has helped them achieve that success. Further, the pinch that all small firms are feeling over the past year with respect to fewer bidding opportunities and lower success rates have impacted women-owned firms even more severely than average.

Notable survey findings include:

Women-owned active contractors have achieved the same level of procurement and business success, with a similar level of effort, as all active small contractors. Over one-third (35 percent) of women active contractors have received $1 million or more in federal contracts over their lifetime of federal procurement activity, virtually identical to the 38 percent of all active contractors who have reached the same level of procurement success. In addition, 19 percent of women contractors employ 50 or more workers and 42 percent have $1 million or more in annual revenues, very similar to the 18 percent and 47 percent seen among all active small business contractors. Further, it took women business owners an average of 1.2 years and 4.0 unsuccessful bids to notch their very first victory in procurement, virtually the same as the 1.3 years and 4.4 bids seen among all small businesses.
Recent prime contracting bidding activity and success rates have declined for all small businesses, and even more significantly for women-owned firms. Over the past three years (2008-10) the level of bidding activity and the success rates for active small business contractors have declined compared to the 2007-09 period: prime contracting bidding activity is down 47 percent and prime bidding success rates are down 8 percent, and subcontracting bidding activity and success rates have declined 48 percent and 27 percent, respectively. The decline is even more severe among women business owners, especially with respect to prime contracting, where bidding activity has declined by 55 percent and success rates have fallen by 17 percent.
Women-owned firms are more likely than average to have a special procurement designation or certification. Getting on the GSA schedule has been most helpful, but being self-certified as a WOSB has not yet opened contracting doors. Self-certifications as well as qualified designations can increase procurement opportunities for many small firms. Over eight in 10 (82 percent) women-owned firms have one or more of these designations, compared to 70 percent of all active contractors. Women business owners are most likely to have self-certified as a WOSB (68 percent), gotten on the GSA schedule (24 percent) or qualified for small disadvantaged business/disadvantaged business enterprise (SDB/DBE) status (24 percent). Women business owners find being on the GSA schedule particularly helpful—41 percent of those who are on the schedule say it’s been very or extremely useful for getting federal contracts. Not so much the WOSB status—just over one-third (37 percent) of active women contractors who have self-certified as a woman-owned small business report that the designation has been useful to them, with only 17 percent saying that it’s been very or extremely useful. Of course, up until February 2011 there was no official government WOSB program, so the full impact of this program has yet to be seen.

Other key insights in the report include the finding that women business owners are much more likely than the average active small business contractor to point to agency purchasing officials and outside consultants as having had a positive impact on their contracting success.

This report is the second in a series of four reports that will be published from the second annual survey among active small business federal contractors. The first, Trends in Federal Contracting for Small Businesses, focused on the overall situation for small firms in the federal marketplace today as well as key trends seen over the past year. Other upcoming reports will focus on how strategies and outcomes change with level of procurement experience, and what lessons can be shared from firms that focus on subcontracting as a procurement strategy.

To download and read the entire 11-page report click here, and to learn more about American Express OPEN’s VIP program, visit www.openforum.com/governmentcontracting.

1An active contractor is defined as a business that is registered on the Central Contractor Registry to do business with federal agencies and is either currently performing on a federal contract or has performed on a contract within the past five years.

Source:http://www.openforum.com