Dealing With Toddler Temper Tantrums

            Your beautiful baby is growing up and now is the time to spread your wings with him. Maybe even take him to a restaurant for the first time. You are so proud of him and everyone is saying how good he is when wham bang - what is happening? The wonderful baby who you were just admiring only one minute ago has now transformed into a monster and is throwing a full-blown tantrum. What did you do wrong? Why is he doing this? He just will not stop crying. He is screaming he wants to go home. Welcome to the world of the toddler temper tantrums.

It is not that he hates you or the restaurant you are at. He is frustrated, as he does not have the language skills to communicate with you what he wants. He is in an unknown environment and feels threatened. There are going to be many occasions in this 2 to 3-year-old period, that this feeling and the resulting tantrum comes to light.

So what do you do when your child throws a tantrum?

• It is best for you, not to lose your cool. Speak softly and calmly to him and he may eventually react.
• Do not walk away from him, however tempting this may be, as it could make him worse as he will also feel abandoned.
• Do not allow yourself to be dragged down to his level. Do not start screaming at him and smacking him. This will only prolong the tantrum.
• Do bend down and lift him up. This could result positively by him turning to you for comfort.
• If there is a chance of danger for either the child or someone around him as a result of his tantrum, take him to another room and talk to him. Just keep telling him he is loved and you want to see his smile.

These are some ways to deal with your child's tantrums but there could also be ways to prevent some tantrums. You may realise after a few episodes that he throws tantrums when hungry. Combat this by taking snacks with you when shopping or visiting friends.

Being over tired is another trigger for many 2 year olds. Their brain does not function properly when over tired. Correct this problem by letting him have a short nap before going out.

These are some ways that can help you control your child's tantrums. One thing to remember is not to feel that you are the only Mother going through this time. The "Terrible Two's" is a well-known saying and most toddlers have thrown a tantrum or two. Your child is growing all the time and when his skills improve so will his ability to control his emotions.

Your child will go through many stages throughout his life and you will soon learn to deal with them. For more information on toddlers and baby care please visit http://www.cheapestbabygear.com

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Top 5 Expenses We Can Do Without

       No matter how much money we earn, the general impression is that: we are never satisfied with our finances. I am not saying that this is wrong, nor saying it is the right concept to live by. According to consumer psychology, needs are always unsatisfied. That happens when we exhaust our utilities while we quench our daily desires.

However, if you fall in the category of ordinary, middle class or lower level income earners, there are so many precautionary measures that we need to be aware of. We should never put ourselves in deficit as a result of unnecessary expenses. Here are some quick views on some expenses that we could do without. Let's first start by 'ringing up' the most widely talk about expense, the cell phone.

HIGH CELL PHONE BILLS

Communication is vital but there are ready inexpensive options to significantly lower your phone bill.The lowest package that I have researched, averages about $105 per month on a basic voice, internet and data plan and others cost as much as $400 per month!

If there is a code red on your month budget, don't be too ashamed to consider a prepaid package instead.

EXTRA RENT

If you have a family, stop right now and count the number of persons living in your household. This might be a silly advise but some householders are paying an arm and leg for an additional storeroom just to keep junk. Why would you pay rent for 3 bedrooms when there are 3 person in the house: you, your spouse and a child. Even if there are 2 children, depending on their ages, you could let them sleep in the same room and save yourself an additional $100 to $300 dollars.

Depending on where you live, rent could range between $400-$4000 per month. if you qualify for a mortgage, my advice would be to speak with an adviser to weigh your options of paying mortgage instead of rent. It is better to pay for your house than to be paying someone else. If you are in a temporary situation, it is OK to rent as that might be a start but try to live within your means while you save towards your down payment for your future mortgage.

EATING OUT

Do you know why fast-food is the number one business Worldwide? That happens because 90% of our householders seldom prepare meals at home. If you stop outside to have:

Breakfast in the mornings

Lunch by mid-day

Dinner in the afternoon

You could be spending as much as $50 per day on food!

GROOMING

When grooming is not monitored carefully, it takes up as much or over 20% of our earnings on a weekly basis. If we should reduce this figure, you would be surprised to see the savings in our pockets at the end of the month. We all know that it is very important to maintain a good appearance but others tend to master this skill without burdening their pockets.

Let's first start with the male as an example: Most men visit the barber twice per week and spend as much as $20-$25 on shave and cut. Now, there are two options to consider:

Cut your hair monthly rather than bi-weekly

Purchase a grooming kit and let your spouse be your personal groomer

For females: manicure, pedicure and hairstyle expense, could run in excess of $300- $500 per month. Again, I reiterate, spend some time and invest in home grooming. Where it becomes necessary to seek outside assistance, I would support that option. In addition, you may want to support your friend who has a small business. Here is why:

They don't pay high overhead expenses as the regular boutique

Most times your 'personal stylist' is cheaper and more flexible than the regular boutique

EXCESSIVE ENTERTAINMENT

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. However, Jack will be bright but BROKE at the end of the month if he doesn't curtail his partying and drinking habits. Try to reduce your frequent drinking and partying as it would show significant reduction in your expenses and a huge increase in your savings which we will look at now.

BRINGING IN THE SHEAVES

Let's bring out the calculators now, as we attempt to 'bring in the sheaves' and celebrate our saving at the end of the month. We could now pay more than the minimum on our financial obligations.

Let's start with our rankings:

High Cell Phone: $200

Extra Rent: $200

Eating Out: $500

Grooming: $100

Weekly Entertainment: $100

The above total shows savings of $1100 but we could give or take $100 from that figure. One wise accounting principle states that it is better to overstate expenses and understate revenues, just to be on the safe side. Once you apply the above practice, you could see a huge significance in your savings at the end of the year.

We can now pay more than the minimum on our credit card and possibly pay off the outstanding balances by the end of the year. That would be good news to hear after we look at the Top 5 Expenses That We Could Do Without.

The above examples are hypothetical scenarios that could be applied to average income earners who have average families with average or basic monthly expenses. All currencies are quoted in USD

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Employee Rewards: It's the Thought That Counts

          It's an age-old problem: How do you reward employees without breaking the bank? If the reward is too small, will it be counterproductive? Or is getting a cheap trinket better than nothing at all?

According to a recent article by Harvard Business Review1, your mother was right: in terms of gift-giving, it really is the thought that counts.

In the article, the author discusses a 2012 study on the relative motivational power of cash versus tangible gifts. The experiment is simple enough: a group of people respond to an ad for a short-term assignment at a stated hourly rate. The researchers then gave small rewards, each worth the same amount, to randomly chosen employees and measured their productivity against a baseline.

When the reward was given in cash, there was no change in productivity. However, when the reward was given as a token gift, employee productivity soared by 25 percent. Interestingly, most employees didn't even want the gift-in another experiment, when given the choice between the gift (a plastic water bottle) or the cash, 80 percent chose cash.

So if no one even wanted the water bottle, why did it have such a dramatic effect on productivity? The difference was the thought behind the gesture. Adding a small amount of money to a paycheck is impersonal and automatic, but choosing a gift for someone takes thought-even if that gift ends up being cash. When the employees were asked how they wanted to receive their rewards, it showed genuine interest on the part of the employer. What the employees chose wasn't nearly as important as the fact that they were given a choice in the first place.

So what does this mean for you? If your company has a limited budget for employee rewards, it's OK to give rewards with negligible financial value, as long as they're given from the heart. A sincere "thank you" is free, and carries more motivational power than an extra $25 on a paycheck-money that will go unnoticed, spent on groceries, or both.

For an employee reward to have lasting impact, it needs to have "trophy value;" that is, it should be something an employee can proudly display as a reminder of his or her excellent performance. Whether that's a certificate of achievement, a new watch, or tickets to a sports game is between you and your employees. It should also reward a specific behavior tied to the goals of your organization. Gifts given at random are good for morale, but do little to reinforce desired behavior. And finally, involve your employees in the reward decision. The plastic water bottle in the study probably wouldn't motivate a stockbroker, and a small cash bonus might be just what an employee needs that week. The important thing is to make the reward meaningful, and no one knows what means the most to your employees better than they do. Simply providing a choice between options-even just two, like the cash or the water bottle-both shows that you care and allows the employee to pick the more meaningful reward.

1Fisman, Ray, "Forget About That Cash Bonus." Harvard Business Review. March 4, 2013 ( http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/03/forget_about_that_cash_bonus.html ).

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