I was reading this article from Pyschcentral about parents and whether or not we seem to kvetch more nowadays? Which was in response to the New York Times “Motherlode” blog.

Following the discussion on Why do Parents complain so much, do we whine more as modern parents? Are we less resilient that our parents were? Or is it just that we seem to complain more because we speak out more, share more and are a bit more open about how parenting can be challenging.

We discuss more publicly

Over time, we have stopped raising children in villages and started raising them seemingly by ourselves behind closed doors, minding our business and managing the parenting matter how best we can. Now with the internet it’s almost like the idea of raising your children in a village is returning - albeit an e-village, we are asking for advise online, we are sharing tips and researching more than ever before. I remember using babycenter to get pregnancy advice and using dcurbanmoms to get school and doctor recommendations.

So maybe it seems we complain more because there are so many platforms to share and discuss such as facebook, twitter, Bb, forums etc. Is it complaining or just collaboration on the parenting journey…

Parenting is hard(er)

Parenting has always been hard there has always been different challenges through the ages. Now in addition to raising healthy adjusted children we also have to figure out how to manage the modern day technology (for both our children and ourselves) we need to prepare our children for.

Our modern parenting challenges seem to be more intense if that’s possible? I do know Grandparents comment that “the children of nowadays are different sha” and that the “parenting challenges we face are entirely different”

Cylce of trying to have it all

One of the biggest issues I find is that there is so much focus on having it all. I believe in you have different things at different times.

Our parents didn’t have as much challenges of trying to be superwoman – a career women and raising a family. However with more expensive living standards, more expensive basic education, failed state, aspiring to summer holidays, ipads, it is harder than it was before to afford to raise a family.

The famous stay-at-home versus working mum discussion is always “trending” Mums who stay-at-home struggle with not working and those that work outside the home struggle with not being there for every school play.

As someone said, with social media, everyone seems to be having fun and you wonder if you are doing enough. Images of picture perfect families going on holiday, children on broadway and winning awards, Mums looking like she stepped out of a magazine gets everyone wondering why you can’t seem to measure up?

What do you think? Do we share too much? Or is it better to speak out more?

photo source: blog.vodafone.co.uk

Deciding when their family is the right size–or how to make sure it stays that size–is a personal decision that many women may find easier to make in the years to come.

Deciding when your family is the right size-or how to make sure it stays that size-is a personal decision that many women may find easier to make now.

For women who have decided that they do not want any more children for sure and feel ready for a permanent form of birth control, “getting your tubes tied,” or tubal ligation, is no longer the only option.

A new office-based procedure known as the Essure procedure is quickly replacing the old operation and depending on your insurance, might be covered.

During the procedure, a tiny, soft spring, called a micro-insert, is placed into each fallopian tube. The body’s natural response causes tissue to grow into the micro-inserts, blocking sperm from reaching the egg. This tissue growth takes about three months and additional birth control must be used during this time.

After three months, a special X-ray test verifies that the system is working.

Choosing this advanced procedure offers many benefits. There are no incisions, it does not contain hormones, it can be performed in a doctor’s office with minimal anaesthesia and it’s permanent. The procedure takes about 15 minutes to complete and most women return to normal activities within a day or two.

More than 63,000 women worldwide have already had the procedure and clinical studies have reported high safety and patient satisfaction. After many years of clinical study, no pregnancies have been reported when the micro-insert is placed correctly.

Disclaimer: While no method of birth control is 100 percent effective, the procedure’s effectiveness rate is 99.80 percent with years of clinical data.

“We finally have a technique for a woman that is comparable in simplicity, accessibility and safety to vasectomy in men,” said Dr. Barbara Levy, a national expert in endoscopic surgery practicing in Seattle.

“Although the complications of surgical tubal ligation are uncommon, when they occur they may be life threatening. The rare deaths associated with tubal ligation were unacceptable in my mind.”

For more information on this birth control option you can read the FDA overview.

Would you consider a permanent birth control option?

Related articles across the web

• Birth Control Options: Essure

Contributed by Nimi Akinkugbe, Money Matters with Nimi

Nimi Akinkugbe

Our current educational system focuses almost totally on academic subjects and very rarely is any aspect of money management taught in the school curriculum. This is set to change in due course.

At an event to mark Global Money Week held at Abuja in March 2014, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that the curriculum that would be used in Nigerian schools to teach the concept of financial literacy would be released next year. Global Money Week is a global money awareness celebration that takes place in March each year to engage children globally regarding the basic concepts of savings and investing.

The CBN in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Education Research Council, as well a financial literacy steering committee including stakeholders in the capital markets, banking, insurance, and pensions industries seeks to ensure that financial literacy is integrated into the Nigerian school curriculum by 2015 to better equip students to manage their finances in adulthood.

Nigeria is not alone in this drive for financial literacy among its youth population. Children will be taught how to manage their money in schools for the first time in England, after financial education was included in the national curriculum towards the end of 2013.

The details published by the UK Department for Education includes “financial mathematics.” According to the published curriculum, pupils will learn to manage their money and plan for future financial decisions in citizenship classes, which will also include instruction in financial products and how public money is raised through income tax. The curriculum will be rolled out in the United Kingdom from September 2014.

Parents have a role to play in encouraging financial literacy among their children as the most practical and profound lessons are at home. They often ask about the age when they should start teaching children about money, or whether or not they should give their children an allowance or pocket money.

To raise money-savvy children, parents should start to teach from the time a child can count and regularly reinforce money lessons as children grow up. An allowance puts money in your children’s hands and presents and opportunity to introduce budgeting and prioritizing. Opinions vary as to whether or not they should be given an allowance. Some argue state that it gives them unrealistic expectations and develops in them a sense of entitlement to be given money for doing “nothing”.

Some parents go as far as to introduce commission based work for chores. Certain tasks at home are thus assigned naira amounts and if the job is done very well, they are paid. If they don’t do the job well or display a bad attitude are unhelpful then any payment is withheld. One wonders if the payment for chores won’t make children tie monetary compensation to everything that they do.

When your children earn or are given an allowance, help them to divide it into three tiers: saving, spending, and giving. By guiding them through these concepts of saving, spending and giving you’re laying a foundation for their future financial security.

Children can start to learn the virtues of work from a young age. One must make sure that the jobs that they do are age appropriate. Even the youngest children can do minor tasks that keep them engaged and provide useful learning opportunities.

As children get older, they are introduced to debit and credit cards. Indeed, as soon as they arrive at some university campuses, they become the target of financial institutions some of whom are keen to introduce debt very early in their banking relationships. They must be taught the pros and cons of both. If your children become prone to debt from an early age you can be certain that you will be spending much of your retirement years bailing them out of financial difficulties.

Are your children at home on holiday now? This might be one of the best opportunities to put some financial principles their way. Our children tend to imitate our money habits. They see you working hard so why not put them to work for at least part of the long holiday. This provides a valuable lesson that work is how money is earned.

When it comes to earning, saving, spending and giving, try to involve your children as you plan your basic household budget. Take young children to the supermarket with you. Let them watch the process of selecting various items and how much they cost. Let them make some choices to learn what is expensive as compared to what is more affordable.

Discuss with them where money is going and what your priorities are. They should also make their budget and prioritize between their wants, and needs. Sometimes it is difficult to explain things but practical exposure to paying utility and other bills can become powerful learning events. These will be long lasting lessons in how they manage their own money.

We all know how much better off we might have been if we had learned the basics of personal finance when we were much younger. Good money habits, learned early in life can help to insulate children from making mistakes later in life. Why not give your children a head start by introducing some of the principles to them now. They will be so much better for it.

Nimi Akinkugbe, Money Matters with Nimi , is a Money Management and Financial Specialist. Website: www.moneymatterswithnimi.com | Email: info@moneymatterswithnimi |Twitter: @MMWITHNIMI | Instagram: MMWITHNIMI | Facebook: MoneyMatterswithNimi

C

The Government has announced that “All primary and secondary schools, both public and private are to remain closed until Monday October 13, 2014 which is the new school resumption date for all schools throughout the Federation”.  

Announcing the shift in resumption date in Abuja, Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, said the decision became necessary in view of the risk posed by the Ebola virus which could easily spread through schools. This closure is also to affect all Summer programs who are required to suspend their programs. The Minister said the change in the resumption date was also to enable the Federal and state governments, as well as school authorities put in place adequate preventive measures before the pupils returned to school. 

In addition it is required that at least two (2) staff in each school, both public and private, are trained by appropriate health workers on how to handle any suspected case of Ebola and also embark on immediate sensitization of all teaching and non-teaching staff in all schools on preventive measures. This training of staff must be concluded not later than September 15, 2014.

There are mixed reactions to this and of course the biggest question being how to engage children at home for this long. All focus should be on the curtailment of the virus and protecting our children. As the Minister mentioned, imagine a school with over 600 students that reports a suspected case.. No one wants to have to deal with that exposure.

It might be helpful for schools to provide learning material for children at home while they await their new resumption date of October 13th.

Source: Vanguard News

Sunday Brunch

The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, has introduced e-curriculum in all Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria. The e-curriculum is a web-based, curriculum delivery solution for learners, teachers, education managers and other stakeholders.

According to Punch, the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Professor Godswill Obioma suggested that the mass failure in the last Senior School Certificate Examinations is being attributed to inadequate learning and teaching, the hope is that the e-curriculum would enable students to learn at home through the Internet.

The e-curriculum would ensure online access by both parents and students to the prescribed national curriculum in all subjects offered at the senior secondary education level.

The e-curriculum was done in collaboration with Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Ltd, and it is expected to ensure the digitization of school curriculum to e-curriculum portal.

Source: Punch

photo source: quarpamurcia.es

Here are some signs that your parenting style is actually old school..

1. You still plan large children’s parties with Pin the Tail on the Donkey along with a special “birthday outfit”.

2. Your children do not have TV’s in their room, nor do they own their own ipads. They spend more time running around outside, creating their own games than the time spent in front of a screen – whether television, tablet or laptop.

3. You are not getting parenting advise and support from social media or the internet. Then you are definitely old school!

4. You buy only the basics that your baby needs, babies don’t really need that much in their first year after all. You don’t spend hours researching the newest strollers and then creating an exhaustive baby gift registry.

5. You dress your children in clothes that are fussy with lace, velvet and corduroy with matching socks, hair ribbons and shoes.

6. You still buy toys for your children, we are talking about physical toys.  Toys for you are not just about downloading the newest App or paying to unlock new levels in the supposedly free App. If you have a pile of toys in your house, you are old school

7. Your discipline method is not limited to “go to your room” or  “no internet privilege”. You actually smack your child and are not scared of long-term damage to your child (or you).

8. You don’t feel as much pressure by the myth of having it all, of perfectly balanced work-life as a SuperMum and SuperWife all at the same. Trying to put in a full 9 – to- 5 in the office, looking like a celebrity post baby and keeping Facebook posts up to date? Yeup you are old School

What other signs can you share that suggest that your parenting style is old school? Post inspired by Onesmileymonkey

photo source: mops.org

Every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world.

It is painful to think that these deaths are preventable if there was access to basic healthcare, medical intervention and support during childbirth. Children under 5 are dying mostly in countries where there is lack of access to basic medical care. These preventable or treatable infectious diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles etc account for more than 70 per cent of the estimated one million under-five deaths in Nigeria. (Source: Unicef)

Malnutrition is also a cause of death that accounts for more than 50 per cent of deaths of children under 5 in Nigeria. 

The deaths of newborn babies in Nigeria represent a quarter of the total number of deaths of children under-five. The majority of these occur within the first week of life, mainly due to complications during pregnancy and delivery, reflecting the intimate link between newborn survival and the quality of maternal care.

1 in 4 children under 5 is #malnourished and 18,000 die daily!

Sub-Saharan Africa carries 1/2 of all child deaths -more than 1 million babies die on their first day of life across the world and 2.9 million in their first month. Startling facts!

When I was contacted by Jennifer of socialgoodmoms to lend a voice as part of the moms raising awareness of the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG) on reducing child mortality by two-thirds.  I suddenly moved from a passive high level general awareness about the MDG to real facts about the issue.

So the question is why it is important to me that we save the lives of newborns and children in developing countries and why is it important that the Millennium Development Goal 4 (reducing child deaths) is achieved! and on time.

First of all I am a mum and I come from and live in a developing country – Nigeria!

Secondly, It is painful to think that there are mothers that go through pregnancy, only to lose their babies within a day or a week because of lack of access to basic maternal care during delivery and immediately after birth. Or for moms to lose their children before the age of 5 to preventable diseases that mums in urban areas ad other parts of the world don’t think twice about, thanks to access to medical care and access to a ” routine jab” (vaccinations).

Lastly malnutrition, the lack of access to food to enable a child grow healthy is a cause of 45% of child deaths. 

Did you know that facts show that there is enough food produced in the world for everyone to eat? So why are some children not getting food to eat?  

Access to education and a source of income increases the chances that a woman will delay having children and do so when her body is ready. 

I believe that every child and birth is not a mistake, so every child deserves to be born into a world with systems in place for a fair chance of survival! Preventable diseases should not just not be a cause of death. We have already reduced by half the number of childhood deaths from 12.6 million in 1990 to 6.6 million in 2012, so we can do it and we must do more. 

Every child deserves their chance at life!

Let it not just be a goal that only Governments are trying to achieve, rather let us all take an active part in achieving  the Millennium Development Goal of reducing  preventable child deaths by two-thirds by 2015. Start by visiting mdg500 and see how you can get information and raise awareness!

Let me leave you with this encouragement, did you know that for the first time in human history it is conceivable that we could end preventable child deaths & eradicate hunger & poverty? #MDGmomentum!! Let’s join hands to do this. 

photo sources: unesco.org, dailytimes.com.ng

Work life balance questions and challenges has almost successfully been branded as a Woman’s issue..as a Woman specific monopoly .

So it was with surprise that I read about Max Schireson on huffingtonpost who made the decision to step down from the position of CEO to spend more time with his family. It was the title that caught my attention to be honest, A Male CEO stepping down to spend more time with his family is an unusual headline. 

On his blog he spoke about how women are usually asked how they balance work and life. He has never been asked that question and rather is more likely to be asked which car he drives.

He also discussed some of the material things he was giving up by choosing to step down from hios position as CEO, which include

• Travel and the miles that comes with it – 300,000 miles expected from travel, from all the normal CEO travel plus commuting between Palo Alto and New York every 2-3 weeks.
• Potential future roles –  he recognizes that he maybe disqualifying himself from future CEO roles. Perhaps firms might not be interested in a CEO, talk less of a male one, who publicly puts his family first. 

His company, MongoDB Inc was not exactly a one man company that was just managing to get by, he shared that in his nearly 4 years at the company, they raised $220 million, grew the team 15x and grew  sales 30x.

No matter what you think about this decision, he clinched it with the perfect summary where he said Life is about choices. Right now, I choose to spend more time with my family and am confident that I can continue to have an meaningful and rewarding work life while doing so. 

So what?

Does it seem nicer and cuter because it is unexpected that a man would decide to step down from a demanding job for his family?

Do you wonder if more men would actually like to do this but do not feel they can?

Perhaps its easier for him to do this because his wife (a doctor and professor) is also working and therefore money is not a problem.

Its just interesting to note that the reaction because a male CEO steps down to spend time with the family immediately portrays him as a considerate loving husband and father. If a woman was to make the same announcement how would it go across? Would it be expected? or would she also be immediately labelled as considerate and loving?

Perhaps men don’t have anything to prove and women are still on the ladder to prove they can be effective outside the home? It was a nice to read about somenone who understands his role as a father and his desire to spend time with his family.

What do you think? 

Children at home longer than expected, below is a list of sites that offer free online learning and printable worksheet that can keep the children busy and learning. 

1. Education.com – offers thousands of worsksheets, educational games and more. The worksheets are available from preschool to fifth grade, middle school and high school covering various categories like science, mathematics, phonics, science projects, reading, social studies and more. 

2. Nickjr – This is a Nickelodeon site with lots of free games and videos for younger children.

3. Dltk-kids.com - This site features a variety of printable children’s crafts, coloring pages and activities including projects for holidays and educational themes.

4. Turtlediary.com – offers learning  online in various areas like Math, Science, Language, Social Studies, Creativity and Logic. Offers lots of printable worksheets, interactive games, arts and crafts activities all online. All games are created by a team of skilled educators and child psychology experts who come together to ensure all the games deliver an enriching and enjoyable learning experience.

5. Timeforkids.com/worksheets - this is a Time for Kids website with worksheets for kids on various topics and subjects such as global studies, weather, reading, literacy and so much more. A powerful teaching tool, TIME For Kids builds reading and writing skills for Kindergarten through to grade 6.

6. Ixl.com - this is an online resource for children to learn math and language arts from kindergarten to 12th grade. 

Enjoy using these resources to keep  children busy along with any work that Schools are sending home. Do share any other sites you know about. 

Classy

The Federal Government has directed all schools in the country to resume on September 22. The initial postponement of resumption date of schools to October 13 was a precautionary measure against the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease.

The Minister added that the ministries should ensure that at least two staff in each school – both public and private — are trained by appropriate health workers on how to handle any suspected case of Ebola. He added that they should embark on immediate sensitization of teaching and non-teaching staff in schools on preventive measures.

It is reported that, the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu  announced the successful containment of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which has claimed eight lives so far in the country.

Parents, caregivers and students must remain aware and take all preventive measures.

Photo source: prepclass.com.ng

Summer is winding to an end and depending below is a list of items that you might use as you prepare to go back to school.

School Supplies

• Backpack
• Lunch bag
• Flask
• USB (for older children)
• Calculator
• Dictionary
• Notebooks
• Glue stick
• Crayons
  • (for younger children jumbo sized/triangular shaped are recommended as they learn to hold and write)
• No. 2 pencils
  • (for younger children jumbo sized/triangular shaped are recommended as they learn to hold and write)
• Colored pencils
• Pencil sharpener (and jumbo sized pencil sharpener if you get these)
• Erasers
• Plastic folders or binder
• Scissors (make it blunt tipped for younger children)
• pencil case
• Ruler
• Pens (for older children)
• highlighters
• Calculator
• Math set

Clothing

• School Uniform or School clothes
• Sweater
• Socks
• Sun hats
• Swimming
  • Swimsuits
  • Swim goggles
  • flip flops
  • swim towel
  • swimming cap
  • swimming bag
• School shoes
• Tennis shoes
• PE outfit

Feeding

• Lunchbag
• Lunch box
• flask
• cutlery
• napkin
• Bibs (for younger children)

Health

• Special medication if needed for School Nurse
• Sanitises and wipes
• Tissue

Other

• Personalised labels for clothes and other items
• Painting Apron
• Costumes (plan now because you know the costume day or career day will come up)
• Laptop or computer
• Specialist items – confirm what extracurricular activities students will be participating in e.g. ballet outfit etc
• Tights – black, white and pink (there is usually a need for this at least once int he school year)
• Plain white and black tee shirts (always needed)
• Red attire for Valentines (or Love Day) in School
• Empty cartons, shoe boxes and cereal boxes – they usually need for artwork so keep your empty boxes

When you hear the word ‘diet’ what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me, a good while ago, it meant ‘deprivation’. Guess it had to do with the fuss of weight loss and all that – you can and can’t eat certain foods to lose weight…you must be on a kind of ‘diet’. As you very well know, there are all kinds of ‘diets’ in the bid to lose weight – the good, bad, unbelievable, hazardous, hilarious, just name it. They all have claims and try to rub it in your face, compelling you to join the band wagon of ‘dieters’…good gracious!

Thankfully, we can view diet from another point of view – diet can be healthy, in fact it is meant to be. The ideal diet contains primarily foods that supply adequate nutrients – carbohydrates, protein, fat, mineral, vitamin and water without an excess of fat (unhealthy), sugar, sodium and alcohol.

The ABCs of healthy eating

Adequacy/Awareness – characterizes a diet that provides all of the essential nutrients and energy (calories) in amounts sufficient to maintain. Excess or too little can lead to toxicity or deficiency of such nutrient. Be aware of what you are eating and its nutritional value. What amounts of calories, fat and carbohydrates are in the foods you eat? Read labels and become food-conscious to make healthy eating decisions.

Balance – a feature of a diet that provides a number of types of foods in harmony with one another, such that foods rich in one nutrient do not crowd out the diet foods that are rich in another nutrient. Balance your daily food selection to include whole-grain products, fruit, vegetables, dairy products and foods high in protein. You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all.

Calorie Control – control of consumption to supply the amount of energy you need to maintain a healthy weight – not more, not less. Control portion size and intake of foods high in fat, salt or sugar.

Moderation – Eat food in moderation and choose other foods to provide the balance and variety that are vital to good health.

Variety – variety improves nutrition adequacy, as foods within a specific group may contain different amounts of nutrients. A diet that lacks variety is missing out on many nutrients necessary for optimal health.

A balanced diet is composed of approximately 45-65% of carbohydrate (with no more than 10% of this amount form added sugar or caloric sweeteners), 20-35% from fat (derived mostly from oils that are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, rather than solid fat) and lastly 10-35% from protein.

Eating is one of life’s great pleasures. You can enjoy all foods as part of a healthy diet as long as you don’t overdo it on solid fats (especially saturated fat and trans fat), refined carbs, added sugars, sodium and alcohol.

The key to disease prevention and optimal health is not in eating or avoiding certain food, but rather in creating a lifestyle that includes time for preparing nutritious meals and enjoying regular physical activity. Your nutrition health can be controlled and it deserves you conscientious attention. Make a commitment to remain nutrition wise, diet wise and health wise.

Be sound in Spirit, Mind & Body!

Should schools resume September 22^nd or should they remain closed? When can we really be sure that the Ebola virus is under control? What does under control mean, is this when all quarantined patients have been cleared? How can Nigerian citizens test when the Government announces it has the Ebola virus under control? These are all thoughts and questions that are top of mind and giving parents cause for concern right now.

I was talking to a doctor who shared that it is not only the schools ability to manage the virus we should be concerned about but also about the awareness of parents. The temperature gun measure during drop off in the morning, while useful is not 100% foolproof. If a parent administers calpol to a child in the morning before heading to school, the chances are that the temperature reading will be normal. Will parents be required to keep their children at home if they should be unwell and be asked not to self-medicate at home.

One of the preventive methods that is encouraged is the use of sanitizers and washing hands often. What about the schools that rely on Government funding or might not be able to afford sanitizers. What about schools that do not have running water to wash their hands. Fake sanitizers are being sold, how do innocent customers check for this? These are real issues.

We can definitely see that there have been positive strides made in tackling this disease. However I still question if people really know what to do. At the point of entry at a popular bank branch, I decided to ask the security man what temperature would cause him to raise an alarm. He did not know. So if those checking have no idea what temperature is a red flag then what is the essence of the temperature gun?

The doctor’s death in Port Harcourt from the Ebola virus came two days after the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu had reported that they had “thus far contained” the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. So we have to ask if we are not being a bit too hasty in saying that the disease has been contained.

The Port Harcourt case is one that shows how one or two people making reckless decisions exposes so many other people to danger. What happened? A diplomat in Lagos violated a quarantine order and fled to Port Harcourt where he met a doctor in secret at a hotel who treated him.  The doctor got infected and spread it to his wife and possibly other patients as he continued attending o patients in his clinic and even reportedly carried out surgery on two patients.

The doctor had numerous contact with relatives and visitors who came to visit him on the birth of his new baby before he turned himself in at the hospital. He also had contact with people from his church who came by to pray for him and lay hands on him.

The domino effect continued at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife when a sick student confessed having had contact with the late Port Harcourt doctor before returning to campus. Apparently the management of the school initially denied the development until the Oyo State Commissioner for Health confirmed the case. She has to be isolated and tested for the virus, thankfully it turns out that the results of the test show that she is negative.

The ability for the virus to travel is real and is even harder to contain when people disobey rules by acting selfishly or are affected through ignorance. The reality is that the movement between state lines and borders is not restricted.

Having to quarantine and isolate a suspected case who is an adult is hard enough, no one wants to imagine the nightmare of having to isolate a class of 40 children if they have been exposed to a suspected case who might be a classmate, teacher or cleaner.

People are not sure what to believe, do we believe the Government who says that the virus is contained? Yet there are stories that show that perhaps this is not really the case.

No one wants to risk exposing their children unnecessarily, missed time at school can always be made up with adjustments to the school calendar. One case or suspected case at a school would be difficult to control amidst fear and hysteria.

We need all parties to collaborate on this one keeping only the well-being of our children in mind. The Nigerian Medical Association and teachers are resisting the earlier resumption date of schools in Nigeria. They are protesting that schools are not ready with gaps in preventive measures. We definitely don’t need this to become a power struggle. There will be no prize for anyone should this situation worsen because people rushed to give the illusion of safety that is not real.

I want students to go back to school as much as anyone else, it is tough to have them stuck at home bored and not learning after months of an already long summer break. However as a parent and as a concerned citizen I would rather we err on the side of caution and keep the children at home for as long as it takes to be certain that we truly have this virus under control. We cannot be successful in this war on Ebola if we unnecessarily expose the children whom we need to be protecting.

God help us…But we must also make wise decisions as a Nation!

photo source: cbc.ca

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One last tweet, one last ping and reading an e-book to go to bed might have downside effects to your health more than you think.

According to Gigaom A sleep doctor says kids as young as toddlers are suffering from chronic insomnia, which in turn affects their behavior and performance at school and daycare. 

Eyesight getting worse - An eye doctor says he’s recently seen a few 35-year-old patients whose lenses which should be clear, were so cloudy they resemble 75-year-olds’.

Using your smartphone, tables or any other electronic device before bed on a regular basis can have a detrimental long-term effect on your health. This is because blue light that is emitted from these devices, impacts the way your body produces melatonin, the chemical in your body that makes you feel sleepy. Exposure to blue light at night essentially tricks your body into thinking its morning, which messes with your circadian rhythm and makes it harder to fall asleep.

Melatonin, apart from helping with sleep is also slows the progression of cancer and other diseases. Melatonin influences your circadian rhythm since it helps you fall asleep, it is an internal biological clock that regulates when you’re sleepy and when you feel awake throughout the day.  One can imagine the long term effect on health if indeed exposure to screens close to bed do affect the quality of your rest. 

Other effects os constant use of devices – tablets, smartphones, laptops, television before going to bed are (Source: Business):-

It can damage your eyes. Optometrists are said to be seeing higher levels of retinal stress in young people that could lead to disorders such as macular degeneration. In extreme cases, this can cause near blindness. This exposure can also cause retinal toxicity. 

A lack of melatonin could make you more vulnerable to disease. According to the US National Library of Medicine,  a lack of melatonin is linked to higher rates of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

It can make you moody, too. Exposure to blue light has been said to have an impact on peoples’ mood. At the same time, lower melatonin levels in mice has been linked to higher rates of depression, as the US National Library of Medicine also says according to GigaOm.

Exposure to artificial light at night is recognized as a hazard to sleep, contributing to rising rates of disrupted and disordered sleep.

Exposure to artificial light at night – especially to the high concentrations of blue light coming from digital devices – will interfere with the ability to sleep. Too often, these devices find their way into our bedrooms, in many instances even to be used as alarm clocks.

What can you do?

• Unwind before bedtime. Have a transition period, about 15 to 30 minutes, of technology-free time before you go into your bedroom for sleep.
• Shut down your bedroom. Make where you sleep an electronic-free zone. According to AOL’s third annual “Email Addiction” survey, more than 40% of 4,000 respondents have checked email in the middle of the night. Put caps over your electric outlets to discourage plugging in for a recharge.
• Disconnect your kids. A TV in your child’s bedroom has a negative effect on sleep quality. Give him or her a relaxing book to read before bed instead of the remote.
• Set up rules. Setting up rules on the use of electronics will help set the routine for your children to follow. They will follow your example, if you are always wired up..they will be too.

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Do you live in Lagos? Overweight? Lethargic? Wondering why? The problem could be Lagos!

After the summer break I returned to various expressions ranging from mild horror to intense horror at my new size. The reactions have not been to a heavier body but rather to a smaller me. Questions have ranged from did I purposely starve myself, or was I so stressed on my holiday? After all one of the expected signs of holiday outside Lagos is the sheer imagination of the enjoyment offered.

Though I did not actively plan it this way to lose weight there were a couple of things that did contribute to dropping a few pounds.

• Walking around – there is no driver and everywhere you need to get to will take some walking to get to. This convenient walking around is hard to find in Lagos. Perhaps joining the slew of walkers across the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge once or twice a week.
• There is no help – there is no luxury of domestic help and assuming the role of the cook, cleaner, driver and laundry man ensures there is enough work to keep you busy and moving.
• Go Shopping – great excuse to go shopping. Walking from store to store will lead you to shed a few unwanted pounds. Even if you are window shopping more than actual buying the time it takes you to walk from end to end of the mall is a workout.
• Food – there are so many options for healthy eating, already cut up carrots to easily packaged fruit and various salads at a fraction of the cost here in Lagos.

I was basically insulted by a black cab driver when he found out that I hailed him to take me round the block. He just kept murmuring that I was going round the corner and I could have walked…am sure if he was Nigerian he would have eyed me or hissed.

Change the impression that a good holiday out of Lagos includes eating so much that it is obvious on your cheeks that you went on a holiday. A good holiday should include rest and exploration away from your regular environment. Unlike previously I did not once order a hamburger meal or nuggets from McDonalds, this somehow does make a difference.

I am back in Lagos and my body is in a bit of shock from the lack of movement. I really have to get moving naturally or sign up for a gym membership to help the weight stay off and to create a healthier lifestyle.

So to all the people including myself who struggle to lose weight in Lagos, some of the things you need to find a way to do more often include walking, reducing all the fried and greasy food that is a main part of our local diet, do more things yourself around the house, pick up the broom, clean and mop, visit Balogun now and then and walk around the market. You will be surprised how much these things matter and play a part in keeping you moving.

So if you wonder why your waistline expands magically? It is the combination of no movement and what you eat.

What steps do you use to ensure that you stay fit and to keep the weight off.

photo source: perthnow

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I read this article by Nick Bilton from the New York Times, who gave an insight into how parents in the technology industry are raising their children at home with surprisingly low reliance on technology or use of devices.

Steve Jobs reportedly said that in their home they “limit how much technology their kids use.”  Jobs also reportedly made a point of having dinner as a family discussing books and history and a variety of things, without anyone pulling out a device. He created the device and he could limit the usage in his home.

Other parents who work in the technology industry had these to say on their low technology parenting -

One technology professional said that he had seen the dangers of technology firsthand. which he doesn’t want to see happen to his kids. Some of the dangers he is referring to include exposure to adult content like pornography, bullying and becoming addicted to their devices, just like their parents.

Evan Williams, a founder of Blogger, Twitter and Medium reportedly said that rather than iPads, his children have hundreds of physical books.

Further research by the reporter seemed to show that a number of technology chief executive strictly limit their children’s screen time even banning all gadgets on school nights, and allocating time limits on weekends. Children under 10 are thought to be the most susceptible to becoming addicted, so their parents draw the line at not allowing any gadgets during the week.

One point that seemed to be number one consensus among these techie parents was that there are no screens allowed in their children’s bedroom ever.

Another parent said he and his wife allowed their two teenage children to use their gadgets as long as they were in the living room, therefore being supervised.

This is rather surprising as most parents and consumers are guilty of letting their children have uninterrupted time using the ipad and other devices. I think it should encourage parents to think about access and the amount of time that children are allowed to spend on devices or hooked to technology.

Lets be smart consumers!

What screen times and rules for using devices do you have in place in your home?

photo source: telegraph.co.uk

Related articles across the web

• Disruptions: Steve Jobs Was a Low-Tech Parent

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Keeping children healthy at school is not the easiest feat. Ordinarily children in school spread germs among themselves easily. It is not the easiest thing to try and reduce spread of germs when children are in close proximity with each other, playing, touching things and putting things in their mouth (especially the younger children).

It is very important not to be complacent at this time, until Ebola is fully stamped out and not to loose sight of the health lessons and increased hygiene levels we should all make permanent in our lives. While the temperature guns at point of entry into schools will eventually go, there are other best practices that shouldn’t be discarded and should be kept in mind and observed for keeping children healthy at school. Read on for some steps to keep children healthy and for good habits.

Hand-washing is important

Children touch things everywhere and don’t wash their hands before they touch their eyes, nose and mouth which are entry points for the spread of germs from their hands and body. Teach your children it is important to wash their hands before they eat, after going to the toilet, after playing outside and after blowing their nose.

How children wash their hands is also important, they need to wash their hands long enough by scrubbing and then rinsing thoroughly. Children can be taught to count slowly to ten while washing and scrubbing their hands with soap and water. Preferably hands should be dried under a hand dryer using shared towels should be discouraged.

Using hand sanitizing is good for getting rid of germs but is a distant second option to hand washing. However it is an alternative in the case where there is no easy access to soap and clean water.

Cover the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing

Teach your children the importance of using a tissue to cover their mouth and nose when they sneeze or cough followed by washing their hands or using hand sanitizer. Provide your children with pocket tissues or tissue box to take to school or pop in their bags for easy access to tissues.

Teach children if they have a runny nose, it is better to blow their nose than sniffling or letting their noses drip onto their hands or elsewhere.

Don’t touch the face

The eyes, nose and mouth are the entryways of germs into the body. Teach children about how germs spread so they become more mindful about how to prevent illnesses by touching their face less.

Don’t share food and utensils

Touching each others food or sharing utensils and water bottles are one of the ways that infections and germs can spread. Teach children to keep their utensils to themselves. It is fine to share things like individual wrapped candy but no to licking the same lollipop.

Improve health through diet

Eating a more nutritious balanced diet will improve your child’s health overall and help reduce their susceptibility to illnesses. A balanced diet is still the best defense against infection and sickness as it increases the level of immunity. Read healthy living tips for the family. 

Get adequate sleep 

Make sure your child gets to sleep early so they get plenty of rest which improves their health and immune system. The number of hours of sleep a child needs differs based on age recommended hours of sleep needed for children here.

Update vaccinations

Make sure that vaccinations are up to date. Vaccinations do help children build immunity to some of the illnesses that they will be exposed to during the school year. It is advisable to pay a visit to your child’s pediatrician for vaccinations due and to get any boosters before resuming school.

Give vitamins

Another way to help your child’s body combat illnesses and stay healthy is to give daily vitamins. As much as we may try children are not likely to get all the daily requirements from food so taking multivitamins is a good supplement to help keep them healthy and strong.

Have sick rules  

No matter how many of these useful steps you follow sometimes children will get sick. It is best to let your children stay home from school when they are unwell. If everyone adopts this rule, children will get better quicker with adequate rest and care. Secondly staying home reduces the spread of germs among the rest of the class. If they return to school too early they usually stay sick longer and pass the illness on to other children.

photo source: fns.usda.gov

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I found an old sudoku book and sat down to do some of the puzzles! By the time I was done solving a few, I felt refreshed and like I had just taken a true holiday (mental holiday – not holiday that involves taking a trip). It was nice to be reacquainted with my ex-hobby before the blessing of being a ‘MUM” happened  :) 

If you are a Mum can you ask yourself when was the last time you took time for yourself and did something you totally enjoyed? without guilt? without watching the time? without thinking about school runs? without rushing home?

Mums are very busy nowadays, we’re more stressed than ever before and more in need of lifestyle choices that help us be happier and live a more balanced life. There are many things competing for your attention and time. One way to manage it all and have some ‘ME” time might just be pursuing a hobby. A hobby is that activity that you engage in that pleases you and you likely do in your leisure time. Having a hobby is like having an appointment with oneself, with no outer disturbance whatsoever

You might think where is the time? You will have to be creative and determined to make the time for it. There are a few reasons why a hobby is a great idea, even for a busy Mum.

Having a hobby relieves stress and tension

Spending time on a hobby replaces your thoughts with positive thoughts and feelings. Having a hobby or creative outlet can lift your spirits faster than many other things can.

Unlike passive activities like television viewing, a hobby provides intellectual stimulation while simultaneously relaxing you. A hobby can have a very calming effect on you because it means you are taking the time to create an oasis for yourself and remember to be you.

Hobbies help you parent better

We are so good at signing our children up for lessons and classes and encouraging them to have hobbies, paying for these classes and driving them to and fro! But we forget that we also need to learn new things and grow as people. Hobbies are a way to do that for yourself, everyone should be making themselves better.

A hobby can help you maintain your separate identity as a real person and not just as Mum. This models healthy habits and boundaries for the children, they should not feel your only job is to be their Mum. It is healthy for them to see you as their Mum who also has her life and interests.

Hobbies provide a refreshing change from your daily routine

If you’re a stay at home Mum, you may be frustrated because at the end of the day you can hardly point to anything you’ve “done” for yourself. This is because of the repetitive nature of housework and childcare. If you are a working mum you also feel like you are stuck in the rat race – work, traffic, homework, meals, laundry the list goes on and on.

Why not carve out some time to pursue your hobby? Don’t let a shortage of time stop you. Rearrange your schedule and put YOU back in it, and start carving out time for yourself. Start with one thing you can reduce to create more time for yourself, for example decide to stop cleaning the house at 9pm and engage in your hobby.

If you are starting from base zero you can start by figuring out what your interests were or are. Start with a list and note somethings you think you would enjoy doing, then start going through the list till something jumps out at you that you would like to do.

I know a mum who decided rather than just sit idle while her child took piano lessons, she would sign up for lessons as well and she is having a great time learning to play the piano. In addition to the sense of entitlement of doing something just for herself it has added to her self-esteem and sense of accomplishment. Who doesn’t like being applauded after a recital.

Remember if you choose it right, a hobby is all yours. It is not tied to work, which you will retire from, nor children, who will grow up and leave home.

So start a Hobby Today!

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