Sunday, March 4, 2012

Roughhousing with the kids!


Being a mom of three boys requires A LOT of energy because male children are more energetic than female children. The girls just play house and barbie quietly with their girl friends while boys run around, play wrestling or other kinds of boys' play. As a mom, i also play with them through roughhousing, though its more appropriate for a dad to roughhouse with the kids well in my case, i'm the one obliged to play horse or wrestle with them as their dad is working abroad. I enjoy it though especially when i hear the kids' laughter, it really relieves stress.

THE BENEFITS OF ROUGHHOUSING


Roughhousing Boosts Your Kid’s Resilience. Helping your child develop a resilient spirit is one of the best things you can do as a parent. The ability to bounce back from failures and adapt to unpredictable situations will help your kids reach their full potential and live happier lives as adults. And an easy way to help boost your kids’ resilience is to put them in a gentle headlock and give them a noogie.  Additionally, roughhousing helps develop your children’s grit and stick-to-itiveness. You shouldn’t just let your kids “win” every time when you roughhouse with them. Whether they’re trying to escape from your hold or run past you in the hallway, make them work for it. Playtime is a fun and safe place to teach your kids that failure is often just a temporary state and that victory goes to the person who keeps at it and learns from his mistakes.

Roughhousing Makes Your Kid Smarter.  Psychologist Anthony Pellegrini has found that the amount of roughhousing children engage in predicts their achievement in first grade better than their kindergarten test scores do. Roughhousing actually rewires the brain for learning. Neuroscientists studying animal and human brains have found that bouts of rough-and-tumble play increase the brain’s level of a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF helps increase neuron growth in the parts of the brain responsible for memory, logic, and higher learning–skills necessary for academic success.

Roughhousing Builds Social Intelligence. Roughhousing builds social intelligence in several ways. First, when kids roughhouse they learn to tell the difference between play and actual aggression. Dr. Pellegrini found in a survey among school-aged children that the ones who could tell the difference between play and real aggression were more well-liked compared to kids who had a hard time separating the two. The kids who mistook play for aggression often ended up returning their classmates good-natured overtures with a real punch in the kisser. The ability to differentiate between play and aggression translates into other social skills that require people to read and interpret social cues. Roughhousing also teaches children about taking turns and cooperation. You might not recognize it, but when you horse around with your kids, you’re often taking part in a give-and-take negotiation where the goal is to make sure everyone has fun. Sometimes you’re the chaser and sometimes you’re the chasee; sometimes you’re pinning down your kids and other times they’re pinning you down. Your kids wouldn’t want to keep playing if they were constantly on the losing side. Everyone has to take turns in order for the fun to continue.

Roughhousing Teaches Your Kid Morality. 
When we roughhouse with our sons and daughters, they learn boundaries and the difference between right and wrong. If they start hitting hard, aiming below the belt, or becoming malicious, you can reprimand them and then show by example what’s appropriate roughhousing behavior. Also, roughhousing teaches our children about the appropriate use of strength and power. As I mentioned earlier, when we roughhouse with our kids, we often take turns with the dominant role. Because we’re so much bigger and stronger, we have to handicap ourselves. The implicit message to your child when you hold back is: “Winning isn’t everything. You don’t need to dominate all the time. There’s strength in showing compassion on those weaker than you.”

Roughhousing Gets Your Kid Physically Active.  What better way to teach your kids to live an active lifestyle than by getting down on the carpet with them for some vigorous roughhousing instead of everyone vegging out in front of the TV? All that running, tumbling, and tackling helps develop strength, flexibility, and coordination in your child.


Friday, March 2, 2012

Changing the drill bit of the electric hand drill

The Electric Hand Drill

The Chuck Key

The Drill Bits

The clamp gear and the Chuck cap

The chuck key is used to loosen the bit slot

insert the drill bit in the slot and tighten the bit slot using again the chuck key, turning it counter clockwise

voila!

After minutes of pounding the nails (and my thumb >.<) I've finally hung my modem and router. :)

There are times that we, moms, have to do what "only dads can do" like drilling a hole in a concrete wall! I had to drill a hole in the wall and put the nails in order to hang my DSL modem and my router to make my workspace organized and of course, to prevent the kids from playing with the gadgets, especially the cords but I had no one to do it so i had to do it on my own. The apparatus to use in drilling a hole is the Electric Hand drill tool. I'm kinda familiar in using it so i tried to drill a hole in the concrete but the hole that i made was bigger than what i intended and i just realized that i had to replace the drill bit that is installed in the hand drill. I didn't know how to change the drill bit until i stumbled upon an instruction in the internet courtesy of Ehow so i want to share to you moms what i have learned. :)

Instructions

1. Decide which bit you will be attaching. This will depend on exactly what application you are going to be using the drill for. Do you need to screw drywall onto wall studs? Do you need to bore a hole for a door handle? Or perhaps you need to drill a pilot hole for a furniture project. Choosing the proper bit is important for making the job go smoother and easier.

2. Find the chuck key and locate the clamp gear and chuck cap. You will have to use the chuck key in order to break the drill's hold on the current bit. The chuck key is usually found attached to the cord near the plug end. It is a piece of metal featuring a thin handle and a round, grooved head that resembles a gear. On the front of the electric hand drill you will see a set of grooves that resemble those found on the chuck key; this is the clamp gear. There will also be a series of holes immediately in front of the gearlike grooves; this area is called the chuck cap.
3. Insert the tip of the chuck key into one of the holes on the chuck cap. The grooves on the chuck key and the clamp gear should fit together.

4. Turn the chuck key counter-clockwise. Use the handle of the chuck key to get proper leverage. Like the gears in a clock, the turning chuck key will force the bit slot of the drill to open. Sometimes, a little extra force is required if the existing bit was really tightened down. Once you break the hold you can easily loosen the drill tip by turning the chuck with your hand.
5. Remove the current drill bit and open the chuck wide enough for your new drill bit. With the old bit removed, you may have to open the tip up even wider depending on the size of the bit you will now be attaching. If that is the case, just keep turning the chuck to open it wider.
6. Insert the new bit and hand tighten the chuck to hold the bit in place. Use the chuck key to further tighten down the drill's hold on the bit by inserting it as you did earlier and turning it clockwise. That is all it takes to change electric hand drill bits!
CREDITS: EHOW

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Childproofing



A lot of Moms including me, protect our kids from harmful things around them. We protect them from stranger abduction, germs, dirt, and accidents outside our home. But we sometimes overlook one of the important places that should be safe for our children - our home. According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, About 2.3 million children are accidentally injured every year and more than 2,500 are killed, and children between the ages of 1 and 4 are more likely to be killed by fire, burns, drowning, choking, poisoning, or falls than by a stranger's violence. The best way to prevent accidents and injuries is supervision inside and outside of our home, but even the most watchful parent can't keep the kids out of harm every second. Here are the tips to childproof our home.

Prevent Falls. Falls can happen in the stairs, open windows, or if the child climbs up in the table or chair. The best way to prevent falls in the stairs is to install safety gates in the child's room so the child wont be able to access the kitchen, bathroom, and stairs.. The gate shouldn't be easily dislodged by the child but easy for the parent or guardian to open. Keep furniture away from the window to prevent the child from climbing the window sill. The window should be installed with window guards which fits snugly but not too tight so that in case of emergency, it will be easy to remove the guard from the window.

Prevent Fires. In case of a brownout (which normally happens here in the Philippines), lighted candles and lamps should be placed where the child can't reach them, and away from flammable things like pile of papers, near the curtain, and things made of rubber and paper. The electrical wiring should be checked to prevent short circuits. Low quality Christmas lights can cause fire so be sure to check the ICC (Import Commodity Clearance) mark to ensure that it is tested first for quality before purchasing. Keep away flammable materials such as gas, matches, and lighters from the reach of children.

Prevent Poisoning. Lock all cabinets and drawers that holds poisonous materials like insect sprays, detergent, bleach, cleaning products, medications, and other potential poisonous substances. There are also hidden poisons which have direct contact with our children. The toys which our kids play may contain lead which is enough to poison our kids. Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, kidney disease, brain damage, delayed growth, and other problems.

Prevent Drowning. Infants and toddles can drown in a few inches of water. Never leave a bucket of water unattended or put a lock in the door of the comfort room to prevent the child from entering and peering into the toilet or bucket of water because if they do and lose their balance, they may fall head first which may result to drowning. Never leave the child unattended in the bath tub and supervise the child while inside the bathroom. ALWAYS keep an eye to the child while in the swimming pool.

Prepare for Emergency. It is important that we have a knowledge of first aid procedures if emergency arises so we can save the child from impending death. First aid supplies must also be available at our homes.

CREDITS: BabycenterKidshealth