life - Dad of Divas

Preparing To Move Homes? 5 Ways To Help Ease The Stress Of Moving

April 27, 2023 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Moving house can be an incredibly exciting time, but it can often also be fraught with stress and worry. There are so many variables involved in the process that it can leave some of us with our heads reeling, convinced something or several things will go wrong.

If you are preparing for moving day and your nerves are getting the better of you, fear not. We’ve put together a guide with five top tips on managing the stress and making your move problem free. Keep reading to check them out.

Get A Head Start

Moving home is a process, often a long and involved one. Even if you live in a small house or flat, you’ll be shocked at just how much stuff you’ve managed to accumulate over the years. However many boxes you’ve got, get more. People always underestimate how many possessions they own.

Packing at the last minute is asking for trouble. You’re only going to add to the stress of the situation, and you’re unlikely to pack effectively and could up with your things being lost or broken.

Start the packing process well in advance. This doesn’t necessarily mean putting things in boxes months ahead of moving day but take the chance to begin sorting through your things and developing a plan for when the boxes come out.

If you have large, valuable, or fragile items that you are worried about getting damaged during the move, consider using an external storage unit to keep them safe until the bulk of the move is done. Check out Safestore, they have a wide range of unit sizes for you to choose from with locations all over the UK.

Be Organized

Staying organized is crucial for ensuring your home move goes smoothly. Use itemized checklists to make sure nothing is forgotten, ticking off tasks as you complete them to stay on top of what’s been done and what hasn’t.

One of the best ways to stay organised for your home move is to create a schedule. This can give you a timeframe for when specific tasks should be completed to guarantee you are not rushed and trying to do several things at once.

Hire A Removal Company

If you live in a flat or apartment, this step might not be necessary. However, for big families with large homes moving can be a serious undertaking. Hiring a removal company can help lighten the load and alleviate the stress. These professionals will have your house emptied and packed into the van quicker than you would have thought possible, and far more efficiently than you would have been able to do yourself.

Ask For Help

Whether you hire a removal van or not, there are still a lot of tasks that will need to be done prior to moving day that can be too much for one person to handle. Don’t be afraid to ask friends and family to help, they can do anything from help you pack to transport boxes. Having people you know by your side can massively reduce stress and anxiety.

Stick to a Budget

Moving house can be expensive, with the cost of the average UK home move coming to around £11,777. The best way to keep these costs down is to draw up a detailed budget and strive to stick to it. This can give you an idea of where your money is going and prevent you spending more than you can afford.

Conclusion

Don’t make moving home any more stressful than it needs to be. Follow these steps and the process will be worry-free.

How Big Life Changes Can Positively Impact Health and Well Being

March 2, 2018 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

For some people, making small changes can help to contribute to better health and overall well being. For others, bigger life changes are needed to secure a happier outlook on life. These life changes don’t have to be a result of something bad happening in your life but could be the reason you are seeing a change in your personality and health over a period of time. Habitual routines can also be causes of confinement in your life and breaking out of the comfort zone may put you in a better place for a healthier future. Although routine is important, mixing things up a little and embracing change can have hugely positive impacts on lifestyle.

From making you more confident to learning a new skill, check out some of the ways your everyday life could be holding you back and ways to change them.

Changing career

As we spend a large amount of time at work, isn’t it important to enjoy your work and like the people you work with? Just looking at your job in a basic state such as providing money to put food on the table can lead to potential problems in the long-term. Not enjoying what you do or even the environment you work in doesn’t lead to a happy lifestyle, either at work or at home. This unhappiness at work can also lead to a host of other problems in everyday life including difficulties with family members, low self-esteem, and wider mental health problems.

Whatever point you are at in your life, changing things for the better is an ideal choice. Long gone are the days of people staying in jobs for decades, as mixing things up a little is not only good for your career, it’s great for broadening your horizons and confidence. There is a world of jobs available in the modern market with everything from online business to traditional shop jobs and identifying which area you fit into and what your passions are will help you get started. Plus changing jobs can be easier than you think with the range of helpful resources and training available.

Learn something new

Trying something new for the first time is always a daunting task but if feel like you haven’t had the opportunity to grow your skillset, going back to education might be for you. This doesn’t have to be a full-time commitment as there are many night classes and weekend activities to get you set for change. Learning something new doesn’t have to be a standard qualification either, as you can choose a host of skills from arts and crafts to automotive and business courses.

It’s also never too late to learn a new skill as whatever your age you will always bring something new to the table, in both life experience and enthusiasm. Building and implementing this learned knowledge will give you more confidence and the ability to showcase your talents both in your career and in your personal life.

Removing toxic people

As we grow older, our lifestyle changes and so do the people surrounding us. Most of the time this forms strong and stable relationships that contribute to a happier lifestyle but for some, this connection may have to be cut. Just like the food we eat, some people can also be bad for our health. Subtle changes in character or life events are often the root cause of conflict, and they can have huge impacts on many areas of our lives. We’re not talking small spats here that are soon forgotten, this type of relationship showcases controlling behaviors, aggressive attitudes, and manipulative traits. None of these characteristics is good for either party and cutting ties will have benefits for both sides.

Cutting ties is no easy feat as some relationships have been formed over many years and habitual routine may have everyone blind to the situation. Recognizing the issues in any relationship whether it is romantic, friendly or family based gives you the chance to reflect and evaluate how it is affecting everyday life. If this is negative, then change is needed, and you will feel better for it in the long run.

Moving home

Moving home or relocating is both an exciting and scary time and has tons of positive health benefits. Although for some being in a location for a long period of time has positive connections to family and friends, for others it becomes a place of entrapment of bad experiences and feelings. Making this big change may feel like an extreme step in making your life a happier place and it also might be the catalyst in moving onwards and upwards for both your career and lifestyle. Moving, of course, doesn’t have to be due to negative reasons, as positive drivers such as changing careers, moving closer to family and retirement are great ways to make the most of this life-changing decision.

Choosing where you move is another important step in fulfilling the experience. Whether that’s close to major cities, a haven by the coastline or a remote location in the mountains, this next destination can breathe life into your routine and spark the wheels of change in other aspects of your life such as meeting new people, finding work and forming relationships. Getting set to take the leap couldn’t be easier too as realtors and a local mover can help you choose the perfect property and get all your much-loved belongings into your new home efficiently and with little stress to help you concentrate on the important things.

Taking the leap to change different aspects of your life should always be looked at in a positive light. This positivity is contagious and gives you the opportunity to explore new avenues in your life. Change doesn’t always have to be big but in turn, can lead to huge things if done for the right reasons. With self-care and support, recognizing these turning points will get you back on track to lead your best life.

The Most Important First Lessons For Kids

June 6, 2017 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

The Most Important First Lessons For Kids

When we think of our role as parents, we all know we need to do more than just provide food, clothing, and shelter. Indeed, one of the things we pride ourselves on as parents is when we’ve taught our kids important life lessons that will serve them well as they grow up.

From the time our kids are old enough to understand, we are teaching them–intentionally or unintentionally. With our words and our actions, we are showing them what we think is the best way to live life.

As we think about the deliberate lessons we should share with our kids, we can frame things up in a few key areas that will benefit them the most. Stick with age-appropriate topics within these major topics:

Personal Security

There is probably no more fundamental childhood lesson than “Don’t talk to strangers”. It is an easy point to emphasize with kids, especially since they already have a reluctance to interact with people they don’t know.

But strangers are found in many different ways these days. It’s no longer just the smiling man driving up to ask for directions. Strangers now can show up on social media, chat rooms, and even email, often portraying themselves as someone the child would have no reason to fear.

It can be intimidating to think of all the new ways there are for predators to approach our children. The good news is that there are also new ways to protect them. Kids who grew up in the ’60s and ’70s didn’t have access to protection like Black Hat Security, which can thoroughly fortify the home physically. They didn’t have the safeguards of apps that monitor their interaction with people outside the home. So while the threat has evolved, the options to address it have evolved as well.

Healthy Lifestyle

Lessons on safety are usually best taught overtly, with direct lessons to your kids about what to do and what not to do. But other lessons are usually most effectively shared by example, and choices about a healthy lifestyle are a good example.

Kids learn a lot by imitation. If their parents and older siblings do things a certain way, they’re likely to follow suit. So if they see Mom and Dad smoking, eating a poor diet, and not getting enough exercise, they will do the same. Indeed, kids have no choice but to eat junk food when that’s what their families buy, and even if they don’t take up smoking themselves, their parents’ tobacco use can affect their health as well.

So while it does help your kids’ health to tell them what to do, it’s definitely more important to live a healthy lifestyle yourself. Not only will your kids learn how to take care of themselves, they’ll also get to have more years with healthy, active parents.

Smart Finances

We tend to think of money as a lesson for older kids, but the fact is that the sooner kids understand the value of money, the sooner they’ll develop sustainable habits for themselves.

It’s true that the more complex lessons are best saved for the teenage years, but we can teach things to our youngest kids that will help them throughout life. Very young kids can understand the idea of interest, both paid and earned. They need to know that a credit card is a way to spend money conveniently, but that it’s a very expensive tool if it’s not paid off immediately.

They need to know about saving. Show them that when you have to make large expenditures, you’re able to do so because you’ve been setting money aside. And show them that you have to spend some money; it does no good to teach them to fill the piggy bank without ever teaching them how to spend wisely from what they’ve accumulated. They’ll learn to differentiate between wants and needs, and they’ll learn the value of saving by feeling the impact of spending.

Our role as teachers to our kids is critical. We don’t need to wait until they reach a certain age. They are always learning from us, and it’s our job to make sure they are learning the right things.

Teaching Your Children How To Live a Healthy Life

April 25, 2017 by dadofdivas 2 Comments

As parents, we all understand the importance of teaching our daughters how to count to 100 and tie their shoes. Over the years, we have spent countless hours reading picture books with them and helping them develop proper social skills. While all of these concepts are vital to their well-being, in all the hubbub of getting our kids school ready or college bound, we might have overlooked teaching our kids simple ways to live a healthier life.

Papa Don’t Preach: 5 Ways to Encourage A Healthy Life

Our kids need us to lead by example and embrace a healthy lifestyle right alongside them, because our actions speak louder than any of our words. Children and teens don’t want to listen to us lecture about eating our fruits and veggies or exercising daily. Afterall, they get those health basics in school. Healthy living today encompasses so much more than eating five servings of vegetables a day.

Thankfully, we can include the following suggestions to get our daughters learning about healthy relationships with food, boys, and electronics – leading to a healthy life overall:

Use your relationship with her and her mother to model appropriate relationships with men. Children need their fathers and how you perform this job will most likely determine a daughter’s self esteem, how she handles adversity, and how she will interact with future romantic partners. A dad’s role is crucial when it comes to setting a child up for a lifetime of healthy choices. Experts recommend using verbal encouragement, being consistently present, listening to her feelings, and taking time to show interest in her activities. This presence, while it seems pretty normal, can help build a young woman’s self-esteem which can protect her from depression, poor body image issues, self harming behaviors, substance abuse, and abusive relationships. That’s a lot of pressure, but it justifies taking time for a tea party or taking her out for a date night to the local ice cream parlor.

Teach her ways to relax. Stress is an unavoidable part of life and our children will experience it at some point. Chances are fairly high, that they have already encountered pressures on the playground, at school, or in the home. Stress can lead to a whole host of unhealthy conditions and wreak havoc on our bodies. That makes it essential that we teach our kids ways to cope with stress. We recommend talking to her about coping with stress, taking up a soothing hobby, or joining a Yoga group together. All of these suggestions will give her healthy options to use throughout all walks of her life.

Give their eyes a rest. It’s no secret that our children spend a massive amount of time looking at screens. Whether it is a Smartphone, computer, tablet, or television they are watching a screen of some type. Teach them that it is alright to take a break from their beloved electronics and screens. Besides the obvious lack of activity, our kids are placing a lot of extra strain on their eyes throughout the day. Help them care for their eyes by following the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes of screen time, take a 20 second break to look at objects 20 feet away.

Foster an appreciation for wholesome foods. Most kids love to eat, so we can use this love of food to foster healthy eating habits. Most kids understand the food groups, but putting this knowledge into practice is a whole other process. Tend a garden or visit the local farmer’s market for access to fresh foods. Learn new recipes and make it a new family tradition to cook together. Make it a point to limit take out, except for the occasional evening, and reacquaint everyone with home cooked family meals. This sounds simple, but breaking bread together will create countless opportunities to learn nutrition while bonding.

Enjoy green spaces together. Head outside for some family fun and to take in the world of Mother Nature. Being in the great outdoors has been documented to reduce stress, combat depression, develop spacial awareness, recharge the mind, and more. Plus, fresh air is good for young children and getting out of the house can encourage physical activities like hiking, running, and biking. Thankfully, you can uncover these benefits in your backyard at the local park.

Looking Ahead

Instilling the foundation for a healthy life doesn’t require a lot of special tools or a lot of money. It comes down to parents who take the time to listen, communicate, and interact with their children and the world around them. What tips do you have for teaching your kids to embrace a healthy life for themselves?