Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Sickness and what we might be doing wrong for our kids.

Happy Hump day!

If your a parent and you have kids in school more then likely you have seen your share of sickness this year. Which....
 
 Got me thinking the other day,about how we could do more as parents to help our kids bodies fight off those icky germs/bacteria etc.

We give our kids medicine the first sign of anything it seems. And I for one am thankful for medicine but my dad who bless his heart is 83 years young told me "Medicine just hides the sickness,it does not cure it" (Unless its antibiotics of course). Hes probably right. 


We can make them take medicine? but we can't make them take their vitamins? I think we are backwards.

Natural things help. Strong immune systems help. These are things as parents we can provide. I am not a naturalist so giving your kids medicine is fine, my kids just had cough medicine. 

What I want to do is help keep our kids healthy. Help raise awareness on what lack of vitamins and minerals can negatively cause.

Share some tips on what I have learned since being a parent and dealing with sickness.

One thing first.


Sometimes kids will be uncomfy. Do your research before giving medicine. We as parents sometimes act to fast because we are being selfish and we just want the crying to stop or the crankiness to stop. We can do more as parents then just shoving medicine at our kids. We can soothe.

 http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm250024.htm 



Now that's out of my system lets move on to naturally keeping our kids healthy.
 
http://health.yahoo.net/articles/children/8-child-friendly-vitamins-and-nutrients-boost-their-immune-systems

Above is a link to what helps boost immune systems. Kids should have vitamins all the time. 

This is my parenting fails and my parenting yay's!

I have orange juice in my fridge all the time. Okay. I have it on hand but I am usually the only who drinks it. Fail.

My kids take a kids multivitamin every morning. Okay like once a week....

You have your basic hand washing etc rules as well. Which my kids do not follow.

My kids get sunshine. Vitamin D. If the sun is out your going outside at least once. (This one I got right! My kids go outside all the time)

Calcium!! I believe it does wonders for our bodies. Its also proven. Heres a link to talk more about calcium and what foods its in.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=45

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/raising-fit-kids/food/kid-nutrition-basics

We eat fruits and veggies. Simple. A rule all parents can and should follow.

Milk and water alternate turns for drinks. We don't have sugary drinks. Well.Sorta. We drink apple juice.

And then sometomes kids get sick anyway. Lets try as parents to prevent it. We can't catch every germ and throw it the other way but if we can build our kids bodies up to be strong we are helping in the best way we can.

I know I am going to fix everything I am doing wrong. I am sick of being sick and watching my kids be sick.

We are not perfect and no one has too but lets be smart. The meals your kids eat are important. Now my kids have cheez-its and other snacks too. Pizza not healthy but its on our menu. We after all are human! 

Here are a few tips.

I keep disinfectant spray on hand at home. I don't over do it but I will pray once a day.

I have disinfectant wipes that I wipe down door knobs,fridge handle,lid to garbage can,etc.

I give NO DAIRY to kids who are full of mucus. Old advice that holds true,dairy creates more mucus. 

Once kids seem on the mend, I wash their sheets. Fresh and clean always made me feel even better as a kid. 

I will water down depending on age, ginger ale made with real ginger for a tummy issue. Pedialyte is a great thing but if the kids is not throwing up sometimes Ginger ale can help settle it and the ginger helps in other ways.

Tissues do not sit around. Right to the garbage. We actually use hankerchiefs. 

Phones get a wipe down.

We tend to give medicine(see I am not against it) before bed so the kids will sleep better as that's important when sick. Sleep.Sleep.

Everyone has their ways. As parents we need to know everything we can,figure out everything we can. I listen to elders and what worked back then. I listen to Drs.(even though I do not always agree)..that's me as a parent. And I need improvement. I have a few things backwards. But you live and you learn. =)

 
 ?Raven?
 

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Steps to bringing home a pet found online.

First of all, Hi.

Second of all I am so against online dog/animal shopping that I went against grammar police and wrote this sentence.

Third I am talking more specifically about Craigslist,area online tag sales type things. Because those are less likely from a puppy mill. 
When you go to eBay and buy a dog or go to breeders websites. Those make me sick,you make me sick if you do that. You are supporting puppy mills. 

Now back to it.

Sometimes, okay a lot of times people have to surrender their pet for some reason or another and they end up on craigslist or the online tag sale sites in your area etc. Those pets need homes too. GOOD homes. So if you have found yourself considering an animal I have a few tips that might make life easier for you.


I have gotten 3 animals through online tag sales. One was a rabbit about to be stew meat and I said NO! And 2 guinea pigs for my kids birthday. We still have all three,all three were lovely ideas. We love them very much. Neither home was a breeding home,they came from families who either made a mistake and put two animals together that was a female and male or a family whose kids lost interest in the animal. So please don't think I am against re-homing animals.

Once you make the decision, if its a dog,cat,bird...ferret etc. I would really try to make a vet visit before you even bring it home. ESPECIALLY if its a puppy. I know that's hard when your eager to bring home your new life love companion. I get it. But puppies especially,parvo,worms,ring worms,etc can be in them and you bring them home and you have a whole 'nother mess on your hands. Sadly I have also seen death and people who are so mad they give up the animal. Yea. Stupid but people seem to think animals are easy, if you want easy get a Betta fish or a stuffed dog. 

 Try to get some vet info,proof they have been taken care of and some people don't have this so that's when you need to step up and have the animal checked out. Remember this is  for most animals not just dogs. Make sure everything is ready at home. Again or eagerness to bring home our furry,hairless,long, what ever creature sometimes makes us not be prepared and that can cause issues.  Are they potty trained if not get the items you need before getting them. Do they come with items like a leash or collar? If not get those before or right after. Make a plan of whose responsibility is which.What is expected of the household. New pets are "cute" for kids but you need to be ready because 8 times out of 10 the kids are just not ready. or will lack in some areas. We as adults lack in areas. Perfectly normal,just be ready. We were. I knew I was getting our piggies for my kids but also knew they couldn't clean a cage as wonderfully as it needed to be or remember EVERY day to check their water so that's where this mama steps up. =)

1.Get vet checked.
2.Be ready
3.Spay and neuter. 
3.LOVE THEM!
hehe.

Also a few warning signs that something may be wrong.

1. Small in size.

2.People will not tell you much about the animal.

3.Stray. (deff vet check)

4. Look at their eyes,their eyes say a lot.

5.Check for signs too of neglect. Too small of a cage for a rodent,reptile etc. Weight.Fur. Too long nails. etc so you can handle those things. Bath time.Extra protein food,bigger cage,nail clippers and so on.

6.Sometimes parents are on site. Check them out if you can. 
***Our Timber's mom was over bred. Very sad. Timber has a few health issues. (our boxer dog) They were not breeders they just were uneducated people who figured fixing their animals would help the world in no shape or form. 


It never hurts to check up on the breed you are getting or type of animal to learn all you can.  Read about some common things to be on the look out for. Don't scare yourself but educate yourself.

I would bring home every animal anyone posted if I didn't have a big enough heart to know these animals could get better homes then mine if I had 1239347356 animals living here lol.Enjoy your new pet. And please spay and neuter. <3

?Raven?