How to Keep Your Kids Healthy This Winter

The winter is a time often filled with stuffy noses, persistent coughs, and more sick days than anyone really wants. However, if you want to avoid having you and your children get ill this year, below are seven tips that can help.

1. Teach Your Kids Proper Handwashing

Proper handwashing technique is key to keeping your kids healthy during the winter. To make sure that your kids are killing all of the germs they may pick up while they are out and about in the world, follow the following steps:

• Wet hands, turn off the tap, and apply soap.
• Lather hands completely, including under fingernails.
• Scrub hands for at least 20 seconds -- tell your kids to sing Happy Birthday or a chorus or verse from their favorite song that is about 20 seconds long.
• Rinse hands under running water.
• Dry hands with a towel or allow them to air dry. (Change towels often)

7 Reasons Why It's Important to Teach Your Kids About Eco-Friendly Living

With the state that our world is currently in, it is important to set our kids up for lifelong habits that will help them and the world as a whole. Eco-friendly and sustainable living practices are important, and teaching that to the next generation could not be more critical to the Earth's health. There are many reasons why it's beneficial to teach your kids about environmentally friendly living, below are 7 of the key benefits to teaching you kids about eco-friendly living.

Gain a Deeper Appreciation For Nature

One of the easiest ways to explain the reasoning behind eco-friendly living to kids is by telling them that making sustainable choices will help the Earth stay healthy and beautiful. Emphasizing the beauty of nature and how the Earth helps us can make the importance of eco-friendly living more clear to kids.

Form Eco-Friendly Habits Through Quality Time

Especially with everyone staying at home right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing new kinds of quality time to keep your kids entertained and help the environment is a great option. Here are a few hobbies and habits you can do with your kids to bring some eco-friendliness to your new normal:

Conscious Parenting Audio Tip: Observing Anger When An Intuitive Child Lashes Out

Next time your child lashes out, look around and observe the room. Is anyone else angry such as an adult or sibling? Is your child channeling their anger or someone else’s? Intuitive children often do this automatically. 

Carol Lawrence from Intentional Conscious Parenting shares a tip on observing anger when an intuitive child lashes out. Is it his/her anger or is he/she simply channeling that anger for someone else in the room. After listening to the latest tip be sure to sign up for our free parenting guide on Parenting With The Four Claires.

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Carol Lawrence · Observing Anger When An Intuitive Child Lashes Out

4 Ways To Teach Your Children About Energy And Water Conservation

It may seem to be a cliche to say that children are the future, but it is a cliche with some truth. Climate change is perhaps one of the greatest threats facing society. But for all that it is actively causing problems for the current generation of adults, those who come later will only feel those effects more. Additionally, it's much easier for people to learn how to be environmentally friendly as children. Any habits that people pick up as children become ingrained, whether they're shutting off the lights as soon as they leave a room to save energy or making sure that the recycling is collected. Therefore, it's important to teach children about how to be environmentally friendly, and particularly how to conserve water and energy. The United States is responsible for more than its fair share of pollution, and part of that lies in excessive energy consumption as well as a lack of clean energy sources. Furthermore, while water seems to be readily available to everyone at any time, there is in fact a lack of clean water in many parts of the world, as well as an issue with water being overused and polluted. With the typical American family currently using an average of over 300 gallons of water a day, it's crucial that children are taught to value water and energy and treat it correctly.

Creating a Well-Rounded, Healthy Home for Your Family

Studies show we will spend the majority of our lives indoors. According to House Beautiful, the average household will spend 90% of their lives indoors -- and nearly 67% of that time in their own homes. These percentages are only likely to increase in the midst of global pandemic.

Learn how to put together a home that promotes physical and emotional wellness for all members of your family.

Get Some Rest

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), "Research shows that a chronic lack of sleep, or getting poor quality sleep, increases the risk of disorders including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity." Protect all members of your family by taking steps to ensure they get quality sleep. Here are a few tips and tricks to promote quality, restful sleep in your home.