The World Wide Web is endless, providing people from all walks of life entertainment and information at will. Children are especially curious, so they are more than likely going to spend more time surfing the web than adults. For this reason, parents need to find effective ways to keep them safe, when they are online. If you are not familiar with the dangers lurking on every corner of the Internet, you may want to start your quest with thorough research. Below, you will discover several tips that will help you keep your child safe, when they are online.
Know Who Your Child Is Talking To
It is not unusual for a young child to have an account on every social media platform, such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These are wonderful and safe places to meet and communicate with others, but it can also pose some dangers for young children. Just because someone presents to your child as a 9 year old, will not always make it so. In fact, many predators will utilize social media platforms to access small children. Get to know the people your child is communicating with, by contacting them directly. If they post photos do a quick reverse image search to see if those photos have been stolen from someone else. That is a sure sign they are not who they claim to be.
If your child utilizes a cellphone, you can always take advantage of parental control apps, which offer an array of benefits. You can block mysterious calls from strangers to reduce the risk of them coming into contact with a predator.
Restrict Downloads
Children are continuously downloading and uploading files. There is just something about these processes that children find exciting. While most children will stick with video game apps for downloading, others will go beyond the norm and download apps just because they look interesting. When your child is downloading files and apps, you honestly do not know what type of content is housed in them. In fact, they could be downloading an app that appears to be educational related, but in fact it is contains adult material.
When a parental control app, like Kidgy it is possible to determine what applications and programs your child has downloaded on their smartphone. You can even do this without the child ever finding out that you are checking up on them. Even though your child is young, they still take their privacy very seriously.
Monitor Websites Accessed By Your Child
Back in the day, parents could access cookies on their child’s computer to see which websites they visited. Today, children will erase the cookies, just so their parents cannot find out this information. What your child does not know is you have parental control apps at your disposal. These apps are designed to allow parents to access the websites their children visit on their cellphone. This software is worth millions to parents, who are concerned about their children’s safety, when they are browsing the Internet.
By accessing the current website history, you will be able to find out what type of content your child is viewing. No parent wants to think of their child gaining access to adult or provocative content that is inappropriate for young children. With the parental control app, you will be able to utilize discretion, when monitoring your child’s online activities.
Block Inappropriate Websites
While some parental control apps provide parents access to websites frequented by their children, others will allow them to block the inappropriate websites. This is definitely a great feature that will prove to be valuable for parents that are concerned about their child’s safety online. By blocking the website, your child will no longer be able to access it. This will not only offer convenience, but also give you peace of mind, since you cannot monitor your children every minute of the day.
Locate Your Child Outside The Home
Most cellphones are embedded with a GPS, which allows others to pinpoint their exact location. When children are outside alone, parents can never be assured of their safety. It is not unusual for a parent to become concerned, when they cannot contact their child on their cellphone. If your child’s phone is embedded with a GPS, you will be able to pinpoint their exact location in a matter of seconds. Some parental control apps offer GPS location with a very detailed map, which will help you find the child with ease.
I have written about deodorant many times here over the years and reviewed my fair share of products to find the best ones. It is actually a tall order to find a good, natural deodorant. You may find many that are made of safe and natural ingredients, that part is not hard. But finding one actually works like their conventional, toxic counterparts is quite a bit harder.
The ingredients list may be impressive but the ability to actually control odors for more than an hour is usually what is lacking. It smells mice, it feels nice going on, and then an hour or two later you reek and you walk around wondering if all your coworkers can smell you. Needless to say that deodorant goes in the garbage can.
Other options may rely heavily on ingredients that are natural but also irritating to the skin…such as baking soda. Many natural deodorant seekers have likely run across the baking soda burn that can be associated with these products. Red, inflamed pits mean another deodorant bites the dust. My own journey to finding the right deodorant has been fraught with misadventure (and burned pits).
So yes, finding a good deodorant is freakin hard! And yet you cannot give up on the search because conventional deodorants are bad news. They often times work well at controlling bad odors but they can have lots of nasty ingredients and more than one report coming from the scientific community has hinted at a possible link between the nasties in deodorant and beast cancer. Just a quick gander at breast cancer rates and you may soon find yourself freaking out about what kind of deodorant you are using. It is said that it only takes 26 seconds for a body care product to be absorbed into our bloodstream. That should make us very aware of what we use on our skin, no?
We don’t want to be slathering our pits with carcinogenic products or ones that will mess with our hormones (think parabens). We also don’t want chemical nasties from deodorant to show up in our breastmilk! The search must go on…
I have been lucky to find a few good ones over the years and I write about the ones I find here on this blog. I have another to add in Spruce Naturals.
Last month I rocked their 100% natural Herbal English Lavender. It is certified organic and made with bacteria fighting coconut oil and a deodorizing blend of essential oils. It is also vegan and cruelty free. Other ingredients include Carnauba wax, arrowroot powder, shea butter, and baking soda.
The baking soda is a side star and not the main star because I am prone to the pit burn caused when too much is used. I noticed no sensitivity at all while using Spruce Naturals. The coconut oil base made it go on very easy, especially since it is summer. I am curious to see how it fairs in the cold winter months. I think it would probably last a bit longer. That is really my only complaint, that is went too fast and I think it may be because it is so soft in summer it is hard to avoid using a bit too much.
But did it pass the smell test? Yes! It lasted my whole work day…which was recently about 9+ hours and I was not the least bit self conscious about smells. I did feel the desire on some days to shower before bed because it was wearing off but I can’t expect miracles here…it did the job for the majority of the day, including some days spent in the hot sun gardening after work.
The verdict is in and this deodorant passes the smell test. I would definitely buy again.
Did you know that making a few changes to your diet can help you beat the stress you experience at home and at work? When you eat junk foods, you don’t feel as great about yourself. Foods that are high in sugar and junk carbs can leave you feeling bloated and tired, which will make stress even worse. Choosing the right foods can improve your general health and leave you smiling when you encounter stress. You can even toss in a supplement like Redicalm to battle stress in two different ways as you eat and snack. Whole foods are the best ways to get what you need for health but supplementation can cover nutritional gaps.
Avocado
Filled with healthy fats, natural vitamins, and minerals that can help reduce stress, avocado can help you feel better about yourself as a meal. A hot trend among foodies today is avocado toast, which is really just mashed avocado and some spices served on a piece of toast. You can peel and slice avocados before adding to a salad or a sandwich too, or you can mix mashed avocado with some spices, tomatoes, onions and jalapenos for a quick guacamole. There are even some great recipes for making desserts from avocado like a chocolate pudding that is healthier for you.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are an incredibly versatile vegetable that you can use in dozens of different ways to naturally deal with stress. Try dicing the veggies into chunks, mixing with some salt, pepper, garlic powder and olive oil and then roasting in the oven until tender. Many authentic Indian curries call for sweet potatoes that are perfect for a meatless Monday. You can also bake your potatoes in the microwave. Poke a few holes in the sweet potato after washing it and cook in the microwave for 10 to 15 minutes. Top with a little butter and brown sugar for a delicious side dish.
Cashews
Another ingredient that can help you cope with stress is the simple cashew. Cashews are great for those tired of filling up on empty calories too. You can make these nuts sweeter or more savory for using as a quick snack in the middle of the day or as a lower calorie dessert that features healthy fats. Roasting the nuts brings out the natural flavor, and you can choose which spices and seasonings to use on the nuts. Keep a bag filled with cashews at the office to get a boost of energy in the middle of the day and to reduce stress.
Turkey
One of the best meats for those suffering from stress is turkey. While you don’t need to roast a whole turkey every week, you should make smart decisions when buying turkey from the store. Stick to the deli counter and packaged meats that are free of sodium and artificial ingredients. Make a quick turkey salad from some thick chunks of turkey, a little low fat mayonnaise, celery and your favorite veggies. You can top a green salad with some thick slices of the turkey or make a sandwich from turkey and fresh vegetables.
Taking a supplement like Redicalm will help you battle any stressful situation without feeling anxious or upset. If you frequently experience stress, you also need to look at which foods will help you beat that stress. Eating more turkey, avocados, sweet potatoes and cashews can help you feel more relaxed and less stressed every day.
Want some activity ideas for your kiddos that will provide fun and education. Always! As a big fan of unschooling, even though my children are in public school, I am big on games, crafts, field trips, and activities that involve learning without really trying.
Enter Geology Lab for Kids – 52 Projects to explore rocks, gems, geodes, crystals, fossils, and other wonders of the earth’s surface. The book breaks up into 12 fun unit studies so this is really kind of perfect for homeschoolers and unschoolers who want to use it for some science learning and fun. It is a year’s worth of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) activities.
Here are a few of the fun things you will discover…
The first lab is on crystals and one of the first projects is how to make sugar crystals…we just happen to love to do. Learn about the science behind crystals and make rock candy. What kid will object to this unit study?
Lab five has a nifty unit for learning about crystal structure and you and your kids get to make a nest of needles.
Lab seven shows you how to make a cluster of geodes from common kitchen chemicals, like borax. This project also gives you a clever re-use idea for those leftover plastic easter eggs.
Lab 15 mimics what happens to lava flow when it cools and the project is super yummy…lava cakes!
Lab 39 encases a gummy bug or worm just like the way amber encases fossilized insects. Make a batch and watch Jurassic Park.
Lab 45 puts you on the hunt for micrometeorites.
Lab 48 includes a recipe for magnetic slime. Cool!
This book is quite literally a gem for curious mind. It provides many, many hours of educational and fun activities. Your kids might just be begging you to read this with them and try every single activity. Enjoy!
The inspiration for this ice cream began when I had a similar flavor at a local artisan ice cream shop. The sweetness of fennel and the floral notes from the Ylang Ylang essential oil just sang to me. And because I can source grassfed cream from the same local farm, making our own version was a no brainer. It is good….no REALLY good. It is silky, sweet, and luxurious. The addition of the candied fennel seeds also gives it a delightful crunch…as well as that green color (as I explain below). We have made it with regular fennel seeds too and it is just as yummy, but I prefer the candies. It makes about 5-6 small servings and that is more than enough for this really rich and satisfying dessert.
Ylang Ylang and Fennel Ice Cream
1 pint heavy cream (grassfed)
1 can organic sweetened condensed milk
1/4 C candied fennel seeds
3 Drops fennel essential oil
3 Drops Ylang Ylang essentially oil
Whip the cream, condensed milk, and oils to soft peaks and transfer to the freezer or an ice cream maker. Sprinkle with more candied fennel seeds for a crunch. It is a deliciously decadent and silky smooth ice cream! Oh and the green color is due to the constant rotation of the ice cream in our ice maker and transference of the candy dye. Regular fennel can be used as well, just toast them first for the best flavor. Enjoy!
