2/16/2017


When your little ones are very young, you're used to being everything that they need. They not only rely on you, but you're always the one they turn to whenever something happens. It's a lot of work, but there isn't a parent alive who would say they want things any other way. That's what makes it so hard when your kids start pulling away and wanting a little more independence. A lot of parents imagine that this starts at around puberty, but it actually starts to happen quite a bit sooner than that. Even as a pre-teen, your child is going to end up going through more changes than you expect. But remember that. However jarring and surprising a lot of these changes might be for you, that's going to go double for them. It's important not to overreact when your kids start showing signs of wanting a little more distance, the last thing you want it to smother them and end up pushing them even further away. The key is to help them feel confident to strike out on their own while always making sure that they know that you're always going to be there for them. Sometimes, that can be easier said than done, however. To help make things a little easier, here are some tips on how to handle a few of the tricky milestones that your child might hit as they get a little bit older.


Sleepovers
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Image from flickr
There is no doubt that Disney films have a unique place in our culture. They are truly generational; the films we watched as children are the same ones that we show to our kids now. Unlike so many other aspects of culture, they don't lose their magic over time - today's kids love Cinderella just as much as the original watchers back in the 1950s did. The stories get updated, take on a new meaning and inspiration for a new generation, but they never lose their gloss.

Given that many of us who are now parents were raised on Disney films, it's fun to look back at them. You know you have crossed the adulthood Rubicon when you hear Ariel's speech to her father from The Little Mermaid:

"I'm 16 years old! I'm not a child anymore!"

And you find yourself thinking: "are you kidding me? 16 and able to make a life-changing decision? Yeah, that'll go well..."

So what lessons have our generation learned from Disney films? It's worth thinking about, given the continued presence of the genre in our lives. We inundate stockists for information on Frozen merchandise (and have the occasional meltdown on social media when they run out), we strap our kids into the Minnie Mouse stroller, and we pack lunches into Tangled lunchboxes. Disney is still ever-present. So what does it have to say about parenthood?

2/15/2017

It's not easy to trust your life with someone else's hand even with doctors, therapist, lawyers or a helper at home. In this day and age where people claim a lot of things that are not true, one of the hardest to fake is that of being a doctor. After all, becoming a doctor takes a lot of years, time, and patience as well as perseverance. This is perhaps why doctors put a lot of pride in themselves because after all, what they do is no easy feat. Saving the lives of people is something that not everyone is able to do, and yet they do in their daily lives. One can even say that it comes naturally to them, as natural as it is for everyone else to breathe.

This is what Dr. Paolo Bellosillo has been doing for the better part of his life. He has entirely devoted every second he lives in making the lives of the people around him better and hopefully, longer by teaching them about integrative medicine and holistic approach to living. He believes that a healthy lifestyle is a way to go as well as an annual check-up of your heart for the heart is the center of your entire being.