Tag Archives: Child Care

How to Choose Flooring for Your Child’s Bedroom

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If you have the opportunity to complete remodel or redesign your child’s bedroom, it’s smart to take your time and do things right. You’re going to have many decisions to make, but you can’t move forward with any of them until you decide on the type of flooring that you’re going to use. Until you make this decision, it’s going to be difficult to make decisions about wallpaper, paint, furniture and other things. When choosing a floor style for your child’s room, you don’t just need to worry about how it looks – you need to consider how safe and practical it is, too. Learn about a few of the most important factors by checking out the information below.

Keep Safety in Mind

The last thing that you want to do is to choose flooring that increases the risk of spills, slips and falls. While area rugs look great on hardwood floors, they may not be practical in a child’s room. Vinyl flooring looks fantastic, and it’s easy to clean; however, you need to make sure to select a slip-resistant style or your child could end up getting hurt. The same thing goes for carpets: Avoid extremely tall piles that could cause trips and falls. Your child will be scampering around in there, so keep that in the back of your mind at all times.

Stain Resistance is Critical

Even if you prohibit your child from enjoying drinks or snacks in his room, mishaps can and do occur. Kids don’t always obey the rules, and dirty feet can track in stains from elsewhere. It’s important to be realistic when selecting flooring for a child’s room. The fact of the matter is that stains and spills will happen. To minimize the odds of permanent damage, it’s crucial to stick with stain-resistant options. Carpeting may not seem ideal, but many high-quality styles are remarkably resistant to stains. Vinyl and laminate are also great in this regard.

Choose a Style that’s Easy to Clean

As busy as you undoubtedly are, you probably don’t want to spend a lot of time cleaning and maintaining the floor in your child’s room. Different kinds of floors require different kinds of care. Carpeting, for instance, has to be vacuumed fairly regularly. Vinyl and laminate floors need to be swept and mopped occasionally. Any of these styles is fairly low maintenance, which is why they are popularly used in children’s rooms. Avoid floors that have grout lines, which can accumulate dirt and grime; steer clear of light-colored carpeting, too, since it tends to get dirty really easily.

Beware of Allergies

If your child has allergies or asthma, it’s important to select flooring that is hypoallergenic. As the parent of a child with allergies or asthma, you probably already know all about the downsides of carpeting. Dust mites, pollen and other allergens can slip into carpets and exacerbate symptoms. It’s nearly impossible to completely remove them from carpeted floors; if your child has severe allergies, then, it’s best to avoid carpeting altogether. Wood floors aren’t very practical, but vinyl and laminate styles work well. These types of floors will provide your child with an allergen-free haven where he can sleep.

Don’t Forget Comfort

You want your child’s room to be as comfy and cozy as possible, so it’s smart to select a floor style that facilitates those characteristics. Carpeting is generally considered to be the coziest option, but it isn’t right for everyone. Laminate floors that mirror the look of real wood can be enhanced by padding that makes them cushioned and soft underfoot. Area rugs can be used to add a little extra comfort to a room with vinyl floors, but take care to use non-skid pads so that accidents are kept at bay.

In addition to all of the preceding points, you’re going to want to choose a style of floor that is attractive. Your child will be much happier when his room is stylish and visually appealing; its floor goes a long way towards achieving that goal. By selecting the style of flooring that you’re going to use first, you can lay the groundwork for the rest of the room’s characteristics. It’s a lot easier to design a room when it starts with attractive carpeting; vinyl and laminate styles are great options, too. Keep your options and your mind open as you investigate your various options, and make sure to include your child in the process, too. After all, it is his room – he needs to give the floor his stamp of approval!

Help Your Child Find The Right Career

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Most of us strive hard to reach our career goals and we wish that our children can be saved from going through all the hurdles. There are some basic tips that can guide our children and help them to thrive and grow in this chaotic world.

o From the first school day, encourage your child to build on his strengths, and not focus on weakness.

o Always encourage your child to choose a field of his choice, so that he can enhance his natural abilities and passion without being bored.

o Teach your child that some mistakes in life can be fatal, but with proper care, these mistakes can be prevented. This will encourage your child to rebound more quickly from mistakes.

o Encourage your child to strive for success in life. Once a child tastes the fruit of success, he knows how it feels and will want to try to duplicate the effort.

o Gaining admission to top universities or colleges does not guarantee success. There are many school dropouts who have reached the zenith of success – one such example is Bill Gates. You should educate your child that success does not depend on the college degree, but rather on sheer hard work and determination.

o As a parent, you can provide information, support and feedback about new interests and goals. Encourage and initiate open conversations with your child about your work, employer and industry. Talk about different business cultures and show expose your child to various experiences at different workplaces. Do not be afraid to discuss openly about your failures. Respect your child’s interests specially, especially when they differ from yours.

o Encourage your child to maintain a strong positive self-image, as self-confidence is very important to the job search process.

o Help your child identify and establish personal contacts with successful neighbors, relatives and friends, who are great sources of information.

o Encourage your child to obtain 2-3 marketable skills in addition to his/her academic major, such as computer skills, quantitative skills, communication skills, marketing skills, scientific skills, foreign language skills and leadership skills.

o Always advise your child to take advantage of internship and externship, as these programs can give them a taste of the real world.

o Ask your child to participate in extracurricular activities, as these activities encourage the leadership qualities and also help broaden and define career and leisure interests. By participating in such activities, a child learns to balance his academics and opportunities available.

Make sure that your child considers different possible career options based on his interests and follow an educational plan to help them take the necessary high school courses.