How to Say "No" Without Saying "No"

It is often difficult for younger children to accept the word "no.

" Older individuals with developmental or emotional disabilities may also have difficulty accepting the word "no." The word "no" often leads to temper tantrums, arguing, and/or pleading. When your three-year-old daughter old asks you for more candy after she already had a piece and you say "no" she may cry, scream, or beg.
When your seven-year-old son asks you to buy him a toy at the store and you say "no" he may plead with you over and over in the hopes that you will eventually give in.

I am going to show you how to use empathetic statements, explanations, choices, and reminders to say "no", without using the word no.

People often have a hard time giving up the word "no" because they feel children need to accept it without argument since this will be expected in the "real world" when they grow up.

This is an unrealistic expectation on the part of the adult.

Young children or children with developmental or emotional disabilities often have a hard time seeing past the word "no" and thinking of alternatives to meet their needs. This is why they beg and plead.
They get stuck on the fact that they can't have something without seeing the whole picture.
When you apply the empathetic statement, explanation, choice, reminder approach, you generally get a child who accepts your answer without arguing, tantruming, or begging. People often say that parents who don't say "no" end up with spoiled kids. This can be true if you give your kids whatever they want, but using this "saying no without saying no" approach allows the parent or teacher to remain in control while helping the child feel respected and understood.

It also helps the child visualize other scenarios than the one she is hoping for, which will lead to the ability to better accept "no" as she gets older.
Let's look at a clear example: So your three-year-old asks for more candy after you have already told her she can only have one piece a day. She already had her piece of candy for the day but comes to you asking for more. Here is how you can say "no" without saying "no". Empathetic Statement - "I understand you want more candy because it tastes so good.
" (this makes her feel understood). Explanation - "But it is important for our bodies, to eat healthy, so we can only have one piece a day.
" (reiterating the rule) Choice -"If you are hungry, you can have an apple or yogurt.

"(making her feel valuable) Reminder -" You can have a piece of candy again tomorrow" (reminding her that she will enjoy some candy again soon).
It is important to tell the child what is expected "It is good for our bodies to eat healthy, so we can only have one piece of candy a day" rather than what is not expected "you can't have candy because it is bad for you.

" This type of negative phrasing leaves more room for arguing or talking back.

This approach may sound like a lot of work compared to just saying one word "no" but it saves a lot of time because children who get this type of response are much less likely to argue, cry, or have a tantrum. If they do argue with your response, you can simply say, "I've already given you your choices" and not engage in discussion about it anymore.
Think of how you can use this approach in different scenarios at home or in the classroom. Language may need to be shortened or modified for very young children or children who have language based difficulties.

What Are the Benefits of After School Programs?

One activity for your child to do after school is an after school program. Learn the many benefits of this for your child.
Something to consider for your son or daughter is after school programs. These are things that your child can do once school is over instead of going home and being alone. There are many benefits to these types of programs that you should consider before putting your child into a program like this. The first and biggest benefit is that your child will be safe. Most of the time the most violent crimes done to child are done between the time that school gets out and parents come home.
If you child is involved in an after school program, they are around adults in an organized environment and will stay much safer.
Your child will also stay out of trouble.

Much of the violence that is done to other kids is by kids.
If your child is involved in something after school, he or she won't meet up with the wrong kids and get involved in senseless violence.
You know where you child is at and know that they aren't around these types of kids doing these types of things.

Practically, if you are an only parent or both parents are working, it's something that your child can do besides going home and being alone.

An after school program will keep them around other people for something to do.

Many of these programs have some additional benefits to them. Some have a physical fitness element to them where you child can get some exercise which can help with health and weight.

Some have tutoring and homework help. This gives your child a place that he or she can ask questions on homework to help get it done.
Your child can also learn how to interact with other adults. These after school environments are a bit more relaxed than while at school making positive adult interactions. This is especially important for single parent homes so that your child can interact with other people.

The Steps of How to Improve Reading Comprehension in Children

First of all, something which one has to be aware of is the fact that, phonemic awareness and phonological awareness which then leads to phonics is a crucial point in reading, spelling and writing skills for ANY child.

When those types of methods of teaching are applied from an early stage, it is more likely that the child will progress accordingly. When you then move on how to improve reading comprehension in children, it is essential to understand the importance of decoding.

Decoding is an important skill in readiness. Once the child can 'break the code', the learner can begin to understand what message the print is giving.

Breaking the code is when the child starts to decode.

Understanding what the message is given is decoding itself.
These 2 words refer to a very important part of any reading level. If the child can't decode the words easily, he can't begin to understand and comprehend.
How to improve reading comprehension in children? The answer would be to help the child decode faster.

The faster this happens, the more energy the child has to use for comprehension of the given text.

If an adult takes time to read a difficult sentence, he will also experience lack of energy to comprehend what the sentence is actually "saying". One can find himself having to re-read the sentence once he manages to break the code so as to put more energy into comprehending the sentence rather than just 'breaking the code'.
With 'breaking the code', I am referring to matching written symbols to a sound.

This is grapheme-phoneme correspondence.
The faster it happens, the easier it is for the child to understand.

Then, how to improve reading comprehension in children who are finding a problem with decoding? First, you would assess the child and learn what he is having difficulty with the most.
Pin-point the exact graphemes which are giving him trouble and he is still not confident when matching those symbols with a sound, thus, making it more difficult for him to 'break the code' at a fast pace.
When you have this information, use it to introduce him to sounds, which is Phonological Awareness.

How would you go about introducing phonological awareness? Firstly, focus on 1 or 2 Phonological Awareness skills per lesson.

Try to dedicate 15 minutes a day on this task.
Model and explain clearly.

Re-teach and clarify any doubts or questions.

Give guided and monitored independent practice.
Initially, use only CV or CVC words.
Provide scaffolding to show the child you're there for him and that you can give him the support he needs.

On this part, the child needs to be aware with the complex alphabet code which means that there are different ways how to write one sound. For example, /f/ can be written as if, ff and pH.
One also needs to encourage visual recall of words.

Once he starts to see some particular words often enough when reading, every time he reads that word he will get faster in 'decoding' it.

This is due to this visual recall phenomenon that every person has the ability to use.
When re-introducing the child to Phonological Awareness, it is ideal to start off with stretchy sounds which are easier to pronounce.
Examples of stretchy sounds are so, m, and f.

Then, move on to bouncy sounds, such as p, b and k. Always move from easier tasks to more complex tasks.

After he becomes confident in the sounds, is more aware of LISTENING and discriminating between sounds, help him become fluent in letter recognition.
I hope that you found this guide on how to improve reading comprehension in children helpful and that will assist you when facing such issues with children in the future.

5 Fantastic Accessories That You Should Consider For a Wooden Playhouse

A wooden playhouse provides great space for young children to learn and play.

It also enables the children to release their imaginations and creativity.
This type of house can be obtained from the vendors or you can construct it on your own.

It will be a good experience for kids if you can make the playhouse like a real one.
The process is not really hard if you know the right methods. When you have got the whole structure ready, you should start managing the walls.

The wooden house will not be dull if you can add many decorative elements on it.

Get your children to draw some flowers, trees, insects, cartoons, etc.
on the wall. You can guide them to use stencils while they are drawing.
Then you can allow them to paint the pictures on their own.

The playhouse will be very unique because the pictures are drawn by the kids.

After giving your playhouse a great outlook, you are recommended to get some fantastic accessories for the house.
These accessories will make your house more attractive. Let me share with you some important items which you should not miss: • First thing first, we take a look at the windows. It might be quite hot during summer. Hence, it will be good if you can hang some curtains above the window.

It will be better if you can get small wooden rods as they match your wooden house.

• Please bear in mind that your kids need to do some writings or drawings when they spend their time in the playhouse.
Hence, you should provide them with wooden table and chairs.
Make sure that you get them the child-sized set.

You are recommended to get the plain wooden table and chairs so that the kids can do some paintings based on their own preferences.
They can paint their names on the chairs.
This furniture will make the playhouse more cheerful and interesting.

Please keep in mind that the furniture must be positioned in the proper way so that the young kids can walk easily through their play house.

• If your kids do not like chairs, you can get them floor pillows. Get them to choose the covers of the pillows on their own.

If you find that these pillows are too common, you can consider making beanbag chairs.
It is not a waste to get such items. You can always remove them and place them at home when the playhouse is not in use. • Since it is a wooden playhouse, it is not really proper to fix a chandelier there.
In order to avoid any unnecessary accident, in my personal opinion, it will be cost-saving for you to get solar-powered accent lights to make the playhouse brighter in the evenings. • You may arrange your kids to spend their time in the wooden playhouse at night.
The best idea is getting them a telescope. Kids like stars and they are eager to know more about the universal space station.
You can guide them to use the telescope so that they will have more interest in astronomy.
You can get all the above-mentioned items easily through online or offline shopping.

Start working on your budget now.

Kid Stuff - Comments on the History of Children's Literature

It appears that the "Tom Swift" and "Wizard of Oz" books - popular with kids for most of the last century - are finally to be replaced by "Harry Potter." The fourth volume of the Harry Potter series went on sale at bookstores throughout the country during midnight parties -- excitement not seen since the Pet Rock craze a decade ago.

Titled "The Goblet of Fire," the latest book by British author J.
K.

(Joanne Kathleen) Rowling promises - or threatens -- to prolong indefinitely the Potter series for the generation coming on line.

Some parents are uneasy about the new sub-literary fad. It features a supernatural kid who hobnobs with sorcerers and witches.
Hey, they're reading instead of watching the same stuff on teevee.

All kids go through the make-believe stage, and some of us never outgrow it. Ms.
Rowling insists she makes up her stories simply to entertain children and make a living for herself and daughter.

However, deep thinkers profess to see hidden allegories in her works that criticize the political and social life of our times. Her emphasis on wishful events seems to bear out contemporary yearning for magic solutions conjured by 12-year-old Harry Potter to deal with his travails. Whatever. The technique is rooted in ancient literature such as "Aesop's Fables" and "Mother Goose Rhymes." More than 600 fables related by a Greek slave in 550 B.

C.
was intended to impress social verities on children through talking animals. As an 11-year-old, I discovered Aesop's wisdom in a library book.
I have never forgotten his account of the hunt by a lion, fox, jackal and wolf.
The four hunters brought down a stag and then discussed how to divide it.
"Quarter this stag," roared the lion. Accordingly, the other hunters skinned it and cut the meat into four equal parts.

With this, the lion pronounced judgment: "The first quarter is for me in my capacity as King of Beasts. The second is mine as arbiter, and another share comes to me for my part in the chase. As for the fourth quarter, I should like to see which of you will dare to try and take it from me," growled the Lion.
"Humph," grumbled the Fox as walked away with his tail between his legs, "You may share labors of the great, but you will not share the rewards.

" Still, today, I shake my head a little when someone ascribes the largest share of anything as that due the lion. The lion's portion, stated ironically by Aesop, is not a share at all, but everything.
This fable is a realistic lesson to be learned at an early age.

It describes both social and political greed to guard against throughout life. * * * The same dual purpose inspired the hundreds of Mother Goose rhymes.

In medieval England, criticism of kings, nobles and other authorities could cost your life.

Consequently, jibes at government were couched as ditties for children.

Consider this rhyme: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses, And all the king's men, Couldn't put Humpty together again. The term humpty-dumpty was commonly used in England to describe someone stupid or muddle-headed.

In the rhyme it refers to King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
Richard was resisting a rebellion by Henry Tudor.
In the battle, King Richard fell from his war-horse named Wall.
He was surrounded by enemy soldiers and hacked to pieces.
He was the last of the York kings and the last king to die on a battlefield.
Books For Kids After the American Civil War, the invention of cheap "sulfited" paper pulp sparked a revolution in publishing.
Newspapers expanded.
"Dime novels" became popular.

Public schools were extended to the high-school level. Children had knowledge and desire to read for pleasure.

The old custom of veiling politics with kid-appeal was an easy approach for publishers and writers.

Regular patrons of this column may remember the recent account of Joel Chandler's "Uncle Remus" series.

Those charming tales of talking animals by an editorial writer for the Atlanta Constitution were aimed at "children of all ages.
" The objective was to entertain - while portraying former slaves as wise and dutiful citizens.
An outstanding example of hiding a social message within a fairy tale is the "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" published in 1900. The author was Lyman Frank Baum, editor of the weekly newspaper at Aberdeen, South Dakota. When it failed in 1891 during the prolonged collapse of crop prices he moved his family to Chicago.

There he wrote for various newspapers. He also participated actively in the Populist (Silver Coinage) Movement and the presidential campaigns of Sen.

William Jennings Bryan.
He also wrote his first book "Mother Goose In Prose" in 1897.
Interestingly he employed the fantasy/reality techniques of Aesop Fables, Mother Goose, and Lewis Carroll's "Alice In Wonderland" which preceded him.
Baum's first venture into fantasy was not widely circulated but reviewed favorably enough to encourage him to write his first Oz book.
It was an instant bestseller, which he turned into a theatrical play the following year.

His ambition was to act and write for the theater. Nevertheless, the response to "Wonderful Wizard" was so great he consented to write a sequel titled "The Marvelous Land of Oz.
" Before he died in 1919, Baum wrote 14 Oz books.

Thereafter, Ruth Plumly Thompson and other ghostwriters authored 26 additional volumes until the series was concluded in 1963.
Baum stoutly maintained that the original Oz had no sociopolitical inferences. Yet, the story and its characters so ably reflected the turbulent times that the comparison is compelling.

Oz is the abbreviation for ounce, the standard measure for gold.
The yellow brick road is composed of gold ingots that lead only to a field of opium poppies and drugged sleep.

The Emerald City is the store of "green-back" paper money backed by silver as well as gold. The Tin Woodman, represents the industrial worker made heartless by factory owners and left to rust when his labor was no longer needed. The Scarecrow is the farmer with not enough brains to support Sen.
Bryan's reforms.
The Cowardly Lion is Sen.
Bryan who roars a lot but is afraid to bite.

The Wicked Witch of the East represents New York City financiers and bankers who enslave little people called Munchkins.
The Good Witch of the West portrays people in the heartland of America.

The Wizard is supposed to be President William McKinley who conceals his deceptions with smoke, mirrors and phony proclamations.

Dorothy's magical silver shoes (changed to red in the ever-popular color movie) had the power to grant her wish to go home once she acknowledged the value of family and farm. If Baum did not intentionally weave these symbols into his first Oz book, he subconsciously reflected his time and place - after all, the genius of good writing.

* * * My favorite books as a youngster were those in the "Tom Swift" series which began in 1910 and continue popular today. There was not a speck of politics in them, but they were progenitor of science fiction.

Tom, "the boy inventor," built contraptions that were just in the discovery stage at the turn of the century.

In several instances, the authors of Tom Swift books anticipated science.
Such subject matter reflected the fascination of kids - particularly boys - with the gee-whiz technology of that time.
Then it was such things as motorcycles, speedboats, automobiles, planes, submarines, radios, and super cannons. These things are ordinary today.
Kids now are titillated by witches, giants, monsters, demons, magicians, terminating-killers, space ships and assorted planetary aliens. All are served up by computer games, videos, television and special effect movies.

The genre of series books for children -- with the same, central character -- was the brainchild of a publisher named Edward Stratemeyer.

He started the Stratemeyer Syndicate of ghostwriters to churn out endless books about characters and situations he dreamed up.

Among his creations was the Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew.
The big money maker, though, was Tom Swift. Most of the first 38 volumes were written by Howard Garis, Stratemeyer's best friend, under the pseudonym Victor Appleton. The books have come to be known as the Tom Swift Senior series. Since then, other publishers bought the name rights.
They continued to produce Swift Junior books with ghost writers and adventure topics until "Death Quake," the last one, in 1993.
The 99 Tom Swift series is the largest total, and longest running, of all time simply because it tapped the interest of kids in exciting things which might be. Ms. Rowling is simply following a well-tested format. I wish I had thought of it. July 16, 2000

Why a Good Children's Dictionary is an Important Learning Tool

If you have a young children, then you will know the benefits of having a good children's dictionary to hand. A good dictionary will contain more than definitions to help young minds grow and learn new things.

It needs to highlight how a word sounds, as well as what it means.
For children, this is important because knowing how to pronounce a word will give them more confidence to read out aloud and they will also be more likely to use the word in conversation as well as including it in their writing. The pronunciation of a word should normally come directly after the word itself, in the dictionary.

This pronunciation is written in symbols and whilst some of the symbols look like regular letters in the English alphabet, others do not.
It can take a bit of time getting used to deciphering these codes - you will have seen these yourself: one looks like an upside down e, another looks like an n with an extra long and curvy right-hand side and so on.
There are also some symbols that look like normal letters but may have lines or dots above them or below them.
These characters can be a bit daunting when you first see them but if you get a good dictionary, such as Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, then you will see that it has a pronunciation key in the lower right-hand corner of every odd-numbered page.
And if that doesn't provide enough information, it contains a multi-page guide to pronunciation that discusses the finer points of pronunciation and how it has evolved over time.

Some dictionaries have loads of useful and not so useful information in the back of the book.
Style guides for punctuation, capitalization, documentation of sources, and forms of address are useful to have. So are definitions of medical and scientific symbols. In all, have a good children's dictionary at home and make your child feel comfortable and at ease with it.
Show them how to look up the definitions of words, help them to sound out and pronounce words they have never used before, and get them accustomed to using the dictionary to refer to when writing stories or doing their homework.

Even if they learn 1 new word a week, they will have learn 52 new words at the end of a year. Their vocabulary will be growing and as a direct result of this, their command of the English language will be excellent. All this, from using the dictionary as a tool to learning.

Featuring Kindle DX: The Revolutionary Way to Read

There is still so much to say about Kindle DX, it´s been a little more than 3 years since the first model, today, it is the most wanted gadget on electronics market, and it has become a personal companion device as well as a professional stand tool for business people.
Of course Kindle DX holds many features, a ticket that has warranted its popularity and here they stand: -- A larger size on the kindle family (9.
7 inch display screen) -- Storage space holds 3,500 books (4GB) -- E Ink electronic paper display (high contrast and sharpest images) -- An internal PDF reader -- Free Whisper net wireless technology (3G capability throughout the world, high-speed network to download, No need internet connection to reach Kindle Store) -- A read-to-me function which allows your kindle to read out your favorite newspaper, magazine, book or blog.

-- Bookmark and place notes using QWERTY keyboard.
-- A few more extras! Built in Dictionary, a web browser, direct access to Wikipedia and Audible, a back-up library of all owned books at Amazon.

com, and an mp3 player to hear your music while reading.
These features are just an indisputable weight ratio from which the Kindle DX has acquired a revolutionary boom, not to mention that Kindle Wireless Reader Device ascribed to its singularity as a replacement of several types of prints in one single device.

I would like to add, within the revolutionary context an aspect we cannot dismiss, and that is a havoc spread out within the newspaper industry related directly to the presence of Amazon Kindle DX on the market and its repercussions, in short it has affected the way how we read news, and how is delivered even before it hit the newsstand at the local store, lowering traditional subscriptions, budget cuts, lay off workforce, minimize sections on publications. It has influence the production behavior and distribution channels of many newspaper publishers, as an example New York Times has laid itself towards the kindle digital way to manage subscriptions along with The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune to mention a few of them.
One thing that attracted my attention was the mission statement Amazon is holding for the future of kindle readers: "to have every book ever written, in every language in 60 seconds from anywhere on earth", the near and long future for e-readers is laid, then I think this slogan would suit very well the kindle reader device missionary statement: if you have a Kindle you will have them all (all publications), I must said, Would not you?

Running Away From Home in Rebellion Never Satisfies - It Usually Results in the Exact Opposite

A man had two sons.
The younger came and said, "Give me what is mine. I want it now.
I am going to grab and go".

The person who says, "Give me" usually has to learn to say, "Forgive me".
This young man had to learn that life does not consist of getting one's own way and demanding one's rights. Father gave him what he asked for, and let him go.
There is no arguing and there is no seeking to persuade him to stay at home. If this parable had not come from the lips of Jesus Christ we might even question its worth, value and reliability.
Within a few days he left home, planning to live it up, and have fun and freedom.
He thought the good life was out there as far away from the father's house as possible! He thought that a life filled with pleasure was the thing to seek and go for! He despised all the privileges of the father's house, and for a while he even forgot about his father, but his father never forgot about him.

This young man soon wasted all his wealth.

Squandering all his money, he blew the lot, having nothing to show for it, except regrets.
Money can vanish fast if you spend it on pleasure. The land to which he had gone experienced famine.
A crisis arose which he had not expected, and soon he was in great need.
Rebellion against the father never leads to life, but to the opposite.
Why does this happen? Because it is sin! Rebellion against the father results in sadness, humiliation, depression and destruction: if not today, then to-morrow. Having to find work, he took a job feeding pigs. For a Jew, this was utter humiliation. Becoming so hungry he could have eaten the pigswill.

He was lonely and isolated and so out of things and so on his own.

When he left home he never intended ending up in this mess. Few ever do, and he was now in a real mess. You can real what actually happened in the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament at Chapter 15. He did come to his senses and he did come back home. If you have run away from home, come to your senses and go back.

If your son has rebelled and run from home pray for him and look for him to return and make peace. Running away in rebellion never satisfies. Sandy Shaw.

How to Get the Best Tutoring With SAT Prep

Studying for the SAT doesn't have to be long, tedious or boring.
In fact, with new advances in technology, you can learn in a way that's personalized just for you, while taking advantage of online course prep and studying on your own schedule.
Here's how to take advantage of better SAT prep to help you get into the college or university of your choice.
The Benefit of Learning - Your Way Rather than going through page after page of those old, dusty SAT study guides, you can now get personalized prep. That means you'll learn for the SAT by taking a short test that identifies areas where you're struggling, as well as the parts that you're doing great on - which helps you improve your score by adapting as you continue to learn.

Need extra help with verbal questions? Tough math problems? The best SAT prep takes these issues into account by delivering customized tutoring and course training that seems like it was made just for you.

Studying on Your Schedule After school functions, extracurricular activities, clubs, friends, work.

You have a busy life and don't need heavy SAT study guides to slow you down.
That's why SAT prep has evolved to grow with your ever changing needs.

For example, did you know that you could prep for the SAT by attending online classes and learning from some of the best and brightest minds who themselves have taken and mastered the SAT? This isn't over-your-head stuff, but detailed walkthroughs of the most challenging questions, as well as unique test taking strategies that can help increase your score. If you'd prefer, you can take advantage of on-site SAT prep at a classroom near you, or attend free workshops, college admissions forums or even take practice tests until you feel ready for test day. If your schedule doesn't give you much time to set aside chunks of your time to attend classes or online seminars, you can benefit from downloadable SAT prep courses that let you study while you're on-the-go.
It's the kind of on-demand, instant-access test prep that was built for today's mobile generation.

Taking the Next Step The SAT is only the first step toward getting into your chosen college or university.
There's also the college admissions process, which can easily feel hectic and overwhelming.
But what if, beyond SAT prep, you also got help writing a great admissions letter, submitting your application, and learning the ropes of college life? The best SAT prep courses can include this, and much more. No matter whether you're taking the SAT, PSAT, AP tests and more, you can get all the prep you want at an affordable price.

The most important thing is that you start immediately.
Competition for different schools can be tough, and there's only a limited number of seats. Make sure your SAT score reflects your academic skills and that your admissions letter stands out.

With a little help, you can get there.

Security Career Training and Courses Online

Security is a concern for government organizations and businesses.
Students that want to work in the field of security have numerous options to choose from depending on their area of interest.
Education in security is a great way to enter a career and training can be completed solely through online courses.

Some major field areas that students can enter are in information, homeland, or business security.

Students that enter information security will learn about protecting computer networks, which includes its hardware and software.

Homeland security online colleges teach students the practices of protecting the United States from terrorism and other threats.
Business security focuses on safeguarding information and addressing issues like accounting fraud. Online schools offer students education from the associate to the doctoral level.
Students are able to work thorough a program of their choice and enter a vast range of careers. Online training may last two to six years or longer depending on the program selected.

Students that continue from a bachelor's to master's degree program will be in school longer than students that just complete a bachelor's.

Online education typically lasts as long as traditional schooling because students are completing online courses offered by colleges and universities.

Students should seek out training programs from accredited online colleges to gain an education.
Accredited colleges ensure students that the training being earned is legitimate and that their degree will be accepted in the professional work place.
Online courses cover many areas of a degree by exploring the theories and procedures of the industry. For example, technical courses in information security may have students fixing a simulated computer. Typical courses in homeland and information security may include: *Critical Infrastructure Students examine the procedures for risk assessment inside the confines of homeland security.
The complexities of the industry are taught in regards to understanding how to protect the infrastructure and computer information of an organization.
Students learn the practices used to secure information in areas like health care delivery and energy supply in times of terrorist attacks or natural catastrophes.

*Homeland Security A basic overview of the field is earned as students work through an undergraduate degree in homeland security.

Procedure, law, and organization make up the foundational issues explored in terms of the United States security. *Computer Security This introductory information security course teaches how to protect information on the hardware and software of a computer. Encryption and firewalls are some areas explored in the course.

Accredited online education in security leaves students with multiple learning options, which allows them to step into a variety of careers.
Students should enroll in full accredited programs in order to receive the best quality education possible.

Agencies like the Distance Education and Training Council are approved to fully accredit qualifying educational programs.

Students can begin education after deciding what area of the field they would like to work in. Once this initial decision is made students can search out an online college that offers their degree choice. DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.
org. Copyright 2010 - All rights reserved by PETAP.
org.

5 Tips on Getting Your Kids to Respect You

Here are my 5 tips to help you get respect from your children.
Remember that you have to give respect to get respect.

I will be a calm and controlled parent.
Parenting is all about leadership and good leaders are calm and controlled as this instills confidence in those around them.
If you lose it and yell and scream at your kids you may instill fear in them, but that's not effective leadership, it's the opposite. This approach will usually come back to haunt you when they are teenagers and they decide to rebel as fear only works when they're little.
I will listen to my children.

Listening is the #1 parenting skill.

Effective listening is all about listening to understand and respect the other person's views.
Parents often get caught in the trap of listening to gain information to lecture with which leads to your children not wanting to confide in you.
I will teach my children how to self-discipline themselves. You teach them how to self-discipline themselves by disciplining them when they're growing up. Discipline is often thought of as punishment.

Yes, there can be some punishment involved but it's really just about consequences: good choices = good results / bad choices = bad results.
A good example of this is if your son hits your daughter, he then has to make her bed for a week. He made a bad choice and is now getting bad results. The bonus is that the victim gets out of doing a chore for a week..
. even better. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); I will teach my children how to earn what they receive.
Make your children work for fun. If they want to go to the park, say, "Sure, just as soon as you clean up your room, off to the park we go.
" As they're growing up and they want a cell phone, make them do extra chores around the house to earn it, work out a schedule that you all agree on. This teaches them that they don't get everything handed to them in life and gets them better prepared for the real world.
Day-to-day chores are also necessary.

..
but make sure they're age appropriate. Even a 2 year old can help you put toys away.
Not fair to ask them to do it themselves, but make it a team effort. I will get respect by showing respect.

You show respect by doing all of the above which, in turns, leads to you being respected. Consistency is the key as if you're only doing the above during the week then it's a free-for-all on weekends, you lose respect.

Some Tips For Preserving Your Baby Girl Dresses

Perhaps one of the most treasured items a mother may save will be her daughter's baby girl dresses.

Many moms dress their babies up in the frilliest of dresses knowing that one day they may prefer jeans.

These dresses can be saved for a lifetime of memories.

While many moms like to save the very first in a long line of baby girl dresses, there are other dresses they may wish to save as well.
Perhaps some of the cutest dresses their little girls may wear are christening, flower girl, or ones worn on special holidays such as the first Christmas or birthday.

A professional can carefully preserve these dresses or you can do it yourself by simply wrapping your baby girl dresses in acid free tissue paper and storing them away. It is always a good idea to find a container that will repel moths, as they can be the death of any garment.

When planning to store your little baby girl dresses for the future, make sure they are professionally cleaned first, much like you would do for a wedding dress before you slip it into the closet.
Some cleaners can package the dress for you in a box or a garment bag that will help preserve the integrity of the garment.
These dresses can be passed down to your daughter one day when she has children of her own. She may wish to she her daughter wear one of her old baby girl dresses, or may cherish that you have saved it all that time as a reminder of when she was young. Special dresses life flower girl dresses can be used from generation to generation, much like wedding dresses. Choosing simple yet beautiful baby girl dresses will ensure they will be loved and cherished for generations to come.
If you have a ton of baby girl dresses that you can't part with, it may be unrealistic to keep them all boxed up and saved for the future.

It may be painful for you to watch or do yourself, but you can have the dresses cut up and made into a quilt. If you are into quilting, you can easily do this yourself.

If not, there are places you can go to have someone make them for you. You may not have the entire dress left, but you will have a lifelong reminder of the beautiful baby girl dresses your little one once wore.
Whether you choose to preserve a few dresses, or to turn your baby girl dresses into a treasured keepsake quilt, you are keeping the memory of your babies alive and well.

As they grow, they may irritate you, rebel against you, or try to run away from you, but you always have those baby girl dresses to remind you that under all of their teen angst, they will always be your little girl.

Most Beautiful Flower Wallpapers

Flower wallpapers are a very common background for most desktops.
When you purchase a computer you may find that the default setting will be of a floral theme. Flower backgrounds are a pleasant and peaceful image to have as your desktops main page.

Whether you prefer a huge, exotic flower that's colour explodes on your screen, to a field of daisy's or daffodils.

Either way the flower wallpapers on your desktop will bring delight to all that see it.
Photographic images can really bring to life the flower or flowers you are trying to capture for the flower backgrounds.

The detail is so intricate that it really does feel like you are in the picture to.

But your flower wallpapers doesn't just have to be of real life flowers, it can also be of paintings or drawings. For example, some children can have a much more bright, bold and obvious flower drawing as a background, when compared to that of a picture of fine art that an adult may prefer. Flower wallpapers are beautifully eye-capturing images in whatever way they are portrayed. Flower wallpapers on your desktop are a great form of wallpaper to have all year round. They will fit in with any season and any mood or lifestyle.

Yet they are not too over powering and can be seen as therapeutic, relaxing and calming for the user.

You can search through the many different species of flower wallpapers, flowers from all over the world.

It could be one a breath taking bud from the rainforest to a simple rose in full bloom; flowers will never disappoint the Seeing Eye.

In fact, you could follow the seasons and have your flower background change as the year goes on, such as having the carnation in the spring, the lily of the valley in summer, the marigold in autumn and the hyacinth in the winter.
There are literally hundreds and hundreds of these flower backgrounds to take your fancy.
So many famous painters have made their own creations of different flower arrangements. You can bet that every single one of these will come up as flower wallpapers for a more sophisticated background on your PC. Offices and libraries are often a big hit, and choose to use flower wallpapers as their theme throughout the company for the employers or users of the device to see.

The way most flower backgrounds for desktops are shown have a certain edge to them; they bring out all the beautiful colours and the spectacular ways in which nature grows.

Lots of images will contain raindrops giving rainbow effects, or nature's creatures going about their daily business with such grace. By having a flower backgrounds for your desktop will most definitely brighten up your computer and be almost picturesque when seen from a far. So personalise your pc with one of your favourite flower wallpapers to have a pretty yet intriguing image upon your desktop for all of you to enjoy.

Crayon Games

We play a lot of games around our house, and having little or no attention span among us, it behooves us to try and come up with new - and hopefully exciting - ones all the time.
One new one that we started playing last week was inspired by an actual computer game that we tested out, but it can be just as fun at home in reality. It's a crayon game, and all you need is a large sheet of paper and a crayon or two. As a side note, the reason we use a crayon and not a pen, pencil, or marker is nothing all that deep; crayons just look cooler. Basically, what we do is draw a small round object - let's call it "The Ball" - and try and get it to hit a certain spot on the paper, abstractly and "visually", inside our heads, using levers, pullies, and things we draw dropping from the sky.
All the rules of Nature apply in this game, meaning we can't "pretend" that a magical square can rise up from the ground. Having said that, if we want to DRAW the ground, that's O.

K. It really gets the problem-solving side of our brains to come out, as we have to actually "prove" that x pully will force the ball to move to y position, based on science.
When we're done drawing our "maps" as we call them, someone else has to test it out, and we can be very critical, but that adds to the excitement.

And they make for great artwork on the walls and great conversation-starting items!

Kids Sand Box Buying Guide

A kids sand box will keep the children amused for hours, and is far better than a hole in the ground full of sand in the back yard.
A well positioned and planned sand box becomes the ideal place for children to enjoy time outside.
There are many things to consider before a sand box can be purchased, to ensure that it is perfect.

Having one that is too large will become a hindrance, one that is too small will be pointless, and one that cannot be stored will become a mess.
With so many different considerations it is no wonder that people spend a great deal of time ensuring that they get it right. The size of the kids sand box is the biggest decision to make, deciding how many children will need to use it at any one time.
If only a few are expected to enjoy the it, it can be quite small.
However, if it is too small then the children will fight over the area inside.
It should also not be so large that the back garden becomes a beach, with no lawn area at all. Remember that it will need an area to play on around it as well. Once the size of the sand box has been established, it will need filling. It will take more sand then anticipated to fill it no matter how small it is. This will need to be included in the overall budget.
Sand is also very heavy so it will need to be carried and emptied by someone strong and capable.

The sand needs to be bought from a reputable supplier, and be correct play sand that has been sterilized. This type of sand is far softer and cleaner than other varieties, and ideal for children to play in. Although building the sand box is a lovely idea, it can become a project that gets out of hand.
Therefore purchasing one is far easier and often cheaper.

They come in several different materials, and although wood looks great plastic is becoming the material of choice. Garden plastic is durable, tough and easy to clean it also does not rot.
This enables it to be left outside in the winter months.

Often the design of the kids sand box will be in one complete unit. They will come with a lid or cover, enabling them to be covered when not in use.

This is not only great for the winter months but also when going on vacation, or even overnight.
Matching the box to the existing garden furniture and play equipment can keep the garden looking tidy.
If a wooden kids box is really wanted to ensure they fit in to the garden, there are plastic ones that look like wood available.

There are also umbrellas and stands that come with the sand box; these ensure that the box is not in direct sunlight.

Once children begin to play in the sand they will often be outside for hours.

On a bright sunny day, this can cause issues, and covering them is a great idea.

No matter what design of kids sand box is bought, it will give hours of entertainment and fun.

Advancing Your Nursing Career: Online Nursing Programs

As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.

S, the fastest booming occupation is nursing.

Currently many nurses are advancing their nursing career. How do they manage to work while advancing their studies? It is not a difficult thing to do. You can too manage to be an employee at the same time being a student.
Compared to other occupations in the economy, nursing has increased employment opportunities. Since qualified nurses have been on high demand in the job market, pursuing a degree will automatically lead you to a bright future.
You won't fail to get employed once you graduate.

For those already employed as nurses, they are able to advance their career.

They can pursue an online degree.

A higher degree in nursing enables one to become more competent or earn a higher pay.
It opens more opportunities and gives a person the freedom for charting own path of career. Presently, many prestigious online universities offer various nursing degree programs online.

You can now earn your degree online.
The main benefit of taking an online degree is that it is convenient.
Just as most of online students, one has a full time job which he/she cannot give up so as to study in a university.
Online degree program enables a person to attend classes from anywhere even in remote areas as long as that person has got a laptop that is connected to the internet.

You will be able to take your online nursing classes any time, at your own schedule that suits you best.

Online program also enables you to study and continue with your full time job.
A bachelors degree is fundamental and once you complete your online nursing bachelor degree, you can specialize on a particular area like: 1. Geriatrics 2.

Emergency Room Care 3. Oncology 4. Home Health Care 5.
Pulmonary 6. Mental Health Care 7.
Obstetrics 8. Critical Care 9.

Pediatrics Masters of Science degree in nursing is one of the best. Students having a master degree are in high demand in the job market and they are well paid.
In most cases, students choosing on pursuing a master's degree have gained much experience as they work in the field of nursing.

You should choose well what to specialize in after completing your bachelor's degree in nursing.

Some of the common graduate degree are: 1. Family Nurse 2.

Community Health Systems 3. Health Care Systems Administration 4.

Psychological Nurse 5. Elderly Nurse In summary, nursing is among the fastest upcoming and growing occupations.
A qualified nurse possessing a bachelor and master degree is on high demand in the job market.
Online nursing degree assists one to take classes from anyplace and at own schedule.

E-Waste Recycling Laws in the United States and Stopping the Export of E-Waste

There is currently no federal legislation in the United States that mandates the recycling of e-waste.

Some states in the Unites States allow businesses and individuals to throw their used electronics in the trash to die in landfills; however, many states are beginning to mandate environmental responsibility by banning the disposal of e-waste into landfills because of the harmful effects it has on the environment and health of the community.
States that Banned e-waste from Landfills Colorado recently became the 18th state to ban e-waste from entering landfills and incinerators.
Other Several states are working to pass new laws and improve existing laws. While the states that have adopted e-waste regulations should be commended, there is still room for improvement.
The EPA reports that 142,000 computers and more than 416,000 mobile devices are discarded every day.
In 2010, only 27% of e-waste in the U.

S.
was recycled, with mobile devices being the least recycled item at 11%.
This map describes current legislation for e-waste disposal in the United States as it relates to landfills by showing the states that have enacted a ban, the scope of the ban, the year is was enacted and the ability to see the full legislation.
The Electronics Takeback Coalition reported ten ways we can improve our current legislation to increase collection volumes and address potential issues.
These best practices are based on comparing states' laws and their recycling results.

Make it convenient and establish collection goals Encourage a variety of collection types Include clear and high expectations for performance Set minimum recycling goals, not goals that act as a ceiling Make sure rural areas aren't neglected Include a landfill ban Require all processors and refurbishers to be e-Stewards certified Do not discourage legitimate reuse Include a broad scope of products for free recycling Transparency and reporting The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act (RERA) was re-introduced to Congress recently The legislation seeks to prohibit the exportation of electronics that can create environmental or health issues The legislation would be the first federal mandate to effect e-waste disposal.

Although, it does not specifically ban e-waste from entering landfills, it does add much needed restrictions. It is recommended to choose an e-Stewards recycler because not all recyclers follow ethical and responsible practices when recycling.
The e-Stewards certification makes it simple to identify recyclers that adhere to the highest global standards for environmental responsibility and worker protection.

Santa Letters by Marty the Mouse Are Top Letters From Santa for 2010

Marty the Mouse was excited he was about to write his first Santa letter.
Not too long ago he had been worried about getting his name on Santa's naughty list.
But Jingles, one of the Santa's Christmas mice and official mail helpers, happens to be Marty's cousin, and Jingles gave Marty some advice about how he might stay on Santa's nice list.

You see, Jingles has inside information about Santa Claus and the Nice list because he gets to read all the personalized Santa letters that have been written by Santa himself. All it takes to stay on Santa's nice list is to try your best to always do what you know is right in your heart.

Santa hopes that all children do their homework, help out with chores around the house, and always be kind to animals and humans alike - it is also important to listen to your parents.

Marty does very good in school and not only does he do his chores but sometimes he helps out his sisters and brothers with their chores.

He is always nice to everyone.

The problem is that he went into the big house even after his parents told him not to. Marty was really sorry for disobeying his parents.
Exploring the big beautiful house is Marty's greatest joy in life.

The thing is, Marty's parents have made it clear he is not to go in the big house alone.
Sometimes Marty can't resist and he sneaks off to find adventure in the big house. Marty thinks he might have to write lots of personalized letters from Santa this year. Marty decided his first letter would be to thank Santa for the amazing gifts last year.
Last year Marty got a new shiny green bike.
His favorite gift was the collection of "Courage Mouse" books. Marty was the biggest fan of "Courage Mouse".
He hoped when he was a grown up he could help mice families all over the world just like "Courage Mouse".
Marty gave Santa a summary of all the adventures "Courage Mouse" had in the books from his collection. Next Marty wrote a Santa letter about school.
He was sure Santa would be pleased to know he had spelled all the words right on the spelling test.

Then he could write a letter describing the chores he helped out with at home. He wrote about doing the breakfast dishes every morning and taking the trash out.

He helped in other ways as well. Maria, his little sister, asked for his help with her homework all the time.

Just last week Marty helped Marshall, his older brother paint his bedroom blue.

He felt confident as he planned out his Santa letters. Marty is positive Santa will be happy to hear how well behaved and helpful he has been at home and in school.

Marty's plan is for his next letter to explain to Santa how important it is to Marty to have adventures just like "Courage Mouse".
He hopes Santa Claus understands he only does good when he is out on an adventure.

He hoped that would help keep him on the nice list. Next up was the only letter Marty was nervous about.

In this letter he was going to explain why he had disobeyed his parents and went to the big house.
He wants to be honest with Santa because Marty knows it is important to always tell the truth.
But he knows Santa already knows if he has been naughty or nice.

Marty daydreams as he starts to write his Santa letters. He can't help but feel a bit nervous about what might happen next.
Can you imagine how many personalized letters from Santa that Marty will receive if Santa answers them all.
After Marty finishes a letter he neatly folds it and slides it into an envelope.
On the front of each envelope is the address for Santa Claus at the North Pole.

Even if he has to stay up until sunrise he has to finish all his letters. This was something Marty had to do.

After he wrote all of his letters he mailed one off each day.

This way Santa had time to read and think about each letter.
Marty just knows his plan is going to work out.
He has to stay on Santa's Nice List - he just has to!

Building Managers: Prevent Tenant IT Downtime With Riser Management

Any building manager could guess that their tenants can't afford a network outage. With more and more businesses relying on cloud services, the result of any given outage is a halt to the tenants' business operations.
It has been estimated that the average cost-per-minute for the average business IT outage is $5,000.
BICSI, a professional association supporting the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, has published findings that 70 percent of network downtime is due to cabling problems. As cabling is the conduit through which all data passes and the infrastructure that supports all communications that business' may have, ignoring potential cabling problems is equal to dismissing the importance of the vital communications technology infrastructure that supports every business tenant within a building.

With tenants moving in and out and new circuits being added to the building, the amount of cabling grows exponentially. Without a riser management system in place, installation is often rushed and performed in such a way that no documentation or clear record is left of the work that has been completed. Many times as the new cable is brought in and installed into the riser closets the outdated cabling is left to collect dust, creating a spaghetti cabling mess that can cause a fault-isolation nightmare when a circuit goes down. Preventing a cabling disaster is as easy as having a proper riser management system in place.
Checks and documentation practices are a standard part of riser management procedures.
Standard riser management procedures should allow only qualified and managed technicians into riser spaces and require them to adhere to a set of best practices.

This practice minimizes the risk to critical building infrastructure.

A centralized system of documentation and labeling as well as disaster prevention and recovery plans are also essential to preventing riser system catastrophes. An effective riser management system is a comprehensive solution which is deployable on both a local and national scale.
The building managers who work with a riser management company that follows these important factors and the others listed below can rest assured knowing their buildings will be protected from a cabling disaster. Some of the other key factors in riser management practices include: · State-of-the-art procedures · Documentation of existing infrastructure · Centrally monitored, supported and logged access control · Single point of contact for riser system management · Trained and managed site personnel · Access restricted to qualified and verified technicians · Planning for technology growth · Outage and recovery plans · Fire code compliance

Coming Attractions in Computer Gaming Software?

Computer gaming came into its own in the mid-1990s, and has become both a popular pastime and a consuming desire for many people since that time.
Back in the day no one could have dreamed we'd have the amazing technology and graphics that are available now. Over the last 20 years computer games have gone from rudimentary isometric 2D games to games with a fully realized 3D environment. Employment in the field of gaming is as rewarding on a purely enjoyment level as it is on a financial scale.

An interesting fact is that computer gaming software advances more rapidly than the technology for the systems on which the games are played. This is largely the result of many engineers in the gaming world taking their "art work" very seriously as they strive to produce their masterpiece.

Sometimes an idea isn't possible until new technology arrives, and that happens faster and faster these days. So, with requirements for stronger computers, pushing for production of better, faster CPU's and GPU's is a never-ending task.

But games aren't solely for the purpose of entertainment. There are a wide variety of educational games available on the market.

These types of games can help younger audiences in learning to use their computer.

Others are teaching aids for many different subjects, including reading, math, history and science, among others. But for numerous others, computer gaming is still simply an absorbing pastime that is still growing in popularity.

Some gamers prefer Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games where they build empires and direct armies, others like it more up close and personal with First-Person Shooters (FPS) where you play a single soldier in a war, and then those who like longer games with sweeping epic plots there are the Role-Playing Games (RPG). Those are only a small sampling of the numerous categories and subcategories available for play.

And of course the computers used to play these games are wildly different as well.

One common drawback to computer gaming is having to update one's hardware every time a new game comes out.

Powerful hardware is expensive and each person's computer is configured differently.
There are top-grade computers used for gaming and there are also the low-end ones with integrated graphics.
But no matter the quality of the machine, gaming has a compelling attraction and continues to draw players, both new and old.

Now, the even the presentation of games is undergoing some new and exciting changes.
Advancements in monitor technology is essential to this end.

The concept of a visor for your gaming experience is nothing new, although new efforts are still being made.
More recently, a motion control monitor is being considered as an improvement upon the visor.

What this means is the monitor will have sensors that can change the position of the in-game camera at just the turn of your head. Motion control is still in the initial stages of development.

So with all these new technological breakthroughs still in the works, computer gamers still resort to the old "standby" of keyboard and mouse.
It's interesting to observe that as computer gaming progresses.

.
. so do we.

Gaming is no longer just a hobby, but it has also become a way to educate, to tell stories, and to entertain.

And with technology developing faster and faster next year who knows what's on the horizon in the world of gaming.
For the hobbyists out there nothing could be more exciting!

Cleaning Corners - How to Clean a Crystal Glass Engraving

If you own any crystal glass engraving pieces, you need to learn how to effectively clean dust, dirt, grime and even spills without damaging the said pieces.
But you don't want to clean off caked dust in the corners only to find out you've scratched or blemished the piece for life. Here are a few practical tips to help you clean a crystal glass engraving without leaving any damage at all. 1. Use a little detergent with 'delicate' dishwasher settings - this is the first thing you need to do to clean glass pieces meant to hold food or beverages. A little gentle detergent coupled with the delicate setting on your dishwasher should be able to dislodge dust and clean out those crevices without causing damage to the piece itself.

If the dirt is a bit more stubbornly situated in the grooves, then a soft-bristle toothbrush dipped in sudsy water will help loosen the dirt or particles up a bit.
2. Use straight ammonia for cloudy pieces - if the pieces have been washed enough times with tough detergent, the glass will eventually settle into a rather cloudy and unattractive shade.

You can solve this problem by applying pure ammonia, which should clear the piece right up. Just be careful not to mix the ammonia with any kind of acid or vinegar-based cleaner while working, and work in a well-ventilated area to keep yourself safe.

3.

Clean oil stains with paint or lacquer thinner- the oil from our fingertips can actually cause long-term damage to a crystal glass engraving, which is why many collectors insist that they not be touched.

If you notice a layer of oil collecting and marring the beauty of the piece, rubbing a light coating of thinner followed by a window-cleaning solution ought to solve the problem.
4.
Polish off with a microfiber cloth - these cloths are great for crystal glass engraving pieces. They are very absorbent, allowing them to suck up any excess water, cleaner or detergent that finds its way into the grooves.

They are also fine enough to avoid leaving streaks and lint on the piece. 5.

Work fast - liquids have an annoying tendency to streak when left to dry on shiny surfaces - which is why you need to move quickly when cleaning these pieces.
Make sure to rinse and then dry off the pieces as quickly as you can, while steady circular motions with your microfiber cloth will help ensure those streaks have no time to form. This is especially important when working with chemical cleaners like detergents or ammonia since streaks caused by these materials can be a bit trickier to clean off.

Teens, It's Time to Rock!

I've met some incredible people in the past few weeks.
Amanda Dunbar, at only 23 years old, is a world class painter whose artwork sells at a price that could buy a brand new car. Jason Dorsey, 28 years old, is author of several books and travels the world to speak commanding a fee of over $5,000 per presentation.
Now in his late twenties, Johnathan Wendell has made hundreds of thousands of dollars as a professional video game player. Ben Quinto was inducted into the Youth International Hall of Fame for his leadership in bringing youth together from over 200 countries though his organization, Global Youth Action Network.
Then there was Cameron Johnson, who at age 22, has started 12 super-successful businesses that earned him the freedom to fully retire (which he refuses to do).
So why am I telling you this? Because I've noticed a trend and I thought you might find it interesting.

The question I asked was, "What separates these people from those who view life as a as job and struggle to make it through the day?" Apparently, the answer is, "Not much.
" There really isn't a big gap between ordinary and extraordinary individuals. Not one of these people listed above viewed themselves as better, smarter, or more talented than anyone else. After interviewing with each of them, I heard one specific line come up again and again: "I'm no different than anyone else.
I just wasn't willing to settle for any less than I could be.

" "What else did they have in common?" I thought to myself.
Well, there was definitely an overlap of traits such as perseverance, enthusiasm, creativity, etc.

but there was one factor that held true across the board: They took a leap of faith to follow their passion and live their dreams.

Whether it was art, writing, business, politics, or even playing video games, they all took a bold step forward-without the guarantee of success. They didn't sit back and wait for things to "fall in place" or have someone tell them, "You can do this. You are ready." No way! Each of them took full responsibility for their thoughts and actions knowing that the world did not owe them anything. They took action, learned from their mistakes, corrected their course, and kept trying until they achieved the result they wanted. The key element, however, was that they "got started" and took action.

Instead of looking at their youth as a disadvantage or a lack of experience, they saw it as opportunity to get ahead, learn from others, and most importantly, take risks. Cameron Johnson told me, "I took big risks when I was 15 and started my company. I knew it was okay though, because I didn't have to pay rent, put food on the table, or support a family.

I was a teenager with very little to loose.

I didn't have a lot of experience, but I was willing to learn as much as I could.
Not everything worked out but when it did, it really paid off. At 15 years old, my company had sales in excess of $15,000 per day.

" If you're a teenager, or anyone for that matter, reading this, I challenge you to use the power of today-especially since it's now summer and schools out. Use your youth and your time to your advantage.
Don't fall in the trap of the "mañana syndrome" by telling yourself, "I'll get started tomorrow .
.

.
when I have a degree, when I'm stronger, when the weather is better, when I get more support." Instead, start where you stand.

Go for it! If you don't know where to begin, try asking yourself the age-old question, "What would I do if I knew I could not fail?" If no one would judge you ..

.

if you had nothing to lose, think of how you would approach your life differently.

My guess is that you'd try all sorts of new things.

My question then is, "Why wait?" Regardless of what you choose do, you're going to make mistakes, so get them out of the way now.

Learn from them and you will develop better judgment and gain valuable experience (which often comes from bad judgment).
You have everything you need to be successful right now.
There is no such thing as a lack of resources, only a lack of resourcefulness.
Remember, you don't have to do everything in one day, but you have to something everyday that will move you closer to where you really want to be. I believe one of our past presidents said it best, "Good things come to those who wait, but only what's left over by those who hustle.
" I'll leave you with a quote that has really helped me take action in spite of my fears and doubts.

Who knows, maybe it will help you as much as it has helped me. You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.
Live your dreams.

Make it happen! - Kent Healy

Boosting Children's Self Esteem and Self Acceptance

We live in a society where there is an expectation for adolescents to have a 'positive self-esteem' as opposed to a 'negative self-esteem'.
Unfortunately too many of us use these terms flippantly without having a real understanding of what exactly we mean.

Self-esteem is the value you put on yourself and 'how important you think you are'.
It is the view that we have of ourselves, whether that is positive or negative. Too many of us think that we must have high self-esteem in order to be more confident, happy and successful.

Thus, if we have low self-esteem we may feel less confident and motivated. However, success and happiness is also about doing the things that are important to you and living a rich and full meaningful life.
I prefer to use the term self-acceptance to self-esteem. Self-acceptance means being okay with who you are now, irrespective of the negative and critical thoughts that come into your mind.

It is an agreement with yourself to learn to appreciate, validate and accept who you are in the present moment, even parts of yourself that you may like to change. Many teenagers struggle with this because of the many pressures they face by others and themselves to be perfect. One of the very key strategies that parents can take to help boost their child's self-acceptance is to reinforce and validate to them that there is no such thing as being perfect. Teenagers need encouragement to learn that they will always have bad days and good days, low feelings and high feelings, critical thoughts and optimistic thoughts, but irrespective of what these thoughts and feelings may be, it does not change who they are. To say that they should always think positively and not think negatively about themselves would be an unrealistic expectation.
Parents can help boost their child's self-acceptance by helping them explore their values - the things that are meaningful and important to them. If teenagers have a clear picture of their values, than taking committed action to live their life based on these values becomes much easier for them. They will always have days where their inner critic will be negative.

If teenagers are always trying to prove to themselves that they are a good person, they are worthy, and should be happy, then it is going to be a continuous battle.

Learning to be okay with yourself, including the great, good, bad and ugly, is one of the keys to letting go of this battle.

Continuously trying to maintain a high level of self-esteem can actually pull them away from the things that are most important to them, their values. For adolescents to learn and accept themselves for who they are, with no judgment, may take time.
For them to let their thoughts come and go without a struggle and realise that they do not define them, will take time.
In the meantime, parents can help their children realise their many wonderful strengths and qualities, as well as the things that are meaningful and important to them.

4 Ways to Empower Your Child

One of the Universal Truths is that we all want to love and be loved.
You have also most likely heard the saying, "you have to love yourself before you can love someone else". Sometimes this can be easier said than done right? Yet if we don't love ourselves, what happens to our most cherished relationships, especially those with our children? Some of us would never admit to anyone - especially ourselves - that we do not love and appreciate who we are.
Whether we have children or not, someone's child is watching us, so we have reason to think about how we might live and act responsibly. On some level - biological, spiritual, or social - we model our lives to young people. Just knowing what we can offer to others doesn't make it easy to model our lives to where we desire to be.

Unless we are willing to come to terms with our deepest and darkest secrets, and make peace inside ourselves, they stifle us.
It does not mean that we have to share our inner thoughts with anyone else, but that we have to be aware of the emotional and mental triggers that we have. We need to be aware of these mental and emotional triggers that these secrets cause and they ways in which they cause us to treat ourselves and others. A powerful, profound, and deeply personal realization is that behind the deepest part of us that we keep hidden - our secrets, the truth we keep running from - is our ultimate power and strength.
This includes the power and strength to be an effective parent.
According to best-selling author and featured expert Lisa Nichols, "Parents present 'the first example' of how the world will treat us; if we serve our children from an empty cup, we are doing them a disservice because we tend to be short with them and feel resentful. We become exhausted.

Most of all, we are poor examples of what they need to do when they grow up and become parents".

Having unconditional love and acceptance for ourselves is critical in how we inspire our lives and nurture our relationships.

Lisa discusses the following 4 important ways to empower your child and ultimately to strengthen your parenting power; Create safe spaces.
Practice no judgment by demonstrating consistent unconditional love.

The information which your children share with us should be used to encourage and support them instead of hurting them. Doing this allows us to have meaningful and insightful communication. Have possibility-based conversations. Next time you want to automatically react to something that your child has done, stop and think.
This allows you to identify whether you are speaking from a place of love or fear.

We must ask ourselves whether what we are about to say speaks for what we want for our child or whether it speaks for what we want our child to avoid.
Speaking to avoidance is speaking from a place of personal fear.

Talk less.
As parents we tend to talk way too much.
Lisa shares that, "We believe we need to impart to our children all the valuable wisdom it took us decades to attain.
Instead let's listen at least as much as we talk.

" This means asking more questions and being still to listen to the answers. Allow the experience with your child to be both a sharing and learning occasion.

Risk it all to gain it all.
When we are vulnerable, people usually connect to us at the core.

Yet we are often afraid to tell our children about the mistakes that we have made.

We want to protect them. But when we don't share our mistakes, we have opened the door for them to make the same ones. Risk as a parent requires us to trust our children at a new level without projecting our fears. We can choose to share who we are in order to expand our children's capacity to handle real-life situations and to give them the protection of being able to better deal with the realities of life. As parents and partners in relationships, it is essential for us to let go of shame, blame, and guilt as driving forces for our lives.
We have the ability to choose how we embrace our parental responsibility. By living from the inside-out we can recognize our fears and hurts, create a safe space for ourselves, talk less and listen more to ourselves and in turn become more in-tune with our children and others. We can enjoy the benefits of loving ourselves and allowing our cups to overflow with abundance which is available to ourselves and our children. In doing this, we give the true gift of ourselves as we create expectations and environments which empower our children to live their true lives.

Your Team's Daily Stand Up Is Not Only About Three Questions? (Many Teams Have Trouble With This?)

Get Up, Stand Up.

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. Daily Standup that is A wise rastafarian once sang the words, "Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights." Yes, the famous singer I'm referencing is Bob Marley, a man with a number of fantastic reggae songs.
The chorus of this particular song "Get Up, Stand Up" is definitely something that those practicing Scrum can learn a thing or two from.
In Scrum, the Daily Standup or Daily Scrum is an organizational event meant to synchronize the development team working on a project.

Customarily the meeting lasts 15 minutes and discusses what has been accomplished, if any obstacles interfered with the previous objective meant to be accomplished, if any obstacles will interfere with the next day's objective, and what should be accomplished by the next day.
Each person, on the development team gets up or stands up and discusses their objectives, and obstacles.
In doing so, as a whole, the development team is responsible for transitioning the Product Backlog into an Increment.

This all under the eye of the Scrum Master. "The stand up for your rights," part may not be clear at the moment but let me now explain.
The importance of each member of the development team opening up about what they do and issues they encounter in their daily work allows for the whole team to be aware.
If there is no awareness, none of those obstacles can be dealt with.
If there is no awareness there can be no resolution.

Additionally, without standing up for what you do, it can be perceived unclear as to what you do.
Therefore as we often like to emphasize in our articles, communication is key! Communication is even more important when you have a distributed team.
The daily for a distributed team becomes the time the baton is passed.
Don't fall into the trap of foregoing the daily standup.
The excuse that there isn't enough time or the daily takes too long, is simply just an excuse. As a scrum master you should ensure that teams stick to the time box.

The Daily Standup or Daily Scrum can be an incredibly useful when it is used properly.

Maintaining the 15 minute limit on the entire meeting and using the process to its full troubleshooting abilities can both expedite and improve project advancement. Yet again, in the words of Bob Marley, "Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!" Change Happens! Resistance is futile! Pave the way.

Re-Start Windows 8 With Windows 8.1

Windows 8 Changes Coming Your Way Microsoft made huge news last year with the greatly anticipated introduction of Windows 8, the newest operating system from the software giant.
Following months of hype, along with six months of a special introductory price, Win8 has received mixed reviews from users since the beginning of the year. Now, in answer to the critics, Microsoft is bringing us Windows 8.1, with a preview available by the end of June 2013, and full release of the FREE update scheduled by the end of the year.

What's new in Windows 8.1? The "Start" button is making a comeback! That's right, of all the things users had to say about Windows 8, the loss of the Start button was perhaps the most upsetting.
In Windows 8.
1 Microsoft proves their willingness to listen by bringing back the button at the bottom left of the screen.

The Windows logo will appear any time the cursor is laid in the bottom left corner of the screen, and will always be visible on the taskbar when in desktop mode.
While it may not seem like much at first glance, the missing Start button was easily the number one complaint received about Win8.

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. Go figure. New Start Screen and Tile Sizes Perhaps the signature change to Windows when the new OS became available last year, the tile-based Start Screen, designed for touch-screen systems, was the most obvious.

While the tiles were an effort to make the new OS more user-friendly, they were not received with open arms by traditional users; those with keyboard and mouse. With four tile sizes available in Windows 8.
1, rather than just two in Win8, not only does the update make the Start Screen more attractive, it has also become easier to find and use your apps.

Plus, users can now select multiple apps at once, resize them, uninstall them, or rearrange them to fit your needs.
In other words, the Start Screen has been made fully customizable in Win8.

1; a vast improvement over Win8 for desktop users. Further, tiles can be easily rearranged for your convenience, using the new Press & Hold feature for touch-screens in Win8.
1.
With Windows 8.
1, the new Start Screen is also a smart screen. What else is new in the Windows 8.
1 update? While it is not possible to outline every change to the Windows OS that will be made available with the Win8.
1 update coming later this year, here are a few of the important changes that must be mentioned: New Lock Screen - The Lock Screen has become a slideshow, including images collected from your PC, laptop, or tablet, as well as SkyDrive and your phone.

New All Apps Screen -With a simple upward swipe of your touch-screen device, every app on your device is displayed for your perusal.

You can also pin your most-used apps to the Start Screen with the new Press & Hold feature for touch-screens.
New Aggregate Search Results - No longer a simple type and list feature, Windows 8.
1 presents users with Aggregated Search results; bringing together Bing web results, SkyDrive results, your own stored files, and any other information related to your search term. Microsoft calls these "curated" results and, truly, the search feature must be seen to be believed. Customize your Start Screen - With multiple new backgrounds and wallpapers, as well as motion sensitive graphics available, you can make your Start Screen your own, like never before.

Complete SkyDrive Integration - According to Microsoft, Windows 8.
1 now lives "in the cloud" with enhanced integration with their online storage app, SkyDrive. Improved Multi-view Feature - With so many users multi-tasking on screen, the new multi-view enhancement to Win8.

1 will please many users, where Win8 frustrated them.

These are just a few of the many improvements to the operating system Microsoft has confirmed available with the update to Windows 8.
1.
Not only will the update be available for all devices currently running Win8, but users of the Windows RT OS, on Surface RT for example, will also receive the free update; as will Windows Phone users and users of SkyDrive and Outlook.
com.
While it is often not popular to complement the Washington-based software giant, it must be said that Microsoft has responded well to users of Windows 8, using the Windows 8.1 update to clean up and enhancing the user experience made available with the introduction of their latest operating system.

The Benefits of Getting an Accredited High School Diploma Online

It is crucial for students who opt for distance education to find an online school that can guarantee an accredited high school diploma. This should be among their top priorities when looking around for good online schools.
Enrolling in an institution accredited by any one of the country's top accreditation agencies, such as the National Association for the Legal Support of Alternative Schools and Distance Education and Training Council, presents a lot of benefits to students. The biggest advantage it provides is it increases their chances of being accepted in college and other educational institutions, as well as by potential employers after they graduate. Many colleges and universities, especially prestigious state universities, check on their applicants' high school background and see whether the schools they have graduated from are accredited by nationally-recognized agencies. Aside from this, high school students who want to transfer credits and continue their education in another school will be easily accepted if their schools, subjects and learning programs are well-accredited. In addition, employers tend to choose job applicants who came from, not just top schools and universities, but also accredited educational institutions.

When searching for an online university that provides accredited high school diploma, it is crucial that students, as well as their parents, study and evaluate the list of online schools that they are considering.

They should make sure that the institution they choose is properly accredited by reputable certification agencies. Similarly, they should opt for the one that meets the quality standards required by various colleges and universities.

The chosen school also should conform to the set requirements of future employers.

Get Out of the Bad-Grades Rut - How to Start a Good Homework Routine

Starting something is not easy. Making something a habit is hard.

Bad habits are easy to catch; good habits are hard to establish.
This is a fact that the experts are trying to aid by their studies and research. The parents, as the guiding force behind the child, should also give allowances during the first days or weeks.
Starting a good Homework routine or study habits mean self-discipline.

It's like starting an exercise regimen where in you have to force yourself to begin. The resistance is there.

As a Teacher and at the same time a mother, the following steps were and are proven effective to the students in their homework, study habits, and of course, their grades: · A particular time should be chosen.
The mother and the child should agree on the time the child should have his/her study hour.
· No other work should be assigned to the child.

It should be understood that during this study hour, the child's attention and time should be to study and do his homework. No tasks yet for doing anything for the household chores.
Maybe, before and after but not during.

This time should be focus to the goals being set.
· Someone should be in attendance.
During the first days or weeks, depending on the progress of the child, or his self-discipline, someone should always be present.
Not only to help him practice this habit but to aid him in his assignments.
· An incentive (optional) can be given.
A reward for the"good deeds" of the child can be given after a week of accomplishments or after some time. Sometimes, a child asks something from his parent, and this is a good "give and take" time.
The gifts shouldn't appear as the primary objective of the habit-forming study hours but just one of the motivating factors to enhance the child's school grades and performance.
· Snacks or foods should not be taken during study period.

The child should eat before. Eating during the "session" will lessen the attention that should be given to the task on hand. · Checking with the Teachers.

The progress of the child, in his grades and class performance can be monitored by his teachers.

A weekly monitoring or maybe a progress report can be asked from the teacher from time to time, depending on the parent-teacher agreement.
After a month of this guided study period of the child, a big improvement will be noticed.

The homework routine will be easy by now and the child will automatically get on with his daily study habit, and the reward follows; the good grades.

Why IT Training Is Important

Computers and the Internet have become larger and larger parts of people's everyday lives, which is why it is important that people are familiar with technology.

While many children and young adults have been immersed in IT almost from birth, there are many people who did not grow up with technology and who should consider IT training classes.

It is important for people to have a solid understanding of IT related subjects because it affects many aspects of their lives, including their ability to get jobs.

Taking an IT course is not as difficult as many people believe. The Need for IT in The Workplace As businesses become increasingly dependent on computers and networks to manage day-to-day operations, it is also key that their employees have a strong foundation in using these types of technology.

While most employers will train staff on how to use different programs and systems, many companies still require applicants to have a working knowledge of computers before they will consider employing them.
This means that for people to be able to find jobs, it is becoming increasingly necessary to have an understanding of IT. The vast majority of billing, payroll, account management and employee records systems are now handled through computers.

Additionally, many companies now require staff to handle sick time, vacation leave and insurance through computer systems to automate these processes.

Further, many companies are now only accepting applications and resumes through the Internet and email.

People without basic IT skills will find it increasingly difficult to find employment.
The Importance of IT In Daily Life In addition to needing to be able to deal with computers and the Internet to be able to succeed in most jobs, these skills are also becoming relevant in day-to-day life. The most convenient way for people to manage their bank accounts and pay bills is online, and many credit cards are also trying to get people to move away from paper statements and mailed in payments.
In an effort to get people to move towards online banking, many companies have begun charging fees for people to make payments over the phone.
While there is no question that people can get by without technology, it does provide a huge amount of convenience and can save people an enormous amount of time. Where To Take IT Courses Part of the reason that many people avoid IT classes is because they assume that they will have to go through extensive coursework or enroll in college.

However, there are a number of computer and technology classes that are available for people of all levels of experience.

Many community colleges allow people who are not seeking degrees to enroll and take introductory computer courses.
Another common option for people is to look for computer and technology based courses offered through local libraries and community centers. There are even a number of free courses that are offered by nonprofit organizations to help people become tech savvy so that they can find employment. While the idea of taking IT classes may be daunting to some, there are a wide variety of options that can educate people and help them become comfortable with computers and technology.

Help For Troubled Teens - Finding an Optimal Environment

Those who make a point of providing the best possible help for troubled teens understand that some cases require what may seem to be drastic measures.

No, they don't advocate the dead-end behavioralism and superficiality of many "boot camps".

They don't extol the virtues of a "tough love" that believes parental crackdowns to be the key to improvement. They do, however, recommend that some troubled teens should be placed in alternate, therapeutic environments. Boarding schools are a perfect example of this approach. The child in question attends a boarding school the focuses on supplying both a quality traditional education and a therapeutic environment custom-designed to meet the unique needs of at-risk teens. The curriculum includes all of the reading', writin' and 'rithmetic you'd find in other schools, but supplies them in a different context, free of many of the temptations, pressures and habits with which they may otherwise wrestle.

These boarding schools maintain a safe, non-threatening environment in which the teen can explore his or her behavior and its root causes.
The schools provide counseling and space for personal growth.
These environments can provide a great deal of help for troubled teens, providing them with an opportunity to come away from the experience with heightened understanding and a successful social and academic experience. It's amazing how a change to a protected and organized environment can influence a child's though process and behavior. For those families who put tremendous value on their faith lives, there are Christian boarding schools.

These institutions make worship and a Christ-centered approach to dealing with students a top priority. When surrounded by professionally-trained and experienced faculty and counselors dedicated to providing a therapeutic Christian experience, many troubled teens reverse course.

Countless families have witnessed tremendous change and progress as a result of enrollment.

There are many ways to provide help for troubled teens.

In some cases, the best way may involve finding an optimal environment for the teenager. By removing the child from his or her current context (and the various habits, pressures and challenges associated with it) and supplying an alternative space for personal exploration and growth, boarding schools can create tremendous positive changes.

4 Problems That an Online Degree Solves

Online education has come a long way in the past one decade.

The popularity of internet and the improvement in web technology has assisted this stupendous advancement.
As a result a lot of problems are being solved for individuals with a thirst for knowledge and a great interest in pursuing education.

Here are some of the problems that an online degree can solve.

Getting Rid of Insecurity of quitting from the job One dilemma that most working individuals are faced with while nursing plans of higher education is whether it would be safe to quit a well paying job for studies.
After all, one can never really be sure of two things.
Firstly, will the job scene be just as good 2 or 3 years later and will it be easy enough to get a job after finishing education.

Secondly, will he or she be able to get a better pay package or at least equal to what they would have got had they continued in the job.
Online education solves the problem because the student doesn't have to quit the job and at the same time work towards earning a degree by pursuing higher education.
Sponsorship for education A majority of individuals pursuing higher education, look for financial aid whether it is loans, grants or scholarships. Some working professionals try to get their employer to sponsor their education although that comes at a cost which includes signing a contract with the employer to work for a few more years after finishing the degree.
But if working professionals enroll for online education, they can continue in their job and more often than not be able to sponsor their own education without the problem of looking for part time jobs with full time college.
It is also observed commonly that online education is less expensive than full time college adding to the benefits.

Lack of good colleges in the neighborhood A very common problem faced by individuals who wish to pursue education is the fact that cannot leave their family because of personal or financial constraints.
However, an educational degree is not of much value if it is not from a reputed university.

Some students face the issue of not finding a good university to enroll in, in their city or state.

Online education solves this problem because as long as the students' credentials are good and they are eligible for enrolling, they can join a university of their choice. A degree from a reputed university always means that the quality of education will be higher along with the positive response of companies who are looking to hire the students. Physical mobility Students, who are talented but due to medical reasons cannot leave their home, are greatly benefited from online universities as they can study from the comfort and safety of their home and can also be taken care of well by their families.

Physically travelling to the college everyday could be painful and hectic for such students and also unsafe at most times.