How to Raise a Respectful Child by Being a Respectful Parent

Respect is one of the most important traits parents can instill in their children. Simple manners and the ability to show respect are necessary for building healthy relationships as well as cultivating strong self-esteem. Unfortunately, because we live in a multimedia world where a culture of disrespect often dominates, fostering respect in our children can be a challenge.

Is your child disrespectful? Don’t let that bad attitude get you down! These suggestions will help you create a home environment where respect is the rule, not the exception.

Teach respect at home

My strongest parenting belief is that our family’s home provides the foundation for the valuable skills, traits, and lessons we want to teach our kids.

Children, even young toddlers, observe and imitate everything we do. I like to think of home as our child’s first classroom. So, let's take a cue from formal education, where teachers prepare and plan lessons and set academic goals for their students. What do you want your precious kids to learn? Most parents strive to teach their kids how to be caring, honest, reliable, and respectful human beings who will make a positive difference in the world.

A safe, nurturing home environment allows kids to make mistakes (usually plenty!) without the fear of feeling like a failure.

When you create a loving home base for your family, they automatically receive a lifelong gift—a secure sanctuary that protects them and allows them to grow, learn, love, blossom, and gain a healthy sense of self. This safe, nurturing environment also allows them to make mistakes (usually plenty!) without the fear of feeling like a failure. Instead, they can learn from their choices and continue to flourish and grow.

When our kids are surrounded by a consistent dose of love and teachable moments in a nurturing environment, they easily develop a solid understanding of self-respect and respect for others.

Help your child cultivate an awesome sense of self-respect

Respect for others starts with how we feel about ourselves. People who radiate a high self-esteem are strong, healthy, positive beings who embrace life with incredible vim and vigor. Opposite those who have a confident sense-of-self are negative types who regularly project doom and gloom. (We all know our share of Eeyores!)

An easy and important way to teach your child about self-respect is to encourage her to take care of herself. Staying healthy increases our flow of energy, allows us to stay in a more optimistic state-of-mind, and ultimately allows us to see the world and other people in a...

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Why Oxytocin Is Incredible and How to Get More of It

What is oxytocin?

You know those warm and fuzzy feelings you get when you cuddle a puppy, hug your friend, or kiss your partner? That’s oxytocin at work.

You may already have heard of oxytocin—what people have called the love hormone, cuddle hormone, or even the moral molecule. This is because oxytocin has been in the headlines, gaining a reputation for making people more trusting, generous, and even more in love. It’s a neuropeptide, meaning that it’s a protein-like molecule your brain cells use to communicate with each other. Oxytocin is also a hormone, meaning that the brain releases it into the bloodstream to communicate with the body.

Clearly, this little brain chemical has some big jobs—it plays a role in sex, childbirth, bonding, social interaction, emotions, and many other functions important to us mammals. Our brains produce it naturally, but there's also synthetic oxytocin that is sometimes used therapeutically.

Either way, oxytocin seems to not only nudge us towards more pro-social behavior, but it can also play tricks on our minds. Let’s look at some ways that this complicated brain chemical affects the way we feel and act, and how we can coax the brain to release more of it for those warm, fuzzy feelings:

Oxytocin probably helps people to bond through openness, trust, and generosity

Oxytocin got its glowing reputation as the “love hormone” from the evidence that it seems to help us be more pro-social, more connected with others. For example, one fascinating study found that when male college students got a dose of oxytocin from a nasal spray, they were more willing to share their emotions about a painful memory with a stranger than participants who got a placebo spray. 

People not only seem to trust strangers more with their emotions but also with their money when they get a dose of oxytocin.

People not only seem to trust strangers more with their emotions but also with their money when they get a dose of oxytocin. A separate study had participants play an investment game where they could entrust any amount of their money tokens to another participant, a trustee. Those who sniffed an oxytocin spray were much more likely to let the trustee hang onto their tokens. Most of this group handed over most or all of the money. In contrast, those who only got a placebo spray were less willing to trust a stranger. Only one-fifth of them handed over all of their tokens. 

What about straight-up giving money to a stranger? Oxytocin might make a person more generous, too....

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8 Quick Tips to Soothe Back Pain

Desk Discomfort

If you find sitting at your desk is causing lower back pain, try slightly elevating your feet. And old phone book is perfect for the job.

Back Pain? Check Your Wallet

Your wallet may be to blame. Sitting on a bulky wallet can cause your spine to become misaligned and your muscles to compensate. Try carrying your wallet in a front pocket (where it’s also safer from pick-pockets), or make sure it’s as thin as possible.

Mustard Baths

If you have chronic back pain—especially associated with arthritis—or other sore muscles, try adding yellow mustard to a hot bath. Add a few tablespoons for mild pain, and up to a whole eight-ounce bottle if the pain is severe. The bathwater may look strange, but your aching back will thank you.

Tennis, Anyone?

For a great DIY massager, put a few tennis balls into a tube sock and tie the open end. Then ask a friend if they will roll it over your back to help massage your aches away.

Not Just for Congestion

Don’t have any pain cream on hand? Not to worry. Try some vapor rub instead. It will soothe sore back muscles, and it contains same active ingredients (camphor and menthol) as a number of more expensive topical treatments.

Sleep Like a Baby

If you’re a side sleeper, the fetal position can reduce pressure on your back. For extra comfort, add a pillow between your legs. If you sleep on your back, you can help accentuate the natural “S” curvature of the spine by placing a pillow under your knees in addition to the one under your head. Either way, you’ll wake up with less pain!

For a Firmer Mattress

Firm up a saggy mattress with a sheet of plywood. Place a sheet in between the mattress and the box spring, and you’ll not only wake up with less pain, but you’ll extend the life of the mattress! It’s a solution that’s easy on your back—and your wallet!

Snack on Grapes

If you suffer from backaches or other chronic pain, try snacking on an unlikely superfood: grapes! Red grapes relax blood vessels and improve blood flow, which can help your pain. Eat one cup each day to see the maximum benefits.

For everyday tips and lifehacks, tune in to the Who Knew podcast on ...

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How Did the Days of the Week Get Their Names?

To talk about how we got the names of the days of the week, we have to go back in time—way back to 4000 BC, when the Babylonian civilization flourished in the Persian Gulf.

Ancient Babylonians First Divided the Year Into Weeks of Seven Days Each

Just as people have done throughout history, the Babylonians looked up to the sky. They tried to understand what was out there and how it might affect them. They could, of course, see the sun, and the moon, and the stars.  And rather amazingly, even without telescopes, they could see five planets—the five closest to Earth.   

And like everyone did until Copernicus came on to the scene in the 1500s, the Babylonians thought the Earth lay at the center of the universe, with everything else revolving around it. But the Babylonians also believed that we were intimately connected to the planets; that each planet ruled an individual hour of the day and an individual day of the week. 

Accordingly, they organized their life into a system of seven days, aligned to the seven celestial bodies they could see. The first two days of the week—our Sunday and Monday—were ruled by the Sun and the Moon. The next five were ruled by the planets. 

Notably, even back then, chilling the heck out was a thing. The Babylonians designated one day of the week as a day of rest. 

The Ancient Greeks Named the Days of the Week After Their Gods

Sometime around the 12th century BC, the ancient Greek civilization grew in prominence, and they adopted the Babylonian system of marking time. They continued to recognize the prominence of the sun and the moon, calling two days of the week hemera helio (day of the Sun) and hemera selenes (day of the Moon). Instead of naming the other five days after planets though, they named the days in honor of their gods. 

They named Tuesday for Ares, their savage god of war; Wednesday, for Hermes, the messenger of the gods, a trickster, and the god of commerce. Thursday they named for Zeus, god of the sky and thunder, and king of all other gods and men. Friday they named for Aphrodite, goddess of love. Saturday was named for Kronos, son of the creators of the universe, and the lovely guy who killed his father, ate his children, and was imprisoned by Zeus in Hades for being an all-around jerk.

The Romans Replaced the Names of the Greek Gods With Their Gods

Time kept on passing. In the first century BC, the Roman Empire began to emerge.  The Romans used the same seven...

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8 Best Tools to Manage Every Aspect of Your Money in 2020

Personal and business finance programs and apps have become incredibly popular because they’re so easy to use on your computer or smartphone. No matter what you’re trying to achieve with your money, such as sticking to a budget, investing for retirement, building a side business, or shopping for insurance, there’s a digital tool that can help.

In this post, I’ll cover eight of my favorite free or low-cost programs and apps that can help you make better financial decisions and achieve your goals. If you get in the habit of using digital tools to manage every aspect of your money, you’ll quickly see your financial life improve.

8 Best Money Management Tools 

1. Quicken
2. QuickBooks
3. MileIQ
4. Credit Karma
5. Dinkytown.com
6. Bankrate
7. Betterment
8. Acorns

See how each of these tools can improve your personal and business financial success.

1. Quicken

Quicken is one of the most popular personal finance programs, and I’ve used it for decades. If I could only recommend one money management tool for you, this is it. Quicken has become the gold standard because it can handle just about every aspect of your finances, such as budgeting, paying bills, tracking investments, isolating tax-related transactions, and reporting.

After you sync up your financial accounts with Quicken, it automatically connects and pulls in your cleared transactions. But you can also enter transactions manually if you don’t want to connect to your financial accounts online.

You can see a register for each bank account or credit card, or you can view all your transactions together. And there are Quicken mobile apps to sync up with your desktop version, so you can switch between devices and always have access to your information.

Automatic categorization saves time and allows you to easily see how much you’ve spent this month on food, gas, retirement contributions, or any category you create.

Once you assign categories to transactions—such as income from an employer and credit card purchases for groceries or clothing—Quicken remembers it. Automatic categorization saves time and allows you to easily see how much you’ve spent this month on food, gas, retirement contributions, or any category you create. You can view your income and expenses over any period with simple graphs and reports.

While Quicken isn’t free, you can choose from a suite of products depending on the functions you need. For $34.99 per year, the Starter version allows you to see all your accounts in one place, create a budget, have automatic expense categorization, and...

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The Biggest Loser TV Show is Back, But Is It Better?

The Biggest Loser reality TV show returned to prime time television last week after a three-year hiatus. The show, which first aired in 2004 and ran for 17 seasons,  suspended production after the 2016 season amidst a storm of negative publicity.

For those not familiar with the original franchise, it was a reality show in which contestants with severe obesity competed to see who could lose the most weight over a few months.They followed strict diets.They spent hours a day working out. (They literally had to quit their jobs to participate). If they faltered in their efforts, they were screamed at by coaches and trainers. They were forced to sit in a room with a table full of junk food to see if they would succumb to temptation. They were weighed on giant scales on national TV, and those who lost the least were kicked off the show. All with cameras (and tears) rolling.

Personally, I found it absolutely barbaric, as well as medically and nutritionally irresponsible. But apparently, it made for great entertainment. The show was wildly popular for 12 years. 

Why Biggest Loser contestants failed

At the end of each season, the person who had lost the largest percentage of their weight won a big cash prize. But for winners and losers alike, the weight loss came at a steep price. The end of the show supposedly marked the beginning of a wonderful new life in a newly thin body. For most of the contestants, however, it marked the beginning of a lifelong nightmare.

Contestants ended up with severely depressed metabolisms as a result of the extreme weight loss. They gained weight even when eating a meager amount of calories.

A study published in May 2016 in the journal Obesity found that the vast majority of contestants on the show subsequently regained much of the weight they had lost during the competition. Many ended up heavier than before the show began. And it wasn't for lack of effort or discipline. It turned out that the contestants ended up with severely depressed metabolisms as a result of the extreme weight loss. They gained weight even when eating a meager amount of calories.  

It was heartbreaking to see how much damage this show did, both to the contestants as well as millions of viewers who were inspired to pursue similarly extreme regimens. Even if they didn't take it to such extremes, t with a dangerously warped view of how to lose weight. 

For one thing, the show's incentives were backward. The faster you lose weight, the less likely it is to be body fat, and the more likely you are to regain it. Secondly, the use of extreme amounts of exercise solely to burn calories is unhealthy and unsustainable. And finally...

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8 Tricks to Make Toys and Games Last Longer

Rubber Ducky, You’re the (Moldy) One

It’s gross, but true: Your child’s floating bath toys (the kinds with a hole in the bottom) are likely filled with allergy-causing mold. Even if you squeeze out the toys after every bath, some moisture remains and can cause mold build-up. To avoid this problem in the first place, seal the hole of a brand-new toy with hot glue. That way, water will never be able to penetrate it in the first place. To clean older toys, soak them in a solution of one cup of bleach mixed with one gallon of warm water for an hour or two to release the mold. Then scrub them, rinse, and allow to dry completely before sealing.

Video Game Strategy

If your kids love video games, try to buy games that can be played over and over (such as puzzle games) rather than ones that aren’t fun once you “win” them—you’ll go a lot longer before you start hearing requests to buy a new game! When you finally do cave, make sure to buy used games whenever possible.

Get the Bounce Back in an Old Rubber Ball

Almost all soft rubber balls, including tennis balls, can be brought back to life by spending a night in the oven with only the pilot light on. The heat causes the air inside the ball to expand. Just be sure to remove the balls before you turn the oven on!

Get the Dents Out of a Ping-Pong Ball

To get the balls round again, fill a jar to the brim with warm water, then place the balls inside and close the lid so that they’re submerged. In twenty minutes or less, the water’s pressure will make them pop back into place.

Loose Batteries?

If you have an electronic toy whose batteries are loose due to a missing spring, don’t throw it away or pay to get it fixed. Simply ball up a small amount of aluminum foil and put it in the spring’s place. The aluminum will conduct electricity in lieu of the spring.

Time to Clean Teddy

To clean stuffed animals, just place them in a cloth bag or pillowcase, add baking soda or cornmeal, and shake. The dirt will transfer to the powder.

Hello Dolly

Nothing needs a cleaning more than your child’s best-loved doll. Luckily, this way to clean them is so fun your kid will want to help you! Wash the plastic faces of dolls by smearing peanut butter on them, then...

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