Photo credit to Hocchuan
Children are precious gifts from our Creator and as they say, they are fruits of two couples in love. As others would say, a childless marriage cannot be called a family. However, there are people who are not born to enjoy this gift. This is really hard to accept especially for people who really want to have children.
But then, you love each other so much and all you wish for is to have a happy marriage. Apparently, some couples decided not to adopt a child but still were able to stay happy. So before another problem will affect your marriage, pause for a while and give time to consider some things.
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Article Source: Happy Family Matters
How to Survive in a Childless Marriage
How to meet your Future Parents In-law for the First Time
Photo credit to Araleya
Let us say you are in a serious relationship and now you are planning to get married. But for some valid reasons, you and your future parents in-law have not yet met .
Although they already know about you, and your fiancee has also mentioned them to you, it is still better if you meet before you get married.
Now that you have a schedule to meet your future parents In-law for the first time, here are some things I suggest you to do.
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Related Posts:
How to Deal with Difficult Parent In-laws
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Article Source: Happy Family Matters
My Entrecard Contest Grand Prize Winner
I would like to reserve this post to announce the grand prize winner of my contest who will receive 1,000ec for making the best post out of my post.
But before that, I would like to invite all of you to continue dropping your cards and become one of my Very Serious Droppers. This is because I will be making a special post about them very soon and may get a special reward for doing so.
By the way, here are the bloggers who joined including the number of entries they submitted. All of them received 100ec for each entry.
Indo of Indo Contest (1)
Mia of ThatBlog4me (2)
Twins Happiness (1)
Valmg A Contest Blog (1)
Sherry of Sherry Rambling (2)
Danandmarsh of Giveaway City (1)
Tammy of Tidbits of Tammy (1)
Badet of Everything Nice (1)
After reviewing each entry carefully, I found the post that suits best to be a winner. So with no further ado, the grand prize winner is…
Badet of Everything Nice who made a post about How to Avoid Money from Destroying your Marriage
Congratulations and hope you enjoy your prize. You will receive the 1,000ec grand prize right after I submit this post.
Incidentally, I want to say thank you to Mr. Art of Article Specialist for sponsoring this contest and helping me all throughout.
Again, thank you to everybody and hope to see you all again.
If you want to receive my future posts regularly, please feel free to subscribe in a reader or by e-mail. If you have concerns, please Contact Me anytime.
Article Source: Happy Family Matters
How to overcome Middle-age Crisis
photo credit to kimprobable
Parents who have just turned forty or a bit younger may start experiencing this problem. This is usually when the kids are grown-ups having a life of their own. They are now earning their own money and some of them probably had settled down. Now, the father and the mother are almost alone again. Consequently, these parents will experience some weird feelings inside out. Since they have been together for more than two decades as husband and wife, they feel that they have done almost everything and there will be no more improvement. Life will seem to be a daily routine. Here are some of the potential problems and how to handle them.
Lost of passion for romance
Showing affection to your spouse is vital to keep a happy marriage. Romance should always be intimate and sweet. However, as a person grows older his passion tends to reduce. That is why it is very important to keep the fire burning. Being romantic does not mean you should always be sexually active. Writing love letters, watching romantic films together and sharing sweet moments make a couple younger than their age. Find time to be alone sometimes, and visit the places where you have not yet been or simply enjoy watching the sunset together.
Physical insecurities
This usually occurs to wives after they gave birth. Her body will sag and she has no more time to fix herself regularly. She will also suffer from unbalance diet. Husbands however, will start loosing his hair and his usual body physique will drop. These physical changes may lead to insecurities and will manifest on their behavior. To handle this, you must be able to find outlets or hobbies that can somehow maintain your health and thus, bringing back your self-confidence. To enjoy these activities, it is better to ask your children to join you. Another advantage would be a better family bonding.
Chance of indecent affairs
Most husbands are afraid to loose their macho image and sexual ego. Since their wives are not in their usual attractive physique anymore and care less for sex, they will try to find it on younger girls. They will join their male friends on night out gathering and start having indecent affairs. Although this may only be temporary, it can still distract the closeness within the family. Your children especially the girls, will loose respect on you and your hardships during their younger days will be taken for granted. So if you are getting tempted, think about your family and your dreams when you were just starting. Spending money for a family vacation is a better idea.
Lost appetite for work
Retirement age is getting near and you seem to be tired of doing the same work you have been doing for years. The wife may also feel the same way, and there will be no more excitement in improving your career. Since your children can already handle themselves, you may find no reason to work harder anymore. To prevent yourself in loosing interest in your job, remind yourself the days when you were enthusiastic to learn everything. Find other things that might fit in your interest like the Internet. Do not be afraid that you are now being left behind by technology. Remember that life is a daily journey. Working is like parenting; it is a non-stop learning process. You still have to be a role model to your children and community.
Life begins at forty only if your family is happy.
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Article Source: Happy Family Matters
How to help your Child choose a College Course
Photo credit to Jonnny
Entering college is the final episode of our child as a student. After this, he will be facing the real world. This last step is very important since this will be his lifetime investment. However, some parents leave the decision to their child alone. Although it is their freedom to choose, parents should also give some advises. Doing this may be not that simple, especially if you have your own dream for your child. So before it could create a discomfort, here are some of helpful tips.
Do it early
As early as third year high school or two years before college, you should start asking your child about his dream course. By this time, he is quite sure of what he really wants. Convince your child to be vocal about it. In this way, you can analyze whether your child fits in it or not. This includes knowing his emotional and intellectual capabilities. A child will fail to reach his goal if he is not capable of doing it. It is actually not his fault. All of us were born with different talents. Success depends on how and when we start cultivating our craft.
Start saving money
Sending a child to college is not a joke. Tuition fee increases dramatically each year and not everybody is fortunate to finish a good course. That is why you should start saving as early as possible. There are a lot of college insurance plan available you can choose from. Although you are having a tight budget, it is worth to save. Do not let your child be disappointed to take a cheaper course that he does not like. It will be a waste of time and money. In addition, it will be frustrating if he will not finish it.
Point of interest
Help him know more about the different courses available and applicable to him. Your child might want to be an engineer but he cannot take the difficulties in mathematics. Do not allow your child to take chances. Let him be more interested to a certain career before going into it. If he enters college without a specific goal, he will be shifting from one course to another and might prolong his college years. The worst is that he may not even finish one. Time may come that you cannot support his studies anymore.
Support and not dictate
You may be disappointed if your child chooses a career path that is not your choice. This is a normal feeling of parents but you should allow him. Your child has his own identity and you must respect it. Financial and moral supports go hand in hand. If you push him, he might be rebellious or he might just follow your command. In either case, his future will be miserable. The most you can do is to give solid advises based on your experiences. A respected lawyer can also have the best chef son in the world.
Pursue a dream career
It is unfortunate that choosing a college course nowadays depend on the opportunity of earning good money in the future. Blame it on the dropping economy. However, there is a big downside of a wrong decision. Your child may be receiving an attractive compensation, but this is only temporary. It is very hard to perform with flying colors on something that you do not enjoy doing. For me, it is very important that you really love what you are doing. If you do, more opportunities can come and you will earn good money and high respect more than you expected.
Education is a passport to a brighter future, not a business investment.
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Article Source: Happy Family Matters
What Parents can learn from their Children
Photo credit to flyheli
We as parents guide our children as they grow. When they start to communicate, we also start to teach them basic things. In return, they are also teaching us unintentionally. Actually, we already know about these things but we ignore them. But children seem to have good ways of reminding us. Unfortunately, many parents do not realize this. They think that because they are adults, they already know everything. In that case, let your child remind you again through his actions and behavior.
Determination
Children are playful and sometimes they hurt themselves when they run, climb and experiment on things. But the good thing is they are not afraid to do that again. This means that no matter what problems may arise, they do not give up. They keep on dreaming and improving themselves. Unfortunately, some parents are blaming others for their suffering, instead of thinking of bright ideas on how to improve themselves. They enjoy pointing fingers rather than helping each other.
Creativity
Most children destroy their toys not because they hate them. If we observe them closely, we will realize that they are creating another toy out of it. They are using their imagination to discover how such wonderful things are being done. Their creative minds are working to make their toys more enjoyable. On the contrary, some parents are contented with what they have. Not because they are really happy with them, but because they stop exploring the beauty of life.
Honesty
Children do not lie. In fact, they are not aware about it. They are candid in expressing thoughts and feelings. When they are hungry, they ask for food. When they are hurt, they cry out loud. If they feel that there is something to say, they say it. Young children know two colors only; black and white. For them, the opposite of good is bad, nothing in between. On the other hand, some parents use different excuses when they lie. White lies are still lies. Honesty is still the best policy.
Self-confidence
Children trust their basic instincts when they play. They are not afraid to try everything freely, not because they do not know what will harm them but because they have complete trust on themselves. Conversely, some parents have doubts on almost everything that they do. Most women loose their self-confidence when they become mothers. They become insecure on how they look. Likewise, some fathers are afraid to grow old because they will loose their authority when they retire.
Humility
Children do not hurt anyone intentionally, not unless they see adults doing it. We can see through their innocent smile that they are generous, kind and lovable. They know nothing about revenge, selfishness and malice. They only understand sharing, forgiving and caring. Ironically, some parents lie, destroy and kill for money. Parents who are capable of doing things are claiming that they are helpless, while children who still depend on adults are the ones helpful.
Some questions can be answered by looking through the eyes of a child.
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Article Source: Happy Family Matters
How to Maintain a Family Budget Effectively
One way to maintain a happy family is to be financially stable. When you are able to complete the daily needs and save a bit, there is a lesser chance of family feud. But to do this effectively, all members should cooperate and participate. Parents should sit down with the children and discuss this matter seriously. Below is a good list of money saving tips that I think is effective and easy to follow.
Keep yourself busy
If you are busy besides work and school, you may tend to spend less money. Your concentration will be more on the extra activities that you are doing, instead of thinking of less important things to buy like junk food. For students, you can do summer jobs during vacation or be a volunteer in your community. For parents, it is better to stay at home and spend quality time for the kids instead of going out with friends.
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How to Deal with Difficult Parent In-laws
Photo credited to hndrk.nl
Dealing with parent in-laws is the most critical problem of newly-married couples. The worst is some marriages were intentionally destroyed by the parents of either or both sides. This is maybe because some parents do not like their son in-law or daughter in-law from the very beginning. That is why it is very important to meet the parents first before marriage. However, if it did not happen or your first meeting did not have a positive result, you will now to face the circumstances. The suggestions below will somehow help.
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Article Source: Happy Family Matters
Housewives - The Toughest Women ever
Photo credited to jontait2002
Most of the time, when a housewife is being asked what her job is, the answer is, “I have no job, I am just a plain housewife”. But I think we are having the wrong idea that being a plain housewife is really plain because it is not, definitely not. Housewives may think that because I am a man, I do not understand the role of a housewife. On the contrary, please let me enumerate some of my ideas of a job of a housewife. After reading them, I wonder if you could still say that it is a simple job.
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Article Source: Happy Family Matters
How to Convince your Husband to Allow you to Work
Photo credited to photo_graphical
Although I prefer women to stay at home as plain housewives, I also respect their decision if they want to work. I even admire their willingness to help their husbands to add income for the family. However, I know how hard it is to convince a husband who is earning good money and wants his children to have a full time mother. Likewise, there are husbands who are afraid that someday their wives might earn more money than they do and their ego will be hurt. With this, here are some helpful ways to convince him that there is nothing to worry about.
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How to Spot and Stop a Potential Suicidal Family Member
Photo credited to AprilM2107
A family member who committed suicide is very hard to accept especially if you really did not expect that he will do it. This decision does not consider age, sex and religion. We must remember that the major reason why people commit suicide is because of untreated depression. This depression has many causes and the most common ones are horrible disappointments, great loss and hopelessness in life. Most often, we can see signs that can make us conclude that committing suicide will be his next option. Here are some of them and hopefully, you will not take them for granted.
Vocal about death
Although you might just think that a family member is not serious about it, do some actions before blaming yourself in the end. You must stop him from saying that he does not want to live anymore; he hates his life and things like that. The best thing you can do is to listen to all his complains about life. A suicidal person needs an inspirational conversation, not silence.
Doing weird actions
On the contrary, there are people who suddenly become quiet in sharing his problems. Other weird actions may include giving away his valuable things, always irritable, less concentration about things; and negative change of physical appearance and behavior. With this, all family members should be very sensitive about the sudden change and immediate communication with him is required. Have time to lend your ears, not your anger.
Performing poorly
This includes performing at work or in school. Some students are afraid to bring humiliation to the family because they have very high expectations to him but failed. Some businessmen and workers committed suicide because they fear that they cannot be able to recover again after a great loss. Again, they should be calmed down and help him wholeheartedly instead of blaming him.
Loosing sense of humor
You must be worried if a family member stops from smiling and making others laugh. Although you do know that he is a serious type of person, he still must have some funny notes. Taking life too seriously does not only make one unhealthy, it can also easily trigger depression. This habit should be changed and we as his love one should encourage him to join you in fun times.
Drug dependency
Drug dependents and addicts are most likely to commit suicide. This is because of the effect of what they are taking. They are always hallucinating and are becoming to be mentally ill. Unfortunately, some families reject their members who are victims of drugs instead of letting him be treated. Their reason may be due to lack of money or to maintain their high status in the community. I can frankly say this is a stupid kind of reasoning.
However, there are also people who commit suicide without any sign at all. This is because he is good in hiding his feelings and problems. All we can do is to know all our family members well, have a constant communication and provide immediate help once we know about it.
In addition, some suicide survivors have a tendency to do it again so we must not just leave them in a hospital during the treatment. Someone close to him should always be beside him. More than medical doctors; he needs someone who can understand him.
So if you know someone close to you who may be suicidal or you yourself, please feel free to visit Suicide.org - Suicide Prevention, Awareness, and Support!
Do not worry, it is free to view and I will not earn anything if you do so.
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Article Source: Happy Family Matters
Smorty – An Alternative Way of Making Money through Blogs
I would like to reserve this post to announce that this blog has been approved by Smorty. After having this blog for almost 6 months, I decided to have another source of income aside from Adsense. Since I really love writing, I think that Smorty and I will go a long way. This is because they have a wide variety of advertisers whom I can write for. Of course, I will make it sure that the product or website I review is family oriented.
Actually, I knew about Smorty for quite some time but I am not yet serious then. However, when I viewed their site recently I found their offer interesting. Below are some of the things I like about them.
1.0 They are allowing 10 blogs in a single account. This is helpful for me because I have a separate blog. In fact, I am also planning to submit it to them and hopefully they will approve it. With this, I have more opportunities to earn through their help. For now, they are paying a minimum of $6 per article.
2.0 Page rank is being considered. Before, I thought that page rank is for popularity use only. At Smorty, the higher your page rank is the higher offer you will get. Now, I am happy that my hard work is being rewarded.
3.0 They have a 5-star system. It is being awarded by advertisers depending on how you write. This score may increase as you go along. Consequently, if you have higher rating you may have more campaigns and a higher offer. A new member like me has a score of zero.
In general, they pay on a weekly basis through Paypal. After your post was approved which will take around 5 days, they are trying their best to transfer your money on the first payment day of the week.
So if you are interested to know more about them, you can check out the banner on my sidebar just below the banner of My Other Blog or simply visit this link.
For advertisers, this is also your chance to advertise on blogs. To join, simply visit this link.
Lastly, I strongly suggest that you read their Terms and Conditions carefully and FAQ before joining. This is to avoid future problems.
If you want to receive my future posts regularly, please feel free to subscribe in a reader or by e-mail. If you have concerns, please Contact Me anytime.
Article Source: Happy Family Matters
Entrecard Giveaway First Weekly Update
As promised, I would like to reserve this post to give updates about my contest which is giving away 100ec for each entry and a chance to win 1,000ec on April 25, 2008. Below is the list of bloggers who have joined and a short description of their blogs.
Indocontest – A blog that promotes contests of different kinds with cool prizes submitted 1 entry.
Blog4me – A blog run by Mia who started blogging since September last year. Although most of her posts are short, she had this eagerness to learn more so she can share more. She submitted two entries.
Twinshappiness – A simple blog that has personal and nice posts about family. Unfortunately, I cannot find her name or even pen name on her posts. Anyway, she submitted one entry.
A Contest Blog – A blog owned by Valmg and also promotes interesting contests with wonderful prizes submitted one entry.
Sherrygo – A blog owned by Sherry submitted one entry and discussed about what children do not want from their parents. In her post, she shared her experience as a child. With that, I immediately consider that as one entry.
After I verified their posts, I immediately send them 100ec for each entry, and consider their posts as entries which may receive 1,000ec on the grand day. I am very thankful for their participation.
So I hope you join them and note that you can submit an entry everyday until April 23, 2008. For more details, you can visit this special post.
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Article Source: Happy Family Matters
