But, alas, you are not superhuman and at times you might even feel as though you are not doing enough. It’s okay – we have all been there. However, you still want to take a few moments to think about how you may need to adjust or acquire new insurance policies in order to further protect your family. With added financial protection, you will find that the stress of parenting just became a little less intense.

Auto Insurance

You may already have auto insurance, but it may not be the best coverage for your family and may be more expensive than you want it to be. Therefore, even if you are currently considered a high-risk driver or you need cheap SR22 insurance, you will want to look for a better deal. When you take the time to find more suitable auto insurance, you can get higher payouts for injuries sustained in accidents and you can even get a better deal for when your teenagers start driving.

Life Insurance

It is important to make sure that you are getting a large enough life insurance policy for both you and your spouse. Even if your spouse is a stay-at-home parent who does not financially contribute, you want to remember how important his or her role is. If your spouse were to unexpectedly pass away while you have small children, you will have to pay for daycare, as well as other things that would have normally been taken care of by your spouse. You may also want to consider obtaining small individual life insurance policies for the children. Just make sure that these are policies that the children can continue to pay for once they become legal adults, as this may help them lock in a better price for insurance that they would have had to get eventually on their own.

Home Insurance

When you are looking over your home insurance, you want to make sure that the policy has not only enough protection to rebuild or repair your home in the event of a disaster, but enough for personal belongings. While it is true that the most important things cannot be replaced with money, it will help your family deal with a crisis if they are able to replace some of the things that the lost. Even if you are a tenant and you do not own your home, you still need to protect your personal belongings. As a renter, you need to invest your money into a quality renter’s insurance policy.

Once Everything Is Planned

Once you have planned all of your financial matters that will allow you to better protect your family, you can make time to relax with your loved ones. Grab the family and spend quality time together. Remember that the financial matters are for the future, but what is the most crucial thing once those issues are set is spending time with everyone in the family. You do not want the kid to grow up realizing how much of their family time was lost because you spend all of your time working on other things, even if you had the best of intentions in your heart.

The post Tips For Keeping Your Family Well Protected With Insurance appeared first on Oddfamily.co.uk. A parenting blog where the children run the show.

All together, I’d say it was a totally successful event. It’s not what I have done for the past four decades, but it’s a new chapter…and it’s wonderful.

The post Time for Tea appeared first on Oddfamily.co.uk. A parenting blog where the children run the show.

There comes a time in every child’s life when they become interested in cooking, whether it’s just putting some bread in the toaster or wondering how to make a roast dinner. However, the kitchen can sometimes be a dangerous, which is why it’s always advisable to set some ground rules that they can easily follow.

However, sometimes some of the fun can be taken out of cooking when it becomes stressful and there are just too many rules for them to follow. Allowing some freedom is key to letting kids experience the joys of cooking for themselves, so there are actually some rules for you to follow too! If you’re thinking of teaching the kids how to cook, here are five rules that they might want to set for you.

1. Mistakes will be made and that’s okay

One of the things about learning is that mistakes have to be made to learn what to do and what not to do. Can you remember being taught how to do something and not making any mistakes along the way? That’s because it’s natural to mess up sometimes, so if the kids burn the toast sometimes or are too keen on the flour for cakes, that’s just part of the process!

2. Don’t worry about the mess

If there’s something that kids everywhere are known for, it’s creating a mess out of nothing. However, this shouldn’t stop you from letting them loose (obviously to an extent!) in the kitchen, especially when it comes to preparation; it’s almost mandatory for everyone to create a mess during this stage, no matter what the age!

3. Let them experiment

Sure, you might know that adding mustard to your cupcakes isn’t going to win you an audience with Mary Berry or Paul Hollywood any time soon, but that’s part of the fun for the kids. Allowing them creative freedom to find out what works and what needs to be thrown in the bin adds a lot to the experience and who knows, maybe one day they will be able to create something that would make Ms. Berry and Mr. Hollywood jealous?

4. Take your time

Unless you are starting slowly and teaching the kids how to toast crumpets, you should never rush a cooking session. Children are able to retain information far easier when it’s told to them at a slower pace and they will also struggle to enjoy it as much if you’re rushing around the kitchen in between assignments for work. Make an afternoon of it, giving you and the kids plenty of time to clean up afterwards too.

5. Tuck in!

Cooking is a process that requires patience and as children aren’t exactly the best when it comes to attention spans, waste no time in tucking into your food once it’s ready. Nothing could be more frustrating for a child than being told they have to wait a few extra hours before they can eat something that they’ve just made, so prepare the cutlery for immediate munching! If their first attempt isn’t quite as delicious as it should be, it might be a good idea to break the news to them gently…

Bodnant Welsh Food run their very own kids cookery school details of which can be found here

The post 5 Rules for cooking with kids by kids appeared first on Oddfamily.co.uk. A parenting blog where the children run the show.

Take True Potential Investor’s ‘Financing a Family’ quiz: here!

The post Financing a family quiz: how much will your family cost you? appeared first on Oddfamily.co.uk. A parenting blog where the children run the show.

A lot of parents are worried about stifling their child’s creativity when they are learning about the world around them. Nurturing an environment in which they can express themselves is crucial to their development. Some may be encouraged to learn a musical instrument or take up a sport. If you’re looking for something a little closer to home, setting up an arts and crafts room could be the perfect way to get the creative juices flowing. Gently encouraging your children to make things not only gets their brain working. It also teaches them vital hands-on skills that will see them in good stead later in life.

Choose a location – It’s great if you have a spare room going. With a small investment, it could be transformed into a fun place in which your child feels safe. It’s best to consider the room’s surroundings. You want somewhere quiet and without distractions so that they’ll be able to focus on their experiments. Also, consider the possibility of things getting messy. You want to keep everything together, so when the time comes to tidy up it won’t be too much of a challenge. If you don’t have a spare room available, try converting a corner of your child’s bedroom. This will create a safe and familiar place for them to get creative and allows them to feel like they are in control.

Materials – Of course, you’ll need to keep supplies well stocked at all times. But you also need to be careful about protecting your kids. Use your common sense and don’t let small children play with sharp objects. Be vigilant. Stock up on things like safety scissors, coloured paper and fabric, Tecbond glue sticks and a range of pens and pencils. Think about decorative things like glitter and pins. Keep things eco-friendly by using recycled materials. Think of old clothing and curtains as a great way to make use of unwanted textiles. Remember never to leave a child unsupervised and help them with the things that might pose a risk of injury. Always keep hazardous materials stored away out of reach.

Crafts children

Picture Credit

Get ideas – Once you’re all set up, it’s time to find activities to participate in. There are great examples of crafts on children’s TV shows. Some are dedicated to it entirely. Watching along and following the instructions is a great way to spend time together and helps your child learn observation skills. Visit your local library and stock up on books that are filled with family craft ideas. If you look hard enough, there are even a lot of blogs and websites dedicated to children’s crafts online. You can find specific themes depending on the time of year, and with Halloween right around the corner it’s a great time to get your hands dirty.

Feel free to share your ideas and creations with us below. We’d love to hear from you. Or if you’re struggling for inspiration, here are two fun examples we came up with ourselves to get you started.

The post Creating a Family Craft Room at Home appeared first on Oddfamily.co.uk. A parenting blog where the children run the show.

LC Kids Membership details can be found here, and funds raised through LC Kids directly support Lincoln Center’s arts education activities, outreach initiatives, and free performances. To learn more watch this video.

LC Kids is kicking off their family programing, this weekend with a special performance of Sleeping Beauty with David Gonzales (recommended for ages 6+) and next weekend, Story Pirates Greatest Hits Show (recommended for ages 4+). Plus LC Kids Spring Fling, a free event in May.

Sleeping Beauty with David Gonzalez

Saturday, April 18 at 11:00
Clark Studio Theater, 165 W 65th Street, 7th Floor
(recommended for ages 6+)
Tickets: $10-25

Story Pirates Greatest Hits Show

Sunday, April 26 at 11:00
With a special activity presented by the Children’s Museum of Manhattan
Stanley H Kaplan Penthouse, 165 W 65thStreet, 10th Floor
(recommended for ages 4+)
Tickets: $25

LC Kids Spring Fling

Saturday, May 9 from 11:00 – 2:00
A fun-filled day of performances, crafts and activities designed for kids across the plazas of Lincoln Center!
(recommended for ALL AGES!)
Tickets: FREE

You can sign up for an LC Kids membership or learn more about the programs here: kids.lincolncenter.org

The post Lincoln Center Kids appeared first on Oddfamily.co.uk. A parenting blog where the children run the show.

Less than a fifth of Yorkshire’s youngsters (17% to be specific) spend time outdoors in what is the region’s famous countryside, according to a survey conducted by Yorkshire Water of 1,200 people.

To counteract this trend, the company, which is the second largest landowner in Yorkshire, has created a free outdoor adventure pack to help thousands of parents entertain youngsters and prevent boredom from setting in during the summer holidays.

Some of the most popular reservoirs in Yorkshire to take the adventure pack to are Swinsty, Fewston, Damflask, Sccamonden, Winscar, Langsett and Scar House.

A daily prize draw will be held on Yorkshire Water’s Facebook page, offering the chance to win a luxury picnic rucksack to encourage families with young children to spend more time outdoors.

Geoff Lomas, Recreation Manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We are lucky enough to live in a county that has fantastic coastline, historic market towns and cities, and beautiful, wild countryside. However, our research has found that most youngsters prefer to spend most of their time indoors rather than enjoying the delights of ‘God’s Own County’. Our adventure pack has been designed to get more youngsters participating in a range of fun outdoor activities.”

The adventure packs, aimed at under fourteens, are available for download, for free on the company’s website. The adventure packs feature a range of fun and educational games to play outdoors including ‘scavanger hunting’, plant spotting, cloud hunting, bird cake recipes and duck feeding.

Most visitors to Yorkshire Water’s land are over 55 years in age, but the company hopes to attract more families with young children to its woodland, reservoirs, and moorland.

Yorkshire Water takes care of 72,000 acres of countryside and welcomes around two million visitors to its land every year.

To download a Yorkshire Water adventure pack and make the most of the upcoming mini heatwave visit: www.yorkshirewater.com/freetoenjoy.

The post It’s a Summer of Spending Nearly All Their Time Indoors for Yorkshire’s Youngsters appeared first on Oddfamily.co.uk. A parenting blog where the children run the show.

So, let’s take have a look at some things to consider, if you still don’t have a properly prepared will:

• Exactly who will inherit what? Minus a prepared will, means that the government will get to choose who will, and won’t inherit your assets based on the Law of Intestacy. Most of us have no desire at all to leave our estate to people we have not chosen.
• Guardianship of children – Arrangement of a lawful guardian is a very important choice to be made, and without the advantage of a will, the authorities can then take it upon themselves to decide on a legal guardian to look after your children. This essentially means that your loved ones may end up with people that you would never have chosen to take care of them. This will generate distress for your children, and those family members, who were expecting to be their guardians.
• Inheritance Tax- Who out there wants to pay one penny more than they already do to the taxman?! With a written will, you can choose to lower the amount of inheritance tax you pay, if not fully eradicating all of it.
• Funeral Preparations – Without a will, the fees for arranging a funeral will be handed to a family member or friends to pay for in advance. This can then be claimed back later from the estate, if there is any money left in it, otherwise the friend or relative may not recover the costs.
• Nowadays, pre-paid funeral plans, are more popular than ever
• Charity Donation – Should you want to leave some money to any charity or organisation, this will become impossible, due to nothing being in place to specify your wishes.

And these are some of the reasons why you should get professional assistance to prepare your will rather than leave everything to chance, and the above are just a few of the basics.

Let’s now take a quick look at the benefits of employing a professional will service:

Expertise and Experience

It is in everyone’s best interests to hire a professional service, due to what has happened before so many times in the past. With even a minor mistake when dealing with such matters, it can create total disarray and end in costly and unnecessary legal battles.

Some Great Peace of Mind

If you want the very best for your family’s, relatives and friends future, it’s in your best interests to put everything in order before anything just might occur. After which, you won’t have deep seated worries regarding such matters.

Do as many others have already done for yourself and your loved ones.

The post Why a Will Needs to Be Looked After by Experts appeared first on Oddfamily.co.uk. A parenting blog where the children run the show.