Parenting Archive

My thoughts on parenthood, and what it's like to be a mom in the Philippines.

Rainy Season Checklist: Keeping Your Kids Safe & Healthy During Rainy Season

Rainy Days! argh! it’s so hard to wake up on rainy mornings(yet it was so hard to get back to sleep during heavy rains.. paranoia attack!)..it’s rainy/typhoon season once again.. and as always, we have to be prepared.. not just for typhoons but as well as for other things this season brings..

Here’s my Rainy Day Safety Checklist:

For the kids:

Vitamins! Vitamins! Vitamins! This season is very friendly to bacteria and other microorganisms.. and the spread of diseases and that is why we need to boost the immune system more. Nothing is scarier than rainy season+ weak immune system (fiesta for the viruses). Their vitamin C intake is now doubled as compared to their regular intake. Aside from their growth vitamins, I also added energy boosting supplements, to help my boys cope up with school activities and my little ones to maintain energy even the weather is telling otherwise.

Rainy Season is also Dengue Season.. and to keep my kids safe from mosquitoes, I bought insect repellants, lotion and patch. The patch will be put on strategic places such as under the computer table, under the study table, their playhouse and inside their small activity gym.

Hooded Jackets is also a must. Theirs was a lil small now so we’ll be buying bigger ones. And I know where we are heading to buy jackets.. Greenhills Shopping Center (sana lang tapos na sila maglipat lipat ng stalls nila).

For the house:

We need a dozen or so umbrellas. Actually I already bought some when I went to Divisoria for school supplies shopping, I also have some umbrellas from events I attended (times like these, you’ll thank PRs who give umbrellas as token).. my kids.. they thought those umbrellas were samurais.. sigh. I need another trip to Divisoria for some serious umbrella shopping.

Flood Control er Flood preparation.. having experienced Ondoy, we’re quite paranoid of what rainy season has to offer.. and if ever that happens again, we have to be prepared. Orient the kids on what they should do…make a checklist of what’s needed to be saved and what we can let go.. and with a household of 4 kids and no helpers, we have to be systematic if ever another flood happens. Good thing my boys are bigger now and is more responsible. Aside from that, I do not want to experience the same hunger we had during Ondoy, so I am preparing a basket of goodies (water+biscuits+ vitamins).. which will be placed upstairs.

For Mommy and Daddy:

Of course we also need to boost our immune system (di lang naman bata ang nagkakasakit no!) and with that, we’re also doubling our vitamin c intake and we drink lots and lots of water.

and for me not to miss my pill.. bed weather.. hahaaays..

How about you? what’s your rainy season check list? How do you make sure your kids are safe and healthy during rainy season?

Parenting Tip on Helping Your Kid Cope With School Demands

My second born is now in Grade 1 and as I observed it, he’s having a hard time coping with the new schedule. He sleeps earlier and not as bubbly and playful as he was when he’s in pre-school. He’s no in school from 7 Am to 1:30 Pm, where as when he was in pre -school it’s only 3 hours of school. Another thing, in pre-school, they only tackle 2 subjects per day, now in grade school, they tackle all subjects everyday! Poor boy:(

I know some moms with a first grader can relate to my situation. So I have been thinking how I can make it easier for him and help him cope with the demands of longer school hours and more difficult subjects.

To start, feed your child well. Prepare a heavy breakfast so that they would have enough energy for the day. Also make sure that they have something to munch on during recess or break time. Make him feel more special by bringing his lunch. That’s how we do it here, as much as possible, I make it a point to bring his lunch to school so that he won’t feel being away from me that long.

Give your kid vitamins and other supplements. Being in school with other kids exposes him to different virus, specially that he’s now in school for a longer period of time. To make sure that he’s protected, I give him extra dose of his vitamins.

Do not force your kid to study more. For my grade 3, we spend an hour each day for studying (class then meryenda then tutor time with Mommy).. but for my Grade 1, I only give 30 minutes or less so that he’ll have more time to rest.

Let them watch TV or play for a while. As much as I don’t want them to watch TV or play a gadget, I realized it’s their way of relaxing. Now, I let watch TV for an hour a day (but still no gadget, that’s a Saturday treat!)

I guess in time, a few more weeks or so, my Grade 1 boy will be able to cope with the school demands and I want to make that few more weeks easier on him.

If you have a Grade 1 student, have you noticed the same?

Increasing your car mileage

Fuel seems to be getting more expensive by the minute, which has given motorists reason to accept the inevitability of paying more at the pumps, or so it would seem. At a time when car owners are faced with having to tighten the purse strings, it might seem impossible to save money on fuel when the price seems to be rising ever higher, but you can save the amount of petrol or diesel you use for your car simply by changing the way your drive. It’s as simple as performing a vehicle check with Auto Trader.

The first thing you could look at is how fast your drive. It’s a well-known fact that the faster you drive, the more fuel you use. Simply by slowing down a little while driving up and down a motorway or dual carriageway by around 10mph on long journeys, the fuel that’s currently in your tank could last a little longer.

Another thing you could look at is trying to look for shorter routes to regular destinations. If there are some available, it might be worth considering going that way instead of the one you presently use. Providing those short-cuts are legal, they help you to save fuel as well as time.

Something else you should do to conserve fuel is look at all the short journeys you take which last about two or three minutes. If you decided to walk instead, it will save you a lot of fuel in the long run. Driving sensibly is the best thing you can do to cut down of your petrol bills and doing so will make life a little bit easier.