Books for Troubled Kids

Sometimes you end up trying to help a kid that is going through a very troubled time in their life because of a divorce or a death. It could be your own child or the neighbour's child but you still want to help. However sometimes you feel completely helpless because it is hard to communicate with the upset child or see the world through his or her eyes. Thankfully there are some books out there on the market that can assist you with this type of situation.
A common situation is the one where you end up being the stepmother to a new kid through marriage either because of a death or divorce. There is a really good book on this topic on the market. It is called 'The Good Stepmother: A Practical Guide' and it by two women who have been there. The authors are Patricia Adams and Karen Savage. Every issue is discussed in this book including the ex spouse, children who act out their resentment and money issues. You are basically taught how to handle these situations so nobody is hurt, resentful or traumatized as a result of the big change. The chapters on how to handle the ex are also very important as you can save the children involved a lot of stress during the divorce and remarriage process if the two of you can learn how to get along.
Some kids really have a hard time adjusting to a divorce. A child can isolate and refuse to communicate to you. In this case you might want to purchase 'What's Going to Happen to Me? When Parents Separate or Divorce. This is a paperback by Eda LeShan that is directed to kids who are eight years of age or older and who are hurt and mystified by the divorce process. It is just a great all purpose book about the subject to give to any child as it explains what goes on and helps the child feel more emotionally secure.
If you have a depressed kid or one that just seems woefully ignorant of how to handle the issues that he or she might be facing. Heartbeats and Other Stories by Peter D. Sieruta is a classic book about a set of twins that go through all of the issues such as temptation to suicide, teen pregnancy and feeling picked on or lonely. Most kids identify with the two main characters which is reassuring and educational for them.
If you have a new baby you will love the funny and helpful book by Edward R. Christophersen Baby Owner's Manual. The illustrations and photographs in this book are wonderful and will help ward off that case of post-partum depression after you have been up all night for months. It is always good to know that others have been through same stressful experiences that you have just after having a baby.

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Beware of Toxic T Shirts

I have been reading all about how your T-Shirt could be toxic! We are talking about those inexpensive T-Shirts that are made out of a polyester blend. I buy these types of T-shirts for my kids to wear all of the time but apparently I might as well hand them a dose of Cancer on a platter. Some of these cheaper polyester t-shirts and polyester blends are so toxic they actually give off fumes.
I now feel like a villain for making my kids wear polyester t-shirts. First of all the manufacturing of this fabiric is really bad for the environment. The material is made from refined petroleum that is instantaneously super heated at 800 degrees Celsius. The fabric is created when a heavy metal such as antimony is added to the mix so that the resulting ethylene turns into goo. The goo that is left over is cooled and becomes fabric. This is what we are wearing against our skin when we wear polyester. It is a creation of heavy metals and petroleum. Do you really want your child's sensitive skin in contact with these types of toxins. They are horribly carcinogenic.
The scary thing about this is that if you sweat you might be leaching out these chemicals into your skin. You might want to think twice before you consider working out in a T-shirt because a Danish study found that as much as ten percent of the chemicals found in a polyester t-shirt might possibly end up on your skin. Just think of how hard yo8ur kids play sometimes. They break into sweats just like we do. They also get caught in the rain. If you wear polyester t-shirts while they are wet you are more likely to leech toxins out toxins onto the skin.
Printed T-shirts are equally toxic. Discharged print ink can also degrade and be absorbed by the skin over time. That is why it is not a good idea to sleep in a polyester or printed ink T-shirt if you can help it.
Natural organic cotton T-shirts are much better choices both for day and night wear. These do not necessarily have to be more expensive. The key is to shop carefully online and look for items that are made out of 100% cotton.
If you want your children to wear the absolutely healthiest clothes possible then you should have them wear unbleached cotton. Stay away from clothes that are dyed.
Another tip is to launder every single item of clothing that you buy for a kid before you have them wear it the first time. This is because you do not know what kind of preservatives, fire guards or other chemicals that have been put on the T-Shirt to protect it.
Some studies have found that chemical bug sprays have been added to shipments of T-shirts from Asia to keep insects like weevils or mothballs off oaf the merchandise.

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