Taking a Plane Trip With Kids

Sooner or later you are going to find yourself having to take a plane trip with your kids. This is a nightmare because for your kid it amounts to being a small limited space within in which there is nothing to do for a really long time. No wondered thy become so whiny, noisy and annoying on these trips.

There is no way of stopping the plane so your kids can get out and run around or stretch their legs. They have to make do in the small cabin. Most moms know that this means annoying the other passengers by running up an d down again.

Hopefully the airlines you go on will have some form of electronic entertainment. Most seats have a television, even if you are flying in economy class. Try and choose seats where it is easy for your kids to see the television. I have even used an ordinary camcorder to entertain my kids on a long flight. I let them film. It keeps them amused for hours. For them looking in the viewfinder is the equivalent of watching television. A laptop with a DVD player or a portable DVD player can also keep your kids amused for many hours. Just be sure to charge those batteries before the plane takes off.

Of course if you are really lucky you will have kid stat enjoy reading books. I have a kid like that. My teenager reads. I can give her anything from a MAD magazine to Wuthering Heights and she will settle down with it on the plane.

Unfortunately most kids find airplane food yucky unless it is packaged in a really neat way. Tell the stewardess that you would rather that they don't drink sugary drinks like coke as that can inspire them to start yelling and screaming and running up and down the aisles.

You should bring your own food just in case your kids can't stomach the airplane stuff. Also I have found that most stewardesses are happy to warm up milk for you if need be.

The other big issue is pain in the ears from pressurizing during liftoff and landing. If they are really young they can get in a lot of pain. Encourage your children to keep chewing gum or drink with a straw to minimize the pressure.

You should also be careful of what toys you give them to play with on the plane. Plane cabins are small. You don't want musical instruments or pocket video games that are too noisy. You don't want glue or anything that can create a huge mess. Usually crayons are okay if the kids are old enough. However they are a bad idea if you think your kid is going to start putting his or her own graffiti all over the seats.

Temperature in airplanes tends to be chilly so be sure to bring sweaters and blankets so that they do not suffer from chattering teeth.

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Managing Team Building

Bullying is a fact of life but that does not mean it should be 'just let go'. If your child is the one being bullied it can cause a lot of damage to his or her self-esteem. Nowadays teens and young children are experience even more violence than ever. My own personal opinion is that this is caused by stress and nervous tensions. Teens today have more reason to be depressed than ever. They have schedules as bad as we do. It also seems they are losing their innocence when they are younger then ever.

Bullying has even caused suicides in very young children and teens because it makes them feel so left out of their peer group. A kid subject to bullying may also see no recourse or no way out of the situation. With no way to fight they give up and become very depressed.

If your child's behavior shows any changes you should encourage them to talk to you. Often a sullen or withdrawn kid or one that looks depressed is dealing with a bully at school. Let's face it. If you own a child they will not always tell you what is wrong. You need to perceptive. I am an excellent min d reader.

One tip off is the kid that keeps trying to think of ways to get out of going to school. Teens may not sleep or act listless. There may be no engagement at all in any social activities. They may be irritable and even bully other children to kind of release the energy of what is being done to them all day. In some cases the bullying is so bad that your kid can't eat, develops an ulcer or becomes physically ill.

If you find out there is a bully you need to instruct your child on how to avoid it. Often that is all you can do to help them avoid it. Make sure that they know that it is the bully that has the problem or that is not good enough and not they. You can also teach your child to avoid bullies whenever possible without changing too much of their lives. The idea is to find a compromise between avoiding the bully and having the bully control your life.

Kids also have to know that violence also makes it worse. Tell them of the dangers of fighting fire with fire and how that can cause conflicts to escalate.

You should also tell your kid to stand their ground and walk away from bullies. This is part of a lesson about choosing your battles wisely. If a bully approaches you make sure that they aren't afraid and that you will not be pushed around.

I always contact the school officials when this sort of thing happens. They are more serious about stopping bullying then ever as they have figured out that this type of aggression can lead to something as severe as the Columbine high school shootings.

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