admin, Author at 3 Kids and Us

Maintaining the Value of Your Car

October 21, 2016 by admin

Your car should be one of your most prized possessions. From the first time you drove your car to the last time you see it, your car will bring a significant value into your life. While difficult at times, maintaining the value of your car is extremely important, especially if you plan on selling it in the near future.

The following tips will help maximize the value of your vehicle, regardless of how long you’ve owned it:

Garage Your Vehicle

Try to park your car in the garage. This will help protect it from the outside elements when you’re not driving.

If you don’t have a garage to park in, make sure to purchase and use a protective cover for your vehicle. They aren’t very expensive, but the extra protection can help you increase the value of your vehicle down the road.

Garages aren’t always an option if you live in a big city, especially with the rising costs of parking spaces. Aim to park your vehicle in a garage during the winter months when the snow and rain can cause rust and heavily affect the paint quality.

Keep an Accurate Maintenance Log

Accurate maintenance logs are important for a variety of reasons. When it comes time to sell your vehicle, having a paper trail of oil changes and tune ups will be proof enough for the buyer that the car is in good condition. If you plan on trading it in, you’ll have more negotiating power over the trade-in value. If taking out a car title loan is in your future, these records can help you get a larger sum of money from the loan company.

Whenever you take your vehicle in for an oil change or for regular service, make sure you keep every receipt and maintain an accurate log.

Watch for Curbs

Careless drivers always have issues with running into curbs when turning around corners. If your car hits a curb, your alloy wheels will scratch easily, potentially costing you a significant of money down the road when you try to make a sale.

Play it safe and slow down when going around corners. Your car will maintain its value for a longer period of time.

Don’t Smoke in your Vehicle

Do not smoke inside of your vehicle. Removing cigarette smoke from the upholstery of a vehicle can be very costly, and in some cases, impossible. You’ll have a difficult time selling your vehicle for market value, if you’ll be able to sell it at all.

While you won’t be able to detect the smell of smoke inside your vehicle, other people will. If the interior of the vehicle smells like smoke now, be sure to get it detailed extensively as soon as possible and use air fresheners until you’ve determined the smell has completely disappeared.

Clean the Inside on a Regular Basis

Similar to regular engine maintenance, cleaning the interior of your vehicle at least every other week is essential to keeping its value as high as possible.

Beyond vacuuming, car owners need to shampoo the carpets and seats, clean the steering wheel and cup holders, and apply protective sealant for future stain prevention. The sweat you put into cleaning your vehicle now will pay off huge in the future.

While purchasing a car is never considered an investment, you must invest your own time into regular upkeep and maintenance in order to maximize the car’s value in the future. By doing so, you could be adding thousands of dollars to your vehicle’s value.

Chief Safety Officer and Parent All-in-One: Encourage your Children to Explore Their World Safely

October 14, 2016 by admin

Every parent wants what’s best for their kids, and much of it has to do with keeping them safe. As children mature, they can’t be monitored by their parents and guardians every minute of every day. That’s why it’s absolutely imperative to teach your kids ways to explore their world while keeping themselves out of danger at the same time.

Age-appropriate safety lessons

When it comes to teaching kids about safety, start with the basics and add new lessons as your child grows and matures.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children recommends teaching children to memorise their home address and telephone number as soon as possible. That small yet imperative bit of information can help a little one get home if and when they are ever separated from a parent or guardian.

The ISPCC also recommends that you hold your young child’s hand any time you are together in a public place such as a zoo, grocery store, movie theatre or other location.

You might be surprised at how quickly an untethered child can get lost in a crowd. Holding their hand will ensure that you always keep a very close eye on your toddler.

Travel safety tips for children and their parents

Whether you and your child are travelling across town or taking a trip around the globe, a few savvy safety tips can prevent a tragedy from occurring. Buckle up in safety belts and child seats every time you go any place in your car. When your kid goes on a field trip with their schoolmates, encourage your child to stay close to a teacher or chaperone at all times. When choosing a car, consider options that are more child and family friendly like a Dodge Durango.

Being a parent is a job that comes with plenty of responsibility. There is a gentle art to teaching your child to keep themselves safe without making them afraid to explore this big, beautiful world.

Teach your kids how to stay safe online

The Internet can be a wondrous resource chock-full of valuable information. With a computer, a kid can find practically anything they require to study for tests and complete homework assignments. Unfortunately, they may also find a boat load of inappropriate material.

Pornography is only part of the problem. According to Internet Matters, kids from kindergarten to high school often stumble across unattended chat rooms, violent video games, websites that show animal cruelty, online gambling rooms, websites that promote extremism and/or terrorism, and other unsavory online sites.

To protect your child from unwholesome internet exploration, keep the computer in a family area where you can keep an eye on them at all times. If this plan doesn’t work with your family lifestyle, and your kid has a computer or other internet device in their own room, install a special app that limits their access to adult-oriented sites.

If you or your child does encounter a worrisome website, report the URL to an internet watchdog such as Internet Watch Foundation, True Vision, or ParentPort. Websites that promote any sort of terrorism may be reported to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit, or CTIRU.

Victoria Williams has two kids ages 4 and 7 and enjoys writing parenting articles where she can offer up some practical advice for new mommies as well as share ideas with other parents who know what it’s like!

Toys Around The World

October 13, 2016 by admin

The world may be made up of different cultures and traditions, but we all give something to our children as toys. Some are unique to a particular culture; some can be found almost anywhere. Whatever toys we give our kids, we have our number one reason to do this – to make them happy.

Let us visit some educational toys in Australia and around the world and what our children can learn from them:

Matryoshka – this is the nesting dolls of Russia. This world famous doll is instantly recognizable as a Russian contribution to the world of toys. The majority of the doll’s theme is about family – the nested dolls inside forms a family when all are taken outside.

If you happen to have one, you can ask your child what they think of it. Ask them who they associate themselves with the dolls. If you have multiple matryoshkas, you may take all parts apart and ask your child to match it. Play matching could provide entertainment for hours.

Puppets – it is said that Ancient Greece and Ancient India practiced puppetry, with India’s Tamil literature, mentioned this around 2^nd century BC. Wow, that’s ancient!

Today, we can make sock puppets with our kids. We can help them create multiple characters – complete with button-eyes and water coloured-bodies. Playing with sock puppets can foster imagination during play activity.

As an alternate, you can create stick puppets together. Cut out a circle, draw the eyes, nose, and mouth and paste it on a popsicle stick or at the top any empty bottle. You can cut the “dress” of the body and let your child colour them and paste it to the stick or bottle. Instant craft project and hours of play.

Kites – Ancient China were the first ones to create a kite. While the original intention of making the first kite is not for kid’s use, nowadays, we can see kites of different designs in parks and kite tournaments.

When I was still little, my friends would take a sheet of paper, fold it in the sides, and tie strings on each side and then run away – let our kites fly with us. I figured this is also a fun activity to do with my child, yours too. You can make the kite more personal by adding some design to the paper, let your kid’s imagination run wild. Then run around together, it will surely be fun.

Snakes and Ladders – another toy that originated in India. This toy, as a worldwide classic, can be played by multiple players. So there’s no limit to the fun this toy can bring.

You can include the dog, the vacuum, anything as playmates. Add to the fun; you can teach your child to count while moving the tokens around.

In Australia, with the diversity of insects and animals, you can take pictures of insects and animals on your phone and create an album of safe and unsafe animals. You can tell your kids which ones are safe to play with and to stay away from the dangerous ones.

Around the world, people are creating new toys for children and even for adults. Constantly improving in technological advances, toys are getting more and more sophisticated. While improvements are good to have, having fun and making memories together with your children are the better than techy gadgets and flashy new toys.

How to Spend Less Time With Tech and More Time With Your Kids

October 12, 2016 by admin

Your handheld technology is an every day tool that helps you engage with friends, work and connect with the rest of the world. Your smartphone is used so often that it feels like an extension of your body. However, when you’re a mom, it is important that your attention isn’t consumed by your technology. While in the presence of your kids, you must make sure that you don’t rely too heavily on your tech devices for entertainment, work projects or communication. Your kids need your attention, as it is an opportunity for them to engage with their number one role model. Here are some tips for how you can steer away from the never-ending distractions of technology and focus more on your children:

Tech Breaks

Take a look at your daily schedule and assess when you can take breaks from all of your devices. These tech-free time frames will allow you and your family uninterrupted face-to-face interaction. Rather than only having half of your attention focused on one another, you can engage in meaningful conversation or bond through a group activity. This sounds easy enough, but you must keep in mind that notifications on your phone won’t desist during these family times. You may receive emails from the school, text messages from friends or social media updates that will pull your attention away from your family. It is best that you put your phone away in a drawer or your bag while you’re on your tech break. Waiting an hour to respond to an email or text isn’t a big deal. Instead, your availability and attention should be dedicated to your kids during the time you spend together. Put up a family calendar where you can mark your tech-free time periods so everyone in the house can see.

Good Habits

Develop good habits that help you balance your interactions with your tech and your kids. Before you engage on your phone while with your child, let them know why your attention will be shortly drawn away from them. It is important they have an expectation that you will be engaged in a quick task, rather than feeling ignored. However, if you are constantly diverting your attention from them to your phone, they will feel like they aren’t as deserving of acknowledgement and interaction. If your child seems to need your attention while you’re on your phone, you should give it to them. You don’t have to completely shift gears, but at least provide acknowledgement such as, “I would love to give you my full attention in a moment. I have to finish this one task and then I can focus on you.” This will let your kid know that you care and also teach them how they can exercise patience and expectation management.

Fewer Notifications

Choose phones that offer settings allowing you to not be constantly interrupted during your time with your family. Your phone should be able to let you receive texts and updates silently, with a small vibration alert. If you have your phone volume on high for notifications and calls, the sound will be a terrible distraction. You can also arrange how you’d like to visually see your notifications. They can be a small banner that pops up then disappears, versus a list of trivial updates that will crowd your phone screen and pull your interest. The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge allows you to designate notifications to the edge of the phone to decrease distractions. It also has a specific Do Not Disturb setting that will let you program which notifications can come through and which ones to silence. This customizable option is more nuanced that muting your phone and is a great tool for staying in the moment with your kids, without missing out on any important calls or messages.

An Insider’s Guide To Malta

October 6, 2016 by admin

Malta is still a largely unknown destination, and is most definitely one of Europe’s hidden treasures. It has loads of great attractions, which makes it an ideal holiday spot for travel junkies of any kind. From great historical sites, beautiful and tasty fresh food to stretches of golden sands, here are the hidden secrets of Malta’s wondrous archipelago!

Beaches

Photo: Creative Commons

You can’t visit Malta’s tropical paradise without spending at least some of your trip on one of the many beautiful beaches. There are several ones around the coast that offer a diverse experience for visitors. The North coast is the most popular with tourists, and therefore the best for convenience and amenities. It can be easily accessed by bus.

Further South spots such as Ghar Lapsi and St. Peter’s pool, provide more picturesque settings and are much quieter therefore a great place to meet locals and get involved with some hospitable local culture. Over on the island of Gozo, Dwerja bay is a must-visit destination for anyone who loves a spectacular view and a natural phenomenon. It’s home to the famed Azure Window, which is probably the island’s most photographed spot since it’s been featured on the popular TV series “Game of thrones” in recent years.

Food

Traditional Maltese food is often seasonal, with hearty and warming stews (try the snails or the rabbit) in the colder months. The location, in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea means that fresh fish is always in abundance, and many of the Maltese most well known dishes center around the catch of the day.

Photo: Creative Commons

Lampuki Pie is a traditional fish dish that is served regularly, and is the perfect way to fill up after a day at the beach or a hike around the cliff faces. Another popular maritime delight is the ‘Aljotta’, a simple fish soup seasoned with onions, garlic, lemon and mint. All foodies will definitely appreciate a visit to the Marsaxlokk fish market, which takes place on a Sunday morning and showcases some of the best weekly local produce.

Attractions

Fishermen at Marsaxlokk (Creative Commons)

As previously mentioned, one incredible benefit of choosing Malta for your summer vacation, is that there’s something to do for everyone. The more adventurous traveler has a whole host of climbing, diving and hiking activities to choose from. History buffs will love the many prehistoric remains that are dotted all across the archipelago, and there’s even a great nightlife scene on offer for those who love a good party.
Some of the main highlights include the wondrous Azure Window, Fungus Rock and Inland Sea, which are all natural wonders caused by the collapse of limestone caves on the shore of Gozo. Valletta and medieval Mdina are a must-visit, with their stunning city walls and quaint backstreets that are perfect for a leisurely evening stroll. Ta’Qali offers parks and gardens, so is a great escape from the main hub, and includes an aviation museum that details Malta’s most-significant part in the Second World War.

Accommodation

As Malta is still an up-and-coming destination on the international map, there are a huge number of accommodation options available. The Corinthia hotel is one of the most luxurious hotels, offering a 5 star experience only a short way from the beautiful St. Georges bay. It provides beautiful views and is a great place to take some time out and relax.
For more budget options, there are a limited amount of hostels on the islands.

The Boho hostel is a personal favorite, with a wonderfully relaxed and social atmosphere. It’s a great place to meet like-minded travelers and swap recommendations for things to do. You can also opt for Airbnb; there are several lettings available across the islands, which will all provide you with a true feel for the way the locals live.

Malta truly is a traveler’s paradise, and with its rising popularity, it won’t be long before its quiet streets and golden beaches are overrun with tourists. Book now and be sure to get a taste of this hidden gem.