From birth, warm, light and responsive communication help babies and kids feel safe and secure in their worlds. Additionally, it builds and strengthens relationships between children and their parents and carers.

To grow and develop and nurture skills, children want safety, security and robust relationships, so communicating well with children is vital for their growth and development.

Address The Child With His/her Name

Always open request with the child’s name,” Ananya, will you please…..” As it helps to get their attention before delivering your message.

Connect With The Kid Before You Direct

Before giving your child directions, squat to your child’s eye level and have an eye-to-eye contact to urge his/her attention. Teach him the way to focus: “Ananya, I need your eyes. “Beth, I need your ears”.: Offer an equivalent visual communication when talking. Do not make your eye contact so intense that your child perceives it as controlling instead of connecting

Be Brief And Keep Simple

Too much talking is a very common mistake when dialoguing about an issue., so put the main directive in the opening sentence.

kids have trouble following too many things given at once. We can probably relate that to travel directions when we ask someone how to reach xyz place and he/she directs us with lot many routes and turns we tend to forget later. Now think how kids will feel if you gave him/her a lot of information at once.

Stay Positive

Instead of commanding “No running”, “no jumping” be polite to the kid and tell them “Outside in park you run, jump and play. Inside you may walk”

When…Then…Magic!

“When you get your teeth brushed, Then we will begin the story”, “When your homework is finished, then you can go for playing” this implies that you expect obedience. Whereas in “If” there’s a choice which you don’t want to choose the other option

Speak Progressively Correctly

As discussed earlier, younger the child, shorter and simpler your directives should be. Think about your child level of understanding. Giving an example, a common mistake that parents make is asking a 3-year-old child, “Why did you do that” and s you are aware most adults find it difficult to answer because the question is linked to behaviour. Instead, try, “Beth, Let’s talk about what you did.”

Give Notice

If your child is indulged in an activity and it’s time to depart, give them notice so that they get the idea and aware that its time to leave. Providing an example,  “George, it’s nearly time to go. Start saying goodbye to Mia please.”

Rhyme Rule Works!

“if you hit, you must sit” get your child to repeat them

Don’t Be Hurry To Children

No hurry-burry to children, give them advance notice. For example, if you are leaving the place with the kid say, “we are leaving, say bye-bye to uncle, aunty, toys.”

Calm The Listener

Restore emotional equilibrium before giving your directive otherwise, it’s a waste of time. Nothing gets in when someone is in an emotional wreck and its same for adult and so are kids

Provide Likeable Alternatives

“You cant go to the park alone” instead of stopping it there give an alternate that you can play in neighbour’s yard

Share The Feelings

“When you run away from mommy in the store, mommy felt so worried and tensed not seeing you around” – share the feeling

Be A Good Listener

Try not to interrupt or scold your kids when they are telling you a story. Kids will lose interest in sharing their feelings/thoughts with you when you shift off from their story and use the time to teach them a lesson.

Speak Empathetically Correctly

Threats and judgmental openers are more likely to get a child into a defensive state. Instead of using “I need you to clean the table.”,  Say, “I would like you to clean the table”,

We all have some habits we wish if we didn’t. Or a habit we really want to change, but feel helpless about it. Maybe you recognize that you need to spend less time on social media or playing online games. Or maybe you have tried a dozen times to quit smoking. Or you want to get more exercise, but feel lazy to start.

Whatever habit you’re trying to change, somehow you couldn’t succeed in finding the key to getting it done. It’s not just you. It’s the same for most people.

Identify the underlying reason for the habit

All habits have a certain function. For example, The habit of brushing teeth in morning and night prevents a visit to the dentist. The habit of checking your email first at work helps you organize your day. So called unhealthy habits are not any different. They too have a function.

Some people often comfort themselves by mindless eating when feeling low. Cruising the internet for hours could be another habit to avoid interacting with a partner or kids. Smoking (in addition to being just plain addictive) could also be a way to take an outing to pause and think. Drinking an excessive amount of liquor could also be the sole way you recognize how to be social. If you would like to interrupt the habit, you’ve got to hold the grip on whatever function the habit is serving.

How to start?

The first step for breaking a certain habit, you need to start with self-awareness.

It’s easy to fall trap to a habit. Later, you’ll feel guilty or spend some time dreaming about how you would like things were . But these thoughts take you far away from what’s actually happening.

An awareness which will show you ways to truly make the change.

• When does a certain habit happen?
• How many times do you do it each day?
• Where are you more tempted to do it?
• Who are you with?
• What triggers the behavior?

Simply tracking answer to these questions will make you more conscious of the behavior and provides you with dozens of ideas for stopping it.

Choose something to switch the unhealthy habit.

Just willing yourself to alter isn’t enough because it doesn’t address the underlying benefit of the behaviour you would like to replace. Some ideas for a replacement behaviour can be: breathe the count of 4 and exhale to the count of 8, focusing only on your breathing. Do this 4 times and see how you are feeling. If you need more support, stand there until you come up with one reason why you shouldn’t continue with this habit. this is often a key step. once you do something different to exchange an unhealthy habit, acknowledge to yourself that you simply did it differently so that you can emphasize your ability to change by saying,” I made a better choice”

Note that it will take time to change and stick to a new habit. It can take several weeks to change according to your commitment to making it happen. You have to strengthen that bundle of nerves in the brain to alter your default settings.

Here are few great habits to ensure a good night’s sleep and increase your Serotonin levels naturally to ensure a happier way of living

You can read all types of anti-anxiety advice on the internet, but none of it matters unless you take action. Anxiety disorder can be cured by oneself. To feel more relaxed, to get deep sleep and to put energy into what matters, are some of the steps that work. You’ve got to stop wasting time on tasks that do not matter to you. The more you commit the better you feel.

While it’s normal to get nervous about a crucial event or life change, according to a report about 40 million Americans live with an anxiety disorder, which is over the occasional worry or fear.

You are probably aware of several anxiety-busting strategies. But if you are experiencing racing thoughts, tightening in your chest and shortness of breath, you haven’t done all of them.

Below are the highly effective method to calm anxiety:

Deep breathing

Abdominal breathing for 10-15 times each day will reduce anxiety and reduce stress. Deep breathing increases the flow of oxygen to your brain and stimulates or accelerates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes a state of calm. In short, when you breathe deeply, it sends a message to your brain to relax and calm down.

Sleep well

We all have anticipatory anxiety. Having moderate levels of hysteria about doing well is vital. But it can be destructive when it starts to interfere with your life. This will lead to anxiety disorder. It’s impossible to possess healthy emotional functioning without adequate sleep which is 7.5 – 8.5 hours of sleep. A good night’s sleep will help the body to repair its damaged cells. Don’t burn the midnight oil thinking that will catch it up on the weekends. Unused sleep minutes don’t rollover.

Follow the 3-3-3 rule

Look around you and name three things that you see and then, name three sounds you hear. Finally, move three parts of your body preferably your ankle, fingers, or arm. Whenever you have a feeling of brain going 80 miles per hour, this mental wellness trick will help to recalibrate your mind and bring it back to the present moment. An aware body and mind is the best cure to anxiety.

Reduce caffeine, sugar and processed food

If you intake too much Caffeine it can cause irregular rhythm in heartbeat. Caffeine can also trigger panic or anxiety attacks, especially if you’ve got an anxiety disorder. Hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, also can cause palpitations.

Same with Sugar as it acts as an adrenal stimulant and can cause anxiety or even panic attacks. Other offensive foods include those containing refined flour products and even wheat as it causes inflammation. There has been studies done on excess usage of sugar leading to anxiety disorder.

Smoothie works well!

Our diet is linked with our thoughts, hence food has direct connection to anxiety. Having a glass of fruit smoothie in the morning helps you to provide enough energy that your body requires to start with positivity and it will put you in right frame of mind.

It is advised to stick with just fruits in the morning. As they are easily digestible and helps with cleansing the system of any excess toxins.

Check more about alkaline diet and benefits: https://wellnisa.wordpress.com/how-to-get-an-alkaline-body-and-why-we-all-need-one/

Also learn more about increasing your Serotonin levels naturally.

Serotonin is both a hormone and a neurotransmitter that controls numerous body processes, probably best known for its effect in the brain. In our control centre, Serotonin acts as a messenger substance for the excitation of nerve cells which impacts the entire body. Reduced levels of Serotonin in the brain is a cause of memory problems and low mood. Also, low Serotonin levels are more likely to affect an individual negatively if they have had depression before.

What is Tryptophan?

Tryptophan helps to enable the production of Serotonin, basically, Tryptophan is an amino acid which is also key to brain function and plays an important role in healthy sleep.
People cannot make tryptophan in their bodies, so must obtain it from their diet. Fortunately, Tryptophan can be found in food whereas serotonin cannot.

The brain and the intestines produce the Serotonin themselves, there’s no way around it. Consuming prescribed drugs negatively affects your body in which there won’t be a coming back to normal after prolonged use. For the body to create it, needs certain building blocks that serve as a basis. Whether amino acids, vitamins or minerals, the chances to positively influence your Serotonin level during a natural way are numerous.

About 95% of serotonin is produced in the intestine. To support the process you can choose the following food and practices.

Sunlight

Being outdoor and in direct sunlight helps to increase overall serotonin levels. Bright light is, of course, a proven treatment for seasonal depression, but a couple of studies also suggest that it’s an efficient treatment for nonseasonal depression and also creates a better mood in women with the premenstrual dysphoric disorder and pregnant women affected by depression

Relatively few generations ago, most of the planet population was involved in agriculture and was outdoors for much of the day. this resulted in high levels of bright light exposure even in winter as well as a cloudy day.

Spinach

Dark green leafy vegetables, like spinach, are a source of Tryptophan. Spinach is also a source of iron. Iron helps the body to form healthy red blood cells. a scarcity of iron within the diet can cause anaemia, low energy or difficulty breathing.

Pineapples

Pineapples are shown for decades to contain serotonin. Note that while some other plants, like tomatoes, increase in Serotonin as they ripen, that’s not the case with pineapples — so get them while they’re fresh!

Nuts and Seeds

Pick and choose your favs, because all nuts and seeds contain Tryptophan. Studies found that eating a handful of nuts each day may lower the risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory problems. Nuts and seeds are also good sources of fibre, vitamins, and antioxidants.

Exercise

Regular exercise may help to release tryptophan into the bloodstream, increasing overall serotonin levels. Patients and caregivers must be mindful of which levels of are manageable, light aerobic exercises help to establish a sustainable routine.

Massage therapy

Massage therapy helps to decrease Cortisol levels related to bodily responses to worry. Increased Serotonin and Dopamine levels have also been related to massage therapy. Massage therapy to be beneficial for naturally increasing the patient’s well-being.

Unless used as an inspiration, worry is a totally useless human behavior. Worry does not provide solution to a problem, but it makes it much worse in your mind. And it affects your body in ways that leave long term impact. Worry can lead to terminal diseases. It’s important for us to go from worry to wisdom, so we can come up with solutions for the particular situation which is creating the worry.

Worrying basically having your thoughts stay in past or the future. Something that has happened in the past, be it yesterday, last hour or a minute before, keeps your mind occupied. Or you are concerned about something that may happen in the future. In both cases, you are being absent your life in the present. While it’s important to learn from the past experiences or plan for the future, being worried about either is not helpful.

Different methods work for different people when it comes to worrying. Mostly it’s about staying present. So whatever helps you to focus on your activities or environment of the moment is the best way to get out of worrying.

Though the effect may vary, here are a ways to stop your mind from wandering into the worry zone.

1. Note Your Thoughts Down

When you find yourself consumed with endless negative thoughts, find a piece of paper, a notebook, a journal or even a keyboard and write every little thing down. This is the easiest way to get your worrying thoughts out of your head. This way it will go on to a paper.

It works for positive thoughts just as well. These thoughts are your life experiences. Which can inspire and push you towards a whole new direction in life. This can be the foundation for a new business idea, a play, a film, a book… once a worrying thought is written down, it becomes a concept, which you can analyze with an outsider perspective. This little shift makes a world of difference. Once your mind is cleared out, it becomes a fertile land of solutions for all your problems and worries.

2. Put Your Phone Down

Phone screens emit a light that keeps our body in alert mode. Which keep all the cells active and our mind in defensive state. Though this happens unconsciously, over time it affects the conscious mind also. When our body and mind is alert for too long without actually being able to release the stress that’s built up, the natural tendency is the body to find an outlet. But if we are constantly on alert mode, our body and mind do not get the time and space for this release. So use your screen efficiently and put them away whenever possible.

3. Stay Out Of Social Media

Comparison in the enemy of the well-being. Your well-being is entirely about yourself. On social media, you are constantly bombarded by moments from other people’s lives. Though it can be entertaining to certain extend, eventually it becomes about you vs them. You will gradually get to a state where you start to compare your life with others. If you are already worrying about something and you reach for social media, your worries will quickly pile up.

4. Engage In Physical Activities

The most effective solution to worrying is keeping your body active. Go for a run, a walk, stretch, do any activity that you enjoy. It changes the rhythm of your heart beat and breath. Which quickly takes your body and mind to a new place where previous worries don’t exist.

5. Listen To Music

Music is the fastest way to travel. It takes you to a new place in your body and mind within a matter of seconds. Worries are not allowed in that journey. Next time you feel worried or stressed, try music.

To eliminate all your stress and worries, start moving to the music. Dancing takes your body to a joyful place almost immediately.

6. Create Something

Be it a painting, a drawing, or little curio… create something. That will get you out of the slumber and somber mood. Channeling stuck energy into creation is satisfying. And makes you hopeful. The final result does not even matter. When you find your mind wandering over to worry side, it’s the best time to start a new hobby or pursue an old one.

6. Spend Time With Friends

Spending time with people you like is always effective. If you are on creative pursuit together, sharing ideas or simply having a conversation help our spirit open up. Always look out for people who make you feel good.

7. Spend Time In Nature

Nature is the ultimate therapist. Go for long walks in the sun. Breathe fresh air. And talk to trees, they are good listeners. Also, they don’t gossip.

8. Meditate

Inside all of us, there’s a joyful self. Meditation, by helping you to get back in touch yourself, will reveal that part to you.

9. Eat Fruits Or Vegetables

Eat food that contains life force energy such as fruits and vegetables. They help you feel better from the inside. Vegetables help clear out stuck energies in the system. Fruits contain natural sugar. While being light on the digestive system, they provide quick energy boost.

10. Sleep

And sleep is the ultimate cure for any problem in life.

We know it’s hard for the body to fall asleep when the mind is in worry mode. Here are a few proven ways to ensure a good night’s sleep.

Smells are often attached to memories. Some scent triggers the same hormones over and over again, making them widely popular in calming. Aromas, like geranium, lavender, and peppermint have proven to calm our nerves. Thus they are useful to reduce stress and take us to a place where we feel peace. Scents are used in the treatment of varied psychological and physiological disorders.

Types of scented candle and its use

The aroma of ylang-ylang promotes feelings of joy and ease, whereas jasmine improves positive feelings and energy levels. Peppermint and spearmint awaken your mind, enhance focus and improve memory.

If you’re looking for something to calm your anxiety, rosemary, lemon, chamomile, and geranium are for you. Sandalwood promotes sleep.

How does a scented candle help?

Lighting up aromatherapy candles can do wonders when it involves stress relief. A scented candle infused with pure essential oil fragrance releases cool, reinforcing aroma into the air, giving the body an extraordinary sense of calm.

For therapeutic purposes avoid paraffin wax candles

When burning soy wax, beeswax or coconut wax candles they don’t release toxic substances in the air as they are fully natural and no harmful chemicals are added.

The first thing you can try is to meditate while leaving an aroma candle burning. The aroma will help make the meditation much easier for you. Read a book while a scented candle is lit. Find a pleasant, relaxing book that calms your nerves and causes you to feel less agitated.

Lastly, carry a scented candle around wherever you go. That way, you can take the scent will take you to a relaxed place where regardless of where you are physically.

So, is using natural aromatherapy candles for stress relief effective? The short answer to this question is yes! they are.

There is a wide range of aroma candles in the market. What’s important is to seek out the right scent that alleviates you of your worries and stress.

When to use the candles?

Scents are all great at promoting calm and encouraging sleep, so check around and see what works best for you according to the requirement.

Try to incorporate scented candles into your bedtime routine – you can light them while you take an evening bath by the time the smell fills in the room or while you enjoying a tea or while you’re reading in bed. Making them a part of your routine will help to be effective in winding down.

If you would like to get a quick guide on choosing a quality and organic scented candle, click here

Music has a direct influence on our emotions (emotional wellness) hence the body (physical wellness).  Music with an increased pace can make you feel more alert and concentrate better whereas upbeat music can cause you to feel more optimistic, positive and motivated about life. A slower tempo can calm the mind and relax muscles giving you physical and emotional wellness.

Current findings tell that music around 60 beats/minute can cause the brain to synchronize with the beat causing alpha brainwaves. We are relaxed and conscious because of alpha brainwave or when the alpha wave is present. To induce sleep, an individual may need to devote a minimum of 45 minutes, in a relaxed position, listening to calming music.

Music and Stress / Anxiety

Either of those emotions, there’s an awfully good chance you’ve experienced maybe both at the same time. Stress is the response to the situation placed on the brain or the body. As an example, many feel stress when having to complete too many tasks, find a job or to complete a test.

Anxiety is a feeling of worry or unease and might be a reaction to worry. These 2 emotions aren’t necessarily bad. They can be used as motivation to beat certain challenges like pushing yourself to review for your upcoming exam (it is basically how you approach the situation or the attitude towards the situation). Having said, anything in excess or dearth can cause problems. Here, an excessive amount of stress and anxiety can put a negative effect on lifestyle. If this is often the case, it’s important to seek out how to cope.

What research say about the connection of music with emotion

Music has been considered to treat illnesses for many years and to restore harmony between mind and body. But more recently, scientific studies have attempted to prove the potential benefits of music.

These research studies have found:

• Music’s frequency and structure can bring order and security to disabled and distressed kids and even adults. It encourages coordination and communication which will help improve quality of every day life.
  
• Listening to music on earphones reduces stress and anxiety for patients who are going to or after surgery.
  
• For chronic pain and postoperative pain, music can help to reduce both the feeling and distress of the same
  
• Music has the ability to relieve depression and increase self-esteem ratings in elderly people.
  
• For emotional distress music therapy has a prominent effect and elevates the standard of life among adult cancer patients.

Cortisol aka stress hormone is a steroid hormone that regulates a wide range of significant processes throughout the body. It plays a vital role in metabolism, immunologic response and the way the body responds to stress.

What Exactly Does Cortisol Do?

Almost every cell contains receptors for Cortisol. And it has numerous different actions depending on the type of cell it is acting upon. Cortisol helps to regulate blood sugar levels and control metabolism. It acts as an anti-inflammatory. In many species, cortisol is responsible for the development of the foetus and to trigger the processes involved in giving birth. Cortisol has an influence on memory formation, controlling sodium and water balance in the body. Which means it controls blood pressure.

High and low level of cortisol negatively affects the body

Low cortisol levels can cause a condition referred to as primary adrenal insufficiency or Addison disease (primary adrenal insufficiency is an autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the adrenal glands)

Sometimes tumours on the pituitary or adrenal glands can contribute to a condition referred to as Cushing syndrome, characterized by high levels of cortisol within the blood. Individuals having the syndrome will experience rapid weight gain in the face, abdomen, and chest.

Managing Stress

For managing stress there are some easy tips that you can follow like change in diet, practice breathing exercise, aromatherapy which are effective for stress management.

Do you know that diet plays an important role in managing stress? checkout the link below for more
https://wellnisa.wordpress.com/defeat-stress-with-food/

A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in the wax that gives light. In some cases, a fragrance is emitted when essential oil or other fragrance agents are added in the wax.

Scented candles are made out of three simple ingredients. There’s the perfume itself which can be essential oil or any other agent. Then there’s the candle wax which can be soy wax, beeswax or paraffin wax (please be mindful of paraffin wax as it’s made from petroleum jelly, it’s not natural or eco-friendly). And finally the wick, which is made of cotton, linen or rope infused with oil for burning. Mixing and matching these three ingredients allow for a vast variety of candles and ways of releasing the scents.

For a candle to burn, a heat source is used to light the candle’s wick, the wax melts and vaporizes a little. Once vaporized, the fuel combines with oxygen within the atmosphere to ignite and form a continuing flame and aroma.

Choosing A Scented Candle

Scented candles are usually made in containers, glasses, pots, etc. The wax accustomed to make scented candles is different from that of moulded candles. The concept of scented candles is to diffuse an aroma. The perfume is diffused when the wax around the wick gets hot and liquid. this is often why it’s important to settle on the proper wax for this type of candle, preferably rather soft, so it becomes liquid at a low temperature.

If you want to make a scented candle in a container then you need to choose the right type of wax for example beeswax, soy wax or check for the ingredients on how much is the composition of each ingredient and a suitable wick as mentioned earlier.

You can add fragrance to a moulded candle, but it won’t be as effective as a scented candle in a container because of its added ingredients and its composition.

Candles are known to be at least 5000 years old. They were used as a source of light and for illuminating celebrations. In old days candles were also a way of keeping time. A person who makes candles is traditionally referred to as a chandler. Beyond the candles, the devices that are made to carry candles also became an art form. From simple tabletop candlesticks and candle holders to elaborate candelabra and chandeliers, the candle stand experiment is on-going.