Goal Setting and Achievement

Teaching children how to succeed. (1) There is no 'one way' to success - only the one that suits you and your child. (2) Each child is an individual and they are perfect enough. (3) We decide our own limits and do not let others set them for us.

It is beneficial that children have positive friends who support their dreams and ambitions.

Goal setting: Decide on a goal (can be big or small). Break it down into long term and short term. Make goals precise and specific enough to be able to visualise it. Look at possible obstacles and how to overcome them. Prioritize action on goals and obstacles - which needs to be tackled first?

Use visualization - seeing is believing for the human brain. For the goal (e.g. becoming a chef) imagine wearing chef's clothes, being in the kitchen, the food and smells and sounds, and how proud you feel inside; this helps the brain work in a positive way.

Use what works best for you in the way you learn. If a difficulty occurs, find out exactly what the problem is and work from there. If there is an obstacle, see if there are short term goals that will help you get over them.

Let child set and how to reward/celebrate when they achieve them. Along the way new opportunities may arise - which change the route to the final goal. There will always be ups and downs, and physical exercise is a great way to sharpen a child's sense of self-belief; a family walk which involves reaching to top of a small hill will give a feeling of achievement.

Main source: Make Your Child Brilliant by Bernadette Tynon. Quadrille, 2008 (ISBN 978-184400-579-6)

Eat Before or After Exercise?

The BBC 2 Programme Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, looked at whether it is better to exercise before or after eating.

Turns out that it depends on whether you are male or female, because of the difference in male and female metabolism.

Women. Eat before exercising. Most of their fat burning occurs in the three hours after exercising. Eating up to one and a half hours after exercising can even stop fat burning.

Men. Eat after exercising. If men eat before exercising, they will use the carbohydrates in that meal first and may never switch to burning fat.

BBC 2 Programme Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, Series 4, 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4glyLcrhgqQtPGQYM11l1YJ/the-big-experiment-how-can-i-get-my-body-to-burn-more-fat-without-doing-more-exercise

Celery Storage

Keep celery wrapped in foil in the fridge. It will last for up to a month when stored this way.

If your sticks have already gone limp, soak them in a roasting tin of chilly water and they'll perk up after 15 minutes.

In Good Housekeeping, October 2015

Scams and Unwanted Phone Calls, Visitors or Emails

How to stop unwanted telephone calls, doorsteppers or emails, especially if you are elderly and/or live alone.

• Once cold callers start their script, it can be hard to stop them, so get in quick. Ask 'What is the purpose of this call?' If it is a sales call, say 'no thank you'. If they continue, either repeat this until they get the message or just hang up - you are not speaking to a friend. Never give out personal information.
• Do not feel obliged to ask doorsteppers into your home. Ask them politely to leave, and make it clear that if they do not, you will call the police. You could also tell them you don't handle your own finances and that you will need to consult a relative.
• Ignore emails if they are from a company or person you do not recognise. Move the email to your spam folder and block the address; you can do this by right-clicking on the unopened email in your inbox and choosing 'block sender'. If you get an email from someone you know asking you for money or sending a link, contact them by phone first to check it is genuine. It could be a scam or a virus.
• If you are accosted by charity collecters in the street, keep walking - they must not follow you for more than three steps. If they do get you talking, say:'I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about money in the street. Could you give me a website?'
• Unwanted letters from a charity? Write to them and ask to be taken off their mailing list.

And avoid these scams

• Banks and the police never send a courier to your home saying your card has been compromised and you must give it to them, along with your pin.
• Scammers often call claiming to be from a bank or utility provider - so never hand out personal details. Say you will call back - then find the number yourself, don't return their call. Ideally call back from another line, or type of phone, as they may stay on the original line for several minutes, even when you have hung up, and can intercept your call.
• Wach out for any pop-ups on the internet (any new window that appears without you opening it) that claim your computer has been blocked or is in danger. They will ask you to call a phone line and then attempt to extract your bank details.

Good Housekeeping, April 2016

Allergy Overview

Around 40% of people have genes that allow the development of allergies; this is thought to possibly be the remnant of an anti-parasitic defence mechanism.

An on-going study (no date or indication of country in my notes) on breast feeding mothers: from the instant of birth, mothers ate no eggs, milk, cheese, yoghurt, icecream, fish or nuts. When infants were weaned, these foods were introduced into their diet between 7 and 12 months. There was a large drop (c. 50%) in children who had a family history of allergies developing allergies themselves.

1997: New theory that the immune system has to learn to recognise viral infections in the early years and that immunisation and vaccination procedures and children being kept apart from others with infectious diseases are reducing its opportunity to learn, with the results that inappropriate (allergic) reactions are made.

Asthma: Children are usually around one year old before the first attack. Salt intake has a slight effect on asthma attacks - more salt in the diet, more and worse attacks; the most effect was seen on men and children. Oxides of nitrogen (from vehicles) in the air seems to facilitate attacks caused by other substances. [In Barcelona in the 1980s, a a series of asthma epidemics were caused by soy beans unloaded in port, an onshore breeze blew it into the city where an inversion layer trapped it. Only adults were affected and smokers 5 to 10 times more likely to be victims.]

Smoking: Smokers have 5% more chance of developing an allergy if smoking when first exposed to an allergen. The current increase (date not noted) in smoking in women of childbearing age could affect children in the first 12 months (the period now established as a window for sensitivity).

Various sources