Is January flying by or what? Seriously, next Friday is February 1st. Yikes. Better gear up your Valentine's Day plans. It'll be here in about 10 minutes.
Speaking of which, have you ever been in the grocery store the night before Valentine's Day? It's like roller derby. Elbows flying with lots and lots of subtle aggression. It would be sad if it weren't so funny.
I know that most men have loving intentions, but when, oh when, are they going to get into a card shop and buy a few years' worth of cards at once?? Yep, then they'll forget where they put them. Poor babies.
I guess they've got the Super Bowl on their minds and can handle only one major event at a time. Give 'em a break, ladies. You know they love you.
Make it easy for them to be successful instead of increasing their anxiety. Tell them where the card shop is. They have no idea. And, if you write out for him what you want as a gift, and yes, be specific, your chances of getting it increase substantially.
Just sayin'. Do you want to be happy or what?
Yep, it's been a while since Oscar Mayer has advertised for "Hotdoggers"!
Of course, Hotdoggers are the road warriors who travel for a year to all kinds of places to advertise the fabulous Oscar Mayer hot dogs. It's a paid position, but is considered to be temporary since it lasts a year.
Basically, you'll be running a public relations from the hotdog-on-wheels. You'll receive benefits and a work uniform. You'll be making media appearances on tv and radio, give interviews and attend charity functions, grocery store and military events.
A bachelor's degree in public relations, marketing, journalism and advertising are preferred, but not required. You can increase your chances of being a Hotdogger if you speak Spanish.
You've got to be friendly, enthusiastic and outgoing!
Submit your resume and cover level by January 31, so get busy! Send your documents by email to:
[email protected]
Good luck and happy grilling! Ba-da bum.
Of course, Hotdoggers are the road warriors who travel for a year to all kinds of places to advertise the fabulous Oscar Mayer hot dogs. It's a paid position, but is considered to be temporary since it lasts a year.
Basically, you'll be running a public relations from the hotdog-on-wheels. You'll receive benefits and a work uniform. You'll be making media appearances on tv and radio, give interviews and attend charity functions, grocery store and military events.
A bachelor's degree in public relations, marketing, journalism and advertising are preferred, but not required. You can increase your chances of being a Hotdogger if you speak Spanish.
You've got to be friendly, enthusiastic and outgoing!
Submit your resume and cover level by January 31, so get busy! Send your documents by email to:
[email protected]
Good luck and happy grilling! Ba-da bum.
Funny picture, but not an amusing topic. A Mom sent a question over the DrClaudia.net "Ask Me" button about their 16-year old son who charged a $150 bracelet for his girlfriend without parents' permission. They wouldn't have even known about it had they not checked their statement.
Dad wanted to take him to the police station, but I warned about giving away their parenting power to the cops for this kind of mistake in judgement.
Basically, a sit-down-at-the-dining-table kind of serious talk is in order. Focus on trust and communication. Consider some of these techniques.
As for the $150, he's gotta work it off. He's a strong young man, so put him to work. Recruit him to help with those noxious tasks you've been putting off such as cleaning and organizing the garage or renovating the laundry room. If you can swing it. make the tasks one that he can learn from such as installing those wire shelves that basically requires a stud finder, a level, and an impact driver or power screwdriver. Sometimes, those shelves have to be cut, so plan ahead.
If you don't have tasks, look around the neighborhood for older folks who could use some help. You'll need to pay him, but it's a win-win.
He needs a way to make money for the kinds of activities and items he wants to buy. He needs money. Check out this ideas.
Dad wanted to take him to the police station, but I warned about giving away their parenting power to the cops for this kind of mistake in judgement.
Basically, a sit-down-at-the-dining-table kind of serious talk is in order. Focus on trust and communication. Consider some of these techniques.
As for the $150, he's gotta work it off. He's a strong young man, so put him to work. Recruit him to help with those noxious tasks you've been putting off such as cleaning and organizing the garage or renovating the laundry room. If you can swing it. make the tasks one that he can learn from such as installing those wire shelves that basically requires a stud finder, a level, and an impact driver or power screwdriver. Sometimes, those shelves have to be cut, so plan ahead.
If you don't have tasks, look around the neighborhood for older folks who could use some help. You'll need to pay him, but it's a win-win.
He needs a way to make money for the kinds of activities and items he wants to buy. He needs money. Check out this ideas.
During a lightning round, we talked about Blue Monday which comes along about the third Monday in January, or really, it can be any period of time just after an exciting or relaxing time such as a vacation.
It's that "let down" effect when the future contains only work, responsibility, no breaks, whatever. There's just nothing to look forward to.
The "official" Blue Monday, can be particularly difficult for adults because the weather is dark and cold, the holiday credit cards are beginning to roll in and you ask yourself, "What was I thinking?" and promising yourself never to spend that much again.
Speaking of promises, those New Year's resolutions are starting to get stale and you're losing motivation. The next few months are all about "adulting" which is absolutely no fun.
Hopelessness, just like hopefulness, is contagious, so be careful about spreading Blue Monday to your kids.
Kids need all the help they can get. They need to rent your hopefulness even if you're just faking it. You know the expression, "Fake it 'til you make it", right? Yeah, if you practice hopefulness, you'll get good at it and your personality will change for the better.
Suicide rates and para-suicides (attempts) in kids have doubled in the past 10 years. Yes, that's DOUBLED. It's thought that about 17,000,000 kids have a mental health disorder according to the Child Mind Institute. That's a lot of pain.
It's amazing the number of adults who think that kids can't experience depression. Even infants can be depressed. Not only are the rates of depression increasing, it is being diagnosed at younger and younger ages.
Plus, parents don't know what to look for and this lack of information can be tragic.
Take a look at this list for a brief moment and think about each of your kids...what do you see?
Is your child unhappy even though nothing sad or disappointing has happened?
Here's what to do...
Kids are kids. They haven't been on the planet long enough to develop coping skills. Along with immature brains and intense emotions, they struggle. Here's what to do:
Notice something here? Yes, these skills will serve them well throughout their lives.
If they don't improve, it's time to get help. If anxiety and depression run in your family, your child may be biologically vulnerable.
Stay healthy out there. Wear a mask to keep the germs out of your nose and mouth. Who cares what other people think? You need to stay well.
Claudia
Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch.
At DrClaudia.net, click on the "Ask Me" button and send me a question.
Sign up for the Sunday newsletter. Don't miss a thing!
It's that "let down" effect when the future contains only work, responsibility, no breaks, whatever. There's just nothing to look forward to.
The "official" Blue Monday, can be particularly difficult for adults because the weather is dark and cold, the holiday credit cards are beginning to roll in and you ask yourself, "What was I thinking?" and promising yourself never to spend that much again.
Speaking of promises, those New Year's resolutions are starting to get stale and you're losing motivation. The next few months are all about "adulting" which is absolutely no fun.
Hopelessness, just like hopefulness, is contagious, so be careful about spreading Blue Monday to your kids.
Kids need all the help they can get. They need to rent your hopefulness even if you're just faking it. You know the expression, "Fake it 'til you make it", right? Yeah, if you practice hopefulness, you'll get good at it and your personality will change for the better.
Suicide rates and para-suicides (attempts) in kids have doubled in the past 10 years. Yes, that's DOUBLED. It's thought that about 17,000,000 kids have a mental health disorder according to the Child Mind Institute. That's a lot of pain.
It's amazing the number of adults who think that kids can't experience depression. Even infants can be depressed. Not only are the rates of depression increasing, it is being diagnosed at younger and younger ages.
Plus, parents don't know what to look for and this lack of information can be tragic.
Take a look at this list for a brief moment and think about each of your kids...what do you see?
Is your child unhappy even though nothing sad or disappointing has happened?
- What about an unusual number of angry eruptions?
- Has their personality changed?
- Are they making "hopeless" comments such as, "I'll always be stupid", "I can't do anything right", "I may as well just give up"...that kind of emotional tone. This is especially problematic when they reject any attempts to correct their thinking or offer them encouragement.
- Do they want to spend a lot of time alone?
- Have they changed their appearance?
- Do they not care about how they look?
- Do they not want to do the things they usually enjoy?
- Do they reject invitations to be social?
- Are they having problems with sleep or appetite?
Here's what to do...
- Control the controllable. They need sleep. Plain and simple. Make sure they get the recommended amount of sleep for their age. If they're having trouble sleeping, talk to the pediatrician, but please avoid melatonin because it can interrupt puberty. Melatonin has not been approved for those under 18.
- Talk with your pediatrician about a weighted blanket which can help with anxiety. The parents in my practice have used the SensaCalm company for their purchases.
- The Calm app has a number of options to enhance sleep. For adults, they offer bedtime stories. Check out some of the stories (about 25 minutes long) to see if the content is appropriate for your kids.
- Keep the room cool and make sure they take a warm bath before bed.
- No caffeine or drinks within a reasonable amount of time before bed.
- Rub their heads, back, feet, whatever they like. Human touch is amazingly healing.
- Reduce screen and social media consumption. Engage them in board games, watch programming that is inspiring or educational with YOU!
Kids are kids. They haven't been on the planet long enough to develop coping skills. Along with immature brains and intense emotions, they struggle. Here's what to do:
- Give them perspective. Make it concrete. Get out a large piece of paper and SHOW them about their negative thinking and how to think positively about challenging situations. They've got a 2-inch and not the 20,000 foot perspective.
- Break down that big picture into digestible parts. Draw a huge plate of spaghetti with GIANT meatballs and ask them how they'd go about eating the whole thing. Yeah, one bite and a time. That whole "one day at a time" process.
- Take the distressing situation and break it down into parts to determine which parts are "no sweat" and which parts are "real problems" and set about making a plan of action for reducing the stress.
- Evaluate your own internal script to determine how you talk yourself down off the ceiling when challenges overwhelm you. Share your strategies and "self-talk".
- Teach kids how to create something to look forward to.
- Teach them about how stress feels in the body and how it's created. Check out this blog post for the explanation. Draw it out so kids will know what's going on. They need to label it in order to control it.
- Teach them relaxation and mindfulness techniques. There are tons of resources online.
- Teach them about "catastrophizing" which is the process of seeing everything as a disaster. Is it really? Give them questions they can ask themselves about the qualifications for being a disaster.
Notice something here? Yes, these skills will serve them well throughout their lives.
If they don't improve, it's time to get help. If anxiety and depression run in your family, your child may be biologically vulnerable.
Stay healthy out there. Wear a mask to keep the germs out of your nose and mouth. Who cares what other people think? You need to stay well.
Claudia
Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch.
At DrClaudia.net, click on the "Ask Me" button and send me a question.
Sign up for the Sunday newsletter. Don't miss a thing!
